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Posts posted by mark

  2. Monosa

    A question (for riggers): Are there any known incidents where a reserve failed due to improper stowage of the reserve lines in the freebag?



    I do not know of any.

    Also, about a thousand years ago, we used to freestow the main canopy lines by coiling them in the container. Rubber bands were just for the bag locking stows. We quit freestowing the lines because sometimes they half-hitched around a container flap, but I don't recall any malfunctions resulting from lines entangling with themselves. Except maybe tension knots, and we have those with conventional bags and current line stow methods.

    -Mark

  4. aerorigging

    Yes I pack Racers, no problem, bring it on !!!!!!
    I will add that a rigger refusing to pack any TSOd rig may be need to grab some books/manuals and study more

    Nico



    I will add that a rigger willing to pack every TSOd rig maybe needs to grab some books/manuals and study more.

    -Mark

  5. HPC

    Why have you jumped into your time machine, gone back millions of years and returned with some dinosaurs? My OP had NOTHING to do with rounds. I clarified my question with a comparison between two reserves that are IDENTICAL except for age, and asked a simple close-ended question (that means a simple yes or no answer, followed by an explanation which my OP also asked to provide) to which very few responders have provided (thank you, Mr. Baumchen!).
    Am I speaking Swahili here??



    If you'll go back to read my original response to you, pagalwallah, I agreed -- in English -- that I would repack that recertified reserve back from PD, because it is still good enough to be produced.

    Also, thank you for supporting my point that appropriateness for intended use should be a consideration in whether you should pack a particular reserve (regardless of age) for a particular customer. I note that Mr. Baumchen and I disagree about this.

    -Mark

  7. HPC

    Would you pack a 24-year old reserve that had just been inspected by PD, passed permeability, clamp (strength) tests, a 40-item checklist and was re-certified by them?



    Answering not for councilman24 but for myself, yes. Because PD is still making PDRs, and people are still buying them.

    But to echo councilman24, it's not about age, it's about obsolescence/performance. If you are accustomed to the glide performance and flare of a more modern design, it doesn't matter how good your 5-cell Swift is. Eventually, Ravens/Glidepaths/PDRs will fall into the same category as a 5-cell Swift -- good for their day, but unforgiving now.

    -Mark

  8. sammielu

    PS. I'm passing on info from my riggers, I didn't make it up.



    Okay, then they made it up. If the brakes are going to unstow because of something other than the slider hitting the toggles, they unstow while the slider is most of the way up and the angular difference from the slider grommet to one side of the riser or the other is negligible.

    -Mark

  9. JerryBaumchen


    Quote

    I don't even think the original pyrotechnic Snyder Sentinels had a service life.


    No part of it had any service life.
    Jerry Baumchen



    Towards the end, the cartridges had a shelf life of two years. I regret being old enough to remember this.

    -Mark

  11. obelixtim

    And there is no "rule" that says an AAD must be fitted to a reserve.



    In the US, FAR 105.3 Definitions: "Automatic Activation Device means a self-contained mechanical or electro-mechanical device that is attached to the interior of the reserve parachute container, which automatically initiates parachute deployment of the reserve parachute at a pre-set altitude, time, percentage of terminal velocity, or combination thereof."

    We do not have a name for the same device fitted to a main.

    -Mark

  13. gowlerk

    I've not heard of any other container demonstrating this limitation.



    There are videos of other containers exhibiting similar behavior.

    I think you overestimate the drag of a pilot chute at subterminal and overestimate the lever arm of a bridle exiting to the side of an inverted jumper.

    -Mark

  15. peek

    One thing that PIA could do is to chastise manufacturers, dealers, and riggers that are responsible for rigs that are excessively tight, which I'm pretty sure is causing some of this. There is just no reason to have a tight rig unless that is what it takes to make a rig small enough for a very small person.



    What form would you like this chastisement to take?
    What is a definition of "excessively tight" that can be measured in test conditions?
    If tight rigs are dangerous, why should small rigs get a pass?

