gowlerk

This will help you. It only shows how to build the flap at the top. I have a Reflex here that has a similar flap at the bottom as well. I've attached a pic of that as well. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ok, you got me there. Also I must admit that DPREs debating the meaning of the Regs is so dry that I haven't really read the thread and for all I know you could be correct. So could Pat Robertson as far as I know. I've never read the bible either. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

All the dented ones I've seen have the rolled rim smashed from the link. So I guess that side is down. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I just received a Swift Plus with a label marking it as a 200 and a Max weight as 215 lbs. It does say 200, but does not say sq. ft.. So my research led me to this thread. It's part # 827400-0 and Serial # R6-3437, DOM Nov. 90. According to GGGGIO there is no 200 sq ft model, but I was hoping. So I measured it and did the math. He is correct. I have no idea why they marked it "200" or why the max weight is so high. I'm just posting this to help anyone in the future who may be looking for info on one of these. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You can find the sizing chart for your rig here: http://sunpath.com/old/web_en/index.php?menu_level1=3&menu_level2=5 It lists the reserve size as from 176 to Raven II. A Dash M is a Raven. Raven IIs are 218 sq. ft. Although they stopped numbering them like that when they started calling them -M. According to the same chart you are good for a ZP main up to 190. In other words your rig is within the manufacturer's recommendations. And you are within the safe wing loading for your reserve. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Nicely summed up. You and Wendy P both make more sense than many of the people with hard ass inflexible opinions here. Those who would scream that newbies shouldn't be given both sides of the argument are just afraid that they will make a decision they disagree with. I don't use an RSL myself, but I have and I would again possibly. My only argument is with people who plan to disconnect one during a malfunction. My opinion is that you need to make that decision before you board the aircraft. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

There's nothing quite like reading a guy who's screen name is Masterrigger telling everyone that the regs say only he can do something that quite obviously anyone can do. Even as other highly qualified riggers try to tell him he is wrong. A little like having Pat Robertson interpret the Bible for you. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm guessing he does his own sewing and leaves Grandma out of it. Probably manufacturing p/c s and needing handles. You might ask Larry Chernis where he gets his from. You can buy brand new p/c s with bridles and pins and and even hackies from him for not too much more than Paragear wants for that handle. Maybe he will sell you handles. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

A Pfaff 332 is just the free arm version of the 230 that riggerrob speaks highly of. Also the slightly newer 260,262,360, and 362 are also variations of the same very fine machine. Some are flatbeds and some are free arm and they have various systems of built in stitch patterns that don't matter for rigging. I have a 362 that I use mostly for bartacking finger trapped lines. I like it because of the way the feed dogs are set up. It has a section of feeddog directly behind the needle. This allows a thin piece of line to feed easily. I also have a 20u, which is a somewhat heavier zig zag machine, but the feed is wider and it won't catch a line. So if I want to bartack with it I need to use a jig. All of these Pfaffs from the 130 to the much newer models use the same bobbin case and probably the same or very similar hook. They are all very high quality and still sell for $200 to $300 in good shape, although you can get lucky and buy them cheaper if you are patient. They use standard 15x1 domestic type needles, which are available in up to size 20, although I never use larger than 18 in mine for that kind of work. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The cause of the problem and the answer to it are both right here. The flat sided needle that was working in it should not work. They are 15x1 domestic machine needles like your mother's machine uses. You can get them at Walmart. Someone has set the machine to work with them by changing the needlebar height and then re-timing the hook. If you do that you can make the machine sew, but not properly because the feed timing can't be adjusted and it all needs to work together. Because a longer that normal needle was used the feed dogs started moving the fabric before the needle was out of the material. That's why the tip got bent. If you just sew thin material you can get away with it. But when you go to sew thick items the needle will either enter too soon or leave too late. You need to get the service manual and learn to reset it. You start with the needle bar height, then the hook timing. After that your 281 will be the high speed shirt factory machine it was designed to be. Not that great for rigging work, but something good for you to learn on. Ken Here is link to the manual you need http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPsvcManuals/281-1_3_21.pdf Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Wings does not have a sizing chart. But there is one on a gear dealers web site, probably what you are looking at. It says a pdr160 is tight. I have found that when this chart lists a canopy as tight, they are not kidding. You can generally fit one size larger than the ideal, not the max. I'd advise you to search this forum for information on the downsides of trying to over fill reserve containers. Or try the Optimum if you already own the container and need a larger reserve than fits. I see now where you are getting that info. It's on their website where they show stock rigs and what they will fit. I can still tell you from experience that they never underestimate what a container can hold at Sunrise. But one size larger Optimum will probably work. You just have to pay a little more money to buy one. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Riggers often buy and sell used gear. It probably is not his personal rig. You can't verify jump numbers. All you can do is have it inspected for it's condition. Buying used gear is a nightmare for someone like you. Because you don't really have a clue and must trust others. Develop a relationship with a rigger that people you trust recommend. There is no way for you to develop the knowledge you need before you buy. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I can't believe the shit storm that parts of this thread have become. Some people just can't get over the fact that skydiving is an adult activity and that adults who understand the sport are entitled to decide for themselves the amount of risk they want to assume. I have no canopy suggestions for you. I've been flying the same Stiletto 170 myself for nearly 20 years. I do want to say welcome back, be careful and enjoy. Thank God these people who would like nanny state regulation don't rule. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ravens do have similar characteristics to BASE canopies. That's why they are crappy for skydiving. Most of them are reserves but the older ones have attachment points to use as mains. The Raven 1 is the largest one that will fit your container. For your BASE jumps you probably use a much larger canopy. So unless you get a huge container You won't be able to simulate your BASE canopy with your skydive canopy. My only BASE jump was 20 years ago and I used my Cruiselite which was my main at the time. 220 sq ft 7 cell. You could look for one of those, but it won't fit in your Vector, and they are all bagged out by now anyway. If you really used want a 7 cell at a reasonable price that still lands reasonably well you might consider a Triathlon. They are a compromise canopy that is supposed to be good for everything so they end up being not particularly good at anything. Of course my other suggestion is that you give up the dark side and join us in the relative safety of higher altitude jumping. But then you'd probably become a swooper and that's just as risky! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

