Beatnik

Maybe I don't understand this completely but how does your jump numbers translate to technical knowledge of a rig? I don't see a definitive correlation between the two. Additionally a sample size of one would never be considered to provide valid results for an overall class or group. It also wouldn't be considered statistically significant when doing data analysis. Again, maybe I don't understand completely. I just know from personal experience with data collection, analysis, and research that I have done, if I tried to make a claim like with supporting evidence like this, I would be laughed at and everything thrown out. I would also look at the experience of who I am talking to. Just saying is all.

Or the Reflex, Teardrop classic, Viper just to name a few. The concern that John Sherman is expressing is valid and to try to dismiss it because of his container design is a bit obtuse thinking IMO.

One of the few beardless photos.

I call them Rapide Links because I still see and use speed links occasionally. It has nothing to do with my nationality. I was given a C9 with speed links on it about three weeks ago. I still prefer L-Bars (a side note: there is actually a right and wrong way to install L-Bars).

Thanks. I will have to see when I can make some trips this year. Never know might be able get a couple of PC jumps in. Wait till some of the other stuff this year gets out there. Got some really cool things I have been keeping quiet about.

It is all true. I lived through it and get the med docs off my file at work to prove it. The jump was witnessed by others as well. It is probably the only time a hard landing will fix anything. No one really knew what caused the knee to lock up the way it did but I am sure glad it is fixed.

Dactyls are a very unique chute. I owe a lot to my Dactyl, even if it can be one scary chute. If it wasn't for it I doubt I would be walking the way I am. My fourth knew injury, only one was somewhat skydiving related, left me with only 30 degrees of movement in my left leg. I couldn't bend it back or make it go straight. I was pretty much left me walking with a cane or with a severe limp. After numerous MRIs and months of physio, I just said screw it. Might as well just live life and if my leg is screwed like this I am not going to stop. I got my hands on a single keel Dactyl that needed a reline pretty bad and a little slider work. I save this parachute from the scrap pile and restored it. It was finished and ready for it's first jump back in the air in January. I jump year round regardless of the cold or the amount of snow on the ground. We went out to our dropzone and I gave her a go. That parachute did things I didn't know were possible with a parachute, scary things. About 1000' I said screw it and I wasn't going to touch a thing unless I was going to land on the runaway. About 15 - 20 feet from the ground the dactyl collapsed and I slammed into the only spot in the field where there was no snow, a nice ice pond. I never experienced a landing like that before or since. I was on my back and my legs were kicking and I couldn't stop them. I tried standing up and just ended up falling over. Eventually, I was able to make it back. At that point I thought I really screwed things up cause my knee swelled up to the point my pants felt tight around it. A few days after when the swelling went down, I regained all the movement back in my leg and for the first time in well over half a year, I could walk without a limp or the cane. The doctors couldn't quite figure it out or explain it but all they knew was that I feel down the stairs. My dactyl fixed my knee, allowed me to continue in my career and because of it am not using a cane or limping. It might not have been reliable on only one of the 60 or so jumps I have done on it but it is a prize parachute in my world.

I don't see anything that shows how this knife is different than anything else out there. You did show a pouch for it that is a little different from other designs. It that is what all this is about. Get a pouch made to fit your needs and stop whining about it. The knife is the same as others, the pouch might not be but there are so many people out there that can correct that and build you a custom that it is hardly worth ranting about.

I do it because I would be broke if I had to pay someone to pack all my gear Plus I enjoy gaining the knowledge.

I think I know who you are talking about or it could be someone else who did the same thing. The name is slipping my mind at the moment but he is a master rigger and lives in Saskatoon. He built a few racer copies. Some of which are still being jumped. I remember those. The reserve container is really the only difference between the Excalibur and the Sidewinder. They share many of the same flaps. Why change something that was working? The harness on those two rigs and the bullet are identical which are copies of the Racer harness.

