Chris-Ottawa

25k???? That would be one damn long canopy ride. You would want to be conservative on your reserve, but you'd also want to burn up the altitude because hypoxia and skydiving are, not so good... On another note... Picture this same scenario but say he had dumped his reserve without chopping the main. Now, say your reserve had a mal, it could be a baglock, a stuck slider, lineover, whatever. Would you dump your main? (This part is pretty dumb as I know pretty much anyone would do it if they had no other choice.) Second part to this question is what type of things might you consider before doing such a thing. I mean would you try to clear the reserve to the last second, dump your main right away, induce a spin then try to get your main out of the way of the reserve(similar to hang gliding where you throw your reserve to the side), would you just throw and hope for the best etc... This is purely out of curiosity and is probably pretty unlikely to happen, but I prefer having though about the different mals and what I would do in each scenario. Everyone will react to a mal in a different way or sequence, but we are all accomplishing the same thing. I have had a reserve ride and I fought with it based on I had alot of altitude. I checked my altitude, VERY often and can recall roughly what happened at any altitude during the mal. Some people said they would have done the standard try one, try twice, chop. I tried until my decision altitude, or slightly above. I guess in all of that I'm asking if you would ever intentionally induce a 2 out situation, if you had dumped your reserve first. I hope all that makes sense. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I disagree... She has every right to be jumping, she just has to be mindful of the spot and the winds. I'm not sure if you're simply saying she doesn't deserve to jump due to her size, or you're making a point that she should be very careful of the winds but either way. I do agree to the rule about not getting a 135 before 400 jumps, and that is very smart, but I don't think that takes into consideration all jumpers. I did all my training on Manta 288's and yes, I went backwards too. I was loading it at roughly .45:1. My DZ only has 288's and a Navigator 280 that I also used. After PFF(AFF), I was using a borrowed 210 from jump 10 to 15. I then put 1 jump on a 170, and the next 10 were on a 150. At this point my instructors cleared me to jump the gear we had agreed would be suitable, my Spectre 135. I have been jumping that since jump 30 or so. I'm now at 55 jumps and still on my 135, love it and don't think I'll ever downsize. Maybe eventually go elliptical but that's probably it. I'm not saying this is a good downsizing route for anyone, including myself, but I trust my instructors and I have been doing very well. I haven't even gotten my legstraps dirty...yet... I am very cautious and not pushing my luck at all, that's why my instructors said I'd be ok under the 135. I have never once landed out, at any of the dropzones I've been to. I came close once when I was in New York, but we were told to get out, and the spot looked decent to me so we did. I landed on the property, but not far from the treeline. To be honest though...I had a few times where I got scared under the very lightly loaded canopy especially coming in for landing. I dreaded a collapse, but thankfully it never happened. The only reason I could see a need for me to downsize from a 135 would be to increase the wingloading slightly for a more stable flight in rougher conditions to prevent collapse, but I'm not terribly concerned under a Spectre loaded about .96:1. My 0.02 cents. Chris EDIT:Spelling... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Golden, I'm over in Ottawa, send me a PM and I'll try to give you a few details on the difference. I currently jump a Spectre, and I've jumped Sabre2's and Pilots which are both 9 cells. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

You know, when I first started Jumping, I thought it was very expensive. I realize now that I was totally wrong. The training is expensive, but when you break it down, you're paying for the AFF jumps, instructors time, slots, and gear rental. It works out. As far as gear goes I think it's an average sport. Anyone ever tried to get into Hockey and find out how much gear and training costs? Then throw in a few tournaments and you're well over skydiving. Same goes for baseball, soccer, ringette, etc... If you don't liek the prices, quit bitching, sell your gear and get out of the sport. There is a difference to try and keep prices competitive in your grumbling, but to go on and on is just a waste of effort. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I've had mine for about 35 or 40 jumps and sometimes....only sometimes though, you might find me wearing it in my house. I love knowing that I'm going to be under the same canopy all the time, it's going to land the same etc. It's nice to get used to ONE canopy and set of gear. I'll be happier when my gear is paid off and I can spend all that extra money on jumping.... Enjoy the gear and take care of it.. It's your life afterall. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

In response to another poster, yes mine has a slight curve to it, but it is still damn snug. I can almost lift my rig by the main flap before the flap unlocks and exposed the pin. Mind you, my rig only has about 55 jumps on it. If you take care of the rig, it should last a while, plus it should be possible to replace the stiffener. Thanks for the tip too. I'm gonna try that and see if I can tuck it under less flaps... Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Are you referring to an old or new Javelin? I just a new Javelin (2003) and it is extremely secure, nothing is exposed. Please explain what you mean and I'd be happy to take some pictures for you. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I just a Z1 Full face and love it. I love to wear my sunglasses under it instead of goggles, then once I'm under canopy, I can open the visor and feel the wind. (

