pnuwin

I don't know all the history but a quick search of "Ripcord stops" came up with this fatality and a bunch of other interesting threads. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3423403;search_string=ripcord%20stops;#3423403 If the ripcord is dropped in an unstable deployment, it can tangle with the deploying reserve while remaining stuck in the housing. I too was convinced the velcro sandwich on the RSL lanyard was enough to rotate the pin, but in every test pull I've done so far, the pin jammed the ripcord hard housing. Trust me, I was surprised when it first happened and may have video somewhere. I always do a test pull with the rig on my back and simulated emergency speeds. It won't jam if you pull slow and gently. You are right, it doesn't affect the reserve container opening.

Hi Sparky, With the UPT spectra ripcord I've had the pin jam the channel on every single test pull I've done for my reserve repacks. I've done this on several Vectors now and it seems to be consistent. The pin gets dragged by the ripcord to the metal housing then jams. At first I didn't think much of it, but a rigger told me ripcord stops have killed people. I have a second Vector with the marine eye metal ripcord and the cable clears every time. I'm curious. Have any other Vector owners had trouble clearing their ripcords after a test pull?

Wow, that's a great video of Sydney Skydivers. In all my time skydiving, I've never seen Phil have so much to say :) To the OP - the best place to do AFF in the Sydney area is Sydney skydivers. It's about a 1hour drive from the city, the ground course is on most Saturdays and you can pay for one AFF stage at a time. Some students do their AFF1 jump straight after the ground school on the same day. If the weather is good, you could finish your entire AFF in 1 week as they jump during the week as well.

Did it open within 3sec or 300'? What kind of reserve was it?

The staging loop no longer needs a washer because the wear can only be addressed during a reserve repack. Important to realize that this loop does NOT hold the rig together and doesn't experience the forces that a main or reserve closing loop would have pulling on them.

How do super thin HMA lines handle the extra friction from semi-stowless deployments? Has anyone seen unusual wear?

They didn't quite get my rig right either. Colors were wrong but they did make me another one. Now I see my previous rig on the demo circuit. In your photo it's not quite clear but it looks like some of the backpad foam is visible under the cypres display. Doesn't look as well cut as the rest of the rig.

Can you post pictures? Did this request cost more?

I have a micron and check my Cypres before every jump. On my rig I've noticed wear to the reinforcing tapes for the tuck tabs. I love my rig but it would be nice if UPT put in a Cypres window.

Your comment got me thinking of a question I asked about the Optimum reserve a few years ago. It opens softer, but is it slower? Almost every response I got seemed to indicate that I was overthinking it and the Optimum opening distance would still be within TSO 300ft. Thread link below. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4060266;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; In this guy's two cutaway videos, his Optimum does seem to snivel a lot. Is this video evidence that a soft opening reserve unecessarily diminishes the gear's margin of safety? Why would a soft opening reserve ever be a valuable attribute? As long as it doesn't damage you in a terminal opening faster is better. AAD fires leave almost no margin for error and opening speed could be the difference between life and death.

HMA and Vectran have their own disadvantages. HMA is very sensitive to UV light. It loses a lot of strength when exposed to the sun for relatively short periods of time. According to PD, it also loses its strength when experiencing peak loads during a hard opening for example. Both HMA and Vectran are less resistant to wear. Spectra is low bulk, very resistant to wear and nice to pack with its naturally slippery feel. If we could solve the trim/shrinkage issue, it would be my preferred line type.

Are there any videos or tutorials for stretching spectra back into trim? How did you hang onto the end of the line and how much weight did you put on it?

Apparently there is a lineset upgrade available now for the PD Pulse 190 and larger. It's supposed to improve flight characteristics and flare. Does anyone have first hand experience of this lineset? How well does it fly? What did they actually change on the lineset? Did they just trim it steeper to improve the flare? If anyone knows about this I would be interested to hear details. PD confirmed its existence but didn't say much more.

Did your skyhook stay connected in that deployment or did it disconnect and give you a reserve PC deployment? It's hard to see from the video.

