BrianM

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Posts posted by BrianM


  1. On 5/16/2023 at 9:16 AM, df8m1 said:

    but all the public cares about is a release date lol..

    Release it when it's ready, and not before. I was just curious if the project was still alive. I'm glad to hear that it is! Thank you for the update.


  2.  

    On 10/25/2018 at 10:39 AM, df8m1 said:

    It won’t be much longer now :)

     

    On 11/1/2018 at 10:33 AM, df8m1 said:

    the ones that want more performance will have an option soon.:P

     

    Any updates on "soon"? I'm going to need a new AAD or two soon, wondering if I should wait a bit?


  3. Wow... that's a 14 year old thread you just resurrected! But it's ok, because who doesn't like talking about sewing machines? ;)

    councilman24

    Either Pfaff 238 or Berninan 217. If you find a Bernina 217n-8 parts are available from Global who's making new versions. If you find either a Bernina 217 or 217n



    What's the difference between the 217 and the 217n? I have a Chandler 217, I don't know which it is. It doesn't have a cam box on it. The stitch width is labelled 0-6, but it seems to be an 8mm version (by measuring the distance between the needle's left and right positions at max width).

    Another 217 question: does it use standard high-shank feet? That's what they look like but I don't have any around to try.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  4. BingoTrout

    How do you feel about the fitment of the booties? I just ordered an rw loose fit and my primary concern is being able to have maximum bootie surface area with an angle between the sole of my shoe and shin bone some where between 90-110 degrees.



    I don't have the loose fit, but my booties fit perfectly. My wife got a suit from them last year, her booties also fit perfectly (she also doesn't have the loose fit).

    mxk

    You realize that this is a thread from 2008/2009, right? :P

    In any case, I have their loose fit RW suit. The fit of the booties is good, but the construction quality, not so much. Both booties had holes around the toe area after only 70 jumps. I always put them on in the boarding area and always remove them under the canopy; never landed with them on. In general, I tried to limit the wear and tear as much as possible, but the Cordura didn't last.



    My 2009 suit is still going strong, complete with intact booties.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  5. councilman24

    Has anybody ordered/used Global Sewing in the Netherlands to obtain parts for a Bernina 217n? As best I understand from the website and Jo Global supplies parts for the Bernina 217n (and sell new ones under their name). Would like to know if anyone in the U.S. has gotten parts from them and any issues with parts or purchase from Netherlands?

    Thanks



    Not yet, but I need a couple small parts (my 217 is missing the foot lifter on the back, I only have the knee lifter). Thinking about ordering from them but haven't gotten around to it yet. It should be a fairly inexpensive order if you're looking for someone to do a test order.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  6. dpreguy

    One obvious improvement, sorely needed, is to design a helmet with the camera inside of it. Cameras are small enough now to do that. One guy (saw it on dz.com) took a smartphone apart and put the camera part inside with the lens being just behind a small hole.. Can you do that with a new small camera? (Without taking the camera apart)



    http://www.skyvisionpara.com/acheter-skyvision.html
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  7. councilman24

    Don't you have indoor pools in Canada?:P



    No. We cut a hole in the ice at the nearest lake when we want to go swimming. And that's in the summer! ;)

    lawndarter: My wife and I will be at Perris Feb 11-15. Not looking for water training, but always happy to meet a fellow countryman, and we would be more than happy to jump with you.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  8. I would get the glow face. The price difference is negligible, and there are no downsides to having it, but it'll be there if and when you need it. Aesthetics? The only time I even notice that my alti face isn't quite pure white is when I see it right next to one without the glow face (and I actually prefer the look of the glow face for some reason, but that's probably just me).
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  9. gowlerk

    And .....Deyan for the win.

    I got my Felco C7 today. I tried it out on and was able to cleanly and easily remove a size 0 SS grommet in less than a minute. Just cut the washer in two places and it comes right off. Lever the grommet with a screwdriver from the other side. Like butter.



    Nice! Thanks for reporting back. That's definitely going on my wish list.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  10. So much for the "technical changes that permit this decision"...

    sudo242

    I'll still do the maintenance, but can have the option of waiting until the winter when I won't be using the rig.



    You already had that option. The Cypres 2 has a 13 month window for the maintenance (the anniversary month +/- 6 months).
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  11. degeneration

    Well, for people in the UK, or rather BPA members, the decision from the manufacturers of the Cypres has been over-ruled by the BPA, and it is still considered a MANDATORY service at each of 4 and 8 years.

    http://www.bpa.org.uk/assets/Stay-safe/Safety-informtion-bulletins/108.-Bulletin-2-16-06-06-16-Mandatory-Cypres-AAD-Maintenance.pdf



    Interesting. I guess the BPA knows better than the manufacturer... :S

    Does the BPA also mandate that Vigil's and M2's be sent for maintenance every 4 years, even though the manufacturers don't require it? (That's mostly a rhetorical question).
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  12. gowlerk

    It's possible I was using the wrong cutter. It's been a while, I don't remember what I used.



    Probably not. Cutting with a Dremel can get pretty hot pretty fast. I can't tell you how many times I've cut off the end of a bolt, then bent down and picked it up and burnt my fingers. You'd think I would learn... Just go slow and give it some breaks to cool down. If it gets too hot to touch, it's time for a break!

