mark

For solo rigs, an AAD is optional. If installed, it must be maintained IAW manufacturer instructions. For tandem rigs, an AAD is required, it is required to be turned on, and it must be maintained IAW manufacturer instructions. --Mark

Because if all you need done is to have one AAD taken out and a different one put in, you shouldn't have to pay for a full repack. --Mark

Can you tell me the reasoning (besides fear of lawsuits) that led your rigger to his conclusion? --Mark

Or bring it to me. As gowlerk wrote, when any rigger packs a rig, he is certifying only that it is airworthy at that time. He cannot guarantee airworthiness for the next 180 days. It is the user's responsibility to make sure his equipment is airworthy when it is jumped, and to bring it to a rigger whenever the next maintenance is due, whether that maintenance is a reserve repack, AAD service, or repair. --Mark

Ok. It's not an irrelevant hypothetical scenario, though. It's just wrong. The relative wind experienced by the slider is exactly opposite the direction of fall or flight regardless of orientation to the earth or horizon. --Mark

I don't understand this. Can you use different words to explain it? --Mark

Yes. Also, I'm not Mark Lancaster ("MEL" here on dz.com). --Mark

DPRE here. The FAA uses a single number for all your certificates. On your 8610-2 Rating Application, there is a block that asks if you have ever held an FAA airman certificate. If you have a pilot license, you have an airman certificate, and you should have checked the "yes" box. Your temporary rigger certificate should have your FAA number in the top right corner. If it says "pending," your DPRE may have just been on autopilot and missed that you already have a number. You should contact your DPRE to make sure a correction goes forward. --Mark

Thanks for the clarification, Mike Mullins and Paul Gholson. --Mark

Snark aside, I'm sorry to hear that that's the interpretation, for two reasons. First, it calls into question all the other places in the BSRs where it says "all" or "must." Which is just about everywhere. Second, if there's an instructor AAD fire, that's a strong indication that there was something else going on that might be good for education of other other instructors. --Mark

In other words, "any AAD" does not mean "any AAD." Did I get that right? --Mark

Look again. The MOJO operating principle is closer to that of a Skyhook in that both use a lever to balance the drag of the freebag against the drag of the pilot chute. (Forget that "race between the reserve pilot chute and the main" stuff. For most MARD deployments, the bridle is in an inverted "V", up from the bag to the MARD, then down from the MARD to the pilot chute.) For Wings/Boost and Glide/Ace (and also Sky Anchor, Trap, and whatever Firebird will call their MARD), the operating method depends on detecting whether the bridle is folded or stretched out at the point where the RSL extension attaches to the bridle.

I'll be there. Look for me at the RI/USAPR booth. In the spirit of just messing around with parachutes, ask about Skeleton Risers™! Sorry, I'm saving the video of rappelling from a round parachute for the August mini-Symposium, along with the no-hardware adjustable chest strap. But in case you missed it elsewhere, this is Karl Bob having way too much fun:

"Dear Sir: My standard fee is $600/hour for time spent in court or depositions, regardless of whether I am actively involved. Other time is billed at $300/hour, exclusive of additional expenses including but not limited to travel and lodging. In all cases, the minimum billable time is 1 hour, which resets daily. Please let me know where I should send the invoice for the time you have required so far. Best regards, ..."

If "peer review" is your standard, your rigger library must be small indeed. Poynter's was not peer-reviewed, nor are manufacturer instructions. --Mark

On Racers, the seal must be broken to open the rig. Jump Shack instructions call for a fixed closing loop, tacked to the top of the pilot chute, under the decorative cap. I suppose it would be possible for a really motivated person to untack the pilot chute cap and then disassemble the closing loop to allow it to float, but a person with that sort of time and skill could find other, easier ways to do stupid rigger tricks. Interestingly, Airtec would prefer a floating loop on Racers, one that could slide over the top of the pilot chute instead of being tacked to it.. A previous poster noted that such a change would reduce the risk of having only one cutter fire. --Mark

Nowhere in the regulations does it say that the seal is there to make it harder to tamper with the rig. The seal just shows which rigger packed the rig. Once a rig has left the loft, the person responsible for keeping it in an airworthy condition (and returning it for scheduled or unscheduled service) is the owner/user. The owner/user is responsible for the physical security required to prevent tampering, not the seal. --Mark

Except on 2-pin continuous loop rigs like Softies and Nationals, which can be opened, aired, inspected, and repacked without breaking the seal. --Mark

Full diapers have two lockings stows (National Aerostar) or three locking stows (Strong Lopo, Butler). The remaining line is stowed on the diaper, but not in locking stows. This is similar to Aerodyne Icon freebags, which have two locking stows and the remaining line stowed in elastic loops in the freebag line stow pocket. Using a speed bag with rubber bands instead of a conventional freebag equipped with a shock-cord safety stow eliminates the variation in the force required to extract the locking stows. Packing with too much fabric at the mouth of the bag means the shock cord will be much tighter; with rubber bands this is not an issue. The first two rubber band stows might break prematurely, but that leaves all the rest to stage the opening. So far, the current freebag system works okay. That's because in most cases, the deployment forces do not reach the breaking strength of the safety stow, about 600 pounds. But we're close, considering reserve weight and freefall speed for some military applications and some speed skydiving. First, all the tampering cases we have encountered recently used methods which left the seal intact. Second, the possibility of tampering after the rig has left the rigger's loft is actually a defense, not a liability. You cannot blame me for a too-tight rig if you could have tightened the loop yourself. Because of the exposed pilot chute, Racers would not benefit very much from a MARD. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze0Rcp7E0to. -Mark

5 would be a better approximation than 7. --Mark

From the video posted on the Firebird website, it looks like the MARD is closer to the freebag than the pilot chute. Is that correct? Or is it just an illusion/perspective thing? --Mark

The Strong Sky Anchor uses a yellow cable and depends on bridle extension/unfolding to pull the cable to release in case of a total malfunction. --Mark

What I hear you saying is that it would be okay to rob USPA members of a few dollars to promote the sport in ways you prefer. Is that right? --Mark

There is no referendum procedure in the USPA charter or by-laws. The vote you propose might be advisory, but would not be binding. --Mark

On the other hand, there is something in post #60 in this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4900232;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;. --Mark