faulknerwn 36 #1 November 3, 2007 Who recognizes this rig? A guy dropped it off wanting to jump it - its got a state-of-the-art Safety Star reserve in it :-) He wants me to replace rubber bands and pack the main as well, but I haven't figured out how to do that :-) Its got a weird pullout thing I haven't figured out where to stash it! And the 3 ring system - bizarro! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beatnik 2 #2 November 3, 2007 That looks to be a Altitude Shop Top Secret Classifier. PM me I have a manual. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #3 November 3, 2007 Yep, thats a Classiflyer with the Jerry Meyers release. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #4 November 3, 2007 Beat me to it. But I don't have a manual.HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 36 #5 November 3, 2007 So was that release a way of avoiding paying Bill Booth money? It looks bizarre... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #6 November 3, 2007 QuoteSo was that release a way of avoiding paying Bill Booth money? It looks bizarre... Works fine though, I had four cutaways on my Classiflyer.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #7 November 3, 2007 Hi faulknerwn, That is an Altitude Shop rig, known as the Top Secret. The Classyfler came later. JerryBaumchen PS) Yes, the release was developed because Booth would not license his 3-ring system. Security licensed it from Meyers and used it on their rigs, also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #8 November 3, 2007 Look again Jerry...That is a Classiflyer. The Top Secret was a bit different. It had two closing loops on the main. If you look at the first picture you can see it is closed with just one pin. The right closing flap has a single grommet. (just above the velcro) The multiple grommets on the top flap shown are just so you could stuff different canopy sizes in it. Rather than lengthen the closing loop you would just select a different grommet to close it. The Top Secrets I jumped had two curved pins in the main bridle but the Classiflyer only had one. The Classiflyer was the transition rig between the TS and The Corsair. As far as the pullout I don't remember seeing one with that type of main deployment. Likely an after market modification. Also, most Top Secrets I jumped had capewells. The Meyers release was more common on the "updated" Classiflyer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #9 November 3, 2007 well that angled detail on the container does look like a classiflyer.. But ... the releases make me think it might be something called an R W EAGLE..... i think.. a recall a buddy had a rig with those same releases... must have been '75 or '76.... As the three rings , came on the scene.. lots of people thought they had a "better idea",, and so in those days. the R 2's R3's etc were used as releases..same thing with this flip webbing deal.... I knew a rigger who made a Webbing 3 ring.... fabric loops, which locked one another , much the same as the 3 ring method...but with NO metal at all... He made up TWO pads,, each one, velcroed to the front of a main lift web.... .. Much like shot and a halves , each hand grabbed a pad, and peeled downward , sucessively popping each loop..as the pads themselves were connected to the first 'ring' He called them 'fruit loops'.... indeed!!!!! has anyone ever heard of an RW EAGLE container system???? or was I dreaming???As for the main deployment... it might have been a 'pud' handle attached to the base of the pc with the P C stashed inside the closing flaps of the main... not sure...jt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #10 November 3, 2007 Here is a Top Secret, direct from an Altitude Shop ad in the November '76 Parachutist. I'm still looking for a Classiflyer. And here is a (Strong) Eagle, from the September '78 Parachutist. Hope this helps.HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #11 November 3, 2007 excellent.... thanks so must be that the O P has a classiflyer... your picture of the top secret,,, shows what looks to be 'one shot ' releases, on that rig...blasthandle too..... i'm glad that gear evolution didn't stop there....and yes... Strong eagle.. rw eagle was a jumpsuit, (now that I have awoken, and had a cup of coffee) strong always was a reliable source for gear and the eagle was one of their designs...The releases do look like the ones in the O P. it's clear, crisp and sunny....so i'm off to the dz carry on.... skydive softly, skydive often, skydive with friends j a3914 d12122 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlueSBDeath 2 #12 November 3, 2007 I have to agree, it is a Classiflyer!! I owned one, had a Cruiseair, and Safety-Flyer in it I have attached a shot of me with its front and in a chair in the barracks at Fligerhorst Army Airfield, Hanau FRG (at the time it was FRG). Arvel BSBD...........Its all about Respect, USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #13 November 4, 2007 Hi peckerhead, Yup, you are correct. Well, off to the store for some more of those damn Memory Pills; but they seem to not be working. Or am I getting them mixed up with the Viagra. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #14 November 5, 2007 The question is is the customer a newbie who was sold a "state of the art" rig by his best buddy for freeflying? Or an old fart who want's a nostalga jump? I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 36 #15 November 5, 2007 I think this guy bought this rig new way back when :-) He started jumping in 1975.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 8 #16 November 5, 2007 ... better take TWO memory pills with each Viagra... so you can remember what the fuck you're doing... I'm sorry, that one was too good to pass up. Anyway... I was looking at Howardwhite's "TopSecret1" photo he posted up-thread. I took me a few seconds to realize that I was looking at the back of the rig with the shoulder straps / main lift webs bent around so you could see their "fronts" from the back... then the following ran through my mind... be kind... early 21st century rigger here... 1) Rip cord for main deployment on the r/h main lift web... and am I correct in guessing there's more than one pin on that rip cord? ... plus some gromets and cones involved too?? Okay, if a main mal happnes... 2) Shot-n-a-halfs / Capewells to cut-away... ... and finally... 3) A Blast handle to deploy the reserve!!? Okay, I realize all this stuff was TSO'd, works and is all still legal to go jump if airworthy and all that... but I'm REALLY glad y'all that have gone before us jumped this stuff "back in the day" and have since come up with the many newer things we see today. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beatnik 2 #17 November 5, 2007 Quote1) Rip cord for main deployment on the r/h main lift web... and am I correct in guessing there's more than one pin on that rip cord? ... plus some gromets and cones involved too?? Okay, if a main mal happnes... 2) Shot-n-a-halfs / Capewells to cut-away... ... and finally... 3) A Blast handle to deploy the reserve!!? It is a two pin ripcord, no cones. It uses closing loops. The sides and bottom flap have two sets of grommets to accommodate different size mains. Usually the Top Secret only looks good when being worn if it has a small main in it. The Belly band is connected to the side flaps and pulls them tight and snug. With a bigger main it doesn't really matter, the side flaps are pulled tight. I have seen some other cutaways on them. No 3-rings that I remember, just the standard R-3's and that sort of thing.. The blast handle seemed to be on some of the early models. Later they had another martin baker handle on the reserve ripcord. Also, some of them had an ROL for the main as well. The Top Secret isn't that bad of a rig to jump. I jump mine on a pretty regular basis. Compared to some of the other rigs I own, this is a great deal nicer and easier to get accustomed to. This rig has a lot of interesting features that isn't mentioned in the manual or from the ads. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 8 #18 November 5, 2007 Yeah, wasn't meaning to say it was a bad rig... was just musing over the "additional complexities". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beatnik 2 #19 November 5, 2007 Gotcha, rigs today are simplified. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallfast69 2 #20 November 6, 2007 Quote And here is a (Strong) Eagle, from the September '78 Parachutist. Hope this helps.HW I got's me one of dem in my closet...got my Piglet packed in it. Modified to 3-rings and spandex BOC Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UDSkyJunkie 0 #21 November 15, 2007 Quote So was that release a way of avoiding paying Bill Booth money? It looks bizarre... That looks like the "Yes System" release... A friend of my dad had that release, or one very similar to it in a rig called a Bullet that he was still jumping in '97. Got a LOT of weird looks, as it was his primary rig. Then again, so did his 2nd rig... a 2-pin wonderhog with a belly-band PC and an AR-11 150 main."Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #22 November 16, 2007 Hi faulknerwn, QuoteSo was that release a way of avoiding paying Bill Booth money? Nope, it came about because, at that time, Booth would NOT license his system. Then, later, some folks (think DJ) began providing just the hardware parts; this (I think) allowed people to get around the patent (or was it 'patent pending'????). JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brokenwing 1 #23 November 16, 2007 mine is hanging up as a display -- stratoflyer still inside might even have the original manual for it dont have any of those memory pills but i believe they were R-3 (Rodriguez sp???) they did work the 1 time i used em Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
