Deimian

Thank you for your answers. Maybe I didn't express myself correctly when I said that I lack the experience. I'm indeed not very experienced, but I know what a MARD is, and what it is designed for. After seeing the Wings Boost packing instructions I think I have a clear picture of how it works. But what I tried to say is that I can't envision how it can fail. I don't have the experience to close my eyes and think in a situation where the Boost will make things worse, and a jumper would be safer without it. Situations were the MARD does not operate as designed (not detaching from the bridle if it should do it, or twisting the reserve for instance). That doesn't mean that such situations do not exist. My question is, does somebody envision such situation?

As an owner of a Wings I am highly interested in this, but I lack the experience to understand pros and cons to make a decision. How does is compare to Skyhook? It looks like the only downside of Skyhook is spinning mains. Does the same applies to this MARD? Any extra bad side or good side? Is there any manufacturer implementing something similar? I though the only MARD in use in sport rigs was Skyhook. Could it happen that the loop attaching the reserve bridle to the RSL lanyard gets trapped for whatever reason when going directly for silver, leaving the pilot chute attached to the rig and preventing it from pulling out the free bag? I can't think of any way this could happen, but maybe some of you have more imagination than me :-P. Maybe the tension and friction of the MARD loop can prevent the pin from releasing, like in a pilot chute in tow?

I'll send you a PM now. I'll send also an email to the guys of Square 1, to see if they are ok with me putting the manual publicly available. If so, I'll put the link here. PS: I gladly accept beers, but you'll have to come close to Germany/Netherlands/Belgium. If you come here, I'll pay the beers haha

You can take a look at LookMa http://www.lookma.de/Start_English/Products/products.html They even have one with cutaway (to avoid drowning if you land in deep water). They are based in Germany, but I think they are selling in the US through chuting star. And Frank looks like a nice guy (I just interchange a couple of emails with him).

See PM.

If you make it generic enough, so it can be used in other helmets that would be great :-D

Just send me a private message reminding me in one week :-)

I have one at home. If you are really interested I can scan it at work, but you'll have to wait until Monday 15th.

I am thinking in applying that method to my rig, so I would be interested in knowing what modification you have made.

I knew I was going to be attacked because, despite my ignorance in US military procedures, I am smart enough to know that this is a sensitive topic. And by the way, for being private you don't have to study 4 years, right? So after all, I am not that ignorant. Please stop using my politeness when I say "Excuse my ignorance" to attack me.

I am not German. I live in Germany, but I am not German. I agree that the view of the military is different. That is exactly why I am asking. In Europe we don't have "welcome back veterans" signs in every airport, we don't have discounts for them and we don't have people saying "thank you for your service" in every place they go with uniform. Well, the first point is probably true. But ask yourself when did the army "bring freedom" for humanitarian reasons, and when for politics or for economics. I would like to see the US army in some remote poor country in africa without resources and without a political party that points out at the flaws of the occidental systems. That never happen. All the interventions (or close to all at least) were either agains communist governments or agains governments that didn't want to collaborate with the US economic interests. WWI and WWII are the only exceptions I can think of. And I can certainly understand that people are proud of soldiers fighting against the Nazis and their genocide. However, before WWII in Spain we had another regime, with a dictatorship that had brutally killed hundreds of thousands of people that were against it and forced millions to either leave the country or live in poverty and fear. After WWII the US was an ally with the regime, due to its position during Cold War. So fighting agains communist regimes was ok, and allying with conservative regimes was perfectly ok too. It looks like the US military "brings freedom" selectively, and supports dictators when they share some political views. The second point is very arguable. Go to middle east and ask around, for instance. And BTW, saying that Germany's army committed genocide sure looks like a stereotype. Germany, is not the Nazi party. I think this should be clear. I have family in the military (just one cousin, but anyway), and from what I've been told, and read, I can honestly say that in my country the requirement is just to be healthy enough to serve. If in the US is different I would appreciate that you tell me. The purpose of the military are either: 1) Defend 2) Attack 3) Help in natural disasters Since in most wars that had the US as participant in the last 100 years nobody attacked your country, I think that the first purpose can be neglected in this discussion. For the third purpose soldiers get very little recognition, with compared with war veterans that serve the second purpose. Let me know if I am wrong. So the only real thing is attacking. The purpose of the soldiers, their motivations, might be different. But whether you like it or not soldiers are meant to receive orders and shut up. They are toys in political hands. I think many soldiers would agree with that. If so, why keep enrolling? The only soldier that I know that didn't shut up, and tried to show the american people what was happening is now in prison (Bradley Manning). So much for freedom, eh? I think the first victims of the american military are its soldiers. Some of you go far away from your families, go to the nightmare of war, you kill, you are being killed or being disabled. And all of that because of the government and military propaganda. For me this is cristal clear. I would like to be corrected if I am wrong, and I would like to understand why, if I am not wrong, soldiers and military supporters doesn't see it. This is the whole purpose of my thread. Not insulting or offending. There are many countries in the world. Many of them have the same freedom, or more, than in the US. People in other places are free to study what they want without more conditions than being intelligent enough, they are free to be cured, even if they are in difficult economic conditions. We are all slaves or our income, but in the US is a little bit over the top, when compared with other places. People in many countries have more real freedom than in the US, less percentage of the population is in jail, the wealth is distributed slightly (just slightly) better. And those countries have that with a small fraction of military spent and presence. And yet soldiers keep enrolling in the US, willing to do whatever they are ordered, following political decisions, for the sake of freedom. For a freedom that they are not getting. And people applaud it as a right decision. I don't get it. I like to be right, so please correct me if I am wrong, so I can start being right. Kudos. I would like that many of your fellow veterans feel it like that. Excuse my ignorance, but are you talking about a commission for accepting you in the military, or a commission for accepting you in a specific medium/high qualification position? It is difficult for me to believe that for being a private you have to study 4 years. I've seen that the number of replies is overwhelming now, so I'll try to read an learn, and if I have something to say that can be valuable for the discussion, I'll do it.

