ChrisHoward

Just because you can get away with something it doesn't mean that you should be doing it.

Again I would say that they are far more important than that. Could you explain why else you think they are important? Because secure line stows will help prevent a number of problems like hard openings, tension knots, line dump, bag strip etc.

Again I would say that they are far more important than that. Partially correct. Again I consider free-stow pockets as a form of line stows. Also free-stow pockets have their own in-herent problems. Great. Depending on your version of loose, I suspect that there may have been some luck involved there. Remember that just because something works for a while doesn't mean that it's right.

More BS. When you gonna realize that you just don't know what you don't know? Perhaps when you illuminate me with your vast knowledge instead of just calling BS? A blanket statement like the one you made does two things in my opinion. Firstly, it gives newbies the wrong impression of the multiple purposes of line stows and makes light of the importance of properly/securely stowed lines. Secondly, the fact that you breezed over many of these details indicates that you either don't know many of these facts or that you simply didn't feel the need to elaborate on them in your original answer. Sure stowless bags work great and many people like to use them for a variety of reasons. But your original answer lacks information to the point of being mis-leading.

I don't agree. Freebags and semi stowless bags still feature line stowage. Sure it may a different form of stowage but the lines are still stowed A.K.A. the Freestow Pocket.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you are only missing the brake setting for the flare toggles. The new Sigma 2 line sets no longer stow the brakes on the flare toggles, just the main toggles. So this would mean you only have one cats eye on each side instead of two per side. If you have zero brake settings then that would be a different issue entirely. Either way I would think a DZO would have the experience to know this, or failing that, at least have the experience necessary to clarify the issue.

I have had 6 come back in the 5-6 week range over the last 3 months. That is now what I am telling my customers.

My guess would be that he pulled his reserve after seeing the students AAD fire. So most likely he pulled his reserve very close to or simultaneously to his own AAD firing.

It should also be noted that most countries do not consider sub-contractors as on-going/permanent employment which is the basis of any work VISA. There are ways around it of course but be careful of your wording for your application.

This is simply not true. I would suggest that tandem student requirements vary from DZ to DZ. It is not un-common for som DZs in the USA to ask for a doctors signature to accompany the liability waiver in regards to a students "disclosed" medical condition.

This should be the the standard response.

Pretty sure it's not in circulation.

Seen an awesome video of a guy using one. If you slow the video down to frame by frame you can see the bag being stripped off of the tandem canopy as soon as it lifts from the container. Needless to say it was a hard opening.

Not replying to you directly, more of a general statement. I've never understood the "200 lbs of stupid" comment. I hear it occasionally, but it always puzzles me. I'd have to check my numbers, but I think I've made 4000 tandem jumps, not a huge number by today's standards, but enough to be able to evaluate things I believe. I'm gonna guess I have made those jumps in probably 8-10 different countries over the last decade, and I can't think of a single instance of looking down and seeing "stupid" hanging off of me under canopy. I guess my point is, if I have one, it's that our students are only as smart or "stupid" as we train them to be. If I were ever to look down and see "200 lbs of stupid" hanging off me, I would consider it a failure on my part, not theirs. As an industry, we must remain vigilant in training our students to the best of our ability, otherwise someday we may collectively lose the privilege of doing so. I know some TIs use that phrase as a joke, but there are those out there that genuinely believe it. Tandem skydiving is a serious business, a training business, and at it's core, it is a responsibility business.......we are in the business of acting responsibly. That responsibility starts with treating every student we work with as thought they are the most important person in our lives and training them accordingly, because for that period of time that we re with them, they are the most important person in our lives. Good point Tom. I also believe that most TIs forget just how truly frightening skydiving may be for their passenger. So on top of training your student properly you also need to help them maintain their calm throughout the process so that they are able to think clearly when the time comes.

Can't say I personally have ever felt like that. Maybe some fresh TIs do. But if anything I seem to notice the cool cat skygods looking down on the career TIs.

Also they will only sell it by the roll. So unless you need like 100 yards you should probably shop else where.

I think he may have meant Bally Ribbon.

No offense taken at all. I still feel that the Skyhook being to blame in that particular incident was more than a little speculative. Ofcourse there is the possibilty that I don't even have a clue

Then you would agree that this actually is not a skyhook related fatality? As the skyhook played no part in causing this fatality.

Yes UPT did add the staging loop to ensure that the free bag would stay in the container in the event of a low pull/snivelling main/cypres fire/low speed scenario. This was to help prevent a two out scenario in the even that you snivel into cypres fire altitudes. Do not interpret this as UPT adding the staging loop to prevent the freebag from backloading the skyhook to effect a cut away.

There was the NC tandem double fatality a few years ago. A Cypres fire during the main canopy snivel that caused the reserve bag to fall out and backload the red skyhook lanyard. A cutaway soon followed and the reserve never came out of the bag. In response UPT modified the packing process to include the staging loop to prevent this seemingly rare type of accident. That's the only one I can think of. As far as I understand it the theory of the skyhook backloading was entirely speculation.

Not that much money, especially not if you price it out over the lifetime of the rig. $250 over 1000 jumps is 25c a jump and we know that harnesses can last 10 times that long. Firstly I don't see this at all. Definitely not more so than any other components on the rig. And lets face it, there are a number of RSL designs on the market that actually have caused incidents and fatalities. Unless someone corrects me on this I am not aware of any Skyhook related fatalities. So your argument for RSL over Skyhook is flawed here. I would say it gets the reserve out significantly faster and in a much better orientation and lot more than just "sometimes". I can understand the Skyhook no Skyhook debate but I cannot relate to your RSL over Skyhook debate. Especially if you begin to reference costs as a factor.

The higher extraction force of a MARD limits the potential for the jumper to rotate off axis after a cut away. A standard RSL takes longer to function and therefore allows more time for the jumper to possibly tumble after cutaway.

I would say yes the skyhook would be faster in almost all situations. Bag locks are an exception though as they could go either way. The beauty of the skyhook is that if the PC ends up being faster the skyhook is designed to seperate from the main and allow for a standard deployment.

That is a very un-educated opinion right there. The benefits of a skyhook extend far beyond the circumstances you have described. Jumping with a skyhook has nothing to do with competence. Please could you explain more? I certainly didn't mean to imply that jumpers with skyhooks are in anyway incompetent, just that one of the most common reasons that I've heard for having a skyhook is that you can cutaway at 300ft. I hear that much more frequently than anything else and find it worrying, as with one exception the person couldn't explain why they would be cutting away below 1k. So lets agree that if somebody touts a 300ft cut away as the only reason for having a skyhook then they are obviously a moron. I too would be worried about people who express that as the only benefit. I personally feel that the biggest benefit of the skyhook is the greatly reduced chance of incidents between cut away and reserve deployment. Everyone knows that you need to get stable again for a clean reserve deployment after cutting away. The skyhook will have a reserve over your head before you ever have a chance of getting unstable therefore eliminating the chance of a myriad of problematic scenarios. I have also had my fair share of non-skyhook cutaways so I have no problem dealing with that too. But it is a much more drawn out process where you need to be on your A game. Can every one perform their best immediately after a cut away? I doubt it. Hell I have at least 14 cut aways and my heart still gets to pumping every time. The skyhook simplifies cut aways and has multiple safety benefits over a free fall cut away. Why wouldn't you want to utilize that added security? P.S. This obviously doesn't account for canopy wraps.