riggerrob

Two pieces of advice:
First, demo a bunch of 7-cell canopies similar in size to your next reserve. Seven cell canopies made of F-111 fabric (wiht only a few jumps) will fly and flare similar to new reserves.
The other alternative is to borrow a Triathlon about the same size as your next reserve. You will notice a huge difference in flare power between 7 cell squares and 21 cell, cross-braced ellipticals.

Secondly, thew two out scenario was rare until the introduction of Cypri. Today the vast majority of two-outs occurr because of low main deployments that snivel through 1,000 feet. The easiest way to prevent a two-out scenario is to stay altitude aware and stay in the habit of deploying your main around 2500 feet.

He! He!
Yesterday a potential tandem student arrived at the DZ with a sore knee and a cane. Upon further questioning she revealed that she had knee replacement surgery only 6 weeks ago!
A tandem instructor insisted that she be able to run before he would take her up.
When she could not run up and down a flight of stairs, we sent her home to heal.
That is our criteria: a potential tandem student must be able to run up and down a flight of stairs.

Don't rush it sniper.They already have video cameras rigged to sniper's telescopic sights so that police chiefs can second-guess the shooter.
If you insist on wearing your camera helmet on a raid, then strap your camera to the side of a Bonehead carbon fibre G3 (or whatever they call this week's fashion in freefly helmets). The carbon fibre will slow down schrapnel.

Only trust volume numbers published by container manufacturers.

Some ideas are just ahead of their time.
Some ideas have to wait for materials technology to catch up.
For example: cross-bracing and loading more than 1 pound per square foot were tried and rejected on P.D.'s Excalibur. We had to wait until durable Zero porosity fabric was invented before the concepts became practical.
Another example is plastic ripcord handles. Plastic hardware would probably work with modern plastics that do not degrade as quickly in sunlight.. Certainly the aerospace industry has access to pretty sophisticated composites that would make cool and groovy hardware, but the price would be sky high!

Has anyone tried a Canon Elura video camera.
How does it compare with Sony's P101, 110 and IP5 formats?

I did a couple of jumps with an IP5 on Saturday.
"Veggie Reggie" Hurlbut (Freak Images) showed how you could swap video with a simple cable adapter.
I did not pay close attention, but if you folks want, I will get the details from Reggie.

I don't understand flipper's comment about removing a camera glove to deal with malfunctions.
The beauty of modern camera gloves is that the camera is attached the BACK of your hand, leaving your palm and fingers free to pull handles.
For the most part, you can ignore the camera.
You just have to be careful not to smash it against the door frame.

Oh, did I mention that I did 3 jumps with a Sony IP5 strapped to my hand last weekend?
Too easy!
They were way easier than the jumps I did with my old Hansen or Bonehead camera helmets. For starters, I could see the record light without contortions.
Students grasp the value of a camera instantly. My first student asked if she could buy the video.
Too bad I did not have the correct fish-eye lens.

I started jumping in 1977, long before Cypri were invented.
While I was freefall student, the DZO told me to quit being a wimp and hand that reserve with an FXC to a first jump student. Consequently, I only did a dozen student jumps with an FXC 8000. While on the Army team, I also did a bunch of jumps with FXCs, but no-one expected the army team to be cool.
When I returned to civilian skydiving, no self-respecting licensed jumper wore an AAD.
So by the time Cypri were invented, I had made more than 1,000 skydives without back-up. I also had hundreds of tandem jumps before AADs became mandatory for tandems. Since then I have done about 2,000 tandems with Cypri and flatly refuse to touch a tandem rig without a Cypres.

On the other hand, I only installed a Cypres in my sport rig last year. And that was only because my boss loaned me a Cypres. He felt that it was important for PFF Instructors to lead by example.
I installed the loaner Cypres in my Talon 2, the one with the 135 main that I prefer jumping. I make a conscious effort to repack the Cypres-equipped rig first.
Being a poor professional skydiver, I still cannot afford to buy a Cypres for my second rig. Like Lisa, a Cypres would cost more than my second rig is worth (1985 Mirage with a 5-cell reserve and an Ariel 150 main), plus I do not want the hassle of a 2-pin Cypres.
Maybe I will buy a used Cypres when I finish rebuilding the frayed Javelin or Vector I that are laying around my loft.

If you plan on jumping without a Cypres, then keep your dives simple. i.e. hop-and-pops. Plan the dive so there will be no-one else near you and warn the pilot that you plan to open high.
To improve your odds of performing correctly, review reserve procedures before boarding the airplane.

P.S. I did more than one thousand jumps before Cypri were invented.

