indyz

0:4:2 First two saves! Beer for first save (another jumper), and beer for having my own reserve ride two loads later.

I'm going to have to go with "it depends on what the POH says."

I was definitely jumping during the launch: Harry Parker's photos

I track away from the center of the formation for a reason. It would be nice if my canopy wouldn't open with a 180 and send me right back through it.

The problem isn't so much with encouraging people to use search, it's that people far to often come across as serious dicks and post useless one-liners like, "This is what Search is for." Come on. If all you are going to do is shit on some poor newbie for an etiquette violation, just walk away. Put yourself in the newbies shoes. Maybe they've never used an online forum. Maybe they missed the stickies. Maybe they don't know what search terms to use. Maybe, because they are new, it didn't occur to them that the question might be common. Be polite. How about doing the search yourself and linking to the useful results, or at least suggest useful terms. Just telling them "maybe you should have tried searching first" doesn't solve their problem, makes the whole community looks like tools, and you waste your precious time typing out a reply that doesn't help anybody.

There should be two rapid links on the bridle. The one you have connects the bridle and kill line to the canopy. The yellow loops you are pointing to into the first picture should be inside the bag and have a second link through them to keep them from being pulled back through the grommet. That second link regulates the amount of slack on the section of bridle inside the bag, allowing the pilot chute to cock and collapse normally. Normally, the canopy coming out of the bag allows the slack to be taken out of the section of bridle inside the bag, causing the pilot chute to collapse. Without the link, the bridle will likely pull out of the bag enough to collapse the pilot chute before the canopy is out of the bag, leading to a possible PC in tow or baglock malfunction. I had the same thing happen to me once when a worn loop failed and the link slipped off, allowing the PC to collapse before the canopy came out of the bag. I towed it for a couple of seconds, then it cleared on its own. The circular metal ring is there to keep canopy material from being pulled through the grommet on the bag if you use a non-collapsible pilot chute.

Unfortunately the rig has been cut down to just the harness. The warning label is long gone and I seem to have misplaced the data card or I would post that.

Check out the picture. I can't find any reference to this construction technique in Poynter's, and nobody I've showed the picture to has seen anything like it. There was heat-shrink over the hand tacking that I cut off. What remains of the warning label is illegible. It was made in the late 70s or early 80s and has a two-pin reserve container that only takes rounds (only two risers). The reserve in the rig was a Navy 26' conical, the main was a Nimbus. Looking through Poynter's it seems most similar to an E-Z Flyer, but I can't be sure. Any ideas?

It'll hold just fine. The advantage of the box is protection, not strength.

As I mentioned, it would probably be best to talk to an experienced tandem director like Bram to find out what the transition requirements are. The Instructional Rating Manual mentions abbreviated transition training for people with current non-USPA tandem ratings. There is also similar language for the AFF rating. It's unclear to me if transitioning foreign ratings requires getting a Coach or other USPA rating first. Even if you do need to get a coach rating, it's cheap and easy, especially for somebody with your experience. A lot of places schedule the coach course back-to-back with the rating course, so you might be able to knock it all out in a long weekend. You can download the IRM Essentials here. It lists all of the requirements for each rating. Edit: I meant "unclear".

Yeah, my rental price was a guess. I got my rental comped because I was joining the staff, so I only had to pay for packjobs.

My cost (as a USPA member who already held a coach rating): Medical - $80 Course - $300 Jumps - 19 slots at the going rate (solo, 4 jumps with the evaluator, 5 with a licensed jumper) Video - 4 slots (recommended but not required at my course) Equipment rental / packing - $35/jump x 10 jumps USPA rating fee - $40 RWS fees - can't remember Total - About $1600 The course price varies with area and demand. Also, some courses charge a per-jump evaluation fee, mine included it in the course fee. I'm not sure about transferring foreign ratings. You might try asking somebody like Bram Clement (skydivingratings.com). He also has a full rate card for his courses on that website. Edit: Changed the number of slots, forgot the first one was a solo.

The seal and thread are not attached to the loop or reserve container, only to the pin. Below the seal it just loops around the pin. Above the seal it is tied onto the cable with a larkshead knot (you can see it in the blurry first picture). The seal will either be carried along with the ripcord or it will slip of the end of the pin, depending on where the thread breaks. Either way, it won't interfere will the reserve operation.

I've seen people spend more for worse, but personally I'd try to scrape up a couple hundred extra dollars and find an older ZP main like a Sabre, Triathlon, Hornet, etc in good condition. It will have more flare power, will be sportier and more fun to fly (but not dangerously so), and will last practically forever as long as you reline it every 500 jumps or so.

I use my 14lb weight belt as a packing weight and it works fine. You can also make a weight out of heavy-duty plastic detergent bottle or similar container filled with something heavy.

Yea im sure USPA would love to see that post!!! It's stupid, but it's true. The definition is so vague that the examiner has incredibly broad discretion in deciding what to accept as "time in sport."

"Three years" is whatever the examiner who signs your paperwork thinks is three years.

The three year rule is also part of the FARs so you'd have to deal with the FAA as well.

Yeah, it has. And derailing threads by arguing minutiae and semantics instead of just answering the damn question has gotten to the point that I don't even read 95% of the non-community threads anymore.

1. Use rear risers to dodge traffic and get pointed in whatever direction is appropriate 2. Turn off camera 3. Collapse and pull down slider 4. Loosen chest strap 5. Unclip camera wings and take off booties if traffic permits 6. Release brakes

Google just released a searchable archive of millions of old Life photos, most of which were never published. There are a good amount of old sport and military jumping photos out there. High-altitude jumps, shoe-mounted photos of ram-airs from 1968, crazy airshow tricks and a lot more.

"We are also providing clarification to any 'experience level' concerns in a different rulemaking that clearly defines who can perform certain parachute repack functions." Any idea what that additional rule might be?

Congrats guys!

I've got to disagree about what wingloading is unlikely to be survivable. When I had about 25 jumps I flew a Spectre at 1.25:1 into the ground in full flight and walked away with bloody knees. Since then I've seen swoopers hit much, much harder and live. I think that surviving an unconscious landing is possible and even likely at a significantly higher wingloading than most people believe.

I'm pretty sure that's me in your picture. After we get in position in the door I make eye contact with the cameraman to make sure he is ready and to let him know we're ready. Then I rock forward (ready), rock back (set), and launch out the door (go). I'm also yelling "ready, set, go" out loud.