ernokaikkonen

>What does the law say about TP ? Isnt dropping any items from the sky >intentionally considered illegal ? (unless its an emergency) at least here in Finland >it is. We do drop streamers every day in Räyskälä to define the exit point... And at most other Cessna-clubs as well... Erno

>sorry for being serious in a silly-fun thread, but i've read a couple of articles about >standard 3-ring setups vs. mini-rings. the only reason people were choosing minis >was because they looked better. the larger rings are (from what i've read, i'm NOT >an expert) safer, but people think they look kinda clunky. wouldn't that be a case of >a skydiver going for appearance over function? Damn, you beat me to it

>I think that a Cessna may be the perfect platform for rw...hehehe.. What Cessna was that? The 182 of Tennessee Skydiving? Erno

>Actually if you (Jussi S) count yourself in, then there's still two more: Jussi >Holopainen and Jussi Liukkonen Yeah, Jussi S just bought the Classic from Halttunen... I'm sure it's going to see some more use now. I may have to find another suit to borrow... damn

Google search "shark helicopter ladder" first hit: http://www.snopes2.com/photos/shark.htm Erno

Here's one from my laptop. The picture is a painting by a finnish artist, Kaj Stenvall. More of his work with the ducks here: http://www.kajstenvall.com/ Erno

> My plan would be to try and cut the lines...I have 18" risers (with hard inserts; >hopefully this won't happen); reaching the lines is no problem for me. I'm with billvon on this one, I think cutting the front riser(s) would be a better option. I have not tried cutting a bunch of lines under tension, so I don't know how easily they could be cut(and how easy is it to cut spectra compared to vectran compared to HMA, or something else?). However, a (sharp) hook-knife cuts through loaded riser-webbing like a hotknife through butter. After cutting the riser(s), I'd have the options of cutting away(altitude permitting), or deploying my reserve in to the streamer, which I _feel_ would have a better chance of success than deploying into a spinner. Erno

>Oh yeah John was fine, and smiling today as he popped the '$8,000 video tape' into >the VCR. I don't think I'd be smiling after that. Hey... There isn't much left to do except smile at that point. Sulking won't fix the gear, and he has footage that few others have... And at least his head didn't fall off his shoulders with the camera

>Is there any possibility of this happening on large or square canopy? Is it hard to >cut away from this malfunction? Yes, yes, and possibly. On a square canopy, yes: A year ago I had to cut away by TurboZX145 (loaded 1.4) from a very aggressive spinner. One of my risers was pressing on my face so I couldn't see anything. I just felt being horizontal and spinning very fast. One of my teammates saw the mal and later said that I was losing altitude fast. On a large canopy, yes: A couple of weeks later a S/L-student had to cut-away a Navigator260 from a similar mal. Of course on a larger canopy the spinning and diving won't be as aggressive, so the student tried to calmly kick out the twists until the decision altitude of 600m, and then cut away. The exit-camera footage showed line twists developing(this is quite usual for S/L deployment). The student had an uneven body-position, and this combined with the twists sort of "locked" the canopy one side lower than the other, causing the dive. Is it hard to cut away? Possibly. A spinning mal can generate quite a lot of G's, and this increases the load on the three-rings(even if properly maintained, even if the twists don't come all the way to the risers). Larger three-rings won't be as hard to cut-away as minirings. See this: http://www.relativeworkshop.com/technical/risers/pullforce.htm Erno

I'm no instructor but: Take a look at : http://www.pia.com/airtec/SC_eng.pdf and http://www.pia.com/airtec/EC_eng.pdf Both Expert- and Student-Cypres fire at 225m / 750ft. The Student-Cypres fires if it detects a fallrate of 13 m/s or more. This way it will fire even if the student is trying to land a malfunctioning main canopy. The Expert-Cypres fires @ 35m/s, practically only if the jumper is still in freefall. Erno

>Nothing like feeling the wind in your face My thoughts exactly... And I like seeing the "grinning idiots" in freefall too

>if i may be so inquisitive, why do you want to change? the wingload is the same, >whether it be large, or mini rings. i know people who regularly jump mini-rings with >3+ wings. i jump them with a 1.5, never a problem. not that i'm pro, or against >them, just curious! Have you had to cutaway from a highly loaded spinning mal? The regular three-rings have much more mechanical advantage than the minirings, resulting in an easier cutaway. Take a look at: http://www.relativeworkshop.com/technical/risers/pullforce.htm Erno

>I must be mistaken, but I thought Luigi jumped the VX 46 with weights for >wingloadings of up to 4.6. Did he not? According to: http://www.icaruscanopies.com/teamXtreme.htm ...Luigi's highest wingloading has been 4.2. Erno

>Also see the PIA report on dual canopy scenarios. I was there when some of the >testing was going on. I am at a loss to find the website. Can anyone help?? The PIA website? Rather surprisingly : www.pia.com ...

