Feb 25, 2011, 6:26 PM
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Cost of your first rig
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Hi Folks
Since SS brought up the subject of the cost of the FJC "almost back in the day". I'm trying to remember the cost of my first rig.
I'm guessing that we paid less than $150 (forgot the exact amount already .
A nice orange and white main with a 7TU custom cut to order (elipitical). A B4 container extendeed shot and a half's and quick ejector hardware, and the usual chest mounted surplus round reserve (no pilot chute).
Well used and dyed black cheapo surplus B-4 with a sleeved red and black Papillion that had a whole lot of rip stop tape on all the line burns up on the crown. Reserve was a chest mount C-9 with a panel that had a stop watch and a huge aircraft altimeter, Container also dyed black
The whole package a whopping $200...
Hey at the time.. I was making about $320 a month... as a USAF E-2 ... $200 was a major financial hit.
In 77 I got a mark 1, navy conical,alti, and a crossbow container, for 300. I learned how to pack the P.C. into my jump masters old super pro and jumped it on my first jump. I bought my first custom rig in 81 custom racer 365 lopo lite 400, and a delta cloud for 850 i think.
1969, FJC $30, an extended flap B-4 container with a dark purple 28' 5 panel TU for $75. a C9 24' twill reserve with a "chin buster" dashboard for the aircraft altimiter for $50. At 120 lbs, I got a lot of standups under that canopy.
(This post was edited by jimartle on Feb 26, 2011, 5:52 AM)
It was a B4 with a 28'TU in a sleve with a pilot chute. I didn't own a reserve so I either borrowed or rented one and snapped it on. I always checked to make sure if the reserve had a pilot chute or not because that changed the emergency procedures!
Feb 26, 2011, 10:42 AM
Post #11 of 49
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Re: [jimartle] Cost of your first rig
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Hi Jim,
It also looks like you got a R/W/B ParaCommander pilot chute with that rig.
My first rig, bought in early '64: Double L, B-4 harness/container, home-built ( by a local master rigger ) reserve container w/24 ft Twill canopy for the outrageous price of $125.
$300 got me a 27' Russian PC, and a 24' flat with a 4-line release, plus military container. The owner would sell it to us fat guys when the T-10's we used as students landed a little too hard. Then, once we had our fifty jumps, he would buy it back in trade for $200 when we bought a square from him. I'll bet he sold it 10-15 times before someone finally kept it.
Surplus B4 harness/container was $55, a 28 ft. 5TU tie dyed cheapo was $65. Surplus 24 ft. reserve from Midwest Parachute was $125. My first altimeter was $40. Spent about $50 on a "style" jumpsuit, maybe $35 on a Bell helmet, and a whopping $55 on a pair of French paraboots. And I was good to go !
Surplus B4 harness/container was $55, a 28 ft. 5TU tie dyed cheapo was $65. Surplus 24 ft. reserve from Midwest Parachute was $125. My first altimeter was $40. Spent about $50 on a "style" jumpsuit, maybe $35 on a Bell helmet, and a whopping $55 on a pair of French paraboots. And I was good to go !
Hi TB
I think Midwest parachute was where I bought my first PC. Damn thing was Approx $300 in 1970.
What I recall about the military canopies was they only had a 7 yr shelf life. before being surplused. Not sure about the reserve's. .
We were assigned to a C-130 flying squadron,almost back in the day 66 and had a old school supply sargent (and rigger)that knew how to work the system, Think "radar" on Mash.
Visited the supply guy's house one day in 68 wwhen we decided to buy some "surplus" gear and he took me out back to the garage to dig out my gear. The garage was actually where he was living and it was stacked floor to ceiling with military jump stuff. Couldn't even find the couch to sit on.
Supply guy's have a lot of unofficail power due to their supply inventory (trading stock). The man was a master of the system (for his benifit). He was trading with other supply guy's all over the country including the army. T-10's round reserves etc.
Besides the C-130's we also had B-52's and KC 135 at our base. When he found out a plane from our base was going someplace where he needed to swap some gear. He'd make a deal with a crew member to drop off and bring some stuff back for him.
Not sure what happened to the guy when we were getting ready to leave he must have gotten bored and wanted to cross train to be a para rescue guy.
If he was half as good at rescuing downed pilots from the jungle, as he was swapping gear. He saved a lot of guy's, Unless he got busted first.
