riggerrob

Started on static-line back in 1977 'cus that was the only way back then. He! He! If you brought that military surplus round rig to the DZ today, we would all have a good laugh before we threw it in the dumpster!

What kind of airplane did they jump from?

quote: "i'd keep it until the first reserve re-pack, then ship it to them and have them simply change out the reserve flap, mirage will probably be more than happy to pick up shipping fees, and change out the flap at no charge to you." end quote. Replacing a reserve pin cover is easy on a Mirage, Shipping and matching colors are the hassles. Replacing a Mirage reserve pin cover only involves one row of stitching. You may even be able to convince the Mirage factory to mail it to your local master rigger and have him sew it on during your next reserve repack. That way your down time will be limited to 1 day. Speaking of down time, insist that Mirage sew up the replacement flap NOW, while they still have that exact color of blue Cordura in the shop. If you wait 4 months, your replacement pin cover will be cut from a different bolt of fabric and the colors will never match exactly. The other advantage of ordering the replacement flap NOW, is that - if you chose to mail it back to the factory - it will be a one day turn around 'cus they wil not have to wait for the ladies in production to sew it (normally a week or ten day process). In conclusion, ask Mirage Systems to sew up the replacement flap NOW! Then ask them which Texas-based Master Rigger they trust to sew it on straight. Since it will be covered under warranty, they can compensate your local Master Rigger with dollars or spare ripcords, etc. The replacement will still be free to you and you will avoid all the shipping hassles. Rob Warner pompous Master Rigger Rigging Innovations Customer Service Manager emeritus

Principles in the New Aerodyne include Ian Bellis (formerly of P.D.), Ned Luker (of PISA) and several designers from Parachutes de France. PISA will do all the manufacturing. Sadly, all their old canopies will disappear. A move that makes Canadian customers unhappy. Though Ned does not look very happy either. The only old Aerodyne canopy that will survive is the Triathlon series. We will have to wait and see how Aerodynes's new canopies compare with the competitors. The new Icon container looks like a minor change to PdeF's Atom series. The only improvement is a longer middle link on the 3-Rings. Bill Booth chuckled that they had devoted lots of time and effort to refining the least important part of the 3-Ring system, however Mr. Booth still expects Aerodyne to sell a lot of risers because the new design includes more shiny stainless steel hardware! He! He! The biggest disappointment was that Aerodyne is still waiting for their TSO approval. They re-assured us that it is merely a question of how long it takes for the paperwork to clear. The New Aerodyne has devoted huge amounts of money to marketing, we only hope that their efforts pay off with better canopies.

The minimum for parachute repairs is E thread. That requires a machine strong enough for size 18 to 22 needles (110 in Europe). Your best buy is a simple, heavy, old, cast-iron table-top machine. For example, I used a Pfaff 230 for many years. My Pfaff helped me build two canopies, replace Velcro, patch jumpsuits, etc. A Pfaff 230 will do most of the repairs that an FAA Senior Rigger is allowed to do. You can pick up a decent used Pfaff for a fraction of the cost of new. When your Master Rigger mentor starts asking you to do repairs that involve canopy tapes or thick corners of containers, he will also provide the heavy-duty industrial machines needed for thicker seams.

The key to hiding pilotchute fabric on any PopP-Top (Racer) or semi Pop Top (Javelin) is to pack plenty of bulk beside the loop/pilotchute. This creates a deep crater, with high side walls for the pilothcute spring to sink into. Leave the top corners soft so they will not push the riser covers open too early.

During the PIA Symposium, Brian Germain mentioned a very simple guideline for maximum wing loading. less than 100 jumps 1.0 100 to 200 jumps 1.1 200 to 300 jumps 1.2 300 to 400 jumps 1.3 400 to 500 jumps 1.4 500 to 600 jumps 1.5 600 to 700 jumps 1.6 700 to 800 jumps 1.7 800 to 900 jumps 1.8 900 to 1000 jumps 1.9 over 1,000 jumps 2.0 Note that the second digit is matches how many hundred jumps you have. The biggest problem - in skydiving today - is people down-sizing before they learn how to extract all possible performance from their old canopy.

I PRO pack all but one model of reserve canopy. The one exception is Strong tandem reserves.

Here comes a history lesson. The difference between a freefly container and a belly-flying container is a question of when it was designed. Newer designs can be used for all the older disciplines and - as long as they are well maintained - many belly-flying contaieners can be used for freeflying. Over the years, design influences have included: military surplus PEP, style and accuracy. ten-way speed stars, sequential RW, canopy formations, free style, sit flying, head down, bird man suits, etc. All these generations have contributed to harness/container design safety.

I suspect that your blackened thighs were caused by a loose harness. If the leg pads are snug up against your crotch, they will not slip far enough to slap you. Ask your rigger to check your harness size. The best short term fix may be to install an inexpensive free-fly bungee.

