luis

...I noticed (2005) mentioned in the trim specs, which allegedly is the "version" number Is the "new" trim different from, say a Samurai DOM 2003 ? Just wondering if my Sam is going to fly different after the lineset is replaced some time this year...

Now, almost one year after my septoplasty, I think it was worth the pain ...well, actually it was not painfull at all and healed unbelievably fast I had the operation on Thursday, spent one night at the clinic and was back at work on Monday. Did first hop'n pop three weeks later. It is easyer to breath, I didn't have my usual sinus infections for almost a year already ...and my ears don't pop anymore But then again, as with any surgical intervention, there is some percentage of pure luck involved

Actually RWS pin is kind of on the back of of your hand when toggles are released... but I don't think it makes much difference when you are plf'ing, rolling, sliding with your hands all over the place . A metal pin is still a metal pin, and I'm still suspicious about it ...but I switched from original Mirage to RWS risers on my G3 for all the reasons mentioned in this thread, but mostly for the most secure method to stow excess break line I could find. ~300 jumps later I still feel this was a good decision. I also considered PdF risers at that time, but the toggles are just too narrow for my taste - felt kind of too easy to loose, especially with gloves. I don't think it proves anything, but we had couple of guys loosing toggles this year - both on PdF risers. One ended up with shattered femur So I vote for TruLok from RWS

size: 120 color: lemon/tangerine DOM sept 2003 ~300 jumps on it so far - loving each and all of them!

can't believe nobody mentioned that yet! .. Mine is a ProTrack beep - all three warning signals have to be careful though not to toss away the phone like a pilot chute when it rings

...and when he was coaching us at our boogie couple of weeks ago, we called him "kujas", which is a "sledgehammer" in Lithuanian . That kind of naturally ended up in calling his team mate Teppo - "priekalas" ( "the anvil") So that's "Sledgehammer and Anvil FF team" - much better then anonymous "Ettan"

It is extremely low. For sport parchuting anyways. it is indeed! But being from the same country I probably know the background. This small DZ has AN-2 and rarely (if ever) sees altitudes higher then 5000ft. As a result tracking skills (or freefall skills in general for that matter) are almost non existent as compared to the "AFF kids" from bigger DZs. ..and yes, they do demos from really low altitudes using some military gear. Speaking of gear - most of it used there can be qualified as vintage par, I'm sure we have met (I can't recognize you by that name, but I can guess ), so pls don't get me wrong, but you better have a chat with more experienced people in other DZs (and I mean experienced not in style and accuracy only ) on what not to try at 5000 feet AGL with your jump numbers. ...or next time visiting P1 ask me to take you on a track dive - although I would suggest something higher then 5000ft for that also

Yeah! I didn't know that backwards flying thing when I tried stalling my new Sam first time - quite a surprise, isn't it? And here's my reason to try stalling a new canopy: busy landing area, I'm hanging in deep brakes and waiting for the others to land...still too many people, the altitude is bleeding slowly and I am applying more and more brakes subconciously. And then bang!- my Contrail collapses It recovered so low that had to check if my pants are not wet after landing

To illustrate said above, here's my "No-shit-there-I-was" story Couple of years ago I was stupid enough to jump with very minor (so I thought) cold. Apparently my sinuses were blocked and I discovered a few hundred feet after the exit what does that mean in combination with the rapid pressure change - absolutely horrible pain in the forehead. It was getting so bad, that I was actually about to pass out, right there in the freefall! Well, understanding that it's all about the rapid change in pressure, I decided that he best idea would be to pull immediately and thus slow down the descent (oh, and those replacement Cypres cutters a worth a few jumps ) ...but then I realized that I have no idea if there's anyone above me. Any kind of barrel roll was totally out of question - the pain was so bad already that I felt having tunnel vision, so I was happy just to have a somewhat stable body position. Decided to hold it as long as I can and give a chance to the guys above me...pulled at about 5000ft - was almost blind by then Well, I learned a few lessons about opening high, exit separation, and jumping with sinusitis since then

