parachutist

An affordable one like that performs fine on a home network where one or two people access it. Bur when it gets attacked by 10+ users at once on a Saturday evening, after the new skydivers have gone home and start downloading, it's going to choke. For that sort of use you need a raid 10 setup with a minimum of 4 drives. raid 10 instead of 5 because you'll be uploading all day long while some are downloading, and 5 is slow for uploads. Even this higher end setup will get bogged down when more users from previous days' jumping are dl'ing their videos for the first or third time while today's customers are accessing theirs. Then you'd need multiple raid 10 arrays with load management splitting up requests between them. Cloud service is sounding better to me after imagining all the power use, hardware expense, and maintrnance involved.

I have 6 pairs of Gingers here. Down the street is a blade sharpening service. My work flow: cut the lines above the bar tack, close to the attachment point. After they're all cut, take a pair of needle nose pliers and grab the line, pull it away from the attachment point. When all my scissors are dull I take those down the street to the sharpening guy and smile.

Those are available from me or from Chutingstar: [urlhttps://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/replacement-pivot-pad-gopro-housing-buttons[/url] Chris

maybe something other than pay-phone cord should be used specifically with the spectra ripcords. I'm imagining a semi flexible tube of self lubricating mds or something. Metal ripcords would chew it up, but spectra might slip on it nicely. Then maybe a metal tube around that to prevent kinking?

Nope. The Sonys that do have it can only use it for outside video, because it won't work in the 170 degree FOV mode. So there's still no stabilization anywhere for handcam or for inside close up video.

I believe the Sony HDR-AZ1 is still the only mini cam with image stabilizing built in.

Interesting. I've always cleaned the cables only. Thanks... I'll try it out

So has anyone actually tried the Interim method of squirting Silicone spray into both ends of the hard housing yet? It seems like a great way to make a mess out of a pretty rig. I'm imagining black wet stuff dripping out.

I was mixing some fact with a little assuming: The OP mentioned riser caps, which sound like the pilgrim hats that come with Slinks. Also it's a brand new canopy which means 95% probable it came with new PD Slinks. Then I was curious which line types a Pulse is offered with, so I looked at an order form, and Vectran is the only choice listed. Seeing this scenario often in real life with new canopies from a few manufacturers probably made my brain jump to the conclusion that this Pulse is just like all the rest. Usually the lines will look great after 175 jumps... except for the area at the soft links where's it's fraying already and therefore needing a reline soon. Chris

The flapping will very likely cause damage to your Vectran lines, just above the Slinks. Those pilgrim hats that come with Slinks don't protect your lines. Nobody has a fantastic solution to this issue yet... there are some ideas that help but no bees knees ideas that I've seen yet. No canopy manufacturers seem to care in any way that their brand new canopy sliders eat up canopy lines in 1/2 the expected time. We didn't have this issue with Spectra, because Spectra handles abrasion very well. HMA and Vectran are weak in this department, so they should be protected in areas that will experience constant friction.

My first impression of your question + pictures: any of those is acceptable, so you're just doing some very fine tuning here. It's good that you care enough to be picky. I prefer "medium-tight" top and bottom with cordura. That's my own description and I realize there's no easy way to get that tension feeling across over the net :-p. Maybe if I were adjusting the settings, top and bottom would be backed off just a smidge from your tight top and bottom pics. Also for e thread with most any materials I prefer 20-21 needle sizes. Bigger holes seem to disturb the fabric less during stitching. Another consideration when adjust thread tensions is how much it changes the dimensioms of your parts. You'll always get some shrinking effect along a seam line because of the top and bottom thread pulling at the insertion points. In some projects that shrinking matters more than others. You can't really tell how much effect is happening until you make about an 8" or longer seam and look at the whole picture, or measure it before/after. The tigher the tensions, the more bunching and shrinking will occur. Chris

Being a big guy, you're going to be falling fast. That means you need extra tight goggles so the high wind speed doesn't rip them off. Heads and faces are all different shapes, which means you're probably going to try on lots of pairs of goggles before you find the perfect fit. In the mean time, while you're looking, I recommend getting a pair of these because they can be adjusted to stay on anyone: https://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/flexvision-goggles Choose the Original style, clear

Thanks for your input! The construction of the main riser looks like the ones in UPT's Parts Catalog http://unitedparachutetechnologies.com/PDF/Parts-Catalog.pdf It may be a knock-off, but I think it's from UPT. I sent an e-mail to UPT with these photos before posting here, still waiting on a response. There's no rush on this rig, so I'll call them Monday to get their take on it.

