ciscobird

Yeah, I experienced the phenomenon while demoing a Storm. I'm taking what I posted on their Facebook group page. By the way, I was probably loading the main at about 1.1-1.2. Start of the post: Just demoed Storm 135 at Spaceland this past weekend: Nice snivel and plenty of flare! Side note: after opening & before unstowing the toggles I pulled on a forward riser expecting to enter a diving turn only to have the canopy turn slowly into the opposite direction. I repeated with the opposite side, same response. Did the same thing again on the next jump, same thing it either would turn slowly into the opposite direction OR stay straight until I pull more on the riser. But once I unstow the toggles and pull on each forward riser, it would enter in a normal diving turn in the proper direction. Might be insignificant but it was interesting to discover that cross control is possible, especially on a Storm. End of post. Due to the low rate of turn there was never a concern. It made for an interesting observance.

Will the training still be offered at no charge as it used to be in the past? Thanks

"The screen refreshes at 1 frame per second..." Everything related to skydiving/base happens much quicker than that... I think I'll wait until they come out with the 2nd or 3rd generation model, if the first makes at all... Thanks for sharing, tho...

Hmm... Wouldn't wrapping some gaffers tape take care of that? If not, I might just splice wires together... That should be secure enough, wouldn't it? I did take a look at Lazslo's website... Didn't see anything (I probably didn't spend enough time or effort to find what I needed, tho)... Also, I'm gonna be wearing a deepseed sock so the cable and adapter should be shrouded in the sock, away from the wind. Thanks for the tip, I'll certainly will keep that in mind!

I really appreciate Skydive Temple, they were very accommodating to my deaf friend and myself. Helped us get our A license. Good people! Edit: Forgot to add that I know Mike B personally (he's deaf as well). Nothing wrong doing on his part but I know that on one occasion the grappling hook on his prosthesis got tangled with a fellow bellyflyer's suit sleeve as they docked together. Couldn't shake apart so the bellyflyer opted to deploy with the suit sleeve still twisted in the hook. Thankfully the sleeve gave away and they all had uneventful deployment and landing. There's a photo but you'll have to ask Mike.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Just purchased two (still cheap)! Many thanks!

Been searching for one... Anybody know where I can find one? Or possibly take a straight neck N3 plug and modify it to a 90 deg plug? Planning to take a generic blow switch and splice it onto a N3 plug. I am aware there is a product that does the job (blow switch with Nikon N3 plug) but it's way overpriced ($90 last I checked). I know I can do the job myself much cheaper with a straight neck plug but would prefer a 90 degree plug if it exists. Thanks

Just FYI to anybody digging this up... Purchased the Deepseed sock sized for a 400-450d... It fits... Not that I'm going to fly with the heavy lens but the opening was able to clear a 12-24mm. Tried with a 10.5, fits well. All is good... except that the sock does not come with provisions for the mounting thread and shutter cable so those will have to be procured on your own.

Nope... I don't think so... My experiences have shown that it usually takes longer to hear from small companies/manufacturers, especially those from out of country... In this case it only took a couple of hours before somebody replied here. It's not uncommon to wait a week or two before receiving a word from an offshore company, if at all. Sure, I could have contacted chutingstar but did not because I do not expect them to drop things right there and take a long walk through the warehouse just to look up the size of each sock to determine if it might fit a random camera. Also, before I made this post I tried searching the forum for similar information to no avail so I did my homework... Also, I feel this is the best place to ask, especially if somebody knows of another brand or party selling similar products...

Thanks! Didn't think of finding and comparing dimensions! Seems like the closest size would be still too short (about 10mm) in the grip length... Will the sock have plenty of play/loose fit in it to stretch that much? Or is there another camera sock/armor by a different manufacturer that I should check out? Thanks again!

Anybody knows if one of Deepseed sock models will fit a Nikon D5100? Checked Deepseed and Chutingstar websites... All options are for Canon models... I'm positive that one of those will fit the Nikon but which one? Thank you!

When I first started out, I would encounter sharp pains, especially right after deploying, in my ears. For an hour or so afterward I would be constantly spitting up thick bloody mucous. It had gotten to the point where I was seriously considering quitting. I couldn't bear the thought of dealing with that kind of stuff on every jump. It would especially get worse on the 3rd or 4th jump of the day. However, I decided to stick with it. Fortunately, it got better with time and experience. Bloody mucous stopped after I completed AFF training and started doing solo dives. Best of luck.

After 5 years of freeflying, still haven't gotten myself a decent freefly suit... been meaning to do so but I have something sorta like ocpd, couldn't decide on a brand... Anyway, during summertime I simply wear shorts and tuck my shirt in and tighten the belt as much as I can... otherwise the shirt will come up... rarely does anyway... During cooler time of year I simply wear jeans with tight rolls... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tight_rolled_pants It's very important to make sure that pants are tight rolled, especially when doing upright freeflying, otherwise the pants will balloon up and slow you down... Going off a bit here but still meaningful... I had a RW suit that unzipped all the way when I was doing a headdown dive... No biggie except when the time came to deploy... I couldn't reach the hacky because the loose fold of suit was blocking the access... I had to reach out and around the flapping piece of fabric for an uneventful deployment.