There are three disadvantages with bungee collapsible pilotchutes:
1. They do not work for the first 5 seconds of a hop and pop.
2. They may re-inflate during an aggressive hook turn. Icarus discourages their use when wing-loadings exceed 1.36 ( if I remember correctly).
3. Bungees need maintenance. First they have to be adjusted by someone who knows what they are doing, secondly, the bungee wears out after a few hundred jumps. Thirdly, if you were silly enough to install a bungee on an F-111 pilotchute, the fabric will eventually wear out and you wil be left with a pilotchute-in-tow.
Wait-a-minute! All skydiving gear needs maintenance every once in a while.

On the plus side, bungee pilotchutes are almost idiot-proof, since you don't have to cock them. Certainly a wise choice for a junior jumper who is still learning how to pack.

I did 3 jumps with the fancy glove over the weekend.
The first jump was made with foam rubber stuffed into the glove. Too easy.
The second and third jumps were made with a Sony IP5 in the glove.
I still have much to learn, but fortunately the learning curve is pretty steep. For example: I need a fish eye lens in the 0.3 range. The next step will be to put together a story-board for the MTV generation.
Conclusion: jumping with a glove-mounted camera is too easy!

Caveat: read over the Australian Parachute Federation's guidelines before trying this. ie. minimum of 500 tandem jumps.

At the 2001 Australian Parachute federation Technical Conference the APF board accepted the following requirements for the use of Handy-Cam by Tandem Masters:-

Minimum experience of 500 tandems
Recommendation by CI with log book endorsement
CI approval of camera and mount
Undergo course of instruction by DZSO
One jump with a licensed jumper before taking a student
An audible altimeter is mandatory

dida made a good point about limiting the number of hand signals to 6 or 7.
USPA preaches that students can only grasp 5 to 7 new concepts at one time.
I disagree with instructors who believe that "students will do whatever you tell them." Those instructors have taught at one school for too long and are starting to believe their own rhetoric.
I also disagree with students hopping back and forth between schools. At Pitt Meadows, we encourage students to do the entire PFF program in a month or less, or not bother. Students who cannot commit to completing the PFF program in short order should be encouraged to follow the traditional route of paper tosses followed by short freefalls.
Far wiser to keep signals simple, related to previous learning and few in number.
Erno also made a good point about scared students going deaf.

Much of the drogue oscillations are caused by turbulent air flowing around the student's legs. Next time you watch a video of a bumpy ride on a tandem Vector, take a good look at the student's legs. Chances are they are extended.

That's odd, Canadian PFF instructors use "tongue out" as a relax signal. Every time I have stuck my tongue out during a dirt dive, the student has giggled.
Markbaur is right in trying to link AFF signals with previous learning.

Can any Aussie tell us about dropzones near Brisbane?
Specifically, how much do they pay per pack job?
Secondly, which Aussie DZs need packers?
I ask because a friend recently landed in Brisbane and is looking for work. She has worked as a professional packer in Canada, the USA and England for the last few years.

Only trust volume measurements published by container manufacturers. Most of the PIA volume numbers were measured at Rigging Innovations, a container manufacturer.
Also consider how relative humidity affects pack volume. For example, if you live in the desert, you will struggle to pack a canopy that your buddy - who lives in a humid climate - packs easily.

I third that motion!

Any advice from people who are using them?
Which shots do you try for?
i.e. how many seconds of comments after opening?
Where do you hold your left hand at opening time?etc.
I just looked at Way Cool Industries' web site about glove mounted cameras for tandem instructors. Email: [email protected]
Apparently they are catching on quickly at Autralian tandem factories.
They look like a great solution to manifestor's nightmares.
Granted they will never replace the angles that traditional videographers catch, but they could make life far easier for short-handed Cessna DZs.

Broken pin!
That's a new one.
The guys at the Mirage factory should definitely take a close look at that pin so they can decide whether or not to issue a service bulletin.

Raven 3 line trim
Spectra/ Dacron
Base NCA 350.5/ 349.8
NCA to NCB 9.5/ 9.2
NCA to C 29.5/ 29.5
NCA to D 53.0/ 53.7
NCA to T 22.1/ 21.5 with brakes set on risers
Base A 351.9/ 350.8
A to B 9.7/ 9.4
A to C 28.2/ 28.0
A to D 52.6/ 52.2
A to T 20.2/ 20.8
BL to Tog 70.5/ 70.6

data faxed from Precision 01/30/1996

Shouting.
That's it.
Next time I get end cell closures, I will shout at my canopy.
Will whispering suffice for a small canopy?
Now if it is a really big canopy, like a SET 400, does that mean that you have to shout really loud, or do you ask the tandem student to shout along with you?

A stitch in time saves nine.

Please clarify.
Was the pin damaged, or was it just out of the loop?