GroundZero

well said.... and that Chuckie ..... Thank God I was able to drive home! Chris quite the last Saturday nite party!

new list.... AggieDave Amazon BBarnhouse BigBen Boyfalldown Brains Bwilling Cornholio Deuce Flyguy Freeflyz Girlfalldown GROUNDZERO JFields JTVal KatieBear Kevin922 LouDiamond Mouth Pablito Prepheck Remster +1 Cute wife; +1 moose for Justin Shark SKYMAMA! SkyMonkeyOne Vallerina+1 Cute Girl :-) Viking VT1977 + 1 gremlin And I'm bringing toys.... Bird-Man suits... (and oh yea canopies to play with too...) Chris

As a smoker, high altitude jumps are easy... we've proven that we require less oxygen. Chris (just kidding, gotta light?)

price? what's money anyway... Geez, the Crossfire 2 retails for $2150 vs the Xaos21 for $2195... By all means jump into a crossbraced canopy, but demo first. If you're jumping a conventional built canopy, you can typically downsize 2 sizes... There is that much more lift... The canopies fly very well at the mentioned 1.7 loading... I know a few girls that are jumping them at loadings in the 1.4 range and love them... these canopies can be flown at lighter loadings... I use a 104 for demos. Contact me directly and I can arrange a demo... try it, you'll like it! Chris Precision Aerodynamics chris@precisionNOSPAM.net

The Precision GZ canopies (specifically a Xaos) was jumped in this bag a number of times in Argentina. Derek reported no problems and comfirmed nice openings. I think the Bag is terrific. Can't wait to get one myself, I hate replacing ruibber bands... Because I Bird-Man all the time, I keep leaving more and more lines unstowed... currently I leave about 5 feet unstowed with great results... Line stows are not necessary, but they simply aid in a "neat" packjob. Release the bag (or send me one for further evaluation...) This is the bag of the future. Chris

Winsor, Stop by the Precision tent to pick me up for that jump... just repacked my belly wart. Chris

get a light and/or a horn... those f#@*^ng golf carts need to know you're there.. Chris

I'll send you sliders for those canopies.... that won't solve the problem.... will make a bit of an improvement, but..... what size canopies? Chris

one word.... RELAX Just coast down the freefall... You're trying too hard... loosen up and enjoy. Chris

Welcome to Belize IBC's... damned lawyers Chris

if you want to try an 84, I can send you one of each... cause I know what you'll buy... hehehehe Chris

Thanks Sam... I thought I was the only idiot after reading the SB... I looked at a number of different rigs and pins fron varying dates... those numbers are meaningless... each manufacturer stamps different numbers in the handles and there are no markings on the pins... so if I take my affected ripcord from my 2002 Mirage and put that ripcord in my 1993 Javelin, it is no longer affected. Just solved that SB... but I may die as well when it fails, but I'll get into the WFFC without any problems... Poorly written SB and poor tracking trail for the manufacturers.... (oy! and I thought I was the only one that could make major blunders.) Chris

Skyvan's are quiet...(note the admitted hearing loss in that statement). I grew up in all piston engine airplanes, with the most time in Twin Bo's... (only Caribous can match that 130 db cabin level.) The length of the exposure is more significant... i.e. the airplane ride up. We spend 60-120 seconds of noise after the exit... Wear hearing protection in the airplane, don't worry about after the exit if you're wearing any type of helmet. Chris

exactly... 100 seconds+ from 13000' make my tandem and aff jumps seen to hurry by. I get skeered real quick when I'm not wearing my Bird-Man suit! Chris

