betzilla

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Posts posted by betzilla

  1. Here are current price lists for Sigma parts and rigging work at UPT.

    https://uptvector.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Tandem-Price-List.pdf

    https://uptvector.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/05257RiggingPL.pdf

    When I was working as a DZ rigger, I received a regular weekly fee to pack and maintain all the school gear (tandem and student), rental rigs, and the owner's personal gear. Incidental maintenance like kill lines, overstitching, and small patches were included in that fee. Relines were not. I made my own drogue centerlines and made a generous profit on them, even charging far less than the UPT price.

    It's been several years since I've worked on tandem gear (I just don't have space for it these days), but for repacks I would probably add at least $20, maybe more, to the price I charge for sport gear.

    Needless to say, if you want to charge what UPT charges, your work needs to be factory perfect...

    Good luck!

  2. 23 hours ago, sfzombie13 said:

    i got a rig for $500 with no aad, looked for the cheapest gear i could find since i won't have it too long

    Sketchy strategy, IMO. Low price should not be your main consideration, *especially* when you're buying used gear -- cheap new gear will be workable; cheap used gear is a gamble. I can't tell you how many times people have come to me with their "great deal" used gear, for me to then find on inspection that there's a ton of stuff wrong with it that they need to spend hundreds of dollars to address before putting it in the air.

    It may have worked out well for you, but if it did, it's because you got lucky!

    To the OP - you can't find a used "190" reserve because few manufacturers make that specific size. You'll easily find a used PD 176 Reserve with a little patience, and maybe even an Optimum 193. There are lots of used gear groups on facebook, so cruise those a bit while you're waiting for your new container. I'd personally recommend a used PDR over a new Rush, for reasons already expressed above...

    • Like 1

  3. 6 hours ago, 20kN said:

    The risk with not tackling softlinks is they can rotate and lines can catch on the tab causing a malfunction. The manufacturers require they are tacked into place regardless of whether you agree or not, especially for a reserve. If other riggers are lazy and dont inspect them, then said riggers should not be riggers anymore.

     

    http://www.flyaerodyne.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ALink-Manual.pdf

    SOME manufacturers require tacking the soft links. Aerodyne and Icarus World do. PD does not. Not sure about Precision, NZA (which doesn't make reserves anyway) and any others.
     

  4. 20 hours ago, billvon said:

    Well that's definitely not universally true.  I regularly have the tabs on my slinks come out if I don't tack them.  It's almost always the right rear riser for some reason.

    On mini-risers they'll stick out before they take a set, or if they take a set without the tab tucked in. So if I'm putting gear together for a customer I know isn't amazing at noticing things about their gear, I'll tack them. I also tack wayward main slinks that come into my loft sticking out of the riser. The tacking allows the slink to be "trained" to stay inside the riser.

    • Like 2

  5. 5 hours ago, airnutt said:

    I don't believe in tacking reserve softlinks unless the manufacturer specifically says too. The softlinks aren't going anywhere, and it discourages the next rigger to check and make sure they're routed correctly. I will untack, inspect and retack but I really feal its not necessary to tack softlinks on the reserve. any opinions on this?

    Agreed. But if I have to snip the tack to inspect them, I will only re-tack if the manufacturer instructions require it. And  when I DO tack, I use a wide stitch to make it easy on the rigger who has to inspect the slink next time around, if they need/choose to pull the tack out to do so.

  7. 21 hours ago, sheeks said:

    I only have a handful of jumps on my new PC but in my few jumps I’ve had the following happen:

     

    1. After landing, it was so far collapsed that the hackey had gone through the bottom square hole in the mesh

    2. On another jump, the bridle was really twisted up

     

    It deployed just fine, but I could’ve sworn reading somewhere once that these could be problems indicative of a kill line that’s setup too short or something? I notice there’s some slack in the kill like in my D-bag even after cocking it, but I’m able to get blue in the window, and it catches air on the ground reasonably fine. So maybe i’m just overthinking things, considering I can get blue in the window?

     

    What’s your 2 cents

    Your kill line is too short (they shrink with time). Ask your rigger to lengthen or replace the kill line, or if the pilot chute is old and worn out, you may choose to just replace the entire pilot chute.

  8. 14 hours ago, 20kN said:

    Yes but how is any of what you said different at a big DZ? A big DZ going months with no income and $50,000+ per month in bills is an issue too. 

    It's just really bad for everybody. Bigger DZ's might have bigger reserves to draw on and larger customer pools to pull from when they reopen, but you're exactly right - they also have higher overhead. The skydiving landscape is definitely going to change after this season. It would be interesting to watch as an outsider, but as one who works in the industry and has many, many friends who are being very negatively affected, it's worrying.

    • Like 1

  9. 51 minutes ago, CoolBeans said:

    Most of the people with ~190 sqft mains jump 176 sqft reserve. I've been advised by many that this is fine. And that's what I'm aiming at. 

    Look, I'm asking because I don't know. If this is bad idea for whatever reason, just tell me. Instead of going cheap and temporary I'm thinking of spending a bit more money on proper container now but then I would want to keep it a bit longer if possible. That's all it is.

