riggerrob

Arguing with instructors may not be wise, but debating with instructors is good. Debating with instructors shows that the student is thinking. The student will not be able to rely on his instructor once he has graduated, so somewhere along the line he has to start thinking on his own. In the long run, thinking will keep that student alive longer. The toughest part about thinking for yourself is gathering enough information to make wise decisions. Gathering information requires wading through hundreds of fatality reports and (ugh!) statistics to determine which risk has the highest probability of killing you, then reviewing existing technology to minimize that risk. Far too many skydivers are not willing to put much thought into their gear selection choices and opt for fashion instead. It is posible to have the fanciest, shiniest, "safest" gear on the planet, but die because you did not know how to use it. This happens to between 20 and 30 American skydivers per year.

Mr. drenaline, Sorry to disappoint you, but most parachutes are sewn by Gramma, or little spanish-speaking ladies. Parachute production is monotonous work. Few Master Riggers and even fewer skydivers have the patience to sew the same component day in and day out. Besides, Master Riggers expect to make a middle class wage. Ha! Maria does not have to understand the entire process, she just has to be the best stabilizer sewer on the planet. When I worked at Butler Parachute Systems, most of the sewing was done by Mexican/Californian ladies. We only had two white women in the factory. When I moved to Rigging Innovations, most of the sewers were Mexican/Californian ladies, all of whom spoke Spanish. They could sew rings around most Master Riggers. Our best sewer was a refugee from El Salvador. Since parachute sewers tend to be the top sewers in the garment industry, they are brighter than average and most of them also spoke English. R.I. only had two or three white women at any time, one of whom was an immigrant from Britain. When R.I. shut down its California factory, our best sewers moved over to Basic Research. Fliteline and FreeFlight Enterprises drew workers from the same labor pool. Because workers in first world countries expect to make middle-class wages, it drives the cost of production up, or to the third world. Sorry to disillusion many Americans, but many parts of California and Florida contain third world neighborhoods where Spanish is the dominant language. Parachutes de France moved its canopy production to Mauritius years ago. PISA employs Hindu ladies who live in South Africa. Performance Designs moved much of it s production to Honduras, etc. Precision does employ white women, but they are Tenesee hillbillies. It is a question of production economies. If you wnat a parachute sewn by a Master Rigger, it would cost 4 times as much as a parachute sewn by a little Spanish-speaking lady.

Folks, I just answered part of my own question. The Chute Shop's e-mail address is: [email protected] I sent them an e-mail requesting a trim chart. We'll see what they have to say.

Does any rigger out there have a trim chart for a Reflex 125 main canopy? It was built in South Africa by the Chute Shop about 10 years ago. The fabric is in great shape and it was recently re-lined. The problem is with the lines. A friend - with hundreds of jumps on Reflexes - just jumped it and says that it is badly out of trim; opening in a stall, flapping stabilizers and not much surf. Alternately, does anyone have an e-mail address for the Chute Shop?

The theory behind self-induced line twists is that since the canopy weights less (has less mass) it can turn far quicker than the suspended weight (jumper). If you are vigorous enough with control inputs, then you can induce line twists. The heavier the canopy is loaded, the quicker it will twist. The scary part is when the lines twist tightly with one toggle down. Then you are into an un-recoverable line twist, like the one that killed my friend Bruce Geikie. The only cure is prevention. It takes dozens of jumps to learn the edges of a canopy's envelope. How fast and how far can I move a toggle in this flight mode and still have a canopy overhead?

Block weights may dig into your hips. Far better to use weights made of lead shot sewn into neoprene pouches. The other problem is opening shock. You need to anchor weight belts to your harness to prevent them from sagging too far during opening shock. If you look in the February (?) 2001 Skydiving magazine there is a picture of Sue Clifton wearing a weight belt that is tied or carbeenered to her chest rings. Last week there was a post about using scuba divers' ankle weights for skydiving, go back and read it.

The problem with some methods of stack-packing is that one end cell inflates first. That end cell is off and flying long before the rest of the canopy catches air. ergo turns leading to line twists. The other problem with stack packing is that one end cell takes all the initial opening shock. Can you say "bruised collar bone?" Ellipticals are not the only canopies that open weird when stack-packed. Line twists and hard openings were common back in the god old days when everyone stack-packed rectangular F-111 canopies. Back then we were loading them so lightly that it was not a major problem. We only ran into problems with stack-packed F-111 rectangular canopies when we started loading tandem mains more than 1:1. Tandem instructors bruised a lot of collar bones before we learned to PRO pack F-111 tandem mains.

Congrats, now you can start learning the trade. The first thing you should do is take all those military surplus PEP you had to learn how to pack for the practical test and laugh them out of the loft! Ha!

I see hybrid cars as one step in the process of weaning consumers off of petroleum. The entire process will take a generation or two. Part of the process is developing reliable, economical technology, but by far the biggest part of the problem is convincing consumers that the new technology is viable. Sometimes you just have to wait until a generation of consumers die off before you can eliminate a generation of technology. The army does this by retiring a generation of senior NCOs every decade or so. Current hybrid vehicles have gasoline engines almost as big as conventional cars. Over the years these gasoline engines will get smaller and smaller, until they are mere formalities, sort of like emergency generators that will need all night to recharge batteries. The process will be similar to the advent of steam-powered ships. The first generation of steam-powered ships retained sails. By the time the second generation of steam-powered ships was introduced, a generation of sailors had died off, so the second generation of steam-powered ships were built without sails. Tradition-bound sailors who did not trust steam were relegated to second-class sailing ships and were able to serve out their carreers under sail. Eventually the few remaining sailing ships were crewed by burnt out drunks who could not find employment anywhere else. In the long run, we will see the entire economy slowly weaned off of petroleum, starting with stationary generating plants, followed by ships, then trains, then buses, then taxis, then private cars and lastly airplanes. As the price of petroleum increase, skydiving will be marginalized to the realm of billionaires and princes. The rest of us will get our thrills BASE jumping and para-gliding.

