riggerrob

Let's get our terimology straight here. IAD refers to "Instructor Assisted Deployment", where the instructor tosses the student's pilotchute as the student falls away from the airplane. "Pilotchute Assist" refers to an older form of static-line. A static-line configured for PCA has a piece of Velcro on the end that mates to another piece of Velcro on the base of the pilotchute. Like all other static-lines, the PCA is clipped to a hardpoint in the airplane. As the student falls away, the static-line first pulls the pin, then pulls the pilotchute into the wind. When the pilotchute grabs air, the Velcro releases. Then the static-line remains attached to the airplane while the jumper continues falling away. Some PCA are configured with soft pilotchutes and some are configured with spring-loaded pilotchutes. I don't like PCA because it gives the student too much time to interfer with main deployment.

For years I wore my regular street glasses with just a strap around the back, sometimes just some rubber bands looped together. Hint, the smaller the frames on your street glasses, the easier they are to fit under goggles. The smallest street glasses will fit under standard-sized Kroops. street glasses worked well for many years, until I started instructing full-time. Then my loving students started slamming my head into the door frame. For the last 2,000 jumps I have worn baskeball glasses. They definitely look nerdy, but provide great facial protection. Basketball glasses look like racquetball glasses on steroids. Those thick, clear plastic frames take a real beating.

Like Bill von N said: ignore numbers published by canopy manufacturers. Better to read numbers published by PIA. The best numbers are published by container manufacturers.

Expect most people to last three years in the sport.

Apply to USPA, CSPA, BPA, etc for licenses, awards, etc. on a regular basis. At least then - when you lose your logbook - you will have an official piece of paperwork from USPA saying that on such-and-such a date, you had X number of jumps and had demonstrated the following list of skills, yada, yada. If you lose the license, USPA can easily send you a copy.

Agreed, decide on the ground before you go up. Secondly, if you experience a main pilotchute-in-tow and any part of the main parachute - even if it is only the main pilotchute - is out: pull the cutaway handle, closely followed by the reserve ripcord. Thirdly, if you are having a really bad day and experience a line-over on your reserve, start by stalling the canopy, then letting the toggles up quickly. Half the time, this will create enough slack in the offending lines that they will slide off the top skin. If you are still spinning so badly that you won't walk away from the landing - and I emphasis that this is a desperate "last chance" move, take a close look at your lines and cut the offending line-over. I want to reinforce the notion that line-overs on reserves are exceedingly rare. On the other hand, it is a good habit to always wear a hook knife and figure out a plan for using it before you board the plane.

There goes the neighborhood!

Yeah! Students are much easier to deal with from the DZO's perspective. They pay their money, take their chances and take off. Keeping licensed jumpers happy in the long run is tougher. Aside from clean facilities, airplanes and load organizers, there is not a lot a DZO can do to keep up jumpers happy. Ultimately, up jumpers have to provide their own fun, organize their own loads, seminars and boogies. Most DZOs are up their ears with students, maintenance, etc. The best thing up jumpers can do is organize a seminar, present a package to the DZO and ask for free jumps for load organizers or reduced rates for all seminar participants. The DZO can provide the BBQ pit and picnic tables, but it is up to up jumpers to provide food and fun.

This instructor thinks you should study tomorrow and wait until next month to complete your AFF. Save enough money to complete your AFF in one month. Few people learn much when they wait a month between jumps. You are far wiser to do four or six jumps a week and get it over with quickly. Oh, and finish the university degree. You may not learn much practical stuff in university, but a degree opens a lot of doors. Then you can follow my lead by quitting your daytime job to become a professional skydiver and earn a fraction of what you would in a "real" job. Mind you, I would have to work three times as hard to buy as much fun as I get paid to have at work. You just have to wrap your mind around the concept of chasing spinning PFF students being "fun!"

Sounds like you are trying to write something like a CSPA "Know your gear" seminar. I have an outline for the CSPA seminar. Unfortunately, Sangiro, I am not allowed to publish a CSPA document on the internet without approval from the CSPA Board of Directors. Besides, it is only an outline. The full show requires a rigger to fill in with diagrams, samples and lots of details.

It would be best for us to wait for Sandy's most recent list. For many years Sandy/Rigging Innovations was the official PIA canopy-measuring station and he is still the most accurate source for canopy sixe and volume measurements.. The following numbers were compiled by Sandy pre June 1997. Model PIA size Amigo 120 126 Amigo 134 143 Amigo 152 137, 155, 161 Amigo 172 181, 183 Amigo 206 217 Cricket-R 142 Firelite-R 177, 175 Maverick 194, 197 Fury-R 220 Sharpchuter -R 244 Tempo 120 120 Tempo 150 144 Tempo 170 181 Tempo 210 206 PD-113R 123 PD-126R 137 PD-143R 154, 150 PD-160R 166, 171 PD-176R 189 PD-193R 200, 201 PD-218R 230, 232, 245 PD-235R 245 PD-253R 271, 265, 267 Sabre 107 113, 115 Sabre 120 127 Sabre 135 143 Sabre 150 159, 157 Sabre 170 171, 174, 179 Sabre 190 195, 197, 199 Raven-M 109 106 Raven 1 169, 172, 172, 178 Raven 2 199, 203, 209, 213, 211 Raven 3 232, 242, 241 Raven 4 266 But we are all waiting with baited breath for Bill von N. to post Sandy's latest numbers on this website. Hint! Hint! Hint!

I normally take a quick look at high wear areas like risers and d-bags, but a full main inspection costs extra. I only believe that the rigger is responsible for re-attaching the main risers to the harness straight. Whether the main gets repacked is a matter of loft policy

Jeff Foxworthy tone of voice ... "You might be a skydiver if you would rather jump than have sex."