     

    For this reason you should rule out the J2K, which is too small for the reserve in the size range you want (even a low-bulk reserve). Same with the M4 series of Mirages.

    a V348 should work sweet if you get an Optimum 176 reserve. Javelin J3K and Icon I4 will both work if you get a low-bulk reserve. Before you make your final choice, run the canopy sizes and container size by your rigger - she may have an opinion on which reserve she'd rather pack - not all low bulk reserves pack equally small...

    Good luck shopping!
     

  10. 29 minutes ago, Gary73 said:

    Agreed.  Also, even if direct-ish human contact accounts for 90% of transmission, we owe it to one another to take reasonable precautions to address the other 10%.

    absolutely. I take this step not just to protect myself, but also to protect my coworkers and customers, not to mention the essential workers with whom I come in incidental, hopefully-sufficiently-socially-distanced contact.

  11. 8 minutes ago, Remster said:

    Being concerned is one thing, but the bigger risk when skydiving will be spread from asymtomatic people, not their stuff.

    Definitely true. But while I personally have a choice whether to skydive (no thank you at this point), I don't have a choice whether I provide customer service for my company, and I am sure many independent riggers are increasingly in a position where turning down work would be economically devastating. So it is good to know how to handle this stuff. For my part, I'm just not starting work on what comes in for a minimum of three days. The vast majority of my customers are fine with that, since skydiving in my area is not up and running yet, and flying season is pretty quiet too.

    • Like 1

  12. · Edited by betzilla

    I'm a no because, even if social distancing were possible on a skydive, and other recommendations could be followed (and I am skeptical about this), once I start packing, there is basically zero chance I won't touch my face. I can't imagine the hangar/packing area could possibly be sanitized enough for me to feel OK about that probability.

    • Like 1

  14. On 4/16/2020 at 2:24 PM, fcajump said:

    I think it would be nice to know where the container has been, and whats been done to it as well, even if the canopy changed.

    Back when I worked in a pro shop that sold used gear, I got into the habit of photocopying the data card if the container and reserve were being sold separately, and sending the original with the reserve, and the photocopy with the container, for just this reason.

    • Like 1

  16. On 2/20/2020 at 10:40 AM, pchapman said:

    I also question whether adding something worth $X to a rig is really going to add $X to the sale price. MARDs are becoming more and more 'normal' as more brands get them but I don't think not having one is yet making gear hard to sell at reasonable prices. But I don't know the used gear market well. The price for the MARD in this case is also going to be more than $350; it will be that plus disassembly, shipping and assembly.

    exactly. It may sell faster, but not for more $$. There's definitely no way you'll get as much more $$ at resale as you will spend on the retrofit. Does that mean it's not worth it? that's up to you, OP. You have to decide what your peace of mind is worth...

    • Like 1

  17. · Edited by betzilla
    typos



    A 7-cell rectangular canopy will have four of each suspension line type on each side - for instance, you have 8 A-lines, total, four of them left and four of them right. An elliptical model might have fewer D lines than A lines (I *think* that's what you were reading about). This varies from canopy model to model - Spectres do have four D lines on each side, however.

    You should be putting all of each line type into the center of your packjob, as much as possible - the more you've got lines creeping toward the outer edges of your pack job, the more you are inviting the still-slim possibility of a line over, since things can get further disrupted as you begin rolling the tail during your pro pack. So you would never want to intentionally leave a line out there...

    • Like 1

  19. · Edited by betzilla

    2 hours ago, mbohu said:

    The suggestions about collecting signatures and bringing up a motion at a BOD meeting really seem to be the best way to find out how many agree with you and to get something moving on an issue you care so much about.

    Actually... It would be really easy to create a google forms (or some other) miscrosurvey about whether or not the members want the USPA to contribute or not, and the data gathered would be reasonable easy to work with.

    No, I am not volunteering to do this, lol. I'm ambivalent about the whole thing (as I suspect most of the membership is).

  20. · Edited by betzilla

    I've had several Crossfire2s, all of which have opened like butter (except that one time I rushed through literally the first pack job on one of them - that one was literally the hardest opening I've ever had. Still no ice-pack needed). Worth noting that they are not the most on-heading openings I've ever had, but in about a thousand jumps on them, I could count the jumps on which I've had line-twists on the fingers of one hand

    • Like 1

  22. · Edited by betzilla

    On 1/26/2020 at 4:55 PM, Remster said:

    Because in freefall (and that's what we've been talking about), you definitely do not want to look where you're going when turning.  

    This statement makes no sense to me. I must be missing something. Can you explain why this is true?

    Quote

    You will not find a decent FS coach that will say to look where you are turning. Always look back to the center for as long as possible.  As late a head switch as possible, and then only to look back at the center.  If what you are doing is a center turn, you are not going anywhere, you are turning in place. And looking out early (or at all) will make you drift away.

    Sorry... just read this bit here ^^^

    Totally agree, BUT... "decent FS" is far different from the early stages of learning to skydive, which is what our fearless @David Wang is up to.

    • Like 1

  25. On 1/11/2020 at 12:58 PM, JoeWeber said:

    Pass the torch and the authority to the ones who are current and there every day. It's their turn to be senior now, give them their due and their turn to earn respect.

    I love love love this, BUT...

    I think really whether or not you, or I, should STFU depends on context. There will definitely be situations where you are the expert. When that is the case, let fly with it. For me, the best part about growing older, is that I know what I know, I know what I don't know, I know admitting I don't know is perfectly fine, and I know I can still learn a lot of what I don't know, if I care to.

    • Like 1