Casquito

I know it's fast- it's a riot to fly but demands 100% attention when diving. Just being humble with deference to the guys on the cutting edge doing big turns on small canopies hitting 100 or more mph. Bundy hit 94 on his new JVX hybrid the other day out at Perris. Now THAT"S smokin' fast. As far as my speed, hopefully I can get it faster. I was working with Duane Hall on the turns and it's been getting better, but I can probably eke a little more speed out of the thing without having to downsize.

I did a jump with the new LB Viso which has canopy speed as one of the recorded variables that can be played back in real time. I jump a Katana 107 loaded at 1.75 or so and it recorded a descent rate of 20 mph in full flight and 65 mph in my 270 turn to final from 650 feet. Having never checked my top speed under canopy I was surprised it was that fast under a 107. Just out of curiosity, has anyone else gotten readings during their dives? The Viso is pretty new so perhaps not that many people out there know. Certainly I had no idea I was going over 60 on a 107 doing a mere 270. It would be interesting to know what speeds people are attaining under what wing loading and how many degrees of rotation.

Is that an actual toggle stroke or taking up the slack in the brake lines that's left when you release the rear risers to keep the same aoa?

Katana 107 All white with red ribs/stabilizers Custom colors

You don't looked stoked though...

Not sure of your point there... It would depend on the MD. A pathologist- no. An ABEM certified EM MD who does USAR in addition to working at a trauma center... Not a bad choice. Again, depends on the MD. It's always a hoot when one shows up and tries to take control, and when you ask them what they do, they sheepishly reply "pediatrics" or "gastroenterology." Though most would realize their limitations and stay out of the way. But I would venture that most EM MDs would not be "out of their arena of training." Most have significant EMS experience (part of most EM training programs) as well as contact with EMS on a daily basis (runs, base station, and administrative- who do you think writes and approves EMS protocols?). Knowing what happens before patients arrive in the ED as well as what needs to happen when they are there would provide a big picture perspective on what needs to get done when. It's a mutual respect thing. Everyone has their area of expertise and if you do it for a while you know where they overlap and where the hard line is. This thread is getting a bit acrimonious. Just remember we all want to help and have different skills we bring with us. Do what you can and feel comfortable doing, but always remember you can do more harm than good. The middle of grassy field is no place to provide definitive care for severe injuries. We just need to support them and prevent further injury until they get to somewhere where they can get that care.

There's a reason EMS systems in the US (arguably the most advanced in the world) have gone to a "scoop and run" approach. Transport to a facility that has the resources to treat the patient is a priority. By treat I mean definitive treatment. You do what you can on scene to stabilize or attend to the basic ABC's (airway/breathing/circulation) but not to the point where it will delay transport. Intubating someone seems very heroic, but in a majority of cases people can be ventilated with an ambu-bag just as effectively. It is a matter of balancing what can be done at the scene (limited) with the delay in transport to definitive care. It can be a judgement call and therefore all EMS systems have protocols in place to minimize having to make such decisions. Realize that there is little that can be done immediately other than providing supportive care, eg clearing the airway, supporting breathing, applying pressure to stop bleeding, and immobilization. Keeping a cool head and providing comfort if the jumper is awake and preventing further injury is the best most of us can provide. I would resist the urge to be the hero unless there is an identifiable problem that you have the knowledge and experience to treat that cannot wait until EMS arrives. Medico-legally, there are issues that need to be considered as well, and as far as I know, no one is covered by anything other than the Good Samaritan law when outside their realm of practice. Obtain the text of the law and study the language VERY carefully. It's not perfect by any means. Just a word of caution for all medical folks out there. I know it's harder not to do anything than to do nothing at all. I'm not advocating doing nothing. I only advise restraint. If someone were hurt at my DZ, I would help them as I always do, but just be careful and think of the big picture and your place in it.

