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I would be curious to see a test where you try to cut an untensioned closing loop. Cutting a loop under tension is much easier. This test would simulate what may happen if the cutter fires a split second after the pin is pulled by hand or RSL.

I suspect that you are pulling the slider out and over your shoulder when packing. Leaving it down makes it much easier to identify line groups.

Double stow. As already mentioned, the real recommendation is not single or double, but 8-12 lbs of force to release. How you achieve that depends on line type and cell count. Pick the configuration that comes closest to the optimal range. Most people never bother to measure the actual extraction force, and not many are using Dacron lines these days, hence the general double stow recommendation.

...should not be an option in your USPA profile. But unfortunately, it is. One year ago when the Sigma nonsense was happening, Ed Scott offered, and I requested, to remove me from all USPA member information selling endeavors. Logged in this evening to renew my license and saw that this option was set to "No". There was an opt out option even before that, but USPA switched to a new membership database system in December. Somehow this was the only profile setting that didn't get migrated correctly. I'm sure it was just an honest mistake. USPA & Ed Scott: Shame on you for selling your member information and for not honoring opt out requests.

I don't understand this mindset... Not only should it be obvious that wrapping RPC fabric around the free bag is a really bad idea (and I'm assuming that this rigger didn't do it for other containers), but if you're confused about something, how do you not seek the advice of another rigger or the manufacturer?!? Just to clarify something, you said that you wanted to test reserve deployment with the main still packed in. Have you previously deployed this rigger's pack jobs successfully without the main, or did you have another rigger pack your reserve before? Anyway, for all non-riggers who are now wondering whether their reserve contains a fatal packing error, Dave DeWolf's course is only one-and-a-half months away.

Does anyone know if this new design is compatible with Dacron lines? The previous one wasn't (too much bulk), and I suspect that it's the same story with this one, but thought I'd ask.

Example: https://youtu.be/5Sh4PouHIEQ?t=8

So edited then... Is this your video or someone else's?

Same container, just requested a wingsuit-length (9 ft) bridle for the main pilot chute. You must have a throw-out instead of pull-out PC, but that's the norm today anyway. Another option is fully or partially open corners at the bottom of the container, which may improve d-bag extraction, but I opted not to do this and haven't had any problems.

Maybe you will, but you don't really know that. My exit weight is 255 lbs. Started AFF on Nav 300, finished on Nav 240. Continued renting it for more than 100 jumps and got Spectre 230 in my own rig. I'm still happy with it more than 500 jumps later. I demoed Storm 210 about a year ago and decided to stick with what I have for now. My jumps are split 50/50 between RW and wingsuit, and there have been plenty of WS jumps where I was very happy to be under the bigger canopy. You can have one or two hundred perfect landings in a row, at which point you definitely start thinking that you've mastered this canopy and can consider something smaller, but then you'll have that one less-than-perfect landing that will remind you of things you still have to learn. At least that's been my experience.

3,000 for me as well, break at 4,500 for that 4-way scenario. My AAD is set to fire between 990 and 1,250 ft, so as a fellow Spectre user, I'd have to start reaching for the reserve handle if I find myself free falling through 2,000 ft.

I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet.

Well, the Freak will have a harder time flying with smaller suits, like P3s, so it's difficult to say which suit has a wider range. The Hunter is definitely not as fast as the Freak, but that can be good or bad depending on what you want to use it for. Hopefully, someone else will share their opinion because I'm still very much learning how to get the most out of my Hunter.

