Freakiest rigging customer?

[ChrisClark 0]

The guy was a visitor from somewhere South, real Skygod. Thought that since the strap hardware was rated at 500lbs and thus not load baring it was then surplus to requirement! Should have given him the hot knife so he could have done it himself and proved some of Darwin's  theories.

Oh and I saw one of those cable ties around a reserve handle as well. The bloke in question was scared his handle would get pulled whilst travelling on an airliner on route to a boogie, so he secured it with the cable tie, however he forgot about it for a good few jumps.....in the pre cypres days

[JohnRich 4]

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Oh and I saw one of those cable ties around a reserve handle as well. The bloke in question was scared his handle would get pulled whilst travelling on an airliner on route to a boogie, so he secured it with the cable tie, however he forgot about it for a good few jumps...

I have done something similar for airline travel, but I use a pull-up cord to secure the handle, so that a TSA inspector won't pick the rig up by the handle and dump the reserve. A pull-up cord, however, is much more obvious, with dangling ends to remind you to remove it. And I make sure to do it before arriving at the DZ, so as not to frighten people into thinking that I'm an idiot.

[tdog 0]

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I have done something similar for airline travel, but I use a pull-up cord to secure the handle, so that a TSA inspector won't pick the rig up by the handle and dump the reserve. A pull-up cord, however, is much more obvious, with dangling ends to remind you to remove it. And I make sure to do it before arriving at the DZ, so as not to frighten people into thinking that I'm an idiot.

Sounds like what I did last time I traveled... I felt the handle thru the duffel bag just waiting to be snagged, so I got the brightest pull up cord I could find... There was no way I could miss it, as once I tied the reserve handle down, I tied the two main lift webs together with the excess...

[packertom 0]

I had a quy come in a few months ago with a wonderhog with a baby cobra in it... round canadian reserve, not TSO'd in America... he said he thought it was a phantom and had been jumping that rig for 15 years! Card showed that it was in date... called the rigger on the card and he'd never noticed that the reserve wasn't legal to jump in America! Main lift web was worn almost half-way through near the right lateral... I told the guy that his rig needed a new harness and a new reserve, he left it with me and bought a new rig from the gear store at Skydive Dallas, he still hasn't come to get his rig.

Tom

www.applieddeceleration.com

[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com
What's YOUR Zombie Plan?

[jurgencamps 0]

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I have done something similar for airline travel, but I use a pull-up cord to secure the handle, so that a TSA inspector won't pick the rig up by the handle and dump the reserve. A pull-up cord, however, is much more obvious, with dangling ends to remind you to remove it. And I make sure to do it before arriving at the DZ, so as not to frighten people into thinking that I'm an idiot.

Next time use the chest strap to secure the reserve handle.

Jurgen

[flipper 0]

What about the freakiest rigger you have ever met ?

[teason 0]

Had a rigger who noticed my velcro needed replacing. He replaced the hook and left the old pile.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[crazydiver 0]

That's not uncommon, specifically on areas where hte pile is difficult to replace. Usually the hooks get worn out before the pile does. An example of this is a pillow reserve or cutaway handle, the manufacturers usually put the hook on the pillow because its easy to replace, the pile inside the main lift web is a process to replace.

Cheers,
Travis

[teason 0]

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Usually the hooks get worn out before the pile does.

Uh... Well that's news to me ...

Anyway, the Pile looked like a 70's pornstar.
The new hook (which was sewn over the old hook) did nothing to fix the problem.
Later, the new hook was picked off and new pile was put on. It worked fine with the old hook.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[koppel 3]

Er yeah like .........until I got my new Wings I was running a couple of rigs that had Velcro, including an old Racer where the risers went up channels on the outside of the rig. I think the hook was the original from the factory by the look of the stitching (1989 I think) but the Pile would be replaced every few hundered jumps if I wanted it to stay.

Now the only Velcro on my whole rig is on the Freebag - no more stitching

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[RTB 0]

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That's not uncommon, specifically on areas where hte pile is difficult to replace. Usually the hooks get worn out before the pile does. An example of this is a pillow reserve or cutaway handle, the manufacturers usually put the hook on the pillow because its easy to replace, the pile inside the main lift web is a process to replace.

I've found the opposite to be true, usually I will change the pile (soft part) before the hook. On the main lift web having hook velcro inside could easily wear on the opposite webbing. And people don't usually pull their handles hundreds of times.

[riggerrob 562]

I usually replace pile Velcro three times before needing to replace hook Velcro.
Tired pile Velcro needs to be tested with a fresh piece of hook Velcro, but if you look really closely at tired hook Velcro you can see where hooks are missing.

"There they was: GONE!"

[crazydiver 0]

I guess I was too extreme on that...I shouldn't have said "usually"...but I would say "a lot" of times. You're probably right about "most of the time its the pile." But there has been a lot of times where I've only needed to replace the hook. An example is last week on one of my freefly suits.

Cheers,
Travis

[aironscott 3]

How about freakiest rigs?
This last year I pulled a 10.5" closing loop out of a Vector Tandem, a 6"closing loop out of a Javelin, and a Lodi loop out of a Vector II sport rig. Not only was it a Lodi loop, but it was secured to the Cypres grommet with a single overhand knot and no tail!
They were all from seperate riggers that I won't name but the Lodi loop came from a DPRE's loft somewhere in Arizona but not from the DPRE himself.

“God Damn Mountain Dew MotherFuckers!”

[RTB 0]

What is a Lodi loop?

[crazydiver 0]

Ten and a half inches??? Six inches on a javelin? How far off hte container was the PC sitting?

Cheers,
Travis

[hookitt 0]

It's very much like the loop used on a Reflex which is basically half a Racer closing loop.

Run the free end up toward the yoke so it's accessible. If the pilot chute becomes loose, grab the end and pull on it to cinch it back down.

It's not really all that bad, however it's not "correct" It allows the person who closes the rig, to use an extra long closing loop during the closing portion of the pack job then tighten it afterward.

The ablity to over tighten the closing loop after the rig is closed exists, which also leaves the possibity the closing loop will loosen up.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[teason 0]

At one point in time, those loops were all the rage coming from a DZ in Alberta. Before I became a rigger, our DZ rigger put them in every set of gear.

You had to tighten them every month or so.

I later changed all the loops back and never had a problem with loose reserve loops again.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[aironscott 3]

On the 10.5" tandem loop, the top two grommets were at least an inch apart and the Reserve flap could not cover the pin.
Funny part about the 6" Javelin loop was that the reserve PC wasn't sitting up hardly at all. The pack job was so bulky (wrinkly) that the sides of the reserve container sat up almost that high. This wasn't the only problem I had with this rig. There were a total of 7 no go's on that one.
You just never know what you're going to find next!

“God Damn Mountain Dew MotherFuckers!”

[aironscott 3]

Hookitt-
You are right. Lots of people have successfully used Lodi loops over the years. When a friend of mine showed it to me (trying to show me this cool and groovy latest and greatest thing) I thought it was an interesting way to solve problems for poor rigging technique - but I would never use one. And adamantly council anyone against it who does.

What really caught my attention on the one I mentioned earlier was the fact that it was only secured with a single overhand knot and also was only routed through one of the cypres grommet holes. Not even as much as a tail or a melted end. Black death waiting to happen. WOW.
You should have seen the reaction when I showed it off around the loft. Between the three of us we had about 30 years rigging experience and we agreed that it was if not the scariest, then was top 3 of scariest things we'd ever seen in rigging.
Blues-
Aaron

“God Damn Mountain Dew MotherFuckers!”