riggerrob

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.

Relative Workshop expects main pilotchutes to provide about 80 pounds of drag at terminal velocity.

Yes, I have put a couple of jumps on a Genera, but far more importantly, I had had a hand in the development of the Genera container.
Back in 1997, the supply of decent used rigs was exhausted, so junior jumpers were forced to buy gutter gear or the recently-introduced Dolphin.
The Genera was designed to compete directly with Dolphin. Rigging Innovations also considered direct sales deals that included Tempo reserves and AADs. A cooperative effort with Bill Gargano to design a low budget ZP main never really got off the ground. Unfortunately, Generas hit the market just after that demand peaked. Besides, Dolphins were already well established by then.
Generas however got the latest fashions in pin covers and riser covers. Frankly, I prefer the main pin cover on the Genera to the pin cover on my 1997 Talon 2. The Genera reserve packs the same as: '94 Talon, Talon2, Telesis 2 and is almost the same as Voodoo.
The only disadvantage with Genera is that there are no options. You can buy a black Genera or you can buy a black Genera.
Generas are not available with harness rings, but the basic harness design is so comfortable, that it is difficult to justify the extra money for rings.
In short, I would rather jump a Genera than any other "budget" rig and it is difficult to justify paying twice as much for a custom rig to get the same level of pin protection.

AFF in the winter is possible, just not much fun. If you only have to deal with the cold, it involves multiple layers of clothing which restrict mobility and thick gloves that make it difficult to feel your handles.
Landing in snow, or worse yet, wet grass requires hanging parachutes overnight to dry them out.
The other issue is clouds, and you will have to ask an Arkansas drop zone operator about Arkansas winter weather patterns. Most dropzones in the snow belt close from Halloween to Easter because they get so few customers.
I have frozen hundreds of toes and fingers doing winter jumps. Now I leave winter jumping to horny young men and para-ski competitors.
Since most AFF programs only require 7 to 9 jumps, you would be far wiser to complete AFF in California before moving to a colder climate.

All the Teardrop Superflies that I have packed had TSO labels.
They were all made by Thomas Sports Equipment. Since PISA has built parachutes under TSO for many years, it would only make sense for them to sew TSO labels on to the Teardrops that they are now building.

You are best off talking to a manufacturer that has a buxom woman in management. i.e. Brenda Reid (Rigging Innovations) or Nancy Larivier (Jump Shack).

We covered this question about d-bag orientation in an earlier thread.
Basically, if the d-bag is near square (when viewed from the side) orientation does not matter. Dropping the d-bag straight in is even recommended on the smaller versions of Wings H/C.
Some people even believe that the more turns the d-bag has to make, the greater the chance of an off-heading opening.
For example, Tim Overby was having problems with off-heading openings when he packed his sub-100 into his tiny Javelin. He asked me to sew him up a new main d-bag. I took the old dimensions and rotated them 90 degrees so that the lines lay in the pack tray and he did not have to rotate the bag.
Tim reports zero off-heading openings with his new d-bag.

That's odd, we have dozens of Tempos at Pitt Meadows and this is the first I have heard about built in turns.

When there is only a light coating of desert dust, I just vacuum the rig.
For ground in dirt, I dis-assemble the rig, soak it in warm water, scrub vigorously three times with Woolite (or similar mild detergent) and rinse the bejezuz out of it. Them I hang it in a shady, breezy place to dry for three days.
The last step before re-assembly is spraying it with Scotchguard and drying it overnight.
Rigs that are jumped vigorously in the desert may need to be washed every year, but in dairy country, they may go 10 years between washings.

I am biased towards throw outs. After 3800 jumps on throw outs and only a handful of jumps on pull-outs, I will stick with my BOC throw-out thank you.
Part of the reason I wear a throw-out is leading by example. All the first timers and freefall students wear BOC at my DZ, so it is easier to teach gear checks if my gear is similar to theirs.
My attitude originated back when I first started dispatching students. I was wearing a Strato-Star with my pilotchute on my belly band. They wore military surplus gear and made me feel like a horrid hypocrit.
I hate hypocrits with a passion!
Nowadays I always try to steer junior jumpers towards BOC on their first rig. But if they want to buy their second rig with a pull-out, it is their call. Statisically, the more of them who jump pull-outs, the more reserves I get paid to repack!

freeflyfree,
I agree with you.
I would much rather have a Vector 3/new Mirage style main pin cover.
They stay closed better in freefall, especially when you mis-match canopy volume.
Seeing as how the Viper designer is this flexible early in the process, maybe he/they will be flexible enough to offer more than one type of main pin cover.
In the long run, Viper customers will vote with their dollars.

