skyflybabe

If you are looking for lovely soft on heading openings, I have just been test jumping the SFire from Icarus and the openings were great. Soft and perfectly on heading. I did pump the risers to bring the slider down but it was a very comfortable opening and the canopy was very easy and fun to fly and land in both nil winds and gusty thermal conditions it handles very well. I have not yet tried the Safire 3 but have been given mixed reviews on openings from people who have jumped these.

Hi, We are dealers for Aerazur, if you email [email protected] I can give you prices etc. Regards, Maddy

Wow all this discussion and all the original guy wanted was a photo !! www.uptvector.com :-)

yeah, point taken! haha...Luckily I'm one of the instructors not the students!!

We use a sort of diving exit from the PAC (similar size door if not a bit smaller than Otter)... left foot forward in the door, right knee down (or just off floor, but right foot on ball of foot)...get weight up and forward over left knee. Both hands and head outside on airflow (with right arm higher up)...then Hotel check, then "chin up, out, in ARCH!!" Works great for us. Have been using this for 4+ yrs

"AFF instructors do a Mr Bill with each and every Level one student. Once a good canopy is confirmed, the instructor hops off, freefalls a few seconds then opens his own main. If the main malfunctions, the student performs emergency procedures, if not, the instructor just grabs both of the students handles and says good bye. It's the main reason we have the student open so high. That's also why I love doing AFF level ones so much. Or... Once the student is being slowed down by a deploying canopy, they're on the their own. The student is trained to perform emergency procedures so hopefully they use them if necessary" I couldn't believe what I was reading when I read the 1st part to the quote above! Most definitely the 2nd part applies!!!

Great people, great views :-)...rivers, beaches, mountains. Small, friendly DZ, mainly AFF and Tandem but also allow sport jumping which seems to be quite rare in NZ!! Lots of other activities to do close by, kayaking etc.

yes I have seen it....the old one uses a ring system (like a 3 ring release)... the new one uses a button system. The new Fuzion helmets will all include a button cutaway system as standard. More info will be added to our site in the next few days... www.dzsports.com :-)

Hector no longer works there but someone should be able to help. What about the dealer where the canopy was bought?

One thing over the years that we have found helps is if you see a chopped main land in a corn field or other crop, if you can count the number of tractor/tyre tracks from one edge of the field to where the canopy landed. This makes it much easier to find ... just an idea that worked for us and might help for future losses.

I have about 1300 (ish) jumps on a Crossfire2 109 (I am loading this about 1.5...sometimes I feel it needs more weight but I like the extra square footage for deep spots)...I have done a few jumps on a Katana 107 and my first impressions were that the Katana comes down very quickly (steep glide)... I think some people who want to swoop will love this canopy but if you want a versatile canopy I prefer the Crossfire2...I am not a swooper but I am glad to have tried both canopies... The Crossfire openings I found were a bit more predictable. Both canopies flared nicely. The best advice would be to try both...I would recommend not to buy either until you have done this. :-)

Most student rigs have adjustable harnesses, this means they can be shortened or lengthened to fit the majority of jumpers depending on body length. There are 2 possible most likely reasons that I can think of as to why the chest strap came up this high during the opening of the parachute... 1. Leg straps too loose 2. Side adjusters not shortened enough. Your instructors will be able to have a look at the kit on you before you get on board the aircraft next time and make sure they are adjusted accordingly to avoid the same experience. If this happens again, your instructors should look for a different size harness for you as this shouldn't happen :-) Bruises on thighs and arms are usual when you first learn! After you qualify, you can buy a rig that is made to fit you and then you won't get this anymore! (see advice from your instructors prior to doing this though)

Please please please get someone to help you...we had a guy turn up the other day who measured himself and ordered direct from Aerodyne...his measurements were way out and the rig didn't fit at all. We are looking after him now but this situation can be avoided if you get help :-) Please be sure to measure the torso from the hole in your throat to the top of the hip bone (not the side or middle).Measure the leg strap measurement from the same point. Feel free to contact me for assistance on this....its an expensive mistake if you get it wrong!! :-) and there are always people willing to help who know what they're doing! Email [email protected] or you can contact Aerodyne via their website www.flyaerodyne.com

What do you need? Maybe I can help? :-) www.paratec.de Tel: 0049 6837 7375 Email [email protected] :-) if they don't work for you, let me know and I'll try to help you.

