dpreguy

Checking the reserve pin/loop, and turning on the Cypres and oserving the diplay panel are separate acts. Not related to each other.

Everyone knows that all rig mfg since -oh I don't know, maybe the early to mid 90's - have provided a visble diplay unit window, allowing the user to turn it on and observe it without opening up the reserve flap. Probably have to contact them to see why they did that. I am glad they did, as it is very convenient.
It's also nice, and time convenient, for AFF Instructors to glance at it on the rental rigs during gear check.

Checking the reserve pin and loop is your separate issue. You can deal with that any way you like. I guess if you'd like to convince the mfg's to relocacte the display units back to the "under the flap" location so the user would hae to open it to turn on the AAD, to force the user to check the pin, then go for it. Or open a thread on 'Checking Your Reserve Pin.

Correct. Not cutting into the conatainer except for the little hot knife slit to get it routed out. Basically, just looking at the newer ones and copying how they did it. Not inventing anything.

On 3 or 4 rigs I have relocated the display unit for the Cypes AAD from the "under the flap" position to it's common position to the back of the neck ( old Vectors) or back of the shoulders like in a Sunpath. (You know, the little pocket with clear plastic window.) I talked to one of the mfg at PIA several years ago ,(mfg isn't important here) and was told that it wasn't anything I needed a letter from the mfg for. He even sent me a few pre cut windows to use when constructing the home made pocket. Etc. He downplayed the tech approval aspect. I agreed, maybe because I wanted to agree. I haven't done many, and haven't bothered to check with any of the other mfgs. Those rigs are getting more rare now, as they are pre AAD popularity. This is a departure from my usual 'by the book' attitude, and maybe it's because I am lazy or the relocation was something I didn't want to wait to get the letter from the mfg, because I wanted to get it done. This is more like a casual inquiry of other master riggers, and see if you have done the same. This has arisen about once a year, and may never come up again, as these old rigs are being taken out of use by skydivers buying more modern H/C's. Think I need (should have gotten) to get a mfg letter to OK? The mod is noted on the packing data card.

The relocatioon is a good thing, as the user will be more likely to turn it on and check it periodically if it is visible, and obviates the necessity of opening and closing the reserve flap, just to turn it on and to look at it. (OK I am rationalizing here)

OK, not about parachuting, but he wrote "Black Thursday" about the bombing raid on the Schweinfurt (sp) ball bearing factories. The biggest loss of life and bombers ever. The bombers were slaughtered. I know this sounds like a bad description, but it is a riveting account, and in my opinion one of his best books.

Guess we've gone from manganese to beer to fish poop to uranium. Winter makes cabin fever and causes light hearts to become heavy. Only good part is that we've been landing on our snow easily. Opening the door when it's about 5 degrees F kinda sets a guy back though. Even so, I gotta get my mind from fish poop to skydiving. It's been a romp

Let's see, all of the fish-shit, yellow snow, deer poop, yellow snow , guardia water runs from the mountains into rivers, then is added to, in the form of a hundred cities upstream of you with a million and a half of human shitters, garbage and mud and laundry detergent and benzene and nitrogen fertilizers, and birth control estrogens from female urine and all of the other stuff and is better when it is 500 miles to 1000 downstream? I guess all of the fish shit and stuff somehow is gone by then. Not. Can't see your fingertips when your hand is wrist deep. And your well water is somehow free of this stuff. Yeah. A touch of chlorine kills all microbes, but all of the water treatment won't remove half of the downstream-added stuff. Better drink boiled water in little plastic bottles filled with mountain water from now on; or just hold your nose and drink your half-treated downstream water and grow an extra hand out of your forehead.

Can't top that one

If a dozen Texans go up there, with all of their hot air, the ice would melt in 48 hours, and the ground would be covered with bullshit. Heck, with as much hot air that they put out, it might only take a half a dozen

I concede to your observations. They are more current and better than mine were. You have seen many guys use them, and I have only seen one. Also you have jumped them. So my opinion is probably flawed, as it is dated, and only one skydiver who I ever saw jump one. I can just say I wouldn't jump the two rigs I saw used. They were duds. (Also, I forgot the reserve was an identical canopy, a 7 cell.) It's been probaly 6 or 7 yrs since he quit. Maybe the fact that you are closer to sea level or maybe my guy purchased old canopies that were like cheesecloth. I think I better stick to areas I am better at. One observed subject is probably not valid. At this point I'd probably say you are right and I was wrong.

