Larhsw

I would take a serious look at this from L&B: http://www.l-and-b.dk/products/visual/viso_ii I have been using it for some years now, really good and simple to read + outstanding customer service.

If you want to be a coward, fine, but don't take choices away from other people, because that's the mark of a total shitlord. There are plenty of reasons to jump without an AAD, and just because you're too unimaginative to think of any doesn't make them any less valid. What the fuck is wrong with you, man? You can choose not to use an aad or rsl or a skyhook for all I care, I really don't care if you kill yourself because you are "uncovardly". I am not taking any choices away from anyone, and I am not saying there should be any mandatory pieces of equipment imposed on you. I simply stated my opinion on aad's and skyhooks, and the fact that my German friend probably would be alive had she used at least an rsl. Grow the fuck up. You actually said right in your quote, and it's right here at the beginning of this post, that you 'believe they should be required". That sounds to me like you want to take choices away from everyone, or don't you get that? You guys need to take a look at what you are saying and how your are saying it… Suggesting that jumpers should use an AAD or any other safety equipment will not in any way limit how you skydive or impose any restrictions on how you practice your sport. You can still jump any way you want to, pull how low you want to and take all the chances you wish. You may also opt not to turn your AAD on if this makes skydiving more exciting or dangerous to you, or you can simply unhook the RSL if you don't want to use it. This discussion is much like the arguments in the 1960 when the idea of seat belts in cars was introduced. People thought is was unnecessary, but the fact of the matter is that seat belts save lives. Some people opt not to wear a seat belt, and that is a personal choice, but I don't know how many people in this forum would buy a car without seat belt fitted today. Would you? The seatbelt doesn't change the way you drive your car, or how fast you can go, but it will most likely save you life in an accident. The same goes for an AAD when you tumble unconscious through 900 ft because some fucker hit you in free fall, no matter how stupid you think it may be that someone should dare suggest to impose something on you.

If you want to be a coward, fine, but don't take choices away from other people, because that's the mark of a total shitlord. There are plenty of reasons to jump without an AAD, and just because you're too unimaginative to think of any doesn't make them any less valid. What the fuck is wrong with you, man? You can choose not to use an aad or rsl or a skyhook for all I care, I really don't care if you kill yourself because you are "uncovardly". I am not taking any choices away from anyone, and I am not saying there should be any mandatory pieces of equipment imposed on you. I simply stated my opinion on aad's and skyhooks, and the fact that my German friend probably would be alive had she used at least an rsl. Grow the fuck up.

Well, there are times when you simply can't pull at 1200 meters… On bigways I often pull at, or even below, 2000 ft for safety reasons. then adjust your decision-making accordingly.. and here i was thinking minimum pull altitudes were 2500ft, guess i was wrong or bigway-jumpers are "breaking the law" regularly. Well, I guess you have never been on a bigway with jumpers ahead, to the left, right and even above and/or below at deployment altitude. This is not about "breaking the law" but to avoid a potentially serious situation for everyone. It is all about reading the situation correctly and making good judgment calls for the benefit of everyone, not only yourself

Well, there are times when you simply can't pull at 1200 meters… On bigways I often pull at, or even below, 2000 ft for safety reasons.

There is no thinkable practical reason for jumping w/o an AAD in my mind, and I believe they should be reqired. An AAD would not have saved the jumper in question though, but a Skyhook most definetly would have. Probably also a regular RSL.

The problem with a gps is that you need a clear and "unobstructed view" of the satellites or a gps passive antenna/retransmitter mounted inside the airplane in order to keep the gps signals and have a continuously updated position. The longer you travel from the point where your went "dark" to the satellites the longer it will take to get updated and on the grid again. This can take as much as 2 minutes, during which you will be back on the ground after your jump... Also, with the not-perfect positioning of most civilian gps equipment, I don't think this would be a very good idea...

When you are starting your S-folds, just fold the canopy in half instead. This way you can ensure that the fold gets all the way into the the bottom of the d-bag. Put the folded end into the dbag and place your knees on the flap with grommets. Now you can fold and slide/push the "top end" into the d-bag nice and easy, pressing most of the air out as you go, and put the last fold (the slider/lines end) in place very easily...

I'm not sure in this case, but it may just be the lead seal and not the thread that's causing the problem here... We had a fatal accident in Norway some years back due to the lead seal got jammed between the reserve loop and the grommet after the res. handle was pulled. Never attach the seal close to the reserve loop, put it further up along the pin and cable. I know a few riggers who don't use the seal at all on their personal rigs due to this issue...

Have just made my 50th jump on my new Pulse 150. Packs very small, opens great, flies very flat and predictable, but lands like an old F-111 7 cell... Has good top end flare, but very, very weak bottom end flare/slow speed flare, even in a a decent head wind. I think they should have made the entire canopy in ZP, even if it means packing bigger... Going back to my SA2.

I fly to the US 5-6 times a year bringing my rig as carry-on every time. Never had any issues except swabs and visual inspections. Last time in March 2010. Always nice to be present if they start screwing with it though. They do open my checked baggage, though, leaving that nice little note every time...

If you go low, stay with the formation and try to get back up. If you cant' get back up, brake off with the first tracking group and pull low

It's right here http://www.performancedesigns.com/packingchart.asp

Hi Kate, I'm flying to LAX on the evening of the 28th, at approx. 8 PM. You can catch a ride with me to Perris if you wish. Lars

After 600 jumps on a Sabre and 200 jumps on a Sabre 2 (evenly spread on 170s-135s) I have concluded that the ruling factor on Sabre openings is how you pack/quarter the slider. A little more slider out in between the front linegroups (less to each side) will give you a nice swivel, a little less will speed things up quite considerably, and no sider at all in front will slam you. Amazing how much difference just an inch will do... IMO it's all about packing.