No one can tell you if this rig is good to go by looking at that pic. I do see possible wear on the legstrap, but I can't tell by just the pic. The fraying on the main flap looks like a poorly sewn repair of the stiffener or velcro. The wear on the right legpad is just on the ROL spandex pocket where the pilot chute used to go before it was fitted with a BOC pouch. FWIW I do not see any problem that says "do not buy", but that is not worth much at all. Unless it is dirt cheap insist on the right to have your rigger or an escrow service inspect it. If you can get good references for the seller and use paypal and he agrees to a purchase inspection then it is reasonable to agree that you pay shipping pending inspection. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I didn't say to tack it. I said "do not sew the tab" What you can do is to apply some tacking to the riser to keep it closed and the tab trapped. It is not normally required, but if you have made the mistake of allowing the Slink to take a set that keeps the tab outside this is one way of helping it to take a different set. Only Reserve Slinks are approved under any TSO, not main ones. And yes, if it is not coming out there is no problem. However that's not what he is asking about. He is asking about what to do about some that are. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I gotta agree with this as well. Oh well.... Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Another silly argument. If you have made the decision that you are going to lower the slider and put it behind your head you need to do it before you release the brakes. You also need to assess the situation and decide if stowing the slider is appropriate on this particular canopy ride. I usually do it. But I leave flying slider up as an option. If I release the brakes for any reason lowering the slider is no longer worth the trouble or risk. Just because one Bozo never does this doesn't mean another Bozo is wrong. G. Tirebiter Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You can have a line snag the tab if it gets outside. The slink will take a set after a few jumps. You need to "train" it to take a set that keeps it inside. If it develops a set that is wrong you may need to push it back in and then use super tack to close the webbing and trap it there until it takes a new set. Do not sew the tab. Ask your rigger if need be. Every package of PD main Slinks comes with a set of hats. You can probably ask your rigger for some of those as well. They usually have some spares because a lot of people don't use them. But you need to remove and reinstall the Slinks to install the hats. Go here, near the top you will find Slink instructions. And lots of other cool stuff to read. http://www.performancedesigns.com/support.asp?filter=sport Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

" Find qualified instructors" That's where. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Chris, part of the real point I'm trying to make is that skydiving is really just a cool recreational activity. There are really only two things that matter. The first is of course that you survive the jump. The second is that you enjoy your jumps. How fast you learn and how high your skill set gets is completely tertiary to these things. It's only skydiving, it matters naught in the big scheme of things. But I like it. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm willing to go on record as being with Chuck on this. It's kind of sad to watch a true pioneer of the sport slowly turn himself into crotchety old man. Even if he is correct, his approach is wrong. Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The endless debate about which DZ uses the best progression method is quite comical. Pretty much everyone thinks that the method they are most familiar with is the best. And they are mostly all correct. That fact is that every DZ chooses the method that makes the most efficient use of A) the available aircraft and B) the available instructors. Only after that decision is made do they develop a rational for why their way is the "best". The best way to learn skydiving is to skydive. Find qualified instructors and then jump as much as you can. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

A quick incomplete history, bearing in mind that I am not Dan Poynter, and although I'm an old guy, I only started jumping in '92. When sliders were invented, ram air canopies became much more practical. Early sliders used various rings in the corners and many different configurations. Enough about that. For many years the combination of #8 brass grommets, risers made of type 7 webbing, and #5 rapide links where the norm. The grommets had a nasty habit of slamming into the links and becoming damaged, which would lead to line damage from rough edges. So slider bumpers were added to protect the grommets. Then, at roughly the same time things started evolving. Canopy makers introduced stainless steel grommets which are very hard to damage and create sharp edges. As well light spectra lines started to replace much thicker and less easily damaged Dacron lines. And canopies went faster. People wanted less drag and smaller type 17 risers along with skinny lines helped with this. Then with smaller size 3 and 3.5 links and thin risers you could pull the slider past all your controls and tuck it away behind your head. (Carefully) This stopped the annoying noise and parasitic drag of the ZP slider flapping in the breezed caused be the speed of the new rocket ship canopies. Then came popular new soft links. No more grommet damage. And now people who did not want to deal with stowing the slider had the problem of having the slider come down and interfering with the toggles. This problem is solved with slink hats, which are essentially slider bumpers all over again, but for a different purpose. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Probably because it works well and is cost effective for tooling. Canopy makers intend for the slider to stay at the links like most people want. Those of us who pull it down are not following the recommended procedure. If they used larger ones they would come down past the links when it is not wanted. Making brake toggles fly off and inducing other problems that I haven't thought of yet. Even if you do want to pull it down, you will want to be able to decide when. You don't want the quickly descending slider to continue past the links until you are ready for it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.