riggerrob

Dude, Heed all the above advice. Invest in a trailer, two or three rigs and two or three ratings before you cutaway from your daytime job. Often it is the boring, non-skydiving rating (i.e. plumber) that will keep you in noodles during the rainy season. The happiest instructors are often the guys with real jobs who only teach a couple of days per week. Rob Warner jumping for 25 years, full-time for the last decade FAA Master Parachute Rigger Tandem Instructor X 3 Static line, IAD and PFF Instructor CSPA Coach 2 Studying for a commercial pilot license

If you stick with the letter of the law, FAA licensed riggers can only repack FAA TSOed parachutes. Otherwise you need a rigger with a more "flexible" rating, say a CSPA rigger. CSPA riggers can repack any reserve that is "approved" in its country of origin. Rob Warner CSPA Rigger A pompous FAA Master Parachute Rigger

Mr. Gravitymaster, That sounds like a question for the International Rigger Standardization Program. IRSP is an informal group that grew out of RIG. Is has official powers. At this point we are just collecting information. The long term goal is an international standard for riggers - similar to FAI licensing standards for skydivers. While I agree that a Reserve Repack Endorsement would be nice, the concept has worked gracefully in some countries while it bombed miserably in others. Both Australia and Britain have "Packer A" ratings that allow people to only repack reserves. It would be interesting to see how many Aussies and Brits are actually repacking reserves with that rating. Aussies, now it is your turn to pipe up! Brits, same for you! In France, every senior skydiver used to be able to repack his own reserve, but the job usually fell to the two or three best reserve packers on every DZ. Several nations have tried - and discarded - reserve packing endorsements. The Canadian Sports Parachuting Association used to have a "reserve repack endorsement", but the results were so dismal, they quietly dropped the program back in the 1970s. By the same token, the German DFV used to have a "packur" rating, but they produced some of the ugliest reserve repacks I have ever seen! Germany recently introduced new rigger certification standards that are close to FAA standards. Now the entry level in Germany is similar to FAA Senior Rigger. The thing that amazed me was the number of German skydivers who would walk right past a flock of German "packurs" to ask T.K. Donle or me to pack their reserves. Back in those days TK was a well-respected FAA Master Rigger, but I was a lowly CSPA Rigger A! An earlier poster was correct in stating that it will be difficult to convince the FAA that a RRE is a good idea. Part of that is that one airline crash gives the FAA as much headache as the next 150 tandem fatalities. Sorry folks, but skydivers are small potatoes in the FAA's eyes. Your other problem will be convincing the FAA to change a system that works. Repacking reserve is only half the job, You are really paying for the inspection. It takes a while to learn how to spot common wear problems, as well as acquiring the experience to know which wear problems can be quietly ignored and which problems need to be sewn by a Senior or Master Rigger. Compatibility is another big issue. Back when I started rigging in 1984, compatibility was a nightmare. Nowadays, compatibility can be reduced to a chart or two. My final point is that rigging is becoming so specialized that amateurs will soon be pushed out of the market. I repack about 200 reserves a year, but still struggle over the tiniest, most fashionable reserve containers. Few amateurs have the patience, experience and skills required to close the tiniest reserves. This is closely related to the issue or\f currency. Would you rather have your reserve repacked by someone who packs three or four reserves per year or someone who repacks three or four hundred reserves per year? Rob Warner CSPA Rigger A pompous FAA Master Parachuite Rigger

Thinking pleasant thoughts about strong, healthy vertebrae.

Like everything else in the aviation business, the best jump plane is a compromise. The best jump plane is the one you can fill on a regular basis. And this is determined by the size of your DZ. If you only have one tandem master and he is only available on weekends, then a Cessna 182 is the best jump plane. On the other hand, if you have hundreds of static-liners per day, then you need a C-130 or C-141. He! He! The larger the airplane, the lower the cost per seat. But that has to be balanced with how often you can fill it. For example, a 36 seat DC-3 may p[rovide the lowest cost (per seat) airlift, but if you can only fill it three times a day ($90 per day per T/M), then tandem masters will quit in frustration. On the other hand, if you can fill a Cessna a dozen times a day, that means that your T/M can make dozen jumps per day ($360 per T/M per day) and that means a larger paycheck. Purchase price is also a huge factor. Traditionally skydivers have been near the bottom of the food chain. Back in the good-old-days, we were even lower than the midnight mail. When Beech18s were no longer IFR-certifiable (midnight mail), then they reverted to skydiving. Nowadays, skydivers compete with FEDEX for airplanes. Many of the Caravans flying skydivers have retired from hauling packages for FEDEX or UPS subsidiaries. For example, for many mid-sized DZs, a single turbine may make the most sense, but early King Airs are so much cheaper that Porters or Caravans, etc. While the new PAC Aero plane may look like a great jump plane, few DZOs can raise the money to purchase them new. Maintenance is also a huge headache. While you can pick up beater Beech 18s for $30,000, it may require another $100,000 to make it airworthy! Maintenance is one of those "pay me now or pay me later" issues. Turbines may have the lowest short term operating costs, but when it comes time for an engine overhaul, the bill is huge!

