Beatnik

Great idea and anyone who is thinking about this, send me a PM.

I agree. This video was some funny shit. Talk about playing it up.

I can understand what you are saying from your posts but your arguments are not really valid. What I mean is that you make invalid inferences that because they are new they are the best and better. If you feel safer jumping all really new stuff then good for you. It is a psychological issue more than anything. If you learn about gear and under it and your limitations you would be better off. You can have the newest stuff on the market and it is not going to save you if you don't know how to use it. Jumping new gear is not going to make you safer or better, only you can do that. Just so you know I understand your argument, I just don't like that you make some invalid inferences. This thread on a whole is pretty interesting for me. In the last decade I have done more jumps on vintage gear than anyone else I have known or heard of. I have seen jumpers make arguments that the gear is unsafe because it is old or blame old gear for something when it is more the jumper's fault than anything else. Sure you have to be more aware of certain things but if you know what to be aware of you can do it safely and do it for many, many years. There have been some designs better than others but that happens regardless of their time frame. Educate yourself more, it will do more for you than nice new shiny gear.

I had a this same conversation with a major gear manufacturer that is a fan of my vintage skydiving jumps. If the gear is airworthy, I say the age shouldn't matter. I have jumped some of the oldest gear that is still in service and have no problems doing it. I have had never jumped gear that is 30+ years old and it was like the day it was made. I have seen some gear a couple of years old that I wouldn't jump. From a manufacturers point of view, I can understand why some would want a service life. It forces people to buy new and creates more business for them. It also relieves some liability for the really old and ragged out stuff that people abuse. If the stuff is airworthy, then what does the age have to do with it?

A solid red PC is a Devil PC is I am not mistaken.

Through mere chance I actually found some information on these containers. A picture really is worth a thousand words cause the few pictures I got answered more questions than I even thought of. Now the restoration can begin.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to track down an Eagle yet. Been working hard on it but everyone I have met or talked to that jumped them pretty much says the same thing. There were very few produced and they were pretty much prototypes. If you have any leads or places to start, I would be really interested to know. Send me a PM.

Wasn't Sandy Reid on the Beechnuts? I remember him telling me he was on a ten man speed star team and was jump the first prototypes of the Strato-Star. Right now he has my second Strato-Star that he is going to jump when he gets a chance. I can hardly wait for the picture he promised me when he jumps it.

I would have loved to be there. I have heard of a couple of places tossing everything they have in a dumpster and some not that long ago. I hate hearing about things like that. These containers were originally used on the pararescue support staff now known as SAR Techs. Originally these things had a unmodified twill canopy in them. Howard was included in some of the early investigation of these containers when I was talking with Dan Poynter and Irvin for information. At this point I would settle for a picture. I have run into one other person that remembers them, he just started jumping in the 50's then and some people where using them for their rigs. The big things I know, it is the small things that most people over look that I need.

I have been searching everywhere and asking almost everyone for any information or a picture of these containers. A friend gave them to me a year ago, they were the container portion of the pararescue systems he used in the the 50's. Unfortunately, I can't really make out much of them. I know they were a static line system but I can't really figure out how they were attached to the harness. The backpads (which have a piece of plywood in them) only have a small slot which I am assuming was for the belly band. Any information or help anyone can provide is appreciated.

Here is a pic of the data panel. This was definitely made by Eddy. It has his info stamped all over it. I have not seen anything similar to this canopy in any of the old CanPara's or Canadian Parachutist's I own. This parachute is smaller than a PC when inflated. It would be interesting to find out more information on this chute. On a personal note, I would like more information on Niagara Parachutes in general. If you wouldn't mind could you PM Perry's email.

The Cobra is not a King Cobra which was based on a PS06. This is just a straight Cobra not a king or a baby. I didn't even know that this model existed but here is one. It may have been a prototype since the serial number is 1X. Here are some ground inflation shots of the parachute and you will see what I am mean. To me, it does not look anything like a PS06 or the king Cobras I have seen either. This one even has a small OSI.

Double Keel Paradactyl.

Irvin Skytrainer.

5-Cell Para-Foil that is diaper deployed.

Niagara Parachutes Cobra. It looks like a Starlite knock off.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post some of these. It has been a crazy year and hasn't left me with much free time. Here are some pics of a Strato-Star. More to follow.

Just an example here, I have over 400 round and triangle jumps and they were all made in this decade. Just because they are phased out for most people doesn't mean some don't still jump them for whatever reason. Just throwing that out there and not trying to side track the thread just generate some other modes of thought.

If you want to compare scar tissue we can one day when I am on the west coast. I have had my share of injuries and I am not talking what most of these jumpers call injuries. I can old my own with the pioneers as well. I pack lots of rounds every year in all types. I probably, scratch that, I know I do more round reserve packjobs than squares every year, probably by slightly more than 100 round over squares. Most years I do a lot more round jumps as well. Most years I average a little better than 150 round jumps a year.

Not all round riggers are grey-haired grumpy old guys. There are some studly young round riggers around

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to jump it yet. Many canopies still on the list ahead of it and I am still trying to find pieces and parts for rigs. When I do jump it I will make sure to post some stuff on it. I have been falling behind on that. I have photos of a Strato-Star, 5-Cell Parafoil, a double keel dactyl and an Irvin Sky Trainer to post. Unfortunately, I am gone to Greenland with work and it will have to wait till I get back in May.

Here is some of the design thinking that went into the FlowForm. Shortly after Steve Sutton started jumping he became interested in canopy design and worked with Steve Snyder with early ramair air prototypes. Steve Sutton told me that he has Snyder's second prototype ramair in his basement. Sutton started on rounds and saw what stability was gained by adding a hole into a round allowing it to vent. He figured what not do the same with a ramair. Then the experiments started happening with the different mods and holes being cut into the parachute. Some worked well and others not. Suttons main goal was to harness the abundance of high pressure air and create stability and thrust with it. The parachute constantly pressurize with the air around it and is really a soft wing opposed to what is trying to be designed now. All of the holes did a couple of other things for the parachute. The holes reduced the amount of drag on the parachute and allowed to use fewer lines than a typical parachute would. Since the parachute is constantly pressurizing regardless of its speed, the parachute itself will not stall. In the 70's Steve Sutton worked with Ted Strong on this design and it never really went anywhere in the parachute world. In the kite world from what I know it is one of the top kite designs to this day. When I was down at Strong Enterprises in August. Ted thought that the FlowForm had potential in cargo delivery systems. I was not able to get all the questions answered that I would have liked about the parachute. Like why it is mainly designed around even number cell designs. I was told it would work with any number of cells so I guess it was done for symmetry or something. Any questions I will try to answer as much as I can. I am away from home right now and working long hours so my answers might be limited but I will do my best.

Will post more when I land and am in my hotel in Inuvik. Trying to do it from the phone would drive me nuts. More soon...

Not only do I know what it is. I am the owner of the canopy. Steve gave me ownership of it last year. It is a very interesting canopy with a very interesting design history.

I have about eight with no canopy right now and another 20 or so complete that I use regularly. This stuff is out there but it is getting harder and harder to find. I am looking for containers to fit PC size canopies. I have another dozen or so canopies without anything to stick them in. At one point I was almost getting them delivered by the truck load, now I am lucky if I can get one every couple of months. I am sure I couldn't have tapped the supplies dry lol