Jimbo

Huh? Please explain. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

TSO-C23d. Any canopy, no matter how small, certified under TSO-C23d had better support at least 220 lbs. More reserves are beginning to seek this certification. Help with cancer research here.

Do you have a D ring for your cut away handle as well? Help with cancer research here.

A really expensive test. Get about 10 of each size reserve from each manufacturer and put them each through one hell of a stress test - starting with the requirements dictated by the TSO that they are certified under. Of course, this would all be done by an independent lab, preferrably one that has no affiliation with skydiving and just enough knowledge of skydiving to understand how a reserve is supposed to open and perform. That's a good beginning, but I doubt anyone has the money to sponsor something like that. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

So how fast is too fast? There has to be a point when it's just no longer reasonable or even safe. Agreed. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

I'm not trying to be a smartass, and I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, this is only an observation, but maybe you should reconsider jumping in cold weather? Help with cancer research here.

Bill, Are you saying then, that it's the responsibility of the slow person to keep up and not the fast person to slow down? Just as a general rule. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

So true! I'm on the patch right now and I haven't had dreams like this in years! WooHoo! Help with cancer research here.

Actually, the first two alerts on my Pro Track go off under canopy all the time. The alerts are 4500 and 3000 - I've noticed them on hop-n-pops from altitude. The first time it was a little strange, now it's just normal. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

Nice.

I do not think, in that case, that PD should be responsible, 220 is the minimum weight required to be certified under TSO C23D. However, if PD listed a max weight of 150, or 180 or even 219 and seven eigths, really anything under 220 _and_ said that the canopy was TSO C23D certified I would have a problem with that. My only point was, that if a canopy is certified under TSO C23D or TSO C23C then the maximum suspended weight is dictated by the TSO - _not_ the manufacturer. If those maximum suspended weights happen to be the same then that's great, if they're not the same and the manufacturer's max is lower than the TSO minumums then that's a problem. That's all. Quite simple really. Help with cancer research here.

Ahh. But you do. If, for example, PD says that the maximum recommended suspended weight under a PD Reserve 120 (I'm making up sizes here, don't know if there's a 120 or not) is 120 pounds, but the reserve is certified under TSO-D and you weigh 135 and the reserve explodes on opening then PD is certainly at fault. The claim that the canopy is certified under TSO-D is a gaurentee that the canopy will hold up under the conditions set forth by the TSO. Now - if you exceed the maximum weight specified by the TSO or the maximum speed limit, altitude, etc.... That's a different story. But, if the canopy won't hold up under the specs set forth by the TSO then they need to downgrade the certification or seriously reexamine their manufacturing process. Manufacturers need to take responsibility for their actions too. Just found this, it's the certification requirments for TSO-D. Any reserve advertising this had better be able to pass these tests: - Jim Help with cancer research here.

Don't worry about that one. The JM will be right behind you. Even though they're letting you out the door on your own, they're not going to let you get away. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

The TSO-[C|D] isn't just some magical number that the manufactures made up. If a canopy is certified under TSO-? it means that the canopy will (should) survive an opening with a ??? weight at an airspeed of ??? at an elevation of 0ft above sea level. I don't know what the different weight and speed limits are for TSO-[C|D]. If a manufacturer puts a recommended weight limit on a canopy other than the weight limit of the TSO then the manufacturer is suggesting that the canopy might be difficult to land because of the high wing loading, not that the canopy will not survive opening or landing. If you're loading a canopy over the manufacturers recommendations and under the TSO specs then there is no reason to suspect that the canopy might not survive an opening and no reason to suspect that the construction might be 'unsafe'. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

[rant] To hell with what the owner did or did not mention, it's the responsibility of the person jumping the rig to know the condition of the rig. You said that the owner knew how to fold the pilot chute to avoid this problem. That the pilot chute was not folded in such a manner as to avoid this particular nasty suggests that the jumper packed it. Why didn't he notice that it was loose? I hate it when people don't take responsibility for their actions. The jumper should have noticed. There's no room to blame the owner. [/rant] Help with cancer research here.

15 lbs over the square footage? (You weigh 150 and you're jumping a 135 reserve?) Or 15 pounds over the placarded weight limit? (You weigh 269 and the weight limit is 254?) Depends which version of 'overloaded' you're talking about I think. Help with cancer research here.

Landing on the X doesn't, in my opinion, give you high marks for accuracy. What happens when someone moves the X? Have a friend pick a different target in the landing area for 10 different jumps. Landing on the X after 114 jumps just tells me that repetition is your friend. Good luck, stay safe. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

If you can figure out the Pro Pack you should be able to figure out a Psycho pack without much help. The photo series on Psycho packing available on the Icarus and Precision website should be more than enough to get you going. As for videos, I haven't seen any. Maybe they'll include it on the next release of Pack Like a Pro. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

I wonder if the increase was due to an increase in the cost of materials and labor, or if PD wouldn't agree to make a canopy to compete with the Vengeance that would also have a lower cost. Hmm... - Jim Help with cancer research here.

Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal Aviation Administration, and it was shortly before Christmas when the FAA examiner arrived. In preparation, Santa had the elves wash the sled and bathe all the reindeer. Santa got his logbook out and made sure all his paperwork was in order. The examiner walked slowly around the sled. He checked the reindeer harnesses, the landing gear, and Rudolf's nose. He painstakingly reviewed Santa's weight and balance calculations for the sled's enormous payload. Finally, they were ready for the check ride. Santa got in,fastened his seatbelt and shoulder harness, and checked the compass. Then the examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa's surprise, a shotgun. "What's that for?" asked Santa incredulously. The examiner winked and said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you're gonna lose an engine on takeoff." Merry Christmas! Help with cancer research here.

That sucks. You should sue Sangrio making DZ.com so addictive. - JK - Anyhow, I guess you're lucky to have lost your job now. I think probably the best time of the year to get a new job is Jan/Feb, when budgets are fresh and there's money to be spent. Good luck. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

I've seen a few of the GK do low toggle turns, scares the hell out of me and everyone else when they do. There was some speculation that riser turns were frowned upon, or outright forbidden by the GK team. Any truth to that? - Jim Help with cancer research here.

Not likely. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

Isn't the VX a 21 cell? Maybe I'm just showing my ignorance here, but I thought that the 21 cell canopies were based on a 7 cell design. - Jim Help with cancer research here.

What are you talking about? You'll _always_ glide less going into the wind, brakes stowed, brakes released, whatever. Am I missing something here? - Jim Help with cancer research here.