gear copy

[flyhy 0]

Hi- I have a zerox rig that I bought around 1994 in Ireland. I now want to jump it in New Zealand, and the rigger over here checked it for a stamp to say that it's TSO'd (safety standard). He couldn't find the stamp, so now I can't jump the rig. I haven't ;jumped it for a while at home, but no-one ever checked it for this mark.
Does anyone know where the mark should be on a zerox? Or if there were illegal zerox copies made?

[skygod7777 0]

now i don't know much of anything about the zerox rig, i've really have never seen one

but it is possible that is is not tso'd. it may be at another countries standards.

i will do a seach for it, and see if i can find any more info on it.

later

[AndyMan 7]

Poynters manual lists it as being sold by Thomas Sports Equipment of East Yorkshire G.B. First introduced in 1982, with a mandatory service bulletin in 1988. It appears to be a knockoff of the original Vector.

A good place to start would be the manufacturer, you can find their website at http://www.thomas-sports.com/

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[skygod7777 0]

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A good place to start would be the manufacturer, you can find their website at http://www.thomas-sports.com/

ya, i looked around there, and it doesn't say anywere that it is tso'd. i don't think it is. i'm pretty sure none of the rest of the rigs are tso'd, so, i don't think this one is either.

later

[AggieDave 6]

According to the website it IS TSOed.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[hookitt 0]

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According to the website it IS TSOed.

According to the websight the new one's are TSOed. What about the 1988 Vector copy model? Purchased by flyhi in 1994
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My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[skygod7777 0]

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According to the website it IS TSOed.

oh hell then, call me f#$%ing stupid.

later

[flyhy 0]

The rig was actually made in 1988... Is it possible to get this TSO stamp now? Or has anybody a (cheap!) container for sale ;) ?

[fergs 0]

G'day flyhi Gitty,

couple of questions:

1. What is the date of manufacture for the Xerox yuou have?

2. For interest sake, what colour is it?

Thomas Sports Equipment used to have a label on it that looked suspiciously like a TSO label. They called it "TSE". Yours may have a label saying TSE 23-b (or C or some other letter).

TSE stands for .... wait for it ..... Thomas Sports Equipment. For it to then having numbers, like, coincidentally 23-C after it suggesting it conforms to a technical standard in the US surely bordered upon illegal.

But it did not necessarily make the gear unsafe. It was, at least in the 80's illegal to jump Thomas Sports Equipment gear in a number of countries, Australia, for example. This was possibly due to the fact that they recognised a TSE label is not a TSO label.

But I've lost track since - maybe Lofty Thomas has now gotten his gear actually TSO'd. If so - good.

But if yours is only TSE'd, it may be - or is probably - illegal to jump in a number of countries, maybe even NZ.

I had a xerox for a while in the 80's. It was a pretty good knock-off of the then wonderhog vector design. In fact one skydiving trip in 84 or so I was in Deland and Bill Booth had a look over it. From memory, he found a few technical/construction issues he was unhappy or uncomfortable with - but his dignity kept him from outwardly criticizing it. What a guy!!

TSE then did and still do make gear that looks amazingly like major US manufactured gear. But jumpers in the UK seem to be loyal to the brand - maybe the pricing when comapred to imported gear from the US makes it an easy brand to buy.

I remember a pop-top brand of TSE was banned in the US when some visiting UK team members had extremely slow reserve deployments. My memory is a bit clouded (I think I used to have Alzeimers Disease, but now I can't remember what it is ...), so maybe some others have more info.

Let me know if your Xerox is brown tones. If so, I think I know soem of its' history.

Blue Skies, fergs

[fudd 0]

I checked the Norwegian gear lists and here TSE Zerox riggs manufactured before 1. august 1988 is allowed. Newer Zeroxes are forbidden. I believe I read something about they moved the factory and lost their TSO.
There more info aboute the Zerox in Poynter Vol.2 5.610. I don't have it, and I'm no rigger but maybe it will give some more info on if it's tso'd, where the label is and so on.

Sounds like you might have to get a new rig...
But hey....NEW RIG...

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[riggerrob 558]

Your problem is that early rigs built by Thomas Sports Equipment never achieved (US gov't) FAA Type Standardization Order (TSO) certification.

To the best of my knowledge, only some - but not all - recently manufactured TSE Teardrop Superfly containers are TSO'd.

Since th eTSO system is about quality control and traceability, only the original manufacturer could apply a TSO stamp after the fact. I doubt that TSE saved all of those records.