riggerrob

< > Legally, no a non-rigger is not allowed to re-sew/over-sew anything on your d-bag. Officially over sews are reserved for FAA Senior Riggers. Heck they can even oversew hip joints on Vectors (as per Service Bullletin XYZ, yada, yada). If you plan on re-sewing your own d-bag, do it so neatly that people hav difficulty differentiating between your sewing and factory sewing, ie. use the same color of E-thread at the same number of stitches per inch, closely following the old stitiching, following the factory practice of back stitching at both ends of the repair, etc. But don't melt the severed ends of the thread because Relative Workshops does not melt ends. He! He! The bottom line is, if you are going to "exceed your certificate" do it so neatly that people cannot distinguish your sewing from factory sewing.

Yes ZP fabric is more expensive and yes, ZP fabric can fall out of a BOC more easily if the BOC is worn or the wrong size. But I think the main reason they discourage ZP pilotchutes is because of their high snatch force. A ZP pilotchute can jerk the d-bag off your back so fast that it dumps lines. Mind you, line dump is rarely a problem unless you pack sloppily and use the wrong size of rubber bands. The other factor is canopy weight. As canopies get smaller and lighter, you need smaller pilotchutes to provide reasonable snatch force. It is mind-boggling for a factory to try and stock a dozen different sizes of pilotchutes, in three dozen colors and two different fabrics, then guess whether the end user preferrs hard or soft openings and whether they preferr hops-and-pops or dumping in a track, etc... The posibilities are mind-boggling. I peferr ZP pilotchutes because they last longer.

Since every canopy manufacturer uses a different measuring method, their numbers are useless when comparing products from other manufacturers. Only trust volume data published by container manufacturers. For example, if you want to know which canopies will pack gracefully into a Voodoo, go to Rigging Innovations' web site. Another source is any PIA data, since R.I. does most of the measurements for PIA data.

What do you mean by: For some people, "a little more performance" means softer openings. For others it means flatter glide to get them back from terrible spots. For others "a little more performance" means faster toggle turns. For some it means longer turf surfs. For others, it means more stability in stacks. For others it means more stability in deep brakes so they can stomp more discs, etc. Please be more specific in what you want out of a canopy. Also I cannot recommend Diablos for junior jumpers. Daiblos are seriously-tapered 7-cells that are designed to turn far faster than Triathlons. My boss describes a Diablo as a canopy that flies like a Stiletto without the scary openings. Mind you, the Diablo 135 that I have been jumping lately has been cutaway twice after it spun up on opening.You would be far wiser to put a few hundred jumps on a slightly tapered 7-cell (i.e. Spectre) before trying a seriously tapered 7-cell like a Diablo.

Quote: "If the rigger that did the work doesn't make a note of it on the reserve card, then how would the FAA find out? I bring this up not as a way of doing illegal rigging work and how to get away with it but because I recently had to send a Javelin back to Sun Path. It was an old one, but in terrific shape. It was brought to me for a re-pack, but I noticed that the main closing loop toungue grommet was facing the D-bag and had a plastic stiffener in it, so that the SB couldn't be applied. Sun Path replaced the toungue, but made no notes on the reserve card that I was careful to include with the rig or on the container's data label. I expected them to make a notation on the card and the container's label indicating the work performed." end quote. Rigging Innovations rarely notes factory repairs on packing data cards. R.I. claims that a note attached to archived production records is enough to satisfy TSO requirements. On the other hand I have seen updates and Service Bulletins done by Senior Riggers that were never written down. Mind you those updates were done so neatly that they were indistinguishable from factory sewing. Hint, if you are going to "exceed your certificate" do it so neatly that people cannot tell the difference between your sewing and factory sewing. That is ultimately the best way to cover your butt. I too have an old Javelin - with a plastic stiffener in the main loop anchor-, but the owner is too cheap to mail it to the factory. Since I am a Master Rigger (with extensive experience at container repairs) I plan to update the main loop anchor myself. Now let's start a flame fest about whether I should copy Javelin's current production standard or install a Wings style main loop anchor. I believe that the Wings style anchor is more snag-resistant and as an arrogant Master Rigger I am allowed to "substitute similar TSOed components."

Look for size 69 nylon upholstry thread. Just don't use it on certified parachutes. Para-Gear often unloads old odd spools of E Thread for low prices, as long as you don't mind neon pink!

The FAA defines a major repair (or alteration) as something - that if done improperly - could interferr with the inflation or flying characteristics of the parachute. An improperly installed BOC can interfer with inflation, ergo, it requires a Master Rigger. Which is not to say that I have seen plenty of BOCS neatly installed by FAA Senior Riggers. On the other hand, I have seen some "marginally airworthy" homemade BOCS! I do not trust the average skydiver to replace his own BOC. If you are just sewing on a pre-made BOC - from say Para-Gear - it is not a big deal. However, retrofitting a Cordura BOC to a rig that never had a BOC before requires special patterns and knowledge, knowledge that is not found in most lofts.