Good things come to those who wait ;-) Crashtested is a nice chap and knows I am doing what I can for him and I don't blame him for his comments...(if I hadn't spent all my money in the wind tunnel I would happily buy him a rig and give it to him but sadly it all blew away so thats not an option right now... sorry mate :-) ) Good news though... we are now receiving PDF kit from the PF Spirit offer, it is coming slowly but surely....it has not been 12 months yet!! :-) There is light at the end of the tunnel and the sizing is being dealt with as we speak. Anyway thats all I will say on a public forum about this issue for now. Please feel free to pm me should you wish!

Thanks for taking the time to reply :-)

That all sounds good to me, cheers

I was in US last week and was told that the USPA have recently changed their rules and that if you have previously been a USPA temporary member you can now no longer take out another temporary membership and that you have to pay the full $60 and become a full USPA member to be allowed to jump. This was the info we were told at Perris. We were only there for an afternoon and therefore decided not to jump because of this cost. Can anyone confirm if this is correct? I had other friends jumping at Elsinore at the same time who did not have to do this. Perris told us it was a new USPA rule. If anyone can confirm if this is true or not that would be great.

What do intructors/schools teach students for self entanglement drills e.g. arm/leg/feet caught in lines if a) the main is a good canopy and b)if the main is only partially inflated? I'm just interested to hear what others teach on how to deal with this situation. At our DZ we teach for example if the main is only partially inflated (malfunction) to make one good attempt to clear the entanglement then whether it is cleared or not, to cutaway then deploy reserve... I have heard that other places teach just to pull reserve (to get as much material out as possible) Arguments for/against either theory are welcomed :-)

Hey chick, I think this is what we do at our DZ ... if they are between levels 1 and 7 they will pay £50 refresher training if its been 3 months or more since their last retrain. More than 6 months, they re-sit the course and depending on what level they were on before etc will determine which level you restart them at. If they have finished AFF but have not got their license then if its less than 6 months since they jumped, I am pretty sure we don't charge them but if its more than 6 months but less than 12 months then they pay £50 refresher training and do a repeat AFF level with an AFFI before being allowed to continue where they left off. If its been more than 12 months, then same as above, maybe more than one repeat level and possibly sit in on a days ground school for refresher training. For licensed but uncurrent, it depends on how many jumps they have done and how long they have left it, generally if less than 30 jumps, we treat them as almost qualified atudents. If more than 30 jumps, depending on how long its been, they may require a shadow dive with instructor after doing retrain on mals and reserve drills etc. Hope this helps!

I can assure you that it is NOT common practise for people to be told to NOT leave time between exits, especially with strong winds...so please do not think this is usual for the UK! Whoever said that was giving unsafe info to the other skydivers on board. I am based in the UK and it is a well known fact that the stronger the winds, the more time you should give between groups. It is also common here especially in small aircraft like a C206 or an islander than the door will stay open for take off and landings. Several aircraft I have jumped from actually have a sign in the plane that states the door should be open for take off and landing.

I know that at some DZs it is usual for the door to be open until 1000 to 1500ft. A reason for this may be that if you have an aircraft emergency landing and the plane crashes, the door is open and therefore people can more easily escape. If you have to exit, then time is saved by not having to open a door.

Hi Emma, I have a crossfire 2 109 if you want to try it, you're welcome any time. Its gorgeous. Maddy

To be honest I don't care whos in the team as long as we have fun and don't kill eachother in there!!! Have you or Max done 4way blocks in there? coz that would make life easier!

Fab. Max...I've got one other guy whos cool and so if Steve's up for it then thats a 4 way sorted...now all we need is some practise....in March perhaps? Maddy