pringles

Well it finally happened. I made my first solo last night. Everything went perfect. There was even an eclipse of the moon last night. I originally had another jumper going along on this jump with me but he got a little to drunk to jump and then passed out. The main objective of this post is to show you what happens if you get to drunk, skip out on the jump, and then pass out. Here is what my wife and friends had in store for White Ed. I'm not sure if this is as bad as a tar and feathering or not. http://www.geocities.com/edstraub2000/ Matt Matt Davies

What is your height and weight? What size canopy are you looking to get? What is your expirence level? Matt Davies

I have seen Sublime mentioned a few times. I haven't seen Long beach dub allstars mentioned though. They are the band that used to be sublime before sublimes lead singer died. They have some good stuff. They have two CD's out. Matt Davies

I got a chance to jump my mojo this weekend at the Dz to start dialing in my DBS. Anyways for my set up I put on a sail slider and bagged the canopy. I made my mark on the lines. Then I would pull my toggles down so that my mark was at the guide rig. I would hold it there for a good 30 sec and it would fly with minimal forward speed. Then I would pull down a little further 1.5 - 2.0 inches and then the canopy would start to stall. My plan was to put in a break setting using the mark as the top of my setting. Then I planned on jumping the canopy again. Once under canopy I would stow the breaks in the new setting and see how the rear risers would fly. I don't have any nice objects to jump like that legal span in the north west to dial it in. Do you think it would be advisable to go ahead and use this setting off my local A. Or should I wait until bridge day to check it out and continue to use my factory settings until then? Also I was wondering about for slider up. Now that I would have a deep break setting that was around 4-5 inches deeper ( I haven't measured it yet) could I start using my factory deep break setting for slider up or should I continue to use the shallow setting? I am planning on driving strait from bridge day to Moab so I would like to get this dialed in before then. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Matt Davies Kalamazoobase@yahoo.com Matt Davies

I heard that there was a vigil fire recently. Perhaps someone on a french team... Are there any details or is this just a nasty rumor??? I am curious as to how long before they are done with the Beta testing. Matt Davies

The way that the bulletin reads to me is that if the pin deviates .005 or more it is to be considered bad (please correct me if I am mistaken). I work in a machine shop and I know damn well that .005 is not a visual inspection. You would need an optical comparator or something better than your eye for this. I would agree with an earlier comment that capewell is looking to pass the buck with this testing. Matt Matt Davies

I will start out with why I am writting this. I got a phone call this morning from a jumper that I know. I have been told in the past that once or twice a year he will organize some jumping at an airport that isn't regularly a DZ. He has a friend that is a jump pilot with a Cessna set up for jumping. I have even jumped out of this plane at my home drop zone. When I got this call this morning I was asked to bring my Tandem gear on sunday to this airport to do some tandems that he has set up. He claims that the pilot has a waiver and so does he. I haven't seen these waivers. I am planning on bringing the gear manufacture waiver. I feel like I should bring a waiver for myself also. What does everyone think?!? As far as a waiver for myself. Would it be ok to get a waiver from my home DZ and change the drop zone name to mine? Maybe this is a stupid question but I just don't want to get there and have the wiaver that they have written out by hand on a napkin or somthing. Im sure thats not the case, but you can never be to sure. Thanks everyone for your input. Matt Matt Davies

Those numbers look perfect to me. Good luck to all of us. Matt Davies

I just ran across this on ebay. Read the discription. I laughed my ass off. The bad thing is something like this could get in the wrong hands. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3606192797&category=310 I hope I posted that link right. If not hopefully someone will fix it. I just don't get this clicky thing. Matt Matt Davies

At the dz that I Jm at they just started using zip ties instead of velcro on the pilot chute assist (on the static line). I asked the owner about this new method that we are using. I thought that maybe it was a new method being used and that they were buying these zip ties from para-gear for example. They are using regular zip ties from the hardware store. Apparently they have a test strength on the outside of the package. They are using 18 lb zip ties and doubling them. They pull tested them quite a bit before starting jumping them. The owner claimed that when doubling them up they break consistently around 36 lbs. He told me that there were other test strengths also. Has anyone ever experimented with zip ties? I don't know why they wouldn't work (I have seen electrical tape, grocery bags and fishing line). Matt Matt Davies

I don't think that the type 8 is an option if you got chest rings though. I could be wrong. matt Matt Davies

If you are looking for a Hornet you may want to call American Skydiving systems. 1-800-769-6064 Ask for J Michael. I was just on the phone with them the other day and I think they still have some hornets around. Tell him I sent you. Matt Davies M+M Skydiving Gear LLC Matt Davies

I have seen video of a tandem Hy-brid. It was pretty hot video. I don't know the situation though. All the jumpers involved may have been expirenced for all I know. Basicly the tandem was flying with the drouge out and the freeflyer was in a stand holding onto the passengers chest strap. Matt Matt Davies

I didn't see this post before it was edited, but shouldn't the title of the post be edtited also???? Matt Matt Davies

I have also used this method. One reason I started using it was because it seems to pack faster this way for me. It isn't that much faster but it shaves some time off the pack job. Matt Davies

Tom, I am wondering if you have jumped the Troll MDV. what are your thoughts on opening characteristics. Do you think that Atair has addressed the concerns you had with the opening characteristics you had in the past? I would like to hear your thoughts. Would you only recommend the valved canopy or are they both just as good now. matt Matt Davies