What about extra line wear from all that extra friction with the flaps? What lines are you using on your canopies? There was another thread started a while ago where a guy noticed more wear. He was supposed to post photos but never did.

Shouldn't the split at the end of the collins lanyard, the long velcro attachment and the shackle attached to the right riser prevent a reserve pilot chute from detaching the left riser? The reserve pilot chute must pull a lot of other stuff out before it starts pulling on the left cutaway cable. If not, maybe the split should be a lot longer.

It doesn't look like bulk is being distributed evenly. Look at how soft the dbag corners are up against the reserve and all that wasted space. When I was learning to pack I found a huge amount of extra room by just packing the canopy (dbag) as square as possible with nice solid corners. Once packed, push on the corners and if they are soft, you aren't distributing bulk optimally. My setup is almost exactly the same as yours but my closing loop has been shortened several times as I got better at packing. With a 190 it should still be reasonably soft and easy to close.

I know the incident and the dropzone well. This was discussed in depth on the Australian skydiver forums. After this incident, I know several people who now would rather land off dropzone than fly over the swoop pond to get to the intermediate landing area. This video is an example of "lower canopy has right of way" not meaning shit. When your life can so easily be taken by a moment of stupidity, assume everyone else has right of way. This could also be an example of how splitting off high performance landing areas may not completely resolve the problem of canopy collisions.

My VectorIII DOM 2009 came from the factory like that. ie Velcro sandwich attached to one side with the reserve handle in there. Not sure why yours is different.

A fellow jumper with a dislocated shoulder landing his reserve without flaring. It didn't kill him but it broke his gear and put him out for a while. After watching the video, think about how fast you want to go under your reserve in the worst case scenarios (e.g. Incapacitated) Link here - http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3994728;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOXuE4ndBSc&feature=player_embedded#at=276

The larger PD Optimums reserves have max exit weights in excess of 250lbs (260lb to 290lb). If I'm reading this right, it means they can indeed open slower and still be within TSO specs. e.g. PD Optimum 253 - Max weight 290lb. This gives it an extra 0.4secs or 40 feet. Does it really matter? probably not. I'm just saying.

Maybe the Optimum's opening speed isn't a factor, rather the fact that people tend to pack a bigger optimum into a container because they're supposed to pack one size smaller. Maybe they don't quite pack one size smaller and are very tight when sized this way. Obviously a very tightly packed reserve container not performing to TSO spec is an issue that can happen with any reserve/container combination. It's not an Optimum reserve issue. So without doing extensive drop testing, how does a skydiver know that their reserve/container combination is now too tight and no longer meets TSO's 300ft/3sec reserve deployment specs? If the rigger managed to pack it, then it must be ok, right? Maybe container manufacturers should have some hard and fast rules on what is too tight in their containers. Even if they do have these rules, how does a manufacturer know for sure what is too tight without testing it?

Good idea but looks like they lost a few in freefall. First company to make a full face with a HUD alti gets my money. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNSYclmK72o&feature=related one lost at 2:33min another lost earlier in freefall (guy without goggles)

I bought a Cookie M1 some time ago. My head was 22.5" as well, borderline between LG and XL. I tried on the large helmet and it was very uncomfortable so I bought the X-Large which fits perfectly. It still fits the same as the day I bought it. YMMV

Make no mistake, I'm NOT defending any of Gary's actions. When talking to those involved at my dropzone I've put myself in their shoes. I could have just as easily been one to lose money as well. I don't know Gary well enough to say he's a nice guy. However, I can say that Gary never went into business with the intention to fail. Ignorance, negligence, personal make up and lack of discipline will contribute to that. The fact that so many people are owed money and gear now makes it irrelevant how well Karnage Krew did in the past. People and businesses will always be known by their last actions, especially when things go wrong. I just wanted to point out that people weren't sucked in by a complete con. There was once a business with the right intentions, with good ideas and with successful deals. I'm very sorry for all those having issues now.