Sentryforc

Yall, I have a question about small reserves. Right now I have a PD143 and and I am entertaining the idea of going to a smaller rig when I downsize which would have a smaller reserve. The question I have is: How can an F111 113sqft parachute be big enough to land someone safely? I thought that you could only fly safely on ZP with a canopy that small. Can somone who is fairly big like me and had a ride on a PD113 share with me what that experience was like? Sparky

hey, Im getting a camera, not so much for skydiving right now but for everything (ie videotaping drunken antics etc). I am thinking about getting a PC101. I want to fly it eventually. Does anyone think its worth it to get a IP7 if I wont be skydiving with it for a while, ya know, so there is time for the software to come out? Where is the best place to buy a camer? P

Listo, You have good points and I certainly wouldnt pass up a chance to learn from your experiences. I have a few thoughts though. 1. Stiletto. From the way people talked to me about the Stiletto, I thought that I would be fighting all the way to keep it from spontaneously hooking. They made is sound like I would have no control. I was very suprised to find that it was actually easier to control that my old Sabre. Yes, it was extremely responsive but I felt like I had much more control from the very first jump. 2. Front Risers. When using the toggles on my Stiletto, I noticed a rapid altitude loss compared to my Sabre. It was actually a little scary when I made a course adjustment with my toggles on final-a move that would have been no problem on my Sabre. IMHO, front risers are a more predictable method for making the final turn because I can adjust my decent rate during the turn and have a more reliable perception of where I will be when I finish the turn. Im not speaking of hook turns but shallow front risers turns. I realize that this is the opinion of someone with 130 jumps but these are just my observations based on about 70 jumps with a stiletto now. It used to be that students were put on round canopies and need to make a certain number of jumps before going to a square. Now students are put on squares and some DZ's I have heard of put students on Sabres. I guess the real test of whether I was ready to downsize will come when I have to sink into someones backyard. Maybe someday students will get put on elipticals.

Ive got a question. I admittedly downsized too quickly, so what should I do about it? First, I have about 120 jumps and I jump a Stiletto 150. That may sound bad but I started jumping it at around jump 65. I weigh 180. I started out on a Sabre 190 and no, I wasnt hooking it or anything, but I got bored on it. I had gotten the hang of front riser dive approaches and I wanted a canopy that flew faster and turned faster. First off, for all of you who are just waiting to flame me. I realize that I dont know anything about canopy flight at 120 jumps. So to save about 50 of you emailing me, I realize that none of my beliefs on canopy stuff has any value. But the purpose of this is not to say anything but to ask some questions. I went to a Stiletto 150 for two reasons. The first was I wanted to jump a J1 container because its the smallest I thought I could handle and come out unscathed and small containers look cool. In addition to looking cool, a small container makes freefall a little better because you dont have a really cumbersome rig which is what I thought of the 190. The second is that I did not want to get bored in another 20 jumps with a Sabre 170 and end up spending money to get a new rig. So, in the interest of getting a canopy that I could jump for a while and stay entertained, I got a Stiletto 150. I didnt go strait to the 150. I jumped a Sabre 170 twice and a triathalon 170 about 15 times. At this point, I am confident in my ability to control the Stiletto in a normal approach; I realize that I dont really know it until Ive done some more landings with it but Ive used it crosswind, downwind, heavy winds and I feel I have the ability fly it without any danger to myself or others. I aint gonna lie, when I first jumped the Stiletto it scared the shit out of me and I was in a little bit over my head but due to some helpful advice and a little bit of luck, I made . . . so far. So, I still get the occasional "youre gonna die" talk from old timers when I tell them I am jumping a Stiletto 150. My big question is, What the hell do you expect me to do? Should I sell my rig and go back to jumping an enormous J4 and a Sabre 190? No amount of "talking to's" could get me to do that. I go out to the DZ and see the same people who have 100's of fun jumps come in and eat shit on their spectre 170 that want to tell me Im gonna die on my Stiletto. So, here is what I have decided, and I would apreciate constructive comments on it. After evaluating my recent canopy flight, Ive decided that I need to go back to the basics. Ive been regularly using a moderate 90 degree front riser approach into landing and played with a few 180 snap turns here and there too when I thought my altitude was right(and so far I have been right). So, sitting back and thinking rationally, I know Im gonna get hurt bad if I dont back off a little bit. At the same time I want to begin learning aggressive canopy flight. So, the first thing I am going to do is master the double front riser approach which I havent nearly done yet. Once I can nearly plane my canopy out with it, then go to 45 deg and then 90 deg turns. So, what does everyone have to say about this?