riggermick

No not a gimmick, I almost went in due to both main and reserve pilot chutes becoming entangled. That's when I came up with the idea for the Catapult. As faras extraction forces go the Catapult has no effect to that end.It was discovered during testing tthat once the primary p/c was under load and moving away from the jumper, the secondary p/c did not have time to accelerate and provide any additional force. The Catapult is located about 3' from the bag and the overall bridle length is around 15'. Oh and we were not "sued out of business", the equipment market was in a deep slump back then. There were no winners in the law suit, no money changed hands but we all lost somthing, a friend. Our leagal bills to successfully fight the suit were quite large, there is no liability insurance in this business. Mick.

Living in his "own private Idaho" perhaps?

Your'e getting crotchity and grumpy in your old age Nick . "hey you kids!!! get off my packing area..er lawn", little bastards!!!!!!!!!!. Mick.

Congrats Pat!! Well done! how are both you and Jan? Miss you guys. Mick.

Early 1980's (84 I think), Perris Ca out of the SCAT (just visable below the pilots window) otter (recognize "the second challange" sign (from a tv show). Think it was a twenty way tube. Can't remember who was on it. Mick. Edited to add: Can't be sure as the photo ia B and W, but that may be Rich Brooks on the top wearing his trademark black and yellow "scream fright". Seem to remember that he liked this sort of skydiving combat.

Sorry to hear this Bill, my condolences. Hang in there buddy, we'll raise a glass or two in her honor. Mick and Barrie

Now you will be exposed to the "dark arts" well beyond the "inspect and re-pack" regime. Read and learn, listen and learn, learn and and learn. You can never learn too much. Congratulations!! become a designer/ builder, it's super fun, it will expand your horizions exponentialy. Did I mention it was fun? Enjoy the ride. Mick.

John Howard and Co. Chino CA 909 590 7550. California combining 323 589 5727. Mick.

Lost my original Richard Pontvert hat in Russia in 96 left it in one of the 26's as a spare for the world team never saw it again. bummer. Mick.

Sound advice nontheless!!

As this is NOT an AD there is no legal basis for this test to be performed at all. It is an interesting experiment to conduct but has no ramification to any rigger who packs and maintains the syatem according to the manual. In order for it to become a compliance issue it will need to be incorperated into the manufacturers manual and accepeted by the FAA as an addendem to the officialy granted text that was APPROVED when the TSO was granted. Manufacturers will routinely issue safety bullitins regarding thier products after a problem has been encountered and will have to specify exactly what the problem is (USPA, not a manufacturer issued this bulliten). The FAA will not issue an AD lightly and there will have to be a specfic context for the AD to be issued, the same goes for safety notices. Although a safety notice carries no weight of law the FAA will generally acknowlwdge that it SHOULD be implemented, but cannot mandate it. If a notice as vague as this is issued and there are no OFFICIAL reporting requirements required, then it is just a RECOMENDATION not a requirement. There is no way that it can be proved or disproved that the rig(S) in question have either passed or failed and that there is no federal reporting authority to hold account then it it is entirely optional. It should also be noted that USPA is the issuing authority of record on this particular notice and as such has no jurisdictional authority over such matters concerning TSO issues, only reccomendations. Mick.

Jerry, Congrats on 40 years. it's been 31 for me. How are you and Barb and Pat all doing? It's been a long time since we last met. all the best. Mick Cottle.

Strato flyer, original test platform for square reserves. Para Flite wouldn't put the first ever ram air reserve into production until it had hundreds of thousands of "test jumps" done on it. Oh yeah the nickname for the Flyer was the "nylon hammer" didn't flare too well. Mick.

Use isopropal alchaol and a coarse sponge. Mick.

Use a domestic "free arm" machine for the arms and legs. Use a nylon thread bonded 69 or somthing similar. You will also need a slightly bigger guage needle, happy sewing. Mick.

