markbaur

Yup. It's always up to the rigger, and you can always say no. Mark

Before I sign on for premium membership, I'd like to change my user ID to one that has been dormant (no log-on) for over three years. I tried e-mailing the holder of the user ID, with the thought that with his or her permission and password I could simply adopt the account. No response. Am I out of luck, or is there another way? Mark

Are you serious? If you wanted to, you could skydive at Skydive Chicago, Skydive San Francisco, and Skydive Dallas. Perhaps you should take the twenty-minute drive to Skydive Flagstaff and see if they'll let you jump there. Mark

I don't read FAR 105.49 that way. The specific provision is in (a)(4): "All foreign non-approved parachutes deployed by a foreign parachutist ... shall be packed as follows-- (i) The main parachute ... (ii) The reserve parachute must be packed in accordance with the foreign parachutist's civil aviation authority requirements, by a certificated parachute rigger, or any other person acceptable to the Administrator." The term "certificated parachute rigger" is not defined, but as used elsewhere in Part 105, it means "FAA-certificated parachute rigger." I'll be happy to pack that rig, provided I have understandable packing instructions and have some way of verifying that it's an acceptable rig in the foreign country. I'll even put my seal on it, unless sealing the rig is unacceptable to the foreign civil aviation authority. Mark

Even though you won't find skydiving-approved rubber bands at an office supply store, nothing keeps you from using whatever you bands want for packing practice at home. When you get to the dz, open your pack and replace the rubber bands with ones more commonly used in skydiving. When you pack for a jump, you must absolutely use good rubber bands (or Tube Stoes™ or similar) for the bag locking stows. Mark

A Cessna 152 Aerobat has the same wing as a Cessna 152. A Citabria has a conventional airfoil (more-or-less flat on the bottom, curved on top), and a Decathlon has a "semi-symmetrical" airfoil. I flown inverted in gliders, too: I used to instruct in an ASK-21 and SZD50-3. (The inverted glide ratio isn't very good, though.) As long as the angle of attack is sufficient, the airfoil can be quite inefficient and still generate lift. Come to think of it, even a stalled wing produces some lift: in a spin, both wings are stalled, but one is stalled more than the other. Actually, airplanes will fly backwards, just not very well. The problem isn't Bernoulli's principle (or Bernouli)(or principal), it's that the positions of the control surface hinges make it difficult for a pilot to overcome the leverage advantage of the backward-moving air. I'll be contacting local flight schools to see what can be done about the sad state of aerodynamic understanding in the world today. Mark

IIRC, Hollister's landing area is a 20-minute van ride from the airport, and at a higher elevation. It is not clear from Kim's post if the +450 was the adjustment for the dz (though I don't remember the difference being that great), or if they adjusted for dz and added another 450 feet. I speculate they adjusted for only for the higher dz, and the Vigil fired high for the same reason a Cypres would in the same situation: misinterpreting higher air pressure (from rotation to feet-first) and thinking it was at a lower altitude. Mark

Because moving the mass closer to the CG allows faster rolls. Nothing to do with the airfoil. And certainly not because one wing is upside down. There's lots of drag association with struts and wires, though, so here's a link with a picture of an Extra 300: http://www.airventure.org/2004/performers/patty_wagstaff.html. A monoplane. The airplane of choice for world-class aerobatics competition. Mark Gold Seal CFI-ASMEL,IA,H,G

Because Type 7 or Type 8 (in some parts, doubled Type 8) is strong enough, and because friction adapter tests show Type 13 is not significantly better than Type 7 in resisting slippage. Mark

Type 7 is rated at 5500 pounds and has been in successful use in the sport market for years. Choosing Type 13 because it is rated at 6500 pounds sounds like marketing, not engineering. I just packed a competing rig, on which all the reserve risers were Type 7. Why does Jump Shack use weaker Type 8 for rear reserve risers in this critical application? Mark

Racers use Type 8 for rear reserve risers, chest strap, diagonals, and laterals. Where Racers use Type 13 instead of Type 7 or doubled Type 8, they do so for better compatibility with leg strap friction adapters, not for strength. Mark

Sorry, the previous poster was correct. From Cypres News, August 2004 (http://www.cypres-usa.com/cypres06.pdf): "The lifetime for CYPRES is 12 years plus 3 months from original date of manufacture." Mark

JP - What regulation prevents an FAA-certificated rigger from working on non-TSO'd equipment? Mark

As long as you don't mind betting the pilot's ticket, too. FAR 105.43(c): "If installed, the automatic activation device must be maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions." Sort of like jumping with an out-of-date reserve. Mark

There are two 206 variants. The more common U206 has a large door at the rear of the cabin, and the P206 has a 182-style door at the front of the cabin. Both carry 5 jumpers comfortably; 6 is crowded and can exceed the max gross weight. The P206s I've flown and jumped have been equipped with in-flight doors (hinged at the top) the same as 182s. I have seen a very nice U206 equipped with a roll-up door at Skydive Monterey in California, but most of the rest have been flown without doors -- a colder, slower climb. Launching a 4-way from the step of a P206 is fairly easy, and it's possible for a cameraman to float at the rear of the door at the same time. The U206 has CG problems with 4-way launches, and I would not allow a rear-float cameraman to launch with a 4-way. We take about 25 or 30 minutes per load to 10,000. A turbo might be faster, but adds greatly to operating expense. Mark

