alex_778

Sorry for a dim question but like my Sgt Major used to say, "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask". So here goes......... Is it feasible to swap out the standard 370sq. ft. canopy in a military MC-4 rig for a PD 340. I do not have a rigger to ask at the moment so I am looking for advice. I personally think it should fit nicely but I am not an expert in such things. A flat packed MC-4 looks nice and neat, a pro-packed MC-4 makes the container look like it could benefit from a canopy size reduction. Thank you in advance for your input. Cheers, Alex

And just so we are clear, I am not a Medical Doctor. I did a year of a Nurse Degree and hold some other degrees. For my own benefit I have read extensively on this subject and have become what the medical profession call 'The expert patient' for my own particular injury. I would advise anyone having any problems to consult a suitably qualified medical professional............but first read a little, because truth be known, most of them do not know that much outside their own specialist area.

I have a '88 BMW K100RS. I myself was hoping to do something along the lines of how many DZ's can you jump in a day - Guiness Book stuff. Then getting the whole thing sponsored for a Military Charity to help out the boys still serving. My prob is I am taking a short medically advised break from jumping at the moment. But I shall wind it up afterwards and get it going.

I have read with horror someone saying that their surgeon has said that a disc will heal up.......................aaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhh. Which particular JuJu Man training school did this numpty go to? Disc do not and cannot heal, period. A disc is like a thin rubber ring donut that is full of a soft jelly like material made up mainly of water. During normal operation the jelly acts as a shock absorber for the spine being absorbed outwards thru the donut during a normal day. At night whilst you are lying down sleeping the body replenishes this jelly like liquid for the next day. When a disc bulges it is due to a weakness, the bulge may touch some of the nerves running along behind the spine. These nerves go to various parts of the body which is why you feel sensation or pain away from the area of injury. When a disc bursts the jelly is pushed out, a bit like toothpaste out of a toothpaste tube, and this jelly touches the nerve.......the more you jump up and down, the more jelly gets pushed out, the more pain you feel. They do not heal, you need the presence of blood to heal things, discs do not have any blood vessels in them so they cannot heal. In some cases the pressure on nerves can cause you to lose control of muscles. This can mean you are confined to a wheelchair because you cannot walk anymore or that an arm dangles at your side. If the pain you are experiencing is in your shoulder and arms it is indicative of a damaged cervical disc (neck). If the pain is in your leg it is indicative of a damaged Lumbar disc. If the pain is in the right hand side of your body it is indicative of a right side bulge or burst on the left a left side bulge or burst. Sometimes C-Spine may result in lower body pain as well as arm pain. To fix the problem there is IDET, fusion, screw fittings and artificial discs. Personally my option is the disc method, but you need to go to Germany because they are the worlds best. I have found these guys: http://www.alphaklinik.com/en/hoogland http://www.getadr.com/index.asp http://adrbertagnoli.com/ Its not cheap, but I like walking, running and jumping........and life is short enough. I FOUND THIS ARTICLE From lef, Jeff Gibson and Fabien Bitan. (Photo: Christian Witkin) Medical Miracle #6 Problem: Forty-six-year-old Hollywood stuntman. Career-threatening back pain. Traditional spinal fusion not an option. Decides to try risky, experimental disk replacement. Doctor: Fabien Bitan Patient: Jeff Gibson Jeff Gibson is a 46-year-old stuntman who has spent half his life falling from heights in films like RoboCop 3 and Batman Forever, and that’s just when he’s on the clock; in his twenties, he competed in gymnastics and on trampoline, and in his spare time he skydives. “I never looked at any of it as dangerous,” he says. “I just like the freedom up there. Trampoline, I get maybe a second—with skydiving, you get 60 or 70 seconds.” Falling is also his livelihood, of course, and the years have taken their toll. In the early nineties, Gibson slipped a disk lifting something at home, starting down a path of lower-back deterioration that was only made worse by the impact of all those professional and recreational falls. He spent a decade nursing increasing pain from his lower vertebrae until finally it got so bad that his career was in jeopardy. “It would take me twenty seconds to get up if I was bending over,” he recalls. “It wasn’t fun.” Friends in the business with similar back problems had gone in for traditional spinal fusions, in which the damaged disk is simply taken out and the two neighboring vertebrae locked together. The result is less pain, but at a price. “As soon as you get a fusion, you start deteriorating the disk above and below it and lose motion,” Gibson says. For a stuntman, losing any ability to move or twist his body wasn’t an option. Instead, Gibson put off what seemed like the inevitable until an MRI showed two vertebrae almost next to each other, with nearly all the essential “jelly” in the middle squeezed out. Waiting was no longer an option: If the excess jelly found its way to his spinal cord, Gibson could be in for still more excruciating pain, and perhaps permanent nerve damage. There was, however, another choice: spinal-disk replacement, a procedure pioneered in Europe in the eighties that was slowly snaking its way through the FDA-approval process here. Gibson, who had found out about the procedure by searching the Internet, tracked down Fabien Bitan, a French-born orthopedic surgeon working at Beth Israel Medical Center who had worked on one of the first disk-replacement cases during his residency in Paris. Bitan was supervising the FDA trials of the surgery in the northeastern United States, and the surgeon confirmed that replacing Gibson’s bad disk with a plastic-and-metal prosthesis might be indicated in his case. Gibson was so determined to have the procedure that he waited in agony for another six months for a new phase of trials that guaranteed he wouldn’t get stuck in a control group. Finally, in August 2001, Bitan ushered Gibson into the OR. No two disk replacements are ever quite the same: Bitan didn’t know going in how difficult removing Gibson’s decayed disk would be, or how much danger there would be of hitting nearby nerves or the spinal cord. Bitan also couldn’t tell what precise size the new disk should be, so a variety of replacements were on hand. For a perfect fit, Bitan relied not just on his eyes but on real-time X-ray scanning; everyone in the OR was wearing radiation protection. The artificial disk has tiny teeth that lock it between the vertebrae as Bitan delicately hammers it into place; the vertebrae and scar tissue eventually hold the new disk in position. “This is very demanding,” Bitan says. “If the implant is not positioned properly, it might be displaced after just a few days—or, in the long run, the prosthesis might not function properly and there could be chronic back pain.” Six weeks after surgery, Gibson smashed through a door and landed flat on a marble floor on ‘Third Watch.’ “No problem,” he says. Gibson noticed a difference right away. “When I woke up I felt great,” he says. “The pain in my stomach”—the disk replacement is done with an incision in the abdomen—“was nothing compared to the pain I’d had in my back for ten years.” Six weeks after the surgery, he took his new disk out for a spin on the set of Third Watch, smashing through a glass door and landing flat onto a marble floor. “No problem,” he says. And if you watched the opening scene of Law & Order on May 11, you saw Gibson fall five stories—on fire. In October 2004, the FDA approved the procedure, and although it isn’t right for everyone—patients with scoliosis or osteoporosis, for example, aren’t eligible—Gibson is thoroughly satisfied with his equipment upgrade. In addition to his stunts, “I still skydive, scuba dive, and race cars,” Gibson says. “I’ve done everything I can to break this thing, and it hasn’t broken yet.” Medical Miracle #7: A Heart-Stopping Pregnancy

