Mark4

Great poll! I'm going to have to chip in with my thoughts as this one is such a dilemma for me. The statistics tell me that having the RSL is a good idea. I think it's much more likely to save my life than kill me. After chopping a violent spinning main, deploying the reserve ASAP is the smart move even if it means some line twists. However I can't bring myself to connect my RSL. Some dumb part of me doesn't want to give up the illusion of control. Oh well I guess if I was smart I wouldn't be skydiving in the first place

Are you sure a Hurricane was suggested? This is a fully elliptical canopy in the Stiletto class requiring a minimum of several hundred jumps experience. http://www.dropzone.com/gear/Detailed/432.html Buying from your home DZ is great but you just need to be sure the advice you are getting is impartial. I'm not suggesting it isn't but if you think there might be vested interests then it's worth speaking with some of the independent gear dealers.... there are several around on this forum! If you haven't done so already, have a read of Lisa's great article http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=45 Between the two canopies you mention the Sabre 2 is the more sensible choice although bear in mind you would be loading it at what PD reckon is a intermediate to advanced level. http://www.performancedesigns.com/sabre2.asp Edited to fix URLs doh!

Wishing you guys good luck Vicky... and of course all the other Brits. Lets hope the Brit teams can repeat last year's success. No pressure or anything

Thanks, I have no experience with tandem gear, but sounds like this is not unique to the mini-force risers. Also interesting that if it did open in this configuration it would probably break... I hadn't thought of that. However I think I'll now stick with the risers designed for the rig.

No I didn't actually measure them but side by side they were visably different. I'll measure this weekend and report back.

It this another potential compatibility issue? I was using miniforce risers on my Vortex II but I have just taken them off. During packing one of the risers turned over and in this configuration the riser would not release (see pics below). Now could this happen in the air? I think unlikely but in a sport where 'shit happens', I'm not going to take the risk. Possibly a diving opening could unload the riser enough for this to occur. I tried to replicate this with a standard round ring. It was much more difficult to turn over the riser due to the shorter distance between the rings and even if you do the rings still release in this position. I compared my Vortex II (and my Odyssey) to my friend's I_con and I noticed the inside diameter of the large ring on the I_con is greater than on both the Vortex II and Odyssey. In other words Aerodyne appear to have made the big ring bigger. I'm curious to what some of you riggers think. I have yet had a chance to discuss it with my locals. Edited due to the word I_con disappearing hence the _ in it now!!

I called l&b last week and they are waiting for the lcd screens. They had no definite eta at that time and were estimating 'about a month' but pointing out that this was not in their control. Although I love my protrack, I have finally given up waiting for the Viso and I have bought a Neptune.

My guess is you end up turning in the direction you are trying to slide. This is most common as initially people tend to fly with their arms more than their legs. ... if you are doing the opposite then ignore the advice that follows When you are doing a turn this doesn't matter as each component, arm and leg adds to the turn. However with side sliding, if you can't efficiently generate movement with both, there will be a problem. I would first practice turns using each component, especially your legs. You should be able to do more aggressive turns with your legs only than your arms only. When you then try side slide think about leading with the knee. Think about using your legs for the power and your arm to steer. You shouldn't have to worry about the arm input to much to start with. Just looking at where you want to go should be enough to ensure you slide rather than turn. As you have already said the most efficient way is to get someone skilled in FS to video and debrief you. Also a coached tunnel session is a great place to learn these skills.

http://www.bpa.org.uk/insurance.htm

Hmmm, my experience has been a bit different. I've carried a rig through Gatwick and Heathrow security many times and have yet to have an issue. IMO they know what they are looking at and don't have an issue. In fact once they were training some new guy and I could hear the trainer explaining what they were looking at. However on my Ryan Air flights this weekend I got challenged both ways. At Luton the operator and supervisor said no but when they phoned Ryan Air, we were allowed through. The security people said Ryan Air would take our rigs off us at the gate but they didn't bother. At Vasteras, the security person almost jumped out of their seat when they saw the x-ray, but after a phone call they let us through with our rigs. Maybe it's all about how you approach it. I say nothing until asked, have the documentation ready and am polite but insistent. So far so good.

