ctrph8

Yep! That's it.

Nobody is trolling you. It's an attempt to herd the cats towards facts not speculation. Much of this thread has been speculation. You got the explanation in a PM, which you responded to via PM at 9:40am this morning before editing this post at 10:15am calling me out. So you had already received the explanation and responded to it, before adding that edit. Nope, you shared with me that "A BOD member shared information with you." Your post indicates that you have first-hand knowledge. I suggest you have hearsay. They aren't the same thing. If you submit that one BOD member is criminal in his actions, then you have to accept that there are other BOD members that might lie, cheat, make up things that aren't true, or bend the truth to fit a mold. in other words, you don't know anything about the topic you're suggesting you know something about. Did you talk to the President of USPA? Did you personally speak with anyone involved with the investigations? Did you call the BOD member in question? Or that you'd just accept one email from a disgruntled BOD member because it fits your facts? No wonder you never made detective in the NYPD. Or you could go back and read the original thread in the incident forums where former customers witnessed and discussed the safety problems at the DZ, or where pics from their facebook page were posted that discussed "swooping the buildings", or any number of things. Or you can continue trying to argue with me in every thread I have posted in recently, while posting snide passive aggressive insults and making yourself look like a psycho stalker. Your choice, but either way Im tired of your juvenile trolling attempts and will just ignore you from here on out. Maybe you could try the same. Blue skies!

We decided to build a caravan mock up but have not been able to find any really good examples of one. Does anyone have plans or pictures of a reasonably simple mock up?

Ah! That makes sense. I have no hands on experience with this but I've seen some pretty skinny looking vectors out there. Their sizing chart has all of the dimensions. http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/PDF/CHART_00037___Rig_Sizing_Chart.pdf Wings has one called the EXT. Same rig, just taller and skinnier than the original. The EXT is long, and thin, not narrower. I know, I have one ;-) And they're for larger to mid size canopies, not smaller ones.

Wings has one called the EXT. Same rig, just taller and skinnier than the original.

I'm kind of ruined when it comes to the regular D-bags that I used for 20 years. I got my first semi-stowless from UPT and can see absolutely no reason to go back. None. My openings are better. Packing it is a breeze and I only have to replace two rubber bands (the locking stows) as opposed to the rest of them which only broke if I left my stash of them in the car. I was kind of nervous about line dump or... SOMETHING because we had done it the same way for so long. This change felt strange but after a couple of months I was totally over it. The problem wasn't the gear. It was my mindset. I probably wouldn't go for a completely stowless bag. Those two stows keep everything nice and neat until the lines are at full extension. I have not seen the one from R I in person but I saw the pictures. It looks pretty slick!

Brilliant! I'm an electrician and I never thought of that. Freakin brilliant!

Yep. They have to be seriously sharp scissors. I had a piece of 900 lb Dacron on my desk and just did a test snip with the my current pair. No problem. I've gone a different route than the super nice scissors. I've been going with the 3 pack of semi-disposable scissors at the big box stores. The trick is that you absolutely HAVE to dispose of them when they start making you work for it. Don't even put them in the junk drawer. They will just end up back in circulation. I had half a dozen pairs of crappy (yet fairly expensive) scissors around here that were taking turns making me crazy. After trying to get the good ones sharpened a couple of times I gave up. The cheap ones work great until they don't and I get rid of them.

This is purely speculative, but can you see an upper limit to the size of the NoStoBags? I'm thinking giant student rigs and maybe Tandems. What would limit the effective use of the product? Well, I do make them, so my thoughts are somewhat biased. I have made a lot of them for Javs; I could spend a lot of time looking up my records and tell you exactly how many. But I'm just too lazy to do that. Early on I made two NoStoBags for a customer and he sent them back because one of them had a very slight split in one of the grommets. I corrected the 'problem' and paid shipping both ways for the correction. I should have caught the grommet 'problem' but I didn't. Sometimes things like that happen. Other than that I have only heard positive responses to users of the NoStoBag. I have never heard of anyone who bought a NoStoBag not using it or saying it was not working for them. I see no reason why a NoStoBag would not work with a 190 sq ft canopy in a Jav. Does that help? JerryBaumchen PS) DSE did offer some thoughts for improvement for the NoStoBag; I have changed the bags to incorporate one of his suggestions. And I welcome any thoughts on how improve the product.

Not addressing the size issue, I have both a UPT semi-stowless bag and the Sunpath semi-stowless bag. They are both great and I think you'll love them. The main difference between the two is that the Sunpath bag has three locking stows and the UPT bag has two. Functionally they are about the same. I had an excellent experience with Sunpath's customer service on this. They started offering these bags the week my Odyssey shipped. I called them about the new bags and they were so helpful about it. I ended up mailing back my new bag and pilot chute (with a check for the difference in price) and they replaced it with a new Semi-stowless bag and detached pilot chute. I think most of their new rigs ship with the bridle of the pilot chute sewn to the bag. That meant if I wore out or damaged a pilot chute I had to replace the bag too.

