Unstable

On 1/22/2023 at 10:23 AM, riggermick said:

Main pilot chutes from most rigs are interchangeable, you may need a competent rigger to replace it. I may have a spare or two I can give you, I'll look. As far as custom parts go, contact Ray Farrell at action air in Davis CA, he has all of the intellectual and physical property for the Reflex. If he doesn't have a part on hand he should be able to fabricate one for you. 

Wasn't there some rumblings of the Reflex going back into production a while ago? Do you ever foresee that happening? 

Hey OP Did you get some?

On 5/7/2022 at 11:30 PM, skyrick said:

Is this the same guy who was ragging on Icon containers last year?

Yes. I clicked on this thread hoping to see an update on the functionality and concern related to the Curve and instead it's no new information and folks discussing the history of rig development from 1981 onward. So no new information here?

On 4/14/2022 at 10:42 AM, Quagmirian said:

 Shame it's twice the price it should be.

I know right? I can't in good conscience recommend it at that price. 

$4,100 for a container. What a world we live in. 

On 2/25/2022 at 9:41 AM, accumack said:

The fact that Mr. Fradet is not objective and he has not recused himself from investigating, his bosses need to know he is using his position to Slander one of the most knowledgeable trustworthy people on parachute equipment in public for private gain. I in fact had an issue with riser covers on a Handbury rig years ago that did not release on a totaled main it did not cause any injuries and was just a nuisance easily felt with. Mr. Fradet you have no credibility in this issue!

Following up on this thread - has there been anymore information from Eric or a response from RI on this issue, or is it all just noise at this point?

1 hour ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Unstable,

And, I think that is something the French should do.

Jerry Baumchen

Agree.

I think back to the videos of the static vs dynamic deployments of the speedbag assembly of the Racer, or the aerodyne freebag, or even the new reserve freebag of the Sigma - the PC applies a force but during the extraction process, the bag is allowed to rock side to side as the various line stows are released and then how the reserve PC escapes through the corner as the last bight still holds on - so wildly different on the ground versus in the air. 

 

So far from this thread, we have see a claim not backed up by any secondary testing, done by someone who we find out has both a business dispute on this rig as well as, in his own words, 

 

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It is exclusively from France since there is no other country where people like me are paid only to find out the design flaws

 

 

3 hours ago, Quagmirian said:

Something here that no one seems to be mentioning so I will. On the floor, the jumper will rotate upwards pulled by the risers with their feet as a fulcrum and their entire weight resisting the rotation. In freefall, the risers will rotate the jumper around their centre of mass with very little resistance, increasing the bend in the risers and increasing the peeling force on the riser covers. Also, so what if you land with closed riser covers?

I think this is a powerful point that need to be focused on this thread. I can think of several examples where failure modes are imaged by 'pulling slowly on the ground' that do not represent the real forces in a skydive. I think a good datapoint would be to video the openings on this rig and slow it down to study the mechanics of a real-world deployment. 

20 hours ago, gowlerk said:

They are copies and share parts with Singer 111s. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of $500 to $750 is where I would start thinking. 

Agree with this. I bought a Consew 225 on CL for $500 and it has been my most reliable workhorse for a long time. Anything more than $700-$800 and I vote look elsewhere

12 hours ago, faulknerwn said:

My dz has both a bunch of KISS and a bunch of Cookies to try on - from what I have seen it is very much head shape - Cookies fit me better because the Kisses were way too tight on the face.  Other people the Kisses fit way better than the Cookies..

Agree with this Statement. My noggin fits the Cookie G4 and the Kiss helmet wonderfully, but the G3 was never very comfortable even with my hundreds of jumps with one. Different fits! I suggest OP try them all on and see what feels best. 

2 hours ago, IJskonijn said:

That sure sounds like the reverse S-fold technique. The only advantage I've ever seen with that technique is that it's 'easier' to bag a brand-new slippery canopy that way. But given the lack of care with which people stuff it all in, I'm not surprised that it occasionally leads to slider displacement and adventurous openings. Especially since the same people are more likely to not care enough to put the canopy down gently after flaking, but let it fall to the ground while keeping the lines sorta tight...

Sorry, I just got back in, yes the 'Reverse S Fold' is the technique I am referring to. I am not a fan. The regular method does a better job of pinning the slider in place, up against the stop. If you watch a person do the Reverse S fold, any loss of control of the bagging process and the slider is moved down and out of position. I always teach to do a regular S-fold, pin the slider on the first fold in the body of the canopy, and use that as a point of control through the bagging process. I think manufacturers should be discouraging the reverse S  fold whenever possible. 

Yes, I have repaired 2x pilots (a 188 and a 210) this year alone for hard opening that broke lines, line attachment points and blew out portions of the tail. One I repaired myself, one ended up with a completely cracked rib and I sent that to the factory, and it was almost $800 in repairs. 

The common denominator in both of these were packers who use the new(?) methods of bagging the Top of the canopy first and then the fold to lock the slider in last. This method, if not done extremely carefully, results in the packer essentially shoving the slider back into the deployment bag. I attribute those to gross packing error.

 

In all sincerity, I wish Aerodyne and the other manufacturers would put a statement out and discourage that method of bagging. 