I put about 70 jumps on my Hunter so far. Never flew the Freak myself, but did some flock jumps with Freaks and ATCs. Even the ATC has more speed than the Hunter. There was one jump in particular where the plan was to fly at maximum performance and the ATCs very quickly left me behind. I could only maintain the same glide ratio and re-join them by cutting the corners in the turns. I'm guessing that the Freak will outperform the Hunter easily in this regard. Having said that, its probably better for acro. My previous suit was Funk 1 and the Hunter actually feels like the smaller suit in terms of the ease of backflying, transitions, and flips. I have also flown in it with some new wingsuiters (~10 jumps) in Phantom 3s and did not have any problems staying with them. Overall, I like the suit as I basically wanted something with a bit more performance to replace the Funk, which I did not like. Unfortunately, the real problem with PF suits is PF. The delivery time was fine, but everything else about the ordering process was a pain. The first suit didn't fit (in height and shoe size) and didn't match the color pattern on the order form. The second suit was supposed to fix both problems, but they only changed the size. Communication was bad throughout to the point where they were confusing me with other customers. I actually wish that I didn't like the suit, because that would make going back to Squirrel a lot easier.

Why transparent? I would want something that blocks UV light. As far as I know, a clear plastic bag is not going to do that without some special treatment.

And you will probably end up with a safety stow that is outside of the spec for the reasons outlined by Tom Parker here and here.

Why have a disarm height at all? I mean firing at 10 ft is going to be pointless no matter what, but if your AAD can actually distinguish a swoop under a good canopy vs. a malfunction, why wouldn't you want it to fire if it detects imminent impact at a non-survivable speed? Basically, why have that extra branch of code in there if the rest of the logic is good enough to not do the wrong thing? So hypothetically, if you do an XRW jump where the canopy pilot and wingsuiter dock and then spiral down to 1,000 ft, the wingsuiter's reserve will fire, but the canopy pilot's will not? I am trying to picture what that configuration would look like.... Do you mean a wingsuiter is flying straight and level, then a canopy pilot comes in above him and settles down on top like a rodeo? Then the canopy pilot induces a turn and the wingsuit and canopy pilot spiral down to 1000ft? If so, my first thought is that is not a good idea lol... Regardless, to answer your question. Yes.. sense the wingsuiter will still be in flight configuration (the fact that someone is docked on his back does not affect that), and a main deployment has not been detected, then when they hit 1000ft, it will fire. My thoughts on this situation may seem cold, but anyone using an AAD needs to understand the conditions in which it will and will not fire. Correct: https://youtu.be/0bdA3Ej0WQc?t=71 and https://vimeo.com/230213719 The wingsuiter could be on his back as well, docked by the chest strap. In this (very unlikely) scenario, the velocity and acceleration vectors are not going to look like normal wingsuit flight, so I was just curious if this would confuse the AAD and what it would do in that case. Yea... I'm thinking that there is exactly 0% chance of getting your average skydiver to do this even for just the first jump of the day. Most people don't even look at the AAD before each jump if it's hidden under a flap. If you really want to alert them to any kind of malfunction after the start-up sequence, I think emitting a sound is about the best you'll be able to do. The next step would be to send an alert via Bluetooth to their phone once your app is ready (and then you may as well have your app pull the METAR data from the nearest airport based on the user's location and compare the pressure readings automatically)

Idea for another feature: Add a microphone and have the AAD listen to the conversations in the loading area. If it hears a dive plan so stupid that it's bound to end up on Friday Freakout, deploy the reserves preemptively to prevent the participants from boarding the plane. Thanks for sharing all those details. I think using canopy-fully-open-by altitude is a great target, but I wonder how realistic is it to achieve a deployment by 300 ft given the number of variables that you don't control, starting with what the pilot chute will do once it is out of the container, and whether there will be any other hesitations depending on the body position, fall rate, etc., with the Wings RPC-in-tow being an extreme example. It just seems like the margin of error in the entire deployment sequence can easily exceed 300 ft. Likewise, I'm surprised that you chose to have it disarm below 300 ft. Vigil uses 150 ft as the disarm altitude, but your AAD has much better situational awareness. If it detects fast fall rate not associated with a swoop below 300 ft, why wouldn't you want it to fire just to get as much fabric out as possible? So hypothetically, if you do an XRW jump where the canopy pilot and wingsuiter dock and then spiral down to 1,000 ft, the wingsuiter's reserve will fire, but the canopy pilot's will not? Vigil reports the current pressure reading (QFE) and you are supposed to convert and compare it against the sea-level pressure (QNH) reported by the nearest AWOS station if a calibrated barometer isn't available (Vigil Rigger Manual, p27): Note that +/-10 hPa = 0.296 inHg = 296 ft. That's a pretty big margin of error, if you ask me, which is another reason why I wonder about your choice of 300 ft. I check mine at every reserve repack and the most recent error was 30 ft.