That one brings back alot of memories! Back in the 80's every summer I would play alot of Atarti games on a black and white tv in the back bedroom on my grandparents' farm. Had that very game, one of my favorites! I figured out that the lower you open the more points you received (as long as you landed on the target, the wind would vary between levels). I had gotten so good that a cousin was accusing me of cheating so once when I was far ahead of him Granny made us swap our joysticks midgame. True enough, I was able to not only beat my former score but to surpass it by a large margin. The cousin got visibly upset, throwing a small tantrum, while I laughed in his face. Thinking about it, I think I had more fun playing the Atarti game than the one that comes with Wii (the resort... the skydiving segment sucks).

Any surviving footage from any of go pros (see at least 2 go pros on his helmet)? Any idea for the cause of hesitation? Difficulty in finding the hacky or...?

Canopy size-wise, definitely yeah... When I first started out, I was renting a 190 that I was able to stand up on nearly every landing... When I was given an opportunity to buy a complete rig with a 7-cell 160 I expressed my reservation but was assured (by somebody I highly regarded) that I would handle it just fine. So for the next year or so, nearly every landing I made was either sliding or bouncing (some hard ones)... Sometimes making me want to quit the sport for good. I sticked to it until one day everything clicked... Of course, taking a canopy piloting course helped some...

Here's a drawing I hijacked from another thread...

Use your knee or whatever body part you have available to keep things from unraveling or coming apart, even your forehead if necessary. Be assertive as well, maintain a good grip throughout, too.

I own one made in 1994, same size (160). When I first started, I would pack it on the floor and would constantly get hard openings, sometimes worse than usual (enough to burn a couple of tiny holes where the closing rubber on the bag come in contact with and knock the wind out of myself as well). I attributed it to my less than ideal packing because once a rigger did it for me and the opening was so soft I couldn't believe it was the same canopy. Once I felt confident enough to pro pack, the openings improved drastically. After experimenting with several different (minor) techniques (trials and errors), I finally got it dialed. It might help to roll the nose and tail more than usual. Be sure to quarter and tuck the slider in. I remember now, what helped some is when it's rolled and on the floor in a upside-down triangle, fold each side in twice neatly as possible. Tuck and fold in the bag. There is a link to a website with photos showing the procedure. I forgot the name of the technique, Womack something... Named after a guy who came up with it... I'm sure someone will come along who knows what I'm talking about. Overall, it's a good all-around canopy. It's a good flare teaching canopy because once you make the transition to a 9-cell, flaring is much easier.

Yes, once in every while I have those dreams where I deploy on time only to have the lines stretch above with the bag still locked. 99.9% of time I somehow will myself to slow down to a soft & feathery landing. The best thing about having those dream is that often the laws of physics do not apply, enabling myself to do impossible things in the freefall (slower fallrate, tracking from/to and playing with different groups on the same run, intermixing different disciplines, etc).

That's what I thought... It's like interviewing for a job. You don't want to under- or oversell yourself so there has to be a balance. This particular show I watch, it's a one-episode event. Every show begins with a group of contestants and whittle down to the last winner. The $'s not bad for a day or weekend's work. If I was the casting director myself, I probably would avoid putting too many skydivers on the show. Disclaimer: Not everybody is the same but some of skydivers might have this loud & cocky attitude of, "come on! let's bring it on!!! huh? that's it, this is all you have?!?" But again, I might be mistaken. Some skydivers are known for their interesting personalities that might be alluring on the show.

A while ago was looking to apply to be on a reality show... On the application form we're asked to check off several activities that we're familiar with and on the list was skydiving, as well as scuba diving. My initial thought was that checking the skydiving part off would help with the odd of being chosen for the show. However I began to think it might not be a good idea because it might indicate that I would be "overqualified" (the show is very physical). The basis behind my assumption is that they probably don't want anybody who might scoff at the challenge presented on the show. What do you think? Next time I apply, should I announce that I pursue skydiving as a hobby or keep quiet and hope for a better chance of getting on the show? Am I wrong or...? Your thoughts please and/or flame away!

Yeah, that's good you were able to figure out how to control the canopy in relative to another in close proximity. However, IMO it's not a good idea to do CRW stuff without consulting an experienced CRW dog. No need to reinvent the wheel especially when some have gotten in serious trouble or worse doing those types of flying. Best to seek out and fly with somebody well-versed in the discipline before you proceed any further. At least, attend a CRW camp and/or watch numerous videos of wraps and entanglement (not pretty). If unable to find somebody in the area, best to stick to doing flock flying where you fly in close formation with minimal or no contact. Just my $0.02 worth. Basically have fun and stay safe!

We did the same thing last summer when we had the PD demo guy at our dz. On the last load, everybody (16 of us) opened all the way high. It was a strange feeling opening far away from the dz. Everybody were flying different kinds of demo main (I was flying the Optimum Reserve). It was cool seeing all PD orange canopies floating down an invisible "highway" in the sky.

+1 Whenever I'm flying under a different main other than what I'm used to, I try to do a clear and pull from full alt. to test and feel out the chute (turns, stalling, brake turns, pulling on risers, etc.). Make sure that you let it be known that you're pulling high, especially with the pilot and S&TA so they can keep eye out for you. Critical on windy days when it's common for canopies to drift away. Pay attention to where you are in relative to the DZ. Be alert to where the wind is taking you and make heading corrections to stay on the upwind side. Carry your phone with you in case you have to make an off dz landing. You might never know where you end up and need immediate help. If you enjoy opening so high, you should consider becoming a crew dog. They not only open all the way up, they play together as well. Have fun and stay warm and yes, I do enjoy those long rides!