I never had any issues with the container, or the openings prior to my losing weight. That seems to be the only difference over the last 7 weeks. When the canopy opens, it is progressing smoothly, and on heading, then as the slider is mid way down the lines, the canopy can take a radical dive and begin spinning up (sometimes, I am able to stop it quickly, sometimes, it takes a little longer) Unfortunatley, I can't remember if it was one direction or not. The situation I'm describing it not about the main fitting in the container, it's the container fitting me. I have about 8 - 12" of give on the container sliding up and down, meaning that I can lift up the back of the container about a foot. It sits very loose around my shoulders, and can slide side to side along my hips. I am curious that with this sort of freedom of movement with the container against my body, could this lead to inadvertant pressure on different parts of the canopy, causing this issue. Would it be worth while buying a new, better fitting container to help prevent this from happening again, or is it not the container, but in fact, my body position (which I really don't think so) The container itself is brand new, purchased in Jan, with about 100 jumps on it, so I highly doubt that there is anything wrong with the container, and I don't think it's my packing, because it never did it before, it's once been since I've lost weight. Here's my .02 worth: Your harness doesn't fit you correctly anymore. You mentioned 8- 12 inches of vertical movement on the containers on your back. When the geometry of either the harness or container is significantly altered (weight loss, different canopies etc) the alignment of the riser covers is affected. In order for them to function as designed they must sit in an "alignment window" this window is determined by the fit of the rig on a person. If the alignment is too far off in any direction they will either not close properly or will not open properly. During opening the rig is riding up your back and putting a very acute angle on the covers, this generally will cause hesitations or hangups, even with velcro closed covers. Try it in slow motion from a hanging harness and you'll see what I mean. My advice; Get your harness and leg pads re-sized. Mick.

When sequential RW (now formation skydiving) was just getting started in the mid 1970s it started in ST, AZ, CA, TX, KS, IL western USA. Jumpsuits were small. Most skydivers wore boots. Belly reserves and ripcords were the norm. Of course, good intelligent, cool skydivers never got caught dead. We believed that until Jim Heydorn bounced with a double total. Poof, the myth of the right stuff vanished. If Heydorn could bounce, ANYBODY can bounce! Thus, the brighter pioneer sequential types began to notice that the quality/quantity of people getting killed by impact appeared random... good skydivers and bad skydivers both bounced about as high. We noticed that it was not that He screwed up but rather that fate is the hunter and there is a real element of chance in skydiving. We learned that the bright blue friendly sky was balanced, yin/yang style, by a dark foreboding ground. Since the ground snuffed the life it was/is death. Unsafe practices, as a group were termed black death. The exit count used by my 8-way teams and several others was Blue sky/ Black Death. Sport parachuting became Sport Death. While the Black Death thing was an insider thing which translated to Hey yall, lets avoid danger up there it later got adopted and/or banned by folks who did not and do not understand what it means. So just as goodbye means God be with you Blue sky/black death is a salute to the sky/earth that means something like lovely up there/watch out crazy pat '96 well said Pat!! Mick.

Not to add alarm to the situation, but pause for thought. Sandy (RI) and Fliteline both sourced thier ripcords from the same supplier. I'm not in the business any more, Action air in Davis CA handles all Reflex related business these days. Might be worth a look see to determine if it is a systemic problem or a "one off". Mick.

Did the PM thing. But here it is for all and sundry 435= raven 1/ stilletto 135/ 150. How are you terry? Mick.

i'm glad that this worked for you, nice fix. The general rule for sewing on any "solid surface" is : If it's warm it's soft, and sewing machines like soft stuff. Grommeting is also easier when the plastic is "soft". Give it a try you will be supprised how much easier sewing on "diffficult stuff" when it is warm. Just my experience and .02 worth. Mick.

A sad day all around that was/ is. Still think about it all the time. Best wishes and love to everyone connected with that terrible incident. Mick and Barrie. I have some archived LA Times articles of that horrrible day if anyone is interested, I'll post them if anyone want's to read them. Still brings a tear to my eye every time I see them.

Miss you Tom, a true freind you always were. Mick and Barrie.

Try heating the plastic (MDS Nylon) with a hair drier just prior to sewing, you will be amazed at how easily the needles pass through the material. Like a hot knife through butter, only opposite. You will need to practice how much heat is needed, too little and the thread will cut, too much and the thread will melt. Good luck and happy sewing.