Samurai136

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Protecting DZO's, gear manufacturers and the organization itself from litigation and does not pertain to safety. Age limits have no place in the BSR's.

But you do have to be 18 to sign a legally binding contract (waiver). USPA keeps skydivers skydiving. Beyond everyone's petty politics if the USPA didn't represent the sport, inclusive of DZ's and gear manufacturers and skydivers, it wouldn't take much before there were severe government restrictions on the sport.

Protecting the sport from litigation and government regulation keeps America free enough for skydivers to skydive. BSR's service the USPA's end goal of keeping skydivers skydiving.

Ken

A new cypres cost about $1100 plus new batteries every 2 years $80, required by mfg, plus every 4 year a service check, required by mfg, (costs more money than batteries) and the unit is only guaranteed by the manufacturer for 12 years. I think the dollars work out such that over the life of one unit you've paid for a second unit in batteries and service and then you have to buy another new cypres.

The only thing a cypres is good for is if you are unconscious, or physically unable to pull handles, when you pass thru 1000' falling faster than 78mph it will cut the reserve loop which we hope activates the reserve. If it fires because you were not altitude aware... consider that as using up one of your nine lives.

I have a cypres in each of my rigs. Having a main parachute is safety gear. Having a reserve regularly inspected and packed is safety. Having an AAD is safety gear. I think of it as all part of the cost of skydiving.

Ken

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I like the colone Curve....it just does it!!! For me anyways!

Oh me too! haha, Its by Liz Clairborne....and it smells sooooo good.
Viking you have to try it...if you wore it around me...i'd be all over you in seconds! [Wink] [Angelic]

I've worn Curve for Men since I noticed years ago my sister went GaGa over any guy wearing it. It's fairly subtle. And field testing has shown that women want to hug me and say "mmm... you smell really good." and it's subtle enough that other guys don't recognize it as cologne.

Most men's cologne, drakkar, eternity, other name brands are way over powering.

Ken

The natural progression is in that order. Although I went straight to a Samurai which is a far more aggressive high performance canopy than a Stiletto or Vengeance. FX, VX, Velocity, Xaos are all in the cross-braced low drag super-swooper class of canopy.

Ken

That looks like it would work. Tape the light down to your holder. I would recommend buying little glow sticks and tape them to the face of the altimeter. They are not too bright for night vision and have always worked well for me.

Ken

Use your own judgement. I have a similar exit weight and had moved to a Triathlon 160 by jump 35.

It all depends on your sense of what is safe for you and the kind of canopy you're jumping. A 150 Spectre, Triathlon or similar type of canopy (non-tapered/ square) is safer at that experience level than a tapered/ elliptical canopy. But ultimately you can get hurt under any canopy if you make the wrong piloting choices.

Ken

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I'm yet to dump my Jedei in a sit (stupid clouds), but at full track its not that bad of an opening at all. On video I'm typically the first out of frame and I tend to be one of the longer trackers on all the RW stuff I've done so I've still gots lots of forward speed.

I've dumped in a trrack w/ my Samurai; it left a few minor raspberries on my shoulder. It wasn't hard. The Samurai has a pretty big slider and the airlocks slow/smooth the inflation process to some degree. Had a premature deployment in a sit at 157mph. That was reasonably soft. Unexpected but no injuries, aches or bruises. I kept jumping that day after I got a new PC put on the canopy.


Ken

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My question is:
Why does the canopy gain speed?

The canopy gains speed because your mass is the thrust that drives the canopy. Let's say the full flight angle of attack (wing) is 15 degrees (15*) below the horizontal. It is similar to riding a sled down a 15* slope. If you increase the angle of attack it is like riding the sled down a steeper slope. You will go faster.


In a diving turn the centrifugal force you feel is your body in the harness being pulled to the outside of the turn and the increasing force you must resist to keep the riser pulled down and continue diving.

The practical answer to your question is that you are really looking for the most efficient arc (path) to the ground and level flight that gives you the most forward speed.

Trying to get the get the most centrifugal force by multiple spirals is unnecessary. The more you increase the centrifugal force the more piloting inputs you have to give the canopy to steer your momentum to straight and level flight which inefficiently uses up the momentum you generate by spiraling many times.

You want to get the most forward speed which is ultimately dependant on drag, wingloading, wing shape and trim. The longest swoop was on a velocity over 100 sq ft w/ a single 270* turn to level flight. Having built momentum in the turn, the actual swoop involves managing that momentum w/ the flare or lack there of.

Ken

Sadly, there is no hope. If there is a Molar strap left on your reserve it will not open. Imagine how your main would open if you took a belt and looped it around the center cell between the right and left lines and it kept the slider up.

In an emergency situation you have seconds for the canopy to inflate. That problem would nor resolve itself before you reach ground level.

Ken

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So, please, explain me how a newbie can accurately know how much altitude he looses, for instance in a 270 degrees turn? What error do you expect on the estimation, knowing that an altimeter is accurate at +- 100 feet at best, and that the newbie will probably never do the same turn twice.
How is the beginner supposed to use this inaccurate information in his actual swoop training?

I use the Pro model Digitude. It reads in 10's of feet. Making turns up high and let the canopy plane out on it's own, I read the altimeter before and after the turn. Then, it's just like Chuck says, " Plan the Dive, Dive the plan."

