Quagmirian

Might he have been taught to cutaway if the canopy was dragging him across the ground?

You could've saved us 8 pages there Chuck!

Hey, could be he's just realistic. Take two random skydivers with 200 jumps, one says "I'm awesome at FS already" and the other says "I'm not that good yet" - who do you believe? Bloody Catch 22 isn't it? I think it pays to consider our own abilities rather than judge others too much.

Ahh, the problem here is that a canopy's airpseed stays the same regardless of windspeed. The bullet analogy is more suited to a skydiver exiting a moving aeroplane compared to a balloon or a helicopter. In this case, the airspeeds are different, so descent rate is affected.

And if he backs down he's equally guilty I suppose. Heh heh. Let's all piss on the sacked vidiot, there must be something wrong with him or he wouldn't have been fired!

Manufacturers differ in the tension for measurements. PD states 5 lbs, while Aerodyne asks for 10 on their reserve. I'm sure I've somewhere that requires 30 lbs.

Having sex with your customers, fine. Treating a customer differently and/or putting them in more danger for any reason, not fine.

Similar in size means less than a 50% size difference. Current evidence suggests that total line length may be more important than area. So in general, you could probably get away with a much bigger reserve than main.

I almost did this. I was so spooked by a big flo yellow canopy when they had said all day that they were red and blue. Combine this with the massive sensory overload of a first jump SL student and you can imagine why I was so confused. Reflecting on this, it's easy to see why so many students fuck up seemingly simple tasks.

Which by the looks of it, is exactly what PD does. [inline pd_slider_detail_2.png] I know thus isn't exactly compelling stuff, but I am learning all the time.

Would it be possible to have different repack cycles for different parachute types?

Does this dropzone not have hanging harnesses with dummy toggles and steering lines? Was the student not told what colour the toggles are?

Still nothing exciting to report on, but I have a few things I'd like to share. I still haven't found anywhere suitable to cut out my pieces, so as something to do I've been taking apart the BT-80. I have discovered some interesting things. Needle gauge is 3/16" rather than 1/4"No chordwise reinforcement in the bottom seams or anywhere elseAll inner ribs are f111 type material. What are the pros/cons of this?Line attachments are type 4 tape and are partially sandwiched into the bottom seamV tapes on the loaded ribs are made from 1" type 3 tape. A lot of other tandem canopies are like this too Why is this?No ribs have any crossports, but we've already covered this one.There was also some blue 700lb Dacron in the bag too. Who makes this? I finally got on the blower to the industrial sewing machine guy and he immediately tried to turn me off old Singers. Instead, he's trying to flog some new Diamond double needles with electronic control (no clutch) for $2000 new or $1350 used. Is that about right? They do come complete and ready to sew.

I find sharp scissors to be fine for Dacron.

That's great advice....... but, like you, everybody is above average! Just ask them? Maybe a better way to access your skill is to ask a (or better yet, several) qualified instructor? I think he has a point though. We are not all equal when it comes to canopy skills. I have trouble landing in the right field for example, whereas people with half my jump numbers are consistently nailing the peas without breaking a sweat. That's just one example.

The beating will continue until you stop being scared.

I haven't read all of this thread so this has probably already been posted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ND2A0rrN0

Reading this thread, I am feeling much more confident about my knowledge of how to design a parachute. As said previously, the only way a canopy's descent rate can be affected is by sudden gusts, turbulence, wind shear or updrafts/downdrafts. Flying upwind or downwind doesn't mean shit to a canopy or any other untethered flying machine, because it's flying through the airmass.

The least relevant criterion for canopy size selection I have seen yet!!! I think it's relevant, but not as bad as downsizing more than two sizes at once. I've done it, and it's not a good idea. @OP, see if you can demo a Spectre 230 or something. You might just change your mind about downsizing. If not, you'll have more knowledge for your future decisions

If you pull the slider all the way down the risers and loosen your chest strap a little, you're less likely to get line twists from a canopy manouvre. You're also reducing the anhedral of the canopy which makes it fly not insignificantly more efficiently. See my profile picture.

That's the problem right there then. They've essentially sold a prototype canopy. I might do that. Anybody want my brown thing? Design's never been tested before and it'll cost you $1500, thanks.

Why is that? Because children: 1. Annoy me. 2. Are a liability nightmare.Whereas adults are always perfectly reasonable and never cause any problems. I agree to an extent though. The DZ is not a place for very young children.

It's not a requirement you know.

Good job.

And then we have the whole issue of RSLs. The BPA actually has banned the use of RSLs with unreinforced risers. So what do you do in that situation?