paulagc

Thanks for the input. Most of the Racers that I see have their ripcord housing tacked right at the base. They can be screwed downward to remove a Cypres, but have no room to move up. I guess here's a good reason to tack them higher. As far as the tacking, I only put in one stich and will do a complete job tacking the housing at the next repack. I put a metal packing paddle between the container material and everything else. When I was done, it's close enough to the opening at the top to stick a couple of fingers in to check.

Okay, we're really pushing our jumpers to get the Capewell SB done quickly and I was up last night testing rigs until 1:00am. Our DZ has lots of Racers. I read all the posts about the testing before this weekend, and I read that other riggers were saying the Racers had to have test 2 because of the ripcord housing that covers the top of the top pin. Trying to save the hassle of reopening all of the containers, I just did one (mine), cutting the tacking on the ripcord housing of a spit housing and pushed it up. This allowed me access to the top pin. Of course, I had to tack it back with the reserve in, and I used a packing paddle between the container material and the reserve and great care. Does anyone see any problems with doing it this way?

I had a hawk attack my pilot chute once.

Definitely, sell your car. There is something about this sport that changes all of your priorities. When I started, I was in college, trying to pay everything myself, and had no money. That didn't stop me from getting on every load and buying a rig. I cashed in a small life insurance policy that my parents had bought me (didn't cover skydiving deaths, anyway), begged for an increased student loan for "transportation" purposes, and packed parachutes. While I may still be paying off the student loan and credit cards for the next twenty years, I wouldn't trade the great life and experiences that I have for anything.

On the list of my most fun jumps was out of Mullins' at Quincy a few years back. It was a bad weather, low ceiling day. We were getting 2000ish. I didn't have time to even put my seatbelt on and lean back, and he was already calling "EXIT...EXIT...EXIT".

I would really like to upsize on my next reserve. My current reserve loading is about 1.3. The landings on an F-111, 7-cell that I have little experience flying stink while I'm awake and flaring, so I'm sure it'd be really terrible if I wasn't.

Good point. I used to think how dumb, who could really not hook up their chest strap. Until one day in the plane as part of my gear check, I find that it's not throught the friction adaptor, just the elastic keeper. Now, I pulling on my check strap (not just looking at it) a REAL important part of my gear check. But, in response to your poll, I actually untread my leg straps to put my rig on. It just seems easier. I know it's pretty rare and people at my DZ make fun of it.

Val...Paula here. I like my swoop cords, and there are times that they come in handy, as you know. If you have some extra room in the underarm area, Ward's got a good mod that he's done on several suits for people that want swoops but didn't have them. Visit us some weekend and we can do it.

I really enjoy night jumps, but I usually use a different canopy. Your normal canopy with a higher wing loading is fine, IF you are going to land where the lights are and thus have some depth perception. However, several years ago I was on a night jump at the Richmond boogie and there was no moon that night. They were supposed to have lights in the landing area. But, we were the first group out and they hadn't gotten the lights there yet. I flared when my feet hit. Not good. One of the guys in our group broke his leg, and two of the others (me included) were limping the next day. From then on, I use my demo canopy -- a PD 253 -- which I could land nicely in half brakes in case I ever find myself in a no light situation again, whether it's due to a poor spot, changing wind conditions, or anything else.

I did a tandem as my first jump, then another on about 997. The 997th was probably as scary as the 1st. I had just bought a new tandem rig, and having never done tandems at our little dz, I wanted to try it out. It was freaky getting on the plane without a rig. I ws nervous and felt like a student again. The TM was a friend and someone I trusted, but I'm sure I drove him crazy. I was ordering him to hook me up immediately, and he refused. He had to tell me to sit back down and stop checking if my harness was tight enough. I tried to get him not to unhook anything under canopy. We argued about when to turn in for final. I'm sure no one will ever want me as a tandem passenger again.

Well, I like the Mirage because it's got an incredibly strong spring on the reserve p/c---stronger than many other rigs. That thing's going to have a great launch even in bad conditions. I like the Racer because there're no flaps impeding the launch of the p/c. However, the reality is that the testing shows that most reserve opening times are very similar, some of the comfort of these factors may just be in my mind.

Philip, We'll be in Mississippi in July, but, :(, we're running a little dz now, so we can only be gone Mon-Fri, and as far as I know, you're only open on the weekends. But, I'm really looking forward to being back around Christmas when the weather's nasty in Indiana. Blue Skies!

Philip, It's Paula again. I just read your profile and saw that you jump at Moss Point. I dearly love that dz, since I made my first jump there. Mike Igo used to have a 16 year age limit, but I'm not sure it that's still the case.

Doesn't the Javelin have the webbing folded over, so it's actually double thickness? If I'm remembering correctly, it's actually like your 2" chest strap, doubled over. So, it should have the same strength.

Skydivng is so all-consuming for me, that this wasn't really a choice at all. I came home one night to finance #1 and he actually said..."you've got to pick, me or skydiving". (I suppose the fact that I'd left Friday morning and it was now Sunday night might have been a problem, but hey, the dz was 2 hours away). Once finance #1 was quickly gone, I decided that there was no way I could be with someone who didn't have the same love for the sport. Then I found finance #2, now husband #1, who is as crazy about the skydiving as me, and five years later life is still great.