Because... I'm on vacation and only took a few moments away from my lovely wife and beautiful 7 month old Haley... (i.e. shut up and jump you little whiney-ass! Get off the internet and experience skydiving in real time. Only kidding...) Ok... let's see if I can give you some of the differences between the 21 and 27 Xaos canopies... let me first cut and paste from the previous posts... Differences in pack volume? Add about ~15-20% larger for the 27... (this is from experience... I'm at home and don't have specific volume numbers here.) There are more pieces sewn together in the cross braced canopies. Take a seven cell standard canopy, for example a Raven reserve, there are 32 separate pieces of fabric. The Xaos 27 consists of 65 parts being joined (the 21 has 51 pieces). This translates into more fabric (more pack volume) than a comparable sized Xaos 21. Both canopies have virtually the same planform. The 27 uses more pieces to stiffen the airfoil, (more ribs, surfaces and crossbraces). Differences in price? The Xaos 21 has a retail price of $2198.00. The Xaos 27 retail price is $2498.00. These prices are for standard sizes. Any other size is available, (yes we have built a 69.5 square foot canopy on request... notice the warning label on that canopy lists a maximum weight of 180 lbs, 10ozs.) Custom sizing costs you an extra $20. Custom colors are no extra charge. Stainless grommets and links are optional...$40 more. I discourage the stainless. The grommets are heavier and cause the canopy to open quicker. (Yes, Dave Brownell was correct.) Our Wrap-It Links (soft links) are included with all canopies. Opening characteristics? The Xaos canopies are the best opening crossbraced canopies available, period. I know because I've jumped them all. I'm getting older and openings are VERY important to me. This was the reason we started the Xaos project. The day the VX was released was the very same day the Xaos Project began. The VX release happened in our backyard at the Precision plant. We objected, but our newly hired marketing arm won out. (I have 1200+ Xaos21 jumps, 500+ Xaos27 jumps, 600+ FX jumps, 200+ VX jumps and, yes, 400+ Velocity jumps.) My favorite? Look at the numbers above. I jump the Xaos 21 in my primary rig (attached to my Skyflyer!). No other crossbraced canopy opens as comfortably as the Xaos 21. Consistently. Next best is the Xaos27. The greater number of openings, combined with smaller chambers, tend to fill a bit quicker and allow the canopy to hunt a bit more on opening. That said, the Xaos27 is making many camera flyers very happy everyday... Ask them! Turn rate? Geez... no idea, honestly. I personally don't care how fast it turns. Not really a consideration for what these canopies are designed to do. I'm not sure if one turns faster than another. I typically jump a slightly smaller 27, so at slightly higher loading it seems to turn faster. But I'm not sure about the difference at the same loading. Sorry. Last time I thought of "turn rate" was reading an ad for the Para-Commander stating a 360 degree turn in 2.5 seconds or something like that. I think if you want to do quick spirals, a regular construction higher aspect ratio canopy will turn faster. (Try a Nitron or Stiletto if that's your cup of tea.) But that's not really what these canopies are about. Riser pressure? (front or rear?) Now there's an important consideration! These are Pilot's canopies and it is very important to talk about the control inputs and forces. The Xaos21 is designed to be very easy to fly well (even for a canopy novice like myself!). We have shifted the center of loading back a bit on this canopy to specifically lighten the front riser pressure. The result is a canopy that is easier to drive in the riser dive. At my age, eyesight is waning, reaction time is slower, etc. This canopy is very smoothly transitioned from full flight to deep dive. This way, a person can start a dive very high, allowing more time to make adjustments and continue to adjust all the way to the recovery and pull out. This was the critical adjustment made to crossbraced canopies. The Xaos21 is the easiest flying crossbraced canopy. Welcome crossbrace to mainstream skydiving! Rear riser pressures on the 21 are still very light... i.e. very easy canopy to rear riser land. The 27... This canopy is the competitors' canopy (but why does everyday Joe-Skydiver love it so much?!) Time out... gotta run. Time to entertain the Mrs... hope you understand! Stay tuned for part two! Chris Precision Aerodynamics chris@precisionNOSPAM.net 423-949-4688 (when I'm back from vacation, before then anyone else will be more than happy to help!)

I've got an original Classic that's about your size! Flock on! Chris

Hey Lew, I've got a couple of suits too if you need one to play with... stop by and we'll see if I have something to fit you... Chris Precision Aerodynamics

Hey everyone... Here's a thought for local transport at Rantoul (I mean very local, like on the airport.... Golf cart rental is very , well, how to say without offending the vendor... EXPENSIVE! Did you know that you can rent a Hummer H2 for about the same price for those 10 days? But don't do that. Last year, while at the local Walmart buying water, beer, water and more water, I saw a nice 15 speed mountain type bike for $59.95. I rode it out the front door and threw it on the roof of the car. Best WFFC purchase I've ever made. Be sure to equip it with a nice horn... travel at nite can be dangerous with all those golfcarts meandering about. (By the way, DON'T buy a bell, you'll sound like a fag ringing that as you peddle.) Just a few more days. Chris And now that bike is referred to as the "company vehicle" at our dz. I think I'll buy a second "company vehicle" this year.

What do you mean when you say X-braced canopies are "the more aggressive design"? Chris

very good question from very logical thinking... I'll watch these answers for a bit! Chris

Prior to impact. Chris

Negative. No. The Blade HAS been jumped by others in the US... Myself included. The Blade... (or as it started at Precision... Firebird,) is one mutha of a canopy. I have just less than 50 jumps on the current version.... Just Wait! Chris.

Some of the vendors use packers and are looking for help. Our only rules... pack the demos first and you need to be a pretty female...(or bring one with you). Chris Precision Aerodynamics

get your D-License quickly! Chris

That vintage canopy is built from Performance Textiles' brand "Soar Coat". Because of the silicon treating, a tear that small is insignificant. Skydive on brother. Watch it when you pack, but otherwise ..Don't worry about that unimportant tear. Chris Precision Aerodynamics