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MickPatch

What's the consensus on turn rig "mains"

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I have a new rig coming soon - yay for me.

Planning on keeping hold of the current one as a turn rig, main from the current (Sabre2 170) will go into the new one so I need to think about what to put in the turn rig. 

I have a Sabre 170 that could go in.

Is there an issue with having different canopy models in the two rigs? 

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(edited)

It would be pretty rare for someone who does not already have an answer to that question to actually need a turn rig!

Most people in your position end up having two rigs, one that they never use. Unless you are a very active instructor.

Edited by gowlerk
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8 hours ago, gowlerk said:

Unless you are a very active instructor.

Or team training, or getting instruction. Sometimes 3 rigs are needed for team training because you aren't pulling super high and you want to land with your team mates to talk before the turn. Then also, you just might be jumping smaller mains than you'd otherwise prefer. Same if you've hired a freefly coach. Seems they always are flash canopy pilots, too, so if you are turning loads you need to get down fast to look at video you don't yet understand. On the other hand if you are fun jumping blow off the second rig and spend time with your friends. If time is tight between loads hire a packer. You'll be enough money ahead to tip your DZO at the end of the day.

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A friend of mine died 5 years ago. He had 2 rigs that used regularly. On one he had a Stiletto 120. On the other one an Odyssey 120. They were even the same colours (mostly). These 2 canopies have quite different recovery arcs. He made a low turn. I don't recall which canopy he used on that jump, but I wonder if he was jumping the Odyssey, but expecting the recovery arc of the Stiletto. I think that is something very important to consider if you go for 2 different canopies in your rigs.

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On 8/13/2021 at 8:06 PM, Westerly said:

Lol tipping the dude that makes more in a month than his employees make in multiple years? makes sense. 

I assume that was the joke, to illustrate how much money you'd be ahead.

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On 8/12/2021 at 8:46 AM, MickPatch said:

I have a new rig coming soon - yay for me.

Planning on keeping hold of the current one as a turn rig, main from the current (Sabre2 170) will go into the new one so I need to think about what to put in the turn rig. 

I have a Sabre 170 that could go in.

 

If you 'have' that other Sabre, I'm guessing that you've jumped it regularly and are familiar with it? If so, then I don't see a problem.    Well...

 

On 8/12/2021 at 8:46 AM, MickPatch said:

Is there an issue with having different canopy models in the two rigs? 

I think Deimian makes a fair point about that, but the point is not that your two rigs need to be identical, but that you need to pay attention to which one you're using.

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On 8/13/2021 at 4:30 AM, Deimian said:

A friend of mine died 5 years ago. He had 2 rigs that used regularly. On one he had a Stiletto 120. On the other one an Odyssey 120. They were even the same colours (mostly). These 2 canopies have quite different recovery arcs. He made a low turn. I don't recall which canopy he used on that jump, but I wonder if he was jumping the Odyssey, but expecting the recovery arc of the Stiletto. I think that is something very important to consider if you go for 2 different canopies in your rigs.

Maybe, but low turns are one of the most common ways people get hurt in this sport anyway, so I don't think there's a need to go hunting for an exotic reason for it. Unfortunately, it just happens. Maybe different people or people with different canopy combinations might have different issues, but I just can't imagine getting all the way to the ground and being confused about which canopy I was flying or how I should fly it.

Lately I've been switching between a Katana 135 and a Lightning 143 and the thought has never even entered my mind that I might mistake one for the other. It's true that if I did I'd probably die, but I just don't see that happening.

Like myself and others have said, it's an entirely personal decision.

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Ideally, for turn rigs, you are best off with identical set ups. If you have multiple rigs for multiple uses like, RW, wingsuit and or CRW, you might not have the option of identical canopies, so, you must be aware of your landing pattern, last turn altitude, sight picture, etc.

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5 hours ago, BMAC615 said:

Ideally, for turn rigs, you are best off with identical set ups.

If you're buying multiple rigs at the same time for a specific purpose such as team training, sure. But someone keeping an old rig when they buy a new one shouldn't be a problem, as long as they pay attention.

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17 hours ago, dudeman17 said:

If you're buying multiple rigs at the same time for a specific purpose such as team training, sure. But someone keeping an old rig when they buy a new one shouldn't be a problem, as long as they pay attention.

“Ideally” and “shouldn’t be a problem” are points on a risk spectrum.

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If they’re the same color etc, that’s a bigger point for having mains that are at least relatively similar. Or make sure the mains are wildly different colors — but visual reminders can really help. 
And BMAC has an excellent point. 
Wendy P. 

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(edited)

The way people think these days is mind boggling.

5 hours ago, wmw999 said:

And BMAC has an excellent point. 