    Let us know how the Felco's work. I've been eyeballing them for a long time (for cutting cutaway cables) but keep balking at the price. If I can cut SS grommets with them, then I've got two reasons to buy them and might feel a bit better about the cost! :)
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  13. gowlerk

    ***I've seen (but never have done it myself) someone use a dremel to slice it into pieces for removal. It took a long time but it seemed pretty precise with the cutting wheel.



    I tried that once. I do not recommend it. The friction from the cutter made enough heat to ruin all the fabric and the stiffener. I had to send the container out for a new flap.

    Works fine for me. Don't be so aggressive with the Dremel! :P Cut a bit at a time, and give it short breaks to cool down. I need to do that anyway so I can look and see how far through I am - don't want to cut into the flap!
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  14. hackish

    This machine was a good price and being sold by a repair shop as being freshly refurbished.



    Yeah, I saw that it was "freshly refurbished" in your earlier post. I was just having a bit of fun! :)

    hackish

    I'm into it for about $150 for the hook, a couple bobbins, new takeup spring and the proper presser foot. A class 7 machine for $1500 is still good.



    Sounds pretty good to me!

    hackish

    I just wish I could purchase a machine that's refurbished and sewn off and was ready to sew with.



    I've had the good fortune to have done that three times now. One was a craigslist find that worked perfectly, the other two were previously owned by someone whose name appears in Poynter's B|, they work perfectly too. I can't take credit for my good luck though...

    Have fun with the class 7, and post some photos of what you do with it.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  15. hackish

    I have to stop buying sewing machines now.



    Maybe you should just stop buying ones that don't work properly! ;)

    Glad you got the problem solved, hope the new hook wasn't too expensive.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  16. Unstable

    Quote

    This is about loosing market share to Vigil and m2 plain and simple. Lets you know how bad they have been gigging us all along. I once bought 2 rigs that had never had their 4 years and were due their 8 years. I asked them to just do the 8 year and they refused. SSK charged me for both the 4 years and 8 years. Fuck them. I changed everything over the minute Vigil came out and share my experience with Cypres with every AFF student and rigging customer.




    :S WOW, I had a rigging customer come to me with the EXACT same scenario. He bought a rig that had no 4-year done and was approaching the 8-year. I called SSK, explained the situation, and we just paid for the 8-year. I'd like someone from SSK or cypres to chime in on that and their Standard procedure in those cases..


    I've dealt with that situation a number of times, only ever paid for one service. I think they used to charge for both, but not for a long time.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  17. gowlerk

    Vigil and M2s were both designed with no service needed in mind. In addition to the self test, that I'm sure CYPRES does as well, they both have a read out of the ambient air pressure the unit is sensing. They both ask that the rigger check this reading for accuracy at repack, or at least annually. There is no way to check this on a CYPRES.



    I suspect very few riggers actually check this. How many riggers even have a calibrated barometer available?
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  18. hackish

    too bad I saw this so late. There is a place in ottawa. i walked in picked the stuff i wanted and paid for it. done deal.



    You didn't see it late, I just posted it yesterday... :P

    Did the place in Ottawa have thicknesses other than 1/16" and 1/32"? If so, what was the company?
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  19. BrianM

    Does anyone know of either a Canadian distributor, or a non-Canadian one who will ship small quantities to a non-business address in Canada?



    Found one!

    Johnston Plastics

    They're in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Toronto and Montreal didn't bother replying to my email. Edmonton and Winnipeg did, I got a better answer from Winnipeg so I purchased from them.

    They only have 1/16" and 1/32" (no .020" or .040" unfortunately), but they were happy to ship small quantities to my home. No online store, and they required me to have an account with a courier of my choice (I went with Purolator), but they we're friendly and easy to work with.
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  20. Quagmirian

    Finally, what the BPA have to say on all this is available publicly here:
    http://www.bpa.org.uk/assets/Minutes/Riggers-2016-02-04-pdf.pdf



    Quote

    Following discussion, the Committee believed that the original intention of the definition of a recognised parachute equipment manufacturer was a company
    (i) whose equipment met industry standards covering design, manufacture and testing etc,
    (ii) had liability insurance in place, and
    (iii) who produced goods in large* quantities [*relative to the sector]



    (i) Which industry standards? A standard means formal, documented criteria. Saying "industry standards" without referring to which standards is meaningless. Do they perhaps mean "common practice", and if so, who decides what that is, and how?

    (ii) As has already been pointed out in this thread, this excludes an awful lot of large, established manufacturers (such as "uninsured United Parachute Technologies")...

    (iii) Same issue as (i). Where do you draw the line for "large"? Plus, in any market with a significant number of manufacturers, they can't all be large relative to the sector. I think this point would exclude a number of manufacturers that they aren't intending to exclude. It's also a catch 22: you can't be a manufacturer until you're large, but how do you become large without first manufacturing gear?

    If every country took this approach, we would have no gear to jump!
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

  21. Ok, I'm a little late to the party here (well, it's a small party), but I don't often visit the history & trivia forum.

    I'd have to check my logbooks to be sure, but I've jumped in 6 or 7 of the provinces, and 2 of the 3 territories. I'm missing Alberta (surprising since I live in BC!), Winnipeg (I think), Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick (also surprising since I lived in Nova Scotia for a few years), and Yukon. I've jumped in Nunavut (Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet), and NWT (Yellowknife).
    "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg