erdnarob

What length do you you recommend for the closing loop hole ? Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I have a Vector III and you are right. The binding tapes of both flaps on the picture are overlaping and it's the way. Not for the grommets but the closing loop is too long anyway to allow the wide part of the pin going through. First time I see that kind of problem. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

The two grommets, seen on the picture, are of the same size (# 0 I guess) but their overlaping (or near overlaping) is far from being right which leads me to say that the loop is too long and yields to unsufficient tension. A right tension wouldn't allow the eye of the pin going thru the loop. OTOH, we all can question the jumper pin check before boarding the aircraft. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Calm down. Have you seen where Reunion Island is on a map ? When you are living on a such small island located in the Southern hemisphere of the Indian Ocean, well, you cannot expect the locals to be perfectly current with air trafic rules. Even in Canada, at Edmonton Alberta few years ago, the security supervisor wasn't aware of such rules for AAD. I showed her the TSA form explaining that AADs can be brought in a cabin luggage. She asked me if she could keep that form which I agreed. She was very thankful. OTOH, French have been hit quite often and still are by bombing or other terrorists acts. You cannot blame them to be a bit touchy regarding "strange objects" seen on an parachute equipment. Have your TSA form with you about AADs being taken in a cabin luggage. This year at Orlando Florida Airport, when I was at the security check with my parachute equipment, the girl told me that they had seen a lot of parachutes equipments in the past few weeks (due to the PIA symposium held in Daytona Beach). Those security people were getting used to see AADs on their screen. But you cannot compare Orlando airport to the Reunion island one. Two weeks after 2001 September 11, I was passing the border between Quebec and Vermont USA with my parachute equipment. I was going jumping at West Addison a DZ South of Burlington. First the US custom officer asked if there was a pilot in the car. I am a pilot. I answered I was. They kept us for a good half an hour at the office while other custom agents where checking the car. A very clever Officer at the office asked me questions about log book, reserve, parachute equipement. They allowed me to continue and I thanked them a lot saying I was understanding. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

When you travel with your parachute equipment, you should have this form with you. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

On pictures included, Sugar Alpha and Southern Cross DC-3's at Freeport Illinois (Freak Brothers Convention in 1985) Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Sorry, no pictures but Skydive Chicago DC-3 should be parked at this DZ near the landing area but doesn't fly anymore. If it's the right airplane, I jumped it in August 1999. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

On the video, one can see the jumper was trying to land between power lines and a farm located at the right side. In Canada, an helicopter (a Hughes 500) I have jumped from in 1983, crashed a short time later when the pilot tried to fly between a lake shore and a little island located at 200-300 ft from the shore. He hit an unseen power line between the shore and the island. The pilot and 3-4 journalists died. DP Cooper # 0290 Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I found it. At Freeport Illinois in 1985 at the Freak Brothers Convention where I have also jumped Sugar Alpha, Our DC-3 from California City, Southern Cross, the famous Mr. Douglas (see picture). But I have also jumped Mr Bugless DC-3 known as Agent Orange which had been used for crop spraying or worst, the Bird Machine DC-3 at New Hanover (Limerick) Pennsylvania at the Herd boogie in 1984, in Canada in 1984 at St Jean sur-le-Richelieu, the DC-3 from Bradley Air Services with a huge cargo door and in the 90's the DC-3 from Skydive Chicago (the only one I have jumped with a right hand door) which is now grounded.

Vented Arch goggle (G1173 ParaGear catalog number) is what I suggest. I use them for about two years now and they work fine for me. The lens can be replaced. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I am essentially a group jump jumper (belly) but this message can apply to all group jumps. In the 70s, the count down for exit was : ready, set, go. Generally shouted and often accompanied by swinging a leg (generally done by the jump organizer). In the late 80s and in the 90s we have seen for count down : up, down, up. In 2010, there was : shake of head and shoulders, up, down, up. Now in 2015, I have seen at least 3 types of count down including : shake, down, up Everybody will agree that at exit, especially when ouside or outside the airplane door, your brain is highly concentrated. I found that disturbing at a moment of extreme focus to deal with such a variety of count down when the reflexes of "old count down" are still present. Would it be good to have a standard way of count down for group jumps ? I understand that the hot shot jumpers bring their new found way for calling the exit but when organizing jumpers of different habit and experience, I wonder if that way is really efficient when fraction of a second counts. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