Hello, I think everyone in this sport is absolutely right, 3 is too much, 2 is enough. Adding a third can only create problems. I think the sport has advances far enough that the deaths in the sport are caused by 2 things: 1) Stupidity/Human Error 2) Freak accidents Everyday life contains risk, yes skydiving is risky, but we all know our gear works and we trust our gear. This is where the touchy word of "safe" comes into skydiving. Skydiving is high risk, but the gear, the people, are safe. The sport is also a safe sport, but one mistake and that's the end. I suggest taking a look at the Fatality databas on this site. Read through all the malfunctions and see how many were due to gear. You'll be quite surprised I think. I've only ever heard of 2 double malfunctions, but I include those in "freak accidents". Now, if we were losing 2-300 people in a year, then there is a problem, but on average, 50-70 per year is pretty low considering what we're doing. If all we did was exit the plane, solo freefall, and deploy around 4k with lots of comfort room, never do Crew and never swoop, there would probably be very few fatalities. When things like swooping, CREW, freefly, and RW get added, it increases the risk and the chance of injury. Ask yourself this: Would you jump if there was no risk at all? I would imagine you would say yes. Now would you enjoy it if there was no risk? I would imagine you would say no to this eventually. Humans get thrill from doing risky things, it's as simple as that. If you are severely worried about your second chute failing, you have a few options. -Don't jump -Jump with a third chute (but what if that one fails too?) It all comes down to a personal choice, if you want to jump with 3 chutes, I'm sure sure that no one would stop you unless it comes down to "their" safety. Honestly, you'll learn more as you get more jumps and hang around the DZ more and more. Your question will be answered in time and I would just let things play out! Have fun jumping! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

You are hilarious Jose. I have sent you a PM and posted in here to explain why you're so upset. I think you're the one with the closed mind, I've opened my mind to hear you're opinion more than once, and where's your reply? All you came up with was that I said Hahah, before talking about the war. Umm, did you read what I said after I said Hahaha? Just because you "understood" it to be that I was laughing at the families and friends makes me the ass? Like I said in the PM, by you not responding you're just proving that you have no valid point. Thanks for wasting my time. Either way, I'm also done with this, thanks for your genuinely intelligent response, erm....nevermind. Smile and nod, smile and nod. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Dayle, You are correct, hence why I said Gan is an hour and a bit. Looking at a map just now, it's probably closer to 2 hours. My mistake. Still, depends how far you wish to travel to find a "cozy" DZ. AGK, As far as personal opinion, I haven't been to any of the Toronto DZ's. I have only jumped at Mile High in Ottawa, and Gananoque. I'm going to The Ranch in New York tomorrow morning so that should be fun. I might suggest calling around, finding out which DZ gives you the best "recurrency" jumping, then try out all the other ones and get a feel for which one you fancy. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I'm in Ottawa, just a few hours east of Toronto. As for choice of DZ, they're all similar, just find one that you like. Figure out which one has the planes you want, the atmosphere you best fit into etc... Also, consider how much you want to travel, Skydive Gananoque isn't terribly far, maybe an hour and a bit. It's all about preference, there are no DZ's that operate "substandard" gear or anything. They all follow CSPA guidelines as well. I also might suggest checking out the cspa website for the nitty gritty stuff. http://www.cspa.ca/en/index.htm As far as getting back into the sport without repeating everything...I have no idea, best to talk to the DZ of choice. Most of the DZ's, if not all in Ontario are closed for "student" jumping. They normally reopen in April/May. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Honestly, why was that trollish? The discussion is about oil prices, I explained who controls them (or at least my opinion). I don't see where you get trolling from that? I put links to the oil reserves in the world, and an article about how the government hushed something that would decrease their profits from oil. Please explain how that would be trolling? Was my post not on topic?? I think it was. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Jose, Thanks for replying. I'm not trying to defend my statement at all. I still don't think you're getting what I said, maybe you didn't notice the sarcasm right "before" I said "hahah". Either way, these are forums, where opinions are expressed, and I expressed mine. Whether they are right or wrong, I'll never know and neither will you. No one else as far as I saw made any mention about the post. Anyways, Thanks again for replying Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Just checked my PIM and sure enough, it says solo 2500, and all others 2200. It is dated January 2004, so obviously it has changed since then. Cool! "When once you have tasted flight..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut1kGmOhzWQ Quote: The 14th of june, François Bon and Antoine Montant did the world first speedflying descent of the mount Eiger in Swiss. See more here: http://www.acro-base.com ... (more) First video on their site too... I think it was them... http://www.acro-base.com/en/galerie/video/video.htm "When once you have tasted flight..."