2 hours ago, lazdog23 said:

So what flies out of the reserve container and lays on the floor? Maybe if you dont pack your tools in the reserve tray it would open correctly.  :)

 

Whatever it was, look how flat is is and how fast it fell. It has some mass/weight to it. 

Start Skydiving (John Hart's DZ) runs a Short Caravan and they used to have a 208B but I believe they sold the latter. We leased the short caravan of theirs for boogies in the past. 

 

https://startskydiving.com/facilities-aircraft/

 

On 11/7/2019 at 12:06 PM, skytribe said:

Spoke with them this week and they are in process of transitioning to new factory and hence not taking new orders.   They are making new parts and dealers have contact details of Chris.    They are definitely still in business and just transitioning at the moment.

Old thread, but I wanted to revisit this - is Parachute Systems back taking orders and in production?

23 hours ago, NewGuy2005 said:

How long is the snivel? Much altitude lost?

 For me, I get a nice 800-1000 snivel, similar to a Stiletto, although not nearly as twitchy on the heading. Very smooth through all stages of the opening sequence.  When I pull right at 3500, by 2200 I have finished stowing my slider and ready to enter the pattern. 

10 minutes ago, 3331 said:

Firebolt main from Parachute Labs in DeLand Florida.  It's the softest opening canopy I've ever jumped.  Call them (386)734-JUMP (5867).

I'm not even that old and I like my Firebolt Openings.  Better openings than a Pilot of Sabre2, but I can't speak for the Icarus products..

On 8/3/2019 at 9:33 AM, skybytch said:

There is not that much difference between containers other than cosmetics. 
They will all do what you want them to do - hold your canopies, keep you attached to your canopies, and provide a way to deploy them as well as cutaway from a malfunctioning main. As long as the harness fits your body and the container fits your canopies, any of those containers will be comfortable.
Of course what I jump is the best of the best. But all of those containers have excellent reputations.  I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. 

 

LOL doesn't Everybody say what they jump is the best of the best?!? But you really mean it though, right? 

3 hours ago, RiggerLee said:

 But one change I would strongly suggest you make is to consider getting a "Speed Bag" from Jump Shack. Basically every line stow on the bag is a locking stow, they are a bit closer together, less line between them, and there are more of them then on a normal bag. It's about the most line dump resistant design out there. It's a bit harder to pack but you get used to it. Double wrap your bands. You'll break a lot of them but it's worth it. Just buy a big bag of them and keep them in a zip lock.

 

 I want to second this feedback - being a larger jumper and the increased snatch forces RiggerLee mentioned, you are at higher risk for line dump with increased consequences associated with more mass traveling at higher velocities. At a minimum, I would steer you away from stowless (fully or partially) bag designs. 

 

While you are at it, consider a Firebolt as a main canopy.  Full elliptical (fun to fly) and a very deliberate sniveler. Originally marketed towards camera flyers in the mid-2000s.  The Firebolt is also a hybrid design, which will help with volume and ease of packing.  

27 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

That would seem to be not really true when you consider that PD only has two sizes of slider all across the range of Sabre 2s from 97 to 260 sq ft. All of them have a 31" span, up to 170 have a 23" chord, large have a 26" chord.

Which is fine. PD is not one who I spoke with on the topic above. I'm sure they have their own designs. 

The manufacturers I speak with have a formula for slider size which usually involves looking at the distances between the B-C lines on the center cell and the B-B lines across the center cell and building a slider where those dimensions matche up hole-to-hole on the slider. I have encountered this problem twice before, and in both cases two separate manufacturer recommended using the same size slider with a partial mesh center. 

Again, talk to the manufacturer about this, but that may be a more appropriate solution. 

I had one in my 2K3 until 2015 when I bought a Vigil. Performance aside, it is important to me to have current and evolving factory support for any gear I choose to jump. Look at the constant revisions in AAD software manifest in sundry service bulletins. With Argus, you get none of that. 

Man What is the deal? I sent one off about 2 weeks ago - batteries, Cuatro update + new head. They received it Thursday, and on Monday it was back on its way to me. Maybe I'm lucky. 

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s it Classic Racer, or Racer 2K3 ?

In 2017 - 2018, I have personally assembled and delivered ~14 new Racers. 13 have been 2K3s and 1 has been a classic, all with the Single Sided RSL.

2018 Racer 2K3 Unassembled
Side Detail
Hip Junction Detail
Personal Rig Riser Cover Detail
Navy Rig
2017 Custom 2K3
Tacky Rig - 2018


I have way more images - let me know if there is any feature on a New Racer that anybody would like to see.

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Question1: I think I recall that it is OK to convert the dual RSL to a more standard single riser RSL? In the field. Yes or No?

Yes, there is an approved alteration for rigs that did not come with a Single sided RSL that can be done by any Master rigger. Most new Racers I have seen since ~2015 have single sided RSLs from the Factory.

I have a November 2018 Racer, unassembled, sitting 3 feet from me right now. Absolutely great rig - Single sided RSL, Stainless steel hardware, spacer foam backpad and legpads, Type 13 harness, double tuck magnetic riser covers, contrast stitching, articulation, etc. I would put it against any 2018 rig on the market today.