Chris-Ottawa

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready for the season coming up and I need a couple things. I need a Neptune and an Optima. I want to avoid buying it from the states and having to pay duty. I will likely be going to The Ranch again early in the year and I can get one there, but if I can get it in Canada it will save me time. Are there any gear stores in Canada that carry these 2 products? I know of 3 gear stores but I want to know if there are any others. I know of: Eden North - Minimal info on website (will call today) Swoop (monkeybrothers) - Website is broken, no info and no phone number, brand new website and no links work??? Atmosphair - Very expensive, $375 (CDN) for a Neptune. Maybe the website is not updated. Will also call tonight. Hopefully someone can help me find this gear as I want to pick it up shortly, or let me know of other gear sales locations. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hi ZigZag, I'm 123.742% sure that the risers are simply not stock. I bought the rig used with 55 jumps. I have loked at the reserve packing card and know it is 2002 or 2003, I just can't remember right now. My risers are Type 17, but they are also both left risers (RSL rings on both). My rig is 100% stainless steel, except the riser rings. All that tells me that they are not factory, plus the fact that I do not have hard housings. I am likely going to buy a new set of risers so I know how many jumps they have, so I can have stainless rings, and to get rid of the right riser RSL connection, along with getting the hard housings. Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, You may think that but from the poll its not looking entirely that way. Mind you I don;t know what dates of gear everyone jumps. I jump a Javelin Odyssey manufactured in 2002 or 2003 (not positive) and I do not have riser inserts. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I'm not entirely sure you know what I mean. Basically, after your cutaway cable goes through the 3 rings it feeds into your risers right? That excess cable in the risers can get locked in there when your canopy has major linetwists. Essentially, you are completely unable to cut-away. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

All great info guys, maybe doing a test would really show me what kind of forces can build up. I'd like to try a hanging test in the loft and see what twists can really do... Parafredo:Were you asking me why I had racer risers on my Jav? Maybe there was confusion but I don't think they are racer risers. They are just not factory. As for their whereabouts...no idea, bought the rig 2nd hand. Thanks for the discussion everyone! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Pretty simple poll here. This poll stemmed from another one of my posts, I'm curious what the actual numbers are because I've never seen/noticed anyone with hard risers before. Mind you I haven't invested that much time into it either. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks everyone, hard inserts and housings now make sense. I'll contact my rigger and see what he recommends. I'll mention the RWS inserts as well. Thanks again 24 more days until my home DZ opens.... WOOOOOOO! "When once you have tasted flight..."

That's kind of what I figured. I'm not sure how wound up a Spectre 135 can get at 1:1, but it definately scares me if I wasn't able to chop. My Odyssey was made in '02 and the risers do not have inserts. I realize that the risers are probably not factory. That probably explains why i have an RSL connection on both risers... Is it better to get factory risers which I assume would come with inserts, or retrofit whatever risers I have? And can I buy any company's risers to install on my Odyssey and Spectre? Eg, buy VSE risers... Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I've been readin alot about hard housings and spinning mal's causing hard pulls etc. I want to clarify what exactly hard housings protect. When I have a spinning mal and the risers are spun up to the back of my neck, is it the cable housing in the riser that should have the hard housings? I see 2 places for hard housings A) On the rig , running from handles to top of rig and 3 rings etc. B) The excess cutaway cable stows in the risers? My rig has hard housings on the rig, but not in the risers? I can't see how a spun up main would be hard to cutaway if didn't have hard housings ni the container, but I can definately see the spun up risers holding the ends of the cutaway cable. Clarification would be great, please ask me for clarification if this post doesn't make sense. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

