One reserve ride a few years ago at Cedar Valley, UT. I now have 1243 tandems. It was a slider up on an older SET, which I could not bring down, a tension knot up there? I worked at it for at least a thousand feet, then went for the red and silver. I weigh about 150 and my passenger was about 90 lbs! Of course, she had no idea, and the landing was on tiptoes. Suffice to say that I should have steered away from the DZ's notoriously slow opening rig on that jump. The parachute was relined shortly after, and the slider modified too. Today I don't feel so bad when I get those 250 pound tandem students. I've even been known to swap a 115 pounder with a less adventurous TI. At least the ballast helps get the slider down!
