aubsmell

That one is choice........ "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I don't have a lot of experience with a lot of different brands freefly handles, but I've seen a few different variations. I can only talk about ours with any certainty. I jump our freefly handle, and it is VERY firmly in place when it is properly tucked it. we have a BOC tuck, and then the other side tucks under the sideflap/bridal-cover. From a side angle you can lift the rig with this handle, if you lift from the bottem of the rig it comes right out. So basically it won't just pop out during flight, or if it gets a slight snagg in freefall or exit. This is exactly what it is designed for. However, the one downfall I have found is this. I frequently jump a wing suit. The angle which I pitch is different than that of a normal deployment, and I have found it rather difficult. So in this case, I prefer a hacky. If I don't have another rig with me (the freefly handle is on my primary rig) and I hook my suit up to it. I just don't tuck the side under the bridal cover, and it makes it way easier. Just my two cents... peace "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

http://www.asksnoop.com/ Just type in any url and it snooptifies it....but you can only do one page at a time... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I'm not super sure on prices, but I am currently visiting Australia and I met a guy called Jason Cooke (cookie) and he owns a company called cookie Composits and I was really impressed with his helmets. Check them out at http://www.cookiecomposites.com or email him at cookie@cookiecomposites.com peace, out "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I see you jump at skydive tampa, with Cliff Dobbson, he is the Triathlon Guru, he practically invented that canopy, or was at least there every step of the way. Ask Cliff to help you out, or borrow the packing video from him, I know he has a copy. If I were going to make a suggestion, I would suggest packing it just ilke they do in the video. Turning in each of three cells on either side of the center cell. Pay close attention to haveing your slider grommets up against the slider stops, make sure you are using nice new small rubber bands, and your stoes are equal in size and about the length of your thumb. Give me a call, of you have any questions. 813 891 6300 Take it easy- Aubrey- "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

We do have Tri's to demo, the demos listed on our sight are demos owned by out distributors. Send an email to Nick Bosco n.bosco AT aerodyne-int.com, he'll square you away. It is on risers, with a d-bag and pilot chute, do you just have to pop it into your rig, it is $30 for a weekend. As for the Icon's we don't mail them out as demos, there are quite a few of our distributors who have them in their shops. Or you can catch up with us at one of our tour stops, check out the calendar on our website. If you have any further questions about the icon, or want to just chat about it with one of us feel free to give us a ring. 813 891 6300 Take it easy- "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Bomber freefly suits yo.....in the hizous, they rock top quality and great customer service... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

At Aerodyne we can put almost any design you want on to the bottom skin of your canopy (as long as you order it from us new, not existing canopies), however it will be applied as a sewn appliqué. There is no set price, but I’ve given estimates for a bunch of them, and I’d say anywhere from $250 for something simple, to like a grand for something really super extravagant, would be the ballpark. It does add a bit of pack volume to the canopy, again that depends on how complex and large the art is. One thing that I’d like to post here, just for general knowledge, remember the appliqué needs to be darker than the bottom skin, the nylon we use for the canopies is rather transparent so if you sewed white fabric onto the bottom of a black canopy it wouldn’t work, however if you sewed black on white, it would be fine. I believe that we are not the only manufacturer who offers this service. I have no idea other companies prices, again that is a case by case sort of thing. I wouldn’t recommend going the do it your self method, as mentioned in an earlier post, almost nothing sticks to PN4, it is really slick stuff, if you noticed on the older canopies, like your Icarus lable and some of the first of the new aerodyne stuff we put out, the labels with the names (Pilot, Vision, etc) are screen printed on F111 type fabric, the labels don’t hold up too well, so we have gone to dye sublimation (where the ink is inside the fabric). Even on the less slick F111 type fabric, screen print doesn’t hold up. I know there are wicked advertisment rules in the forums, so I hope this doesn't cross the line, I am not trying to sell this service, just tryng to let people know what's up with tattooing their parachutes. So if the moderator sees this as advertisment, please delete the whole thing and I'll try to rewrite it, not mentioning any names or something. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

That combo works well... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Your opinion is noted. One thing I can say about a lot of the rigs in these photos is they are the largest models. I6's and such, and like in any rig, the larger ones are never as sexy as the smaller ones. That’s why I posted a picture of mine (an I2) the second from smallest side by side second from largest. I'll post a couple photos in this post of one of the new I2's, with the new design. In my opinion, which is only an opinion, it is looking much cooler, more symmetrical. One warning I'll say to any rig buyer, container manufacturers sizes their containers not just for one parachute, or combination of parachutes. Take for instance the reserve container, you would want the container to fit a variety of canopies, say a Speed 150, PDR 143, Smart 150, Micro Raven 150, Rmax, you get the picture. Since there is no hard and fast rule on how companies size these canopies, they are all similar but not exactly the same, therefore there has to be some play in the design. This being said, one thing that I see a lot is that people always want to stuff ten pounds of S*@# into a five pound bucket. Especially on the high end. I find myself constantly trying to talk people out of this. When a company puts that a canopy size X to a canopy size Y will fit in the reserve container, and a G to an H in the main, it is never going to look great if you pack the two biggest things that will fit in there CAN possibly fit. However a lot of people insist on doing this. Mainly because they plan on downsizing their main. Every company has to deal with this, and the riggers that pack them have to deal with it. This is where you get somewhat undesirable looking pack jobs. If you have ever seen Jeff from Mirage pack a rig, you'll know that guy could refold a used fitted sheet back into its original packaging, where he can put what he says is the biggest smart into an M4, there are a lot of weekend riggers that either can't get it in or stuff it in but it looks like crap. I can tell you this from a lot of experience, I've seen a lot of rigs out there, having now taken demo rigs to events for three rig manufacturers, RWS, Sunpath and now Aerodyne, when I looked at the charts and put the biggest thing in there that would possibly fit, it NEVER looked as good as if you put one in there that was in the mid to lower end of the range. I see that you jump all Parachute Systems gear, A Vortex and it's component canopies, I'm sure you picked the canopies that fit that system best, and therefore it looks the best. I wish more people would get the canopies that best fit the containers. Vortex, good choice, a well designed rig. Either way, noticing your comments in this forum, where people post pictures of the systems they took the time to design and are quite proud to jump. I'd like to thank you for your thoughtful, well-researched and poignantly articulated commentary, based on your wealth of experience. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I am currently jumping 2 Visions a104 at 2.01, and a 94 at 2.23. Major differences in Vision.1 and Vision.2, a little more dive, a lot more flare (much deeper stall point), and slightly more responsive in the toggles. The openings are a little quicker. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Thanks Scott, that would be cool, the more picture's I can get the better. a.easterlin(AT)aerodyne-int.com "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