I'm glad to be reading that in this forum instead of Incidents =]

Good question. I agree with Lee. It's right on the edge of being too far gone, but not just yet. I wish I could just bind the edge of that riser to make it bombproof

I think the shackle is part of it. The slit in that heat shrink is the only damaged area of the tubing. It faces the main risers with no sharp edges protruding, so I don't think that's it, but good eye!

There were so many possibilities in this area: The outside edge of the loop velcro under the risers is sharp The outside of the hook velcro for the RSL lanyard is sharp A hot-knifed edge of the yellow tab for the RSL shackle is poking out, and sharp Then you mentioned the main riser.. I hadn't even thought of that, so thanks! Here's what that looks like... yes that edge is as sharp as it looks. [inline mainris2.jpg] I think it's either this confluence wrap, or the yellow RSL tab, or a combination of both. I'll fix both of those and tell the customer to keep an eye on it.

I have a Vector V3 in the shop for a repack, and it's showing wear on the reserve risers in one small area: next to the Skyhook RSL shackle. The rest of the harness is in great shape. Does anyone know any tricks to protect these risers from more damage in this area? [inline v3aa.jpg] [inline v3bb.jpg]

Garmin hasn't released much info. What are the FOV options? Will the image stabilizer work at all FOV settings? Can it shoot simultaneous photos and video? If so, at what rate? How is the microSD card accessed (Does the whole camera housing need to break open)? Is the lens cover easily replaceable? Can the image be inverted?

It's in the SIM, but not easy to find. It doesn't show up in the 'digital copy' version on USPA's page, however if you download the PDF file, you'll find it in Section 4-3 (page 21) at the bottom of the page, or at the very bottom of this page: http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section4/tabid/166/Default.aspx USPA Statement of Medical Fitness "I represent and warrant that I have no known physical or mental infirmities that would impair my ability to participate in skydiving, or if I do have any such infirmities, that they have been or are being successfully treated so that they do not represent any foreseeable risk while skydiving. "I also represent and warrant that I am not taking any medications or substances, prescription, or otherwise, that would impair my ability to participate in skydiving."

USPA doesn't require skydivers to hold an FAA medical certificate, unless that jumper is a USPA TI. One of the medical options for a skydiver: "c. Have completed the USPA recommended medical statement." On most USA DZs, all active jumpers have actually met this requirement. I believe it's covered in the section of the waiver where you sign a message saying that you have no infirmities preventing you from jumping. If a vast majority of USPA members are already complying, then there's not a need for active enforcement.

Like Terry said, the Alan Eustace presentation was fantastic. We got to see some B-roll footage in high def on big screens, and hear about how they overcame spinning issues. Kirk Smith of Para Concepts presented a new seminar: Making Sewing Guides with 3D Printers. Kirk's ideas for overcoming issues using home-designed guides got me thinking of what I could do back home. There were some other good rigging-related seminars, but to me this one stood out as new and innovative.

Tom, Does either UPT or USPA define these handles checks anywhere? Chris

'Equivalent' could have alternate meanings here, but if literally interpreted, then all requirements would be the same for a different organization, and the candidate would be denied by the equivalent body. Some argue that other organizations like the DOT would be more strict, but clearly not in all areas if they would approve someone whom the FAA denied. FAA is focused on flight, and that's what we do: fly. The only usable meaning of equivalent I can think of would be specifically for a non-USA citizen working in his/her own country, and using that country's Aviation Administration medical certificate as the alternate. Chris

Lack of alternative employment is a poor reason for downgrading the medical requirements for a TI rating. I think Mr. Mullins' input was appropriate in the letter that you attached above.