scrufpot 0 #1 February 8, 2017 I have come across a Glide International 130 reserve. Any one know who made it & if it can be packed if it`s older then 20 years Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deyan 31 #2 February 8, 2017 I believe that's Mini Cricket. If that's the case, no lifetime set by the manufacturer."My belief is that once the doctor whacks you on the butt, all guarantees are off" Jerry Baumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #3 February 8, 2017 A big caveat on older (20 years plus) canopies is that many of them land hard when loaded more than 1 pound per square foot. Consider that back when (1980s) F-111 was a fashionable fabric for mains, no one loaded mains as heavy as 1 pound per square foot. Expecting a reserve designed during that era to land softly - while over-loaded - is ..... um .... "optimistic" ..... we are talking "SEAL optimistic!" So that Glide International reserve will land fine with 100 pounds hanging underneath, but hang any more pounds and you risk injury. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #4 February 9, 2017 The company started in 1978 as Diango Enterprises. They changed the name to Glide Path Internatoonal circa 1984. They changed the name the Flight Concepts International during the mid-1990s. If your reserve measures 130 square feet, then it is probably a Mini Cricket with a maximum suspended weight of Anyone hanging more than. pounds under a Mini Cricket should confirm that his medical insurance is up to date! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scrufpot 0 #5 February 9, 2017 Cheers for info i had emailed Flight Concept twice with no reply. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrigger1 2 #6 February 9, 2017 Quote The company started in 1978 as Diango Enterprises. They changed the name to Glide Path Internatoonal circa 1984. They changed the name the Flight Concepts International during the mid-1990s. Rob, Only Flight Concepts International made the Mini-Cricket.None of the previous companies made that canopy. It was developed and tested in 1992 -1993. Quote Anyone hanging more than. pounds under a Mini Cricket should confirm that his medical insurance is up to date! FYI, I am 6'1", weigh 235 lbs without gear, have one of these in one of my containers that was used twice, and it flew just fine both times. The placarded recommended weight is 138 lbs, maximum weight is 254 lbs. We tested this canopy at the same time we were doing the Jump Shack Tandem system. When the tests were complete, we decided to see what the Mini-Cricket would do with the two dummies used for the tandem certification. The result was that it opened, stayed intact, and flew just fine without stalling near the opening. I don't know what your deal is with the "20 year old reserves", but you and a few others have missed the big picture on that. Question for you... When ever has someone died because of older reserve canopies not working because of their design and age? My answer is 0... Next question.... When has someone died using newer reserve canopy designs? My answer is at least 11 that I know of..... MELSkyworks Parachute Service, LLC www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #7 February 9, 2017 Sorry, but I should have included the fact that FC Mini Cricket 130 is placarded at a maximum suspended weight of 145 pounds. I will freely admit to being a grumpy, old, grey-bearded Master Rigger who started jumping back in 1977 (40 years ao). I have seen a variety of fads come and go in the skydiving industry as a young jumper when much of this "questionable" gear was introduced. My bias against older gear started during the acid-mesh era. Considering that most of the suspect round reserves were sewn during 1981 and 1982, they are now 35 years old! While I have tested and packed a thousand .... ish round reserve canopies suspected of containing acid mesh, Ino longer have the tools (bromocreasol and fancy clamps) and refuse to touch them any more because 35 years of tensile-testing has weakened the fabric. My bias against smaller, older square reserve canopies is based on the handful of jumps that I made on its bigger brother, the Firefly, a 176 square foot, 7-cell made of F-111. I weighed 182 pounds back then. Even though all my landings were well-flared, stand-ups in the pea gravel bowl, my ankles stung every time! Another factor adding to my bias against old gear is younger jumpers expecting small, old reserves to fly as well as modern (for example) PD Optimum reserves the same size. We had a practical demonstration of this phenomenon a decade ago. I had been grumbling about "stupid, fat, white men jumping Micro Ravens" for a decade. Young skydivers were tired of hearing my rant until one of them made series of mistakes on his way to the hospital. He broke both arms, spine, etc. He could not wipe his own ass for a month! The price of second-hand Micro Ravens dropped dramatically. This accident occurred around the same time that Precision quit making Micro Ravens and started making R-Max reserves. I have one jump on the smallest R-Max (118?) and it landed fine even though my weight was deep in the darkest corner of the chart. Finally, I have seen a Raven Dash-M 290 torn up by a large jumper who made a series of mistakes including over-loading his reserve canopy. Just to prove that I am not biased against Ravens, I assembled and packed a pair of Raven 3 reserves (249 square feet) for a DZ that wanted to upgrade their student gear to square reserves. I do not automatically obey published limits like a slave. Rather, I try to stay within written limits because I am familiar with the blood they are written in. The other reason I recommend that skydivers stay within published limits is that it reduces the number of lawyers that we have to deal with. Did I tell you about my alergy to lawyers? Hah! Hah! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverek 55 #8 February 9, 2017 QuoteWhen has someone died using newer reserve canopy designs? My answer is at least 11 that I know of..... How many of them were PD Optimums? . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #9 February 9, 2017 skydiverekQuoteWhen has someone died using newer reserve canopy designs? My answer is at least 11 that I know of..... How many of them were PD Optimums? . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I cannot give you an exact number, but I believe that most of those fatalities involved "stupid, fat, white men jumping tiny reserves." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