Square One had a very simple policy on rental gear: if you land in the mud, you pay for the wash and repack. Grounding Mantas - and other slow moving canopies - makes perfect sense when winds exceed 14-15. Landing backwards hurts! Just look at the herniated disc in my spine!

Take it from someone who has landed a bunch of damaged mains, IT IS RARELY WORTH LANDING A DAMAGED MAIN. Your first second in the ambulance will cost more than a reserve repack. Your second second in the ambulance will cover the cost of replacing your freebag and all your handles. By the time you limp out of the hospital, you will have spent enough to buy a new main. If you are wondering why I did anything as dumb as landing damaged mains .... It was a long time ago. I was young and invincible, or at least I had a high threashold of pain. (Thank you schoolyard bullies!) The first damaged canopy I landed was a Canadian Army Military Freefall rig with a sleeve-deployed round. I experienced a total inversion that burned dozens of small holes in the canopy and made it steer backwards. The second damaged main that I landed was a German Army static-lined round. It had a partial inversion and dozens of small burns. All the rest of the damaged mains that I landed were first generation Strong tandems. Those F-111 canopies used to open hard on the best of days. Broken lines and torn fabric were common. I soon learned that they were still controllable with one broken upper steering line, but unlandable with a broken A line. I also learned that they were landable even when the bottom skin was torn from nose to tail. However, even a small hole in the top skin meant that they folded up when I did a practice landing up high. Can you say CUTAWAY? But times have changed. Tandem canopies have gotten far more reliable and sport mains have gotten far moe sensitive, so it is unlikely that I will be landing any more damaged mains. Looking at your canopy immediately after opening is a good habit. I trick tandem students into checking canopy by asking them what color it is, immediately after opening. Then I ask them to grab the toggles and talk them through a control check. Then we practice the landing.

I will refer to my PIA chart today at work to give you exact sizes in square feet. Don't waste your time comparing one number published by Performance Designs and a second number published by PISA.

The main problem with downsizing mains is keeping enough tension on the main closing loop so it won't pop loose accidentally. Some rigs (ie. Javelin) are more forgiving of undersized canopies because of their loop configuration. Since the Javelin main loop is anchored to the pack tray and passes through 4 grommets, you can shorten it a lot to adjust for under-sized canopies. Other containers (ie. Talon 2) have shorter loops and are very sensitive to differences in canopy size. Talon 2 main loops are tied onto the top flap and only pass through 3 grommets. The fewer grommets a main loop passes through, the more sensitive it is to main size/loop length. When I say "under-sized", I mean under-sized relative to the chart published by the container manufacturer.

Glasses work fine in freefall provided they have a snug fit between your cheeks and the bottom of the frames. I have been wearing prescription basketball glasses for the last 1500 jumps. They look like overgrown racquetball glasses and those thick, clear plastic frames can really take a beating when students lovingly slam my face into the door frame! You may have to smile for the entire skydive to fill that gap. Ha! Ha!

Installing links and risers while the canopy is on the floor is a slow, confusing, frustrating !@#$%^&* process. I have not done it in years. All modern riggers have a series of clamps so they can suspend a canopy by its tail. This makes the assembly process quick and easy. By the way, we are discussing a PIA standard that was set back in the early 1980s. It is amusing to see each new generation of jumpers re-learn the same lessons.

That is fairly common. When a manufacturer runs out of a trim color in the first fabric choice, they ocassionally substitute another material. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Half the people don't even notice that the stripes are a different fabric.

If you are consistently standing up landings under your current canopy, then go for option 3.

BASE canopies and skydiving reserves are built the same. They are also packed the same way. Most of the tricks I use while packing reserves I learned from BASE jumpers. The greatest difference is in the pilotchutes. Most reserve pilotchutes are around 36" diameter. The problem is their heavy springs, which may result in some weird gyrations at low airspeeds. BASE pilotchutes - for sub-terminal openings - are usually over 40" diameter and hand-deployed. If I had to jump off a 300 foot building with a skydiving rig, I would tie the reserve pilotchute to the railing. Direct-bagging the reserve would produce a high probability of survival. The toughest part would be keeping the freebag neatly on my back as I climb over the railing.

Make it clear to your loved ones that you will piss on them from heaven, if they ever do anything as stupid as launching a lawsuit if you die while skydiving. The alternative would be arranging "special" treat if they join you in hell!

cameramonkey, You did not say how big you are. Some manufacturers are better at fitting big guys and others are better at fitting small people. If you are big like me, (6' tall, 190 pounds with broad shoulders) then you will be most comfortable with an Infinity or Voodoo. Both have shoulder yokes that fit gracefully on large shoulders. Will someone please explain where all this nastiness against Wings started? I have only packed a few Wings, but found them slightly easier to pack than Javelins. If your rigger cannot pack a Javelin, then he needs to get with the 1980s!

From someone who has a few camera jumps ... the biggest safety hazard in flying a camera is limited peripheral vision. It is not so much the fancy helmet that limits your peripheral vision, as focussing on the shot. The second biggest risk is someone doing something stupid - like opening directly below you! Hardly any of us have the skills to track out of the way of an opening canopy. There is simply not enough time to react! To answer your earlier question, camera suits with big wings ENLARGE your envelope. Good videographers have huge fall rate ranges. Part of it is their suits, but a lot of it is currency. They can stay up with the skinniest tandems and dive with the best head-downers. Videographers can track with the best of them. However, on most DZs, videographers try to plan the dive so they don't have to track. The defacto standard is for everyone else to to track away from the center of the formation and for the photographer to open in the middle. Most photographers like to open higher for two reasons. First, photographers usually pack for really slow openings. Secondly, opening first keeps them above most of the canopy traffic.