I picked up a new lens the other day for my HC42 It was hard to find a lens wider than the stock .6 for cheap but I found a .45 at BH for 30 bucks http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=320929&is=REG&addedTroughType=search I swapped out my sony .6 but the fov was the same- disappointing. The Sunpak has a macro ring that you can unscrew but is required to thread the lens onto the 25 mm mount. the macro makes the base lens less wide. but, i managed to remove the lens from the step ring and the lens is REALLY wide now. Probably the .45 advertised. No vignetting at the wide end but tele's only to mid range now. Just FYI for anyone looking for a decent cheap lens for 25mm mounts. I don't know if the link works but you can search BH for it Sunpak CAL-1185 25mm 0.45x Wide Angle Converter Lens Mfr# CAL1185 • B&H# SUCAL1185

Listen to your orthopedist. You will only blame yourself when you make it worse and prolong your recovery. Take time to read the written resources out there (SIM, Brian Germain's book, etc...) The risk isn't worth the benefit if you think about it. Just find a way to deal with the frustration of not being able to jump by redirecting it. Now do as I say and not as I did...

I've been jumping my Katana 107 at 1.8 for about an year now and haven't had any problems. I was demoing one for a few months before that and the openings were a little anxiety provoking on the 120 but the 107 was fine. I had one cutaway on the 120 due to line twists that spun up. video here (lost the helmet on that one- reserve riser strike. on the video there's a jet taking off after I cut- pretty cool) http://www.docmed.ucla.edu/emres/V/Eject.wmv Nothing on the 107 with careful packing. Smooth, on heading and predictable. I've had more problems with nut under malfunctions than line overs...

Just a plug for Infinity/VelocitySports I sent in a rig for some cosmetic repairs and they fixed it fast and for free. While it was out there I asked them to shorten the leg straps a bit and they said it would be 50.00 if it required new pads. I got the rig back today and it looks great. They never mentioned the cost, so I figured they resized the leg loops without new pads but after looking at it, they replaced the leg pads and never charged me! They even put a new butt bungie on the leg loops. Talk about attention to detail... Anyway, great customer service and communication. I can't think of a bad thing to say about the company. I'll buy another one if and when I need one.

So Curt, what's your advice for slowing down the sit there buddy? how did the matter suit fly after you changed out of the baggy suit? i think you need to stay heads down when we jump

I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding here... I never thought Bill was making negative comments regarding PD. He is the picture of moderation and knowledge and as such, is a rare bird in these forums. I was actually referring to the initial dig by the pro-PD camp against Aerodyne for offering free iPods of glasses with the Mamba. I thought it had nothing to do with if and when a 135 or 150 Katana was coming out and didn't contribute to the discussion. I like both companies- my reserve is a Smart and my first canopy was a Pilot (which I preferred over the Sabre 2), but now fly a Katana. Neither company is perfect and it boils down to personal preference, which is why arguing about it is silly.

Having said that, that character on the bottom of the canopy doesn't look too good anyway. I may be wrong and it could be some super cool calligraphist's work, but stylistically it looks like what happens when Western tattoists copy kanji from books. *** same idea... being japanese my friends and i always laugh a bit when we see people with kanji that makes no sense or is just plain wrong that someone tattoos on themselves permanently. i think the katanas with the large logos only go to sponsored jumpers. most come with small logos on the stabilizers (as did mine) getting a bit off topic here though.

It sounds like a Ford vs Chevy argument here and making negative comments about competitors' products isn't the most helpful thing. Now that said, I love my Katana and wouldn't fly anything else, but with all that research, you'd think PD would be able to write the correct Japanese character for Katana on the canopy. It gets all kinds of laughs out of people who can read Japanese because it sure doesn't say Katana. But I fixed mine with some sharpies... I asked PD to fix it before sending me mine but it's still not fixed... not that it matters when you're smoking in under it though...

How about a computer that also removes all judgement and personal responsibility for decision making from jumping? It should fill the entire visual field so you can't see and therefore won't be distracted by visual cues either. When things go bad you can just blame the software.

