BrianM

skytribe

Everyone's opinion is different. My general opinion of Mirage has definately not been great customer service. Slow responses when parts are ordered, Nothing in stock for handles. Wrong parts being sent despite being provided with serial number, main risers sent without rsl ring and then not wanting to replace them.

That fits with my recent experience. I phoned to order an RSL for a customer, provided them with all the information they needed (serial number etc). They said they'd email me a payment link that day, and have the RSL in the mail the next day. Every couple weeks I'd get an email asking a question that I had already answered (hey, what's the serial number? hey, do the main risers have an RSL ring? etc). Email queries would take a week or two to get a response - then they'd say something like "we'll ship it today" (but then they wouldn't). It took 2 months before they actually shipped it.

faulknerwn

I actually use the altimeter simulator all the time with my AFF students. When we are practicing skydives on the ground it helps them to have a "real" altimeter to read as opposed to just pretending.

This has been available for many years. An app is just a more modern implementation (and a lot cheaper).

pchapman

4) Paul Fries' alternative no-sew loop

There's an alternative no-sew loop out there in a pdf document by Paul Fries. He doesn't claim to have invented the method. One starts but doesn't complete a pull-through before making any fingertrap, then starts another, which the bight of the first goes through, and then does a fingertrap with the bitter end. You have to see it to understand it. I haven't tried to work out the topology of the knotting of that one.

I have the pdf but haven't checked where it might be on the web.

Anyone use that method?

I've used it in the past to attach toggles, it has worked very well. I don't use it anymore, because now that I've acquired sewing machines and the skills to use them, I find it quicker and easier to just bartack them.

jumpsalot-2

Hi BrianM. Good post .......but ........... have you ever looked out the driver's window of your electric car and seen a canopy pilot flying beside you, going the same direction, with his main rigged backwards ........ like in the commercial ?

Yep, all the time. Even the birds have their wings on backwards (and the car is so quiet I can hear them singing - that's the skydivers and the birds).

theonlyski

***It has so many advantages over a gas car

Such as? Just curious.

Just off the top of my head:

Low operating costs. My wife commutes every day with the car, plus it's used for all our errands, trips to the DZ, etc. It used around $100 in electricity last year. That'll barely buy one tank of gas for my truck.

Low maintenance costs. Once a year they check the battery health and rotate the tires, and we're good to go. Few moving parts to break. No fluids to change. No clutch. Even the brakes last a lot longer thanks to regenerative braking (by paying attention to what's happening ahead, I can usually do almost all decelerating with only the regenerative brakes; I'll use the friction brakes for the last few feet before a red light to get to a complete stop from around 5 km/h).

Reliability, for the same reason as low maintenance costs.

Very smooth and quiet ride. The electric motor doesn't vibrate like a gas engine does. This doesn't sound like much, but after getting used to not having it, the vibration of a gas engine when sitting at a red light is unpleasant.

Charging at home (or at destination, though we rarely do this because we seldom need to) is way more convenient than stopping at a gas station. You know that "Oh crap, I'm almost out of gas and I'm already running late" experience? We never have that any more. People talk about range anxiety with electric cars, and we had a bit of that at first. Now we have less of it than we did with a gas car, because we know it will always be full.

Low environmental footprint (even after accounting for the impact of the batteries).

Much more efficient. Drive it all around town on a frosty day - and the hood is still frosty. It's a bit freaky at first. A gas car melts the frost within minutes because it's inefficient and wastes lots of energy in the form of heat.

Watching the fuel gauge go up when driving down a hill is really cool.

It's fun to drive! Decent acceleration, full torque at 0 RPM, the throttle is very responsive, and it's super smooth and quiet. I never want to drive the truck anymore.

And probably a few I'm forgetting.

gowlerk

I see you live in Victoria. What's your range like? Electric car may be fine there. Not so much in Winnipeg during a prairie winter! I'm guessing your wife and yourself also have a second, more practical vehicle.