>Is it possible that reserve pilot chute gets into the burble if the wings of the camera >suit are inflated? It might slow down the reserve opening. I guess anything is possible... If we assume that this indeed can be an issue, it depends on the rig you are wearing; some reserve pilot chutes have more powerful springs than others. > Are there any differences in emergency procedures to avoid it? I haven't jumped a winged _camera_ suit, but the Birdman flight manual doesn't mention anything about the burble. It tells you to execute the emergency procedures in the normal way. If you just _must_ do something to prevent the PC from getting caught in the burble, you might want to pull your arms close to your body after pulling the handles, thus closing the wings. CU at Parasummer, Erno

Ok I know this one's as old as the sky but there might be someone who hasn't heard it yet (yeah right) -How many skydivers does it take to change a light bulb? -10. One holds on to the bulb and nine drink beer until the room starts spinning. There. Someone had to do it.

>Is it a skydiving fatality if I die from getting hit by lightning because I was packing >my rig in a thunderstorm due to a bad spot? My opinion on this... The whole point of fatality reports is that the rest of us can read them, learn from them, and not make the same mistakes as the one(s) who ended up dead. If there is something to be learned from what happened, the incident should be classified as a skydiving fatality. Someone died from getting hit by lightning because he was packing his rig in a thunderstorm due to a bad spot? --> Lesson learned: Don't jump into a thunderstorm. If you did anyway, don't pack on an open field... Someone drowned after landing in a lake because rescuers didn't get there in time --> Lessons learned: Spot carefully. Maybe improve DZ's capability in rescuing people in lakes? Someone died of insuline-shock in freefall/under canopy/on impact because of unconsciousness --> Lesson learned : Extra care is needed regarding skydivers with medical conditions. Bottom line: all are skydiving fatalities. IMHO. Erno

>Whats the weirdest thing you have sold for jump money? Well I have never owned anything "weird" as far as I'm concerned, but I have sold one car, one motorcycle and one computer. And used up all my student loans on jumping. I really have nothing much left that is of any value... Except... my rig! Yeah, that'll buy me a bunch of jump-tickets! Erno

>"projected"... marketing buzz word.... Not really. As explained in "PIA Technical Standard 100, Standardized Nomenclature for Ram-Airs": "Projected Area: The area of the inflated canopy as view from above, perpendicular to the chord line at the centerline of the parachute. Due to canopy curvature and cell inflation bulging the projected area is always smaller than the planform area." and... "Planform Area: Defined as the product of the finished chord times the finished span of the canopy." What I don't know is whether manufacturers measure the area using the projected area or the planform area, and if they are using the planform area, are they measuring the top or the bottom skin? And what about ellipticals(ie. practically all modern canopies)? You can't just measure span x chord because of the tapered corners. And the amount of taper varies from one canopy to another... Anyone with any REAL info may chime in anytime... Erno

>What are riser dive loops? Fabric loops on the front risers, they are used for high-performance approaches (hooks & carves). Erno

Big PC problems.. hmm... You must have one hell of a high-tech Pilot Chute... Ask mr. Booth, he knows about all things concerning PC's. Erno

>If you know Flemmish, I'll defer, but the Xerox language guesser guessed Dutch >FWIW. dutch = flemmish AFAIK. Erno http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/saoghal/mion-chanain/Failte_en.html#Nederlands

>Does anyone know what it takes/is it possible to convert a regular canopy into a >CReW canopy? >what modifications will need to be accomplished? This was more usual in the past, when Furys and Mavericks were the top of the line. The center A-lines of the canopy are changed into continuous ones(no cascades), and optionally you can add a lot of different handles in your risers... A retracting pilot-chute would be nice, but I don't know if one can be retrofitted. >would it be better to buy a main specifically made for CReW? Absolutely. For any serious CRW(or CF, as it is now officially called) a crw-specific canopy is a must. And all this said with the astonishing experience of 10 CF-jumps. Erno

>I have found one with a connector link rotated 180 degrees. It probably would have >opened; it MAY have caused some kind of tension know that held the slider up, or >something else. Huh? How would a rotated connector-link keep the slider up? Could you explain this in more detail? Erno

>hell yes i jumped out of an airplane: two otters and a casa. And if you feel no need to ask the question: "Whuffo you jump out of them airplanes?" ..then you can't be a whuffo now can you? Erno