chuckakers

That guy was Leonard Morehead of Bryan, Texas. Leo came up with a spray on coating affectionately known as "leonardizing". He coated old F-111 canopies with it and gave them performance that quite honestly was as good or better than new. He charged $1 per square foot. Leo is still around but hasn't been an active jumper in years. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Contact the big guys - Square 1, Chuting Star, etc. They all carry used gear and can find anything you want. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

We're all test pilots. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Make another tandem or two to get the jitters out. If possible, make a tandem early enough in the day that you have time to make your AFF jump also. Often, the first of the day (or in your case, the first jump in a long while) is far more nerve-racking than subsequent jumps. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Congratulations and welcome to the family! Keep us up to date on your progress! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Chicky chick be good. Somebody get her while she lasts. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This guy was before my time, but at the "Old Spaceland" there was a guy they nicknamed "Harness Rash" after one of his more entertaining excuses not to jump. Apparently the guy would get up the plane and find a variety of creative ways to back out, and one day he said he couldn't go because of a harness rash from a previous jump. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

There are several rigs on the market today with riser cover designs that can lock up if the risers are if not packed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. As I understand it, these covers are much more secure than older designs and make the rigs more freefly friendly. I don't know if failure to route the risers properly has ever proven fatal, but I have seen video of these hang ups and they are plenty nasty. In one case I reviewed, the hang up was only on one side and caused a pretty brisk spin of the main that probably would not have been survivable if landed but would have most likely kept the canopy from leaving the jumper had she chosen to perform a cutaway. She got lucky and the riser cover eventually released before she chopped it. While I don't like the idea of a rig that can have a potentially deadly mal from a simple failure to place the risers in a specific way, it's not really new. Failure to route bridles properly, close flaps in the correct order, and any number of packing errors have historically created totals and partials. Bottom line. It is imperative that we pack our rigs in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and insure that our packers do too. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Many years ago I was talking down a static line first jump student (Carl Carpenter) and realized he couldn't make the canopy to stop turning. After several radioed suggestions on getting things sorted out I finally said "Carl, if you can't make your canopy fly straight, you might consider cutti......" and he chopped it. He landed safely - under a round reserve bloodying his nose smacking a small tree - and came back the next weekend for jump #2. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Awesomest dz.com post of the day! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

There are specific requirements for jumpers of various license levels and time away from the sport to get back in the air. These are outlined in the Skydiver Information Manual (SIM), available as a free download in pdf form here - http://uspa.org/Portals/0/files/Man_SIM_2016.pdf Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Not enough information... Total jumps? Jumps on canopy? Currency? Proficiency? Aspirations? Depending on the answers to these and other questions, the best advice could vary widely - and might even include up-sizing. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Maybe a civilian sold it to the surplus store and the lines were cut off after the sale. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

A lot of military surplus stores sell stuff that was never owned by the military. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

503-449-7533. That's the DZ. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Bailing at a grand for an engine out wouldn't be considered a best practice by anyone I know. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I think the thin lines we use today could get through there under tension like during a deployment. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

If the angle upon contact with a line was right, this would be a snag hazard. If a line got snatched into that gap it would not be easily cleared. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Agreed, although my guess is the vast majority of experienced jumpers with hook knives have never "trained" to use one either. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Not sure if I agree with your assessment. Like all of us, well trained students tend to do what they are trained to do, so I doubt one is going to whip out a hook knife and hack away at a mal that can simply be chopped if that's contrary to their training. At one time we required a minimum jump number to fly squares because we thought studnts couldn't handle them. Today first jump students jump squares. At one time we put students on ripcords because we feared they would screw up trying to use hand deploy setups. Today first jump students use hand deploy setups without excessive problems. At one time we thought using a 2-handle EP setup on students was asking for trouble. Today it is routine. Point being that students can typically use any tool they are trained to use. I agree that the odds of a student needing a hook knife are quite small, but conversely there are countless cases of injuries and deaths of students and novices who got entangled from unstable deployments and other similar problems where a hook knife might have altered the outcome. Would a student take appropriate action should the need to use a hook knife be presented? Who knows, but there's one thing we absolutely know for sure. If you don't have a hook knife when you need one, you will probably never need one again. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Use a little imagination and I'm sure you will find many more. What's your plan if you have a premature reserve deployment while climbing out of the plane and find yourself hanging from the tail? Yep. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

True. Off topic, but true. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I would add #4 (or #5, according to the video)... Don't watch your canopy while it's deploying. Interesting reply. I use my peripheral vision to look for potential trouble during deployment as much as possible. With that said, remember that a jumper's first priority during deployment is to insure a good, flyable canopy. The second is to look for and avoid traffic. Besides, a jumper can't do much about traffic with a sniveling canopy over their head anyway. In this particular case looking around during deployment probably would have made no difference anyway because the other jumper's canopy didn't turn toward me until the very end of his deployment while I was looking at him. Note at 1:02 I am looking at him and not my canopy when his canopy makes a 90 degree right turn toward me. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Ok of course no problem. I hadn't been clear on what you were objecting to. I was just using 750 and 1000 as simple approximations, rather than arguing numbers in between. Clearly the pressure behind on object in freefall will be lower. And higher on front, eg highest at the stagnation point. For an AAD inside a skydiver's rig, with the skydiver on his back, I'm not sure just what the pressure will be -- due to the large size and volume of the pack, the pressure increase at the sensor might be a fair bit less than at the stagnation point itself. In any case we don't know exactly what sort of pressure changes exist at the AAD sensor in different body positions. This sounds like a case for Myth Busters ......... +1 What a cool idea. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

There are two ways to think about recalls. On the down side, a recall means the manufacturer has found a problem with its product. On the up side, it means the manufacturer admits it and is willing to correct the problem. A lack of recalls does NOT mean a manufacturer hasn't had problems with its product. It means they haven't admitted it. As for Cypres vs Vigil, I've owned both. Either one will save your ass. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX