mark

The line sequence was: sheath-and-core dacron kevlar spectra vectran/hma Kevlar has poor abrasion resistance. It is also skinnier than dacron, so less friction in slider grommets and harder openings. Also, kevlar doesn't stretch much, so less shock absorption than dacron.

Kevin Gibson claims to have the galleys, and he led me to believe the copyright holder is still alive. I couldn't find an email address or phone number for him, and he didn't respond to a snail-mail letter I sent. You're right: I've not seen a better manual for an intro to sewing for riggers.

The manual is copyrighted.

What reasons do they give you for departing from the 30-35 weeks they advertise on their website?

This, mostly. Even experienced jumps make mistakes sometimes, especially if they're setting the brakes in the high-distraction environment of the landing area. Pull the brake-set eye below the guide ring before inserting the tongue of the toggle. The pocket for the toggle tongue can be tightened by running a row of stitches directly on top of the existing pocket stitches. Try along one side before doing both, as the result can be dramatic. If the bottom of your toggle is secured with a pin, the slot for the pin is exactly 3/16" wide, which is the standard gauge on a double-needle machine. Overstitch the existing stitches. This is easier on some risers than others. Any moment now, the Racer fans are going to chime in about snaps. --Mark

Yes.

How much of a premium would you be quite happy to pay? How much lower would the risk need to be?

44745 will require cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders. Part 135 pilot requirements include a requirement for check pilots, and oral/practical check rides every 6 months. See 135.265 for maximum duty time and required rest periods. Someone is going to have to keep training records and duty/rest records.

Maybe. The magnetic riser covers are a change to the TSO configuration. Since they cover the reserve risers, they may affect airworthiness. They are an alteration. Did you get approval from the manufacturer or the FAA, or did you just do it?

For jumps to count toward USPA licenses, ratings, and awards, they must comply with USPA Basic Safety Requirements -- see Ian Harrop's post. However, the US FAA does not have a minimum jump altitude or a minimum opening altitude. Note that it is not possible to set a new record for minimum altitude. The best you can do is tie the existing record. For minimum altitudes for jumps outside the US, check with your local skydiving/aviation authority. In the US, jumps from Part 103 ultralights (which includes most powered parachutes and paragliders, as well as some gyrocopters) is generally prohibited by the FAA, since the jumper would be a passenger, not a student pilot undergoing flight instruction. Additionally, skydiving from Experimental and Restricted category aircraft is also generally prohibited by the FAA.

Battery life is not an issue if there is an accessible charging port.

A simple collision is unlikely to extract the trigger. Think of how difficult it would be to extract a Cypres control head from its pocket in similar circumstances. You might be able to extract the trigger if the collision involved snagging the RSL. I can't recall any incidents involving snagged RSLs on any system, so we should consider the probability of this happening to be quite low.

In the US, unless a TSO approval states otherwise, a shelf life/service life limitation does not apply to formerly military equipment in civilian use. See AC 105-2E para 13.b.(2).

I'll give it a try. Every rigger has the responsibility of declaring airworthiness or non-airworthiness when asked to pack a rig. But his decision is not binding on any other rigger. The owner is free to find someone else to do the work. Caveat emptor! I don't think this is what you are asking though. I think you are asking who can permanently ground a TSO'd component. And I think the answer is "no one." Everything is repairable or replaceable, including TSO markings. When a manufacturer or other expert says something is unairworthy, they are really saying it is economically unrepairable. How should we convey "economically unrepairable" to the owner? As important, how should we convey it to anyone else who comes into possession? The most concise way is to obliterate the TSO marking, by removing it or by writing "unairworthy" or "condemned" or similar on the label, words that are technically not true because it could be made airworthy if time and money were no object. I'm okay with that, but I'm open to alternatives. It still belongs to the owner, though, and he should get it back in exchange for the agreed compensation for inspection, shipping, etc. --Mark

Glider record is a little over 74K, although pressurized.