mcordell

Unfortunately by the time I showed up for some rigging, the jumping was over. I brought my primary rig just in case but didn't get a jump in. Back on topic however, why would someone not want the pac to come to MRVS? Is there some sort of history I don't know about? www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

Let me rephrase that.....the sac came only with a two stow diaper AS FAR AS MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN. The rigger I spoke with initially about it also stated it didn't come with a full stow diaper but perhaps there was a time when it did right before they stopped making them. That being said, I found a reasonably legible download of the manual so I am good now. It should be a memorable experience every time I get to jump the gear, which won't be often as I have new gear I jump. The gear belonged to my mother who died in january of last year. I regret that I never got to jump with her in her lifetime but I'm fairly excited that I have her gear and can take it up now that it will fit. Thanks for responding. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

Looks like weather may prevent any jumps anyhow so hopefully there isn't any need to be concerned about it. I can only hope this is a prankster and not someone who would actually endanger the lives of the jumpers. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

the 22' sac reserve came only with a two stow diaper from the factory. I have heard that many modified this to a full stow diaper, however mine is unmodified. I am putting it into an old vector 1 which has stow loops in the pack tray to accommodate for the two stow diaper with a joule for a main. the whole system only has about 50 to 100 jumps on it with none on the SAC. It's getting recert after acid mesh test right now. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I need to find a manual for the 22' SAC. No it's not to wrap it in to throw it in the trash either..... While I understand the two stow "death" diaper which the SAC came with, I still need to find the manual so that I have a full set of instructions for the canopy. I have looked everywhere and cannot find it. Does anyone have an old dusty manual laying around they would be willing to scan? www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

This sport isn't exactly the place to rush things. I know from experience that taking on the smallest task that you don't understand can have serious consequences. I changed my pilot chute to a collapsible one from the standard zp pilot chute that came with my new rig. I did this with about 20 jumps under my belt and unfortunately I failed to put the link inside the d-bag. The pilot chute functioned fine in my living room but in freefall it collapsed before extracting my bag. This was my second pc in tow in 20 jumps. The first was a packing error involving bridal routing. I realized that what I was doing was taking my safety for granted. Ever had to deploy your reserve into dirty air knowing that there's a chance it will tangle with the other shit you are trailing behind you and kill you? Nothing like a high speed malfunction to make you realize you need to change something. Mess up like that on a base jump and you'll die. Mess up like that in skydiving and you could die. Why don't you just enjoy the jumps you get to make now because from what I understand they are the most memorable. There are two ways I see you can jump for the rest of your life. Either ensure you have a short life or a long jumping career. Remember too that there are other jumpers out there that are affected by attitudes like yours. If you do something to bring negative press to the sport (like bounce) you are making it harder for others to understand what our sport is all about and contributing to the overall opinion that skydiving is dangerous and reckless. I know you said your post was about what you wanted to do away from the DZ but think about it. If you go climb your local radio tower and jump to your death with a parachute strapped to your back, don't you think the local news station is going to report a skydiving death and subsequently seek out interviews at the local DZ with fellow jumpers? What they likely won't report is "local dumbass with a penchant for self mutilation jumps to death against recommendations of skydiving community. Drug use suspected due to illogical and unreasonable behavior prior to jump." www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I didn't know there was a difference. I do know that cypres provides the materials to manufacturers for the cypres pocket with the understanding the pocket is to be used for cypres only. Perhaps that is why they offer a vigil pocket. Maybe someone could elaborate on this more. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

Springs are not weakened by staying compressed for extended periods of time. It's flexing of the spring that does that; compressing and uncoiling repeatedly. So it's okay to leave the reserve packed. +1 on the spring. I am not a rigger but I am a gunsmith and people ask the same thing about magazines with self defense ammunition in them. It is better to leave it compressed as constantly manipulating the spring will weaken it, however leaving it in a compressed state will not. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I went to lost prairie as a packer before I could jump and I thought it was pretty great. Looked like some great scenery around the DZ. I haven't been to summerfest though. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

oddly enough, I actually need one too. I thought maybe I was the only one that had one still. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

that's good to know. I don't know how many joules were made but I have the second one he made serial JM002. Like I said, I haven't jumped it yet. Bill still has the first one he made

I never thought of the fact the risers could be exposed and start pulling lines out. That makes sense now that you say it. Also, with some of the higher performance canopies on the market, I can only imagine how bad it could be if one of the toggles came loose before opening and put someone into a hard spin with line twist etc. I've never seen video of someone deploying prematurely because of freeflying an old rig but I have heard of it happening. I know speeds can get pretty high but I have no idea of exactly how high. I know that I have gone about 155 on my motorcycle and could feel a vast difference in wind pressure compared to the 130 or so I do in freefall so I can only imagine the pressure increases exponentially as speed increases. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

So at what point would you say a ram air becomes suspicious? Would it just be based on the individual canopy and the condition of it? www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

This is not reagarding the flap but we had a guy in my club who's BOC was to loose. PC came out in sit, in front of his arm and as the canopy came out it slammed his arm to the helmet. Broke his upper arm and now has neural damage and the arm is somewhat useless BOC are "freefly friendly". But a sad reminder that what's ok in belly flying might not be safe in headup/headdown flying. It's interesting how something like a loose BOC can cause problems so quickly. Just goes to show how drastically things can change from belly flying to freeflying. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

wow, ok. Well, if you'll notice, i was actually asking a question about the frequency of premature deployments due to freeflying. Though you tried hard NOT to answer my question and attack me instead, you did actually provide some useful information regarding premature deployments so thank you. It's really not surprising that the use of an old rig could cause a premature deployment with copious amounts of exposed bridal velcroed to the outside of the rig. I was just curious how often this has actually led to premature deployments. Obviously the gear we use today is technologically superior to the gear used in the 80s. I wouldn't advocate the use of military surplus rounds for modern sport parachuting any more than I would advocate the use of a wonderhog for freeflying. I wasn't ACTUALLY saying that the gear used by the freak brothers would be appropriate for this use today, it was meant more as a sarcastic comment followed by a sincere question. Way to help someone out that is seeking information www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I was guessing based on the canopy features that he was talking about that he was referring to rounds. I have a SAC that I have been contemplating getting acid mesh tested to see if I can still use it as a reserve.....now THAT is probably more like what he is referring to www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

So what gear did the freak brothers jump? I suppose that would be freefly friendly since they started freeflying (freakflying). How many premature deployments have been caused by a flap coming open while freeflying when the closing loop was appropriately tight in the rig. Just curious www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I have a ram air canopy built in I think 1986. So by your standards you would be suspicious of it? It is a Joule built by Bill Garganos of Quantum Parachutes. It was my mothers and only has like 200 jumps on it. While it is F111 and is fairly old, it's in excellent condition. I haven't jumped it yet but plan on it soon. Or are you only talking about reserves or rounds? Edited to add suspicious in a few years..not now www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

All good information. Thanks. For the record, I haven't had my cypres for very long as I just started jumping last year. I bought the cypres because when I was a kid growing up with two skydiving parents it was the only AAD (I believe AOD then) that I ever heard of. Looking at their reputation I couldn't ignore the history of reliability. I know that there are others out there that last longer and probably work just as well, but I felt I could trust Cypres to function right and I figured the 1350 every 12 years plus maintenance costs would be worth every penny if it saved my life even once. I also can't say I disagree with their maintenance program and unit retirement timeline if it is what they feel is actually necessary to ensure none of the units fail to fire when they should. I don't know the facts and I guess I just have to trust that that is the reason for the scheduled maintenance. I hesitate to trust a company that says theirs will last longer with no required maintenance on certain deadlines because as has been stated here, the parts are likely to fail after some time and it seems to me that if a company were to be greedy, rather than retire the unit after 12 years to ensure it works, they would simply slap on a 20 year time line on the same materials to sell more of them while increasing the likelihood it will fail at some point during it's "useful" life. Again I don't know the facts and this is all supposition. Each person has to make that decision for themselves and I chose Cypres. Thanks for the responses. Now I have a better idea of the "why". www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

So you don't even flake the material? I always thought that would increase your chances of a malfunction..... www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

This seems like as good a place as any to ask a different question about the cypres. I have tried the search function to no avail and have been left wondering, after the 12 year life of the cypres, will it still power on, self test, and possibly function when needed? I know the device components are designed to last 12 years and can possibly degrade over time causing them to fail. I also know that if your rig is equipped with an aad it must me maintained according to manufacturer specifications to be FAA approved. All that aside, is it likely one will continue to work after the 12 year life? I ask out of my own curiosity and am in no way advocating the use of an outdated AAD used outside manufacturer recommendations as the premature deployment of a reserve can be a serious malfunction that can lead to injury or death. www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging

I absolutely agree that existing threads should be used first before starting a new one. I also believe that new users should learn sooner versus later how to use the search function. This isn't an effort to put down a new user but to help point them to the information that has been posted before in detail. How many threads should be started for the SAME question just to get the SAME answer? Put another way is it important for new users to have the courtesy to do a search first. Why would we have a search function on this site if it wasn't an effort to have people use it in order to avoid redundancy? I have never responded with "Do a search" but I continue to shake my head at people who can't seem to grasp the concept. I understand rules are in place for a reason, blah blah blah, but do the forum owners pay per thread or something? Why does it bother you if someone posts a question that has been asked? Aren't there more important things in life than this to get upset about? Just skip over the stuff that doesn't interest you, move on to the stuff that does, and when you are done, find something else to do that takes up the time slot you previously reserved for dismissing newbies who ask questions that are "beneath you". www.facebook.com/FlintHillsRigging