dpreguy

They were only going to offer a $20 flat fee per, regardless of the value of the firearm. At that price can't imagine there would have been been any takers anyway. Boulder was just trying to make it's usual liberal statement, as the whole thing was done solely for publicity. Because the article was published they now have it, and can feel good about theirselves. That's about their speed.

Single sided RSL: It's mentioned in the literature, but to my knowledge has never been done. If you disagree and believe it has, then I'd love to see it in the Racer manual or a series of photos showing it, it's routing, components etc..

I don't believe it exists.

You mentioned that Scandanavian countries, European countries and Australia already have similar systems in place.

In those countries, are those who ignore or violate the license requirements punished?

If they are, what are the penalties?

Who administers/enforces these punishments/penalties?

I have one or two of the red (goofy) "double closing loop/Y line" assemblies. Can't remember how it goes, or why it was so complicated, - but it - or they are somewhere in my loft. I used to pack these 'back in the day'.........Could put in an envelope and mail it to you.

I know a guy with two complete rigs that hasn't jumped for years. Probably in his attic somewhere. Maybe he'd sell you one

Goldwing "You haven't lived till you almost died"

Reminds me of Ian Fleming's (James Bond) line in book,"You Only Live Twice":

"You only live twice; once when you are born, and once when you look death in the face.........."

I had always been told that Herb Conn was in the group of rescue climbers.

(Later, Herb's wife, Jan was the first woman to ascend the the Tower. They did it together)

I have plenty of soft links. Don't need any more. I teach rigger trainees safe 'industry approved' methods. The Parachutes De France method (I use Aerodyne's metal rings for this training) I saw in the diagram is taught by me to be an unacceptable unsafe practice.

As I am sure you know, PD Slinks do not have a metal ring. After going thru the "crotch" the loop is forced over a "sewn-folded over blocking thing", thus creating a kind of a lark's head.
All of the metal ring soft links I have seen have also required the loop to be inserted into the "crotch" and then over the ring, also creating a kind of lark's head.

If a person can force the loop over the ring by pushing only with fingers, it can just as handily be pulled off the ring if the ring gets sideways. Seems like the P DeFrance method relies mostly on hand tacking to hold things in place, and gambling on the metal ring never going sideways. Not acceptable with me, and apparently not acceptable with all the other metal ring soft link manufacturers I am aware of, who also require the "thru the crotch" step before going over the ring.

It probably not an issue with me, as it is not likely I will ever see one of these; as I have never had a Parachutes De France rig come through my loft. If one did, I'd refuse it if the main or reserve was attached with the instructions I saw.

If I am seeing the Parachute De France instructions correctly?- they just loop the Spectra eye over the ring? And that's it? I have never seen a P De France soft link with ring, but I would task/fail any rigging student that did that with Aerodyne metal links. Aerodyne links are a good product, and hold just fine. Their instructions include inserting the loop into the "crotch" and then going around the metal ring. Just like you do with PD slinks.

Can't believe Parachutes De France approves of the instructions I saw. All the loop has to do is get sideways and the loop slips right off the metal ring.

Unless I didn't interpret/read the instruction diagrams right.

I was at that one. Remembered they changed one of the jugs on a DC 3 during the night. And.......standing in the chow line and watching a low cutaway by Brad Whatshisname.

At Quincy we named our team "An IUD would have prevented this accident"

The big problem with the A3 bag is that the zipper isn't long enough to expose the contents. At full zip open, you still have a restricted opening to shoehorn big things into. (your parachute, your jumpsuit, etc.) It ain't that great. It is like a clamshell that has a narrow opening that is way too deep. Even if you replace the zipper with a longer one, it loses it's shape like a rag.

My advice is to get a rectangle bag that is "full zip" around three edges. there are many. Flip the "lid' open and it's all there. The military zip bag? Not so-not. Better have a flashlight to see to the bottom around bulky items. Yes it is tough, and won't break. Yup. If you are low on money and are willing to put up with the hassle, then get one. Is it easy to use? Nope. I have a couple in a junk pile to sell to anyone with the patience to use one.

What is "Flat fly?" Never heard of that term.

Wearing your shoes:

Well, in a skydiver party in a house, someone suddenly had to upchuck. Didn't have time to get outside, so grabbed a handy ball cap to puke into. OK so far.
But..........the hat was made mostly of mesh, so when the puker went to the corner of the room to disgorge, one poor girl's shoes were there. The only thing the hat did, was strain out the chunks. The poor shoes in the corner got filled with the liguid part. Can't remember who the skydiver was.....uh......

Maybe it's better to wear the shoes after all.

Let's see....Beer for buying one for the first time. Beer for the first time you had it installed. Beer for being such an old crotchety smartass. Well, you get it. Lot's of beer. Head on out to the liquor store asap! And not that cheap shit either.

Actually, this IS the classic situation for buying beer! The decision to buy beer is not yours anyway. All of us will decide that for you.

Mel is right

Rather than buying a long armed swaging tool, you can go to a West Marine store. They sell cable in several sizes and they also swage fittings onto the cables, but may not have an "end' sleeve. Maybe go to Ace Hardware and get a cable - "end" - swage. I think they are aluminum. About $3 bucks. Then go to the West Marine and have them swage it on for you.

I reread my post and thought it may have been negative. Not my intention. When Dave talks, I always read and learn!

Your discussion is great, but in my opinion, the use of the term "hard deck" is not. I've heard some skydivers say the hard deck is when they want to throw their main pilot chute=main opening altitude, others say it is the altitude where a formation breaks off, others say when they should "pull silver' (pull the reserve handle whether it be a silver handle or a pillow reserve handle.) The point I'm making is that the use of an undefined coined term, instead of saying what you actually mean, will result in numbers of listeners believing the coined term to be something you didn't intend. I have heard skydivers say "What's your hard deck for tossing your main pilot chute?" What's your hard deck for breakoff?" etc etc.

By saying what you mean, there will be no error in understanding. I believe you should drop the undefined term "hard deck" completely, as it means different things to different people.

If by "hard deck" you mean "when you pull your reserve handle", then if you say that, it can't be misunderstood. If that term isn't used in the SIM, it is not helpful, nor, to my knowledge, is it taught in a first jump course. If it is going to be used then it should have a unambiguous definition. So far, it doesn't.

I like your discussion. It is good advice. At 176 feet per second, or faster, it's a race against time for sure.

Rick, I am not disagreeing with your comfort in having insurance, nor the preference you rightly deserve, by having these insurances-worker's comp etc.. That you carry such insurance protections, or that your customer demands them is perfectly logical. I am just saying that it is your choice to operate that way. The guy(company) that built my house had no insurance, used independent contractors, etc.. My choice to do business with him. Maybe large commercial contractors have to carry such coverage, but your average contractor does not. License? Yes, they are in general required to be licensed, but having a license doesn't mean there is an insurance requirement. Are they making an unintelligent choice to be uninsured? Probably, but it is theirs. Building contracting is, depending on the state, probably a highly regulated area, and I am no expert on this, but having known three contractors for houses and small business remodels, in two states, they insure (or not insure) based on the job, and sometimes to get the job. If the lender needs a 90 day insurance because of a 90 day construction loan, then they get that. If it is not to their liking, they don't carry it and lose jobs. Seems like a choice they are entitled to make.

You are correct about your requirements in your state, and some municipalities require bonding and insurance, etc too. In that you are correct, but only because some state legislature has decided to require it for you contractors, taking that choice from you.

For sure, some businesses and state licensees are required to have insurance, bonding, etc.. But not many. You just happen to live in a state that is more regulation-oriented towards contractors.

This thread started as a rant about why Texas should require all businesses to carry "appropriate" insurance, and calling the Governor a moron and other such silly statements. My remarks, in general, are not directed to you, but a balance to that mentality. I presume you would prefer that those costly decisions to have insurance and and bonding decisions left to you, and not be dictated by some legislature or agency.

....Maintain a state license or register a business = minimum insurance requirement.....

Not even close to being true.
State licensed: lawyers do not have to purchase malpractice insurance, nor do doctors nor do nurses, realtors beauticians, veterinarians......all licensed by the state. The list goes on. It is a decision made by those licensees. Many do, but many do not. And, you can register business corporations with the state all day and not have insurance for those businesses. And even in mandatory car insurance states there is usually a "self-insured" opt out. I doubt that a company making fertilizer is required to have a license to do so, and if so, that there is an insurance requirement. It is a business decision. And that is the way it should be. It may not be wise to forego insurance, but it isn't illegal - nor should it be. Dropzones and riggers and aff instructors and tandem instructors and pilots and rig manufacturers are not required to be insured. If they want to run the risk, that's their choice. Insurance isn't even available for some of these persons. If it was available, then how much coverage? Who will decide that? Some do-gooder agency?

So, after the fact, people are wringing their hands and seeing some kind of injustice about those companies that are uninsured, or (in their opinion) under insured. The choices in any state are just that. Have a nanny state mentality based upon the idea that some agency or legislature has superior wisdom about how business should be run, operated, insured etc, and multiply 'red tape' laws and regulations that are so binding, intricate, onerous, and meddling that business can't operate without a staff of regulation experts or just go out of business - or leave businesses alone, as apparently the city and the state there in Texas chose to do, and continue to do so. If one does not like that, then stay out of Texas and go to New York where the state wants to ban large soft drinks or San Francisco where fast foods are prohibited from handing out toys......Anyone can choose to go those states and cities to live. It is a choice. Yes I am pretty sure there are state regs and fed regs about handling ammonia, and other chemicals, but that is a long distance from the wrong concepted mentality of requiring insurance for businesses. Some people like to be regulated and told what to do in their daily lives and business lives, and to impose their preference to be controlled upon others. You have to decide which suits you.

I have a parachute loft. Had a few canopies sent to me. I checked 'em out and the buyer went from there. I don't charge anything. Been here for 12 yrs. Probaly the best way to do transactions. Some shipping costs here and there, but it's better than just hoping when something doesn't seem right.

Time for me to dial back. I think I had too much coffee. A lot of good stuff and good thoughts posted.