riggerrob

Yes, rent gear from your local school for a few jumps. Then look at low pack volume main canopies. They pack one size smaller than regular ZP main canopies. For example, if your old Vector will hold a ZP 190, then it can also hold a LPV ZP 210. Everybody jumps ZP mains these days. LPV reserves are also available. I just assembled and packed an LPV Optimum 215 reserve into a Vector 3 that previously contained a Smart 190 reserve. It may be possible to update your old Vector II by adding a BOC, bridle cover and Cypres pockets. Al sot everybody jumps with an electronic automatic activation (Cypres, MarrS, Vigil, etc.) device these days.

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!

Low pack volume fabrics allow you to pack a 310 square foot canopy into a container designed to hold a 280. These canopies are as strong, and fly similar to canopies made of old-style F-111. Zero porosity, low pack volume fabrics fly and flare and last similar to old-style ZP fabric. I just packed a Performance Designs Optimum 215 reserve into a container that previously held a Smart 190 canopy. The container was snug around the Smart. It previously had been ridiculously tight around a Fury 220 resefve with Dacron suspension lines. The Optimum reserve's low pack volume fabric is easier to compress and made for a neater pack job even if the final product weighs the same.

Skydiving gear has converged during this century. The vast majority of skydivers now jump kill-line pilot-chutes stowed in Spandex pockets sewn to the bottom of container. Pilot-chute diameter varies between 26 and 36 inches depending upon the weight of the main container and expected speed at deployment time. People debate the advantages of F-111 versus ZP fabric, but ZP provides more consistent openings. Deoployment bags usually stow most of their suspension lines in pockets closed with tuck tabs. Only two rubber bands lock the bag closed.

What is the difference between parachute riggers and lawyers? Riggers care if their clients are still alive!

"Stagger" means that the lateral strap is sewn to the hip joint above the (short) upper leg strap. "Stagger" often causes the container to ride higher on your back. If your shoulders are stiff, this might make it difficult to reach your BOC.

Let's see if I can remember this off the top of my head .... Back when I was the busiest Rigger Instructor in Canada, I followed CSPA's Rigger A Course outline: Introduction course outline regulations What do riggers do? Basic parachute design and configurations Materials Harness/container components Pilot chutes Deployment devices with emphasis on D-bags Risers and 3-Ring releases Square parachute nomenclature AADs with emphasis on Cypres 2 Packing demonstration (by an instructor) followed by practical exercises Assembling components Minor repairs Equipment selection exercise Written exam Final practical exam Wrap up

More than one Scottish soldier has jumped in a kilt. They fasten leg straps first, then wrap their kilts over top. If you want to jump in a long wedding dress, make it out of very porous lace so that wind can blow through it.

One of my skydiving buddies liked to experiment with recreational pharmaceuticals. When he over-dosed, I took him to the hospital. As the doctor examined him, he asked several questions: "Do you see pink elephants?" "No" Do you see orange rhinosaurus?" "No" "Do you see green Martians?" "No." Then the doctor says "It looks like will be okay. Just rest of a few days." and wandered off. I turned to my buddy and said "You are way sicker than you look. The room is full of pink elephants, orange rhinosaurus and green Martians!"

Amusing how it attaches suspension lines to mini-flares. Note that these mini-flares are far broader than those used by Flight Concepts. They are conceptually more like the broad flares on Para-Foils and other early ram-air canopies.

Returning to the original question ... If someone slanders or defames an institution (school, church, corporation, etc.) they can be sued for slander. For example, a few years ago a driver slandered Coast Mountain Bus company on social media. Since he was a new-hire - still on probation - they fired him.

Speaking of pot and university towns ... I was driving on the interstate near Eugene, Oregon when I noticed my gas gauge getting low, so I pulled in to town and noticed how foggy it was in Eugene. While pumping gas, I noticed the smell of marijuana and I got the munchies. I knew that the guy working in Subway was a stoner when he licked the edge of the paper before rolling it around my sandwich. Then he said "Flash it up." A few minutes later a cop pulled me over and saw the sandwich with one burnt end. He asked if I had any marijuana in my car. I replied "search me." When He did not find any pot in my car, the cop sold me some.

I vote FOR vaccine passports. Mind you, I got vaccinated on Monday ... Moderna ... via my employer ... I am over 63 years old.

Dear oldwomanc6, Try those blunt-ended shears favored by emergency medical technicians. They can quickly de-pants the wounded with minimal risk of damaged flesh.

Dear Stratoflyer, I would just patch it with a piece of slider tape. You can sew on a patch without picking any stitching out of the binding tape.

That can be patched without opening the side seam. Start with a piece of slider tape bigger than the tear. Secure the outboard edge by sewing a piece of slider tape on the outside. Make those rows of stitching directly on top of the stitch rows on the binding tape. Then sew the patch to the pocket. .

If it is new-manufacture, send it back to Sun Path for a "warranty repair." Your local Master Rigger might be able to build you new main lift webs, but they will not be as precise as factory MLWs.

Dear a105r, I was joking about quickly cutting off a jump suit to prevent a fatality. I was being silly yesterday.

Lesson learned: Always carry a hook knife or scissors in your jumpsuit.

Sounds like your rig has too small a yoke. Javelins are made in 4 or 5 different yoke sizes: tiny, A, B, C, D, etc. If it needs a new yoke, it is easier to build an entirely new rig. Another problem might be that your lateral straps are too short. Sun Path will be able to see the problem as soon as they receive those photographs. Finally, when you send your rig back to Sun Path, write on the customs paperwork "warranty repairs."

It has happened. About 15 years ago, we had a really busy week at Beiseker, Alberta (3,000 feet above sea level) then we tossed all the student rigs in a van and started driving towards Vancouver, B.C. at sea level. While driving down a steep mountain pass, all dozen Vigils fired! Kicking Horse Pass is 5,338 feet above sea level. I vaguely remembered them being vigil 1s.

Start by dabbing oil off with several clean rags or paper towels. Ask your local rigger to test the strength the same way as we used to tensile test PD reserves. If the stain still bugs you, ask you local rigger to cut out the stained portion and sew on a new piece of fabric.

Call the famous freefall photographer Norman Kent, who lives in Florida. Kent has long suffered from a weak left arm, but Norman handles it far more gracefully than Kaiser Whilhelm II. I have also talked with a few similarly challenged skydivers. After opening, they "pop" brakes and do the usual controllability check. Then they reach their strong arm backwards - between the risers - to grab both steering toggles with their strong arm. They make gentle turns by pushing both toggles left or right - in front of their chest and flare by pulling both toggles down their sternum. They will never be precision landing or canopy formation or pond swooping champions, but they softly consistently.

Dear Mccordia, Perhaps we should insist on "X" number of jumps, plus demonstrate "the following list of skills" ... sort of like Bill Von Novak's list of tasks before down-sizing to a smaller canopy. Yes, we know that the better BASE Instructors insist on a minimum of 200 jumps, but even they are not interested wannabees who merely punched 200 holes in the sky. Hopefully the junior jumper learned a little on every one of those 200 jumps. This also reminds me of the "gear selection exercise" that is part of every CSPA Rigger Course. When I taught that course in Switzerland, everyone thought it was perfectly normal for a student to want to wingsuit off a Swiss cliff at the end of his second season. OTOH A British candidate wanted to punch out a student that ambitious. I tried to calm the Brit by telling him that I could keep the student busy doing 200 accuracy jumps ... on his way to a CSPA Exhibition Jump Rating (stand-up precision landing). In the end I did not care if the student jumped off cliffs, because at least he would be accurate on landing.

I am agreeing with Ian and Wendy. I teach students that containers are going to shift. Then I teach them to grab their own ass and slide their right hand up until they feel the corner of the container (BOC). If they have short arms or difficulty with Method A, I teach them to slide their thumb down the right side of the container until they find the corner. I also teach them to continue reaching for the BOC even if they feel the main parachute starting to open, because this is also a test of what they will do when things get "confusing." Bottom line, pull the dummy handle in a methodical fashion no matter what time the main parachute opens.