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I wish I could be there too, however the immigration dept. would have me back in detention before the wheels hit the tarmac. Ralphie was my SkyBrother and more and I miss him and Jeff all the time....... ya pair of rednecks...... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I would suggest washing them in cold water and by hand, but if you do that AND they still shrink I ain't buying you a new pair......... DEFINITELY don't put them in a tumble drier (and that's nothing against EG products which I believe are excellent, but if something is gonna shrink a drier will make it really shrink) Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

In the absence of any kind of a range of data from the manufacturer so far, I decided to use Terry's Criteria. It just so happened I had 5 more of these rigs to inspect so I tested the extraction forces required on each. The least was 22 lbs and the highest was 32 lbs all at an angle of about 85 degrees from the horizontal. I am pretty confident that the rig that aroused my curiosity in the first place was an "anomaly" - of the 5 only 2 were capable of being picked off the ground by the reserve bridle and only 1 of those could be swung around, and then only 1.5 revolutions before releasing the bag. The first rig was swung through 720 degrees and showed no signs of giving up the bag until manually/forcefully extracted. Going to wait another couple of days to get a clearer response from the manufacturer though....... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

12 lbs, the pull was no problem....... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

so I repacked the rig and put it back on Raju and had him lay down on the floor. He pulled the reserve and the pilot chute launched just fine. I tied a slip knot in the bridle, stood on a chair (much to the amusement of the fire-fighting trainees in the next room) and pulled upwards at 90 degrees with my scale. This is still a tough extraction and the scale hit 38 lbs before the rig gave up the freebag. It also required a sustained pull, in other words the scale didn't get to 38 and the bag just popped out, during the pull (from about 30lbs onwards) it required a sustained pull to have it rotate upwards and out. I will be reporting this to the manufacturer for their opinion, but would welcome other opinions from technically minded riggers...... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

Actually I did that! Got my trainee to lay down wearing the rig, then attached a scale to the bridle and started pulling at about a 30 degree angle. At first he started to slide across the floor (he weighs 140 lb) and the scale crept up to 40 lbs before the rig gave up the freebag.... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

That's the part that concerns me Bill, "and then releases the bag" if I can (with the main in as a total mal sim) pick the rig up by the reserve bridle, then swing it through 720 degrees and not extract the freebag/reserve, is it a cause for concern, or would the pilot chute generate enough drag to extract that puppy? When is a tight fit too tight? When testing in the loft, how many pounds of pull force should I have to exert to be able to be happy that in an aad fire at < 1000 feet the freebag would release in time? Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

please let me know, I have had a few incidents recently that I would consider an anomaly, I have written to the manufacturer but the weekend here is Fri/Sat and they are just getting in to work as I'm leaving, so I haven't heard anything yet. I don't want to post anything negative until they've had a chance to see and analyze the info. But I would like to know what other professional in the field consider normal/acceptable Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I did a search and the thread that I found had no really useful information, so I am asking here. USPA and PIA issued an advisory recommending that the force required to extract a freebag from a rig while simulating a total malfunction be tested. so my question is what is an anomaly to a normal freebag extraction? How many pounds (or kilos, I can do math) of force should it take to extract a freebag from a rig. I'm not looking to start one of those name calling pissing contests here, I just want to know what riggers feel is acceptable and what constitutes an anomaly....... Thanks y'all Pete Draper Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I have bought a bunch of stuff from Frexer.com in Pakistan. The suits were good quality, well sewn and have lasted. CAUTION! Wash carefully in cold water and let them hang to dry! At first sizing was an issue but after we explained that a medium in Pakistan was a tiny in the US they got it right. Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

this graphic caused me to post here for the first time in about a year - THAT IS F'in FUNNY Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

{{{{{{{{{{{{{vibes}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I don't know how your rigger works, but I will always close the rig up without the AAD and then install it for free when it gets back. No reason to stop jumping just because the Cypres isn't in it...... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

check THIS pic out (ps: for the record I'm not advocating this as a skydiving rig but if even Miles Daisher can freefly in one....... ) Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

.... and that's just one of the reasons that they give us 2! Good job, glad that you're safe Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

the housing is only close to the top pin grommet, not the grommet under the pin that is sealed. Just for clarification Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

no more than 22lbs of pull force on the handle, BUT i don't understand how it can be "pulled" into the grommet. I think it might be possible to "maybe" push it in by a lot of pressure, maybe stowing the rig on that flap then putting a lot of weight on the rig. Maybe leaning back REALLY hard against the floor or wall of the plane, but it still seems unlikely. That area can take a lot of pressure/punishment (take a look at the imprint of the reserve cable on some people's rigs) but it still seems unlikely...... however you should always check your reserve pin(s) before putting your rig on for a jump Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

Just wondering why your hand is on the drogue so soon? It's the last thing I check before I leave the plane, I wasn't tossing it at that point..... Oh, and I forgot to add that I use a cameye also...... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

an elliptical canopy has the leading and trailing edge dimensions the same. As Rob said, the center cell longest then tapering off towards the edges, but the same dimensions front and back. A semi- elliptical may have a straight leading edge and a tapered tail. "An ellipse is a smooth closed curve which is symmetric about its center." if the leading edge is tapered differently to the trailing edge it is elliptical like, or semi-elliptical, but a truly elliptical design has (by definition) to be the same front and back. Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

so heavy that you can't keep the student in frame now that's funny - thanks for making my morning Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I use a Sony HC21, in a Skydiving Services Glove with a Royal 2.0 lens. I'm happy with everything but the stills that I pull...... I have about 300 jumps with this set up...... Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

part of the move away from Static Line was for financial reasons. Once the course was developed a whole "AFF Industry" grew up around it. The certification course to become an AFF I was very expensive and had a relatively low pass rate, so some instructor candidates had to repeat the course. Then the "pre-course courses" popped up and then came the courses to train people to be AFF evaluators. DZO's and candidates spent a lot of time and money getting themselves and their staff qualified to offer and maintain AFF. The Instructors needed to promote the AFF program to recover their investment and the DZO had to promote it as many had fronted the cost of the courses. So when new skydivers came along the AFF program was pushed over the Static Line program, and it was common to hear phrases like "Static Line only teaches you to fly a parachute" or "If you want to be a real skydiver, AFF is the only option" and yet all of the people that developed the AFF program learned through Static line.... I really believe that the huge upfront costs of AFF have reduced the retention rate of new skydivers and put off a lot of people who would otherwise have gone through training. At 25 jumps you should all have the same knowledge no matter what program you take. Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I'd email John for that info [email protected] Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

Here's a link to the Jump Shack Tandem Certification course outline http://www.jumpshack.com/tm_course.pdf - it is currently undergoing review but is essentially all there Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

I always use the right drogue release when using Handcam.... when I'm not filming I alternate releases. Pete Draper, Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?