We get around 150km on a charge, though it will vary based on a few factors (same as a gas car). Low temperatures would definitely affect the range, though it would still have sufficient range for most people most days. No, it won't meet everyone's needs.

Yes, we have a gas vehicle (a pickup truck). These days it only gets used for longer road trips, for hauling large loads that won't fit in a car, or if we both need to use a vehicle at the same time. It gets used so seldom the battery has gone dead a couple times.

Range and charging time are the currently the two big negatives. This isn't the car for long road trips. That should change in the future, as electric vehicle range is increasing rapidly, and expected to continue doing so. Charging time will become less of an issue as range increases (image a car that you can drive non-stop all day on a charge - as long as it's charged again by morning, who cares if it takes a few hours overnight?) For shorter road trips, Level 3 chargers will get us from empty to 80% in 30 minutes, which is an inconvenience, but does work - and again, will be less of a concern as range increases.

BTW, there are people who have an electric car as their only vehicle, and rent a car for the few times they need to do a longer trip. The money savings more than make up for the cost of the rental. Obviously that would depend on how often you do longer trips.

So yes, there are a couple negatives, and we do have another vehicle that we use to fill the gaps, but it fulfills probably 95% of our needs. By the time either of our vehicles need replacing, I hope that the range has improved enough to meet 100% of our needs. Time will tell.

obelixtim

And the car has not got an extension cable.

Electric car?

Yeah, right!

My wife and I have a LEAF. It's a great car. It has so many advantages over a gas car, and is so much nicer to drive, that we don't ever want to buy another gas car.

mjosparky

Do you think this might another myth becoming fact? I jumped one I made for over a 1000 jumps with out a problem, and that was with a 245 Sharpchuter.

... not to mention all the larger reserves (even tandem reserves!) in semistowless bags...

johnbamburg

***What's a skyhook handle?

I didn't say Skyhook Handle.
I said skyhook and reserve handle. The skyhook being located on one side of my rig and the reserve handle on the other.
Are you just trying to be difficult???
Almost all others understand what I mean. The phone conflicts with the areas to grab the the handles. It protrudes from the inside of the jumpsuit pockets to the area of the "rsl", skyhook, reserve whatever you fly.
Please all knowing 500 jump wonder. Don't make it difficult

He's not being difficult. It's not clear what you are talking about. I think you are confused about terminology, and possibly about how your gear works. It might be a good idea to have a local rigger go over your gear with you to to clear up any confusion. It won't take long, shouldn't cost anything, and could save your life.

Your skyhook is located inside your reserve container, with the exception of the RSL lanyard. A phone inside a jumpsuit pocket will not interfere with it (or with a standard RSL).

I think you are talking about the cutaway handle, which has nothing to do with a skyhook or RSL.

normiss

Who pitches between their legs?

You obviously didn't see my first freefall!

Why did that remind me of Fandango?

I loved the comment about pigeons!

riggerrob

Great idea Hackish,
To save shipping, you might hand those line samples, drogues, etc. to a B.C. rep. who is attending the CSPA Symposium at the end of February.

I'll be there and could bring them back to Victoria if you don't find someone from the lower mainland to bring them back.

I had the honour of sharing the same home DZ as Don.

Don was one of the kindest, gentlest, most selfless people I have ever known. Even on the rare occasions that I saw him get upset about something, he still kept calm and politely discussed the issue without ever badmouthing the people involved. That was just his nature. Don was, quite simply, a nice person, all the way to his core.

Several years into his bone cancer, when he couldn't jump, couldn't lift any weight, and even found standing painful, Don would walk out to the middle of the landing area when I was doing a tandem jump, trying to anticipate my exact landing point. By the time I had unhooked the passenger and and picked up the canopy, Don would hand me a nicely coiled up bridle and drogue - then apologize that he couldn't help carry the gear off the field because of his health! Selflessly helping out someone who was in less need than himself was just another normal day for Don.

Don: We miss you already, and we will never forget you!

Cut two strips of plywood the length of the "front leg to back leg" measurement, and the same width as the bottom of the leg.

Screw/bolt one of these to the legs to each side.

