ctrph8

Back to the OP. Contact the Burning Sky folks and set it up. I personally purchased a handfull of tickets that could be used for jumps or for gifting a firefly ride to someone who was particularly cool. Buy them and if someone does something worthy of a free flight, gift them with it. I've even arranged for tickets for folks when I could not be there. The camp is full of great people and is an excellent place to camp. I ended up working with a different group too so I camped with them. It was a lot of work working at both camps though. You will work but it is loads of fun. Read up on the Burning Man website. Take them very seriously about being self sufficient. If you would like a particular amenity (food, water, shelter, sunscreen, unicorn outfit, etc.) you need to bring that. Also, don't bring your shiniest skydiving gear. Bring the stuff that can be permanently scarred from the dust. I used a Stiletto that will never ever be the same. When I look back on my life, that experience stands out over most of the rest of them. Definitely do it!

I think I was dealing with this guy last week. I forwarded it to the Abuse section and reported it via the link but never saw them post anything. He wanted me to contact his rigger in London but would not kick over serial numbers. I even ended up finding the pictures he used on some russian board from 2011.

Does that mean he owes beer?

I'd bet that Firebird could point you in the right direction. I think there are a couple of good European suppliers.

Got a call from the good folks down at Chuting Star. They are getting some in in about a month. It is their new low bulk, answer to the Optimum... which I welcome. I love my Optimum but am still kind of salty about PD's policy to require every reserve to be recertified at the factory after 40 packjobs. She said the sizes would corolate almost exactly with the Optimum sizes and the volume would be similar. If they are smart they will come in a little cheaper than the Optimum.

This isn't rocket surgery. It is a component and frequently not a factory component. Lots of great 3rd party kill line pilot chutes are out there. Jim Cazer (really nice guy and great rigger) made a bagillion of them. The kill line is pretty easy to replace if you have some basic skills. It most certainly IS a replaceable part but maybe not at a beginner level. You might find it interesting to start working towards your rigger's certificate. Many of the questions and posts you've had will seem a lot clearer. Many many more questions will come up but that is part of the process. It's a lot of work but a lot of fun too. Start talking with a few of the riggers in your area. There is a wealth of knowledge out there and if someone is motivated, these folks are usually very generous with their time and knowledge.

Or he did one from home and one from work! One whose username is "dribbus" and the other who signed their post "Cameron Dribbus"? I suspect your check-up system (IP addresses?) is failing you.

It's not too hard. It takes some time but if you have some basic rigging skills you can pull it off. You might not get an exact length from anyone because the bridle may have changed length or was not built to exact specs... Probably not but if I was doing it I'd measure it to function within the bridle you have, not the bridle you are supposed to have.

I'm not saying that the scammer doesn't need to be stopped. I'm just tired of this guy's approach to it. He goes on with a bunch of different usernames telling the same story. We heard it the first time. I also had a scammer this weekend. He was better than any of the scammers I've seen yet. Not great but still a step up. I'll post it... once. I fully agree that these should be made known and that folks should go pay a friendly visit to any scammers in person. My point here is that this guy and all of his aliases should not clog up the system with redundant posts.

Seriously, stop. Nothing has changed between now and the first few posts you put up (under different names) about this guy. You sniveling about it online over and over again isn't going to change anything. Just stop.

Yep. It's right. It's actually pretty clever. The knot on the bungee ends up on the inside of the channel and the bungee runs cleanly out the other side. [inline IMG_1802.jpg]

My 2 cents is to do it. Go find a DZ with a really great vibe and go fly for them for a while. Part of the allure is that the skydiving community is a fun bunch of folks to hang out with. You probably won't skydive as much as you'd like but you'll be in good company and you WILL skydive. It will open skydiving doors. The trap is that it is hard to show up at the DZ on your day off because you just spent the last 5 days there. If you decide to do it, really check out the DZ. Most of them are fantastic. There are some seriously toxic ones too. They are the exception though, not the rule.

Well if you're going to be all picky about it...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stiletto-120-9-cell-ZP-elliptical-skydiving-parachute-canopy-/321136362014?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac538021e Just sayin'

I think there is a work-around for this. It would be worth a call to Cypres to check. Owning a Cypres is expensive and sometimes a pain but they do know a thing or two about customer service. If nothing else, buy the damn thing and wait a few months until it is within the window... But buy it cheap.

I seem to remember something about putting the spurred washer on top because if there was a problem with it later and one of the spurs became accessible, it would be pointing away from the canopy and not tear up the fabric or get caught up on a line attachment.

Might be something to do with the way these rigs sit on you personally. Mine happens to be sitting right next to me so I took a look. Not one strand out of place and I've never seen anyone with that problem. Not to say that it doesn't happen, just that I haven't heard any of the Wings owners that I know talking about it. Try a different rig. Getting something custom made for you really makes a difference.

Sometimes I've given people gift cards to something fun (movies, dinner, ice cream, etc) and that seems to go over really well. For some reason it is easier to accept a gift than it is cash. Give them a $50.00 gift card in a card where you thank them for their support of the skydiving community.

You should try it but keep a few things in mind: Packers are tough! They move fast all day long and it is a lot of physical work. Can you physically keep up? I was a packer and am pretty sure that I couldn't anymore. Can you be sociable enough to get along with folks long enough to get established as a business. You will probably be working for a DZ (that already has a packing system) AND you will be developing your own clients. If you are the F.N.G. and the F.O.G. and have attitude, you might think about other avenues. I'm not saying you are any of those things but it would be worth your while to go observe the Packing concession and see how things are run.

I have no idea what kind of services are available in your area but many of the repair guys are mobile.

Yes you can. I've done it with mine and you can. I also hated it so much that I bought an Optimum 160. Biiig difference! When Wings says something will be tight but it can be done, they are telling you the truth. You can't go any bigger without damaging things or having other kinds of problems.

This sounds like a silly question but since I've pulled this stunt, I'll ask - Is the needle in backwards?

I recently saw an aftermarket cutaway system that I thought was simple and clever. Of course now I can't remember who made it but from what I remember, all of the snaggy parts were tucked away and it released one side of the chin strap. I'll ask around tomorrow and see what I can dig up.

Any idea what the rigger was trying to accomplish by marking the lines? Also, at what point does it become an alteration? Dying fabric is but my lines are all marked with something during the manufacturing process and it sounds like these are only marked in certain places. I'd be calling the manufacturer. Post pics!

Rigs have come a long way. Each of the manufacturers will split hairs about how their system is better than their competitor's but from an overall viewpoint, rigs these days are pretty damn good. Every manufacturer has had snafus but as a rule, modern systems are rock solid. We as jumpers can do things to screw that up (like packing 10 pounds of crap into a 5 pound bag) but we don't have many problems with reserves not extracting from properly sized and maintained gear. There ARE incidents but really, considering the number of reserve deployments that happen every day, these are very very small numbers and usually not the only problem. As with most incidents, there are usually several factors. Find gear you like. If that happens to be Jumpshack, great. Go rock that. Racer owners LOVE their Racers. If you find another rig that you like from any of the other major manufacturers, rest assured that they have been time tested. They will all save your life. Just do your part to maintain your gear and to pack reasonably sized canopies into it. Also, each gear manufacturer has a combination of features in their design and really believes that their design is your best last chance. Making safer gear is why they got into the business. To this end there are some wildly divergent views as to how to make this work. You can read about the MARD question ad nauseum. One guide might be to look at what the most experienced skydivers are using for their day in, day out work. Don't look at the sponsored folks because free gear is free gear. Take a look at the ones who pay for their own gear and depend on it to save their lives every day. They have usually tried it all and settle into what works best for them.