Samurai136

Happy Holidays!

Just stick with it in the spring.

Ken

I think I've seen the plane crash phot before...

I dunno where tho.

Ken

Count your blessings. I've found out after a relationship was over that she was cheating the whole last half.

Some people are players and as soon as they get some security, they start looking to trade up to 'something better'.

You deserve to be treated better, dude.

Ken

We became friends over a year in college. The relationship lasted until she finished school, about 3 years. Then she decided that she didn't want me to have to give anything up or regret giving anything up to be with her. She wouldn't let the relationship advance. She moved away and said she never wanted to speak to me again. I was heart broken 4 of the past 7 years since that happened.

Now, I only remember that she looked better than Jenny McCarthey, she has pacific ocean blue eyes, and a laugh that made me feel special. I think that qualifies as 'love of my life'.

But then I suppose there's Skydiving...


Ken

Best thing to do is review your emergency procedures, do a gear check and review your objectives for the dive. Then close your eyes, do some deep breathing, clear your mind, open your eyes and get ready to jump.

It sounds like performance anxiety. Since you're doing well, you should relax and remind yourself of that fact. Don't over analyse things. You know what the objectives are for the jump. You know your emergency procedure. Relax, focus on the moment and do the jump.

Ken

There was an article in parachutist or Skydiving about the boogie. I thought about going but figured between registration fee and a plane ticket to Santo domingo International I'd be spending about 1000$.

Just to break even, you'd have to make at least 50 jumps or more. I don't think they reported that many jumps. It sounds sweet, free CASA jumps! but I figured it was a loser proposition. Who really wants to goto the dominican republic anyway?

Fly over the AIDS infested slums? Better check the spot!

Ken

That's pretty sensable. You have your whole Skydiving future to build swoop skills if you desire.

The tapering on 'semi-elliptical' and 'elliptical' canopies lowers drag and makes the canopy turn and dive faster. You shouldn't have a problem finding a used Spectre or Triathlon in the range you are looking at. Both are 'square' 7-cells, are good canopies and good to develop canopy skills. In fact, my Triathlon 160 Hybrid is available. Send me a Private Message sometime if you're interested.

Learning how to properly control the canopy is the key. It can be very challenging. If you look at the Psycho-pack photos, they flip the canopy over, place the tail so the canopy is V shaped and then fold the right and left 'ears' of the V so it's cocoon'd to the width of the bag and roll it up.

I do a similar thing w/ my PRO-pack, with none of the 'psycho' stuff.
Since I'm on the canopy until it's in the bag, cock the PC once I get the canopy on the ground. Standard pro pack, roll the tail, canopy on the ground, cock PC. Do Not flip the canopy over.

1. Get the remaining air out of the canopy and smooth the top skin so the canopy is V shaped.

2. Fold the left 'ear' of the V under the canopy, then fold the right 'ear' under the canopy. The canopy should now be the width of the bag and the left ear should be somewhat sandwiched between the top skin (against your body) and the right ear. This is similar to how you fold a letter to put it in an envelope.

3. Place left forearm across the top of the canopy pinning it to the ground, hop up (do not move your forearm) and place your left shin where your forearm is.

4. Make the first half of the s-fold, keep right hand pressure on the warning label, release the top portion of the canopy and place a knee on the right and left side of the warning label.

5. Complete the s-fold should be easier. Overlaping the 'ears' tends to lock the cocoon and prevent the canopy from sliding/ slipping. Continue maintaining control and bag it. No psycho-rolling flipping stuff.

I've used this technique on many brand new canopies and they go in the bag on the first shot everytime.

I was making an origami unicorn one day at work and realized I could do a similar thing packing new z-p parachutes.

Ken

You mean first purchased a brand new rig? 380 jumps.

I first owned my own rig by jump 25.

Go with used gear until you have enough experience to know what you really want to buy new.


Ken

It depends...

What did you load the 175 Triathlon at?

What do you want out of a canopy?

I jumped a 160 Triathlon Hybird until jump 250. For your experience level a Triathlon or Spectre loaded about 1:1 should provide enough safety to develop your canopy skills and still have some fun.

Ken

I attended the first 'Search' with 35 jumps. It's worth the money. The next jump season I was making skydives w/ jumpers who have 20+ years in the sport who thought I had 300-400 jumps. They were shocked that I had fewer than 100.

If you attend, consider who will pack your main? With 26 jumps are you prepared to pack for yourself and make 5 or more jumps per day? Seriously consider paying a packer. You'll have more energy to focus on the jumps, instruction, and post jump de-brief.

I had a blast.



Ken

Like everyone else, I've spent lotsa $$$ on kegs and reveling. But the most expensive beer that comes to mind is the cheap swill Dubba-ya serves at _The Ballpark_. Why do they charge so much at baseball games but you can bring coolers full of beer to the race track?

Ken

If I'm doing the math right
women should be jumping a Zero wing loading?

Ken

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I wouldn't use rears to pull myself out of a dive,

I think I understand what you really mean but...