eeek, I thought mine was bad. I have a prolapse at L5 - 6 which did not stop me jumping or running 8 miles a day...........some days were shit though but most ok. About a year back I started to feel a pain in my left arm (triceps) and though I had pulled the muscle. Then I had an opening with my head down just a bit too much - I felt the squelch. That aggravated whatever was wrong in the C-Spine. What I am getting to is, have a look into IDET to fix your L5 if it is only bulging. I think most US insurers will pay for it nowadays. Fusion is the acknowledged gold standard, in most places, but there is always disc replacement. Which I am going to Germany for in May. Germany leads the field in disc replacement. They invented replacement discs in Berlin and have been doing the surgery for 20 years now. FDA gave approval about 2 or so years back, but the disc that they approved the Germans stopped using about 5 or 6 years back. Added to which insurers will not carry the cost..........so whilst the US company selling the discs has trained 2000 surgeons to do the surgety they have sold less than 2000 discs. Over in Germany there are individual surgeons that have done the op more than 2000 times.......no brainer where to go. The problem with fusion is that you put strain on the discs either side of the fusion which can mean they need replacing at some time. I read of a Hollywood stunt man having the disc replacement doen and two months later he was sky diving again. Works for me.

Obviously not that stupid..........because it stops people like Mr Aryanpour from killing or seriously injuring himself and therefore subjecting the DZ to all sorts of litigation and investigation. Also, we do not have hayseed DZ's over here in the UK. We are tightly controlled and all jumpers must meet requirements or they do not jump.....get real, no one risks their livlehood on one jump with a punter. Of course there are always ways around things. When having a medical you are asked to declare certain things.........for example: Have you had any back problems in the last 12 months, well if you want to jump you answer no......its a no-brainer really. By the way, I jump with a prolapsed L5 and a herniated cervical disc......hurts like f@~> sometimes but hey, you live with it.