Now you can mount whatever you want to the plywood.

yuri_base

Using a clinometer app in the mountains, I had a chance to see on many occasions how poor our (ok, at least mine) eyes are as protractors. I tend to overesimate angles by ~8 degrees on average. What seems to be 45 degrees, is actually 37. Now, tan(37) = 0.75, so for 120mph terminal it corresponds to 90mph jumprun airspeed, which is about average. So while I'm not advocating the 45 degree "rule", never used it and never heard anyone mentioning it (except, if vague memory is correct, during AFF), I can see how it came to existence - it DOES look like 45 degrees, even if the exact measurement is 37.

I think using a precise instrument (camera mounted at 45 degrees) to say "look, it's not 45 degrees!" -



- is not a valid experiment when dealing with such an unprecise instrument as human eye protractor. A more valid experiment would be to stand at the door and just ask multiple jumpers, "what do you THINK is the angle to that jumper/group?"

The thing is, even if you can measure it accurately, it really doesn't matter if a jumper ever reaches 45 degrees or not, or how long it takes them to reach it (or any other angle). In fact, looking at the trajectory of the jumper relative to the aircraft is completely useless for separation, regardless of what criteria you use.

Why?

A jumper that has just exited is in the same air mass as the aircraft, and their trajectory will look exactly the same in 0 wind, 100 mph headwind, 100 mph tailwind (even if they *do* reach 45 degrees at some point). Using the trajectory of a just-exited jumper relative to the aircraft will result in leaving the same amount of separation regardless of winds.

Debunking the 45 degree myth by explaining how jumpers never reach 45 degrees seems to be complicating the issue - NO analysis of the trajectory relative to the aircraft will work. I don't care if you look at angle, horizontal distance, or something else.

Hi Jerry,

JerryBaumchen

Hi Brian,
OK, Plan of Action. Tell the wife that you think a springtime trip to the great city of Portland, Oregon would make the perfect getaway; great restaurants, motel right on the river, micro-brew capital of the world, etc.

Drop by my place for a look-see, we'll all go have lunch and then you convince her that you do actually have room to setup some more machines.

Yes/no???????

Jerry Baumchen

We don't really have the type of relationship where I need permission to do stuff. If I really want a machine and would use it, and we could afford it, she'd be ok with me getting it.

Having said that, the trip would be an easy sell. She was disappointed on our trip this summer (when I picked up the 132K6) to not get to spend much time sightseeing in Portland (so was I). The waterfront hotel on Hayden Island was nice and their restaurant was great. We'd both love to return for a longer of a visit, and it's close enough to do in a weekend. I'd love to see your shop, too.

JerryBaumchen

I have a Pfaff 3334 that I bought last year on a recommendation from Al MacDonald. The table that I built for it is 35" wide; and I could have made it smaller.

Thanks for the info and the picture (you too, Michael). Good to know it can be made that small, I've always seen them on standard size tables. I could definitely fit something that small in there.

JerryBaumchen

How much money you got?

More than I have space! I can afford a tacker, but not worth spending the money for how much I'll use it at the moment. It's nice to know I can fit one in though.

hackish

This year I sewed several hundred bartacks on my 20U. I got them to look quite consistent but ultimately it was the time. In my case where I'm doing some light production work it's just stupid to sit and manually zig-zag every single tack.

If I start doing that many, I'll definitely get a bartacker, space or no space!

hackish

1/2" seems to be a pretty significant limit.

It depends on what you want to do with it. I can get any part of a sport harness under it. More lift always makes it easier to get things positioned, of course.

Edit: That's a nice looking 217N.

hackish

A harness machine will complete my collection. 20U, double needle, e-tacker and harness machine. What more could a guy need?

Please don't answer that one.

Actually that sounds like a reasonably well-rounded setup. Maybe a walking foot?

I've got a Bernina 217 and the 132K6. I'm looking for a double needle, and that will probably complete my collection for the time being. I would love a bartacker but I don't have a lot of space, and for how much I would use it, it's hard to justify the cost. I can do a pretty good imitation of a bartack on the 217, it's just a bit slower.