I had a Crossfire that MEL relined with orange vectran. My other crossfires have been the traditional vectran. I didn't notice much difference in the openings but the coated vectran seemed to wear a little bit better. To be honest I didn't have a great comparison other than wear and opening characteristics. My other canopy at the time was larger and flew much differently so it was sort of apples and oranges. I liked it enough that I'll get it on my next reline.

I sometimes have two rigs. My primary rig has a Cypres. I like it (although I'm going to dump it and get a Vigil some time this summer... but that's a different can of worms). If I have a secondary rig up and running, it doesn't have one. I'm fine with that. I am of the opinion that it is my job to save my own life every time I jump. The AAD (and the skyhook and the gear choices and the packing and the decisions I make while skydiving, and my attitude towards safety) all help nudge the odds in my favor. Ultimately though, it's up to me. I like that students are all required to have one. I also like that if a licensed skydiver can afford a cheap rig to get started but can't afford an AAD, they can keep jumping. I'd rather be in the air with someone who is current and heads-up than someone who is not but has an AAD.

Back in the 90s I managed to pack my own size 12 Teva sandal into a tandem. We were flat packing them and I used it to keep the nose from blowing around in the wind. About 10 minutes after it was all packed, closed and ready to rock I realized my Teva was missing.

You could do worse, but you could do a lot better. I jumped one for a couple of years. It was a fun canopy and a breeze to pack. I ended up putting a lip on the slider to tone down the openings. Worked like a charm. If you are getting it for a great price then I'd say yes but mostly as a bridge to get you to another canopy later.

With tabs I tack the risers to form a pocket that they float in. With rings I tack through both layers of the riser and through the ring. I don't tack that one very tight and just let it float in there.

I ruled out the Vector strictly based on the delivery times. They are a little shorter now but no where near what I'd be willing to put up with. That brought me to choosing between the Javelin and the Curv. I bought the Odyssey but saw a super sexy Curv this week that made me question my decision... And I love my Odyssey!

This article is right on so many levels. It's all about being professional in every aspect of the company. DZs frequently start out as a ragtag operation and then keep that look/mindset for years and decades. It is really refreshing to walk in to a DZ, even a small one and see that the little details are looked after. I grinned at the toothbrushes and mouthwash for the tandem masters comment. Most TMs are pretty professional but there are always a few that look like they slept under a bridge. Even though they are REALLY good at what they do, it detracts from the DZ experience. It should be the norm that there are clean facilities, properly maintained equipment, and staff that is professional from top to bottom. I would also throw in that the DZOs should set the example. Unprofessional behavior from the owners sets the example that unprofessional behavior is sometimes acceptable.

I've found a few rigs that smelled pretty bad when they had been sitting for a long time. I think it is something to do with the cordura but I'm not sure. With every one of them it went away after a few jumps.

If you really do just have a handful of jumps, skip this. You can do so much better. This is not knocking the Naro. Just saying that if you are looking for gear, get with the folks at the DZ who can help you find something. If you find gear online, run it past your instructor or rigger. That 20 year old rig (in serviceable condition) will work but things have changed a lot and unless you got it for REAL cheap and the canopies were appropriate for you, this might not be the rig you are looking for. There is a lot of gear for sale and for one reason or another, much of it would not be right for you (size, fit, application, condition, skill level required to safely operate, etc). Get guidance from a live person on this stuff. It will cost you less in the long run.

This has been discussed several times. My opinion (having had one for a little while but didn't jump it all that much) was that while it was a great parachute at the time, the newer designs have better performance and pack smaller. By better performance, I don't necessarily mean faster. They perform day in, day out with less drama and are at least as sporty, if not more. I liked mine but also had a Crossfire II and it was no contest. Not knocking the Samurai. It was cutting edge at the time.

That brings up a question: The safety stow on a molar bag is a TSO'd part and the manufacturers that I've talked with have all said that this is not something that is allowed to be made by a Master Rigger. It has to come from that manufacturer and the parts are not interchangeable from manufacturer to manufacturer. The same goes for molar bags and reserve bridles. Considering all of the other parts that Master Riggers make every day for tandem systems, where is the line as to what is TSO'd and what is not. More specifically, which parts can be made in a Master Rigger's loft and which have to be made by the manufacturer... and where does "Repair" fall in this. A Master Rigger can absolutely make parts and use them. There is no regulation that prohibits this. The only line is whether the part in question is TSO'd or not. If it is TSO'd then, authorization from the manufacturer OR the FAA is required. If the part is not TSO'd, then authorization is not required. MEL

I'm wondering if there is a break cord that might be good for this application. I don't know what strengths they come in but a break cord link might be the solution. Fewer moving parts.

I agree that currency is good. The more the better. I don't think that not jumping very often should mean that you rush out and sell your gear. I've had periods where I didn't jump much but I was glad I had the gear to get current on again.

That is a very good question! I'd throw in if it meant the attorneys would go after her for harassment or whatever else they can come up with.

Out of curiosity, my exam and every other exam I've ever heard of included the "Sew a Patch" task and I fully agree that this should be something that a rigger should be able to do. Have you ever given the exam and NOT included that task?