On some rigs, the channel for the anti twist housings (short riser housings) is closed but a hole for the cable insertion. Personnaly, I prefer the telephone metal housing. Seems more rigid in case of severe line twists. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Hi Jerry, In order to illustrate better the problem with pictures, why you woudn't publish them showing the loose end of the webbing. Just for clarity. Maybe a view at 45 degrees. Thanks Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Hi Gary, I agree with you completely. Rubber bands come in all sizes therefore it's better to find the size which fits your lines. I use for the past 4 years, Jerry Baumchen early Magbag, there is only two rubber bands to close the D-bag flap. I use tandem tube stoes. This D-bag line pouch is similar to the line pouch of a reserve and is held shut by magnets instead of Velcro. That means the lines unstow from the middle of the pouch avoiding any D-bag rocking. Several videos shot from behind show that the line extraction is straight and very orderly unlike D-bag using rubber bands on the sides. That being said, you shouldn't never double rubber bands (if any) on a reserve. If it's good for a reserve, the same can apply for the main. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

A cold to what extend ? Just sniffing, nose leaking ? As long as your Eustachian tube (ear canal) is clear, not too much problem. If not clear, you can breath eucalyptus oil mixed in a bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes (ask the pharmacist). You also can add some special solution drops for ears. This is what I had to do when doing scuba diving for the first time. My whole group was affected and on the evening we used that method. No more problem followed the days after. The pressure differential when doing skydiving is less important than when doing scuba diving since the air is thinner but it's enough to be uncomfortable if your ear canal is not clear. You also can try chewing gum, or swallow your saliva several times. It's the method used when travelling with airlines. But more subtle aspects are very important. When having a cold, one uses most of the time medication. What you have to avoid if jumping is any medication which reduces your blood cell capability to catch oxygen (again ask your pharmacist who is the specialist for drugs and their effects and tell him about skydiving). Obviously, avoid any medication making you sleepy, you can be very comfortable on the ground but the problem can show up in altitude due to lack of oxygen. Also a lot of other drugs for cold reduces the speed of your reflexes. In any time, do not jump if you don't feel for it. Good luck Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Yesterday, I made a jump from 5000'. It was the first time in two months after my dislocated shoulder early July. My delay was 8 seconds. I had no problem with the short freefall nor with reaching my toggles and collapse my slider after opening. At landing I realized that my right shoulder/arm was still a bit weak and I needed to get more strength for a full deep toggle flare. Fortunatelly, it was windy enough to allow me a flare with toggles at chest level and do a stand up. I am then going to the gym and see my physiotherapist for a couple of weeks and try again. Therefore, never give up and work your body for a fast recovery. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I agree with you about having a reserve "less dominant" than the main which means smaller. For me what is important is to have the reserve lines shorter than the main ones. Because in case of two out, IMO the two parachutes would more likely form a biplane. This happened to me at Perris in 2005. While my main was just starting to open, my reserve popped because of a low pull. My AAD had fired. I had a beautiful biplane. I thought about cutting my main but what changes my mind is the possible "whip" effect of the main risers which could get entangled with my reserve lines. Anyway, I kept the biplane without unbreaking the reserve. My main was a Sabre 2-170 while the reserve was a PD 160. Note 1: a PD 176 reserve has shorter lines than the Katana 170. Note 2: I have a total of 7 reserve rides, 3 rounds and 4 squares. From my personal experience, each time I was under a reserve, I was concerned about the landing and very concentrated. No legs apart, arms and elbows against the body and prepared for a good PLF. I never hurt myself despite of a couple of rough landings. In other words, when you know the landing could be hard, you get yourself ready for it. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I completely agree with you. Physicians are generally far away from being physicists. But physics aspect in scuba diving is absolutely necessary, since water is really a foreign media for the human being. Same for very high altitude jumping where pressure, temperature, terminal speed...are way different than ordinary altitude jumping. I would add that for scuba and jumping in general, one needs to get knowledgeable in basic mechanics or mechanics curious at least. If you are not mechanically oriented, maybe you should stay away from sports where the mechanical aspect is important. The technical (mechanical) aspect of some sport is obvious. Mountain climbing, car or motorcycle racing, skydiving, flying airplanes, hot air ballons, gliders...scuba diving...are all sports with a very high level of technicity. Doing those sports involves that you know : your equipment, its performance, its limits, how to use it, how to maintain it and what to do in case of emergency. About skydivers, how many have assisted at least once to their reserve packing by a rigger ? Very few indeed. Most of the time, people bring me their equipment still completely packed for reserve packing purpose. That says it all. My reaction is always the same, I tell them that next time they should pop their reserve and know the sensation of the pull force needed. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

The Sabre 2 - 170 would be perfect for you or even the 150 with proper technique. You will get the strong flare you are looking for. I have almost 300 jumps with it and I liked it a lot. According to John LeBlanc from PD, the Sabre 2 is the best parachute to get you ready for the Katana. This is what I did and have seen very little difference for the flare. Both Sabre 2 and Katana have the same long range toogles which get you being more accurate with toggles imput. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

