base615

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Everything posted by base615

  1. base615
    No, I’m not, but a mate of mine recently did AFF and got his first 4 jumps done in a day including briefs and debriefs (excluding the actual ground course) so I still maintain some DZs are more efficient than others in getting through loads.
  2. base615
    Depends where you jump. I'm often closing my container as the plane's landing and then stuffing my pilot chute in, gearing up and sprinting for the plane before it takes off without me.
  3. base615
    Yeah, I think they all vary. I have great openings but I have mates who have slammers and regular chops.
  4. base615
    Nice one. Remember the removable slider does open quicker than the stock one so, as long as you find the Katana openings with the stock slider comfortable, you should be good.
  5. base615
    No worries on bigger canopies (135 and up) but on anything smaller, unless there’s some wind to land into, I generally just slide in anyway. I’m seemingly too shit to completely shut it down and I’m too old to run things out with 100% consistency. It doesn’t help that I have mutant feet and mostly limited to extra wide New Balance - not the slickest of shoes. If you are able to find skate shoes or similar to fit you should be good to slide on your feet until the speed is out of it. Another thing to consider is I think sometimes people have jumped cross braced canopies for too long to remember how much more lift they have.
  6. base615
    Yeah man, as posted above, awesome openings on my Katana 120 with the VFX2 sized RDS I had on my Crossfire before (75cm wide by 64cm deep). I had it made by a local rigger and it's got the PD style connections which are pretty easy to reconnect. Takes maybe 2 minutes more to pack and so much easier to deal with after opening. IMO, the NZ Aerosports method is a bit more difficult to put back on but others prefer it so your mileage may vary. Depending on where you are, happy to share his details with you if you want him to make one to the same specs but, if you're not in Australia, you'll probably be better off finding someone closer to you. You'll get people telling you "You don't need a removable slider on a canopy over 100 square feet" etc. but they're just talking about performance and I don't think that's the reason for removing your slider. Like you, I hate stowing my slider behind my neck so I think you should ignore them. You'll never go back once you start taking your slider off.
  7. base615
    Update on this for anyone looking to reference in the future. I’ve had this slider on my KA120 for about 30 jumps and have had nothing but awesome openings, terminal and sub-terminal. The openings are improved massively over the stock slider. The only minor issue is having it usually stop a few inches above my soft links but a little bit of front helps push it down so I grab it without much of a headache https://youtu.be/HW3cdNfIi7Q
  8. base615
    Agreed. I’m merely saying that I would caution against making that decision on the basis of an experienced person doing it as it wouldn’t be a good option for most of us.
  9. base615
    And what makes you suppose I don't understand them or have very little knowledge of how to use them? Moderately dickish of you (and actually wrong) to presume such a thing and, in fact, I never said anything of the sort. I was merely commenting on the use of "I know someone who does it and they're more experienced than you" as an argument for them. I even pointed out that I wasn't casting aspersions on this person when saying it. BTW, they work very well on reserves for a number of reasons but a key one is that the pilot chute doesn't stay with the canopy after deployment. That's not the case with a main and, unless you had to do it due to shoulder mobility for example. I'd argue that towing a pilot chute full of metal behind most modern canopies wouldn't be a great idea at all.
  10. base615
    I have no dog in this fight but, without casting aspersions on this particular person, I've seen some extremely experienced people doing very stupid things :)
  11. base615
    Sounds like the 103 might be the go when I feel ready. Might have to borrow a container as my KA120 is already pretty tight.
  12. base615
    I don’t think anyone would be able to tall you without knowing the size of your container but I believe the Raider was an 220 square foot F111 canopy so I’d imagine your container would fit a ZP canopy around 190 or so. Also, I don’t know how big you are but 230-250 (or 220 for that matter) is a pretty big parachute. ZP canopies are much easier to land than the old F111 canopies we used to jump. I relatively recently came back from a 20 year hiatus and after some jumps on bigger gear, I was back on what I used to jump in about 130 jumps or so although I really concentrated on canopy flying and got a bunch of coaching to get back into it. I’d recommend hiring some gear for a while and seeing how you sit with the more modern canopies before just going out and buying something you might find too big in a short time. If, after jumping some hire gear, you decide that a 230 is right for you then go for it.
  13. base615
    That’s fair enough. Just think you’d get plenty of time to do all that from 3 grand, particularly if you got yourself nicely in position over the DZ before chopping. Still, not for us to second guess when we weren’t there. The decision you make for yourself is usually absolutely the right one.