Conclusion: I am only an expert where beer and pussy are involved.

I don't know where the guy I observed got his canopies, but he jumped both of them (he had two MC-4s-complete rigs) with the same results. Whump!
I think the canopy is awful, and (my opinion again after observing all of those landings), is that a big guy- let's say 225 or higher, would break something if he jumped it regularly. If a big guy -weight or body size- likes the MC-4 harness setup, then at least substitute the main with a modern 9 cell canopy if it fits reasonably well, or slightly modify the main container to get a good fit by installing a Parapack covered foam bed in the pack tray or something. I don't have internet at my loft, but I know PD makes 300 square foot 9 cell Navigators, and I think that there are 3 or 4 other canopy mfg's that also make 300 square foot 9 cells. Doesn't Airborne Systems offer their huge Intruder mains in a civilian version? Maybe some sell even bigger ones. I would not recommend the MC-4 canopy. It just lands hard. Really hard. It is my opinion that the heavier the guy, the harder he will impact the ground. I would doubly cringe to see one of these big guys under that 5 cell reserve - an even harder landing! Once again, this is my opinion.

The argument can be made that newer and better MC-4 mains would be better, and that the guy I saw maybe had old porous ones, but the design of these main canopies is just asking for hard landings. A used, military surplus canopy's cheap initial price isn't so attractive when there is an injury risk.

I didn't know that a big guy couldn't get a harness to fit from the major mfg's- just assumed you could order longer main lift webs , bigger yoke -etc to fit anyone. But, that's not my area and don't know.

Wow, a weight of 360 lbs? That's pretty cool. I didn't know that. That's impressive. Maybe it performs better with more weight.

The stamped placard doesn't have weight or speed limits, but I just figured because of military, it was OK for anyone I could imagine. So, I agree with you on that. It is a safe rig for sure.

I saw this guy land for two years and he always hit pretty hard. Sometimnes really hard. Just sort of flew it into the ground. Not that he didn't flare, he did, but it just didn't really do anything when he flared, except slow him down. On a no wind day you could hear him thump the ground, and he flared like a pro. On those rare 10 mph days, it was minimally OK, burt he still had that high descent rate. Maybe being at 5000 feet field elev made the diff. I will agree though, it would save the life of a non experinced jumper, and there it has it's place. And I like the spring loaded main pilot chute setup, as anyone could use it. So, it is a good life saving setup.

Opinion: Can't imagine why you would want to use one of these dogs. There was a guy who had, and i'm sure still has two of them. The canopies are big with deep-very deep- cells, and as a result have little forward speed and absolutely will not give any lift upon landing. Not even with a hard flare. He weighed about 190 and hit the ground like a pile driver every time. The canopies are F-111 and feel like wet tissue paper. In addition when I packed his reserves, (wouldn't do it now) the reserve canopies were not placarded. Found the mfg info in an obscure place in the center cell rib, just stamped on. So, as i see it, packing a non placarded rig - well, how do you know if it is TSO'd? It is government issued, but old, and yes, you can say if it is good enough for the military....yadda yadda. Bottom line, is they land by just slowing the jumper down, with no lift at the bottom, because they are so slow. No speed, means no lift. In my opinion, these rigs have historic and nostalgic value, but not much else.In Air Force One, and in the Navy Seals, movies, they were used, and yes they would save your ass, but they are a poor choice to jump intentionally as a sport rig.This is my opinion after watching 30 to 50 landings of this guy. He hit like a ton of bricks each time, unless there were the magical 10 mph winds, and even then got almost no flare power. Just slowed down before impact. Collectors item.

