relyon

Great euphamism, but what is the curve as related to skydiving gear and how do you define the safest equipment? To my knowledge, the majority of skydiving incidents do not involve engineering or manufacturing defects in harness/container systems. Bob

Doh! Wasn't thinking there. Actually, we did meet briefly at the world record. I'll bet you can stand in an Otter without stooping. Have a great time in Lake Wales! Bob

The packing seems a bit wierd when you reach for the tail and it's on the ground. Make sure to gather the excess above the slider so there's nothing loose when stowing the lines. If you think stateside CRW isn't normal, ask Kevin Ingley about the Russians: 6" risers and toggles velcroed to the ring covers, just to name two. They make the rest of us look like we go strictly by the book. Nothing really wrong any of it, just different. IIRC, it was the Russians who made popular leaving the brakes unstowed. No more heading or line twist issues than from any other pack job and perhaps less. In fact, there's a opportunity to correct an off heading with the first brake input(s). The additional altitude loss is minimal and would hardly be called a snivel by freefall standards. I'll guess 50-75' maximum, depending on how quickly you grab the toggles and make the initial input. Don't be in too much of a hurry and remember, it's still a Lightning: it will open even if you do nothing. Disclaimer: I've not tried this with anything other than a Lightning. YMMV. Hope this helps, Bob PS - As far Bill's comment and implications go, I think of this: What happens at ... stays at .

I recently began using only the locking stow on my tail pocket and haven't noticed any difference in deployment. I'm going to have some velcro sewn on the trailing edge of the pocket to manage the lines a little better when putting the canopy in the container. Right now they have a tendency to slip out if I don't hold them. On the subject of packing with the brakes unstowed, I know a half dozen people who have done this with good success. I've done it a few times myself with similar results. Read what Russ Pinney had to say about it here. Bob

Sure, I understand. In the case in point I'd have asked the DZO for my ticket back. When he said no, I'd have told him to take off his rig and sit down. I'm with rehmwa - I'll not be jumping at that DZ. Bob

I don't look at this so much as a matter of getting my ticket back as one of who gets the slot I purchase. If I paid for the slot I should get to decide who gets it, including no one at all should I choose that. Bob

How does a rigger determine if a Precision reserve has been used as a main for more than one jump? Bob

I know some history of this one. Kevin Ingley (currently on the US team, formerly of the late great Team Infinity) started rear riser stalling his canopy back in early '97 as a fun way to chew up altitude after 8-way speed practice dives. One by one the rest of the team tried it and liked it, so of course we started playing around a bit more. We called it SCReW (Stalled Canopy Relative Work) and had loads of fun. Somewhere I have a video of 6 of us in a circle ~50' in diameter (IIRC, it was taken from Kevin's POV cam). We did it a few times in Finland during practice for the 8th WPC in CF, but the Finns were less than impressed and made us stop. When Kevin joined the US team he kept on SCReWing around, but at first no one would join him. Curiousity eventually got 'em, so one by one they started doing it as well. Now they all do it and have even made body contact. There is quite a bit of control available if you know how to use it. NOTE: Every time I've done this it has been on a low aspect 7-cell ZP Lightning. Jumper beware if you want to try it on a higher aspect 9-cell or something tapered. I wouldn't consider it on an elliptical. Bob SCReW #4

Here's a good Mr Bill: Four jumpers in a C-182 at 6k: #1 is Mr. Bill, #2 is Sluggo, #3 is there for "moral support", and #4 videos. Jumper #1 and #2 exit in Mr Bill fashion with #3 close behind. #1 deploys and checks his canopy, then #2 climbs up on his shoulders, turns around, and sits on #1's slider. Having no other option, #1 cuts away and deploys his reserve while #2 flies #1's main around for a bit. #3, who's been lurking close by, comes in and top-docks #2 (on #1's canopy). #2 can't land that way, so he hops off the slider, goes into freefall, deploys, then catches #1's freebag. #3 brings #1's main back. It's been done - I've seen the video. For the life of me I can't remember their faces or names, but I'm sure they were trained professionals. Bob

