butlerhr

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Everything posted by butlerhr

  1. butlerhr
    Dan contacted me three weeks ago about a memorial dive for Terry Goode. Now we have to do one for Dan. He was actively supporting a local charity golf tournament to raise funds for wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars. We will miss the "Brick." Butler
  2. butlerhr
    Take care to keep the corrosion product, that is being removed by the pad, away from the gear. It is an abrasive material that can get worked into fabrics and damage them from the inside. The safety wire used on aircraft is usually stainless steel between .025 anf .032 inch dia and makes a great finger trap tool. The shiny side goes UP Butler
  3. butlerhr
    Once the material starts crazing the best solution is replacement. The crazing is not just a surface defect, it goes deeper. The lens cleaning kits are made for uncoated polycarbonate lenses, which this is NOT. The visor is coated for fog resistance and the lens cleaner will remove it. As stated above the visor is not terribly hard. Keep the shiny side up. Butler
  4. butlerhr
    It seems to me that stability on exit from the aircraft is more a result of proper presentation to the relative wind and symmetric body position than the direction taken out the door. The proper presentation gets the body oriented correctly, which is always perpendicular to the wind. The symmetric body position does nothing to change that, which is stability. My experience is that less experienced jumpers have difficulty with the symmetric body position because they have not developed the muscle memory of a truly symmetric body. Many students have trouble with just doing nothing [holding the symmetric position] until the airspeed builds and they have more control. DSE's comment about having them hold a salute sounds like an attempt to get them to hold a good body position. I know it is not the answer the OP was looking for, but my experience is that I can go any direction I want from the door and be stable. Don't ask how long that took. The shiny side goes UP Butler
  5. butlerhr
    In competetive FS gloves help with grips on exit and during block moves, hence the popularity of "tackified" gloves with that group. Being of that group I wear them all the time and put liners in an oversized pair for really cold weather. Snug fit is important so that loose material doesn't get caught in places it should not. I also have my visual altimeter in a pocket on the glove now, so they are used almost 100% of my jumps. Keep the shiny side up! Butler
  6. butlerhr
    Yes it can be done safely. It is a requrement for the 'A' license now as I recall. Be aware that the flare will be much less effective due to reduced air speed, so be prepared to PLF. It is something to try on every new canopy you fly so you can use it if you need to with out being suprised. Butler
  7. butlerhr
    I ordered 2 sets for a Nitron last August and got them in time for nationals. Haven't had a reason to talk to them of late. Hope you get through to them. Continuous rigged canopies are sooo easy to re-line it would be a shame to send it in. The brake lines for the Nitron were too short for front riser work so I made my own. Would expect for the Xaos they would get them right. Good Luck
  8. butlerhr
    I have an Icarus Omega that instead of quartering the slider, I wad it up to delay catching air and this helps reduce opening from 1200 ft to 900 ft. I do this for this canopy ONLY. Yes, the presentation of the slider (quartering) will have an effect on the opening.
  9. butlerhr
    How old are the batteries? Have seen weak batteries give flaky results. Try removing the batteries and cleaning the contact surfaces of the batteries and the device. If new batteries don't solve it, get in touch with L&B. As mentioned above, their service is the best. Good Luck
  10. butlerhr
    A Judy. And I am not an instructor.
  11. butlerhr
    Yes Vectran 750 is a better choice than spectra because it is dimensionally stable where spectra is not. Would be crazy to have all the suspension lines stable and the brake lines shrinking with use. I am presently using this set up on a nitron 135 because the dacron replacement brake lines are too short to allow good front riser turns. The 750 vectran brake lines have a service life about equal to the HMA suspension lines.
  12. butlerhr
    4900 1cutaway Slider up spinner 1 total Handle came off pilot chute and left pilot chute in the BOC pouch
  13. butlerhr
    When departing the aircraft use as little effort as needed to get you safely away. Any energy you put in has the potential to make you unstable if it is not acting thru your center of mass. A very important thing (which was alluded to above) is to assume your normal flying position as soon as possible after departing the aircraft. Then try doing nothing for a count of 2 or 3. Trying to move on the hill tends to cause problems at first. When you get it you will enjoy!