Conquest main canopy (made in South Africa by Chute shop or PISA) is one of many Sabre Mk 1 clones. A decent buy as long as the lines have less than 500 jumps. NARO harness/container (made by Parachute Industires of South Africa) is one of many Vector 2 clones. It utilizes last week's technology. It will get you in the air, but you won't win any fashion points. The real question is how much wear and tear it has suffered over the years. Price should be less than US$2,000 without a Cypres, maybe US$3,000 with. We should remind you of the usual caveat to have a rigger do a full inspection before any money changes hands. The other caveat is that this gear has low resale value in North America.

Correction: 3800 total jumps 2200 tandem jumps

Has anyone jumped a Reflex main canopy? A friend recently offered me a used Reflex 125 main canopy, cheap. It was built by the Chute Shop in South Africa. The canopy was recently re-lined and the fabric is still in good shape. It looks like a Stiletto except that the outer cells are tri-cells. How does it turn, flare, turf-surf, etc. compared to Stiletto? If you get a Reflex deep in the corner, cna you stab your way out as well as if you were jumping a Stiletto? Before you start flaming me, I have no intention of stabbing my way out of the corner, but I expect spend hundreds of jumps learning to fly this canopy. I already have 3800 jumps, but the bulk of my "elliptical" experience is on SET 400s. Before you get started, I am not interested in sales pitches on your favorite brand. I am an impoverished professional skydiver supporting a girlfriend and three cats while studying for a commercial pilot license, so I have nowhere near enough spare cash to buy a new canopy.

Read the label on your Transfair reserve. If it says "TSO" then an American citizen can leaglly jump it in the USA. If it doesn't say "TSO" on the label, than only foreigners can leagally jump it in the USA. If you are an American citizen and want to jump non-TSO'ed gear made by Parachutes de France in the USA, then do it quietly. P. de F. builds decent parachutes, but they have not bothered to apply for TSOs on everything they make. P. de F. relied for many years on the French standards which are tougher than American TSO standards.

Vacuum sand or salt out of your rig before it starts to rust hardware. Any household vacuum cleaner will remove sand or salt as long as the rig stayed dry. There is also a risk of all those sharp little crystals grinding away at the nylon, but that is more of a long term problem. Back in the 1980s, Para-Flite had a problem with shrinking leading edge tapes on military canopies that had deliberately been landed in salt water. Para-Flite's short term solution was switching to a different brand of tape. The SEALs' long term solution is to have two sets of gear parachutes. One set of parachutes for landing on land and a second set for landing in water. Also remember, that if you accidentally dunk your Cypres, it has to be overhauled.

Over the years I have published articles on hook knives in Canpara, Parachutist and Skydiving magazines. Experts agree that the best place to wear a hook knife is on your chest. Your simplest solution is to ask your local rigger to hand stitch your hook knife sheath to your chest strap so you don't forget it. A better solution is to slip your knife up inside the 3-ring cover/mudflap. Many manufacturers install Velcro on the flap for that reason. To retrofit a knife, it is easier to set a snap into a mudflap.

Listen to bill von. Hint, I still wear an Amigo 172 reserve even though I usually jump mains in the 150 -125 square foot range.

Yeah! Go ahead and publish brief fatality reports on DZ.com. Reading fatality reports in Parachutist magazine has cured me of several bad habits. After 25 years, I don't read them as religiously as I used to, something about them all blurring together. Same accident, different day, yada, yada. If posting fatality reports on DZ.com cures one bad habit for one junior jumper, it will be enough. The least pleasant part of rigging is inspecting gear with a policeman looking over my shoulder.

The answer is Honduras. The last few new Performance Designs canopies I assemble were sewn in Honduras. Since most of the canopies sold by Aerodyne, Atair and Icarus are also sewn overseas, the list of top-shelf, American-made canopies is pretty short.

Save a few coins by going with the slightly used rig. Promptly re-invest your savings in jump tickets because currency will keep you alive longer than shiny new gear. Secondly, I am so tired of listening to rumors about "Sabre slap." Yes, first generation Sabres will slap you if you pack sloppily. Stilettos will bitch-slap you if you pack sloppily. Any Icarus canopy will tweak your neck if you pack sloppily. A SET 400 will break your neck if you pack sloppily enough. What is your point?

Vector 3 manual is just a Vector 2 manual with a 1-page supplement because the reserve closing sequence is slightly different. ie. compress pilotchute, close bottom flap, side, side, top, etc.

May be we need to add another line to our waivers "If you are dumb enough to breach this waiver by suing us, you (along with all your heirs, successors, executors, drinking buddies, etc.) will be forbidden to jump at the DZ ever again. We will also show copies of your court documents to all the other DZs, ski hills, snow board shops, kayak rental places, etc. we know of. On top of that, we will publically slander you and spit every time your name is mentioned. In short, you (along with your heirs, drinking buddies, etc.) will never have any more fun. On a practical note, if the woman who launched a certain lawsuit (over a death at Perris a couple of years ago) ever shows up at any DZ I am working at, I will advise my boss not to take her money, because she is a high risk for a law suit. In conclusion, I left Southern California because I hate working in a state where the laws are cast in clay!

Go rice boy!

Scary! Glad to hear that your kidnapped friend was released okay.

Several major dealers sell daypacks that look like small parachutes. Voodoo and Talon 2 day packs are available directly from Rigging Innovations.

Why would Para-Flite engineer a new reserve and call it Swift Plus?