100% Location... I simply searched google and found my home DZ. I looked for the closest and that was that. I have 3 or 4 other DZ's that are within 1-3 hours drive but mine was 45 mins. Went with 7 friends and had a blast. I have now started jumping at the other DZ's but that's life. Different styles, planes, people, whatever. Basically, I assumed that any company that throws people out of planes for fun, and is still operating, must have a decent track record. I realize now that this can be wrong but...that's life. If I had known about DZ.com before jumping I would have still likely gone to the same DZ, but at least I could have found others and checked reviews. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I agree with the above posts. If you want a 9 cell - Pilot flat out. The snivel almost made me chop. I first thought I had a pilot chute towing as it gently stood me up, then slowly deployed in about 1000 feet. I only got to put 3 jumps on it, but it was eerie to watch the entire deployment sequence, and I was able to do that on jump 15 or so. For a 7 cell, Spectre is fantastic as well. I bought a Spectre for my own canopy and I looooove it. It opens a bit quicker than the Pilot, but still very gentle. 7-800 foot openings are the norm for me. I've put about 35 jumps on my Spectre. Both canopies are great, I'd say just a personal choice, demo if you can. I actually think I might call Aerodyne and demo a Pilot in the same size as my Spectre. I jumped a Pilot 170 and now I fly a Spectre 135. I really liked the flare of the Pilot, but again, I want to try it in a comparable size first. On another note, I'm not sure what size you'll be jumping but I heard the Pilot tends to get harder openings as you go smaller, ie: sub 150. Don't quote me on that but I've heard it from more than one source and if you're jumping a 170, I'm sure it will be fine. Later Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I like your description better than mine... Yours sounds so "matrix-ey" But it's all true, your description fits great "When once you have tasted flight..."

We need a reason to skydive now? I just did it because I can....damn. Actually, I do it because it's the most thrilling thing I've ever done and will ever do. I don't have a specific reason for doing it, I just enjoy it. Same reason I have for any other thing I do. The reason I keep doing it is not necessarily linked to jumping, but the atmosphere around my home DZ. I don't think you can walk into a group of people like that, trust your life to them on your first few jumps, then build a relationship to the point that you trust these people more than your own family. PLus I get a kick out of people thinking I'm out of my mind for jumping from planes. Some people freak out on me, som people are interested, and others just can't comprehend it. Thats' why I do it. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Haha, funny you say that and I was going to mention this, but to say the least...they did not end up jumping the cliff. The wind was crazy up top, but pretty low at the bottom. After being up there for a while, they called it. I was really surprised, normally I would freak out when I'm that high up in winds like that. I had my legs dangling over the edge trying to find a nice vantage point to film, if they had jumped. I was apprehensive, but not scared. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

RIGHT ON! I'm glad I'm not the only one! Alot of people mentioned ladders and feeling unsafe. I have those same fears. If I'm on a 3rd floor balcony, which I would normally feel fine on, but the railing was jiggling and I "felt" unsafe, I freak out. I knew about skydiving an how things get smaller so our frame of reference is blurred. I just found it odd that I'm fine on one structure at ~90 feet but not at ~150. Thanks everyone! Chris EDIT:Based on the current voting results, looks like everyone has alot of gear faith. That's also good to know. We trust our gear, which we should, but I wonder if it is a false sense of security. I mean, I wonder if everyone really trusts their gear, or if they are "expected" to trust it if they're jumping it. I fully trust my gear...until it fails the first time. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone, Ok, this is probably going to sound weird but I'm curious if anyone else has this problem, or at least thinks like I do. I am scared of heights. Now this isn't cut and dry. I live on the 9th floor of an apt building, I can look over my balcony, climb over and hang off of it, anything goes. I can get out of an airplane from 15k feet down to 2500 or less if I had to. This is where it gets odd. I have a friend who lives in the same apt building as me, but 6 floors above me on the 16th floor. (My math is correct, theres no 13th floor). I can stand on the balcony, I can look straight out, but I cannot look down, or lean over the balcony. I literally start shaking and freaking out. I am not to the point where I won't go beyond a certain floor or anything, but you won't see me on the balcony. I was on a 300 foot cliff helping some friends accomplish a BASE jump and had no problem looking over, it was weird. I think that I am afraid of a "range" of height, such as 150 ft to 250ft. I am totally fine under canopy for 99.347% of the ride. I get a weird feeling in my stomach when I turn base leg. I noticed this alot when I did my tandem. I was freaking out from 1000 feet to landing. Now I've gotten over that, but I still get the feeling on base leg, then my mind switches to landing mode and forgets "where" I am. Please tell me someone else has this issue? My friends laugh at me because I'm a chicken on the 16th floor, but I'll gladly leave an airplane... I don't care, but I also think it's kind of odd. I don't think it's a fear of the height, but more a fear of feeling unsafe. Thanks Chris EDIT: The mention of the % of the canopy ride I am afraid of was based on an ancient mathematical equation that uses the rotation of ...bah, nevermind. PM me for the details...haha "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Thanks. I've also never had a problem skydiving. I think the adrenaline may actually prevent any type of attack that might occur. It was mentioned above that it may be safer to get out due to the adrenaline flow. I do "have" a rescue inhaler and it's "sometimes" at the dropzone. I've never carried it on me or on the plane. In all honesty, I don't think I've had it at the DZ very often. It's something that really doesn't bother me anymore. The only time I notice a slight problem is in the spring when the pussy willows come out, and doing exercise in extremely cold weather. Extremely cold being -25C and below. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks for the great info guys! I don't have intentions of doing a HALO jump or anything like that anytime soon. I was just curious as to whether asthmatics were more susceptible to hypoxia. I know for skydiving, on a normal (