Yeah, me too. Here's a pic from a video Andy Farrington took of a fully developed rear riser stall with canopy collapse (I'm on the right). Edited to add: My rear riser links are at the three rings. Bob

Huh. That's the first I've heard that sort of thing, but I'll ask some of my CRW buds and hear what they have to say. It's true CRWdogs use reserves a little more often than most, but we rarely have terminal deployments so I'm not sure the wear factor is that big of a deal. I've got 8 jumps and a full packing data card for my Tempo 170 (DOM mid '97), and it's in great shape. A friend of mine has something like 30+ jumps on his Swift+ 175 and won't consider anything else. If I was in the market for a new reserve these days, I'd probably go for a PR 160 or 176 because I'm pretty familiar with the flight characteristics of that airfoil/planform (the Lightning is based on it). Bob

My hook knife is mounted on my altimeter pillow, so I'm unlikely to forget it. I've done freefall without one, but these days I jump exclusively CRW and will not jump without one for that. I freely admit I'm hook knife dependent, though I've never even so much as tought of using it on an actual jump. Bob

From your description, it may have been. I think I'd have hook knifed the right control line (possibly the left as well) and landed with rear risers. I'm glad things worked out for you. Bob

Really? I set my Altimaster II at the beginning of the day and rarely need to touch it again. Aside from atmospheric pressure changes, if this is true then it's not worth a dime (like an Altimaster V). Bob

As both a CRWdog and helicopter pilot all I can say is "You go ahead. I'll watch." Bob

My main has been packed by someone other than myself on less than a dozen occasions and the majority of those were on student gear before I knew how to. I've never paid for a pack job and doubt I ever will. Bob

I do all my main pack jobs and no one else's. I'd like to get a rigging rating to be able to pack my reserve, but don't have the time to devote to it presently. Bob

Being an R/C modeler, I'm sure you'll appreciate this article about scale effects. It's written with a modeling slant but can be applied to parachutes as well. Bob (full size and R/C helicopters)

PD reserves are trimmed steeper than Lightnings and they're constructed from F111. As far as line lengths, a PR-176 is a mere 3-7/8" longer than a PS-176 (the other canopy sizes are similarly close). Lightning sequential trim is the flattest, followed by rotation trim, with demo trim being the steepest. Demo trim is identical to the trim used on both the PD and PR canopies. I'm of the opinion that much of the lore about how hard Lightnings are to land comes from experience with competition short lined canopies, which most people don't jump. A good friend of mine had his 176 relined from competion (8') to the world record length (10') and the results were predictably dramatic (much better landing characteristics with longer lines). Bob

Gee whiz, don't pontificate FARs. There's a similar FAR about the main (105.43(a) TBE), but we all know there's many packers out there that aren't supervised by anyone. If I bring you an unpacked reserve for I & R, you don't know if I've worked on it or not. You still have to do a full inspection before you pack and close it with your seal. At that point you've taken full responsibility for it's airworthiness, regardless of how it got that way. Bob

Take up CRW. Bob (sorry, couldn't resist ... stepping away from the keyboard now ...)

I didn't either until I saw an example of just that on a CRW jump during the 2002 Americas record at Lake Wales. Eric Johnson had his Lightning BOC retractable bridle (red Dacron suspension line) wrap around the curved pin the same way a boater ties off a line on a cleat. He wrestled with the towed PC for 8000', pulling it every way he could (left side, right side, over the shoulder) before deploying his reserve at 4000' (ironically repacked the night before - it was the first jump of the day). I'd have a hard time believing it had I not seen it myself. Even on the ground, I could pick up the rig by the main bridle and heft it up and down and it still remained closed. A freak occurrence for sure. Bob

This is exactly why I don't let anyone land alone if at all possible. How was this person injured? Bob

I've noticed it on cutaways too. Bob

Watching my wife do a tandem in the Netherlands last summer. She's seen me jump many times and ridden the plane once, but had not made a skydive until then. Thanks to all the great folks at Teuge! Bob