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jimmytavino

Square hand deploy Pilot Chute

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so as the ram air era began, and jumpers were
switching to squares, those changes were coinciding with harness container updates, and safer ( for the most part) riser releases, and of course hand deployed Pilot Chutes....

well a local rigging loft began designing and building H / C systems to meet the demands of its clientele... the rigs, were piggyback,,,
and had large main pack trays as well as reserve pack trays, since many jumpers were still perfectly happy with their round reserves and even round mains... the harness was custom, in both size and color,, and for the most part the releases were shot and halves or R3's... blast handle reserve and belly band mounted "throw-away" pilot chutes.....
Since the "creative genius" behind the gear, ( who shall remain nameless) liked para foils, the rig included a square PC...Mostly as a Novelty....i guess... although HE said it was simply a good design...;);)
see pictures below

well he must have been right!!! because
they seemed to work just fine, and many people used them.... never recall a problem with them,,,, and they were lifting HEAVY D Bags, off our backs,,, pcs, paps, heavy early generation squares...

I still have the P.C. but passed the rig to a friend of mine ( he said he could sell it...) and then lost track of it ,,and of him...:P;)
was 1977... we are still waiting "for the TSO to come through"
I hear it'll be "anyday now"....:o:):)
jmy

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Now this is something I've never seen or heard about before! Just when I think I've been around skydiving for awhile you guys come up with this shit. Somebody let me know who was making this stuff. I couldn't figure it out reading between the lines.
I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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I sure wouldn't want to jump one of these with a camera. Pretty nasty looking snag potential in a lot of ways.
--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

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I have to agree with Terry, I have never heard of that! I mean hand deployed reserves was a surprise as well, but.....damn


Those look like the size of a small stratostar! Hell I bet they could land a child safely they are so big....

This sport will never cease to amaze me and the imagination that comes with it.

Thanks for posting



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Quote


Those look like the size of a small stratostar! Hell I bet they could land a child safely they are so big....



I'll say.. some of the hotshots nowadays could use that thing as a main! (albeit probably only once)
"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

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I still have one also, but not as pretty as howard's. Mine is black and white and I used it with a black and white StratoFlyer, so together they looked like big brother and little brother. I found they caught a lot of air, and even used mine on BASE jumps.

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I thought they were pretty cool, so I made one based on memory. It's not as easy as it looks; mine didn't work real well, and I returned to other experiments in hand-deploy...

A friend's had a built-in turn, so I installed a (smooth at least) turnbuckle in the bridle so that it wouldn't twist up the bridle so much. The things we thought of :D

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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