Hey kelpdiver, Thanks for the info...I must make one thing clear. I do not have frequest attacks anymore. The last time I was in the hospital for asthma was probably 5-6 years ago. When you say diving is a stupid risk, were you referring to scuba or skydiving? If you are referring to scuba, based on your name, I assume you have some idea about scuba diving. I wasn't sure if it was the increased pressure of scuba diving, or the fact that I would be breathing nitrogen/oxygen, or a combination of both. If you are referring to skydiving and I felt an attack coming on in the plane, I would honestly feel safer getting out. I have my asthma under control and know exactly when/if an attack will be just a mild shortness of breath, or I know I will need a hospital visit. Oddly enough, I can sense when a mild attack is coming on, I can't explain it, but I can. I know that I have to get someone to take me to the hospital when my chin gets itchy. Sounds weird, but it's the wonders of the human body. Even if my chin was itchy, I would still probably get out of the plane. I can make it down quicker. Plus, it's not like I pass out, and I'm sure most skydives I hold my breath anyways so it's not a big deal. I would be smart enough to know my limits. I know when I can and cannot do something when having an attack, after 16 years I know pretty well. Thanks for the input Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

To explain a bit of my reasoning, I'll add to my first post. I've had Asthma for 16 years. I used to have acute asthma and would randomly spend 1-3 weeks in hospital 3-4 times a year. I have been on my death bed 6 times. The doctors called in my parents and asked them to spend the night, incase... Now, I am much better I have a steroid puffer that I am supposed to take 2 puffs twice daily. I take it 3 puffs a couple times a week. I also have the ventolin (blue) rescue inhaler for when it is needed, which is rarely (once a month). My question is based around the fact that an asthmatic has reduced air/oxygen intake, so theoretically hypoxia will set in quicker. But, my defence to that, is that anyone who has had asthma for more than a few months, likely had their body adjust to this new "lower" intake of oxygen. So the way I breathe now, is 100% of what my body needs. So I am back on par with any regular person. I guess this would be best asked to a doctor, but I'm curious if anyone has ran into this before. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I have asthma and skydiving has not been any type of problem for me. I'm trying to get into scuba diving, but that looks like it's a whole nother ball game. Anyways, my question today is this: DO asthmatic skydivers become more suceptible to hypoxia? I mean, in an otter at 15k, we have to do a go around for a second drop or something...Am I more likely to become hypoxic before someone else who does not have asthma? I can see reasons why I would, but I can also back those with reasons why I wouldn't. Anyone else have any advice? Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Mine was on my chest strap in a small pouch...problem solved. But yes, I would say it is a snag point. I guess it's the risk any DZ that mounts it to the helmet takes. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Do you guys mean that the clubs themselves charge a fee? I'm assuming these are non USPA or CSPA etc clubs right? The only fees I pay are $84 for my CSPA membership. One jumper above said he pays $350 in dues each year. That is insane! Thanks for the clarification... Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I made one Tandem with 6 friends, and had no intention of getting involved.... HAD being the key word... AFF was simply the next step... "When once you have tasted flight..."

I agree with mothergoose on this one...that video taught me something I never realized was that serious. I knew about hypoxia, but not to that extent. I can't believe the girl standing in the door watching that guy obviously incapacitated on the floor, and not doing anything. I realize that she was hypoxic as well, but damn. This video also makes me wonder about the pilots. I can't see them being on their own oxygen system, but maybe. If you consider, that was one hell of a jump run, maybe they were hypoxic too and thought everything was ok. And if they were not hypoxic, you think they might wonder why everyone isn't out after 2 mins. Was it the pilot in the video that yelled "GO", or was it another jumper? Scary, Scary shit! Thanks for sharing the video! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."