  14. base615
    He released the toggle but locked it off with the loop. Ensure the excess brake line is stowed away and make sure it's free of the toggle before releasing it. Also ensure it's free of your hand - I've had a similar one where I's released the brakes but ended up with the excess line stuck around my finger. Took a little bit of effort to get it off but all good in the end. You definitely don't want to have to chop with your canopy attached to your hand :)
  15. base615
    I've always been told that ZP might provide more consistency in pull force but causes oscillation as air can only spill out the sides which could get hairy on an aggressive canopy. To be fair, an old F111 with uneven wear can also cause similar oscillation and should be changed before it starts causing these issues. I recently started experiencing regular opening issues including a mal and changing my pilot chute eradicated this. Since this, I'll be sticking with F111 but will be changing my pilot chute when I change my lines before inconsistencies start creeping in.
  16. base615
    Pull out seems to have pretty much died since the introduction of freefly handles with tuck tabs and full bridle protection. Potential for a horseshoe with a throw out vs. potential for a total mal from a floating pull out pud - choose your fighter.
  17. base615
    Even if you're not confident to land it, cutting the brake line to stop the spin in order to chop at a lower altitude than 9.5k would have been a possibility. All in hindsight of course. Having a full on spinning mal myself recently, I can confirm that I probably wouldn't have thought of doing that so it's better to throw away $2.5k than not get off a mal in a timely manner.
  18. base615
    As someone who had to punch out my reserve at terminal due to this, be wary OP :)
  19. base615
    The whole point of AFF 1 is to get you over the sensory overload. You’re not expected to be perfect. You also wouldn’t have hit the ground if you’d not pulled as you instructor would have pulled and, failing that, you have an AAD. Stop moping around and book in your level 2 jump.
  20. base615
    Hey man, I'm at Picton. Yeah, I'll give that a shot once I'm ready. Everyone here I know is on a 96 or smaller. I know one guy in Coffs on a 111 btu haven't seen any 103s about.
  21. base615
    Cheers mate. Around 1300 jumps total. 130 so far this year and about 60 so far on the Katana. Planning on putting a good 300 more on the Katana before doing this but was thinking of buying a new one and obviously there’s quite a waiting list so if I go that way I’d probably look to buy one towards the end of the year with a view to getting it around the middle of the year.
  22. base615
    Cheers mate, that helps. I didn't even consider the opening aspect. When it comes time for me to do it, I could find my pick of 96s to try. I don't know anyone with anything bigger than that so I'd be struggling to find one round here and, while I could easily get demos from NZA, I'm not sure PD do a demo service in Aus. I've got an exit weight of about 93kg so a 96 would be about a 2.2 wing loading which seems quite the jump :)
  23. base615
    Just interested in hearing experiences from those who've moved to crossbraced for the first time and how they selected a size. Having never flown a crossbraced canopy I have no personal experience to call on. I currently jump a Katana 120 loaded at about 1.75 and my next move would be to a crossbraced wing although I'm certainly not looking to change my canopy for a while. The general progression among others at my DZ on Katanas seems to be KA120 to (Comp) Velo 96 or KA107 to (Comp) Velo 90. Obviously these are equivalents from a pack volume perspective so it might be the only option to fit in people's containers but it seems like a big jump in wing loading to me. Do others make a smaller jump such as KA120 to a VC103 / VC111 or do those canopies feel comparatively sluggish due to the additional stability inherent in the design?
  24. base615
    You certainly ain't going to be jumping in Australia without being a member of the APF which requires you to get the equivalent licence based on your home organisation. I've also had to do the same in the US back when I lived in the UK and was a BPA member. From the APF: A visiting overseas parachutist who holds a valid parachutist's licence issued by an FAI-affiliated organisation may make parachute descents after becoming an APF member and having their experience and competence assessed by a Chief Instructor. Seems to be not required in the US anymore but some DZs may make it necessary through a requirement for insurance: USPA Group Member drop zones may require jumpers to be insured. Check with the drop zone you’re visiting to find out for sure. USPA membership provides the necessary insurance; if you’re not already a member of USPA, you may want to join.
  25. base615
    That depends. You certainly need to do paperwork and no doubt there would be a fee. Someone with an A license might be required to do a coached jump to confirm they're safe whereas they might not require that for a D license holder.