it seams like everyone likes the wings design, this is the only bad thing I've heard about them, I don't think the type 4 webbing will cut into most people who have non cross braced canopies, but people who are doing long turns with a canopy that really builds pressure will fill it for sure, I guess the question is, if you use type 17 in an ourward facing desing like this will you be able to get your slider down over the dive loops? I think that could be a problem, and that's why he went with type 4...... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Curt, After just getting off the phone with your and hearing the news, my heart is completely broken. Since Saturday when I first found out about her accident, I have been choking, looking to find the right thought to think, or the right word to say. I have known Adria for a little more than a year and a half it has been nothing but a positive experience. She possessed a personality that would just light up a room. In the plan this year for Aerodyne, we decided to focus on sponsoring instructors, not necessarily Athletes, but when i was speaking to her in December of last year, just chatting and I found out her and Frida were going to do a serious team this year, I was instantly interested in sponsoring them. (even though at the time I didn't know Frida, and Jessica hadn't been involved yet) The thing that made me want to lend the companies support, was her unparalleled excitement with skydiving and improving herself as a jumper. And I got the feeling that she would be a driving force in competition and an example to female free flyers and stimulate more women to form teams and compete. I believe she was on the way to all of these things. There are so many reasons why a company would be lucky to have a Skydiver like Adria represent them. She was super intelligent, yet didn't presume to know everything, she was personable, fun and funny. She had an easy way with people, and seemed to make friends at every turn. She was articulate, strait forward and communicated eloquently and effectively. She has been a major help in giving me a female perspective on the Icon, as well as just a hard skydiving jumpers perspective, and just over all constructive input on all aspects of our gear sales system, image. Everything. I will miss dearly my weekly hello's from her, her big ol smile, her willingness to be silly, her daring spirit (we went to jump off of some cliffs into a lake two weeks ago, and she was the only one who would do a back flip, even my good buddy JT, who hates to be outdone wouldn't do one) Heaven will be a little brighter for sure, and all of us still bound by human form will certainly miss her. My prayers are with her family, Frida, Jessica, and all of her friends from SoCal and elsewhere. we have to learn a lesson from this, this is a dangerous dangerous game we play, so please, please, please be careful out there. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I'll have an A2 389 at least for the boogie, maybe a 350. I can't wait to come up there, for that boogie, you guys have to do some mad promo to get some more of the south east's jumpers there.....That DZ is a Gem, a diamond in the rough..... Skydivers and drunken college students, a winning combo. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

thanks Egon, we don't have a tremendous ammount of sponsored jumpers at the moment, but I agree that is a great avenue. We probibly have about 15 different sets dive loops with different configurations that are being or have been tested, jumped and the like, if you noticed the ones I jump aren't the production ones. The heart of this qestion isn't really what is the best for swooping or the like, as most sponsored folks are highly experienced, more of what I'm looking for is the core. what do peopel find comfortable, our core of customers, the weekend jumper that does a hundred jumps a year, the guy or gal who most likely isn't going to modify the risers from the factory setting. Although I've gotten the most informative answers from the guys with way more jumps than me. Take into account if you look at Jay, Ian, Shannon, Heath, Cisco, JC, Clint, Luigi, all those guys, I'll bet you'll almost never fing the same dive loops on any of their rigs, when you have thousands of jumps you are more likely to fine tune your skydiving gear to fit your perticular style of flight and deisre for perticulars of comfort. What I really want is to have a system that has the best starting point, something that feels natural, is easy to use, easy to locate in flight, and utilize without searching around and looking up, and doesn't require much second effort in packing, along with nutral bulk (rigs, like your girlfriend, look better when they stay slim), I'm getting some great feeback here which is much appriciated tough, and it just gives us more to look at, open our eyes a little bit. As for the Relative workshop Risers, I think the have one of the best production risers on the market, the pin locking system is key, key I tell you. (that is why we snaked that aspect), cost a little more to build, but in my opinion really cuts down the likelyhood of a break fire. By the way, I'm coming to your house tomorrow and staying through tuesday, so make sure you run along to the store tonght, I like Corona. See you tomorrow. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I took a look at them, I'd like to have a pair for myself, I'l get Jody to hook me up this week, but I don't think they would be kosher for a production riser dive loop. I cold get into why, but that is for another forum... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

if you have made some customized modification to your risers and are proud of it, post a picture that would be cool.... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

In an effort to constantly improve the Icon, I’d like to know what all you guys think is the best front riser dive loop on the market. I know this is a very open ended question and may not net anything more than a bunch of different opinions. I would like comments on what you guys and gals think are good qualities in a front riser dive loop. Feel free to either give an example, i.e "X company has the best dive loops ever” or explain what you’d like to see in a dive loop, in terms of arrangement and functionality. Do you like smaller, bigger (two fingers or the whole hand), do you like them to lay flat, or naturally pop open, side mounted, tacked in two places, anything. I know what I like, but I’d like to know what you’d like. Instead of us selling you a set of risers with dive loop X, and telling you why it is so great, I’d rather take it to you and see if we can get some sort of over all consensus and build a riser with dive loops that the majority of skydivers will be happy with… Thanks. Aubs "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

