riggerrob

Any way the reason for this post is does anyone have any opinions on the midwarp, the gear reviews are good but mostly review the older one with the external audible port?? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bonehead makes great helmets, both in terms of fit and crash protection, er, keeping me awake long enough to pull. I have been jumping a full-box Bonehead camera helmet for years. One of the reasons I bought from Bonehead was that they were one of the few manufacturers who could fit my extra-large jaw. The first Mindwarp was the first freefly helmet worth my money. Normally I wear a Protec while doing tandems, but if professional skydiving paid a bit better I would wear a Guner or M3T. Also, your plan to buy a Mindwarp and later add a camera mount is wise.

Every decade or so, the U.S. navy parachute test center in China Lake, California experiments with glued or welded nylon parachutes in an effort to reduce production costs. None of their designs have been strong enough to make it to market, but the technology is slowly improving.We will probably see glued or welded canopies first in a disposible scenario, i.e. drogue chutes on smart bombs. If you have enough patience - for enough years - someone will invent what you want. Hee! Hee! Reminds me of something Spider Robinson said Thursday evening. You all know Spider Robinson: the famous sci-fi writer .... anyways, Spider was reading from his latest Callahan's Crosstime Saloon book at the Vancouver Public Library and he mentioned that a German fan had mailed him a futuristic coffee-making-machine that Spider had mentioned in one of his books ..... "How dare you call it automatic! I still have to push a button!"

Offering to massage your painful pectoral muscle. Lecherous laugh! Hah! Hah! I sewed line line stows on both the middle and sides of the last few main d-bags - that I made - but only use the middle stows.

Two materials would produce transparent parachute canopies: plastic and wet F-111. It would be possible to sew a complete canopy using the clear plastic they build Cypres windows out of - Javelin and Softie have already sewn display containers - however no-one expects clear plastic to survive opening shock.

Money is money! Also, every little thing you do that makes skydiving more attractive/visible to the general public helps skydiving in the long run. By the same logic, should I refuse to sell camera mounts to people who do not satisfy the Australian Parachute Federation's recommendations of a minimum of 500 tandem jumps? Sorry if i don't respect your narrow-minded fashion statement, but there a bungee-jumper who wants a camera mount and I am off to finish the patterns.

Normally I would advise you to order spare parts from Relative Workshop. However, last time it took RWS 5 months to ship a Vector III main d-bag and pilotchute. Earlier this year I cancelled an order for Vector II Tandem parts after waiting 4.5 months. Neither the customer nor I were happy about packing a rig that ugly, but the end of summer was rapidly approaching. I will try to send you Vector II, V2-2 main d-bag dimensions this evening.

Canadian riggers are still supposed to test round reserves for acid mesh and tensile strength, but frankly, round reserves are disappearing so rapidly from Canada, that it is hardly worth the investment for new riggers to buy the tools. My boss banned round reserves from Pitt Meadows - except for one or two visiting jumpers during the Provincial Championships - and I am mighty glad he put his foot down. The whole acid mesh issue is a 15 or 20 year old problem on canopies that have fallen out of fashion. Why waste anymore time on this piece of skydiving history? On another note, Performance Designs may ask us to pull test their square reserves, but few Canadian skydivers bother. On the other hand, I believe that PD's policy is an attempt to prematurely age canopies. Pull testing fabric weakens it far faster than packing or deployment. I have had to patch a couple of PD reserves where junior riggers had inadvertently done pull tests too close together and damaged otherwise good canopies. Despite thousands of pull tests on a bewildering array of canopies, I have only pulled holes in three, none of which "looked" airworthy at first glance. The first two canopies - that I pulled holes in - were faded, frayed and filthy military surplus canopies almost as old as me! The third canopy I pulled a hole in was from a long-defunct American manufacturer and was cut form two different bolts of white fabric. The first bolt vaguely resembled F-111 and passed normal pull tests. The second bolt of fabric looked more like sail cloth and failed several pull tests.

Temperatures rarely get much below freezing in Pitt Meadows, but it often gets to minus 20 at exit altitude. On a practical note, we encourage students to do IADs or short free falls over the cold months, just to stay current. Thick gloves can make it difficult to find handles and frozen hands are useless for pulling. During the cold months I rarely jump unless it is with students. Tandem students are great at breaking the wind! Hee! Hee!

The good news is that herniated discs heal. That bad news is that they take time to heal. Sixteen years ago I herniated a disc in my lower back. The first winter I took the doctors' advice, just lay around and moaned about the pain. Drugs did nothing and visiting the physiotherapist on the far side of town was more trouble than it was worth. The second winter I swam three times a week and was far more cheerful. The third winter I took aerobic dance classes three times a week. The third spring I earned a Progressive Freefall Instructor rating. Since then I have done 2,600 tandem jumps and packed a similar number of reserves. Everytime I slack off on sit-ups or stretching, my lower back and legs remind me. Hmm! I really should do some sit-ups today.

