riggerrob

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Everything posted by riggerrob

  1. This is the first time I have heard of SSK or Airtec mixing up Cypri. But what do I know? I was a rigger long before Cypri were invented.
  2. If the Stiletto has more than 300 jumps ask a rigger to measure the line trim. The quickest way to measure line life is to measure the difference across the A lines. If the difference across the A lines is more than 3 inches, then it is due for a re-line. Badly frayed lower steering lines mean that they need to be replaced NOW. Breaking a steering line as you turn onto final is often closely followed by a broken leg. If your lower steering lines are badly frayed this is usually a sign that the rest of the lines are tired. Last time I checked, Performance Designs charged US$225 plus shipping to re-line a canopy.
  3. Yeah, Southern California is a great place if you cna get away from the concrete. My most vivid memories of SoCal are kayaking in San Diego harbor - same seals, different bouy. ...... climbing Mount San Jacinto and running along New Port Beach. Oh, and a day sail out of Marina del Rey.
  4. "killer" being the operative word.
  5. drenaline made a good point when he said that stuffing too much bridle under the side flap can cause a hesitation. If you stuff too much bridle too deep under a side flap, it might snag on the corner of the bottom flap stiffener and take too long to open. Newer Javelins have an extra bridle-hider flap that prevents this sort of sloppy packing.
  6. Back when I worked at Rigging Innovations, I cut down a couple of Talon Mark 1 main containers. Cutting down main containers is a lot of work and only looks graceful with a few specialized sizes. As for cutting down a reserve container, I've never heard of it. Most reserve containers will hold a significantly smaller canopy just by shortening the loop. Cutting down a container ends up being as much work as building a new one. Since the little Mexican ladies in production can't do it, you end up paying Master Rigger rates. Hint, it is easier to buy a used rig in the size you want.
  7. Reading about emergency procedures is not enough, you have to practice them if you want to remember them in an emergency. Understanding how to do night jumps is a basic survival skill, because sooner or later the sunset load is going to be delayed and you will have to land after dark in unfamiliar terrain. If you have already done a few night jumps it will be easy. As for the proposed requirement for HP training, come on folks, look at the statistics. The leading cause of death these days is low turns by people who don't know what they are doing! The old school has been rendered obsolete by newer, smaller, faster canopies. What was consider HP canopies 5 years ago, we now sell to first time buyers. Get your heads out of the sand folks! What you don't practice at 2,000' will kill you at 20'! Thirdly, a few years back, I drew a chart of all the different canopy skills, and I kept coming back to a block of instruction on "bumping end cells." BEC involves reading the first chapter in any CRW text book, then doing two or three coach dives with a CRW coach. "Bumping end cells" leads to CRW, team landings, team accuracy and team blade running. If you folks don't want to practice basic survival skills, then please stay off my DZ.
  8. Three points: definitely ask a physio therapist to show you a few exercises to strengthen your shoulder muscles. Secondly, I met a guy at the Z-Hills, 1980 Easter boogie who had a withered arm. When it came time to flare, he grabbed both toggles with his strong arm. He stood up hundreds of landings that way. Finally, if the problem persists, I have built a few left-handed BOCs for guys with shoulder problems.
  9. We have 10 SET 400 canopies in Pitt Meadows and one remaining F-111. Despite the fact that the F-111 canopy has new lines and is well behaved, it sits in the corner collecting dust. My first thousand tandems were on F-111 canopies. I had 15 reserve rides, three injured students and landed way more torn canopies than I care to remember. Despite the fact that my boss provides medical insurance, this job does not pay well enough for me to jump F-111.
  10. Hard core blade-running competitors replace lines every 200 jumps. Lines on tandems only last about 300 jumps. Many sport jumpers keep a line set for 600 to 800 jumps. Since trim degrades slowly, they don't notice it until they get new lines, then are amazed how it feels like they have a new canopy! The difference can be measured with a tape measure. For example, when I re-lined my Sabre 170, it surfed 50% farther! Line life depends upon many factors including line type (Vectran is the most stable, but loses structural strength the earliest) and line strength (825 pound line lasts longer than 550), etc.
  11. One other caution - if you are screwing large rings onto a harness originally built with small rings - you may have to install slightly longer release housings and cables. That borders on Master Rigger territory.
  12. Aside from the whole airworthiness issue, packing in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions provides a powerful legal defense. If relatives of the deceased try to sue me because I packed a rig in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, I will tell them to go sue the Uninsured Relative Workshop or Strong Enterprises. Those guys have far deeper pockets than me and far more experience at telling lawyers to F-off. For example, many years ago, a student did something dumb and hurt herself while wearing a Telesis harness built by Rigging Innovations. The lawyer for the plaintif called Sandy Reid (President of R.I.) and demanded to know the name of his insurance company. When Sandy replied for the third time that R.I. did not carry liability insurance, the lawyer dropped the suit. Again, we return to the point that the best defense in a California court is to plead poverty. If a rigger or manufacturer has few liquid assets, liability lawyers will leave them alone.
