riggerrob

Two points. First, it seems that you can optimize a canopy for terminal openings or sub-terminal openings, but very few manufacturers know how to make canopies open consistently at both ends of the envelope. For example, first generation tandem canopies were optimized for sub-terminal openings. If you took them to terminal velocity - and they were packed by anyone except god's gift to packing - they opened hard with big students. On the other hand, current generation SET 400s open so slowly at terminal velocity, that I do not dare try to open them sub-terminal. Sounds like the original poster's problem was with an under-sized pilotchute. Secondly, the most important factor in deciding whether or not to double wrap rubber bands, Tube Stows, Sky Bands, etc. is whether they are tight enough to hold the lines. If I am packing a canopy with skinny lines and I only have large rubber bands in my pocket, I routinely double or triple wrap them around lines. It has been years since I have seen a bag lock.

All manufacturers - except P.D. - routinely supply connector links with new canopies. Lately P.D. has been shipping new canopies with silly little plastic ties connecting lines to cardboard cards. It looks like a plot to sell more "Slinks."

He! He! Some days tandems look like freeflying. Since it is impossible to predict what the student will do with their legs once they clear the doorway, all bets are off for the first 5 seconds after exit. Trust me. I have made more than 2200 tandem jumps, but every once in a while a student shows me a move that I have never seen before! Life is never boring in the tandem business! Some days tandems resemble freeflying.

We have been using that style of pocketed release handle for many years on Strong tandems. I have never heard of one coming loose accidentally. On the other hand, I have pulled them a dozen times on skydives gone bad. When they are mounted outboard on the right main lift web, your fingers naturally slip into the pocket.

That's odd. I was under the impression that you were not supposed to use silicone lubricant on adjustable loops.

Yesterday I found a packing manual for a mid-1980s vintage National Mirage container. As suspected, it is a grainy, third generation photo-copy. The text is still legible, but pictures are difficult to understand. Suggestions?

Yes. it takes a few tries to get a Reflex right. I never mastered the technique until the guy who packed display rigs for the Fliteline factory showed me a few tricks. The key is some subtle tricks in how you distribute the reserve canopy bulk in the free-bag. It takes a few minutes of extra effort to create the correct size and shape of "crater" for the pilotchute to sink into. A common mistake is allowing bulk to creep towards the loop as you pull the side flaps closed. If you do not create and maintain that "crater", no amount of pulling. pounding, poking or proding after the container is closed will make the pilotchute look pretty. Oh, and one other thing: poking pilotchute fabric with any kind of hard object is a bad habit. I have grounded far too many pilotchutes for holes created by muscular riggers trying to stuff fabric with packing paddles, etc. If you lack the skills to stuff fabric with your fingers, then pass the job onto someone who does.

Judging by your report on its flight characteristics, the maximum wing loading for that Russian canopy is zero!

Coating F-111 canopies with silicone has been tried several times in the past, and it has failed several times in the past. Every few years someone invests in advertisements in major skydiving mafazines offering to re-coat old canopies. The ads only last until a few customers blow up canopies. The basic problem seems to be that taking F-111 patterns and converting them to Zero-P often results in painfully hard openings. I suspect that part of the problem is that F-111 is more forgiving of sloppy packing than Zero-P fabric. Combine this with a canopy that already has hundreds of jumps worth of wear and tear, and you can expect to tear up the ocaissional canopy. On the plus side, we do know that spraying F-111 pilotchutes with laundry starch will extend their service lives.

Dave Brownell was using aluminum for slider grommets. He even asked me to take a few measurements of the aluminum grommets on an old Para-Flite Swift 5-cell reserve. Back in the 1980s, both Para-Flite and National tried using #5 aluminum grommets. #5 grommets worked well on reserves, but not on mains. It seems that fat Dacron lines and sloppy packing resulted in too many slider hang-ups on mains. Dave used anodised aluminum tubing to build his experimental sliders. They worked well, but things ground to a halt when he encountered geometric and health problems. I tried to offer him a solution, but I guess he is too busy with health problems. One other factor to consider with aluminum or plastic grommets is denting when they hit metal connector links. I doubt if aluminum or plastic grommets would last very long with metal connector links. The obvious solution to preventing denting is to use soft links like PD Slinks. Finally, the black discolouration on Vectran lines is just iron oxide rubbing off the stainless steel grommets. When stainless steel corrodes, it produces a gray or black oxide that is ugly, but harmless. When aluminum corrodes, it produces gray aluminum oxide. This largely a cosmetic problem.

The most likely cause for having two canopies out is scaring your Cypres. The simple solution is to activate your main at a reasonable altitude.

