toronto_bill 0 #1 March 17, 2007 Just got curious. I expect most will not own their own gear but it nice to see some numbers. I don't see many forking out 14000 for a sigma thats for sure. The other side is why would a DZO pay to rent some else rig if his were fine. Sorry if this is a waste ... Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #2 March 17, 2007 While in europe, I discovered it was not uncommon for TM's to own thier own equipent. the money they are making per jump there is far in excess of what is offered in say USA or NZ. for 30 or 40 bucks i wouldn't see the point of owning your own gear but for $150 per jump with your own gear it is well worth it. One TM I met in sweden had 4 atom systems(with icarus mains) and rented them to other tm's that didn't have thier own gear or only 1 rig etc, it was well worth their while to rent the gear and have a packer rather that go on aternate loads. this was in 'Club' drozpone enviroments. I want a sigma micron. I will buy one in the next couple of years."When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toronto_bill 0 #3 March 17, 2007 The new Sigma micron is a fruit I have yet to taste...I'm sure Bill hasn't let us down....3 ring...skyhook...sigma...my money's on Bill. Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #4 March 17, 2007 Why the Sigma Micron? The size an weight are not all that different from a standard Sigma with an Icarus/Precision 330, and it's nicer to pack!---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #5 March 17, 2007 Quote Why the micron? They are narrower, my only complaint with the sigma is the width of the container. Shitty narrowbody 182 exits The Aerodyne hybrid (zp-f111) 350's we have in the sigmas here are too loose. I would like to try that Icarus FX 300(?) that is floating around in Australia."When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #6 March 17, 2007 I think it's a VX 285 if I remember right.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mickochet 0 #7 March 18, 2007 It is an FX 285If you never fall down you aren't trying hard enough. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMURRAY 1 #8 March 18, 2007 QuoteJust got curious. I expect most will not own their own gear but it nice to see some numbers. I don't see many forking out 14000 for a sigma thats for sure. The other side is why would a DZO pay to rent some else rig if his were fine. Sorry if this is a waste ... Bill hopefully skymonkey1 comments. he went through this dilema a couple of years ago... rm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #9 March 18, 2007 I got my rating in 1999 and saw a blurb in Skydiving Magazine about Tandem Vector 3 and the disk. I called RWS and had them send me the promo tape. I immediately sent a thousand for deposit and received the new harness right away. On October 13, 2000 I drove to the factory from Texas and picked it up. First jump on it was a waitress from Crestview Florida I met the night before. (Free tandem for her) I fully understood the concept of no out-of-sequence situations with it. My Sigma was the first one in Texas, and it's still going great with over a thousand jumps. I've done major repairs along the way, also. (new harness) I bought it for many reasons, one being that I take it with me when I travel. I've used it all over the place. Another reason is the ability to control maintenance. I replace worn parts way earlier than the DZ does on its own gear. In fact, I've not had a chop on it since 2002. In less than a 100 jumps on DZ gear I've chopped twice! I get paid for using it, but not actual value. The DZO makes more money when my rig is used even though I'm getting paid more. The pay I get does cover maintenance. I've replaced the main canopy twice. Some people own big ass Harleys. For the same price I own a beat up Honda 750, a Sigma and a Womfish Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toronto_bill 0 #10 March 18, 2007 to be clear..... You put on the gear, then a waitress jumped you? Or she jumped you then you put on the gear? This is important info for a person thinking of buying ! New Sigma...It melts womens underwear! Sorry, the story + the pic is great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #11 March 19, 2007 Quoteto be clear..... You put on the gear, then a waitress jumped you? Or she jumped you then you put on the gear? This is important info for a person thinking of buying ! New Sigma...It melts womens underwear! Sorry, the story + the pic is great. Uh, she was 18 and wanted to jump. I wanted a passenger. All on the up and up. No "hump" that weekend!!! Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #12 March 19, 2007 I own my own tandem rig. I wanted one to travel to boogies with and one to help me facilitate my own, one-person tandem progression student program. I also own a brand-new AFF rig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toronto_bill 0 #13 March 20, 2007 Hey SkyM 1 , you are your own school. Hmm. Thats a great concept. Thanks Rob. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdD 1 #14 March 20, 2007 Hey Billy, this is Brenan. Tim offered me a job doing tandem and video, think I should defect ? Why buy your own rig when you can just steal one from Frank...Life is ez On the dz Every jumper's dream 3 rigs and an airstream Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #15 March 20, 2007 QuoteI own my own tandem rig. I wanted one to travel to boogies with and one to help me facilitate my own, one-person tandem progression student program. I also own a brand-new AFF rig. I neglected to mention that I also do hand-cam on my own tandems so I keep ALL the money I charge, minus cost of lift tickets. We pay no "outside instuctor fee" crap here at Z-hills; it's great. I shoot inside video on every single AFF dive I do too. It's a fantastic debriefing tool and my .3 lens gets all the important stuff without me even thinking about it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toronto_bill 0 #16 March 21, 2007 School with grad photos....sweet. So what do you have on TK? Hehe. Can you sponsor me to work at your school? I have 300 tandems. Start a fruit plantation and hire me to harvest it. I'll be the first Canadian to head south to do it. Say to TK and goofd luck on the 200 seq ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverek 55 #17 March 22, 2007 QuoteThe new Sigma micron It is 'Micro Sigma'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beezyshaw 0 #18 April 3, 2007 QuoteThe other side is why would a DZO pay to rent some else rig if his were fine. As someone who has owned his own tandem rig for 10 years, as well as jumped at a many dropzones that have various approaches to this, here's my take on it... First off, let me say that in 10 years of tandem instruction and over 1500 tandems, I have never had a tandem malfunction. I've jumped tandem reserve canopies as mains, for testing, but never in an emergency. I'd just as soon keep it that way. Anyway, back to the point. Through experience and observation, I believe that there are several advantages to tandem pilots owning and maintaining their own equipment. Just watch who walks back to the packing area dragging the drogue and/or canopy and who makes sure everything is off the ground. Think about how most people treat a Hertz rental compared to their own vehicle. Next point is concerning packing tandems. I have NEVER jumped my tandem rig with anyone packing it other than me. NEVER. This is , in my mind, a very important issue. I think that while the FAR's do and should allow supervised packers, I think that the knowledge base of many packers is rather limited; there is way too much bad information and poor packing technique out there. It's not that packers don't care, it's more that what they have been taught is (_________) at best. I find that tandem passengers also get a sense of assurance about their safety when they're watching their tandem pilot inspect and pack the parachute before they make their first leap. (I welcome my next student to watch, but I always ask that they let me focus on the task at hand without interruption.) When a tandem instructor makes jump after jump after jump in rapid succession on different gear packed by different people, I feel strongly there is an increased level of overall risk and a decreased level of overall quality to the skydive. Now for economic considerations. I'm not sure about other places in the country, but for my circumstances the pay goes something like $35 for the tandem jump itself, $25 for use of my gear, and $10 for a packing fee, making my gross income per jump $70. If you take good care of your equipment, my estimation is that actual gear costs per jump come to something less than $25 per jump, maybe as low as $15 in certain dz environments. Of course desert dz's would be considerably harder on equipment than a nice grassy landing area and carpeted packing are. But point is, I do make additional money as profit by using my gear. If I can do 6 tandems in a day at my own pace, I bring $420 home for the day. $90 of that is for gear replacement/maintenance, leaving me an income of $310. If I were busting my butt using dz gear and made 10 jumps in a day, I would bring home $350. I might net slightly more money, but I've exposed myself to the additional stress of the mystery gear syndrome, the more hectic pace of almost twice as many jumps, and again I believe the experience for the student is safer and more fun when I'm not running at such a fast pace. Economic considerations from the standpoint of the dzo are the other side of this coin. One consideration is that the dz nets more money per tandem jump by owning and using dz rigs. This is certainly true, but my observations are that in many cases, the dz-owned tandem rigs are not maintained as well as tandem rigs that belong to the individual jumper. Often maintenance on dz gear is only to repair, rather than prevent problems. And this issue leads to another viable economic issue, that of dz rigs being out of service for repairs and the financial losses that occur from lost opportunity due to fewer rigs available for staff use. So whether the dz actually makes more money by having their own tandem rigs is questionable. I realize that not every tandem pilot has the recources available to purchase their own rig; I also know that many dz's insist that tandem jumps be made on drop zone equipment. Nothing will change these issues, I'm sure. But I do feel very strongly that I am a safer, happier, and better instructor in several ways using my own equipment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teason 0 #19 April 16, 2007 QuoteThey are narrower, my only complaint with the sigma is the width of the container. Shitty narrowbody 182 exitsMad That's why I have 4 Racer Tandems, the size makes them perfect for our 182B. I once took a 250lbs 6'10" student out of our narrow body with our 6'4" pilot who's all legs. Can't imagine doing it with something wider. I saw a Micro Sigma in Deland, it really didn't seem smaller than my 2k3 Tandem. But hey, I'm biasedI would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
