riggermick

Airtec or the rig manufacturer? In the US (master rigger) no approval needed from anyone except the "administrator" and the written instructions of both the AAD and H/C mfg's in hand. Pretty simple. Mick.

I had one of the original Richard Ponvert (sp?) Frappe hats from France, loaned it to the cause (world team)in Russia 96 and never saw it again, had it for years, bastards! Oh well that's how it goes. Mick.

I looked into foot presses for "0" S/S spur grommets and found that they were inadaquate for propper setting. the only way to ensure propper setting with a non manual type of press (hand set and hammer) is hydraluic or pheumnatic, both very expensive. The main problem/ advantage with S/S is it's hardness, the only way (other than hand setting ) to ensure consistant reliable performance is; with the afore mentioned products and they would have to be custom built for the individual hence the expense. Mick.

Would you REALLY want to be known as the manufacturer of the rig that totalled (for whatever reason) and killed a former President? That's about it!!!!!!!! Mick.

Not so much!

I remember that! Nothing more freaky than having to physically assist a main deployment in free fall. I once had to grab the pilot chute and throw it to the other side as it hesitated in the worst way after the "punch", Not much fun. Ahh but we coped didn't we? And so it goes. Mick.

Um, I think you mean the 70's, and it was Dan Poynter who designed and created it not John Sherman or Ted Strong. I have some experience with the concept. Mick.

Terry, Isn't that the one with no vertical load tapes just plain ribs? I forget as it's been a long time. Mick.

Living in New Zealand last I saw of him, divorced father, re-married running a DZ although that was over ten years ago. Who knows now? Mick.

Biggin Hill @ Mac's loft/ Capital City Rigging around 85/ 86. Clive Ure was involved wit it. Mick.

I hope it works that well, but it's doubtful. I can't even find a mention of Olive Drab ZP. The closest thing i've found is a translucent ZP used on the 3rd generation T-10 canopies. Does anyone have a source for the translucent F111 or ZP material used in the T-10's? Check with Gary Douris at Freeflite in Elsinore, he usually has O/D fabric laying around. Mick.

minimalist design - four flaps for reserve, four flaps for main. ------------------------------------------------------------ Minimalist design? You have got to be kidding. Easily the most complicated reserve container ever made. ------------------------------------------------------------ I don't know about the newest model Racer, but I can speak from volumes of experience building Racer knockoffs (in England in the 80's), my own "private" stash of "racers" made over the years and the much more complicated Reflex that I designed and built. Those Racers are "minimilist" design rigs. They are the simplest quickest and least expensive H/C to produce, that's one reason the were copied so extensivly. The parts count for the Racer is about 1/4 of the pieces needed for the Vector. I'm not trying to diminish the Racer here, hell I have thousands of jumps on them, the're the reason I designed the Reflex (love the pop top), but from a production point of view they really are the easiest and quickest to get out the door. So yes they are minimilist rigs. Mick.

Look up all the previous threads on the Catapult, it may answer some of your questions, too tired tonight to go into it. Mick.

Sorry for the delay in responding, it's been a long week. Basic rule of thumb: If it fits in to the bag without too much trouble it will fit the container the bag is designed for. As for the Raider (Dragonflys successor), it probably has something to do with the line type involved. What type of lines do you have on your Raider? Mick.

R 550. Reserve size aprox 450 cu in, main size aprox 530 cu in. Good for Raven II res and Sabre 190 main size canopies. Mick.

Anyone? Too easy? Probably right. mick.

Touche' Bill. Just wanted to "shake the tree" a little is all. Glad you've done the testing and found it a viable proposistion, good luck with it. Mick.

Interesting... different from what I was told (oh so long ago...) My understanding was that by having the bridle exit the container next to the reserve, in the case of a TIGHT container the bridle tension would "break" the shape of the rig (think of a profile view of the Strong tandem w/ drogue deployed) and enlarge the effective openning. This allowing the main bag to pull free. Interesting the different stories we are told. Always done it that way, and somehow it keeps on working. JW The action you describe will happen also but is not the primary reason it is done. Even if your container was made out of sheet metal and would not "break" at the res/ main junction the bag would still be extracted via the pivot point provided by the friction staging. If a bag is placed in the other direction with the lines up (toward the res container) an open container pilot chute in tow can occur (it's happened before). Beating the side of the main conainer will usually dislodge the bag in this configuration but packing it this way in the first place is not recommended. That's why we have manuals. Mick.