Well, maybe a bartacker at some point down the road - how small a table can I get away with?

hackish

What is the foot lift like on the class 7 machines?

I can't answer that, but for comparison, the 132K6 has about half an inch.

masterrigger1

Quote

And it's smaller, lighter, and cheaper than a class 7.

Maybe not so much cheaper.
I just saw a complete 7-33 with table,stand and motor go for $950 on Ebay.

Sounds like a great deal. I normally see them go for a lot more than that.

masterrigger1

In my opinion, the 132k's and Consew 6 class are OK, but the 7 class is way better.They just have more lift, more room under the arm, and usually a bigger table to hold everything on.

I agree on all of those points (though you can put any machine on a bigger table), and if I were using it more often I might want a class 7. The 132K6 still works great though. I can get at any part of the harness easily enough, and it sews beautifully. It's a great machine for my purpose. In my case, not having the bigger table is an advantage due to limited space.

masterrigger1

Jerry,
What are you using since you got rid of the 132K?

I'm pretty sure he replaced it with a newer 132K6. I got the old one.

Hey Jerry, if you want to get rid of that 339, I'll take it too!

JerryBaumchen

Hi Michael,

Quote

after hearing Jerry talk about what his 132-K6

You might contact Brian Murray Mury ( BrianM on here ), he has my old 132K6. Since his is a fellow countryman, he should offer an unbiased opinion.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) Also, Al MacDonald is currently rebuilding a 132K6.

Yep, I do have Jerry's old machine. I haven't done much work on it yet, but so far I really like it. It'll pull 5 cord through as many layers of Type 7 as I can fit under the foot (I think around 7 layers) without breaking a sweat.

I got the stitch length and tension set just where I want it, and I haven't had to fiddle with it since. It makes beautiful stitches. I just repaired a Javelin harness junction that was coming unstitched. The only way I could tell the new stitching from the factory stitching on the rest of the harness, is the new thread was a bit darker because it wasn't faded.

I haven't used a class 7, so I can't compare, but I can't see ever needing anything more than this 132K6 for sport harness work. And it's smaller, lighter, and cheaper than a class 7. Now I just gotta convince her there's room for just one more machine! I need a binding machine...)

johnmatrix

I went for that over the Protrack because I read the Protrack records a max of 119 seconds of freefall time.

It used too. My old one died, and I bought a new one, which will go over 119 seconds (though the manual still says it's limited to 120s).

The ProTrack also has a slow mode which works better for wingsuit jumps. It will still think I deployed if I do a quick flare - otherwise it will still log slow fall rates as freefall.

jakee

And yet you couldn't work out why I highlighted the irony of asking French people to speak english because english is 'the french tongue'

That is not what "lingua franca" means: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca#Etymology

rehmwa

"45 degree rule"

is that Kelvin?
degrees Fahrenheit?
degrees Rankine?
or degrees Celcius?

because I have to wait a LOT longer for a couple of them

It can't be Kelvin. Kelvin isn't measured in degrees (it's just Kelvin, not degrees Kelvin).

yoink

That said, I just put mine into a locked hard case and then into the hold anyway. It's insured... why wouldn't you?
IMO trying to take a rig as carry-on is just adding stress to travelling. I can live without it.

If the entire purpose of my trip is to skydive, and my rig gets lost or destroyed, my vacation is ruined, insurance or not.

You may also want to look into how much insurance the airlines offer. You will probably get nowhere near what the rig is worth.

A Sunstar double needle machine just showed up on Craigslist a couple hours from me (and I'll be there for a boogie this weekend anyway). I know nothing about the brand or the model.

The model number is KM2-740-BL.

Here's a link to the machine:
http://nanaimo.craigslist.ca/bfs/5271434354.html

Anybody know anything about this machine? Is it worth getting for a binding machine, or should I wait for something else to come along? I've been hoping for a Consew 339, but this is local and not expensive, as long as it's a suitable machine.