Yup, I live right next to the water supply. It is called Clear Creek, for a reason. It is clear, and yes, comes from snow melt. And yes, it is about as pure as mountain water gets. No cities or even good sized towns upstream. As good as water gets.

Have you ever gone to he Pukeweiser brewery at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers? the water they use, and where St Louls get it's water is full of chunks and is brown with mud and 800 miles of upstream effluents. They don't advertise the source of thier water, because it hardly qualifies as water. More like soup.

Texas beers? Yeah, water comes from wells and livetock tanks. Drank Pearl, Lone Star, etc. Yuk. They should put that crap back in the ground where the water came from. Or maybe it came from that well known clear water source called the Rio Grande? Strained from the mud flat there? Like most Texas stuff. Big on bragging - I just can't figure out what there is to brag about.

I tried again to find the Kamel full page picture of the paratrooper, but can't find it online. I'll take a picture of it hanging on my wall, and post it for you. Note: the ad is for Kamel cigarettes, not Camel cigarettes. This picture is worth looking at if you want to be authentic.

pisfish
If you want a 100%* accurate picture of a WWII jumper, go to the full page Kamel cigarette ad, showing a picture of a WWII paratrooper. I mean, THIS is what they looked like! He's lighting a Kamel cigarette, which is of course totally phony, but the rest of the picture is 100% accurate. *(Except, they put the reserve on upside down, which put the handle on the left side) I can't seem to google this picture, but if you have better computer skills, find it, that is what you are looking for. I have the picture hanging up in my loft, so I know it exists. If someone could find it and post it it's be a hoot! Our paratrooper is saying something like, "Damn crosswinds, make it hard to light my Kamel cigarette" or something like that.

A signed copy of Bill Overmyer's romance/skydiving novel. "Bronze Miner".

He is an author who had a plane, C-206 and a skydiving operation in Colorado in the uh....late 80's or early 90's? Good book. Bill has been a SOF type guy last 10 yrs and has driven Jet A fuel tankers over IED roads for KBR in Saudi, Iraq, Afghan, and been a fueler for mlilitary aircraft - an interesting guy. He has also written and published an investment book called "Dead Cat Bounce". Anyway for $22 it is a nice gift. Written about skydiving and living in the Colorado montains and written for skydivers.

Not sure about hawking products on this site, so, just go to Amazon and look it up. I can get it signed or Billy will just sign them if you can get them to acolo Springs

Where is "here"? What State? City? Frogs? It's February!

Damaging your container:

1. At a discussion at PIA one of the manufacturers discussed the practice of upending the rig (setting it on it's "top") to stuff the thowout pilot chute . That practice was highly discouraged for two reasons: 1. It is possible to pinch or wear the AAD cable2. That practice distorts the top of the rig and puts a crushing strain/force never contemplated by any mfg.

2. Personally I cringe every time I see a packer assume the contortionist lotus position and sit on their butt and pull/drag the rigs towards them to stow the lines; and as they pull each line stow towards them, the front of the rig, including the biggest cloth loop of the 3 ring is being ground away over a deset sand imbedded carpet, and is getting dirty. The rig should be placed on a packing mat to drag it to stow the lines. But, they never are. ( all right, I should never say never) Even if the carpet is clean, it is still abraisive. Packers could care less if your cutaway pillow is grinding away and getting filthy dirty as they pull the rig towords them. Nor do they care if the big loop of your 3 ring is being slowly ground to fuzziness as the rig grinds away over their carpet. Insist on a packing mat being placed under your rig if they are going to do the "pull the rig to them" method. If you are packing for yourself, one way to avoid all damage is to stow the lines on the D bag and move the D bag to the rig for each stow- or use a packing mat to do the dragging.

3. Also, in the long run, putting your feet on the container and pulling a packing tool with huge force will- eventually- pull out the grommets. Use any such tool with good judgement, and if it is so dang tight that you are pulling really really hard on the closing loop to close it, (feet against the rig and arching your back strongly), then something is wrong there. Loop too short, main too big, etc. Eventually, by repeatedly putting an excessive pulling force on the pull up cord, or packing tool, you will slowly tear away the fabric from it's grommet, little by little, on the far side of the grommet. How much force is excessive? Heck, I don't have a scale standed, but you should know if you are pushing with your feet, and pulling like an olympic rower to get it closed, your pack grommets will pull out eventually. Yes, this takes a long time, but it does happen, and is usually not noticed until the flap needs a rebuild just to set a new grommet.