I've done a hundreds of jumps on safires and xfires, but have to agree that the front riser pressure is higher on the xfire at the equivalent size. I thought the safire actually flew better until loaded above 1.6 or so. At 1.7 or 1.8 the xfire started to really fly and felt solid with a little lighter pressure than when lower loaded. That said the safire still had lighter pressure when loaded 1.8 but just didn't feel as solid and confident as the xfire at that loading. Until then though, I'd have to say the safire would be my pick with great openings, great range, great flare, great handling, and actually a pretty good swoop (not really qualified to make that last statement, but it goes pretty far). I'd demo the canopies first before you disappoint yourself. Or explore the canopy you have to the fullest given its limitations, then downsizing gradually until you fly canopies in sizes readily available then demoing everything out there...

I notice many similar posts in other forums regarding underloading aggressive canopies for some reason. Why? I'd personally rather fly a canopy that opens well and flies well (eg Pilot, Safire, etc) at the wing loading it was designed for than fly an aggresive canopy with twitchier openings at low loadings. Isn't it like driving a Ferrari Enzo slowly? What's the point? If it's just an ego thing to fly a "high performance elliptical" then it seems like a high price to pay. Why not fly better behaved canopies to their limits first before subjecting oneself to the idiosyncracies and risks of aggressive canopies if you can't take advantage of them... which is tough at wingloadings that low. Or is it because there is so much emphasis (rightly so) put on not advancing wingloading too quickly that people think another option for "performance" is to fly an aggressive canopy at low loadings? I just don't understand the mindset there. I'm sure a skilled pilot could spank me on a Sabre2 against my Katana. I think learning the skill to fly a canopy well, not changing canopy designs is the path to performance. My two cents, but what do I know at this stage in my learning...

Amen... HU is way underemphasized and neglected.. BTW they did try a big way HU during the last HD record attempt and it didn't work. HU flying is harder than HD by far. I can fly HD but prefer HU myself.

I've recently put a lot of jumps on a Katana loaded @ 1.8 and have one on order. I'd have to agree with what's already been stated. It's a fast canopy geared towards more experienced jumpers with tons of performance potential. Openings: a bit nervous at first with at least a 90 on opening, but never hard. I now steer my openings a bit and they're dead on, but it's still very sensitive to body position. I've tried various ways of packing it, but now just pack it like any other canopy and take care when I open. Flight: Great range. It flies well with canopies loaded at 1:1 when on rear risers and trying to get back from long spots, but in full flight it is FAST. I don't know how accurate my Neptune is but it reads a vertical descent rate of 32 fps on average when in full flight. Front risers have VERY light pressure and it never buffets or feels twitchy in a dive. The recovery arc is long and it takes a bit of input to pull it out of a dive on landing, but I can start the dive much higher and have more time to build speed and set up the landing. Landing: Great flare. I have a broken ankle (2 mo out) and land it with no problems. Fast coming in, but you can shut it down and land without running it out much. Like many others I debated between the Crossfire2 and Katana, but went with the Katana for several reasons: 1: lighter front riser pressure 2: great flare 3: great range (XF seems to stall under rears at a much higher speed as well) 4: feel- very nebulous, but I liked the feel of the canopy all around compared to the XF (which is still a great canopy that I love to fly) One thing I don't like which has nothing to do with the canopy is the freaking Japanese character all over it. I'm not sure anyone's noticed, but it doesn't say Katana. It says "Ha" which is the actual edge of a blade. PD got the character wrong. It's not bad when it's on the patch on the stabilizer, but when it's a huge red logo on the canopy top/bottom skin, it's pretty silly. Japanese jumpers always laugh at it...

