AlanRussell

Here's a question that came out of a bad weather weekend. Why is it that on most currently manufactured rigs, the recommended route for the main bridle is for it to come out of the top of the main container rather than the bottom? There are some rigs at my dropzone for which the recommended method is to route out of the bottom, but these tend to be older rigs. We reckoned that Vectors were probably amongst the first to route the bridle out of the top so maybe someone like Bill Booth will be able to shed some light on this.

I am fairly settled on the FF2 now and a PC camera. I had seen a PC8 at a local electronics shop a few weeks back for £490 but it was gone yesterday. I am planning to call round a few other local shops to see if they have any cheap PC cameras. If not, through searching the internet, I have seen the PC103 for £500, the PC105 for £630, the PC120 for £750 and the PC110 for £860. I am inclined to go for the cheapest I can get, either locally, or on the internet. Would this seem sensible for me or do you you think that I would be missing out. Once again, any info gratefully received.

Thanks for the info. I am not absolutely set on the helmet yet but as far as I can see, the FF2 is the best one for me in terms of camera and head protection, entanglement resistance, cutaway capability and price. I can't seem to get on to the 2k Composites web site so I have not checked the compatibility issue.

Hopefully this won't start too much debate but I am thinking of getting a digital camera for video and am looking for info / recommendations on what to get. I am not looking to shoot video professionally at the moment but want the images to be good quality, the camera to be robust and easy to use and I would also like to edit the video. I don't really want to spend extra money just for the latest toy. If there are any other features that you think are really worth having, please let me know. Sony seems to be the standard, so I have been mainly looking at those although I am unsure about which model would suit me best from 2nd hand pc5 and pc7s to the pc8, pc9, pc101, pc110, pc115, pc120, pc103, pc105, TRV19, TRV22, TRV33. I would probably be looking to mounting the camera in a 2k Composites FF2, with CamEye II.

Have a look at the education articles on PD's website if you haven't already. I think that the minimum loading for all PD's canopies is quoted as varying with landing conditions (lighter loads being more likely to be adversely affected by higher winds). I don't think that being able to jump in higher winds is a reason to downsize in itself however. If you downsize, you have to be ready to go faster in every way, all of the time.

Hello Nick Good to hear from you. To add to the general discussion, I have had a loop of lolon B (cutaway cable) fitted with a swage (making, effectively 2 pins) in place of the original curved metal pin on my Javelin for over 2 years and 500 jumps. This is also used on the static-line R.A.P.S. kits of my Club. I agree that it provides more protection from the pin being knocked out in the plane or by hard docks/collisions in freefall and also reduces the chances of a horseshoe malfunction. To answer some of the "cons", if you want to get one fitted, get it done by someone who is experienced in doing so. If you are in the U.K., this is certainly possible as I know that there are people at Weston, Langar and in Scotland at least who fit this profile. I suspect that my loop is tighter than most people's and my container is the best size for the canopies that I have. I have not noticed a dramatic increase in closing loop wear (my current loop has around 100 jumps). I use 1 loop made of normal closing loop material, not 1000 lb Spectra and carefully remove the pull-up cord underneath the pins. There has only been one occasion when maintenance has been required on the pins (a rough bit at the end) but I admit that these pins do require more stringent checking than metal pins. However, I pack my own kit about 99 % of the time and am meticulous. I believe that it is harder to push my pin out than a conventional, curved metal pin, as it bends as well as turns. Also, the 2 pins are better than 1 because it makes it harder for the loop to pull the pin into the grommet. Please do not use any type of "guide" with these pins, as it reduces the pin's ability to turn and flex, making it less safe (see above). Also, in the event that deployment was initiated when not flat and level, with the guide above the closing loop, the pin would have to bend more due to its restricted ability to turn , making a PC in tow more likely. In conclusion, I believe that this system is better if you have it installed by someone who is skilled and experienced at doing so and who explains to you how to use it best and if you are prepared to check your main pin and closing loop for wear each jump. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in this system and have no rigging qualifications, I am just an experienced and conscientious user with some engineering knowledge.

If you want to try and get more on heading openings, try to pack more evenly and symmetrically. I would recommend against stuffing the nose "way back into the tail". This is unlikely to aid a good opening but makes it easier for brake and d-lines to get in front of the nose. A better procedure is to fold the outer 4 cells, as a group, in toward the centre cell once. This is unlikely to have a significant effect on opening speed but increases the chance of an on-heading opening. The slider should be "cloverleafed", evenly, in the middle of the pack-job. This is advice, as given to me by Scott Miller of PD.

I have seen Javelins with ZP P.C.s and, as far as I know, Sunpath does not have a problem with them. If you do change a throwout P.C. from F111 to ZP though, you are likely to reduce its size significantly and this will probably require a reduction in the pocket size.

Remember to consider the B.O.C. pouch if you are replacing a throwout P.C. I think that Sunpath only make F111 P.C.'s. I have previously seen a Javelin with a ZP P.C. that had a premature depolyment. I do not think that the B.O.C. spandex had been altered to accomadate the P.C. Could that have been what happened to you?

It worked. Thanks.

Does anyone have an email address for Sky Systems other than "[email protected]". I have tried this three times now without reply.

Assuming that your lines are in trim and your gear is all well maintained, an off heading opening is likely to be caused by either asymmetry in your body or harness loading during deployment or asymmetry in your pack job. Asymmetry in your harness loading during deployment may be caused by poor body position, e.g. one shoulder lower than the other, or it could happen if your harness is not tightened evenly. For packing (I am assuming that you are pro-packing, although you could flat pack if you want), keep a line of symmetry from font to back up the middle of the canopy i.e. do the same to both sides. Flake the material to the outside, keep the lines to the inside, cloverleaf the slider, be careful pulling the tail around (pull it round your knee to avoid pulling brake or d-lines around to the front. Do whatever you want to do to the nose but do the same to both sides. With a Sabre, I would normally loosely roll the four outer cells on each side toward the centre cell until the a-lines start to twist. Next wrap the tail around and roll it until you have control of the bundle then gently set it to the ground. The setting down of the canopy is one of the points in the packing process that bugs me most when I see people wind the pack-job up like a professional wrestler and slam it on the ground. When this happens effort spent previously in keeping the pack-job neat is wasted. The next thing that annoys me is when I see the same people pushing up the loose line underneath the canopy to just below the slider, giving a increased risk of tension knots in the lines and slider hang-up. When you put the canopy into the bag, make sure you fill the bag evenly and the central seam of the canopy is running up the centre of the bag with the lines coming out of the centre. PD say that your line stows should be 2.5 to 3 inches in length and it should take 8 to 12 pounds of force to remove each line stow. One way to gauge this is to see if you can lift up the bag by the unstowed lines. If you cannot, then the stow is too loose. Leave at least 18 inches of line unstowed. This length provides a good trade-off between minimising the risk of twists and risking loose lines becoming knotted or tangled. If you leave less unstowed then your chances of twists are increased due to the fact that the lines are normally stowed on the edges of the bag so when a stow is being released, one side of the bag is being loaded more than the other and if you leave less line unstowed, the bag has less chance to accelerate before the stows come out making the uneven loading more of a problem. Lastly, make sure the bag is put in the container symmetrically and evenly. In short, keep things symmetrical and even throughout your packing and deployment. This is probably more information than you were looking for but I hope that you find it useful.

It might be worthwhile asking Andrew what he thinks of his cf. a Stiletto. I think he used to jump a Stiletto 120 and now jumps a Spectre 120.