councilman24

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Everything posted by councilman24

  1. Best change my local King Soopers (part of Kroger) ever made. I never use the manned checkout lanes any more. Ah, but there are 12 items or less self scanners and unlimited self scanners. And people still can't count. What truly annoys me is that for much of the day they have NO checkers on duty. Sometimes with a cart full I just don't feel like bagging my own. Of course then we have the folks that seem truly surprised when asked, either by a computer or by a live person, to pay for their purchases (or I guess potential purchases). A surprised look on their face, trying to pull their purse from their back, hunting for their pocket book, trying to get their wallet out of their pocket, etc. This after standing there and watching the checker or chatting to the bagger for 4 or 5 minutes. Or can't figure out that the scanner will NOT read anything while outlined in red no matter how many times they turn it. It's an art finding the line with the couple that has one bagging (sometimes well trained kids) while the other scans and pays. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  2. While testing another DPRE for a lap rating and being observed by my FAA PMI all three of us forgot to check passed. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  3. There's no way my PMI will be able to pack a sport reserve. Between size and artificial joints and other issues if he got on the floor he have trouble getting up, let alone packing a rig. He's said himself there's no way he could do that. And I think that was for a pilot rig. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  4. Foundation for many years brought B17 and 24 or 25 to World Freefall Convention. $10 raffle ticket for 1 in 35 chance or pay $350 , ride price then. About 14 spread throughout cabin. All could go out bombbay but half of my load decided to go out crew hatch behind waist gunner. Bombbay doors opened underneath my legs. One of most memorable jumps. Riding in it, or just touring B17, give you an appreciation for what bomber crews went through. Below zero cold, altitude requiring oxygen, large open gun ports (window) on sides, ball turret and tail gunner cramped stations. You watch movies and they aren't cold, hypoxic, scared shitless, and bored for hours. ☠ I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  5. I have never seen an intact kern mantle 'finger trapped' into a loop for any application in skydiving. Only either type IIA (sheath, 'mantle', only) or braided line. Intact Type II or Type III ('550') really isn't used in any applications that I can think of in sport equipment. It is used in steering lines in pilot emergency rigs. Certainly can't think of any where braided line /doesn't/wouldn't work. I can't think of ever seeing anybody finger trap climbing kern mantle rope either. If we need a loop we tie it. Certainly in boating we splice eyes into braided line. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  6. Have you done that splice with kern mantle construction versus double braid as shown? Seems that having individual separate strands versus a single braided core would make it more difficult. But I'm too lazy to try. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  7. Collings Foundation tour B-17, 24, 25 and P-51 will be on east coast August through Oct. VA and SC in October. This is the B-17 we jumped out of at Quincy. https://www.collingsfoundation.org/events/category/wings-of-freedom-tour/ B17 and 24 are $450. B25 $400 P 51 $2200 30 min, 3200 60 min. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  8. [edit; Whoops, didn't see post above quoting PD.]Stuffing cells in the center cell predates the Sabre. We were doing it routinely in the 80's to slow down Strato Clouds and other early ram airs. Long before the guy in the video was born. In fact when the Sabre came out we were cautioned by PD NOT to do stuff the center cells even though other posters have said they do. PD was worried the wrap around the nose top skin (new design) would trap the center cells and delay opening. Of course the definition of an acceptable opening has changed since the Sabre came out. What is now considered a desirable opening was considered a malfunction (streamer) in the early 90's. Original Sabres opened how they were designed, in 200-400 feet. EXACTLY what I want when I get out at 2000'. I still jump an original Sabre, a couple in fact. I demoed a Spectre and should have cut it away it took so long to open. Getting out at 2000' as normal below the clouds was NOT a good idea on a one of the first Spectres out for demo in 1997. When it took 800' to open at terminal also I said no thanks. Domed or pocket sliders, stuffing cells and other tricks to slow down an original Sabre only make it open more like later designs. There is nothing broke about the original Sabre design or slider. These techniques don't 'fix' it, they change it. For the worse in my opinion. It's the same reason my other main is a Triathlon. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  9. Lol, I didn't look at date but it came up top of the forum when I replied. 