Sorry.. what does FMC stand for? FMC= Freefly Mega Center Freefly school that the Alchemy guys (Mike Swanson, Jon Devore and Rook Nelson) run. John Chisolm has been doing alot of coaching with them recently. And LO? LO= Load Organizer Perris has 1-2 LOs for FF or RW each day to help put together jumps for those who don't have others to jump with for whatever reason; visiting, new to the sport, too shy to ask, etc. Good ones will plan jumps that are within the skills of everyone on it yet are challenging. The head up and head down LO jumps referred to are probably the checkout jumps potential LOs have to pass before being allowed to become one. The sequences are as follows: Sit: Exit rear facing front float Right hand dock Right 360 Front flip Right cartwheel Left hand dock Left 360 Backflip Left cartwheel Right hand dock Back up 20 feet Forward 20 feet Right hand dock All moves on heading and in frame on video Head down is pretty much the same with the exception of double front docks at the end. Doesn't sound like John to talk smack per se much, but I would expect someone who charges for coaching to be able to do the above. My opinion: Put the student's progression first. Too many coaches just video jumps with little briefing before or after and think they've earned your cash. Take as long as it takes to understand where the student is coming from and what their goals are and teach them accordingly. Have an lesson plan that goes beyond the jump you're doing now. You might pick up a book on teaching in general - the same principles apply in the classroom or on the DZ. John is a good coach. Emphasizes quality over quantity and won't manifest until you say you're good and done with ground training and ready for the air. He'd rather do 3 jumps a day and get you to learn than do 8 and make money while wasting your time. A good role model for people thinking about coaching if you ever visit Perris.

Strongly disagree with that one... Not breathing is one of the ONLY indications to remove the helmet. A review of every protocol from Emergency Medicine, trauma, paramedic, down to bystander CPR will contradict you. Airway first. If they're not breathing then you must breathe for them. By your rationale, someone who just had a seizure is dead and you should just leave them there (they'll start breathing on their own actually, but you should support their breathing)? Anyone who works in the medical field will tell you the same. Ps, the trauma shears don't cut pennies, at least not the ones most EMT/Paramedics carry.

Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth. Keep it simple. Ask yourself what you're really trying to do out there. You're not a mobile trauma center, your job is to keep someone as stable as possible until help arrives. There is most likely nothing you're going to fix right there so just concentrate on preventing bad things from happening or getting worse. On the subject of the removing the helmet, what is the goal there? There is no benefit from removing the helmet unless to establish control over the airway itself. So go back to the ABC's first like someone previously mentioned: Airway takes priority, then Breathing, then Circulation. The first two have to do with the getting air in, so if that is a problem, then the helmet goes. Ideally someone with knowledge on how to do so will be there, but if not, the you may have to make do without them. Be sure though that you are ready to follow through with controlling the airway once the helmet if off. Removing it alone will do little. Are you ready to do mouth to mouth on someone you may not know? Are you willing to stick your fingers in someone's bloody mouth? If not, don't bother removing the helmet in the first place. Like so many things though, this is not black and white. People want protocols and step by step instructions everyone can apply to all situations, so by necessity, the guidelines are often nonspecific and ambiguous. There are too many variables to think about to expect a lay person to be able to consider them all before acting. As one's level of training and experience increases, you realize that there are few "correct" pathways; some are just better than others (there are many bad ones though). The ideal response takes into account each of many variables in each individual situation and tailors a unique response. There can be no clear, categorical answer to the question of helmet removal. The answer depends on the needs of the patient and the resources of the responder. But as a good rule of thumb, ask yourself what your goals are here. There is much you can do without removing the helmet, and if you do remove it, be prepared to follow through with what you started, otherwise you expose them to the risk without the benefit. J

I learned packing over a hook. It lets you get a better view of what is going on since you can walk around the thing and get the the lines groups from the tail. It's much clearer what's going on from that view IMHO. You can also leave it there, go watch your video or check out a book then come back and resume packing as well. The Aerodyne Pilot also has color coded lines which make it much easier to figure out the A/B/C/D/Brake lines. I remember thinking the C and D lines were harder than the A and B to keep track of. When I learned to pack, my instructor showed me once, then went to grab a coffee while I tried it. When he came back, I asked him if he wanted to take it apart and check it out, but he told me to go jump it. I figured what the hell, that's what a reserve is for, but the plane ride up was the most nerve wracking ever. I remember after I pulled, it had a long snivelly opening, so I was reaching for the cutaway when it opened on heading and softly over me. So it can't be that hard if I can do it.... Just take your time and don't get frustrated. J

It's anaesthesiology. like orthopaedics like paediatrics like caesar it's the original latin spelling before bastardized in current usage in the US not sure why your post was so venomous but you should check before you acuse someone of not knowing how to spell their own profession