The reason for bag rotation in most modern main containers is to prevent premature bag lift off if the container is open prior to piolt chute inflation/ extraction. The concept is called "friction staging" and can be extensivly found in most modern reserve containers. Example: Pilot chute still in BOC, main container is knocked open, bridle extracts it'self and forms a loop. That's as far as it will generally go due to friction staging (top of bag and lines held under main containers cupped (in the top corners)shaped bottom flap). If, by contrast the top of the bag/ lines are facing the pack tray and the same scenario happens the bag will lift off and the canopy will probably deploy into a horse shoe condition greatly compounding the emergency procedures. That's why the bag should be rotated. Mick.

While I have the utmost repsect for everyone at PD and stand behind their products and R&D 100%, they have also been known to grasp at straws to explain unexplainable deplyment issues (such as 3/8" tape for rubber band stows causing surging on opening). I only point this out because my crystal ball forsees rumors of blanket statements such as "tuck tab riser covers create hard openings", when in fact, not all tuck tabs are created, or function, exactly the same. That being said, I can certainly see where some riser covers, packed improperly and deployed with a shoulder low, could have an adverse affect on how a canopy opens. I just might have to play with some of these rare earth magnets that have been collecting dust on my desk

You might accomplish a similar goal through the use of a load limiter sewn into the harness. (A load limiter is a device sometimes used by climbers that essentially sacrifices stitching to reduce ultimate loads on the harness.) Bill, back in the eighties when they first came out, attenuaters were called "zingers" and consisted basicly of a long length of nylon webbing (aprox 2500 lb strength) with structural loops at each end. The main body of the webbing, sometimes up to two feet in length was s folded in to lengths of about six inches and bartacked with COTTON thread. This provided a sturdy but "fusable" link that wouldn't destroy the sturctural integrety of the webbing. The basic premise is: As a load is placed on the "zinger" the bartacks will fail one after another slowing the velocity of the climber by way of momentaraly hanging up before failing on each bartack. the overall effect is to reduce the velocity of the fall and thus the load on the point(s) of protection placed in the wall. Never had to use one, but kept a few with me when I was an active climber. The tests we performed in the loft were quite remarkable, they actually worked!! Don't know if it's workable for a skydiving harness though, as you pointed out, risers generally tend to load assemetricly. Mick.

Just touching it(any flexable fabric) with "somthing" changes the poroseity. Fabric makeup is (in the parachute industry and others) essentially the compactivness (?) of the weave/ knit with adjuncts and it's relation to outside forces. Special coatings are just that, coatings. They are not part of the molecular makeup of the material itself, they instead bind the fabric fibers closer together forming a more resistant (air tight) surface. Some fibers are more prone to compact tightly together due to their molecular make up than others but are ultimatly swayed by outside forces. Even with coatings to "glue" the indididual fiber strands together in a consistent "mash" they will all fail eventually after being touched by somthing (due to yarn seperation), all the "glue" does is hold them together for longer periods of time before they eventually break down and let the fiber bundles gravitate to their natural state. Thus causing seperation of said fiber bundles, whereby holes appear (read: higher porosity (air discharge)). Long before I started skydiving I was involved with the textile industry and the concept of weave seperation was/ is Textile looming/ knitting 101. Hope this helps grasp the concept. Mick.

Nick, I had the pleasure of both meeting and jumping with Jim and Dana on several occasions. Jim was one of my "rigging heros", a true pioneer of the "art". Very smart guy, very affable too. He, as you state would have been "huge" in the industry. Garry is one of my all time hero's too, we share so much in common. We have always had the best personal and professional relationship you could imagine. Garry Douris is one of the most under-rated parachute equipment designer/ builders of all time! He is also the most low key guy you will ever meet (I know you know him and know this, but it's for all of those that don't know) and he will always make you feel at ease. I teasure all of the often lengthy talks about equipment,FAR's and devices that we covered over the years, he truly is a fountain of knowledge. I owe a great debt to both Jim and Garry for all of thier knowledge and guidence, both are worthy of the (future) Rigging Hall of Fame. Mick. JMHO.

QuoteCould the main packing tray be made smaller without having to take the whole thing apart ?[/repl In a word, no. Too many overlapping flaps and common surfaces that can't be altered without changing the functionality of most modern sport rigs. Mick.

I dunno Mick, for a story to be any good it has to be credible. Overhere that often means reliable and identifiable sources. "Fresh" user accounts wil always meet suspicious scrutiny...