  14. butlerhr
    tail, H
  15. butlerhr
    Follow the pilot's instructions so that you don't cause more problems for the pilot by doing things that are not expected. You can make things a lot worse for the pilot by causing shifts in CG or asymmetric drag (by opening the door) to name a couple.
  16. butlerhr
    The cause of orbiting is that your body position in freefall is not neutral. It does not take much to cause movement. Sometimes video can show the problem if the cameraman gets the appropriate angles. A good freefall coach (Skydive U trained or similar) should be able to help you diagnose and correct the probably small problem(s) with body position. Wind tunnels are really good for these problems because the problem is apparent in an instant(you run in to the walls if you don't sit still), and the coach can give you feedback to try right away. Good Luck
  17. butlerhr
    I have been using the Precision Aero version since 1998. If you pull hard when cocking it the pin will come thru the stitching before it gets to the "gate" that is supposed to make it pop out. A slow cocking action has made mine last about 1000 jumps before it needed the kill line replaced due to shrinking (Spectra line). It has never failed to collapse even when the bridle is twisted tight. I think the twisting occurs post-collapse. It is fun to ask people for a pin check and they tell me they can't see the window or colored line.
  18. butlerhr
    Have the rigger who replaces the grommets sew a piece of webbing on the bag flap between the grommets to stiffen the flap and the grommets will not hit each other nearly as often. The bag in the referenced thread was modified that way and 900 jumps later the grommets are slightly better looking than yours. Good Luck
  19. butlerhr
    See this thread for a similar situation. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1258647;search_string=%20grommets;#1258647
  20. butlerhr
    The Omega loaded that lightly (.88) will be a docile performing canopy. I have approx. 1800 jumps on Omegas at wing loadings of 1.2 and 1.4. At 1.2 it is a fairly docile canopy. The brake line stroke is quite long on the larger sizes. It also opens very slowly at lighter wing loadings (900-1200 ft. to open) so if you buy it make the first jump a very high pull so it doesn't surprise you.
  21. butlerhr
    What is most bothersome about lobbyists is the way they use money to get the legislators attention instead of the merit of the position that they represent.
  22. butlerhr
    There does not seem to be a universal formula for speed change vs weight added. As mentioned above, trial and error seems to be the best way. I think the individual shape/flexibility combination is too poorly defined to make a standard calculation feasible. I wear weight with most other FS jumpers to stay comfortably centered in my fall rate range. I have learned that certain shape/weight combinations require X amount of lead. Once I have found that baseline, I have to keep track of my own weight changes and add or subtract 1 for 1 for my body weight changes. Belts are preferable to start as they have minimal effect on the pitch of your body.
  23. butlerhr
    Have a rigger or very experienced packer show you how to do a line (sometimes called a continuity) check. A step through will show up in this type of check. A demonstration is better than all the description that I can give you here.
  24. butlerhr
    This can be taken out of an otter or off a tail gate. Exit a sidebody piece. From an otter the outside person does a head jam to have both grips on exit. Don't try to out at 90 from the plane, go back at about a 45. Both turn 360 (like block 7) back to the sidebody grips. Then have the gripped person turn 90 to a cat. Both then turn 180 to the opposite cat (like the tail piece of block 9). Then turn 90 to a compressed accordian. Then 180 to a compressed on the other side(like the front piece of block 9). Then back to top of page. The piece is real stable out the door, so a great chance to do the first turn steep on the hill for experienced folk. For a less experienced partner slow it down and work on precise moves.
  25. butlerhr
    I broke my left femur 11 years ago (at age 44) very close to the place yours is broken, and it was repaired the same way. I spent 6.5 months out of skydiving (but only 3months out of motorcycle riding). My orthopod was a sports minded fellow and he watched the healing progress on the x-rays, and when he was satisfied, he gave the ok to jump. It took almost 9 months before it was not really an issue. Opening shock has never been an issue for me and the broken femur. But then, I have always had new design, slow opening canopies. If your orthopod was nice enough to use a titanium rod, it won't even set off the metal detectors at the airports and other places. Best way to minimize the down time is to do the PT (yes the therapists are sadists) and try not to limp so you don't have to unlearn a bad habit. Good Luck and keep the shiny side up on the scooter.