When I do a PCA I like to take the bridal and "S" fold it about three or four times in my left hand about 3.5' from the shrivel flap. When I am holding the "S" folds the bridal enters and exits from the bottom of my fist. Doing it this way keeps you from getting it wrapped around fingers and such. Then I hold the pilot chute in my right hand at the apex. As the jumper is doing his/her count down I hold both of my hands out in front of me around shoulder level. Then as the jumper exits, the bridal that I have "S" folded in my left hand actually opens the container and gets the canopy to line streach. Once I feel the canopy get to line streach I simply let go. If you don't let go at that point with your left hand you will get your fore arm or hand slammed into the rail or anything else in its way. Once I let go of the bridal with my left hand I let the pilot chute get jerked out of my other hand. Using this method I have never had any of the problems you mentioned in your post. Also a reminder... You should always do a good inspection of your gear especially bridal attachment points and pilot chute when doing static lines and pca's. There can be some extra stress being put on your gear during these types of jumps. But as usual Base jumping can cause serious injury or death. Your results may vary. matt Matt Davies

I think that jumpers are jumping in higher winds than they should because that is what they are taught to do from the start. A couple of years ago I was visiting a DZ on a very windy and turbulant day. Well after my first jump and one of my friends that was with me hurt his hand on landing we called it a day. In fact I would say about half of the expirenced jumpers were calling it a day also. The funny thing was that the DZO was pushing for more loads. He had noticed that I jumped camera and asked me to do a tandem video. I told him no because I wasn't going to jump in those winds. I think it kinda pissed him off. Too bad... I wasn't going to jump in those winds. The funny thing was that he was sending up students that didn't even know any better. That kinda pisses me off. Well anyways that is why I say that is what they are taught from the start. Its Dzo's like this that are too money hungry that make the sport what it is today. Its to bad there isn't a rating for being a DZO. Maybe then some of this non sense would stop. Matt Matt Davies

Like Sangiro says, you may have to be a bit creative to capture the pictures. With the program snag-it you can be creative. Go to this web site and you can get some info on the program. Its pretty easy though all you do is call up snag-it and then you outline what you want and then capture it. www.techsmith.com Hope this helps you out. Matt Matt Davies

I like the idea of the club membership which in turn gets you cheaper rates. I jump at a 3 cessna DZ. I think this would be the only way to get discouts ar our type of DZ. I say that because we jump from all different altitudes depending on the weather. I don't see how we could work out a block of jump tickets since jumps to diffent altitudes are different prices. Does anyone have suggestions?? Matt Matt Davies

I won't comment on what size canopy you should get. I will comment on the type though. I love PD canopies. I however wouldn't want to pack a PD canopy in the size range you are looking at. I would say that if you can still get your hands on a Hornet or something made by Pisa it would be much easier to pack when starting out. I think that the Zp they use is even a bit easier to pack than that Triatholon you jump. I know people say its the same fabric. I think that it is only similar. I used to own a Triatholon and I have packed many hornets, vipers and heat waves. Im sure there is a difference. I hope this helps, and congratulations on your first rig. Matt Matt Davies

From what I see it doesn't seem to be a big deviation from what you originally ordered. I will tell you a story about what happened to me. I ordered a new jumpsuit. I paid almost $400 for it. I had designed the pattern for this jump suit, it wasn't a stock design that the manufacture made. After waiting months for my new jump suit I got it. In the wrong colors! They used green instead of blue. I called them up and they worked it out. They had me send the suit back and sent me one with the right colors. The next year at Quincy I saw someone wearing the jump suit I sent back ( I know it was the jump suit I sent back because it was the design I had made up). So I guess the moral of the story is if its not what you wanted and don't like it then send it back. They aren't going to loose any money on the deal because they can turn around and sell it to someone else that wants it. I hope this helps you make your decision. Matt Matt Davies

We have a rigger that loves to talk. He sounds just like your rigger, very meticulous, while he isn't talking. If this rigger is working on my gear and I see someone talking to him I try not to be rude and get his focus back to my gear. People should learn that rigging is very tedious work and conversation should be kept to a minimum. You would be surprised what kind of things can be missed when there are distractions. I have even seen where a rigger being distracted forgot to route the closing loop through the Cypres cutter. Another example is the latest base fatality. Speculation is that at some point this jumper while attaching the bridle to the canopy became distracted. In turn only passed the bridle through the attachment point never completing the larks head. I guess my point is that rigging work takes more attention than just packing your own main. Riggers not only assemble rigs and pack reserves they do it on all different variations (Javelin, mirage, vector, I think you get the picture). All these different rigs have different ways to route bridles etc. So the less distractions the better. Matt Matt Davies

One of my friends has an nvertigo and his dial that tightens the helmet on the back broke shortly after he bought it. I myself have a bonehead camera helmet and a Hawkeye camera helmet. I like the bonehead much more. I just like the snug fit of the bone head. The hawkeye is tight to put on but once it is on it fits a bit loose which makes me feel a little uncomfortable while flying camera. Since the bonehead is carbon fiber you can put it in the oven and then mold it to your head. So if I were you I would get a bone head or that cookie helmet. I hope this helps. Matt Matt Davies

Some people may think that this goes with out saying, but I will say it anyway. I am not familiar with the tear drop rig that you are jumping but if it comes with an RSL, unhook it or have it removed at your next repack. No matter how snag proof you think your camera set up is, lines will find something to snag if they want. You just don't want to cut away with an RSL and have it fire your reserve off into the canopy thats trailing from your head. Also you need to stay very current with your emergency procedures. One last note. Non-jumpers don't want to see all of your video. So don't take it home and show it to your friends every time they stop by. Although my old room-mate and I would pull out our camera's and start playing video if someone had over stayed their welcome. You would be surprised how fast they would leave. Have Fun! Matt Matt Davies