Dazzle

Wanted to go but the gits at work thought otherwise Thanks for the input...swinging more towards the Springo I think You can go just for the weekends, no registration fee but you pay more for the jumps, just seems a shame not to

Parachute case are cool, I just got a demo Katana from them. Don't forget the sizing differences between pd and pdf, search for the details but a pdf 140 would be smaller than a pd 140. Seeing as you're in france then there should be lots of demos at the Espace Boogie in just a couple of weeks.

If vectran was so superior then why have they not used it on their newer canopies, I'm thinking the Katana here. I understand the trim / signs of wear tradeoff. Does anyone know if they investigated it and decided to stick with Spectra.

I understand that the logo isn't available as it is very difficult and expensive to make. I just had a demo canopy which did have it on so I guess if you were prepared to pay enough then they would do it. I've heard costs up around $800 though. D

same here in uk and here's me with a demo katana

level 20

level 18 help?

Had my arm in a sling for 4 weeks recently. When I got to take it out I had almost no movement. Took 6 weeks of physio to get movement back. Afterward they said that it might have been better to have moved it a bit whilst in the sling. I only had a little break of the coronoid process (end of the ulna in the elbow) Might be worth asking your doc about. I was skiing at the time and was able to carry on skiing with the limited movement. No way I'd have been able to skydive, left elbow wouldnt bend beyond 90 degrees so no ability to reach reserve handle. D

From http://www.performancedesigns.com/faq.htm#5 What is the difference between a tapered, elliptical, or semi elliptical canopy? These terms refer to the shape of the wing when viewed from above. Any canopy that is not rectangular can be called either semi-elliptical or tapered. The amount of taper affects the canopy handling and performance, though in combination with several other parameters. While the term elliptical is often used to describe some canopies, no skydiving canopies are truly elliptical. The curve in a canopy is approximated by a series of straight-line segments, and they do not form a true ellipse. What we are really dealing with here is the relative degree of taper from one canopy to another. This involves not only how much taper there is, but where it is located. Some canopies are more tapered than others, regardless of whether they are called "elliptical" or "semi-elliptical.” PD prefers to use the word "tapered” for several reasons. As soon as skydivers began using the word “elliptical,” many people created the idea that every "elliptical" canopy will have certain specific characteristics, some good and some bad. In reality, a non-rectangular canopy may not have any of those characteristics. We like the term “tapered” because it simply means “not rectangular,” while the term “elliptical” implies certain things about a canopy that may or may not be true. Rather than the actual shape of a wing, most jumpers are really interested in performance characteristics: how does the canopy open, fly and land? These characteristics are influenced by taper, but not totally dictated by it. The degree of taper is part of a whole package. Airfoil, aspect ratio and trim angle are also very important. Wing loading, or body weight compared to canopy size, is actually the main factor that determines canopy speed. The degree of taper generally influences the responsiveness of a canopy, though other variables come into play. This is why it is not necessary for a jumper to know exactly how tapered or “elliptical” a particular canopy is. The proof is in the performance, and in the handling. Therefore, it is best to read descriptions of the various canopies, and try demos of those that might suit your needs. Dealing with all the different terminology used can be confusing. Just remember that this terminology is often just one company's choice of packaging, rather than actually describing something different or new. Every company wants their products to be viewed as different from another. These types of word plays are one way to achieve that. In the end, the canopy’s performance in the air is what really matters

And this is why people say buy second hand for a first rig!

Thats so not true, getting it in the bag maybe but the rest is so much nicer with a 120 than a 150. Go smaller and it keeps getting better.

Tried this a couple of weeks ago with my Wings. To my suprise the bag wouldn't come out despite bouncing it on the bridal. Yep, did that as well!

Have a look at http://www.afn.org/skydive/sta/highperf.pdf. Lots of technical explanations about how parachutes fly. Opening is around page 35.

Other classifieds sections seemed ok http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/page.cgi?g=Main_Canopies%2Findex.html&d=1 A fatal error has occured: Can't call method "fetchrow_hashref" on an undefined value at /var/home/dropzone/dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/admin/Plugins/PPD.pm line 2390. Please enable debugging in setup for more details. OK The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@dropzone.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Langars Let was very old (~22 years) and needed costly recertification (from the Ukraine I believe, rather than the CAA) each year after 20. We used to put 18 in it till they became more popular in the UK and someone checked the records and "discovered" that 18 would put it over the max landing weight and the limit was lowered to 16 (no 16 ways + vid then) I believe that with 18 if we needed to land (weather) then a couple had to get out anyway, how true that is I'm not so sure. There were 2 crew, not sure if both were pilots of a pilot and eng, I think both pilots. I know other lets in the uk had only 1 pilot though.

Although petrol (gas) is expensive that is only because of the tax. I believe kerosene is relatively untaxed so prices for turbines are more reasonable. eg in UK at Langar 6000' in 206 = £12 but 13500 in Let or Caravan = £18

Only real problem with low jump numbers is the wind. not so much the tramontana - if that happens you just have to wait it out. If the wind blows accress the runway they tend to put a limit on as the landing area is quite thin that way. Couple of summers ago I was there and the limit was around 400 most of the time. OTOH you can get by without any wind to speak of.

AN72 but I cant persuade the DZO to buy one:-(

Having just had mine ripped off the outside of my (gath) helmet by my risers I'd recomend ensuring that the risers can't get at it. I believe something was mentioned here about how to put a deflector - I'd suggest a search.

And of course you don't want to leave it too long or it won't be ready for spring time.

Is that true? It didn't used to be, we had a few non bpa dz, Bill & Teds rings a bell. I think the deal was that they had to run under an operating procedure that was acceptable to the CAA. The BPA's procedure was acceptable but I don't think that was the only one. I think that a DZ could choose, for example, the USPA or australian regs if it wished to or come up with its own. It may have changed as I think the CAA handed over it's regulation to the BPA.

You had a vote up about whether people would buy the canopy with the symbol on if it was an option. What were the results? Also just for inf, how many demo canopies are you going to have to make!?

I thought the performance on a XF2 peaked at 1.8 and then dropped off again.

I'm sure this will get a "when it's ready" reply but any chance of it being ready for demos by the time I get to US for thanksgiving?

Has anyone voted for something OTHER than their own? I voted XF2 rather than my stilletto as i prefered it and will buy one when I can (assuming I don't prefer the katana)