In a few more years, AADs will be mandatory on every DZ. APF is just slightly ahead of the game. 95% of the reserves that I repack contain AADs. Only a handful of POPS jump AAD-less, and most of them did 1,000 jumps before Cypres was invented.

Persistance pays off!

Back when rectangular canopies were in fashion, I re-lined a bunch of Triathlons, Sabres and Strong tandems from scratch. All those line kits lasted hundreds of jumps. Mind you, it was labor-intensive process and I did not profit much. Since I don't have a fancy tension device, it is difficult to cut cut lines precise enough for tiny canopies, so I don't cut my own line kits for elliptical canopies. Nowadays, I just order line kits from canopy manufacturers. During the winter it is cheaper for customers to ship their canopies to the original manufacturer for re-line, as they install lines for free. Mind you, shipping parachutes across borders is always an expensive hassle. Did I tell you about the last time UPS "raped" me over a cross-border C.O.D? During the summer it is quicker (one or two day turn-around) if we order the line kit and I install it.

Two types of mini-links are sold by your local hardware store. At arm's length they look the same, however quality control is not as good on the cheap, Korean-made fence links. Don't bet your life on the cheapies. Sometimes hardware stores sell genuine, French-made Maillon Rapide links. If you look closely you will see "Maillon Rapide" and a strength rating stamped on the link. These days, most manufacturers supply genuine, stainless steel Maillon Rapide #4 or #5 links with new reserves. M.R. #3.5 links are popular on mains, while #6 are found on tandems. The long term solution is PD Slinks.

My impression is that 1980s-vintage reserves (Ravens and Swifts) were only designed to be loaded at 1:1, whereas late-1990s vintage reserves (PD, Smart, R-Max) were designed for wing loadings up to 1.5. That being said, you had better have plenty of jumps on mains loaded at 1.5 before you try landing a reserve loaded at 1.5.

A strip of paper is a lower risk than the plastic tags used at some boogies. Unless the tail of a plastic tag is trimmed carefully, it can leave a sharp edge which - has an insignificant chance of - fraying your harness and may cause a horrible death that will heap shame on you and all your ancestors for generations to come! Get over it dude. The paper is insignificant.

It is an urban myth that army boots provide ankle protection. Just stop and think for a minute. If army boots provided serious protection against sprained ankles, then they would be so tight as to quickly induce tendonitis. What do paratroopers spend most of their time doing: walking or jumping? Far wiser to wear high-top basketball shoes that bind the tibia and fibula close together. That way the two bones splint each other. That being said, I sometimes wear army boots while jumping in the winter, but it is more an issue of keeping wind off my ankles and swamp water off my socks. Incidentally - short of Sorrels - I have found that booties are the best way to keep my feet warm in the winter.

Shooting him would be bad karma and a waste of ammunition. This sicko deserves death by dog. Does anyone know of any hungry desert dogs? Maybe just take him down to the SPCA on a bad day ...

Don't feel bad. When I was in the military, I used to work major holidays just so the older guys could spend time with their families. That worked until they lied to me one too many times about compensatory times off ....

Take the high road. Sometimes the cruelest revenge is to leave your asshat old boss treading water in a sea of his own bad habits. I did that 16 years ago and the Canadian Armed Forces are still hopelessly f****d up. Hah! Hah!

Nice bum!

Given her tardiness in paying, you should repossess the boat, just keep the sherriff informed. If you want to clear your conscience, give her back her $750.

Quit picking on short people. I like short people because they take up less room in the airplane.

Okay, I recognise Jimmy Pouchert on the left, but which one is Clint?

my current rig (Had less than 70 jumps on the main, none on the reserve and it cost me $600). Right now, I'm not sure if I should look at a new container that's AAD ready and stick my 215 main in it, or just wait until I'm ready to downsize and go buy the whole thing in one shot... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> According to your profile, you jump a Prestige container. According to the purple Cypres binder, any (Airtec approved) Master Rigger can sew a Cypres into your container.

Quote> Here's a different take on the AAD issue: they also offer some protection > for people and property on the ground. I don't buy that. It would make far more sense to require BRS systems in aircraft; after all, your house will probably survive being hit by a skydiver (might need a new roof) but will not survive being hit by an airplane. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hee! Hee! Ballistic Recovery Systems had so much fun certifying their recovery system for Cessna's 172 that now they are doing preliminary testing on a Cessna 182. Installing a (40-50 pound) BRS on a Cessna 182 would mean fewer jumpers on board and more expensive jump tickets, but hey, the neighbors would be safer! Hee! Hee!