Why wouldn't you use rear risers to pull out of a dive? If you recognize immeadiately that you've turned to low, rear risers will get you out of the dive faster than any other option.

It doesn't take much rear riser input to plane the canopy out. If you're using rear riser for swooping, it only takes a an inch or two of deflection to plane out the canopy. Mostly, I just push the risers out and pull down and inch. This is a very small input.

Scott2002, w/ the experience your profile says you have I wouldn't recommend using rear risers for landing/ swooping. Too much riser input will stall the canopy. It sounds like that's what you did and you were carrying all the forward momentum. The faster you fly at the stall point the faster you'll have to run or face plant yourself...

Take your time and develop your canopy skills up high before you try to use them for landing.

Ken

Carving tends to produce the best results. Carving being one long diving arc to the ground. The reason being that the most efficient use of momentum is to alter the canopy's natural glide path as little as possible thru the landing and the dive.

Smoothly generating and controling momentum is the key to getting good swoops. Every 'corrective' piloting input to change heading trades some momentum for heading adjustment.

Ken

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negative recovery arc? not sure i understand this. does that mean it does not recover without applying toggle?

Visualize a full-flight glide path and a glide path with a period of front riser input. A canopy trimmed w/ negative recovery arc will continue, for a period of time, to dive steepr than full-flight after releasing front riser input. But less steep than w/ riser input.

A spectre is trimmed for a flat glide path and will plane out quickly after releasing front riser input. It does not have a negative recovery arc.

Ken

My Odyssey also has a pc bridal routing cover that goes to the spandex BOC.

Both containers have the same size main and the Odyssey is a bit shorter (smaller reserve) and the main compartment seems a bit thicker giving it a teardrop shape. I thought it looked like a micron. Also the odyssey fits snug against my back so with no slack in the chest strap I have a natural full range of motion arch just like I wasn't even wearing it. With a bit of slack in the strap I can tell I'm arching against the container.

It's a very snug fit, comfortable and easy to forget you have it on in freefall.

Ken

Yup. A standard Javelin and I just got my Odyssey set up last night. Both have Samurai 136. The javelin has a pd143r and the odyssey has a pd126r. The second rig should help me turn loads next summer and I wanted to master one size before moving on to the nxt canopy size or class. The only differencee is the reserve handle and the PC handle is slightly higher on my back on the Odyssey. The Javelin reserve handle is a D-ring and the odyssey has the soft (free-fly) handle.

I've got my first 2 canopies I'm working on selling...

Ken

Any child psychologists out there?

Its been a while since to took a child psych course. I think children do not become aware of others as seprate from their Self until age 2 or so. The 'terrible twos' is that period of adjustment. And then a few years later they develop the concept of deception and lies...

Most 'manipulation' games uunder the age of 2 are just behavioral conditioning.

Ken

Yeah, and she's free march 2004.

Ken

There are no bad spots. Only bad spotters.

If the guy at the door doesn't look straight down and along the flight line a bit, he is a bad spotter. Kick his ass out the door immeadiately.

If the guy at the door hasn't figured out 'the spot' by the time the exit light comes on...

Ken

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I really like Gap Blue for men, oh man that stuff smells so good! Hugo Boss, Bob Mackie, and Armani ( i think its either he or man).

I believe those actually come with short crunchy hair, too.

Ken

Well, there was this nekkid lady w/ sparkles all over her body spinning around a pole. I gave her a few dollars, she danced in my lap, rubbed her boobs in my face.

I asked her, "what perfume are you wearing? You smell so nice..."

"Poison. All the girls wear it." She replied, with a warm smile.

The only women I know that wear 'poison' are women who dance around poles...

Ken

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They have a flatter glide and med/light riser pressure but don't dive quite like a vengeance. They are capable of turning just as high, it just is easier to get really steep in a vengeance.

The Vengeance has a flatter glide than the Samurai. I've been in a bit of brakes next to a same sized and loaded Vengeance in full flight. When I went to full flight I left the Vengeance behind and a few hundred feet above me.

The glide of the Samurai is a bit flatter than the Jedei, but still steeper than the Stiletto (it's flatter than the FX and the Velocity by far).-BigAirSportz

Performance Characteristics of the PD Vengeance

I. Flying the Vengeance:
General Impressions:
The Vengeance is an easy canopy to like, if you are already familiar with the current elliptical
nine-cells. It is a noticeable step up in performance from a Stiletto, yet in some ways, it is easier
to fly and land.
Straight flight at full glide:
The Vengeance flies at very close to the same speed and glide angle as a Stiletto of the same
size. It is very common to see Stilettos in the field with brake lines set too short, however,
making it fly in slight brakes even when the toggles are all the way up. In this case, the Stiletto
would seem to have a slightly slower and more floaty glide. The Velocity glides much steeper
than both canopies -PD website

Ken

No Rules in the US. But the manufacturers have guidlines for their higher performance canopies. Most experienced jumpers will council new jumpers away from buying a canopy they know is beyond the jumper's skill.

Ken