Basejumper.com - archive

So, I was talking to Asylum yesterday and they were mentioning about their single point attachment on their pcs that they offer now.

Anyone have any opinions on if it really helps or not, aside from just ease of attachment?

Any general manufacturer preferences when it comes to PCs or just get something ZP? Vents, yes or no?

I am currently building my tool box. I have a 42" ZP that I have been using, looking for a 32", 38", and 46", ultimately.

I have a couple of ZP vented 42" PC's from Asylum with the single attachment point. I can't think of any advantage other than the ease of attachment. That said, ease of attachment on a piece of equipment as critical as the PC could be important, and it does give me some peace of mind to know the PC is sewn into a symmetrical configuration. However, if you're looking to save a few bucks, it's not critical by any means.

I've purchased PC's from Asylum, Vertigo, and Basic Research, and have been happy with all of them. One of the main differences I've noticed is the size of the cap on the PC. My old Vertigo 42" PC had a nice small cap that I was used to grabbing. The vented 42" from Asylum has a larger cap, which is probably because the vent is a functional component and needs to be a certain size. I thought this might weird me out, but honestly it hasn't made the slightest difference.

Whether or not vents are useful depends on the size of the PC. For smaller PC's which are generally deployed at higher airspeeds, either a vented ZP or an F-111 PC is great. For lower airspeeds, the vents don't do much. For me, anything bigger than 42" is unvented.

That's a good range of PC sizes you've listed there, and should be adequate for any situation. If you do a lot of static line or water jumps, you might consider setting aside a PC just for those jumps, since they tend to wear faster.

Michael

I used a 42" unvented PC for my first 100 BASE jumps, anything from a 180' handheld and 210 stowed freefalls, to terminal.

now, i think that depending on the canopy size, 3 PCs is plenty to use.

170-240' canopy- 32", 42", 46"

260-340' canopy- 36", 42", 46"

32, 36 for all airplane bandit jumps, BASE terminal or close to it.

42"- anything from throw and go to 6 seconds. (320'+)

46"- static line to stowed 1 or 2 sec.

this is just me. i dont think 48" is usefull for anything. just me though.

asylums PC s are sweet. floating internal handle 36"

Just my opinion, I'm sure there are many. But you may wanna keep that "46" stowed" idea to yourself. It's generally considered a bad idea.

To the original poster; If you have the money, the Asylum "Black-Widow" toxxic PC's are a worthwhile investment. There is a noticable difference in delay and snatch force over every other PC I have.

Shouldn't PC size choice be more accurately prorated with the canopy size to equalize the ratio of extraction force at given delay to the weight of the canopy?

For example, I've never seen 42" be prorated. But a 322sq.ft. canopy is approximately 34% heavier than a 240. One would think that you need a PC with 34% larger area, which is 48" PC. A 42" with 322 is 34% underpowered than with 240 and may lead to longer extraction times. A 48" for go-n-throws with 322 is still 29% underpowered than a 46" with 240, while 52" is about equivalent to the latter.

Something to think about for heavier jumpers.

yes, it should. but for my first many many jumps, i only had a 42".

it would be a good idea, but for the budget minded BASE jumper (me, and a lot of others), 3pcs should be enough for every possible jump.

Hey Calvin, how much do you weigh?

Why is that?
I have at least 600 stowed jumps with a 46"

Sweet. Thanks to all. I appreciate the ideas. I was looking at Asylum or Morpheus to help supply my new addiction.

my current PCs are :

42" vented ZP Asylum (my favorite)
42" vented ZP by Morpheus (don't like the large cordura cap, prefer the apex mesh on the Asylum PC)
46" ZP no handle, non vented - BR/Morpheus (same for 48" if you prefer that)
38" ZP BR with internal handle (will switch to Asylum ZP AV when i can)
32" ZP vented with PVC handle (I have one by Asylum and one by Morpheus - but not enough jumps between the 2 of them to tell the difference, one has large mesh, the other small mesh)
I would also like to get a 36" AV.... but nobody wants to sell one to me cheap.

just one mans opninion...

how's that Troll treatin' ya ?

68kg, maked after a mad shit. 67.5 if i take a shower after.
(naked)

1/2 a kilo of dinkleberries?
Bro you need to wipe better

So about 150 pounds, yeah I thought
you were about medium sized from
the photos during your recovery, was
just wondering about suspended weight
and probable canopy size to match back
up with yours and Yuri's input, thanks.

reall the only thing that should matter in PC size choice is canopy size, except if some is really, really, really soggy, creating a different wake (burble), maybe a bigger anchor is better.