🤔 I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  10. Either Pfaff 238 or Berninan 217. If you find a Bernina 217n-8 parts are available from Global who's making new versions. If you find either a Bernina 217 or 217n with a cam drive on the back you can also do a 308 double throw zigzag with it. A 217 is easy. The 308 cam for a 217n can be made but not found for sale. Another choice is a Consew 199r-1. I have all three. (5 machines total) Have never bothered with a 20U. If you decide to buy a 20u I do not recommend a new one. Everyone sells new ones with their name on it, including Consew, or even with no name. I friend bought a no name one, it came with a Chinese only manual, and he never could get it to sew a zig zag. I think the new ones all come from the same Chinese factory but may have different quality of finish and parts. Consew sales manager claimed theirs were good. But most of us would recommend a blue one or a tan one. I think anything more than $400 is too much for a used 20U. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  11. Now on facebook. Try there. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  12. Agreed - we disqualified the Icarus 2000 4fight (in fact, the whole family of helmets from the company) earlier today. pr3d I'm curious why? Because it actually is a protective helmet made of fiber glass with polystyrene lining, making it too heavy and to thick? I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  13. The DZ owner in Kalamazoo modified the R-2's he had on his student rigs with webbing fronts and a red wooden ball sewn on with Type 2A. Gave students something easier to hold onto. We call it Dennis' Red Ball Express. He used these up into the early 90's when he was still using conventional rigs even after he moved to ram air mains. Thought I had one here some where but can't find it. Below is a photo of new old stock R-3's with rivets that are going on a conventional rig (either no name or mini system) for one of my PC's. Also a Capewell Field Assembly Kit, new old stock, I got for $50 off ebay. And Capewell flyers for the "Lanyard-Type Parachute Break-Away Canopy Release" and Field Assembly Kit. I need the specs for the Strong wrap release webbing part. I have a rig with harness link and risers but not the connecting wrap. Not going to jump this rig but would like to have a complete example. And I'm still trying to find one of the many Chrysalis Northern Lite rigs from the early 80's that we had in the area. Dan T was from here so we had a lot of Northern Lites. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Capewell Lanyard Type.pdf Capewell Field Installation Kit.pdf
  14. Don't talk to us. Call Square One. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  15. They are two different canopies. The original sabre is rectangular with all the lines the same length. The Sabre 2 is semi elliptical with different length lines depending on cell. If a rigger agreed to put sabre 2 lines on an original sabre you should run away and find a new rigger. And call the FAA. There is a mechanism short of pulling a license to reeducate FAA technical personnel. Do this could potential kill. As said there are folks that will make you a set of lines for an original sabre out of whatever you want. Given recent discussions of hard openings the better choice might be dacron. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  16. If you use a ring on a lanyard to attach the shackle like Ray Farrell's after market RSL that threads through the lower bend of the riser next to the ring. Anywhere the riser breaks the RSL doesn't leave. Butler isn't the only one to attenuate bridle with sacrificial bar tacks. Preserve V also has a sacrificial lazy leg. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  17. So you've made 6 jumps. Maybe 6 minutes of freefall. And you want to be perfect? How good at tennis would you be after 6 minutes? Or bowling? Skydiving can't be very hard because by the time you have 3 hours of free fall you'll likely be very competent or better. How many sports can you say that you can be very good in three hours? And skydiving is gear intensive (more than a bowling ball and shoes), fear intensive, performance based and you have to save your life every minute? What other sport are you 'graded' every minute for the first 10 minutes. Yes skydiving takes a lot of clock and calendar time and a fair amount of money. But in real time that you practice the sport?.... you learn very quickly. If your not dangerous to yourself or others you'll most likely learn just fine. Accelerated Freefall training is just that, ACCELERATED. You could drop back to a standard progression but probably not what you would want by now. It took me forty jumps before I could stop spinning in freefall. I could spot my round parachute, land it where I wanted, pack it but couldn't stop spinning for anything. Then I did. Are there people that are never good enough to be safe? Yes. You're no where near knowing that yet. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  18. If you read the sight you'll see smoke jumper jobs are filled starting in November. They only show up if they have an active recruitment. But, they all will say you have to be a U.S. citizen. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  19. Because it's just about time for his son to be vaccinated. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  20. Only the Strong seat uses a diaper stowed with half the lines and the line stows in the container. All Strong emergency parachutes with rounds are like this, dating back to the PopTop chest reserve. Happen to be assembling a PopTop soon. Bodkins, distribute the bulk, compress the PC is all common to a Racer with a round. Distribute the bulk is a skill needed for every PEP AND skydiving rig. BUT, if you were holding the pilot chute compressed while turning it over YOU DIDN'T READ THE FUCKIN' MANUAL! And whoever trained you was fooling with you and making you do it like the old days (80's) or hadn't read a manual in a long time either. There is a tool and a method for compressing the pilot chute before you put it on the outside of the rig. Specified and shown in the manual for many years. Pull it up at http://www.strongparachutes.com/docs/?et=Emergency and read page 22 of the 304 manual. Time to go do 9 more seats. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  21. About 2001 an FAA official in Washington submitted a work proposal for rewriting the rigging ratings to round and square. It to this day hasn't been funded. When I was PIA rigging committee chair I was working on a generic rigger certification program to ready for the FAA rewrite, as an example other than FAR's to countries looking to implement regulation, and in case the Reagan era proposal to eliminate federal regulation of parachute riggers (among other things) came back. When I was no longer chair that work was not continued. I do not believe that new riggers would seek out the training needed for round canopies and seat, chest, and lap containers if not required to. Also, my supervising FAA inspector requires me as a DPRE to test senior rigger candidates on both round and square canopies. New riggers are used to using youtube and other internet resources to learn things. I think if training in rounds was not required by seat, chest and lap ratings or in cases like my FAA inspector young rigger would go to the internet, probably before the manual, to try to learn how to pack something they hadn't seen. I've seen enough errors to believe that riggers with little understanding of rounds and even spring loaded PC deployed rigs are winging it. I've also has senior rigger candidate who had little or no interest in ever packing a square. They were supporting pilots in flying museum or other situations and adding parachute rigger to their A&P. The ONLY reason that ram air packing for the test didn't become an issue was they happened to be a former skydiver. Their current need and situation had nothing to do with skydiving equipment or square parachutes. So I do support going to round and square ratings. There is enough variation in round parachutes that I believe specific training is appropriate. No diapers, Strong half the lines diapers, free bags with lazy leg sacrificial bridles, break ties both 80 lb and 4 lb, rounds with sliders, free sleeves, apex lines to break skirt ties, modern one pin seats and chests, vintage chest desired for nostalgia jumps with conventional equipment, air force style four line releases on seat containers, etc. Even after having started with round canopies, having packed hundreds of round skydiving and pilot emergency canopies it a couple of hands on training sessions with folks from FFE to feel comfortable packing a Preserve V. Having seat, chest and lap which are primarily and in some cases exclusively rounds forces riggers who want to be Master riggers and others who want to do a lot of PEP's to get specific training on rounds. That's not a bad idea. I think that requirement should be retained with round and square type ratings if ever rewritten. BTW to Rob's 80% backs, I do almost exclusively pilot rigs lately and they are about 80% seats. Most of my customers are warbird pilots. A little history. I have the CAA regulations on riggers and jumpers from the 40's. There were 3 levels, rigger, senior rigger, and master rigger. And while it only doesn't explicitly state there are 4 type ratings they require packing of multiple types AND MANUFACTURERS to different extents for experience requirement for different levels. The same book, which included written test questions, described layout and packing for back, seat, chest and lap as the variations in types. If we were still packing WWII and earlier Switliks we'd be learning how to wrap a cable around container base. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  22. Quite likely the votes in your poll will be based on overall rig preference rather than PC placement. PC placement is at best a secondary consideration of which rig to buy. And in each category their are rigs I own or would own and rigs I wouldn't own. So I actually have no answer for you. Other considerations or PC along with the rest of the rig makes the decision. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  23. Thanks John. Will call tomorrow. Couple of questions for you to. One for you to research ahead of time. Are the Descent rate specs on the 30-foot lopo compared to the 26-foot lopo mid light right? website specs have the 30 foot coming down faster than the 26 with only a few pounds more. Just doesn't seem right. Talk soon. Thanks Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  24. 😃😃😃😃😃😃👍👍👍👍👍 So sad for the youngsters that don't recognize this. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  25. Want to know what I can use besides an MA-1. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE