riggerrob

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."

Dear lummy,
AADS on mains may be "old school", but that is the way some schools prefer to operate. And yes, you do need spring-loaded main pilotchutes and main ripcords if you use main AADs
Frankly, compared with the malfunction rate on static-lined old round canopies, equipping students with AADs and ripcords on their mains was more reliable.

The Australians have been using AADs (KAP3 or FXC 12000) on student mains sucessfully for decades, but they don't use reserve AADs.

Ripcord deployed mains stuck around far longer for students, long after licensed jumpers discarded them. By 1979, I concluded that main ripcords were dumb, but it took the training establishment a long time to catch up. I had to laugh about how AFF instructors bad-mouthed hand-deploy pilotchutes for decades, then tripped over each other in converting to BOC.
For example, when I worked at Rigging Innovations, we built hundreds of Telesis containers for the US Air Force Academy, all with (FXC 12000) AADs on the mains. This configuration also included spring-loaded main pilotchutes and main ripcords.
That configuration was heavy, complex and difficult to pack, but it worked.
R.I. also built a few Telesis with (FXC 12000) AADs and extra ripcords on the lower left corner of the container. That configuration was a packers' nightmare!

At Pitt Meadows, Canada, they pay CAN$10 per tandem pack job and CAN$5 per solo pack job.
We have a hard time keeping packing staff, so we are probably underpaid.
The up-side is that I earned $100 after the rest of the staff went home yesterday! Ha!
Last thing I heard, Perris Valley, California was paying US$7 per solo pack job and over US$10 per tandem pack job.

I have seen this scenario hundreds of times with "bottom heavy students."
How do we put this diplomaticaly (?) soft tissue is far more compressible than muscle. Despite my best efforts, plump students always sag in the harness.Since the harnesses are "one size fits all" they are marginally comfortable on everyone, including 185 pound, 6 foot tall me. (Note, I occaisionally jump strapped to the front of tandem-masters in training.)
The only short term solution is to see if manufacturers' promises about the latest generation of tandem student harnesses are true. They have promised that the latest generation have wider leg pads and are more comfortable.

Sorry I lost the personal e-mail you sent me.
Sorry, but I cannot remember where the data panel is on a Dolphin.
When you cannot remember where to find the data panel, here is a search pattern
Start by looking near the reserve pin. Often the data panel and packing data card are shoved high up under the pin protector flap (i.e. Javelin, early Vector and early Talon).
The second place to look is on the back pad, near the base of your neck (i.e. Sidewinder).
Some rigs hide info in the center of the back pad (i.e. Flexon, Voodoo and Centarus Delta).
Thirdly, some rigs stow data on the back side of the shoulder pad, below the 3-ring, .. Vector III and early Mirage)
Finally, some manufacturers sew data panels to reserve risers (i.e. Talon, Vector).
An old method is to sewn the data panel onto the horizontal back strap (ie. Strong Tandem Student Harness and old military harnesses.
Good luck in your data panel search.

The first time you replace your closing loop, you want a rigger to show you. The second time, you want an instructor looking over your shoulder. After that you are on your own. It is easy once you know how.
Hint, when the rigger shows you the first time, ask him to watch while you make 2 or 3 spare loops. Practice drives a lesson home.
Replacing loops when they start to fray is a "good karma" thing, like washing your smelly feet or throwing trash in the trash can.

Yes, your problem may have been created by a lazy toss.
Another factor to consider is how deep you stuffed the bridle under the side flap. If you stuff too much bridle, too deep under the side flap, it can hook around the corner of the bottom flap stiffener, delaying your opening while the bridle tries to straighten itself out.
I have repaired dozens of Vectors with holes worn near the corners of the bottom flap stiffener.
The short term solution to this problem is limiting how deep you stuff the bridle under the side flap. The long term solution involves sewing on a bridle-hider flap similar to the latest Javelins.

Who are you trying to impress?
What sort of reaction are you trying to ellicit?
Low hook turns will definitely get the spectators' attention, but that attention is more likely fear! Fear that that you will injure yourself or collide with another jumper on short final.
Gradual carving turns ellicit less spectator response, but they will impress the judges - and big money sponsors - at blade-running competitions.
Ask yourself: am I hook-turning because I am immature and need an audience ("look at me! look at me!"), or am I doing a mature carve because it will lead to big bucks?

Mr. Polarbear,
If that C-9 is packed in a Softie, then you have it easy. Softies give you the most flexibility in terms of bulk distribution, diaper placement etc. Softies allow a rigger to progress from parachute packer to custom upholsterer. Start by asking the owner how comfortable the rig is in his airplane, then adjust from there.
One other thing to be cautious about is whether or not the rig was first assembled at the Para-Phernalia factory. If the rig was assembled at the factory, then it will have all the modern conveniences like diapers, 4-line releases, etc. If not, then you get to bug Mr. Butler for after-market diapers, etc. and you have to find a master rigger to help you sew them on. Remember that most ethical riggers refuse to pack round canopies without diapers.
Oh, and take a good look at the data panel on the canopy. Remember that ethical riggers do not pack canopies that are older than them, nor do they pack rounds without diapers.

You call that !@#$ing up?
Nah!
!@#$#ing up is when you tear up canopies, wreck airplanes or break bones.
Take it easy on yourself.

Hint, one phase of TSO testing requires freezing the reserve overnight, then drop testing it.
Actually, Velcro is the first parachute material to be affected by sub-freezing temperatures, but it has almost disappeared from modern skydiving gear.
Tandems routinely open at 5,000' or 6,000' while CReW (er canopy formation) jumpers routinely open at 10,000'. For all practical purposes, skydiving gear works fine up to about 15,000', but then you are starting to get into the oxygen bottle range .... For example, CSPA recommends wearing a bail out bottle if you plan on doing CReW from any altitude above 15,000'.

so sad

If you don't want to remove your wedding ring, wear gloves while jumping.

Blatant advertisement here:
Try calling Pacific Skydivers (604) 465-7311. They have an extra-large student rig with a 340 square foot canopy specifically for big guys.

indyz,
I am also too scared to free stow my lines.

If you look through the archives, you will find that free-stowing was popular for a short period, circa 1980. Free-stowing quickly fell out of fashion after a couple of guys died from line/container entanglements. Basically, their lines half-hitched around side flaps, so their mains never got to line stretch, nor could they clear their backs for reserve deployment.
Granted container design has improved in the interim, but no skydiver in their right mind free-stows today.
As for BASE jumpers - most of them use some sort of tail pocket to lift their lines clear of their containers.
Tail pockets used to be popular with CReW jumpers, now most of them use a few rubber bands on their center cell tail to lift the lines clear of the container.

In conclusion, free-stowing was tried 20 years ago and found to be unreliable.

"Sprung platz" in german.
The exact translation is "jump place," a place where silly people go to jump out of airplanes, balloons and helicopters.

The maximum entry height of a swoop should be defined by the height of the tallest air blade on your DZ. Your foot must pass below the top of the air blade before you can start counting.

The scariest thing about hypoxia is that some people feel perfectly normal until they pass out!
Reactions vary from one person to the next and from day to day.
My reaction varies from nothing, to mildly stoned to really angry and it can change in a heart beat.
You will never understand your own symptoms until you have experienced hypoxia in a controlled environment: i.e. high altitude chamber.

If it was your slider, I would say ask your local senior rigger to sew on a patch. If the hole is in the middle of a panel, it should be a simple repair.
However, since it is a demo canopy, you should call the manufacturer. They prefer to repair demo gear in house and usually do it for free.