For the most part, skydiving is a sport that you get in shape for. Skydiving only helps with fitness when you do eight or more jumps per day on a regular basis. For example, when I do eight tandems a day during the busy season, my arms get pretty strong. During the off season I have to add chin ups and push ups to my routine to keep my arm muscles firm.

Wow! Crossports should have been mentioned during your first jump course.

I started rigging because it took forever for the local Master Rigger to repack my reserve. Oh, and I am curious about anything that flies. My older brother helped by giving me a copy of Poynter's Manual, Volume One. Only the black edition was available back in those days. I read it cover to cover three times before the start of the course. That helped because I was short a few pack jobs, but since my book knowledge was head and shoulders above any other candidate, they let me through. In the long run, my FAA Senior Rigger ticket has earned me more money than all my instructor ratings, college diplomas and university degree combined. When other instructors grumble about the rain, I sew in my dry, warm, well-lit loft. This time of year, I am one of the few Canadian skydivers who is fully employed, albeit in the loft. As for other comment about a Senior Rigger License being a lesson to learn. Every license is a lesson to learn. No course can possibly cover every possible aspect of rigging and manufacturers introduce new gear every year. Curiosity is the key to becoming a good rigger. A curious rigger will always try to learn something new evey week, whether it is packing a new type of reserve, mastering a new finger-trapping tool or learning a simpler way to patch a canopy. When the curiosity runs out, it is time to quit rigging.

Quote:" Returning to the original question. Since screwdrivers tend to cause leaky fingers, throw them away. Hold the rapide link so the short end is up and the barrel is on your right side. Slip wrench onto barrel. Lay wrench and link on floor, Stand on head of wrench. Finish unscrewing link by hand. Repeat process on other four links. Inspect threads for damage. Replace any burred or cross-threaded links with new. Re-assemble canopy, but only tighten links "finger-tight plus a quarter turn." To avoid this hassle in the future, buy a set of PD Slinks.

There are a lot of different designs sold under the Teardrop label. Some of the early two-pin Teardrops are a *&^%$#@! nightmare to pack with Cypres, Avoid two pin Teardrops. On the other hand, the one-pin Teardrop reserves are fairly easy to pack, provided you learn the tricks. The Teardrop Superfly has the best main container of all the Teardrops. So this is one case where buying the latest version really does save you a whole lot of grief.

Try studying for your commercial pilot written exam.

No of us knew about PISA's change of status until the start of the PIA Symposium. PISA was absorbed by the new Aerodyne International corporation. which now has three divisions: African, European and American. PISA will sew all the parachutes and sell to the African and Indian Ocean markets. A group of designers and marketeers - who used to work for Parachutes de France - head the European branch of Aerodyne. Finally, the head office - along with sales to North and South America - is in the USA and run by Ian Bellis. Ian used to head marketing at Performance Designs. The only old PISA product that will remain in production is the Triathlon. Technically, the Triathlon was designed and marketed by the old American version of Aerodyne, but all the canopies were sewn by PISA. Too bad, because we have dozens of PISA Tempo, Hornet and Skymaster canopies on our DZ. They fly great and the price was right. Unfortunately, the New Aerodyne plans to raise all their prices to American levels. Aerodyne's French branch has designed a new series of canopies and a harness/container that looks an awful lot like Parachutes de France's ATOM. During the PIA Symposium I attended a lecture about packing Aerodyne's new Icon harness/container and it seems to have only minor changes from Atoms. The greatest difference is a new middle ring on the 3-ring system. Since the TSO paperwork is still in the FAA mill, it will be a few weeks yet before anyone outside the factory can jump it. Aerodyne's new canopies range from a mild student canopy to a wild blade-running canopy. They are also introducing a new reserve and tandem main. It looks like good gear. Too bad they have decided to proce it for Americans, that leaves thousands of Canadian skydivers out in the cold.

