fjd

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    34

  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by fjd

  1. fjd
    i would second skymama on that. but at the same time, i would like to suggest that you may want to hold off on the purchase of your own rig until you have maybe about 50 or so jumps under your belt. i know it costs a lot to rent gear, but your need for/view of gear changes rapidly at the very begining when the learning curve is very, very steep. also, you should be able to make a more informed purchase, as you gain more knowledge about jumping in general and about skydiving gear. at least, that was the case for me. ===============
  2. fjd
    I'd agree with that. well, then again, even better idea would be to hang on to your student pro-tek, assuming you had plunked down 25 bucks to buy one like most students tend to. put another 50 jumps on it. it does the job just as well. and i'll be the 100th person to suggest that buy everything used for now. as you gain experience and knowledge, you will know exactly what you want and need. i'd bet after another 50 jumps or so, and lurking in dz.com, you will have your own answers to all the questions you had posted. as someone already pointed out, stick with top brands in case you want to re-sell them. and demo, if possible, as many brands as you can. ===============
  3. fjd
    you know, your question got me thinking. i always make my stow bights big enough -- somewhere around 2 1/2 inches. the logic behind that is to prevent out of sequence deployment, which is rarely fun. but then again, if a stow bight is too big to the extent that it is catching the bight next to it, then it could potentially lead to a bag lock. i'll tell you what. i'm going to look into what various manufacturers recommend and let you know what they all say. stay tuned. ====== ok. did a quick check around the manuals of some of the container manufacturers. Sunpath (Javelin) and Sunrise Rigging (Wings) didn't seem to have any specific instructions regarding the size of the bights in their owner's manual. Relative Workshop (Vector) recommends 1 to 2 inches. Mirage recommends starting with 2 1/2 inches and gradually making them smaller. i'm sticking with my 2 1/2 inches. i'll take a bag lock over an out-of-sequence opening any day. ===============
  4. fjd
    you know, your question got me thinking. i always make my stow bights big enough -- somewhere around 2 1/2 inches. the logic behind that is to prevent out of sequence deployment, which is rarely fun. but then again, if a stow bight is too big to the extent that it is catching the bight next to it, then it could potentially lead to a bag lock. i'll tell you what. i'm going to look into what various manufacturers recommend and let you know what they all say. stay tuned. ====== ===============
  5. fjd
    The D-bag is considered part of the container. How to close it should be spelled out in the owner's manual for the container. I know that my Javelin does. I couldn't tell from the picture what your container is. Mirage, maybe?? I'd be very surprised, if the manual did not have specific instructions as to how to close the D-bag. The photos may not contain the level of detail that you desire as a beginner packer, however. I also know that the manual for Icarus canopies tells you to refer to the container manual, but has a couple of nice color pictures of how the stows have to be done. Worse comes worst, just close it the way you think it should be done. Then bring the rig to your DZ and repack it under supervision or in a packing class. you'll be surprised how much you learn AFTER you make the mistakes. Oh, one more advice. Make sure that the stow bites are large enough. Generally 2 to 3 inches are recommended. Good luck! ===============
  6. fjd
    that is a GREAT idea! lumping the swooping and canopy control togerther, although the two are intimately inter-related, was not practical in terms of target audience/posters. head honcho, if you are listening, why don't we leave this forum as is and title it just 'swooping,' and create another with the title 'canopy control.' the difference being: the former will have a target audience of high-time jumpers, who want to either learn about or discuss the swooping as a discipline. and the latter will be for either low-time jumpers who are interested in learning canopy survival skills, or high-time jumpers who want to discuss canopy control in general (not necessarily high performance skills) and thereby improve upon their existing skills. ===============
  7. fjd
    yep, that's what i use myself. it works perfectly. make sure not to over-spray, as it'll attract dirt and grime. the best way to apply silicone on the cables is to spray it on paper towel/clean rag and give it a wipe or two. a thin coating is all you need. ===============