For those who like figures . I have checked in my logbooks and I have jumped in 82 different DZs and locations (demo). In Canada : Quebec, Ontario, In the USA : New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, In Europe : Belgium, Holland, France. Those jumps have been made from 47 different airplanes, baloon, helicopters... using 34 different types of canopies. All of this during 42 years. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Recently, I dislocated my right shoulder when doing a 8 way linked exit from a Skyvan (see my thread about it). When came the time to reach my hackey to open my main, I couldn't put my arm at the rear of my container, I then pull my Vector 3 blue Spectra rip cord handle and got a fast superb reserve deployment. I took the habit to pull my reserve with two hands which I recommend, the left hand having the thumb in the D handle. It is the third times I have a total. The deployment is always perfect. The first total was due to a jumpsuit zipper which gave up in freefall, that inflated the jumpsuit and put the hackey further, the second total was due to the packer who put my hackey too near my butt. Now I make sure that the hackey is located at the other side down of my P/C pocket. Fortunately this time, I was at a boogie where UPT Vector people were present. Greg Rau, from UPT changed my metal pin (the new ones have a harder stainless steel, are rounder and a bit more taper at the end for an easier insertion). He also changed my Spectra ripcord (which I had used for 3 totals). The new 2015 blue Spectra rip cord has a yellow tag near the pin catch. I use silicone lubricant for this ripcord and yellow cut away cable as well. I remind that the UPT blue Spectra ripcord is made of 1000 pound line which is a bit higher than the steel cable (920 pounds). This to say that (excepted for a CREW wrap providing a possible line friction), the Spectra ripcord works well and an interessting feature is that with the bungee inside, you will not have a floating ripcord. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Hi Jerry, I guess you and some other riggers and skydivers could have fun to have a look at those pictures included. They are all related to round parachutes. You can see my French Paraboots, myself when student, Michael about to jump a Niagara Cloud, a round with line over, the Niagara Cloud I was packing, myself and the US Pap. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

The accidents, incidents and malfunctions even reported are rarely published. I don't know if it's for insurance companies checking or not. That maybe doesn't prompt the jumpers to fill up a AIM report. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Many thanks to all of you. It's like a relief for me to read you. FYI, at the hospital, in the surgery room, I had 7 persons around me, the orthopedist, the anesthesiologist, an inhalotherapist and 4 other specialized nurses, all females but the orthopedist. I was sort of happy. But I started really feeling bad when a nurse told me that beside getting me asleep they will inject me curare to relax my muscles and added that that substance will stop my breathing. I ask them if I will get a tube for breathing and the answer was affirmative. I have read about curare in some novels about Amazonian Indians using it in their blowpipe to kill their game. Nothing to reassure me. But the team around me did a fantastic job and when I was awaked, no pain and no nausea. For Riggerob : I spoke to Marie-Eve B. She is originally from Sherbrooke. She has the best memories about you. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Recently, I was doing an 8 way linked exit from a tail gate airplane. We had a plan for a 16 way with several points. I had the leg strap grips on two guys doing the 4 way in the middle and was facing the tail. Immediately when leaving the ramp, I felt my right shoulder get dislocated. According the video, I was maybe a bit late but other things happened too. I have done that kind of exit several times, in almost all positions and this without any problem. Anyway, I managed to fly the best I could do and came back and docked to the rest of the 8 way base. Soon we got almost the first point with some people missing. A lot of time has been lost and now, we started tracking away. So far so good but when came the time to reach my hackey, I couldn't put my arm behind me to pull. I tried another time then I pulled my reserve. The opening was fast, super clean and on heading. Immediately, I flew my reserve in order to land at the middle of a grassy area. But I realized that my flare will be partial since I couldn't lower my right arm further than the chest. Just before landing at the intended place, I put my legs together thinking about the best PLF possible. The landing was not very good at all and I tumbled forward a couple of times. Later on, friends of mine told me about taking my two toggles in a single hand for a better flare. I would like to know if some of you have had a similar experience and what you have decided to do. Suggestions are also welcome. Thanks There was a doctor on my jump and after, he tried to put back my shoulder in place. He couldn't even though I had a 25 pounds weight in my hands when laying flat on a table. At the hospital they tried again without success. They finally had to put me asleep for an hour, while injecting me a substance to relax my muscles to finally having my shoulder back in place. Note : the humerus dislocated outside or opposite to the collar bone. Do some readers know if in that configuration, it's harder to put back the humerus. OTOH I know that the shoulder muscles contract as a reaction and more you wait more difficult it is to solve the problem. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.