dudeman17 267 #76 May 16, 2022 5 hours ago, riggerrob said: Para-Tec's (Germany) "Wingman" series of PEPs are also designed around square canopies Curious what percentage of PEP's these days use squares, and if there is any suggestion/requirement that the pilot has jump experience? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #77 May 17, 2022 (edited) On 5/16/2022 at 3:57 PM, dudeman17 said: Curious what percentage of PEP's these days use squares, and if there is any suggestion/requirement that the pilot has jump experience? I have written a 2,000 word article to answer your question. I am just waiting until KITPLANES Magazine publishes my article entitled "Where can you stuff a parachute?" The first article is aimed at helping kitplane, aerobatic and glider pilots chose the PEP container (back, long back or seat) that best fits their cockpit.. Then I will subject my article entitled "Round or Square Parachute?" My article will be controversial because it questions ancient dogma about pilot emergency parachutes (PEPs). Much of that dogma was cast in concrete back when I was young and beautiful (1970s) but since then I have seen civilian skydiving schools transition from all-rounds to all squares. I have worked with a wide variety of student gear while dispatching S/L and IAD students. I am also an accompanied freefall instructor and tandem instructor examiner. So my second article may sound like a series of "no shit, there I was ... " stories, but it details how my attitudes have changed over the last 40 years. I am also a rigger and have packed squares into PEPs made by Butler (custom-built Beta back, long back and seat containers), Para-Phernalia (Softie back), Rigging Innovations (Aviator back) and Ron Dionne (back). I even did a half dozen live jumps on Aviator prototypes. I concluded that large docile (280 square feet) Precision P124A canopies are boring and much less likely to injure a pilot in distress than an old-school round parachute (e.g. Strong 26 foot conical). I just learned that Para-Tec in Germany will also sell you a "Wingman" back PEP containing a large square reserve. In short, Ed Scott trains new jump-pilots at "Jumpers Away" and he recommends square pilot emergency parachutes for jump pilots: specifically Rigging Innovations' P124A/Aviator series. Mr. Scott includes a few hours of ground school about squares packed into PEPs, and an optional tandem jump to give the new pilot some experience at steering a square. Edited May 18, 2022 by riggerrob add a sentence 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dudeman17 267 #78 May 17, 2022 3 hours ago, riggerrob said: I have written... article(s) Interesting. Hopefully you'll post links when your articles come out. I'd look forward to reading them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kleggo 138 #79 May 18, 2022 On 3/2/2022 at 9:04 PM, dudeman17 said: And I did use it once. - glad to read that it worked whether as per original design or not. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
