captain1976

A little off the subject of this thread, but I was fascinated by parachutes since I was about 7 and jumped with a knapsack off my porch. Made my own parachute about 1963 when I was 10. I took our round pool cover and since we lived in a horse ranching community in upstate New York, I used bailing twine for the suspension lines. I inflated it on the ground near the road and a guy riding his horse got knocked off when the horse got scared and reared up. I remember it actually looked like a real parachute though the only ones I had ever seen were on the TV series Ripcord. Ironically the first real parachute I ever saw was mine on my first jump. I trained in the winter and 3 weeks after waiting for good weather I was the first one out on the first load. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Hey, Bill Lesjak still jumps and shows up at East Troy on occasion but not sure about the rest. We lost Rick O in '92 from the Beech crash at Hinkley and I think Bud was around 83 in Sandwich from a freefall collision with John T. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Found it interesting even though its a 12 year old thread. Anyway I agree from a previous post that there is nothing that says the seal must remain on though everyone thinks it must, including Riggers. The suggestion that a call to the FAA for clarification simply gets an opinion from an employee and does not constitute a clear and absolute FAR. It was the practice when I got my rating in the early 70's and even a suggestion from the FAA Examiner that I use a pliers to smash a lead seal on a repack and then scratch my code into the seal until my press arrived. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Being a Pilot and familiar with most of the Florida DZ's I can't think of a solution and I don't think i'd try the swoop ponds You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Thanks for the info Rob, makes a lot of sense. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Yes, welcome back to this great sport You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Actually I did try to find the answer while packing it. Tried calling their website listed contact phone number which only gave me a fax tone. And you would think this Addendum which is dated 2004 would at least be given with a rig purchased in 2013 You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Great, thanks to both. I must have the older manual and I feel better knowing someone didn't goof Blue Skies You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Purchased a new Mirage a few months back and the dealer packed my reserve as part of their service. I'm a Rigger and for years I only pack my reserve and some round pilot rigs for friends. I didn't argue about a free assembly and pack job. Packing it for the first time today I noticed that the AAD cutter comes out of a sewn-on holder just under closing flap 3. This means that with #2 being the pilot chute itself, the cutter is on top of the pilot chute and under the remaining flaps, No 4, 5 & 6. Contrary to the manual, I continued and packed it up like it was before. Question for those in the know; is this OK? I don't see anything particularly wrong with it and any comments are appreciated. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

You had Hinkley and I had Hebron. I remember renting each other aircraft when needed. Blue Skies Forever You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Rescheduled for Sunday 12:00 because of weather. Great memorial service with a lot of great speakers today You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Thanks for that great story Jerry You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

I'm thinking of a Solo II as well but can't find the dimensions anywhere. I want to make sure it fits in my helmet You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

I jumped Dolphins for 15 years and really like them. They were built by the guy who designed the Javelin and are basically the same. I too heard that they were recently bought out by another company but that shouldn't effect anything. Good Luck You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Someone gave me a few military style B-4 back packs last year that were used as civilian pilot rigs. Packing cards revealed all were packed in the early to mid 70's. A couple of these would have worked just fine and were in mint condition, however a couple more were so stiff they probably would have only left he container on impact. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime