DaVinciflies

Do you mean by this to start the turn with a slower rate of rotation and build to a "snap" at the end?

Safety margin, speed, distance - whatever type of improvement you like. For me the thing I learned recently which made a big difference was to try to release the front risers over a three second count. It is quite hard to control, but has made a difference to my speed as the canopy recovers. I have had to take my initiation altitude up though!

I have taken formal canopy education every year I have been jumping. But I think at a minimum people should try to take a basic course in the first and second (and possibly third) years of jumping as that will help build a good foundation for flight and eliminate any bad habits before they happen. After that, it depends what you want to do. I am pursuing high performance flight and I can tell when my improvements have plateaued and I need coaching to keep improving. If you are not flying HP approaches but are having trouble with accuracy, or people are speaking to you about your canopy flight, or you land off a lot when others don't or a million other reasons ....then you might benefit from a course. Finally, the course is just the beginning - you have to practice what is taught in the course for it to become a natural skill. For example, I fly all the turns in my pattern as flat turns because that means I get to practice flat turns on every jumps and they are THAT important. High pulls to explore the range of your canopy by using the drills taught in the formal class are also a great thing to do - especially if you have just downsized.

Yes, that's exactly what he means.

Nice legs - what time do they open?

Do you sleep on your front? No? Well, can I then? Do you want a fuck? No? Well do you mind lying still while I have one? Do you want to go halves on a bastard?

I do exactly the same thing with larger canopies that require a double s-fold. Three things I am paranoid about during packing are slider placement, line tension and locking stow security.

Thanks for the link. So I guess the intention is the same as the PD snaps. I wonder if we will see these on more and more canopies. The guys I know who are using them have given mixed reviews.

I am not exactly sure about what you are referring to here, but is it something akin to the snaps that PD are now putting on the Velocity and Comp Velocity sliders?

Sometimes.....I don't think any of us want to see another Warren.

...and what did YOU learn from that? Ooh, ooh - I think I know this one....!

Read the thread. There is much more to consider than just deployment. And to answer your specific question - it could be moved.

That does somewhat limit your options. I had to climb my hand up the riser to get it there, but I was able to reduce my own dislocations after landing. The head of my humerus was under the skin in the over my mid-pectoral region! I guess you're right that it's best to plan as though that limb is totally unserviceable.

I feel your teammate's pain. Literally. It does bring up an important point that if you have the slightest doubt that you may experience a dislocation in the air, you should plan, modify and practice EPs and flaring for such an eventuality. For non-elliptical canopies I would (have) flare with both toggles in one hand. For a wing that is more sensitive about the roll axis I would (have) plane it out on the rears and slide it in. In my experience you still have enough range of movement to pull a rear down enough to plane out even with a full dislocation.

I would be very wary of asking a general practitioner anything about this. An orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine specialist or physical therapist would be a much better option.

I used this after my initial disclocation and was fine until the one jump I forgot it, and then out it came again. http://www.bauerfeindusa.com/en/products/supports-orthoses/shoulder/omotrain.html As was said above, no brace is going to 100% prevent a dislocation, but this one assists the ligaments in doing their job. I had surgery after my third dislocation, followed by lots of PT and then I jumped this brace for the following year and that worked well for me.

Ja! Skydive Mossel Bay is really lekker.

And the US one? Does it start with "L"? And end in "odi"?

Were you RGJ? ("If you can't hack it....")

I really think what you need the most is some jumps. If canopy time is what is bothering you - then get some canopy time. Get an experienced jumper to give you some objectives/drills for a jump and go out and pull high. According to your profile, you're averaging 20is jumps per year - you are never really current and you won't get to know your gear - go jump, dude!

Thanks for taking the time to write that out, Ian. Useful stuff.

That's true but the position of the dive loops on the riser may have an effect.

Not on a standard Katana lineset. They are Vectran too. To the OP - no, not had that problem in mine (with an HMA lineset). If you're of sufficient experience to jump a KA120, then you should also know how to tell when your control lines are too short and be able to do something about it.

There are much better tools for long spots than a Katana 97 though! In fact almost anything would probably be better for a long spot! True, a navigator 260 would be excellent for a long spot upwind. Perfect! Then cutaway to the KA97 for the landing!

You have my attention! Explain please.