    -Mark

  20. netslide

    So in other words as long as its on a main canopy anyone can attach new lines?

    One of the questions in the rigger test bank asks, is a line replacement a major repair? What would be the official answer to that?



    The question(s) in the rigger test bank specify whether it's a main or reserve/auxiliary/emergency canopy. Our students report the answer is scored correct for main canopy relined by senior rigger. That is, the expected answer(s) conform to AC105-2E para 15.c.(2).

    -Mark

  21. From the 1971 Poynter's Manual, line replacement on a [round] main may be done by a senior rigger, line replacement on a [round] reserve may be done only by a master rigger. The standards have always been different for mains and reserves.

    The day you earn your master rigger certificate, you will be allowed to replace reserve lines. Wouldn't it be nice if you could practice on main canopies first, where you could see your results without having to worry about catastrophic results?

    As RiggerLee mentioned, main canopies do not possess this quality called "airworthiness." Airworthiness is defined only for reserves via TSO standards. If the main does not have airworthiness, how could your repair affect it?

    I have roughly 20 different drafts of AC105-2D/E from the original proposal to the current published version. In every one, main canopy line replacement is specifically called out as a senior rigger task, which means that roughly 20 times at least several members other than me on the PIA Technical Committee had an opportunity to comment or make a change and they did not. And on at least two occasions, the entire committee reviewed and approved the PIA portion. I do not know the motives of all those who say that main canopy line replacement is limited to senior riggers, but at least one of the most vocal is quite frank in admitting that it's about the money. It's also easier to teach a senior rigger course if you eliminate all line work.

    -Mark

  22. RiggerLee

    Sounds a little too low down to be a temp pin issue.



    Might still be a temp pin issue if the loop is cranked up too far before the temp pin is withdrawn and moved up. To fix this problem, some riggers make the loop big enough that it can be pulled all the way through the next grommet before the temp pin in removed.

    -Mark

  23. mathrick

    1. Not according to any of the riggers I've learnt from. While the rules don't specifically address TSO, the rule of the thumb has always been "if it's a TSO component, treat it as major by definition, unless specifically cleared by mfr/FAA".
    2. Cutting and restitching the MLW is still not minor. Unless you're saying that done improperly it is not likely to affect the airworthiness?



    With respect to (1): that rule of thumb is not a rule. US riggers may do minor repairs on any parachutes for which they are rated. Part 65.125(a)(1). Examples of minor repairs: basic patch on a reserve canopy, not involving seams, crossports, tapes, or bartacks; restitching seams and binding tape; replacing harness velcro for cutaway pillows and ripcords where structural stitching is not affected; hand tacking.

    With respect to (2): I agree that resizing a harness within the approved range is major repair.

    -Mark

  25. RiggerLee

    So how about the ROL to BOC question? If they built this rig in both configuration, and you were to change it from one to the other, would that be an alteration or a repair?



    The following paragraph was in the very first draft of AC 105-2D I presented in the PIA Technical Committee, and remained unchanged through all subsequent drafts because there were no objections.

    AC 105-2E para 15.a.(3): "If an operation results in an approved configuration, the operation is considered a repair. For example, if a parachute system is approved with and without an RSL, then removing or replacing RSL components is a repair that may be major or minor depending on whether, if improperly done, it might appreciably affect airworthiness. Similarly, resizing a harness, when the original design permits a range of sizes, is a repair when the resized harness remains within the permitted range."

    For your ROL/BOC question, if both configurations are approved, changing from one to the other is a repair, not an alteration.

    BTW, you should just bite the bullet and get your master ticket. If our schedules overlap in Eloy AZ or Baldwin WI, I'd be happy to do your exam. Then even if someone were to claim ROL-BOC is an alteration, you could do it without asking because they are main components and a master rigger doesn't need to ask before altering a main component.

    -Mark