If this was an FXC 12000, then main canopy opening must be at least 1500 feet above the unit preset altitude, which in turn must be at least 1000 feet AGL. That is, the main canopy must be open at least 2500 feet AGL; higher if the unit is set to fire at a higher altitude. Pull altitude would have to be higher yet, to allow the main canopy time to open. The FAA uses four seconds as the time for a pilot to recognize and react to a cockpit alarm or unexpected problem. Four seconds of freefall is about 800 feet. What altitude were you thinking an audible would be set to so a novice would have time to recognize and react to it, without it going off at or above deployment altitude? Mark

Set the needle anywhere you can see it. Red zone, 1000, 2000, it doesn't matter. You don't have to hit the bag at all. A plastic sandwich bag held firmly closed around the hose is enough; a squeeze of the bag is all it takes. The pressure inside the bag before you squeeze is ground pressure. When you squeeze, the sensor thinks you are going fast, below ground level. So you are testing if the unit would fire at impact. What were you going to reset with the screwdriver? Adjusting firing altitude is easy even without a screwdriver. You don't need a screwdriver to recock the pin puller: use a suspension line stirrup and pulling up on the big black box (the one that goes in the reserve container, not the little one with the altitude window). FXC says you can damage the unit if you fire it without a load. If you care, use a vise grip to hold a couple pieces of rubber bumper tightly to the cable. Mark

Plans are in the works to take advantage of the natural wind in the vicinity of Mount Washington, NH, which experienced a world record straight-line (non-tornadic) wind of 231 mph (372 kph) in April 1934. The plans call for redirecting the somewhat variable wind to a constant vertical stream of up to 150 mph via a series of channels, constrictors, and regulators, without the need for noisy, hot, and fuel-greedy engines and air pumps. Of note-worthy benefit is the extreme cold, which makes for much denser air and better lift for more aerodynamic individuals. The proposed January opening date has been chosen to highlight the advantages of indoor skydiving in the sub-arctic weather common at Mt Washington in the winter. Still under development are special undergarments, to be worn for warmth under standard skydiving jumpsuits. The original plan called for ultra-flexible extension cords to power electrically heated suits, but there were problems with entanglements (especially for beginning free-flyers), and on one occasion a cord came unplugged and caused major damage to the walls and glass when the plug beat chaotically against the sides of the tunnel. Dry-cell battery-powered suits are in the works, since wet-cell batteries were found unsuitable during one dramatic test. Soon the facility's home page will be up and running: check http://www.skydivemountwashington.com (part of the Adventure Skydiving Network) for details. Mark

Not so. I receive no-subject messages every day, for things like mortgage or stock picks. I could forward some to you if you've been missing out. Mark

You'll find it very difficult to put the binding tape back in place after replacing just the plastic. To see what it might be like, you can experiment with plastic stiffener sheet from your local fabric store. Unless an exact faded color match is important to your customer, I think you're better off replacing the whole flap with a new one from Sunpath. It isn't hard, but you will need a master rigger ticket, a straight-stitch machine, and a machine to do the three bar-tacks at the top of the flap. Mark

It's in the SIM twice, first in Section 4 (ISP), Category D, then in the reprint of FAR 105.17 in Section 9. Mark

East of the Mississippi, almost all airspace above 1200' AGL is "controlled." All that means is that if you are IFR you must be under ATC direction. Otherwise, most of the airspace under 18000 MSL is open to VFR traffic not required to talk to anyone. I'm still interested in hearing if a non-jump VFR aircraft would have been legal in the same airspace under the same weather conditions, and I'm curious whether ATC created the conflict by routing arrivals or holds over a known dropzone. Mark

Without excusing the pilot for failing to contact ATC, some questions: Were you and the jump plane in VMC at the time? If the jump plane had been just a private pilot on a pleasure flight, would it have been legal for it to be where it was? Which was established first, the DZ or the holding pattern/arrival route? Mark

You can legally jump without an AAD. You cannot legally jump with an AAD requiring maintenance or service. Your choice is to have the AAD removed, or have the service done. IMHO, your rigger did the ethical thing: absent other instructions, he made sure your rig was as ready to jump as it could be. Mark

"Perform manufacturer-recommended owner service on a canopy release system" is one of the items on the 2-sided A-license proficiency card. The 4-sided A-license ISP progression card says just "Assemble 3-ring," but the ISP text is more complete. The point is, in the USPA student program there already is more gear training than you remember. If you cannot remember doing this particular task, there may be others you've missed as well. I'd recommend you find a 2-sided A-license proficiency card (at the dz, or download from USPA's website), to see if there's anything else you need a refresher on. Mark