Jeffrey

isn't one of the problems with tuck tabs that they can affect HP canopy openings.*** That may very well be true in some cases. There are many possible contributing factors to off heading or spinning openings. From packing and body position to riser cover design. But this is a Mirage thread and none of the symptoms associated with causing off heading or spinning openings have ever been witnessed in test video or reported from our customers or sponsored jumpers. I do feel magnets may be more beneficial in some harness and container applications than our current techniques. We have been exploring some of them since George Galloway left some with me over a year ago. Thank you for your thoughts on this topic. Jeff

I couldn’t agree more. Plus I would be out of a job. Jeff

To date I have never receive a single report of a Mirage owners riser cover failing to open or any one side hesitating at line stretch. Video footage I have viewed during testing some time ago showed that Mirage riser covers actually come open some time between the first and last stow of the deployment (after the bag has left the container and before the canopy comes out of the bag.) I can’t say this to be true of all Mirage combinations having not viewed them all. Ground testing showed that it can’t be far off. I personally can’t think of a better time for riser covers to open then after the bag has left the container and before the canopy comes out of the bag. In the past 9 years I have personally received a total of 8 complaints of a jumpers riser cover coming open prematurely in free fall on a Mirage. In each case the problem was quickly and easily eliminated. Now with that said and magnets being explored for this application, my 30 years of designing and developing this stuff has taught me to let you decide. What are your thoughts? Please vote responsibly and honestly. Thank you. Jeff

Chris, Are you sure his name was Mike. Apart from our harness ladies, I am the only other person here that could do that job and I only do that in special cases. Like when I’m doing something new, different or want it to be perfect for someone special like Erica. Jeff

Do you mean Mike at Chuting Star? Here in Deland it only takes 20 minutes. Jeff

***Biggin Hill @ Mac's loft/ Capital City Rigging around 85/ 86. Clive Ure was involved wit it. Quote Mac's loft, I thought so. After he left TSE he moved south and for a short time built a rig called the Tracer. The name was appropriate considering he traced all his patterns that I produced for TSE back then while employed for TSE. I also built his personal rig that later became his showcase advert rig. I can still remember how pissed off Lofty was over that mess. I wonder what he’s doing now. Jeff

***I don't know about the newest model Racer, but I can speak from volumes of experience building Racer knockoffs (in England in the 80's) QuoteReally, so did I. Where in England? Jeff

***Wasn't that Eric Fradet's system? QuoteIt was like Eric Fradet's system, only I cleaned it up a lot. Same end result as the skyhook. That was the same rig he later painted Orange after his sponsor changed it s colors. ***The Sorcerer hand deploy system won't work very well with the outward opening riser covers found on most sport skydiving rigs QuoteAgreed. Jeff

Bill George Galloway didn’t have any thing to do with rekindling your passion for rare earth magnets did he? After all it wasn’t to long ago when he was visiting all us manufacturers here in FL. with his Para Telemetry Parachute Recovery System and all them nice shiny rare earth magnets he was handing out. Jeff

You can deploy the reserve independent of the main. I know, I used to build them*** So did I, remember the one I put in Patrick’s red Vector 3 proto. way back when? Jeff

*** After talking to my rigger, I decided to cut it off... Quote Jeff, Did you call Mirage first? If not you should have. You could have just turned the tuck tab in to the pocket side rendering it redundant until you gained the experience to want the security it provides. Jeff

Lexa, Dave, and Peter, In my last post I really only scratched the surface on what I know about this topic. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time to invest into posting here. Ill try to post more of my findings on the topic as time allows. Meanwhile here are some of Pics of the tools I used and one of the tricks I used to manipulate some of the tests. I could get up to 20 cuts before having to make another blade. I got pretty good at it by the end. Nick, Did you know I use to build the SST and Racer for many years back in the mid 70’s? Jeff

Aaron, Did know that if you put a 28 stitch bartack in, and then rotate your work 180 degrees without trimming the threads. You get a 46 stitch center stop bartack. Granted not many people have a need for a 56 center stop bartack but for those out there with an old 21 stitch taker. Jeff

