rmarshall234

Yep. Allen's your guy for something like this. He has retired from Rigging but still does educational work. He's in CA but may fly to DC for expenses, you can check with him. Just tell him to finish my seat belts before he goes ;-)

>still back at square one Then consider this: You said you were a rigger so I assume you exercise your privileges and pack for others and then charge them. Why do people bring you their gear....because you have the Knowledge, Skill, Equipment and Certification to do what they cannot. And they trust you. And sometimes you need to make the difficult call and tell them it's going to cost money to bring something back to an airworthy condition. Why do you do that.......because you are concerned about their safety and your reputation. Now the shoe is on the other foot and you are throwing the issue up for a public vote. I don't get it. As I mentioned earlier, be happy they gave you a choice. It's better than no choice at all. They have every right to stamp it Unairworthy, cut the lines off, use it to stoke the bonfire at night, whatever. You sent it to the most qualified and Highly Certificated entity around to make an airworthiness call. You should respect it. Just as you would want and expect your own customers to do the same for you.

I don't think Performance Designs is in the business of Shaming people. I'm sure you don't want to spend the money and it looks fine to you, but if you can't trust the Manufacturer who can you trust? If it were me, I'd be thankful they were willing to recertify a 23 year old reserve at any cost. They have every right not to.

>Many lofts have written policies stating that if they need to do repairs less than $30. they will not bother >phoning the customer to ask for permission. >Repairs costing $50. deserve a phone call or e-mail. Calling or sending an email is my usual practice as well but I haven't applied it 100% of the time. However, I will now and will adopt the $30 rule. Thanks.

Nice. I'm currently returning the broken stiffener parts and pizza-cut grommets but I'll break-out the costs as you suggest. I think that's a good idea, thanks.

Thanks for the comments guys. One last question: I usually charge $50 to replace a stiffener and I'm primarily doing PEPs. Is this too much? The customers don't usually complain about the price, but seem surprised that there is an additional charge. Thanks again.

>The stiffener is designed to give the flap a tapered shape to allow lines to slide off of it. If the stiffener is >broken, a loop of line can half-hitch around the flap and get stuck there, cinching up tight behind the broken >stiffener. Excellent. This is one possibility I had not yet considered but you are absolutely right. >Replace the stiffeners. ASAP! Amen. When it comes to parachutes I go by the simple philosophy: if it ain't right fix it. The Grim Reaper is always looking for an opportunity to exploit.

The only thing Vladimir had to offer up is pretty much what's been printed here already. Said the workmanship was not very good, very stiff materials used in some areas of the construction, and that the Openings were so hard they often caused neck and back injuries. Suggested not jumping the thing...

We have a Russian mechanic at the airport, I'll ask him to translate the first page of the manual for you. Vladimir is an ex skydiving instructor as well, and still has connections back home. I'll check with him next week and see what he says.

>One issue I've seen in stiffeners with a grommet through them is the size of hole punched. Yes! The Riggers Handbook by Sandy Reid mentions the importance of making a 3/8 inch hole for a size 0 grommet for the exact reason you mention. I even go so far as to use a Woodworkers drill bit instead of a standard twist drill which makes a much cleaner hole w/o setting up a stress riser in the material.

>but always because that's how the mfg designed, tested, refined and built the system. Precisely. And that's one reason I replace them too. The FAA's definition of airworthy is that it comforms to it's original design and is in a safe condition for flight. The other reason I replace them is because I once watched (from 4 feet away) a teeny tiny burr on a grommet catch a pilot chute and cause what would have become a total malfunction had the reserve side instructor not reached over and pulled the PC clear. The sharp edge of a broken stiffener could do the same thing. >Might be out of sight, but that doesn't mean it can't be the first link in the chain. Exactly. And that's the mindset I want from the guy or gal packing my reserve. Very nice.

I've been replacing a ton of broken stiffeners lately. To me it's an airworthiness issue. What about you guys, what do you do and what do you think?

Nice!....