After looking at your drawing, I realize that I have been using a variation on your nuther technique. Once the canopy is coccooned, burritoed, call-it-what-you-will, I kneel on the top corners of the orange warning label. I slide the d-bag between the canopy and the floor, clamping the lower corners of the flap with my knees. My knees stay in the same place for the next four steps, preventing the lines and slider from wandering. Then I grab the canopy halfway up and stuff it into the top of the d-bag. I cram the top 1/4 of the canopy into the d-bag and cock the piltochute, still with my knees clamping the slider and lines. Finally, I lift my knees, tilt the d-bag onto its top end and shove the bottom 1/4 of the canopy, including the slider into the middle of the d-bag. Once the first stow has been made in the first rubber band, I catch my breath.

Ask your rigger to measure the lines and decide if the canopy is still in trim. It sounds like you are all loading the canopy too heavy.

I have been using this packing method for the last four years on everything from tandems to 100 square footers. Frankly, I find it far easier, especially with new Zero P.

Beiseker, Alberta Has anyone llese heard the rumors about Jim Mercier retiring, Ken Broach buying the place and the whole gang joining CSPA? Whatever happened to CAPS?

"Military guard duty" what an oxymoron! I could tell you some stories about the guard duties I pulled while in the Canadian Armed Forces, but they sound pretty pathetic in retrospect. Planning was pathetic.

"What we're gonna do is we're gonna ....."

Between a pair of boobies.

Looks like an electronic version of orienteering.

The PIA Symposium includes a lecture on packing the Aerodyne Icon harness/container.

Since you can pack a Dolphin the same as a Javelin, it looks and functions the same, If someone gave me a Dolphin, I would cheerfully put 500 jumps on it. As I see it, the only disadvantage to Dolphin is the low resale value. Far wiser to spend the money you save buying a Dolphin, Genera, decent used rig, etc on jump tickets because currency will keep you alive.

Minor correction: Charlie Hillard was flying a Hawker Sea Fury when he died. The airplane flipped over on landing. He was not going very fast, so structural damage was limited. Charlie was trapped in the over-turned Korean-War vintage fighter plane anddied of positional asphixia.

Which container features do you consider mandatory for CReW? Straight harness? Hip rings? Hip and chest rings? Extra-wide leg pads? Extra-large riser covers? Style of pin cover? Reserve CReW flap or tuck in pin cover? Pull-out or throw-out? How many of you ignore side flaps? Let's limit this discussion to below-riser features.

Naw dude, stick with beer in aluminum cans. That way you don't have to worry about bleeding when you inevitably crash!

That rumor persists, but I have never seen documentation. Considering how many other mistakes the Russian Army made when it invaded Finland, it would not surprise me.

To expand on councilman's post, the most likely cause of a container lock with metal cones, was worn cones. After a few years of bumping around, the grommets or end tabs could wear grooves in the metal cones, trapping the end tabs.

A museum is a good idea, but I would prefer to see traveling exhibits. Sure visiting lofts is less expensive, but POPS are retiring from the sport. One of the problems we face in B.C. is that most of the riggers are crusty old farts (hint I am 45), but no new riggers are being trained. In the not too distant future, DZs and lofts will be staffed by people who have never jumped round parachutes and just don't care. A fascinating and related project would be to collect oral histories from POPs. Maybe we could sic some graduate students on this project. It should be easy to incorporate these oral histories into a traveling exhibit. Bytes and pixels are far easier to transport than dusty old silk parachutes.

I used method A to close my 1985 vintage Mirage and method B to close my 1997 Talon 2. When in doubt, pack according to the manufacturers' instructions. Frequently those instructions are the result of some obscure idiot er. BASE jumper, er head-downer, er CReW competitor, etc. (He! He!) inventing a new way to hurt himself. For example: pin covers on Vector I and II as well as Talon Mark I tend to blow open when you sit fly. This is because they were designed long before sit flying became fashionable. It is a credit to manufacturers that most rigs can be closed out of sequence and will still open when asked. But don't expect any rig to save you when you pack in a manner that differs from the manual! Most of those ADs, Service Bulletins and updates are the result of someone packing or using a rig in a manner that never crossed the designer's mind in his worst drunken nightmare! PhreeZone, please post a picture of your CReW rig with only the bottom flap closed. If it is like most CReW rigs, it has riser blocks and toggles and fabric squirting out of every corner. What special precautions do you take when not closing all the flaps?

I have an Eclipse packing manual, but it is so close to the Vector 2 manual that it si not worth the cost of FAXing it.