Hey Jeff, as I sit here in mild agony from the days work I am looking forward to stepping out at 13,000 feet at least 3 times tomorrow. I have a prolapse of the disc at L5-L6 diagnosed about 3 years back but I think it has been there for a long time. I personally have good days and bad days, but you've got to have something to look forward to or you might just as well sit on the couch and never move again. I actually find that after a good jump my back is nicely sorted out and gives me no bother for a week or so - I think something gets jerked into place or out of place, well something anyway, that gives me some relief. Bottom line, Go for it.

Hi, I dropped 6kg in 6 weeks over the summer. I had stopped running for a while and put it on without realising and decided it had to come back off. I got back into my running and dropped a Kilo a week for 6 weeks. A kilo is about 7000 calories, a mile burns up around 120 - 140 calories (I do 8 miles a day at age 48), modify your eating to include fruit for breakfast and an apple or similar for lunch along with a muesli bar. No breads, potatoe products, nothing cooked in fat, no sweeties, no alcohol.................god its boring, but you will drop the weight.

FXC is looking good. I know it is not electronic computerised heat seeking thermo activated Pepsi buying but, it does the job. Added to which my rigger has recomended it and the good folks at FXC have supplied the fitting instructions

Here's a question. How much does it cost to have a container made up in camo. Do you just give the manufacturer the cloth and tell them to get on with it and pay an off the shelf price??? And, personally I'd go with Lou's recomendation.......Crye Multicam, excellent.

Marvellous thing to do. I just saw the Home Page article on the training camp in Eloy, it looks interesting. One point to note though, I am ex-military and have had the opportunity to knock around the world a little bit and visit a few countries. I note that some of the course participants are using ex-military olive green and camouflage bits and pieces. There are certain countries where you may be arrested and charged with being a mercenary for wearing or carrying such items, mainly African countries. If I were to advise you on dress and equipment I would say that no participants should under any circumstances wear or carry anything vaguely military. Regardless of the good intentions that people have there is always a risk especially in a country or area in turmoil wether through natural disaster or war.

@bob.dino, sorry confusion. I mean that as we have such good consumer legislation in the UK there should doubtless be something similar in the US. I did a quick google and there does seem to be a reasonable degree of consumer legislation through the various States. At the end of the day if a manufacturer is selling through an agent in whatever country they cannot sell something with the attitude and written terms of:We are selling you this widget to do 'X', but if it fails to function as advertised then we assume no responsibility. Major auto manufacturers do not have recalls for no reason, major Seattle based software producers do not provide product patches for no reason. Regarding the French, well.................they are the French, mon ami.

End of discussion.

And your law degree is from what night school? Before you also question my credentials, I did a BS, followed by post grad law course and then an MS. My BS 7 MS are in IT and I did the law to understand the law as it relates to computer misuse, hacking law etc......I am not a lawyer and none of mine were done at night school. So, I do not know what it is like in the US but in the UK you are not allowed to sign away your consumer rights. There is legislation to protect the consumer against 'corporate disclaimers' - The Unfair Contract Terms Act. So, again. If the manufacturer will replace the cutter for a bona fide fire then it is REASONABLE to expect them to replace it for a no fault of your own 'mis-fire'. If your new car don't work it goes back to the dealer, if your new PC don't work it goes back to the shop, if the sole falls off the new pair of Vans you have just bought they go back to the shop. The interesting point is I am talking UK law, which is now encopassed in European law because of the EC EU or whatever its called at the moment. But, Vigils come from Belgium so they ARE subject to EU EC consumer law in Europe. Therefore it should be assumed that they are vicariously also subject to similar legislation in the US. And, bottom line I know some corporate lawyers who deal with claims against their corporation. Their attitude is that they would rather payout $100 making a customer happier than spending $5000 prepping for a hearing in civil court. So if anyone has a misfire just write a letter telling them that THEIR product had a misfire and that your purchase of THEIR $1300 product has cost you money which you now require a refund of. And, that if you receive all the costs for your out of pocket expenses in regard to this matter you will take the matter no further and provide no adverse or detrimental product comments or advertising to potential buyers of THEIR product. Added to which, like washing machines you do not get the manual till you buy the thing.....no contest. The consumer has rights, use them.

