HPC

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Of course, having the reserve deploy with the lines going between their legs is a problem in its own right, but one that is presumably preferable to impacting at line stretch after AAD fire.

Don't you mean impacting at reserve bridle stretch?

That was just an example. The gist of the post is that the two handles are different colors and colors that stand out from the harness and jumpsuit. I've seen rigs in which both handles were the same color.
But to clarify the example I gave, yellow is a lower level warning and red a higher level one. Even with traffic signals yellow comes before red. You have to cutaway before you can pull the reserve. It all depends on the individual's mindset and how they think. I prefer to think red-reserve as both begin with "re". But that's how I think. You don't want colors that are the same as everyone else if there are other colors that your mind would process easier. That's why rigs give options. Reserve pillow, or loop, or metal handle? It's a matter of individual preference. And don't worry about the color when it comes to resell because those components can be easily replaced by a new owner.

One of the things I did was to repeat the following in my mind over and over again, even when not jumping. It trains your mind to act instinctively.

RIGHT - RELEASE
LEFT - LIVE

I'm also a firm believer in handles that have a color that sticks out. I've seen rigs with a royal blue harness and royal blue cutaway handle. God forbid his jumpsuit is royal blue too. And for those who have two soft handles, it makes sense to have them different and contrasting (from the rig and jumpsuit) colors. For example, a yellow cutaway and red reserve handle. Yellow and red are universal warning colors.

Is it possible to get an all-ZP Firebolt? If so has one ever been tested and compared to a hybrid Firebolt in terms of opening, flying, and landing?

Tried that before I posted.

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there have been fatalities from AAD's that have fired too low for successful activations.

Because the AAD fired below its set altitude (e.g. 750' on a Cypres) or because it fired at its set altitude but the reserve didn't deploy and inflate in time?

I can see not shipping by air but what about UPS or FedEx ground?

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But I do know that Airtec releases absolutley no information that they do not have to. Not ever. They are a complete black box and they have a level of arrogance that is astounding.

Must be that kraut stubbornness.

I wonder if not being allowed to ship batteries by themselves has something to do with the UPS 747-400 that crashed outside Dubai that was attributed to an inflight fire the root cause of which was determined to be the cargo of lithium-ion batteries among its cargo.

Why can't they make the Vigil battery field-replaceable by a rigger? Sending it in means going without an AAD for a while, and shipping and even more so insurance just adds cost of ownership.
Hypothetical question for you, legit question for Vigil manufacturer.

Yeah, the earthtone-colored rigs sure dates it.

From a safety standpoint - no, you're not being selfish. Skydiving is generally safe so long as you exercise common sense and basic safety practices.

Just make sure you keep your priorities straight. From a time standpoint, don't pass on watching your kid play a sport, act in a school play, etc. in order to go skydiving.

Ditto with financial resources. For example, don't have your kids wearing worn out sneakers (or maybe worse, buy the cheapest shoes/clothes available) in order to have equipment and lift ticket money.

Also keep in mind that unless you make a buttload of money, you won't have the funds to both support your family as you should and skydive your rear off. If funds are limited, you may as well figure that you'll be a fun jumper instead of someone with the goal of becoming an expert in any discipline. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try your best on the dives that you make, it just means that you won't be able to make the jump numbers necessary to become really good at a particular discipline.

Discuss it with the Mrs., if she understands that you need to have your own hobby/sport I'm sure the two of you can work out a family/skydiving balance that keeps everyone happy.

Hope this helps.

Anyone know where I can view (e.g. YouTube) or obtain a copy? Had one but lost it during a move. Thanks.

Thanks for your detailed reply. Nice to hear that a Pegasus is still giving good service.

Can't they use titanium for reserve pins? Maybe stainless steel? Or if that creates swaging problems, a combination of metals?
Just my opinion but reserve pins should not bend like paper clips.

Their Fire rig looks just like a Mirage but with a semi-exposed reserve PC. Even their logo looks very similar to Mirage's.

Great pics and captions - you did a better job promoting the Vortex via pics than Parachute Systems does. I've been researching rigs by visiting their websites and a common problem is that when you visit their gallery pages they are loaded with pics of skydivers wearing the rig but it seems the jumpers and sport in general are being promoted more than the rig. No close-ups of the rig, or very few anyway.
I was going to suggest submitting your pics to Parachute Systems but I just noticed that they're already posted on their gallery page. They seem to be the only ones that highlight the rig. The others are nice pics but don't highlight the rig.
It would also be nice if rig websites had pics of all the options available, along with a brief description. UPT does this the best but even their site doesn't explain all of the options available.
Just my personal observation, anyway.

Yeah, Bill Booth nailed that one right on the head.

When I first started jumping Cruisairs were as common at the DZ as Boeing 727s were at O'Hare. I miss the three-holers too.

Thanks for the clarification.
Seems the Jalbert design would be the better of the two.

So do you know if Glide Path then had to pay Jalbert royalties for the flare method or had that patent already expired?

Learn something new all the time.

If true it would seem to have been a bad decision at the time. Django canopies were significantly cheaper than Para-Flite's at the time, so agreeing and marking up canopy prices to compensate would have seemed the more business-prudent decision. I wonder if Mike would agree. Probably something he'd rather not talk about.

The Jalbert 252 accuracy canopy of the era had large flares - do you know if this was to avoid royalties or did it add some measure of stability perhaps more important to accuracy canopies?

They certainly seem more labor intensive.