Phreezone, Yes it is possible to break an FXC between repacks and not know it. Because the FXC 12000 is a purely mechanical device (i.e. no electronic gizmos) it is difficult to detect damage without removal and a chamber test. The two most probable ways of damaging an FXC 12000 are dunking it in water or dropping it on concrete. However, FXCs have a long history of surviving abuse by students. Keep in mind that it is possible to damage any piece of skydiving gear between repacks. That is why we have scheduled repacks and other inspection schedules. These scheduled inspections are educated guesses at when damage will occur. I don't want to side track this string, just remind you that repack schedules have very little to do with opening time. Repack schedules are mainly about detecting damage before it gets bad enough to kill you. As for the various revisions to FXC 12000s ... back in the mid 1990s, FXC came out with Revision "J". "J" incorporated a series of minor updates and changed the factory pilgrimage schedule to every 2 years. All FXC 12000s should have been updated to Revision J many years ago. The only other revision I have seen since then is Revision "M" ,as in "M" for main. Revision M looks like J except for an additional rubber bumper on the power cable. The rubber bumper limits damage to the housing after you scare a main AAD a few hundred times. Hint, main AADs are usually set to fire much higher (i.e. 2500 feet). I have seen an FXC 12000 Revision M pull a reserve ripcord when it was supposed to. On the question of whether an FAA Senior Rigger is allowed to assemble an Astra into a rig, it is the same standard as installing a Cypres. It depends upon whether there is any sewing involved. If the rig leaves the factory "Cypres/Astra-ready" and it is a simple slide-in installation with maybe a little hand tacking, then a Senior Rigger can do it If there is any machine sewing involved, then the FAA considers it an "alteration" to a reserve container and you have to call in a Master Rigger. Rob Warner FAA Master Rigger, with SSK certification to do Cypres retrofits to old containers and the dude who did the first few Astra retrofits to Talons.

The best training program incorporates a variety of training methods to teach a variety of skills. For example, at Pitt Meadows, most first timers go tandem to experience that huge pyschological rush. The brighter students are then encouraged to attend the first jump course. They do 2 or 3 IAD (similar to static-line) jumps from 3000' to learn the basics of steering a parachute. If they want to progress any further, they can chose between traditional or PFF routes. Most aspiring skydivers chose Progressive Freefall. During the first 5 levels of PFF they master basic freefall survival skills. They do a few more jumps with coaches to polish solo skills in preparation for their solo and A certificates. There is a lot of overlap between phases. All of our coaches/instructors hold multiple ratings. For example, there are additional canopy control exercises at every level of PFF and coaches offer advice to improve landing accuracy. Finally, if a student wants to travel to visit a wind tunnel, we encourage them to do a few "tunnel dives" - to refine body position, turn technique, etc - under the supervision of an AFF instructor.

Hint, phone around to the major dealers to find out which dealers have reserved production slots for Vectors. If they have already paid for a production slot that is "maturing" soon, then your new Vector should arrive pretty quickly.

Lately I have been jumping my Sabre 135 with my old Amigo 172 reserve in the same container. Fortunately, I am good enough at packing that I have never needed my Amigo. I chose the Amigo 172 because I believe that it is the smallest F-111 canopy I can land with my legs intact. Granted, I have stood up the landing on a Triathlon 160, so that may be the size of my next reserve. Before rushing out to buy a tiny reserve, remember that reserve technology lags a long way behind main technology.

I use alcohol or toluene-based felt markers on suspension lines and have never noticed any additional wear at the marks. As for marking canopy fabric, Para-Flite did a study years ago and concluded that Dixon chalk pencils did the least damage to F-111 nylon canopy fabric. I also built a couple of kit parachutes that had alignment marks done with a variety of pens. The canopies fell out of fashion before they showed any wear at the markings.

The earlier, mechanical AADs (i.e. FXC 12000) were big, bulky and not terribly precise. I really wish that "what's his name" would read the FXC manual before quoting inaccuracies on the internet. If you set your FXC 12000 to fire at 1000', then you should be "saddled out" by 2500'. The main reason that many schools still use FXC 12000s is that they are proven, older technology that works in the student environment. Most also freely admit that they would buy Student Cypri if they could afford them, right after they pay for the engine overhaul, the hangar rental and replacing that ratty Manta in student rig #3, etc. I am convinced that the majority of FXC "mis-fires" occurred below 2000', but users blaimed them on equipment. As to his comment that FXC 12000s are unreliable unless chamber tested .. the last time I read the FXC manual, it said that a rigger could not legally repack a reserve containing an FXC unless he chamber tested it before every repack and sent it on a pilgrimage to its birthplace every two years. No piece of skydiving gear is reliable if you ignore the maintenance schedule. In contrast, Cypri contain more trustworthy electronic gizmos. In 1994, shortly after Cypri became fashionable in Southern California, three licensed jumpers arrived at my loft with scared Cypri. They all sheepishly admitted that they had been in freefall below 1000'! There are two reasons why FXC's Astra AAD is not as popular. First, the Astra debuted a few years after Cypri were firmly established. Secondly, when Francis Xavier Chevrier brought Astra prototypes to Rigging Innovations, we told him that his Astra was better than Cypri on all but two counts. First, the control head was too big to stuff into most Cypres-ready containers. Secondly, we thought that having to shut off the Astra after every jump was more than the average skydiver could remember. If you forget to turn it off after every jump, you have to replace batteries every couple of weeks, a nuisance at best.

Sorry folks, I did not intend to come across as hard-liner in my first post. When a container looks "square" from the side (i.e. it is as deep as it is long) I doubt if it makes much difference whether or not you rotate the bag into the container. As a side note, Tim Overby recently asked me to build him a new main d-bag for his tiny Javelin. He was experiencing way too many off-heading openings on his sub-100 square foot main and the stock d-bag. Tim theorized that the stock d-bag had to turn too many times during the opening sequence. I basically copied the dimensions of his old d-bag, but rotated them 90 degrees when I drew the new pattern. The new d-bag had the bridle attachment directly under the pin when the container was closed. Tim has not had anymore off heading openings with his new d-bag. Rob Warner FAA Master Rigger

As far as I know, only the Wings manual offers packers the option of NOT ROTATING the d-bag on a few of the smaller sizes. All the other manufacturers recommend rotating hte d-bag. To back up Kelly on the packing issue: packing styles can make a world of difference in how a rig looks and feels. When I worked at the Felxon facotry, one owner complained loudly about how poorly it fit. We could not identify the problem by comparing numbers, so we asked him to mail it in. His Flexon arrived with a loop 4 inches longer than we used. We simply re-packed the reserve to factory standards and the customer was happy. On another occassion, someone mailed us a Vector with loops so long it looked like a two -humped camel! A repack with normal loops solved that problem too. Finally, newer Infinities are the best Vector clones on the market. I would rather pack a new Infinity than a Vector 3. New Infinities are also a great fit on my large shoulders. Note: Kelly has not bribed me to write the last paragraph, but I'm waaaiting!

Look closely at your connector links. Read the little words stamped on the sides. They are probably "Maillon Rapide 3.5" and use small, silicone bumpers. If you have "Maillon Rapide 5" then use large plastic bumpers.

Good point: non-jumpers are scared by fast landings. Way too many times, I have been walking my tandem students out to the plane when they see aggressive hook turners. Then I have to spend a couple of minutes calming them down by reassuring them that our parachute is three or four times the size of what they just saw and that I like to land tandems slowly. Remember that when you do demos, the crowd only remembers three things: 1, Did you survive? 2. Did you land in the correct stadium? 3. Did you stand up the landing?

Sorry about my lengthy delay in responding. I probably have a packing manual for a 1985 vintage National Parachute Industries Mirage at work. Will check today. The only problem is that it is probably a grainy photocopy and I am not sure how well it will FAX. Suggestions?

Yes, definitely try the wind tunnel. Secondly, we use Skymonkey's method to teach turns at Pitt Meadows. This method is easy to learn because you turn with your arms (which are easy to see), but keep your legs neutral. After students have mastered arm turns, we progress to leg turns and combination turns. Thirdly, ask for video on your next skydive.

ditto, Ask the seller to ship/take the parachute to a rigger that you trust for inspection. You may want to put the money in some form of escrow account while it is being inspected. A rigger who works for a major dealer is probably your best bet. I know that I inspected hundreds of used rigs while working for Square One. Most of the used gear only needed minor repairs and I only grounded 1% of what came through. After a while, gear sellers realize that major dealers are serious and quit sending junk.

It takes one sloppy pack job or thousands of neat pack jobs to wear out a canopy. Sounds like you need a bit of coaching to get neat. Hint, when you are ready to stuff the canopy into the bag, use Philipp Ludwig's technique. Once you have the canopy dressed to the same width as the bag, kneel on it about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. Slide the d-bag down until it is trapped between the canopy and the carpet, with your knees locking it in place. Grab the canopy half way up and stuff it into the top corners of the d-bag. Straighten out your bridle, then stuff the top of the canopy into the bag. Next, tilt the d-bag so that the bridle rests on the floor, Use your weight to push the canopy deeper into the d-bag. Finally, grab the bottom of the canopy and stuff that into the middle of the bag. It is important to keep the slider hard up against the base of the canopy during the last step. "Stow suspension lines in accordance with the container manufacturer's instructions, yada, yada, yada."