To a degree, I suppose, but really no. And you've been around long enough to know that.

This isn't Disneyland. Skydiving is a blatantly elective activity, and it's a blatant act of self-reliance. It isn't for everybody. It's really not for many people at all. At some point people have to take responsibility for themselves and what happens to them at a dropzone. I say that point is when one first decides to take an fjc.

Sure, if one has different rigs for different disciplines, or if one is buying a couple rigs at the same time, there are things that should be considered. But the OP appears to be a fun jumper who's wondering if it's ok to keep his old rig when he gets his new one. A rig he presumably has jumps on and is familiar with. (And his mains are similar.) There really shouldn't be a problem with that.  Sure, he has to pay attention to what he's doing, but that is a requirement anyway. If that is beyond someone, then they really shouldn't be doing this.

I mean, is it black death to take your spouse's car to the store because it's parked behind yours in the driveway? If it is, you should sell the damn things and use a ride-share.

 

Edited by dudeman17
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My $0.02 (maybe worth that much, maybe not):

It depends on what the use would be.

For a 'true' turn rig, as similar as possible or identical would be best.
That's for someone who's going to be jumping so much that they'll be swapping back and forth all the time, for essentially the same jump.
An active camera flyer is the best example I can think of.

Land, dump rig #1 with the packer, toss the data cards to the video editor, stuff the other cards into the cameras, grab rig #2 and off you go. 

If it's someone who wants a 'sporty' canopy some of the time, but not all of the time, then having different setups may be worth looking into.

Swoopers often have dedicated 'comp' rigs and 'fun jump' rigs. So do CRW guys. 

In those cases, having a rather different canopy in different rigs has to be 'managed'. Don't ever get them confused. Different color rigs, different color canopies, other things to make it hard to mix them up would be important.

Just having it as a 'spare' rig really isn't as good of an idea as it may seem. 


You'll have your shiny new rig to play with, so it won't get much use.
Keeping it in date, and rarely jumping it gets old.

If you aren't in a position to actually need a second rig on a fairly regular basis, you'd be better off selling it. Use the money to pay a packer. I've seen some very good ones pack in time to make short calls. Impressive to watch. 


Again, my $0.02.

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23 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Just having it as a 'spare' rig really isn't as good of an idea as it may seem. 


You'll have your shiny new rig to play with, so it won't get much use.
Keeping it in date, and rarely jumping it gets old.

If you aren't in a position to actually need a second rig on a fairly regular basis, you'd be better off selling it. Use the money to pay a packer. I've seen some very good ones pack in time to make short calls. Impressive to watch. 

 

That is probably the most practical advice for the OP.

Worth at least a nickel.

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On 8/12/2021 at 8:04 PM, JoeWeber said:

Sometimes 3 rigs are needed for team training because you aren't pulling super high and you want to land with your team mates to talk before the turn.

Hmm.  We've never needed 3 rigs even for triple 20's.  I guess packers (quantity AND quality) are key there, but two packers managed to keep up with our 8-way (which meant 9 rigs every 20 minutes.)  

 

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On 8/12/2021 at 8:46 AM, MickPatch said:

Is there an issue with having different canopy models in the two rigs? 

A bit of one; you will sometimes forget.

For years I used two very similar rigs with two different mains.  Both Safire 2's but one 119 and one 139.  I used the 119 for the first jump of a double (for the faster descent) and the 139 for the second jump when speed was less critical.  That way I also had a more docile canopy for demos and whatnot.

But this was when I was making 600 jumps a year so I was very current.  I was also jumping with the same team at the same DZ with the same aircraft so nothing else was changing.  If you are going to be doing different jumps at different DZ's then you are adding one more thing to the plate to keep track of.

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9 minutes ago, billvon said:

Hmm.  We've never needed 3 rigs even for triple 20's.  I guess packers (quantity AND quality) are key there, but two packers managed to keep up with our 8-way (which meant 9 rigs every 20 minutes.)  

 

Yes. Maybe I'm just overly over the top. I also would usually keep an extra airplane on hand when I was training, especially freefly, probably to compensate. 

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Ideally identical turn rigs is optimal of course.

Personally when I first started doing back to backs, I had a Katana 120 and a 107 in my rigs. So not massively different. I did one camp where i had a JFX 94 in one and a Katana 107 which was OK as I was super current on the Katana and very conservative on the JFX as it was new. I wouldn't want to do that sort of configuration often though. Now I have identical canopies in both rigs which is nice.

Also its nice to have identical containers but again its a luxury that is not always available. 

But I agree with others, unless you are doing back to backs often then there is not much point in keeping two rigs as you can always borrow another rig. Personally I am doing back to backs almost every time I go to a DZ so for me  its a no-brainer

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