Reserve pilotchute size is determined early in the design/TSO process. For example, all Vectors - whether they be huge-ass military tandems or the tiniest Micron - all use the same size reserve pilotchute. We are really discussing two separate variables: spring strength and fabric area. Spring strength was codified a long time ago in a military specification. 18 pounds of force is the minimum, but most new pilotchutes are in the 20 to 30 pound range. The spring has two functions. First, the spring has to push flaps out of the way and secondly, it has to launch the pilotchute beyond reach of a tumbling jumper. Once the pilotchute is beyond arms length, it has done its job. The only reason Racer reserve pilotchutes come in two different sizes is that the smaller diameter looks prettier tiny Power Racers. A Power Racer pilotchute spring pushes as hard and has as much fabric as a standard Racer pilotchute. There are two basic configurations for pilotchute springs: conical and cylindrical. The majority of reserve pilotchute springs are just slightly updated versions of the ancient military MA-1 conical spring. Even Vectors use an inverted version of the MA-1 spring. Cylindrical springs are found in Talons, Wings, etc. The second variable is fabric area, which is determined by the weight of the reserve canopy. Since most reserve pilotchutes were designed back in the days of 200 square foot reserve, they are way over strength. Since the freebag and safety stow allow you to use an over-sized pilotchute, this is not an issue.

Good point about the sloppy joes. Having food for sale on the DZ will result in lots more loads. The tough part is hosing the sloppy joes off the airplane floor at the end of the boogie. If your pilot is "creative," you may have to hose off the ceiling too!

13, When Allah wishes us to know, he will tell us. 12. No Steve, I can't see the runway either. 11. Where is that damn check list? Ah, what the heck, let's wing it!

Landing in Jacksonville, 11:09 Sunday. See ya! Now if I can just stop post whoring long enough to stuff my luggage.

Geez, Sounds like your Pontiac was designed by the same guys who design Sikorsky helicopters and Browning machine guns. The fix is always the same: take it apart, clean it, lubricate it and put it back together.

Finally, someone is taking a fresh approach. It looks like Parachutes de France lost most of their designers to the new Aerodyne. It will be interesting to see how Parachutes de France fares in the long run. Does anyone remember what happened to Para-Flite after they fired Manley Butler and Troy Loney? Does anyone care what happened to Para-Flite? The Icon container looks like a minor update of Parachutes de France's latest Atom h/c. Does the Student Icon have clear pin covers? As for the "little flaps that prevent the links from turning the corner and ripping the reserve container off", Troy Loney introduced them on the EOS, circa 1980 and I re-introduced them on the Sidewinder a couple of years ago. It will be interesting to see how closely the new Smart reserve follows in the foot steps of P.deF's Techno reserve. Does it have concave non-loaded ribs and Spectra span-wise reinforcing tapes? Anyways, I wish the new Aerodyne success with their clean sheet approach. Got to finish packing (laundry) so I can get on that plane (airliner) to Jacksonville, so I can examine their new products first hand.

Sorry if I offended anyone with my hard line attitude yesterday. I was spreading misery started by someone you probably never met. The root of my anger was working for four frustrating years with an instructor who flatly refused to teach to DZ or CSPA or USPA standards. For example, just before he got fired, he was teaching IAD first jump courses in 1 hour! Yes, that's right. I said teaching a first jump course in 60 minutes! The problem was that he was the only guy on the DZ - not even the owner - who believed that one hour was adequete time to teach a first jump course. The root of his attitude was a high school teacher's degree issued by a university. He argued long (4 years long) and loud that since he held a teaching degree, he should not have to jump through any of CSPA's hoops. After the third time, I tired of his argument. Now, let's take a fresh look at instructor & coach courses given by USPA/CSPA/CAC/Skydive U. Maybe attending instructor courses can be a pleasant refresher for people who already know how to teach. I firmly believe in refresher training for all instructors. And I believe in leading by example. Despite the fact that I have been a jumpmaster for over 20 years, I still sit in on courses every chance I get. Here is my personal record: 1982 CSPA Instructor A 1986 CSPA Instructor B, Strong & Vector Tandem 1989 CSPA Coach 2 1990 CSPA PFF & Strong tandem re-qual. 1992 Strong tandem re-qual 1993 USPA Instructor 1994 assisted in training some new T/Ms 1995 Racer Tandem 1995 & 1996 assisted with USPA JCC 1999 assisted with USPA BIC & & training new T/Ms 2000 CAC Coach 2 Theory & repeated CSPA Coach 2 2001 repeated PFF 2002 assisted in training new T/Ms & audited CSPA Course Conductor Can you see a pattern? I also believe in refresher training for riggers. Despite being a rigger since 1984, this afternoon I am taking off for Jacksonville and my sixth PIA Symposium. I case anyone accuses me of being a ticket-puncher, during that same period I have jumped with 2200 tandem students, packed a couple thousand reserves, done a few coach dives and lost count of how many S/L and IAD students I have dispatched. Try thinking of USPA instructor and coaching courses as pleasant refreshers. Go with an open mind. Share your teaching experiences and heaven-forbid, you might even pick up a teachign trick or two!