well, that depends on how you look at it! I would expect the product to be designed/manufactured "foolproof" enough, so that it would be virtually impossible to trap any wires anywhere. Especially replacing the batteries I had Vigil in my hands only for a few moments and my first impression on general workmanship is quite good...hopefully good enough for all of us to have a Cypres alternative

got my Sam120 in September last year. Absolutely love it! I can't say that having it made by PD was a decisive factor for me - having it designed by Brian definitely was . Anyway, knowing that PD manufacturing quality control is behind was a good thing to know making the first jump on it (by the way I ended up with 6 or so line twists which I managed to kick out off. Maybe my lazy body position is to blame - it never happened after and all the openings are amazingly on heading now). One thing I didn't quite like is the "PD-style" slider. Or actually rather small SS grommets (hard to pull the slider down the risers) and really microscopic tabs on slider collapse strings - difficult to grab wearing gloves in cold weather). ..oh by the way, I always wanted to ask - why the combination of Spectra/Vectran? OK, I know it's nice to have the break lines that don't shrink, but I mean, why not the whole Vectran line set?

Had one and managed to clear, even if was spinning quite fast ... Not something I would recommend nor try to do again myself, but at that time (~150 jumps, Contrail150, loaded 1.2) I thought I can handle this. Plenty of altitude (opened high due to bad spot) and first it was not spinning too fast...a second later things got a lot worse - it was really difficult to grab the toggles, the spin got so violent. I unstowed the brakes and in one movement pulled them down slowly, almost collapsing the canopy.... well, this somehow cleared the lineover! Anyway, I would still recommend a reserve ride instead

Ditto that! I tried both Stiletto and Vengeance and ended up buying a Samurai Now, about a month later after first jump on it, I am sure this was a very good choice. A few friends who tried it were totally impressed also

As far as I know, Viper is still marketed as Contrail in Europe by German company Performance Variable (I'm flying a Contrail150 myself ) If this is really so, then you can get the line specs from here: http://www.performance-variable.de/EN/10_Download/pdf/Contrail_Manual_EN.pdf

Being from the same DZ and knowing you both ... I would say get a Spectre170 for her - it will have better resale value if not anything else

...sounds like riding a hurricane I did a cross country in 0 winds on Contrail150, covered 7km distance from 3.6km altitude. The horizontal speed with brakes set - 38km/h, full glide - 53km/h ... and after 90deg toggle turn on landing - 73km/h. That's according to my Garmin GPS12

Hmmm... I'm from Lithuania and have never heard anything like that happening. Didin't see the footage either so I can't comment if it was in Lithuania or did they just pick up whatever far-away-country name. ...as for the safety standards and students jumping with cameras...come on, you can't be serious asking that! Well, not in my dropzone anyway

I am jumping a Contrail 150 (loaded at 1.2) too. Must agree with everything you said about it. Sweeeeeet and soft openings, in fact I even had to adjust packing style to make open a bit faster. Massive flare and soft toggles. Some oversteer, but I got used to it now. On the other hand I made a transition to it way too early, - had a few jumps on Spectre150 and Hornet150 and didn't expect Contrail to be THAT different...but the first landing scared the crap out of me - after all it is eliptical and was quite fast for my experience.

Actually you don't have to be Finn to understand some Finnish (though it helps ) - sometimes it's enough to live somewhere close, work for a Finnish company and make that company pay for your Finnish lessons . OK, it didn't work too well - my vocabulary is still limited to all sorts of 'perkele', 'paska', 'vittu' etc... Obviously one jump at Malmi DZ this summer was not enough

Isn't it still sold as "Contrail" by Performance Variable in Europe?

...Hmmm.. 'Snus' in swedish or 'Nuuska' in Finnish - I used it for 5 years. Really heavy stuff and takes quite an effort to quit. But now I'm 'clean' for two years already! BTW, I never smoked in my life...so technically no "regular over-the-counter tobacco" for me!