riggerrob

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?

Way more excitement than I need!

An un-used used reserve may save you some money. As with any used gear, try to find out its history and pay a rigger to thoroughly inspect it.

Leather hats are fine for tandem students, but obsolete for everyone else. We banned soft hats for tandem instructors at Pitt Meadows several years ago after an instructor got half his ear ripped off at opening time. His leather hat didn't suffer much damage, but it took 7 stitches to re-attach his ear! Besides, leather hats have fallen out of fashion. Frap hats are like round reserves. Just as we would never sell a round reserve to a junior jumper, we would never sell a leather hat to a junior jumper. The only people who should be allowed to jump round reserves or leather hats are those who already have a few hundred jumps on them. As for the debate as to whether full-face helmets increase the work load for first aiders ... I remember watching Paul pound in at Perris with a broken arm. Paul cracked his full-face helmet, but proudly proclaimed that if he had not been wearing it, he would have broken his face as well!

Strobe lights, cell phones and whistles all help in locating the wounded. I have always had good night vision and always wondered why people make such a big fuss over night jumps. It is the people who try to re-invent the wheel who get hurt. They tend to be the idiots who run around shining lights in other people's faces and other stupid stuff. The next idiot who shines a light in my face during the last half hour before a night jump is going to rudely find himself flat on his back wondering what hit him! the easiest way to prevent idiotic running around is to collect extra lights (and a roll of duct tape) the day before the jump is scheduled. Also plan a briefing in the middle of the afternoon to get everyone on the same sheet of music. If they don't attend the briefing, they don't jump! It is that simple. Planning for a night jump should be similar to planning for a demo jump. i.e. "Bill will open at 2500', fly a left-handed pattern and land first facing to the west. Mary will open at 3,000' and follow Bill. Sue will open at 3500' and follow Mary, etc.". As long as everyone follows the plan, it will be an easy skydive.

Chest-mounted tertiary reserves come in two styles: certified and non-certified. Both types are only available with round canopies. Cobaltdan's reference to chest-mounted squares is only available to smoke jumpers and factory test-jumpers. I doubt if any factory will sell a chest-mounted square to a fun jumper. Most of the certified chest-mounted reserves built in the 1970s can be used as tertiary reserves. The better round canopies (i.e. TSO C23B standard category) will survive terminal openings. Check if the pilotchute was removed, because that vastly changes deployment procedures to the point where you may have to shove your hands inside the pack and feed the canopy out by hand. A variety of non-certified tertiary reserves are available from the hang-gliding/para-gliding communities. These are strictly low-speed parachutes. Any attempt to deploy them at terminal velocity will result in damaged canopies and spines. Attaching a tertiary reserve to any harness requires the assistance of a rigger. If the harness has large chest rings, it is easy. Just clip the hooks onto the chest rings and then ask your local rigger to rig a waist belt. If your harness does not have chest rings, then you have to convince your local master rigger to sew on a pair of D-rings. Don't take strapping on a tertiary reserve lightly. Any jump with extra equipment, be it flags, smoke or tertiary reserves deserves detailed planning and rehearsals, on a par with serious test-jumping or movie stunt work. Hint, ask the advice of the oldest fart on your DZ who has jumped with a belly-mounted reserve.

Most Farmer McNastys are made, not born. They turn nasty after chasing too many city slickers off their property. Farmers have little patience for city slickers who trample crops, steal fruit, scare lifestock, damage fences or leave gates open. They also don't like loud airplanes that wake them on their one day of rest per week. A bit of courtesy will go a long way towards keeping neighboring farmers happy.

Lately I have been sewing extra "bridle hider flaps" to the bottom flaps of Mirage Astra, Vector 2, Sidewinder and older Javelins. The bridle hider flap is a copy of the Javelin current production pattern. so it hides the 2 or 3 inches of bridle exposed near the mouth of the BOC and it also prevents the bridle from hooking around the corner of the bottom flap stiffener. It serves the same function as the extended side flap on Atom Millenium, Vector 3, Mirage, Wings, etc.