Explain..?

f111 PC's perform superior to ZP. ZP is for hand held low stuff with your 46 or 48 inch PC only.

toxic pilot chutes are stupid.

my new favorite PC is a f111 vented 38 I received from flyyourbody.com

ive been able to make all my jumps with 3 pcs...
a 36small mesh for 800to 5k
a 42 zp for 300 to 799
and a 46 for anything sub-300..

im on a fox 265 weighing in at about 180lbs... ymmv

my exact prefered setup and Altitude heights. (minus canopy, BJ-260)

i use:

10-12+ Sec = 34 ZP AV Asylum external handle
4-10 Sec = 38 ZP AV extenal and an internal floating (different pc's i prefer the external)
1-6 sec= 42 ZP AV no handle
1-3 sec = 46 ZP AV no handle(sub 260')(not very often)
0-1 sec= 48 zp No handle (sub 200') (almost never)

I am jumping A BJ 260, an Ace 260, and a Fox 265

i have used variations of above, but this is standard protocol for me now, you live and die by your own choices.

edited to clarify and be more accurate

This is pretty interesting to compare what kind of setups people are using so here is mine :

- 46 ZP 0s-2s handheld
- 42 ZP 1s-4s stowed / hand held
- 38 ZP AV 4s-7s
- 36 ZP / 36 F111 7s+

I use a vented 265 DW Troll.

I've also done couple jumps with 38 with shorter delays but that above is my basic selection. I've been thinking about changing my terminal PC from 36 to maybe 34 AV but have to see about that.

One thing that I've been wondering is the mesh size in PC's. How do people in general feel wheter it has any effect or not ? What size is mesh on your PC's ? My PC's have all large mesh except my 36's which are made out of fine mesh.

Mil-T-5661 1/4" wide Type 1 Break Tape 80# Olive Drab

Very similar solution to Maretus.

In regards to heavier canopies vs PC size....I've thought about this one a bit and tried to compare results whenever I can and from what I have seen there is such a slight difference in total time to line stretch when comparing smaller canopies on lighter jumpers with heavier jumpers on bigger canopies....for the same PC size ( especially on shorter delays)

Is there not a logic to suggest ( for the same PC size and short delay) that a heavier jumper 'forces' the PC to pressurise more rapidly when load is applied to the PC compared to that lighter jumper.
Whilst the lighter jumpers canopy reaches line stretch more rapidly ...the effective balance between the two is effectively an equal time between PC toss ( all things being equal) and canopy to line stretch.

Granted there IS a defecit in total time to canopy deployment with larger canopy sizes.

The majority of my jumps are sub 300 freefalls. Don't have time to find it now but I analyzed video of several jumps and from 270', an exactly 2 second stowed delay for me (140lb exit weight, fox 245, vtec/covers, vision container, 42" ZP AV PC) had full pressurization at the same height as someone who was taking just over a 1 second handheld delay (240ish exit weight, fox 285, vtec, vision container, 42" ZP AV PC same manufacturer). There was also a noticeable difference in time from extraction to linestretch.

jumper weight means nothing to the pilot chute. it only cares about what weight it's pulling out, the canopy.

So wo jumpers ( heavy and light) leave the exit point at the same time with the same PC and pitch it at 2 secs ....isnt the heavier jumper going to have more airspeed than the lighter jumper, having an effect on the pressurisation /effect of the PC ?


I dont think the point in question can be compared in the scenario you presented.
Surely to compare the difference...you have to at least be doing the same type of jump ( and have the same conditions/gear <apart from canopy size>)

weight (vs air resistance) means nothing until you reach speeds where air resistance matters, I'd guess around 4 seconds or so. It won't be really noticeable until 5 or 6ish.

In that scenario we had the same conditions/gear, multiple times (2s stowed is what I usually do, just over 1s handheld is what he usually does). Same canopies, containers, and PCs, only difference is canopy size and I went stowed and he went handheld. If I went handheld then I would probably be open higher than him with me at 2s delay and him at just over 1s.

I'm off to class for now though.

being heavy(200 out the shower) with a big canopy 293 flik vtec i notice a significant difference with 2 sec stowed between a vented 42 no cap from atair and a unvented, old well used 46 from br with no vents with cap. i'm higher and the whole opening from pitch seems faster with the 46. the 42 is brand new and i just bought it because people told me it's not good stowing a 46 bla bla bla. for me the 46 is better.
i only have 4 jumps so far on the 42 but EVERY jumps deployment seemed longer than with the 46.
+ i think on low freefalls for big canopys it really makes a difference if you take a 48 or 46 or 42. for me at least.
my lowest freefall was a 67 m building and with a 0.5 sec delay i had still plenty of time to unstow and land. with a 48.
i have a nice objekt with 73 m. i'll start testing there the next few jumps with different pilot chutes.

generally i use

36 f111 for evrything with rock, from wingsuit to 5 sec delay stechelberg. works fine

38 zp: well, i have one...4 jumps on it. anyone need a 38?

42 zp vented: 2-6 sec stowed

46 zp: most jumps, up to 2 sec stowed

48 zp: low stuff, also stow it with no problems when i'm too lazy to take it off

another thing i 'm wondering is:

how about center cell strip?
does it matter if the canopy is big or small for that to happen?
normally it shouldn't because if the pc is pulling at the attachment point it is pointless if the canopy is light or heavy.
or am i wrong?

If you do center cell strip when you pack (pull on bridle hard and build your packjob around this pre-tensioned core), it won't happen on deployment.

thats what i do. but do you eliminate distortion of the packjob by a pc that pulls too strong completely in doing so?

Probably, not possible to tell with certainty. We just think that it works this way.

However, when I tension the packjob and then pull the bridle really hard, I see no movement in flakes and lines.

just follow manufacturer recommendations