Here is some reading about Type 17 risers: Type 17 Riser Study http://www.jumpshack.com/default.asp?CategoryID=TECH&PageID=T17STUDY&SortBy=DATE_D Cause Of Type 17 Riser Failures Identified http://www.jumpshack.com/default.asp?CategoryID=TECH&PageID=T17FAILURE&SortBy=DATE_D

I don't know anything about Cazar sport rigs but there was another copy from a Canadian company in Montreal that is long gone now. They had a copy of the Strong Pop-Top and a few other designs including the Jerry Bird rig.

Hey! What about the people that thought of this and put it forward at an AGM. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be getting these new cards.

Personally if the lines went between my toes and stayed there, I would be absolutely thrilled. My concern is if they went between your toes and decided to take a toe or two with them. Plus if you look at it mathematically it is also greater. It would go from a 1 in 2 chance of not getting a snag to a 1 in 6 chance. So from that, I would say it is more likely.

Do you not see the four openings in the front that lines could go into and snag? Regular shoes don't have that and the lines can go one of two ways. Plus the velcro straps also have snag potential.

LMAO. I just got another rig last week and am really excited about this one. A minty 1974 Jumbo PC.

I have found quite a few canopies in vintage gear that I got that were without a doubt mains packed as reserves. I have had a few people pull the reserves so it wouldn't have been found out. I have heard some stories of people doing it as late as the 1990's. The Falcon, while becoming less and less common is TSO'd and most people that I have seen with them use them as mains.

I have seen a double Type IV bridle. It was really bulky when packing and a lot stiffer. Alternatively, you could just reinforce the area around the pin with Type 4 and leave the rest of the bridle Type III. Then it would have the best of both worlds but be a little more time consuming to manufacture.

Considering I don't use one for packing Racer reserves, I don't see why you would need one for the main. Bulk management is all about the packing technique not the tools.

I know what you are saying in trying to be prepared. I never thought about a canopy collision but it sure happened when that junior jumper decided to pull off a couple of 360's without looking a 1000'. I have seen a lot of the skyhook videos and I have seen a lot of regular deployment videos but I won't completely agree with them being significantly faster. Sure in some cases they are but I have seen some reserves without a MARD deploy a reserve in around the 80' mark from the skyhook deployment. I don't consider that significant faster. Depending on your view point, if you look at a scenario where 80' would matter, than it could be considered significantly faster. But I am looking at it as a whole. Also some of the skyhook videos out there are with slider down deployments which of course are going to be extremely fast. The Skyhook assists with getting it out of the bag quicker, it doesn't mean that the canopy is going to inflate in any quicker time than it would with a regular deployment. Saying that there is a possibility that a skyhook could have saved his life because he died without one is a very bad argument. I think I understand what you are trying to say but if that is the reasoning behind it, the argument is completely invalid. I have not seen the video but like any scenario there was probably a bunch of things that may have been able to prevent the incident, but at 200' you are gambling whether you have a MARD or not.

That is a big maybe IMO. At 200' that is not a lot of time and if he cutaway, that reserve would take some time to inflate and that is not affected by having a skyhook or not. He could end up coming in with a partially inflated reserve or he may not have the reaction time to land safely. Cutting it that close is like rolling the dice, whether you have a skyhook or not, you could end up dying. Deploying the reserve is only one part to that complex problem. So I am not convinced that a skyhook would completely change the situation.

Check out Andrew Hilton's Flickr site. He has a few photos of different releases. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageparachutegear/sets/72157622676844920/

I like PD's support but sometimes I found it to be less useful and a waste of energy. A friend of mine bought a brand new Stiletto 150 and it didn't fly straight. We found that some of the line attachment points were sewn asymmetrically from side to side on the canopy and there was something else that escapes me at the moment. After sending it to them, they said it was all within tolerance and didn't do anything about it. Overall their support is pretty good but this case it wasn't and the canopy doesn't fly straight.

Knowing Bill Cole and having jumped with him, he is by far the #1 boldest skydiver I know, even if he doesn't jump anymore. Others around him are weak in comparison and second place is a long way behind.