I'm heading to Sweden on Ryanair next week so I'll let you know how it goes. Technically Ryanair have a slightly better allowance, currently 20Kg checked, 10Kg hand. This is compared with 23Kg checked and 6Kg hand at BA. Having said that, I have always taken my rig hand luggage with BA without any issue. My rig weighes about 9Kg. IMO all airlines have outrageous excess baggage charges. Not sure Ryanair is any worse than BA. My problem with Ryanair is all the hidden charges £5 to check a bag in, credit/debit card charges per person per direction, etc.

I recently bought an Odyssey sized for a Crossfire 119 and one thing that struck me (compared to my Vortex II) was that the bag attachment line was really short. As I pack by putting the bag under the canopy first and holding with my knees while I fold it in, it was difficult to pack without pulling on the kill line. Maybe this in conjuction with some kill line shrinkage could be a reason? In my case, I discussed with a rigger and advanced packer and they came up with a short piece of webbing that could be larksheaded on to the bag attachment to extend the length by a couple of inches.

Bear in mind that it is ususlly possible to get 20% discount from dealers, maybe more if you are buying a complete system. IMO by trying to decide in a rush you risk loosing more than you might gain.... and if you make a bad canopy choice the loss may be more than just financial.

I ordered in November and was quoted mid Feb delivery. The rig was ready on the day Sunpath quoted even though they had been warning there might be a 2 week delay.

Hmmm, ok before anyone else gets there I think I screwed up the maths there! Maybe we don't get 40 good weekends though

I think it might be about right. Average UK turbine = 15 people and say 20 lifts on a reasonable day = 300 jumps per day - 600 per weekend. Say 40 good weekends = 12,000 per turbine. How many turbines have we in the UK? Can't be more than about 15. So that gives us 180,000. Add on the 206s and weekday jumping and it's probably about right. Bear in mind a lot of us get the numbers up abroad. I do about half my jumps in the US and Spain.

Hi, Why not just keep your current container? From your profile you already have a Jav with a PDR 143 and and 150 main. If the container is sized for the 150 it should take a 135. (disclaimer - check with a rigger!) .... and it will be nice and easy to pack! What are your objectives for getting the smaller container and reserve?

For your main or reserve? By the price I would reckon they are for the main.

Thanks, I'll take a look on ebay. Its definately another solution. I'm still frustrated I can't find a software product to do it.

Help.... I have quite a bit of NTSC video which I have DVed to my PAL camcorder. I'm trying to edit it and write back to the DV tape. I can import it to my PC as NTSC, edit it using almost any bit of software but then comes the problem. All the software I have tried refuses to write it back as NTSC to my camcorder. I know the camcorder can do it. When I plug an NTSC camcorder via DV link and hit record there is no problem. The camera goes 'ah a NTSC stream, I'll record in NTSC'. However the bloody smartarse software goes 'hmmm you have a PAL camcorder, NO! I'm not going to write in NTSC. Instead I will either' (a) fuck up your video for you. Hey, lets chop every 6th frame, stretch it a bit and call it PAL (Windows Movie Maker, ArcSoft ShowBiz) or (b) abort with some obscure error message like 'camera not ready' that will keep you confused for ages. (Pinnacle Studio 9, WinDV) I guess I'm looking for some software either smart enough to know the camera can record in NTSC, or dumb enough not to bother checking. Anyone done anything like this? I know I could get some decent conversion software and convert it to PAL but I prefer to keep the master footage in the original format. Oh, and don't bother telling me if a MAC can do it because I don't have one

Ha! There speaks an experienced instructor ... sniffing out that free beer

Thanks for digging out the FAR... I had no idea where to look. So I guess it comes down to interpretation.... as it so often does.

Hey, my first new thread! Although I have seen lots of discussion about how dumb it is to overload a reserve, I have never seen it mentioned that it is illegal. I was reading this PD article http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/Reserve-Flight-Char-v3.pdf This is academic from my point of view, but I was curious if anyone knows if this fact or marketing?

I was told that its best to avoid a light colour (color!) on the centre cell as this gets all the attention during packing. I think white works well between 2 darker colours. My last 2 canopies have had white at cell positions 3 or 7 and the white has stayed pretty white. My current canopy has had 50 jumps at Perris amongst other dusty environments like Skydive Spain. However we don't have that problem here in England... it doesn't stop raining for long enough!

Gary, it might be worth giving Maddy @ Hinton/DZ Sports a call. I know she has jumped various Crossfires and I think has experience on jumping them at under 1.4 wingloading.