If calling me names will make you feel better or that you are on the right side that is ok for me, whatever floats your boat, I won't win or loose anything by being called dishonest troll. But I, and maybe you, will win something if we engage in a reasonable discussion. I'll be all ears if you want to get to that point.

I would like to know if there is any extra requisite. In my country at least there isn't. If you are complaining about the second part of the sentence, I am sorry but that is what they get credit for. You don't show the same respect (or at least people don't show it so much) to the people in the military that helps in case case of natural disaster for instance. People show respect to war veterans. and the US, as far as I know, was not pushed into a war because it was being invaded. If somebody try to invade my country, and is a menace to my well being and the well being of my loved ones, I would be proud of supporting the soldiers that helped to avoid it. But that is not the case.

I am sorry you think that. I can assure you that I have absolutely no need for attention, neither I have intention to offend. I don't mean to insult anybody, I just want to understand why this is so important, why they earn so much respect for actions that in most cases follow exclusively political and economical reasons, and why they are given preferential treatment. Because from where I stand I don't see it. I don't see that kind of behavior in members of any other military force in the world. American Veterans deserve more than Veterans of any other country? It would be nice if instead of saying that I am stereotyping their purpose you put some well thought arguments on the table. You are right on one thing. I am close to shameless. Sadly, not entirely.

Right. I was talking just about owning money, which you usually do to banks. Owning taxes is a completely different thing, I agree. Apologies for the confusion.

If you own, even a little, you have to pay interest for having money that is not yours. I didn't check it, but I think I am on the safe side if I assume that the interest that you'll have to pay the bank for lending you money is higher than the interest they'll pay you for putting yours in their pockets. Otherwise I'll get a loan, and I'll pay the interests of that loan with the interests that this loan is generating in my bank. I would become rich very fast.

So, I've written this in another thread. The thread was about the "incident" that one veteran and fellow skydiver had in a DZ, when he was asked to cover one tattoo that he has, saying "infidel" in arabic. My post was removed and I was suggested to put it in Speaker's Corner, as it is a better place for it than "general skydiving discussion". There is another thread here in SC, but the discussion is going somewhere else, and I don't want to start a big offtopic there. This is what I've written in the original thread. I would like to say that after reading http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4466623#4466623 I don't support this jumper as much as I say in the original post, as the word can have a different meaning than just "not believer", and be offensive in a broader way. In other words, for me is ok to say that you don't agree with somebody else believes, even in a not polite way, but insulting a person or a group (insulting them, not their believes) is something else. For instance saying that "Jesus, God or Allah are bullshit" is one thing, saying that "you are a piece of shit for believing in Jesus, God or Allah" is a very different one. Being said that, this is my original post: "I have the feeling that I'll be crushed for this, but what the hell, I'll say it anyway. Why being a veteran is important in this case? If he was not a veteran would it be ok to impose him to cover his tattoo because somebody felt he was offending their religious believes? I completely support him, they shouldn't ask him to cover his tattoo, and I guess that this is the really important stuff. But I really don't get why people expect to be treated differently because they were in the military. Why so much emphasis on that? And why some/many people actually treats them differently? Enrolling in a job that doesn't require anything besides being physically healthy enough to go to kill people in other countries that are thousands of miles away is really a reason to be proud of? I would be proud of somebody that is willing to give his life to protect mine. But it look foolish to me to believe that an illiterate and ignorant poor soul with an AK47 can kill me from thousands of miles away. Especially if you keep in mind that if military *from any country* would be used just in defensive manner, this ignorant soul would not even know that my country existed. Now, knowing that many americans support unconditionally their military, whatever they do, and that many skydivers come from the military, I expect to be bashed for what I've said. But please, before charging against me, try to explain me why this is so important, especially in america. I really don't get it and I would like to understand. Maybe we all can learn something. Sorry for the offtopic."

