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The question is, "So what parachute do you remember, or have now, that made you worry the least?" I guess that would be my most often used canopy nowdays, my Flight Concepts fully zero porosity Manta, a rectangular design, at 290 square feet. But I have had others, mainly large canopies. (This seems to be a common theme among those responding.) The big ones are not the most exciting, but they sure can be reliable.

I might have stated that wrong. The toggle itself was not "hung up". On one side the excess steering line was "hitched" around the keeper thing for the bottom tip of the toggle. The other side was similar. I should have taken a picture, shouldn't I have?

Not my rig. I'm just doing some research, having seen the rig right after the issue occurred.

Yes, I think that is it. I can't figure out how the problems occured. Maybe they were not stowed optimally. The excess steering line on one side was hitched around the bottom toggle tip keeper. Does anyone know if Mirage Systems stopped using this design because of problems? (I got to look at the system only briefly, and did not get to ask the owner anything. I will at some point.)

A jumper I know had toggle hangups on both sides during a jump. The rig is a Vector 3, but I don't see that toggle and riser arrangement on the UPT web site, so it is likely an aftermarket system. The toggle has common narrow/sewn tips on both ends, with the top tip to go through the cat's-eye on the steering line brake setting as ususal, but also one on the bottom to go into a stiff pocket, not flat on the riser, but instead, with the bottom end sewn to the riser and the top end free which can flip back and forth after the toggle is unstowed. I know that I am not providing much info, but does anyone know what type of system this is?

Bryan, your knowledge and your skill at writing have combined once again to create an outstanding article. I don't know how you do it.

Not a yawn for this experienced skydiver! I'm not a ham radio operator, but much of my electronics work has been parachute related, and hobby electronics as a kid included radio, and I think this is very cool. The QSL cards with pictures of parachutes really makes it special.

I sure am going to miss Larry. I was just thinking of calling him a week ago, just to chat. He knew so much, including so much history and information about USPA. What an incredible resource he was to the sport of skydiving.

Good point, and I was thinking of saying something similar. A person needs to "train their knee" so that it feels just the right amount of pressure, and does not use too much pressure, or the canopy folds will slide off each other.

No, of course not. But is West Tennessee not a USPA group member drop zone? It is not a Group Member DZ. They don't, and they don't need to. Neither the DZ nor the TI is in violation of a BSR. Thank you for bringing this up and for asking these questions. It is often difficult for people to understand USPA (as an organization) and it's "rules". Hopefully this clears things up for people.

To some extent, yes. As long as we remember that there are a few DZs that do allow someone under 18 to jump there, and that there is nothing wrong with that. And as long as we remember that USPA influences and supports skydiving in the US, but does not control it.

USPA has no jurisdiction over people that are not USPA members.

When I first started reading your posts, I thought that you would be one of those people that would drop out of skydiving due to the challenges, but you showed us all, didn't you? Congratulations, and remember that when you get the experience, and get your Coach rating, that you will have a lot of empathy for your students and will be able to give a lot to the sport. I look forward to your posts as an instructional rating holder.

Here it is!

Here is a 49 second video I did following my friend doing a pattern. Might be useful. The turns are low but conservative because both canopies were large. http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/leftpattern.mpg

Yep!

People have been calling them "flat packs" for some time, but there is a "stack pack" (like manufacturers still have instructions for as an option for packing a reserve), and there is a "roll pack". I did not watch the video, but perhaps you want to specify which of those types it is. http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/PDReserveManual.pdf, section 6 http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/ParaFliteRollPacking.pdf Few people seem to know about the "roll pack". Even PD calls the "stack pack" just a "flat pack".

I'm looking for a discussion and to find out if there is a move among riggers to reject canopies based on age. But I'd like to know what you mean by added liability and what might cause it. For example, if the owner is an older jumper that is familiar with the way the reserve would fly, and if it is not highly loaded, I would consider the liability low. If a newer jumper went out and bought an older rig just because it was cheap, and it has an older reserve in it, the liability would be higher. Older designs require a bit more finesse to land and many newer jumpers don't know how to land them well.

I will not reject a reserve of that era solely on age, but consider a number of things, including how much liability some of those things add. (Hope you weren't expecting a yes/no answer.)

Thanks for letting us know. I missed that. It really is a shame isn't it? .

Oh, my, I am interpreting the stability of ram-air parachutes compared to most airplanes completely different than that. If a (mostly rectangular) ram-air parachute is flying properly, is symmetrical, and is not receiving any control inputs, it is completely stable in "roll" isn't it? (This may not be true of elliptical canopies.) And isn't it nearly impossible to design enough dihedral angle to an airplane wing to make it stable in roll?

In a way it is, especially if you compare it with a throw-out system. But with a pull-out system, this is how it is designed. (It is also expected that the jumper will quickly let go of the pilot chute once the pin is pulled.) This is why it is important for the main bag to be wedged into the main container in a way that requires pilot chute extraction, and doesn't just fall out, or be blown out from the wind.

Well, Bill, hopefully we won't have a number of people seeing what you wrote and then going around saying that "Bill Booth says that if you have a big pilot chute that you will get line dump." We know that "line dump" is possible under certain conditions, but line dump is not common, otherwise there would be many videos of it and a number of seriously injured jumpers. I asked a while back for anyone to come up with an image of line dump and it took a long time to ever see one. (One of the two I ever saw was on a tandem rig.) Line dump caused by issues with "stowless" bags is of course another topic altogether! The reason I am commenting on this is because I have heard so many people over the years mention line dump when they have simply had a moderately hard opening, and then they go messing around with smaller pilot chutes instead of figuring out what the real problem is. P.S. Here is a data point. I have been using a 34 inch zero porosity pilot chute to deploy my Stiletto 150 for many years. All nice openings using moderately tight rubber bands, not double stowed.

Just to let you and everyone else know in case they don't- You can select a service called "UPS Last Mile" by which UPS will deliver your package to your local post office, and they will delivery it from there. The idea is that if you live in certain areas, like in a rural area, this will be cheaper than having UPS deliver to your location, because the post office is going there every day anyway. You will need to let your vendor know that you do not want this service if you are willing to pay for UPS to your door. Personally I don't like the option because UPS in is my neighborhood every day, and it would make shipment one day longer. I'm just letting people know so that they don't think poorly of UPS, which can't control what USPS does. (I'm sticking up for UPS because they give me very good service.)

As I posted that I thought that someone might think that odd. Actually, she was outrageously unruly, the worst I have had. Until pull time it took both hands from both of us instructors to keep her face-to-earth. She flipped us all on exit, then had her feet on her butt and her knees totally down. I let go with my right hand just long enough to pull for her, because she wasn't aware of anything at any time during the freefall. She almost backlooped us when I let go with that hand. Until then I would never have believed that someone so small could do that to one average sized instructor and one very large instructor.