Yes Para-foil has dominated classic accuracy competition for many years. Several European companies have built close copies of Para-Foils under various names, i.e. CCL built by PISA. In the mid-1980s John Eiff entered the market with his Eiff Challenger Classic series and garnered a few medals. Now North American Aerodynamics claim that their Para-Foil 2000 is the best accuracy canopy on the market. In the end the medal goes to the guy who is better at reading the winds and who flies the most consistent approach.

This brings back fond memories of the army. Whenever a sargent was having abad day, he would chew me out! Losers!

I have heard this argument a hundred times and I do not respect any of the people who bring it up because most of them do not know what they are talking about. Not all prior teaching experience is relevant to teaching skydiving. For example, the last person I want teaching me - how to jump - is the dean of graduate students at some pompous university. Graduate students are assumed to have plenty of prior knowledge related to their curriculum, rarely the case among skydiving students. Also remember that different age groups require different approaches. For example, if you treated me like an army recruit, er. kindergarten pupil, I would be so offended that few of your words would sink in. The hidden motive of forcing junior skydiving instructors to attend coach/BIC/Instructor A Courses is to get them all on the same sheet of music. There are few things more frustrating for a student than to have one instructor teach him method A for barrel rolls, a second instructor teach him method B and a third instructor say "forget everything those idiots told you and do it my way." The final reason for insisting that all junior instructors attend the same BIC/Coach/Instructor A/call-it-what-you-will course is to gain the respect of you rpeers. It's that old military attitude about "paying your dues." Other instructors will not respect you unless you have jumped through the same hoops as them. No-one else believes that you can do the job unless you have been as much misery as them. The bottom line is: if you are not willing to jump through the same hoops - as I did - to earn instructor ratings, then don't ask for a job at my DZ. Finally there is that whole bit about senior instructors sharing their knowledge about what works and what does not work when teaching skydiving. Isn't that what a BIC/coach course is all about? Rob Warner CSPA Instructor B/PFF CSPA Coach 2 3 X tandem instructor USPA S/L and IAD Instructor Pompous Master Rigger

quote:" :"end quote. Uh, sort of. You are inventing new terminology far faster than I can learn it. Let's stick with PIA terminology, just so that pompous riggers - like me - will have clue what you are talking about. Once I have the canopy "cocooned" to about the same width as the bag, I kneel on the top corners of the orange warning label. Then I slide the d-bag between the canopy and the floor and lock it in place with my knees. Then it takes three steps to "bag" the canopy. Step 1: Fold the canopy in half and lay it on your knees. Stuff the center of the canopy (measured vertically) into the top of the d-bag. Step 2: Fold top of canopy away from your waist and stuff it into d-bag. Cock the bridle. Ensure that the bridle is clear of canopy fabric. Step 3: Lift knees off of canopy. Grab bottom of canopy and stuff into middle of d-bag, between he canopy folds that are already in d-bag. By breaking it down to a three step process, you are only struggling with some of the canopy at any one time. The other advantage to this method is that your knees prevent the d-bag form sliding all over the packing area. Also, If the canopy tries to squirt out of the d-bag after step one, it bumps into your knees and cannot go anywhere.

Para-Flite is marketing a military HAHO canopy that looks like a para-glider. A few other manufacturers are probably selling similar canopies to military special forces types, but their customers are usually the quiet sort of guys who will knife you in the throat before you even know they exist and they prefer to preserve that advantage. There are two technical limitations on deploying high aspect ratio para-glider type canopies at high airspeeds. First of all, most para-gliding canopies do not have enough reinforcing tapes to survive opening shick. Secondly, it is difficult to get the end cells to inflate simultaneously. If one side of the canopy inflates significantly earlier, then it will fly just like a Spinetto on a bad day!

If I remember correctly, the correct length for a static line (pin, d-bag, Velcro and all) is slightly shorter than the distance from the anchor to the elevator hinge. The last thing you want is a static line entangling with the controls and ruining the pilot's day.

Forget about Karl Marx or Kaizer Whilhelm, it is Helmet Cloth who is going to take over the planet. He has already taken over most of the DZs in Germany and the USA, now he has taken over ALL of France! Which country is next?. Seriously, Mr. Cloth has done us a favor by reducing skydiving fatalities. About 90% of the reserves I pack these days contain AADs. It is only a matter of time before they become mandatory on all DZs.

quote: " " end quote. You are correct. However, terrorists have been so effective and security personelle are so paranoid that we are no longer allowed to tell the truth. So we tell half-truths about "high pressure" gases and politely forget to tell them what generates those gases. The chances of high pressure/high temperature gases escaping from a Cypres cutter are about the same as your chances of being killed by an elephant in Fairbanks, Alaska.