Also staying current, and building low altitude awareness so I can eyeball 500'; 600'; 700'; and Know how long a turn I can make and return to level flight. The Samurai is trimmed w/ a negative recovery arc so I let off the front risers about 25' agl and let the canopy fly uuntil it needs a bit of rear riser and a flare.

Ken

1. Practicing riser turns up high informs the pilot how much altitude they will lose in X degrees of turn and returning to level flight.

2. No one here is recommending that after doing 2-50 practice 360 degree riser turns above 2000', a student should then attempt a 360 (or even a 45 degree) turn to final.

Swooping should be learned following a specific skill development progression. Goto a canopy pilot school, read the USPA's articles on swooping etc.

Ken

That was meant as constructive critcism.

Your profile says you have 36 jumps and an A license. You also said this was your first time connecting 3-rings to the container. It's ok, mistakes happen. You only get experience by learning from mistakes. Preferrable other people's mistakes. Most incidents are a series otherwise minor errors in judgement that together equal injury and/or fatalities.

I'm just concerned that if your instruction failed to teach you how to properly connect 3-rings, what else could go wrong?

Be safe, Blue skiesKen

A week or so ago they aired one of the "Flying Elvis" hooking into the side of a car at a Demo.

I especially like the Aussie CRW entanglement where the dude chops at 400' gets a fully inflated reseve and lands it. The pilot on the 4-stack appeared to snag the PC bridle when he released to go over the top. It got messy fast.


Ken

What exactly were you "dialing back in"? Timing the flare? Judging when/ where to turn in?

I think it's lemmings. This weekend myself and another swooper landed first and went crosswind. Excellent swoops. Everyone else followed our landing pattern even though we told them not to. Duh. Point being that sometimes people 'mimic the leader' and suddenly everyone is making the same mistakes.

c'est la vie.
Ken

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The question is what did i miss on hookup. did i have the risers twisted on themselves? or did i simply put the risers on the wrong shoulders because i didnt have the nose up during hookup.

You hooked the risers up to the wrong shoulders.

I find it disturbing that you were allowed to connect the 3-rings unsupervised, and that you were able to "pro-pack" the canopy and not consciously recognize your error. Please talk to a rigger and ask for training in packing and rigging to recognize common errors. If you have questions, even while you are packing, ask someone. If it looks wrong or you think you might have made an error, start over.

Ken

It happens. Was this DZ turning their cessna? At SKydive Iowa we can usually get on every other or every thrid load depending on how many Tandems, students, and experienced jumpers their are.

When I get really twitchy I'll ride up w/ static line students for a hop and pop. Be flexable and have fun.

Ken

If you're not doing RW competitively, just look at the different formations and vizualize the shortest route for everyone to fly from one point to the next.

As far as resources, there are several books that list nothing but formations from 3-way up to 10-way or 20-way formations. Sometimes we throw a jump together where eveyone names a point or two and that's the dive.


Ken

Indeed.

I've been reading the quaterly statements on my 401k and realize I lost nearly all the money contributed this quarter, On Paper.

But it is merely the value of the stock dropping. In 40 years I think I'll be very happy I bought stock cheaply now.

Ken

What was the dude's name? Red Bull lists all their sponsored athletes on their web site.

If that guy told me, "Mostly they stick to the top 1% in the world and in california". I'd say, "So you're a californian..."

Ken

That would depend. Lowest pull was 1300' on a hop and pop from 1700'. From a full altitude jump, I think the lowest pull was about 2000'. 8-way, all but one of us kept turning points until our 8th tracked back to the formation and got our attension.
Ken

A/B lines goto the front risers, C/D lines to the rear risers. Start with the line on the stabilizer and work your way in towards the center cell. Once you have them on the link, no lines should cross over/ over lap each other.

If you are in doubt, take it to a rigger.

Ken

Usually I think about nothing until it's time for gear check when I realize I forgot my altimeter.

Or I drink a beer
If it's a planned RW jump I'll vizualize a few times and then stare blankly out the door until the door light comes on (otter) or wonder if there are stress cracks under all the gaffers tape...



Ken

That sounds more like a blow up doll than a GF.

Generally, I guarantee a lady as much satisfaction as she wants. If she can't keep it interesting or fun for me though It'll be a good quickie and time for snuggles and a nap.

Ken

I got the smaller stainless steel grommets instead of the #8 Brass grommets on my new slider from PD. The Stainless Steel grommets do not easily slide over my mini risers and toggles. In fact it released a brake the first time I was sliding them down.

Does anyone have a good tip/ tool recommendation for removing SS grommets? 'Snap-On' diagonal cutter or use a grinder?

Or?

I am working w/ a master rigger on this. I thought you guys might have some other points of view on this. Thanks!

Ken

I think you did the right thing. Make a decision and act.

It's hard to tell from the video what was happening beyond the obvious spinning canopy for 10 seconds. It looked to me that the canopy was about to stabilize and stop spinning when you cut away.

I've spun up my Samurai once or twice from bad body position. In my experience, as long as a brake is not released, I eventually found myself under a fully inflated canopy w/ 6 or 7 line twists. It was very unsettling to watch happen. The canopy wasn't spinning further, so I checked altitude and kicked out.

My decision was based on an aesthetic feel. I don't know how a Xaos opening feels. You know the canopy and I think you made the right decision.

Ken