Hi K-rip, Co$t of my first rig, hmmmmm...... Well, the year was 1964 and as I recall when I put all the bits and pieces together; harness, container, ripcord housing, reserve tie down links, back pad, had to mod the main and tape the gores and rig up the toggles, 'think I had about $25 tied up in the main[coulda' been less??]. 'Think I paid another $20 for the reserve, 24' T-10 ripstop. Those were 1964 dollars!! Gas was $0.29/gallon and ya' could get a VW Bug for $1995 or thereabouts out the door!! We had a Cessna 172 at Hammond Airport that belonged to Bob Landry and rented wet for $15/hr.
(This post was edited by skybill on Feb 26, 2011, 10:02 PM)
I worked for "Dirty Dan the Parachute Man" in 1974 . Tom Campau and I were supposed to buy Latchford out , but I couldnt get a loan while on un employment. Dan gave me an all white Navy 28 foot 5tu all silk from April 1942. It was 3 months older than me . I did one hop and pop on it in 1973 at Salem MI. I thought I was going to kiss my ankles on landing It was as the saying goes "Abrupt".Never jumped it again. When a rig was ordered with shot &1/2's we drilled out the rivet and reriveted in the new covers.
Feb 27, 2011, 1:29 PM
Post #18 of 49
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Re: [JerryBaumchen] Cost of your first rig
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Good eyes Sir! I hated the hassle of trying to stuff 2 MA-1 pilot chutes in the thing so I replaced them with the 40 inch pilot chute. Truth be told, it made for more reliable openings.
Feb 28, 2011, 12:25 AM
Post #19 of 49
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Re: [jimartle] Cost of your first rig
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Good eyes Sir! I hated the hassle of trying to stuff 2 MA-1 pilot chutes in the thing so I replaced them with the 40 inch pilot chute. Truth be told, it made for more reliable openings.
Hi
The 2 MA-1's was good in theory so a lot of us used them if 1 is good then 2 is better theory.
Then we saw the cover of parachutist that caught the money shot just as the pilot chutes had just left the container.
The damn pilot chutes were pointed in opposite directions So the two PC's were actually canceling ea other out rather than doubling the snatch force.
Don't know if it was a bridle length issue, stacking one PC on top of the other, or side by side but it looked bad.
Don't know if the guy had to sit up to break the burble or how it finally worked out but it evently worked.
Later with that back to one PC and sit up after pulling. IMO Pilot chute hesitations were commen and the sit up method was a proven solution.
Someones solution was a PC with a spring at least twice as long as the MA-1. Is that the 40" PC your refering to? Watched some folks trying to get that snake into the container Looked way to hard so we never even tried it.
Somewhere in my fuzzy brain I seem to remember there were some Surplus PC's that had a larger dia top. Might have even used one or had one. Maybe navy or something.
I believe the A3 had a large top (at least for the spring). However, the one that I had for awhile had a lesser spring than the MA-1.
Of course, I ended up taking the spring out to use the fabric as a throw-out pilot chute . It worked OK about 10-15 jumps and then I had a pilot chute in tow, after it taking longer and longer to open the container.
My memory is fading. It seemed like you could get a B-12 container with a 28 ft. round for around $50. back in the day (74). That was a used rig in good condition.
I paid $300. for a brand new (Red Devil) para-commander in 1974. Then I bought a new super pro, main container and harness the same year. My memory is shot. I can't recall the price for that....
I remember taking a quarter off school, just to save up enough cash for new gear....
I cant compare to everyone elses since I just finished my first rig last week,
PD193 reserve, 8 packs no jumps $600 Talon with rigger work $425 Falcon 215 with new risers, D bag and PC $150 Small patch for Falcon $50 New Vigil $1200
I believe the A3 had a large top (at least for the spring).
And you would be correct. The two surplus military pilot chutes that were available were the A-3 ( which had a spring with a large top coil & large ParaPak top ) and the MA-1 ( which had a similar spring but with a smaller top coil & a smaller ParaPak top ). Well, there were a few others but these two were what 'everybody' used.
The CrossBow main pilot chute came with a very long spring but it had a problem of the spring actually folding over during launch.
The ParaCommander main pilot chute came with Lo-Po material in the canopy of the pilot chute and used an A-3 spring; or so we thought back then.
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Crossbow.jpg
. It worked OK about 10-15 jumps and then I had a pilot chute in tow, after it taking longer and longer to open the container. 
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