It's not just a bad idea, but also against the regulations (105.43(c)): The current manufacturer instructions are: Service life is based on component design, testing, real-world experience, and probably many other factors. You'd have to ask Airtec for details.

You realize that this is a thread from 2008/2009, right? In any case, I have their loose fit RW suit. The fit of the booties is good, but the construction quality, not so much. Both booties had holes around the toe area after only 70 jumps. I always put them on in the boarding area and always remove them under the canopy; never landed with them on. In general, I tried to limit the wear and tear as much as possible, but the Cordura didn't last. Cost of the repair was quoted at $100 + S/H to replace the front part of both booties. For now, I put my own patches, but sewing in that area is a PITA and the holes are getting bigger. I'm now looking at either Tony or Bev for my next RW suit. Also, I would recommend against magnets in the collar flap. Not only do they close when you don't want them to, but the stitching that holds the magnets in the correct orientation eventually breaks, allowing them to flip and stick together within the flap. Had to repair this multiple times as well. Velcro would have lasted longer and would have been easier to replace. Just my two cents.

Not anymore, it's not. The Albatross III exists. The Albatross II is no longer the biggest suit in my fleet. Not even close. Use your imagination. Jake had it with him at Orange this past weekend. No photos were taken per his request, but "crazy" just isn't an adequate description of what I saw When are you planning on jumping it?

I'm guessing $200 price difference, form factor, battery run time, and whatever other compromises needed to be made for 360-degree video. If you want/need 360-degree video, get the Fusion. Otherwise, 6 will probably be the better choice.

I replaced my Vigil 2+ with Cuatro this weekend in order to send the old unit in for a firmware update. When I pulled the LCD out of it's pocket, the strain relief slid down the cable, as shown in the attached photos. It was cracked all the way around. There was no way to see this crack without pulling the LCD out because it was covered by the black tape/Velcro at the side of the pocket. Even then, the most visible damage was on the back, and the broken piece could be pushed into its original position, making the crack almost impossible to notice. This Vigil 2+ was manufactured W38/2014 and has been in my rig for 2.5 years. Vigil Rigger Manual has the following to say on this topic (p21): Based on my experience, I would say that it's a good idea to check all Vigil LCD units for this type of damage and replace them if cracks are found. The actual wires weren't compromised, but the concern would be this thing breaking off completely, and then small pieces of plastic making their way into the reserve compartment or the cutter. The new Cuatro LCD unit uses a different type of strain relief in this place, which I think is going to be more resistant to cracking (softer rubber).

Assuming that the OP jumps at Skydive Orange, VA, I doubt that this scenario will ever happen. Their student program is well organized and coaches don't just randomly switch between coach and fun jumps. I got my coach rating there two years ago. Never made a single coach jump. Don't regret doing it. I wasn't sure whether I would want to work as a coach before the course and decided that it wasn't for me afterwards. You learn a bit about teaching, a bit about observing, recalling, and debriefing jumps (a useful skill for any type of skydiving), and you have some fun with instructors who are doing their best impression of a bad student. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in and money isn't an issue, then I would say go for it. By the way, I had 325 jumps when I went through the course, almost all RW, and the evaluation jumps were still challenging. Personally, I don't think 100 jumps is enough to work as a coach. Going through the course for the sake of learning is another matter.

All the rest has been standard on the Vector for a while, but I really like that kill line design. Assuming that it's attached with a lark's head at the PC apex, this design allows you to pre-manufacture kill lines of the right length with two finger traps at both ends, and replace them in the field without having to bartack anything. Lark's head at the PC, thread through the bridle, and slip it on at the other end. As for the lengthening aspect, the hard part is getting jumpers to actually check the length of their kill line once in a while.