The old Wally Gubbins videos... Uh "Wally Gubins Goes Tropical" or one of the ohter ones has a really great one of popping a champaigne cork in frefall.

What is vegemite? Can't say as I have ever heard of that. I guess I could google it

Actually. Prefer Cheetos.

"20 minutes after, striding in a manly manner into the bathroom to pee, looked down at what I thought would be a very happy dick and DAMN! I have some thing terrible! It's orange! awwkk! Damn! Is it cureable?, you know, stuff like that......Then I remembered: Before, we were drinking beer and eating Cheetos. Finally I realized that all I had was Cheetodick! What a relief, and actually, what a GOOD thing! the smile returned to my face.

Should I tell her? Thought a bit and concluded, "Nah, let her find out for herself. She will go to pee and like all women, will survey herself in the mirror. She will see orange boobs!!....then look down there and see her delight all orangey and stuff, and panic!(but only for a millesecond- like I did) and she will smile, like I did. "

Of course all of this shit occurs before the automatic shutoff switch is thrown = getting married.

If the tacking reference was addressed to tacking the 'the stuff that sticks out', whether it is a metal ring or the PD one, well, I didn't think I had to mention that. That seems like a given. I thought it was implied that metal ring soft liks could come apart unless tacked.

Stating the obvious here: The video just illustrates the failure to take care of one's gear. If a skydiver sees that stuff sticking out and does nothing to keep it in,( by hand tacking) well.............


Guess this subject has reached it's conclusion

Well, I was 100% wrong. I thought they were an Aerodyne product, as I was told that years ago by someone I thought knew the product. He was wrong and so am I.. The person who knows the WrapIt product has saved the day. I have a couple here at my loft to use as an example for my rigging students. I've been telling them wrong. Now I know what they are.

They just don't look long enough to go around 3 times, but...I guess they do.

The metal ring soft links, regardless of brand, don't have to be tacked if they are threaded properly. Same for PD Slinks. Gotta poke the little loop end in the "crotch" just below/adjacent to the metal ring, before slipping it over the ring. Actually, it's the same for PD Slinks. Gotta poke that loop thru the little "crotch" as per instructions.

Since I have never heard of an unexplained failure of any of them, my opinion is that all three: PD,Aerodyne and Precision all make a good product; and, the previous posters are correct in the manufacturer's restricions on what canopies they are to be mated with. Gotta respect that.

I believe it is actually Aerodyne's first version of their soft link. I have a set in my loft and can't remember where I got them. Aerodyne has gone thru different owners, (seems like I remember PISA, etc in their history) and my guess it was offered well before the guy who owns it now. It is not the Precision WrapIt, as it is not long enough to go around three times.

Aerodyne's are now made of Spectra, and simply use the metal ring instead of PD's bartacked little square gizmo. Also, I think the present Aerodyne metal rings are smaller than the big brass ones in the picture. I am kinda guessing here, so maybe query Aerodyne tomorow and find out if I am right.

I have not actually seen a Precision WrapIt in my hands, but pictures of it are available. The line part is really long - obviously - as it has to go around three times instead of twice.

(I have never heard of the idea that a soft link would be for mains only, but I guess it could be. After all, PD has two versions)

Lou D Thanks. Actually, when the slider does come over the stop, and I pull the slider back up, it becomes inverted anyway. Same diff.

I actually solved the problem on my second rig, demo jump rig, a Vector II with wide risers. I put them on the wide risers, (they don't fit for shit), and they just make a kind of black wrinkled bundle, and they work fine. Slider never goes over that.

I just wondered if there was a better performing commercial/ manufactured mfg product for the modern type 17 risers. Like all riggers, I can invent stuff, but rather buy something better if it is out there and someone else has put it thru testing by use.