1. To hide the yellow cable between the end of the housing and the pillow: you should be able to slip it between the two layers of the chest strap.
2. Sorry, there is not much you can do to hide the ripcord cable at the corner of the reserve top flap.
Rob Warner
R.I. Customer Service Manager Emeritus

Yes, horseshoe type malfunctions are really scary. Your first move - once you recognize a horseshoe is to toss your pilotchute.
Your second move should be to pray that you rmain opens properly. It probably will open properly if you toss your pilotchute early enough.
The normal third step is to look up at a !@##$$ mess.
The fourth step is to pull your cutaway handle, closely followed by your reserve ripcord.

Yes, my "tact, wisdom and direction" have resulted in me not being invited back to more than one DZ.

"defects in materials and workmanship" is just legalese to discourage lawyers.
All reputable parachute manufacturers will quickly and quietly replace defective components at little or no charge to the customer.

The "Uninsured Relativeworkshop" asked you to sign a waiver that has nothing to do with quality.
This waiver is all about the sick, twisted, perverted, demented American legal system. Under American law (it is worse in Southern California and down-right obscene in New South Wales) it does not matter whose error led to the accident. Like cobaltdan said. 99.9% of skydiving accidents occurr with perfectly manufactured equipment. American lawyers start by suing anyone vaguely connected to the accident. Once they determine who is the wealthiest defendant, they go straight for the deep pocket.

Most parachute manufacturers do not carry liability insurance for 2 reasons. First it is almost impossible to obtain liability insurance for parachutes. Secondly, insurance just makes manufacturers more attractive targets for unscrupulous lawyers.
For example, when I worked for Rigging Innovations, a lawyer phoned us becassue his client had done something stupid while wearing a Telesis student harness that we built and she had broken her leg. The lawyer asked for the name of R.I.'s liability insurance underwriter. Sandy Reid replied "R.I. doesn't have any liability insurance." After a couple more fruitless phone calls, the lawyer gave up.

If you bother to read the owner's manuals for most skydiving gear, you will find similar statements that passively limit manufacturer's liability. If you are not willing to sign the Uninsured Relativeworkshop's" waiver, then I suggest you find another sport, because most of the other manufacturers have similar policies.
Now get over it.

1. On a Javelin, the distance from the reserve loop to the end of the housing should be greater than the length of the pin. The housing should be securely tacked (hand sewn) near the edge of the plastic stiffener so that dimension cannot change.

2. As for the ripcord entangling with the two RSL rings ... I have never heard of it happening.

3. The reserve pin should be "deep-seated" in the loop (2/3 to 2/4 of the pin through the loop). This usually results in the end of the pin being just short of touching the bottom of the pocket. You know that the pin is seated too deep if its shoulder is resting on the grommet.

Even if you don't buy a Triathlon 230-ish, plan on doing a dozen or two dozen jumps on a 230-ish canopy. Once you get really good at landing a 230-ish canopy, then you can decide whether you want to down-size.
Most of the people who hurt themselves under perfectly serviceable parachutes hurt themselves because they down-sized too quickly.

Most major canopy manufacturers and larger military lofts have porosity testing machines.

Tucking stuff into the center cell was fashionable on canopies designed before Sabres. Hint, Sabres were one of the first canopies with over-hanging leading edges. Some people believe that stuff stuffed inside will get stuck if you stuff it too deep.
I get decent openings on my Sabres (170-150-125) as long as I roll 4 and 4 and leave them hanging in front.
There are a bunch of other factors, like keeping the slider all the way up and keeping rubber bands tight that have greater impact (sorry about the pun) than nose position.
Wrapping the tail around everything and rolling the bejezuz out of it makes little difference in how the tail opens. The primary function of rolling the tail is to keep the canopy neat while you are stuffing it into the bag. A secondary function of rolling the tail is squeezing the air out.
In my humble (Ha!) opinion, the only thing wrong with first generation Sabres is that they are un-forgiving of sloppy packing.