So why can't you jump the heli? I know you have to activate main by 3000, but it's a bit of a different problem. You;re not at terminal freefall. What I'd do is, make it a hop n' pop. If you freefall for 2 or 3 seconds you'll still be above 2800ish and you'd be fine. I'd suggest talking to your current instructors, ask them what you should do, and when you get to the ranch, ask them too. I'm sure they'll say you're fine. Please don't just use my advice, ask your instructors and the DZ! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

The PIM is dated April 2006, so I think it's pretty current. I'm still sure mine from 2004 says 2200 for A and above. I will confirm when I get home, I could just be dyslexic. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Came directly from my PIM last night. I thought it was normal and fairly uniform across the board. I honestly thought CSPA and USPA were almost identical in rules, but obviously that is untrue. http://www.cspa.ca/forms/PIM1.pdf I just looked at this one and it may be different than the one I have at home. You are correct, A's are 2500ft. Mine is from 2004, and I'm sure it says 2200, but I could be wrong. It's on page 7, section 2.5 in the above link. Sorry bout the confusion. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hmm, I'm not sure you understand what I posted. im not apologizing for anything because it's all true. I didn't slam any Americans, I didn't slam any war heroes, and I didn't slam any individuals, it's not their fault. It's you trusty government. And if you don't think the government has the oil companies in their right hand pocket...boy, have you got some things to learn... And tell me, you think the war is justified and has nothing to do with the oil they have over there? Think about it. Feel free to PM me your bad words, I'll be more than happy to listen. I have no reason to be upset with you, you just didn't understand the point of my post. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Yeah, I used to be obsessed with heli's and my sister's B/F flew for a small company in northern Ontario. They had 2 Bell 205's and 3 long rangers. I could have sworn it was a Eurocopter and it is, but the website said it was a Bell. I guess I assumed they would know. The firefighters up here use EC130's to drop crews and transport officials and whatnot. Eurocopter makes a nice looking chopper. I've attached a few pictures of the Eurocopter that was at our home fire base when I flew fire patrols from a Cessna 337 a couple summers ago. The last 2 Pics are of the water bombers and one of the 337's we flew in, with a Griffon (412) taking off in the background. The army also does survival training as we are basically surrounded by forest. "When once you have tasted flight..."

That is crazy... Here in Canada, Students and solo licenses must activate main by 2500'. All licenses A and above must be activated by 2200'. You guys should head on up to Canada for a few jumps. That and our 180 day repack cycle..I'd say someone is getting things "skimmed" off the bottom. Not a big deal but just odd that there is that much of a difference. As an A license holder I can open just above what a D license holder can in the states, odd. Now this brings up another question, as a member of CSPA, do I have to follow USPA rules while on a US DZ, or do I stick to CSPA? I assume CSPA but never know... Thanks everyone! "When once you have tasted flight..."

I would say you are ever so right..... They look identical. Now, why would their own website call it a Bell helicopter... Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

If you're really concerned, I suggest talking to your local government. They control the oil anyways. By the way, how's the war doing? I hear there "may" be oil over there that the US "may" want to get their hands on. Not that the US cares about the oil though....Right? Right guys? Hahah, I feel for all the families that are losing mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters for the oil that you and I graciously use at will. Check this out...the oil reserves by country in BILLIONS of barrels... http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html I agree though, we are using way too much oil and yes it will run out. But none of those sites say how long right? The US has BILLIONS of gallons of oil in reserve. If the oil just stopped coming from the ground, the US could probably supply the US with oil for a few years. Plus Canada has the oil sands in Alberta, lots of oil in there to be had. I'm pretty sure it's not an immediate problem, but it is a problem. Personally, I don't worry about these things. I do my part to conserve and if we run out one day...well, that's gonna be a shitty day if we haven't figured out hydrogen, solar, or other renewable means. You and I can do nothing about the prices, how much oil is available, how much the govt says is available etc, all we can do is conserve and I think the governmets are being useless when it comes to promoting alternative means of fuel. They make too much money from it. Period. Check out this interesting link...proves my point, and no one really knows the truth. Was a 200mpg Carburetor made in the 1930's and the oil companies and government canned it because of the effects it would have on the industry???? Think about it... http://www.google.ca/search?hs=bei&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=%22Charles+N.+Pogue%22+carburetor&btnG=Search&meta= Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Looks cool, more competition. Curious though, in this link, does it not look like the Icarus logo??? Or at least the same design/positioning as Icarus? (Look on the chute in the picture) http://www.cimsa.com/engineering_eras.aspx "When once you have tasted flight..."