Another way to measure harness size is to stuff the container with canopies or pillows then put it on and tighten the harness. Ask your friendly neighborhood master rigger to look it over. He/she can tell you if it is a decent fit.

It's okay Mattdog, we accept your apology.

Over the last 25 years of jumping, I have tried a wide variety of glasses and goggles including: contact lenses under goggles, regular glasses with a strap, regular glasses with over-the-glasses-goggles, small glasses under regular goggles, gas-mask glasses, racketball glasses and basketball glasses. For the last decade I have mostly worn basketball glasses. The provide great visibility with minimal fogging. The primary reason that I wear basketball glasses is all the loving students who jam my head into the &^%$#@! door frame! That is the same reason that I wear a hard shell helmet. There are two reasons why I don't have a full-face helmet: first, very few manufacturers make helmets that fit my extra-extra large jaw and secondly I just cannot afford them on a professional skydiver's salary. though I have been looking lustfully at Bonehead's HAVOC ever since I saw the prototype.

I did two tandems on Thursday (written Saturday morning). If this fog clears, I will do a few more tandems today. Seems that one of my Thursday students enjoyed the jump so much that he is bringing his wife out today.

Sounds like a good deal. Grab it! Both Tempos and Hornets are good canopies. We use Tempo 170 - 250 reserves in all our student gear. We loan Hornet 190s to our PFF grads. A Hornet wsould be fine for a junior jumper as long as you keep the wing loading light. As for the choice between Dolphin and Wings .... the dude is offering you a killer deal on the Wings. Grab the Wings! Normally top of the lone containers like Wings retail for twice as much as Dolphins. Dolphins are simple and basic and will keep you alive for thousands of jumps, but they don't have much flash, or re-sale value. Wings, on the other hand are slightly better built, slightly more comfortable, slightly easier to pack and have way more flash! Oh, and Wings have a much higher re-sale value. If I were buying a container today, Wings would be my first choice. Dolphins are pretty far down my list, after Generas.

Yes, you can tow cross-country skiers with highly specialized round canopies. PARA-SKIING is a completely different sport.

May I add a correction to your correction of a correction? Racers may be the only two-pin Pop-Tops currently in production, but in previous years many factories copied Racers. The best Racer clone was probably the Excalibur built by Flying High in Canada. British companies built Chaser and Tracer harness containers. One was licensed by Jump Shack and the other was not, but I cannot remember which. Sod Shit in Florida built copies of the early SST. At least one New Zealand company built Racer clones, but they used their imagination when it came to routing shoulder straps through 3-Ring hardware, so there was s service bulletin on them. All this is history since all these companies quit building Racer clones a while ago and several of them quit the skydiving business completely.

Kelly has the right idea for the wrong reason. Positioning the Skyhook under a clear window might make it easier to inspect, but nobody cares about gear checks anymore. The real reason for installing the Skyhook under a window is so that people can brag about their shiny new stainless steel gadget. Gloat! Gloat! After all, skydiving is really about how many shiny gadgets you can wear. He! He! Why do you think so many people bought shiny stainless steel chest rings? He! He!

Are you going to post pictures of boobies on this thread?

Andy's shadow is HUGE!

That is as petty as Western Nations refusing to allow their athletes to compete at the Moscow Olympics.

We started spreading rumors a month and a half ahead of time. We still have not set a date, but sometime in March will will hold a half day refresher session for tandem instructors. We are trying to line up all our ducks so we can hold it the same weekend as CSPA's Annual General Meeting.

KISS Keep It Simple Skydiver Especially early in your skydiving career, concentrate on mastering the basics before you add extra gadgets. Your best altimeter will always be the Mark I eyeball. Your second altimeter is your sense of timing. Your third altimeter is mounted on your wrist. Your fourth altimeter is a silly little electronic box in your helmet that goes "ping!" Your fifth altimeter is a silly electronic box in your reserve that goes "pop" when you mess up seriously. It takes dozens or hundreds of jumps to master tha Mark I eyeball altimeter. There is no point to messing with electronic boxes until after you have mastered the Mark I eyeball.