But if I remember my consumer law correctly, its a long time since I did classroom law but, they have to pay any and all reasonable costs. In the UK, and I would assume the US, it is reasonable for a customer to expect that an item is fit for the purpose it is intended and sold for. So, if an AAD malfunctions it is not fit for its intended purpose and any loss or repair should be met by the seller on behalf of the manufacturer. The seller then takes the faulty item and repair/replacement cost up with the manufacturer. Therefore, if you have a misfire and need a new cutter you should get it free of charge along with the cost of the re-pack paid for too. Replacing the cutter should be no big deal as Vigil offer this anyway if the unit fires in a bona-fide save. So, if it fires in a bona-fide fubar it would be reasonable to expect a free replacement. Where the word 'reasonable' is used I use it in the legal context of what would Mr Average expect.

Sorry, I have not been about. I received some info from SSK regarding Cypres's. Military versions have a cable length of 1250mm compared to 650mm for the civilian version and 1000mm for the student version. The MC-4 container is large and needs the longer cable length. The other major consideration is the difference in activation velocity, fairly pedestrian for the student version. I have spoken with an AAD manufacturer whose model seems to fulfill the criteria required. The model is able to vary opening altitudes and has a 35m/sec velocity requirement for activation. They will also custom manufacture cables in longer lengths

Well it all seems academic at the moment, I have been let down by someone who told me he had lots of MC-4's for sale etc, etc. Theres another guy with an ad in the classifieds who I contacted, he does not seem to have any either. I will keep on top of the AAD fitting project, as I WILL GET AN MC-4 - it has reached the level of a personal mission now. Anyone who knows of an MC-4 for sale, good condition let me know - its for delivery in the USA not to the UK. Cheers Alex

I feel it is appropriate to keep people up to date on developments regarding this because there are so many of these rigs coming out onto the market. 1. I have received some excellent instructions on fitting a Cypress to an MC-4. I do need to clarify a couple of points though. 2. I have received a reply from a nice man at SSK who sell the military Cypress: 3. I have received some advice from a forum user that points to a Cypress Student model as a good equivelent to the Military model. I will keep you informed. Alex

Thanks boys, appreciated.

Hi Folks, can a cypress be fitted to an MC-4. Or even any other civvy AAD? If you know they can can you tell me which models etc. Cheers and blues skies Alex

Thanks for the input, and to those who PM'd me. Yes, it is amazing a parachute that requires an export licence..........not as if you can't buy parachutes in other parts of the world, is it. And, you can't buy it in bits and reassemble it once you have taken delivery outside the USA. Each component part is classified as an item in its own right and each item needs the issue of an export licence......(if I could find out where to get one that is). Yes I could walk out thru Tampa with it on one of my annual visits, but my luck say's that the local TSA representative will take one look at the military green and then have me arrested for espionage. I am, uncharacteristically, trying to do this by the book. Yo dooods, (is that more colloquial than lads and lasses) Alex

Question for ya. I live in the UK and I want an MC-4, I have run into the problem of the fact that Uncle Sam considers them to be a military item........even after sale as surplus. Anyone have an idea how I get an export licence for one of these or what is involved in it. Cheers, lads and lasses

Lots of helpful people. I know a tad about these things, being ex Mil. I have the problem of trying to get one when all who are selling them will not sell outside the US 'cos Uncle Sam does'nt allow it. I have now found a friendly seller who will ship to a rigger in the US for me(not export). But then I am told by the sales and marketing director of a company that specialise in military sales (someone who ya think would know) that no TSO = no repack. As it happens PM today a rigger got back to me to say he would do the work (I worship the ground he walks on). TSO's and things are all a bit confusing for a simple ex Soldier, so I think I'll dust off the Law degree and have a read of some paperwork. I most humbly and appreciatively thank you for your help and the pointers to information that you have given, gentlemen I remain your humble servant. Alex

Thank you kind folks. The guy who wrote that to me is actually a Director of S&M (nice) - sorry I digress - thats 'Sales and marketing' for a parachute company. Ok then, so now that they are basically an - 'at your own risk item' - who are the people to look after one? Cheers peeps, (peeps is a shorthand for people, from a TV character over here) Alex

I just had an email off a guy, who has no reason to lie to me. He said that: "MC-4's are not certified for commercial use (they have no TSO) which is required for use in the sport industry or a civilian rigger to pack". So why do I keep seeing MC-4's on ebay - how are people getting around this - who is doing the packing and checking? Cheers peeps