  13. Let me start by reminding you that the vast majority of fatality reports published by USPA list "user error" as the primary cause of death. While riggers are human, and we occaissionally make mistakes, our mistakes rarely result in fatalities. After one of their riggers was sued, Adventure Sports Loft, in Perris, California, modified their standard contract to include a waiver that reminded cutomers that jumping out of airplanes was dangerous, and if they got hurt, the customer's signature agreed that they would not bother trying to to sue the loft, etc.. Note, ASL was never named in the lawsuit and the original rigger was eventually dropped from the lawsuit when it became clear that his pockets were shallow. It seems that the only defense in a California court is to plead poverty. If you try to sue Pacific Skydivers over some alleged error on my part, my defense will start with telling you to F-off. Then my boss will tell you F-off. If you are dumb enough to persist, my boss will see you in court, he being a retired lawyer and all. Then a Canadian judge will tell to stop wasting his time and get the F out of his court room! Ha!
  14. To clarify "pal's" earlier post. The early two pin and one pin Teardrops were built by Thomas Sports Equipment in Britain. Recently, PISA has been building one-pin Teardrop Superfly containers in South Africa. I presume that PISA is building them under license from TSE. I guess those little Hindu ladies are willing to work for far fewer coins than British seamstresses. To clarify the other post, Heatwave, HOrnet, Tempo, Skymaster, etc. canopies are built and sold by PISA. Daiblo and Triathlon canopies are also built by PISA, but they are sold by Aerodyne in the USA.
  15. Relax, I have packed enough Hornet mains, Tempo reserves and Teardrop containers built by PISA to know that they start with the best materials and their little Hindu ladies are among the most precise seamstresses on the planet. Over the years, the Chute Shop has also kept their quality high with their Contour, Vortex, etc containers. Chute Shop has also built a number of quality canopies over the years. When you buy from South Africa, you will get top-quality materials and workmanship, the only question is how well you can dodge the customs man. Hint, ask you relatives to carry your new gear as luggage when they visit you in the UK.
  16. Javelin C16 means a "C" or medium-sized shoulder yoke. "16" means that the main lift web is 16 inches long. Fit around the waist depends on the width of the container and the length of the lateral straps. Any Master Rigger can easily change the length of the MLW, but it takes a few hours to change the length of laterals. Often it is easier to ship the rig back to the factory for harness re-sizing.
  17. PIA defines canopy chord from the trailing edge to the forward-most point on the upper leading edge. PIA measures span across the top skin about 6 " back from the leading edge. It is easy to measure rectangular canopies with PIA methods. Unfortunately, most modern canopies are tapered and few manufacturers still use PIA methods. To the best of my knowledge, only Para-Flite (who wrote the standard), Parachutes de France and PISA use PIA measuring methods. Every other manufacturer "re-invents to wheel" to devise new measuring methods. For example: Performance Designs quotes "projected area" which works out very close to the size of the bottom skin. This results in PD canopies packing and flying 5% to 15% "bigger" than their published numbers. In January 2001, Icarus changed to PD's measuring method. On the other hand, I suspect that Precision measures fabric before it is sewn, resulting in canopies that are about 5% smaller than Precision's numbers. Hint, ignore most numbers published by canopy manufacturers. I only trust numbers published by Sandy Reid of Rigging Innovations. Sandy runs one of the few (maybe the only) official PIA canopy measuring chambers because he has taken it in the shorts too many times when canopies don't fit into containers that he has designed. Sandy now takes any number published by any canopy manufacturer with a grain of salt.
  18. The biggest problem with a Stiletto 135 with 120 lines is that the canopy would be trimmed flatter. Which means that it would fly slower. Since it would be flying slower, there would be less forward speed to convert to lift at the bottom end, resulting in a shorter surf or no surf at all! In a worst case scenario, he sweet spot would be so tiny that you would not be able to land with both legs intact.
  19. New rule at Pitt Meadows: if an air blade gets broken, the last load buys a replacement. Manifest will cheerfully take a dollar or three off everyone's account until the guilty party admits his mistake. We use per pressure to convince people to 'fus up. Oh. and by the time we have finished paying for exchange and shipping, an air blade pole costs over CAN$40! Ouch!
  20. Don't blame the attitude on para-gliders in general, blame it on one arrogant a-hole. Chance are he got bored sitting around the DZ waiting for his airplane ride. Lets' face it, airports are boring places unless you are flying. I tried para-gliding back in the 1980s and thoroughly enjoyed it.
  21. Sounds like risers slap. John Sherman mentioned this during the 1982 CSPA AGM, although John was talking about slider slap, the solution is the same. The solution is to keep your hands out to the sides for another couple of seconds. I like to keep my hands near my rear risers during opening shock. Once I am slowed down, I look at my canopy. Then I grab my risers as I start looking around for other canopies. Gloves also reduce finger damage. Have you ever caught your hand between tandem risers during line twists? That hurts!
  22. Call me an old fart, but I don't get it. Every manufacturer puts handles in different locations and it takes a few days to learn the different packing methods. How are you supposed to learn this stuff without some instruction from a factory rep/examiner?
  23. About learning to pack: Two videos are available from Pier Media: "Pack Like a Pro" and "Trouble Free Zero P." I reviewed PLP a few years ago and thought it was great! Also, some manufacturers publish packing manuals on line. Try going to www.pia.com and searching the yellow pages under manufacturers. Ask a local instructor or rigger to look over your shoulder the first half-dozen times you pack. Hint, they will probably only have the time to teach packing on rainy days.
  24. Sure I mention that I skydive in job interviews, but then I only apply for jobs that involve rigging or tandems. Next year I will be looking for a job that involves a pilot's seat. Wonder how many flying companies want to hear about my skydiving experience?
  25. PISA faxed me the answer this morning. They measure brake line trm with the canopy on risers.