deathtrap

Sysop, You never did answer though. Do you work for the company or just a raging advocate for their products. Just want to know if I can come to you when I want to try and buy, if you are an official representative for the company. thanks

Fair enough.......thanks for your answer, medium pimping.....check.

I'm just curious....... Do you work for the company? It appears so when you say that "WE are ready to propose you a special wing for this new and rapid upcoming sport and the kind of active rest" Your post looks a lot like advertising for the products. I thought advertising products was forbidden in the forums and I have seen moderators jump in quickly because of that. I'm really surprised they're letting you do it. hmmmm.. I've done a little speed flying myself and the minimal air intake on the nose looks like it would make it pretty difficult to kite up in low winds. just my observations, where are you moderators, I've been jumped on way too many times, not fair!

Nice spin, eh? So Jim "cut" Kevin a month after he quit the team? Yeeaaaaahhhhhh

Absolutely! Refusing to pack a rig is not the same as grounding a rig. Tell the customer the reasons you don't want to pack it, and now that they're informed that there might be something unsafe with it, let them find someone else to pack it, and/or start saving for a new piece of equipment.

I'm talking GEAR. Everyone in this thread seems to be hung up on reserve parachutes, and I agree that grounding stuff based on age alone is a "lowest common denominator" solution. However, when it comes to other parts of the SYSTEM, such as the HARNESS, how can you ensure that the webbing and THREAD are structurally sound without doing destructive testing? It's no secret that some rigs see as much wear, tear and exposure in one year of jumping as many rigs see in 20+ years. We don't have reserve parachutes blowing up left and right, and we don't have jumpers breaking harnesses left and right, either. So for the most part, I would say the system as it's in use, is not broken. BUT there are an increasing number of riggers that don't want to make a judgement call, and want to defer everything back to the manufacturers. If this keeps happening, manufacturers will implement rules and guidelines to keep themselves out of court and there will be lots of jumpers left holding perfectly airworthy gear that's not legal to jump. So riggers, EXCERCISE THE PRIVILEDGES THAT YOUR TICKET GIVES YOU

I don't see any manufacturers in here selling fear, there are plenty of skydivers and riggers that do that juuust fine. But when you come up with an accurate, non destructive way to test for UV degredation, be sure to share it with the group, OK?

Hi Jeff, I'd like to build a Mirage

Hi Jeff, I'd like to build a Mirage

Have you ever seen a main that has several hundred jumps on it, where the center cell top skin trailing edge is discolored heavilly? All of that is due to a sweaty arm being run up the skin to squeeze the air out. I know PD has patched MANY canopies in that area, and not just due to the little holes that often pop up from the grommets pinching the fabric. Generally, the other cells are just fine.

I've been trying to wrap my head around this concept, but maybe you can explain it a little better. How exactly does compressing a packjob (generally from outside a bag or container) stretch the canopy fabric? I always thought the majority of fabric wear from packing came from the salt and oils transferred from the packer's skin/sweat.

Too Bad for Team X and swooping. Kevin was the most experienced active competitor on the team and a great guy. What canopy will he be flying for the speed flying stuff? Any ideas what the future of Team X is?

I heard that Kevin quit Team X does anyone know anything? Was this an internal conflict? Broken Promises from Jim? Is he going back to a Velo? So is it only Jessica, and Nick left on the team right?

sounds like a pretty bad idea, there is a lot more going on with a line set then just the length, where the cascades are located will also effect how the canopy will (or won't) fly. I'm sure you could get some sketchy rigger to do this for you, it might even work, but it's playing with fire if you don't fully understand what's going on. this reminds me of a quote I heard once about building pilot chutes "if you don't fully understand why and how they work, you better copy them Exactly"

You may want to check your facts before posting... The Pilot is a Hybrid canopy, F-111 ribs, nothing wrong with hybrid canopies though, as long as the F-111 isn't on the top skin.

All this talk about removable sliders sparked my curiousity so I started doing some research and came across this website. Anybody have any experience with this one?

Dude, Lets face it there are opinions and there are facts, a lot of people feel like their opinion is fact because of some personal experience. My advice to you when a bunch of people say your wrong about something, don't take it to personal, (most everyone you'll meet on here is not so abrasive in person, they are just really trying to help people) but, consider the idea that maybe your opinion based on experience is flawed in some way. Seriously, don't take it to personal, but anytime you post a "opinion" in a public forum be prepared for this kind of attack. One day, you will realize how much you didn't know, back when you made this post, then you'll run into someone just like you were, and you'll be telling them the same thing everyone here is now telling you, it happens to all of us at some point

None of that stuff represents myself. I left my acct logged in and some people thought it would be funny to make an ass out of me online. Now you can bet everyone thinks less of them. Oh, on the bright side they now owe lots of beer! Sorry for their crap. Lesson learned... LOG OUT!

Good for you that you have so many jumps on that canopy so you know that they are 2 different canopies, is like comparing the Katana to a Velocity, or the Stiletto to a Katana. they are different wing designs. All depend on the Wing loading to.A Sabre 2 is more predictable to stall than the Pilot.

Bushman, I just lost all respect for you. Long time ago when you were working for the marketing department at Performance Designs, you said that hybrid canopies were a good idea, by putting ZP on the top skin you get longer lasting canopies, because the ZP is stronger. The Sabre2 and the pilot are 2 different canopies. Sabre 2 has a steeper glide ratio which makes the wing more stable and you have a wider range of flight characteristics, while the Pilot is a really flat canopy. I have not much experience but if my control range goes from my ears to the middle of my chest then I will take a Sabre 2 where I have a longer control range and the canopy doesn't stall rapidly like the pilot. Getting back to hybrid canopies, your A2 is Hybrid that you copied from the PD/RWS EZ 384 that is a canopy that gets jumped a lot by most DZs because it is easy to pack and it lasts longer. the Navigator, another hybrid canopy (you know all this you worked at PD) its a great canopy, same characteristics as the EZ384 in packing and life. So the actual question should be made to the DZ operators, the people that buy the canopies for a business. Bushman, nothing personal, but don't backstab people, you worked for PD so you know more than most people do about materials.

Why are you guys on the forth line set for this canopy?

Competition is great, I didn't know they were even working on this let alone attained a TSO certification for this new reserve.

I don't think anyone here is going to tell you thats a good way to progress in canopy piloting, that is a big jump. You might make it, but without a profile everyone will tell you it's a bad idea and they are probably right.

Quote*** Quote The HMA we use is UV resistant... Quote I am glad you posted that. The Technora that they use is NOT UV resistant as they state.Quote From what I know about HMA there is one (maybe more) place(s) that makes the actual thread and quite a few that braid it and coat it, don't you think it's possible PD gets it from someplace other then your supplier? I would think the safe bet would be on PD not lying about their products. On a side note, I'm sure that colored line has caused other problems... I would bet there is a reason PD doesn't use it... Just my thoughts anyway, not trying to cause any trouble...

only on a small few made by precision. I don't buy that, I would bet any amount of money that was the Icarus way of solving the problem, blame somebody else.... Precision was just putting the canopies together not designing them...