Legally, there is no minimum age requirement anymore. The last FAR revision took out the 16 year limit. USPA's rules, that most DZs agree to follow, specify that the legal age of majority (18 in most states, 21 in a couple) for tandem, and 16 for solo. Realistically, DZOs have to worry about being sued. Unless a person is of the age of majority, they can't sign a contract (the liability waiver) period. No number of parents, relatives, etc. can sign away that person's right to sue. So, a DZO has to weight the risk of letter someone jump without a waiver vs. the added income that letting that person jump brings in. Some let 16 year olds jump, most don't.

My first 500 jumps were with a pullout, and my last 500 were with a throw out. I switched solely for the reason that grabbing the "banana-style" pud on my Racer was hard to do with cold hands and gloves in the winter.

As far as a higher-performance elliptical, I had a knock-out Sabre opening at Quincy at about 750 jumps. I took a poll about the slowest opening canopies (excluding PD because I was pissed about the Sabre). I then made a production about taking my bleeding body to the Icarus tent, cutting away my Sabre, and demoing (is that a word?) and buying a Crossfire. I love it. Of course, this stunt didn't put me in a good bargaining position. On 99% of all jumps, a lower experienced person under a moderate elliptical - Stilleto, Crossfire, that sort of thing, would be fine and they would love the canopy. But, the lower experience level could get them into trouble in a last-minute situation. I've watched my 20-300 or more jump newer skydivers make wrong decisions when faced with a last-minute problem, like doing a 180 at 50 feet because they were nearing an obstacle or off the wind-line. Because of what they were jumping, I watched these skydivers get up, brush off their rig, and only have a bruise to show for it. However, if they had been under an elliptical, it would have been a 911 call. Staying away from a fully ellipital until you can consistantly make good, last minute decisions about landing, even under bad conditions, gives you room to make mistakes. As soon as you buy a canopy that dives at the ground when you turn, you'd better not ever be in a position to make those mistakes, or be willing to live (maybe) with the consequences.

My student rigs have clear flaps and next time they break, I'm replacing them with normal material. They crack all the time and I'm always on my JMs not to lay the rigs on the back b/c of wear and tear on the plastic. If there was such a thing as a material that was see-through, flexible, but durable as Cordura, I'd use it in a minute, but I don't think it exists.

I had the same problem with the slider on my Icarus Crossfire. I fingertrapped a line connecting both tabs to make a continuous loop, and now I just have to reach up easily and grab the loop. I've put 500 jumps on it this way with no problems. A thick line continuous loop seems to me to have less chance of causing any opening problems then the long tabs sticking out. But, I'm open for criticism...this may be a bad idea and I just don't know it. It's cheap, too.

I'm speaking only of Racers now. I got my rigger's ticket this year and work at a DZ full of Racers, and in fact jump one myself. I've done many Racer repacks. However, I need a new rig and I'm now in the process of debating the pros and cons of another Racer pop top or something else in my mind. Prior to packing the reserves, I would have picked a Racer in a minute. I love the reserve pins not being exposed and I love the idea of no flaps in the way of the pilot chute launch (even though the reseach says it makes no difference in the launch time). But, to do a Racer repack, and make it look good, you've usually got to poke and prod and smash the canopy AFTER you've done a nice pack job and put it in the bag. I'd really rather have to do nothing to a nice pack job after I put it in the bag. While I guess the poking and smashing (technical rigging terms) haven't really ever caused any problems, it just makes me a little less comfortable with the pack job, kind of like the feeling of having pins of the outside.

Thanks for some of the suggestions so far. What I mean is something for the person to wear. What I'd like is something that is inflated, or can be inflated, while wearing a harness. We will have boats to pick up the jumpers, but if it takes longer than expected, I would like for them to be able to use their floatation device, without having to take off their gear and risk loosing anything. This is going to be intentional water jumps. I'd also like them to be reusable, and preferable not terribly expensive, since I'd like to supply them. But, this may be asking too much. Thanks again for any input.

I'm setting up water jumps at my dz. I'd like to buy some floatation gear and make it available to my jumpers, but I need some advice on what type works best/is the easiest. We'll be jumping into a medium-sized lake with many boats available. Thanks for any help you can give me.

jose-- I think you're doing great so far in your new canopy search. I run a small dz and work with newer jumpers a lot on gear selection. Either the Sabre2 or the Safire are my current recommendations for my folks in your jump number range. But, don't let anyone talk you into a higher wing loading than you already have. If you're comfortable with your current wing loading, stay there for now and really learn your new canopy, without reducing your margin for error and scaring yourself. At about 1.2 now, it'll be fun, fast and get you back on windy days, but reduce your risk of breaking something, or worse. I jump an Icarus Crossfire now, and have jumped a Sabre1, Sabre2 and Safire. Icarus seems to always try to sell people on something smaller...but ignore it now. Not to start a Sabre debate, but I understand wanting a new canopy. My Sabre1 was nicknamed "Hellraiser" for the openings. You'll find the openings on either a Sabre2 or Safire much softer, the turns zippier, and the flare better. Borrow/demo both if you can in the 150/149 range. Either is appropriate, so pick the one that you like better, or the one that you can get a better deal on.