It appears two different phenomenons are being discussed here at once. One is container hesitation after ripcord pull and the other by means of loop being cut per AAD cutter. I would like to expand a little on a portion of Robs post pertaining to the AAD cutter. I keep hearing everyone’s opionion on this topic so here is mine. At this time two years ago I was only half way through a test program that would end up lasting me well over 6 months. In that 6 month period I compiled a tremendous amount of data after actuating the reserve by cutting the loops of every Mirage I could get my hands on. From the smallest to the largest and that’s a lot. I used 2 methods to accomplish this. One by means of using out of date Cypres cutters generously supplied by Kai at AirTec and the other by building 2 mechanical cutters. I will post photos of them if anyone’s interested, they worked very well. The following data was entered on a spread sheet during each test: Date, Rig Type and Size, Ser #, Pack Job (was graded 1-5), Rigs Owner, Loop Length, Lubricated (amount of silicon was graded 0-5), Cut @ (length loop was cut at from pin), Cutter Type (Manual or Cypres), Duration Packed, Launch Results (was graded 1-5), Plus notes where taken as to the many additional conditions I threw at it to manipulate the results. All cut loops were then bagged separately with an identifying data card and filed. The following is just some of our findings from the program: When the cutter is mounted below the reserve PC and the loop is cut by the AAD cutter, the energy from the PC spring is released and the length of loop remaining from the pin to where it was cut must pass through all the grommets above it. This length can range anywhere from 1.5” to 2.5”. When the cutter is above the reserve PC, it will always cut at 0.75”. The grommets are the major contributing factor to causing this type of heisting or lock. As the remaining loop snakes past them and the grommets reach that sweet spot, they produce friction on the loop in the same exact manner as your leg strap hardware. To confirm this I pounded and even grounded out only the section of grommet that comes into contact with the loop. You can’t lock one up that way. I only wish I could have found a way to manufacture them that way. Something I keep hearing and really bothers me is that it’s all in the loop length. “If your loop is never longer than this, or use a short loop and the potential to the problem is gone”. This is only partially true. We found that it’s not so much the overall loop length, it’s the distance from the cutter to pin and YOU CANT SEE THAT AFTER A RIG IS PACKED. I had some really good looking pack jobs cut the loop on the outside of what I would be comfortable with. I had to cut the loop to a lot of pack jobs to confirm this. Maybe next time I will expand a little on where I feel the location and depth of the failure bar is set for this phenomenon. I hope there is, but to my knowledge AirTec is the only other company to invest more time into this than I have. Also by the way after spending this much time studying this phenomenon, only one other manufacture approached me to discuss my findings. Jeff

Mick, Thanks for pointing that out. That’s all I intended to do in the first place and why I called it a little tug of war, just for grins. This was only a little 25 min. test to highlight the first obvious flaw in that system you previously pointed out in this thread. Sparky, Had I intended put some real numbers on it, I would drawn up test program and the drops would not have been in my office and taken far longer than 25 min. to only find out what we learned over 25 years ago. Jeff

Just for grins, I decided to mock this up and play a little tug of war with a 50 lb. weight and one 6’ drop. The load on the junctions was taken in peel just as a reserve risers may load on a diagonal due to an undesirable body position at deployment. This is not the first time I have seen this type of damage. If I had a very old spool of 5 cord laying around I would have compared it as well. I’m sure the results would have been just as predictable. The top mockup has the box across the top of the 4 point stitch pattern with a type 12 confluence wrap and 5.5 SPI. The bottom mockup has no box across the top of the 4 point with a 3” type 4 confluence wrap and 5.5 SPI. Guess it s pretty obvious why we left that box stitch in when the RW1’s and RW7 came out. Jeff

Quote ***I was amazed at how this portion of main packing is almost completely overlooked. I did not find one manual that said how to stow the risers. QuoteSome are and some are not. Jeff

Bo, Now were talking. Call me at work/Mirage (386)740-9222 tomorrow after 9:00 or so; ask for Jeff, tell me what your doing with it and I will help you out. Jeffrey

Fill out your profile and perhaps you may get some better suggestions than mine. Jeffrey

G3's have a spandex pocket built in behind the ring and risers. G4's are designed to tuck the excess RSL lanyard slack down in behind the housings and ring covers. Jeff

Heavy Duty Hot Knife The HK-60 Heavy-Duty Hot Knife cuts and seals (creates beaded edge) synthetics such as expandable plastic sleeving, gasketing, sailcloth, indoor/outdoor carpet, and awnings. This tool comes with a double-edge copper tip that slides on directly over the heating element. Item # HK-60 Price: $53.95 Go to: http://www.mmnewman.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=33&fs=&pfs=1&catid=15 Jeff

7' is standard on all Mirage Pull out setups. Unless requested otherwise. Jeff

I keep hearing about Velcro split bags in this thread. G4 split bags have no Velcro. Jeff

Andy, This thread would be a good example of why jumpers should contact the manufacturer before purchasing used gear/kit site unseen. Unfortunately for you, the M6 is designed to fit your main and reserve canopy combination. Your M5 is not unsafe, but I'm sure it's a real brick with extra long loops. Please call or e-mail [email protected] next week. Refer to this thread and perhaps we can help you with your options to this problem. Jeff

Mirage Container Compatibility Chart Container size-Reserve w/microline MZS- Dash M-109 MXS-1/2- PR-113 MXS- PR-113 MX- PR-113 MT- PR-126 MO- PR-126 MOS- PR-126 M1Z- PR-143 M1- PR-143 M2- PR-143 M3- PR-160 M3X- PR-160 M4- PR-160 M5- PR-176 M6- PR-193 M7- PR-218