>We could all fill about 3 or 4 novels full of Scotty Carbone stories. Oh yes, please do tell stories. A novel is not necessary but a short story or two, similar to the one by Daless, would be a wonderful distraction right about now. I'm sure there are many... I only met Scotty Carbone once. When Judy and I passed through Z-hills and jumped with him and the locals. He was a gas! Racing back and forth between loads on that motorscooter trailing a rabbit (or something) and that little dog, always hot in-pursuit. You've got to love a guy like that..

Superb! Great story telling and thanks for sharing.

Several years ago I was behind the counter at the Perris School finishing up some paperwork on one of my AFF students when Pat Works walked in. He goes up to the counter and tells the girl working that day that he'd like to arrange to jump with a Tandem Student who was a friend of his. The poor girl who was relatively new to the job began explaining to him that it was not possible to jump with Tandem Students. I glanced up when I heard the irritation building in his voice right about the time he had had enough of this. He said to her in no uncertain terms "listen, I've been jumping here for 40 years". Now I didn't really know Pat Works but I certainly new who he was and that something needed to be done, so I said to her "Excuse me, this is Pat Works..." which caught the attention of Shazza, the school manager, who came flying out of her office saying "Hi Pat, what can we do for you". That poor girl never saw it coming but we laughed about it together afterwards.

>Bob Hoover makes 3.... Good catch. Blue skies to Bob Hoover, Scotty Carbone and Pat Works. Each, has changed this world for the better.

>I often wonder why people get an answer from the manufacture and come on line and shop for an answer that >fits what they want to do. I'll answer your rhetorical question: $Money$ So then, the question becomes: Why do people make safety decisions based on money when we all know (or should know) that the decisions we make on the ground determine our safety in the sky.

>There are things that are worth doing for fun.... Yep. Go for it I'd say. I would suggest weighting it pretty heavily on the bag lock side as opposed to the unconsciousness side however. Much easier to deal with problems when you can _see_ what's going on. Wish I were closer by, I'd come join the effort.. In fact, I'll be talking to Allen Silver tomorrow and will ask if he has a manual.

>You'll never know how many lives you've touched He sure touched mine. When I started jumping in 78 I quickly picked up a copy of The Art of Freefall Relative Work and then, United We Fall. For the next several years I devoured every page of those two books and fell completely in love with the sport. The effect on me was so clearly apparent, my two sisters followed me into the sport and through the early 80s we had the time of our lives jumping together. A little belated, but Thank You Sir!

>Does it matter? As others have said "no", it doesn't matter. As long as the pertinent information is there. Even an aircraft log entry - which is an FAA required document - can be written on a loose piece of paper or a "restaurant napkin". It just has to have the required information and be retained for the correct amount of time. The next time someone gives you grief about your "personalized" log book you might want to mention this and ask why they would have a more stringent requirement than the FAA.

>Figures that the first time I try to get him closer to watch the airplanes . . . . There's a lesson in there somewhere, I'm just not sure what it is.... Meanwhile, tell him Bonanzas don't crash

The O.P. didn't mention anything about a cut-away and yet almost every response is about cutting away the main. I don't get it..

Allen Silver is the one you can thank for the extended repack cycle. He was Chairman of the Rigging Committee for PIA when he pushed this through the FAA's rule making process. I'm not sure how much USPA had to do with it except maybe blessing his efforts. It was a ton of work on Allen's part and he took a lot of grief from riggers who were concerned it would cut into their proceeds. It was the right thing to do and Allen's the one that got it done.

Yes I would still renew and I do. In fact I just did two days ago. Even though I haven't jumped in a few years. I've been a USPA member since 1978 and now for the past two decades, a holder of FAA Certificate(s). What the USPA provides that many jumpers don't realize is the ability to operate as a "self governed" entity and still use the National Air Space that the FAA controls. Trust me when I say this....you _do not_ want anymore FAA oversight than you currently have. Which is practically zero. Continue to operate in a reasonably responsible way killing only ourselves, continue to keep USPA advocating on your behalf, and with a little bit of luck and the holding back of time, you will not have to see what the rest of us have to deal with on a daily basis. It ain't pretty.