EvilLurker

Alright, be careful until you have some experience on that canopy, little bro, and turn that CYPRES on so your dad doesn't have to get medieval on your ass, I'm sure he doesn't get any more enjoyment out of that than you do.

Several people on her load told me that you farted on jump run and they passed out, too. That explains the "bad spot" pretty well, too, since the pilot was blinded.

You only really need one kidney to live.

The Skyhook video is fine to study for an RSL comparison, as long as you stop at the point where the main departs. Up to that point, there's no difference between RSL/Skyhook/no RSL at all. I just wanted to see whether a cutaway resulted in movement around more than one axis of rotation. I'd say no.

Yeah, I'm thinking she's got those boats loaded pretty lightly.

I was concerned with having 14 or so line twists if I cut away from a spinner. After watching the video, I'm convinced I won't, with or without an RSL. If my reserve PC deploys between my legs, or wraps me, I'll just have to try and clear it, won't I? I think the chances of that are pretty slim, too, actually. My reserve PC launches about 5 feet, and the relative wind is from feet-to-head at the moment you chop a spinner, from what I've seen so far. But if you think it's that risky, don't use an RSL. No problemo.

I agree it's optimal to be stable during a reserve deployment, and yes, an RSL could result in a reserve malfunction, and yes, if you have sufficient altitude to cutaway, get stable, then manually deploy your reserve at a useful altitude, it gives you the best shot. The argument (and you've seen it) that you don't want an RSL while cutting away from a spinner because you're going ass-over-teakettle in 3 axis and you'll get line twists, I don't believe. That's the only point I'm addressing right now. I'm willing to risk the dangers of an RSL for now because I would rather have the extra altitude rather than the extra stability when I deploy. Others may have different priorities. And that's okay.

If it doesn't, it won't take him long to inspect it.

No, some canopies fly a lot better than others when lightly loaded, especially when it comes to landing.

I guess I'd draw the line when I heard them say something that was dangerously false. That would mean that they had misunderstood what they had been told. If I was at the DZ, I would mention to their JM/I or the DZO what I had heard and have them address it. If not at the DZ, I would explain to the friend why the information was wrong and tell them to discuss it with their JM/I before making another jump. If somebody gets offended by that (and I can't imagine they would), maybe you and your friend are jumping at the wrong DZ.

It's one of the pillars of the "why I don't use an RSL" argument. While I agree with the dangers in some of the anti-RSL points, the "I want to have time to get stable to prevent line twists" one is bogus. I might concede one twist, from what I've seen so far. (Now watch a movie show up that makes me look like a moron).

The beauty of it is, when you do decide it's time to downsize, you can contact the manufacturers and demo pretty much anything out there. You'll reduce the field down to 2 or 3 that you like pretty quickly, from my observations. What people on here personally like and recommend, you might not. I'd recommend you don't buy the one that scares you the most during the demos. Know what I mean?

How much do you weigh? It's real hard to get an idea of how the canopies are loaded without knowing that.

With that many jumps on it, I'd be looking real close at all the velcro. You don't want your flaps coming loose or your bridle flopping around in freefall. If you replace everything that's "iffy" right now, it won't cost you downtime when you're wanting to jump later. Anything major, your rigger is going to find, if you ask them to give it a real detailed inspection. Hey, congratulations.

Bill, Yes, those slo-mo videos answered my question. Everyone that states cutting away from a spinning malfunction sends you cartwheeling around all your axis should watch those carefully, in my opinion. I have no doubt it "feels" like you are doing that, after what you have just been through, but in reality, you've got a single axis of rotation that is arrested fairly quickly by the drag of the deploying reserve. That's what I'm seeing, at least. "the test jumper rotates about 170 degrees on the horizontal axis between breakaway and opening." That's what I saw, too. That was a fairly violent spinner for the canopy size. That last clip (video guy) was chilling. He's very lucky to have lived, he had less than a second to spare. After watching those, I have less concern about having line twists on my reserve from an unstable cutaway from a spinner with a standard RSL, and I'd say a Skyhook would actually benefit you (unless you were REAL high) by preventing them. If anyone has a link to a video showing a clear example of an RSL causing reserve line twists, could you post a link? Bill, excellent device. If I replace my current rig, you'll get my business.

Bill Booth: I have a question for you: You have obviously filmed a lot of cutaway situations; can you explain what actually takes place with the jumper as the 3-rings disconnect, i.e. is the jumper " spinning on all axis. ", or are they flung away at a tangent? I can see someone possibly spinning about one axis, but at the moment following cutaway, are they pretty much traveling in a straight line? Thanks.

Everybody's are, if you're talking the last 5 feet.

I haven't jumped a Sabre2, but I do have a Silhouette, loading it a little over 1.1:1. I traded a Triathlon in for it, same loading. It's got about 500 jumps on it now, and it's still got a good flare. Easy to pack, rear riser pressure isn't too heavy, it turns fairly quickly with toggles without being radical, but mine "oversteers" a bit, I have to give it a little reverse toggle to stop my turns on heading. I do a lot of solos and usually offer to get out last, and the Silhouette gets me back from some pretty long spots. It's a nice flat-flying 9-cell with soft openings (all of them so far, at least), decent wind penetration and good performance. I plan on keeping it until it's too ragged out to jump, it's getting the job done for me and I trust it. Not sure what kind of swoops you could get, I fly like a student under 800 feet or so, but I get some pretty accurate landings out of it. I was worried that the F-111 fabric wasn't going to hold up, but so far I'm not seeing any problems. Compared to the Triathlon, I get better openings, less front-riser pressure, softer landings and about the same turn rate and wind penetration.

You need to watch your canopy during a long snivle. I can't imagine how a canopy loaded at 1.2:1 like yours is taking 1000 feet to decelerate you from 120 mph. You have something affecting the "normal" drag, whether it's pc hesitation, canopy not leaving the D-bag at line stretch or the slider isn't allowing for quick inflation of the "ball", something is wacked. Without watching the deployment, you won't get anywhere, in my opinion. But yeah, throwing at 3k and hearing your hard-deck alarm has got to be pretty tense. Be careful till you get it figured out. You might want to start dumping at 3500 in the mean time.

Ya gotta love that statement. heh..heh.

Probably the easiest way to get an empty into your canopy is pull the toggles all the way and wait for a full stall, then drop them and chuck the can out in front of you. It should get eaten nicely. Make sure you aren't holding an open beer, though, it might get messy. Drink in moderation on any cross-country (one open at a time). And yeah, bro, it's a joke.

"When you're done with the beer, crumple the can and pitch it into one of your cells until landing." Yes, that's what we all do. Only one empty per cell, though, or you can block your cross-ports. I sold my Triathlon and bought a PD 9-cell for that very reason.

Measure your slider and contact PD with your concerns. They seem to have a lot of different slider size mis-matches, from reading this forum. That's what I concluded, at least. A 1000 foot snivle would have me pretty concerned, too. What is that, 12 seconds? Scary.

I don't think you'll find a combination that gives you that, especially since you're jumping a Hornet. Reducing drag by using a technique that presents less surface area of your body and experimenting with toggle position to see which setting gives you the best penetration is about the only options you have, I'd say. Landing out beats a trip to the hospital every time, bro.

If they read this thread, they'll figure it out: Really Stupid Logic