P.S. Hey Aubrey, i guess we will have to do a Mirage way every day as well!! You can go ahead and be a big ole copy cat if you want, or you can just be a sport and get in on the sunset jump, hell I'll even let you lead one day.... and we can call it the Aerodyne-Mirage tracking dive.... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Hey Cindy, I am so glad you are doing this boogie....Looks like it is going to be pretty great.....let me know if there is anything more I can do. I want to organize an Aerodyne Sunset Track each day....Everyone is invited, but I want to get all the people jumping our stuff on there at least.... I have to think of some really good prizes and give aways for this one.... I don't know how many people are reading this that aren't from Tallahassee, or have some association with the DZ in some way, so I'll break it down a little. Tallahassee is my home DZ, Both Bosco and I (aerodyne guys) are Graduates of FSU. It is one of the best small DZ's on earth, a true family atmosphere. (it is also home to Justin from Mirage, and Ericka from Birdman) One of the big draws to come down to Tallahassee for the boogie is the town itself, this perticular weekend is the first home game for the Seminoles, they play a weak team, so going to the game would be a bit of a waste, but going out on friday night on Tennessee St, is well worth the trip in and of itself,it is one of the biggest party schools in the country, and if you haven't wittnessed the struggle to this end goal first hand, you haven't lived, it is a sight to see. It is going to be a sweet weekend. "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

this is my I2, and an S7 "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

From this forum I've gotten a couple of emails from the various content of posts, I really like getting the questions so pelase if you anything you read here ispires you to ask a question, that you don't necessarily feel benifits the forum, please feel free to email me directly. However I have gotten two emails reference this subject: We use 1000 denier Cordura on all of our sport rigs. (unless you specify parapack, which is actually 420 denier pack cloth) When we say Cordura, that is in reference to the Brand Dupont Cordura Plus, it is almost like saying klenex or Xerox, it has become the common brand term for Ballistic Nylon, or Textured Nylon. There are literally hundreds of manufacturers of this fabric in the world. I would be willing to bet that no container manufacuter gets all their "Cordura" from a single supplier, as no one wants to have all their eggs in one basket, If Joe doesn't have purple, you want to know that Jim does. Some of these nylons are made with the Dupont fabric, usually in the US, then they have imported stuff that may not be Dupont brand, and is sometimes equally as good or even performs better in the testing we do on the fabric. We use Cordura Brand 1000 denier ballistic nylon on all of our sport containers. We get it from one general supplier, but sometimes use alternates. I would say that that in conjuncton with all the Ballistic inserts we use in our rig (anyone who has ever felt one will notice that there is stratigic reienforcements in the sidewalls and teh main riser covers) would make the rig quite durable. For instance Relative Workshop excluesively uses 500 denier cordura in all of its sport rigs, which is made from yarn that is half the denier weight as the stuff most other coppanies in the industry use, however I have never seen any evedince that their material is in any way inferior. in fact my boss man, Bushman would rather us build our rigs with the lighter material, however the main reason we don't is the availability of colors to us. RWS has been building rigs for 20+ years, and owns it's own rigging supplies company (parastock) so they have better buying power which allwos them greater flexibility in colors and fabric type. even rigs made of the ultra lightweight "Parapak" which is only 420 denier seem to hold up quite well to the skydiving environment. I would have to say that our rigs built with 1000 denier cordura will last, in terms of fabric degradation, on par with everything you see out there. again email me with any questions, I would write down exactily what a denier is but I can't remember the exact measurement of the yarn they weigh to get it, maybe a super rigger out there can lay that out for us. some denier weights commonly seen in skydivng: parachute fabric= usually 30 denier pack cloth (used for back pads and some times whole rigs) 420 denier, both Hi density and Low density, even as thin as 210 and 70 (not common in skydiving) Cordura 500, 1000, 1050 (used for container bodies) "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

