Auryn

Amen to this. If it is physically possible to shorten your loop such that ALL grommets stack PERFECTLY upon each other (no matter how improbable you think this is) you're going to die.

The canopy has about 15 jumps on it. He says he was flat and stable when he deployed. He does have a fast fall rate though, but its never been an issue before? Does he have enough experience to really know if he was flat and stable? I got slammed by a spectre 150 when I had about 450 jumps, with about 10,000 packjobs working as a professional packer. At the time I packed the rig I didn't know I was going to jump it (it was a team rig) so it was "double blind". Still got slammed "dookie happens".

They died.

There is a big difference between getting out of a jump plane at jump-run speed and an airliner at cruise speed. The latter would most likely be fatal as the recent air france crash has shown.

It's a fun thought, but the results from the recent air france crash indicate that you'd be instantaneously fatally injured by the airstream upon being thrown from the A/C at cruise speed.

My only chop was on a borrowed rig with double softs, at about 450 jumps. I've always owned and drilled on rigs with a metal reserve handle. Since I was taught "peel, pull, chop.. peel, pull, live" on the metal handle system, I didnt have any probs for the transition. As far as concerns about seeing the handles-in my mal I went 100 percent by feel and double checked it before execution.

The best performing option I've seen is the latter. What you give up is what you've already mentioned-a pain to make and install. It can be tempting at time to go with nothing, however, Ive seen tandem links side-load and lock canopies into linetwist.

Yes, it comes back like riding a bike. However, just like riding a bike, take a couple test rides before you go big. Do a currency dive, then ease back into "going big" in freeflying. Starting again after this long a layoff your "envelope" has been reset; wait a bit to push it.

Blue Skies Harry.

Update to this thread: I've installed the parasport chin cup on a hawkeye, with a bonehead cutaway system. There is one BIG advantage to the parasport chin cup that I like: Tab A locks the cup to the ratchets. Tab B tightens the chin cup along the ratchets, allowing you to level your cameras based on what your ring sight is telling you about horizontal orientation of the cameras on your head. Very Nice. BK

This is a sort of spinoff thread from the incident forum about the base jumper that went in from a helo in Cinci, OH. The question that seemed to be brought up was "are base mains safer than skydiving reserves b/c they are packed more or less the same way as reserves and are (mostly) deployed at the correct altitude, while stable, whereas skydiving reserves are (as was implied) not deployed stable?" I think the incident report, and many others from base indicate otherwise. There is a critical component missing from this post. BASE mains are by and large throw-outs while skydiving reserves are ripcords w/ a spring loaded PC. The deployment system makes the difference between the two IMO (and I've read all the skydiving fatality reports since 1998 and ALL the base reports) Bryan

Cool.. thanks. I'll give them a call and see if they take the same size ratchet straps.

since arrowdynamics is out of business, does anyone have or know where to get a replacement chin cup for a hawkeye? black preferred, but I can repaint it. Bryan

From what one of the TIs is saying, they're getting a squirrelly snivel, then "POP" versus the sigma that sort of unfolds once it's done sniveling. I don't have personal experience with a PA opening, so I can't give more of a description than that. Bryan

My DZ uses 50 percent Sigma mains and 50 percent Precision mains and the TIs are asking about improving the openings on the Precisions. Our packers use the same way to pack each, a standard pro pack. The Sigmas are opening so much better than the Precisions that the TIs are hesitant to jump the Precisions unless they absolutely have to. The sizes on the Precisions range from 365s to 400s and the DOM of all our gear is early 2007. Any suggestions out there? Thanks Bryan Klindworth