True, well done. I'll think about writing it in the Speaker's Corner, but since the post is gone, and I'm too lazy to write and elaborate again, probably I won't write anything . Anyway, bad decision from the DZO.

I have the feeling that I'll be crushed for this, but what the hell, I'll say it anyway. Why being a veteran is important in this case? If he was not a veteran would it be ok to impose him to cover his tattoo because somebody felt he was offending their religious believes? I completely support him, they shouldn't ask him to cover his tattoo, and I guess that this is the really important stuff. But I really don't get why people expect to be treated differently because they were in the military. Why so much emphasis on that? And why some/many people actually treats them differently? Enrolling in a job that doesn't require anything besides being physically healthy enough to go to kill people in other countries that are thousands of miles away is really a reason to be proud of? I would be proud of somebody that is willing to give his life to protect mine. But it look foolish to me to believe that an illiterate and ignorant poor soul with an AK47 can kill me from thousands of miles away. Especially if you keep in mind that if military *from any country* would be used just in defensive manner, this ignorant soul would not even know that my country existed. Now, knowing that many americans support unconditionally their military, whatever they do, and that many skydivers come from the military, I expect to be bashed for what I've said. But please, before charging against me, try to explain me why this is so important, especially in america. I really don't get it and I would like to understand. Maybe we all can learn something. Sorry for the offtopic.

Am I the only one that would ban somebody from my DZ (if I were a DZO) for playing that game? I think it is obvious that the purpose of that rule is not to force skydivers to have an AAD in their rig, but to have it working. Having a non-working AAD, or don't turn it on on purpose is playing to be a smart ass in my opinion. And I don't think many DZO would want to have smart asses in their DZs.

I didn't say that, I asked ;-P. And anyway, if the manufacturer can do it, I guess a rigger would be able to do it. I mean, what Mirage does is sewing the hackey and the tuck tab to the top of the PC, I can't think about any specific reason why a rigger wouldn't be able to do that. Of course the fact that I can't think about any reason doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. Hence my question ;-P. Seeing these pictures it doesn't look like a big deal, but I'm nowhere near having the knowledge of a rigger. http://www.chutingstar.com/info/mirage-main-pilot-chute

I didn't called them because I would like to find a solution within Europe, to avoid worrying about overseas shipments, customs and so on, that is why I ask if it is possible for a rigger to make one, or if there is any issue that I am not aware of. Mirage makes that kind of hackeys, but I don't know anybody else that does it. If it is possible to use Mirage's hackey on wings I can try to find one in Europe. Obviously if I don't get an answer clear enough I'll contact Wings. They've been responsive and helpful when I've contacted them. But before asking about getting a competitors' product to somebody, I would like to hear some independent advice/opinion. The hackey with a tuck tab looks a good compromise to me between the feeling of a hackey (which I really like) and the safeness of the freefly pud, that's why it looks interesting to me. It is often said that using freefly puds in cold weather is not a good idea, and here it is often cold. You think a hackey with a tuck tab is stupid. Mirage thinks it is not. Please elaborate why do you think that so I can make a better decision. Thank you.

They make freefly puds with tuck tabs, but not hackeys, as far as I know.

Hi everyone, I have a not-so-stupid question regarding Wings and PC handles. Is it possible to: Use Mirage's (or other manufacturer) freefly hackey (hackey with tuck tab) on Wings containers? -or- Sew a tuck tab to a normal hackey for a Wings container? And to avoid writing another post: Are low-profile reserve handles specific for every manufacturer? I mean, are there universal handles? Is it possible to take a handle from manufacturer X and put it in a container from manufacturer Y? Is it possible to buy just the metal handle, and reuse the steel wire? I've been trying to find some information, and regarding the hackey I didn't find anything. Regarding the "universal" reserve handle I've found that it is riggers' decision, but I'm wondering how frequently it happens. Thank you!

My piece of advice is to make sure you are in a stable position, don't rush the pulling. I've just made a few hop'n'pop, and I was in the same situation than you. I've been told to jump presenting my belly to the wind, rotating my body and head a little bit to look inside the plane as leaving, like saying good bye (caravan). Then you are supposed to be stable right from exit and able to pull. I did it twice, no problem. The third jump I did more or less the same. I had plenty of time to pull, but instead I chose to rush the opening to have more time to play with the canopy. I pulled way too soon and carelessly. The PC came in front of me and between my legs after that. I managed to grab the lanyard and pull it out of my legs at the same time as I rolled to put my belly down to earth (I was falling on my back). The canopy was open higher than any of my fellow jumpers had pull. But as somebody that was filming the exits told me later I was a "lucky bastard". I absolutely agree. That was stupid, it could have been really bad. I've learned from my mistake, I hope you can learn too.