I agree, just $200 bling bling....save your money for jumping (or buying one of our fine parachutes) it is super comfortable without, but due to popular demand we offer it with... "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

Things have changed, there has been a Service Bulletin issued, which you can find on our web site it was too big to upload as an attachment here, but at the bottom of the ramble I inserted the verbage without instructions and pictures. ========================= This is the sort of thing that usually takes a year or two of public beta testing before the rig is shaken down right. All the major rigs go through this at some point. You have to ask yourself if you want to be first on the block with the new toy ========================= I agree with this, but I will contend that it is not a new kid on the block issue, the V3 had a bunch of minor issues when it first came out, when Mirage came out with the G4 was it then a new Kid on the block? or was it just a Mirage? Denote that it has also undergone many changes since it's first release. That too with the Odyssey (hense the newer ones being the K series) As for the slippage issue, we have had two different methods, trying to make it impossible for human error to interfere. However where there are humans there is bound to be error. The new method doesn't allow for slippage. The first method wouldn't either if properly seated. a couple of companies have had hardware issues with the same piece of hardware, the only way they would fix them is if you complained and sent them in. And they had multiple fixes for each. The company in the US that still delivers with this particular friction adapter uses a different approach then both our first and second approach to the same problem, the reason we don't use this approach is because in testing, it wasn't as strong as either our first method, nor the method we use now. other companies have had issues and tried to brush them aside, or not issued a technical bulletin or service bulletin, you have to respect a company that will swiftly stand up and make a decision on what is best for the skydiver, as Mirage did last year with the Cape well pins. and if you lull yourself into thinking that your completely safe because you are jumping an X and that X was safe 5 years ago, your setting yourself up to be let down, because you may not be privy to "minor" design changes that have been made between A and B. Not saying that you shouldn't have a certain amount of intrinsic faith in skydiving gear. None of the companies are reckless in their approach, and they all strive to make good safe products and most test them thoroughly. And they are buying components that are also tested to a certain standard. How those components are utilized and by the manufacturer and implemented by the end user will always remain in question. I like the way we have approached the problem, we have issues a service bulletin and made it an option, in Sweden it is not an option, you must have your Icon retrofitted to jump it, however we have outlined the simple specifics to have the work done by any master rigger, and if send it back to us, we will happily do the work at no charge for you. I have had rigs from two different manufacturers with this same piece of hardware and because I keep them clean, and make sure the routing and seating is proper each time I hurl myself out of an airplane I don't feel uncomfortable in anyway with the system. There are thousands of rigs out there in service with this style friction adapter, Javelin, RWS, PDF. either way, I hope I don't sound too defensive, as that always opens up huge cans of worms in these forums. And I'll finish with saying that I'm certainly not saying through caution to the wind and buy any old product, just educate yourself as thoroughly as possible and then make a decision. I will say that I don't just talk the talk, I jump two different Icon's every weekend, and I feel completely safe, yet I still check all my handles, my leg straps and get a pin check every single time before I leave an airplane. Status: Optional Identification : All Icon Harness and Containers. Part Numbers : C12502***** C12503***** C12504***** Background : Continued R&D into improved friction of stainless steel leg strap adapters and webbing to prevent slippage. Service Bulletin : The Icon harness leg strap consists of a single piece of type 7 webbing. To further increase friction and reduce slippage, an additional piece of type 12 webbing is added to the leg strap and the buffer described in technical bulletin TB 002 is removed. This service bulletin is considered an upgrade or improvement to the existing design in order to improve friction of the leg strap passing through the stainless steel leg strap adjuster hardware. It is pertinent that the buffer described in TB 002 is removed from the hardware once the type 12 webbing is added to the existing type 7 webbing. TB 002 of January 2004 is no longer recommended. See details below: "Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"