"Strange looking" reserve repacks

[kevin922 0]

Quote

Quote

if something looks weird, I ask the person wearing the gear.

On the plane, there were a couple of folks who had very strange looking 3rings. It looked almost like the canopies were on backwards, because the bottom ring was visible, but the top two were under the riser, so the 3ring was on the opposite side of the strap that it usually is on.

I also did the same as you did, until they told me that's how Parachute de France do their 3 ring system...
and now there is the Advance rig, with a "3 ring" but the middle one is not a ring, but some kind of oval shape... It received a prize for innovation at the PIA last year I think

Are you talking about the aerodyne miniforce system that won an award?

[lazyfrog 0]

yeah sorry.. just as I posted, was wondering if it was advance or aerodyne... so it is the second one.
thanks for the precision

----------
Fumer tue, péter pue
-------------
ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

[amy 0]

Quote

The corners of the flaps were on the pop top.

Was it a red and yellow Reflex? There was a guy at the holiday boogie with a red and yellow Reflex that was modified for CReW, with two extra tabs (that look like the corner of a reserve flap, but without the grommet) over the top and bottom edges of the pop top. The theory behind these is that they decrease the chances of a line snagging on the pop top.

The guys who bought the Reflex TSO (and there are surely people on this board who know more about this than I) have also made a modification so that the new rig (called the Viper) can be packed witht the top and bottom flaps over the pop top, something like a Javelin. I don't think they're in general production yet, but there are a few around.

There are pictures of both of these mods on the Trident web site. http://www.tridenthc.com/VProducts.htm.

Is one of these what you were seeing?

I don't think most people mind if you ask questions about their gear, especially if you're asking out of genuine concern for their welfare (and especially if you're a rigger). As a lot of people have already said though, you have to be careful how you say it. Most people don't like to hear that you think they're an idiot, but saying "hey, can I take a closer look at that? It looks kind of strange." is usually pretty well received.

Amy

[mfrese 0]

As others here have stated, it usually works well to ask questions quietly and politely. Had a friend sit on the plane in front of me once, and I was confronted with a Reflex with about an inch of reserve pilot chute material sticking out from under the pop top. I said something like "Hey, I've never seen that on a Reflex before"...he asked me what, I told him, asked if that's the way it usually looked, and things went very peacably from there to him climbing off the plane and going to talk to his rigger. Low key questions usually result in low-key responses.

Something for the non-CRW crowd to remember when they see bizarre shit hanging out of a rig.

Doctor I ain't gonna die,
Just write me an alibi! ---- Lemmy/Slash

[GAskygirl 31]

It never hurts to ask if you're not sure. It's amazing how trusting people can be that someone else has taken care of their gear properly, without taking the initiative to check it out themselves.

I caught a visiting jumper in the plane on jumprun once wearing a Vector 3 with its reserve flaps closed in the wrong order. The bottom flap was closed after the side flaps (it's pretty obvious...stripes where they shouldn't be showing). I have owned three of them, so that jumped out at me in a hurry.

I tapped him on the shoulder, told him I was checking his reserve pin, didn't see any temp pins or flags, and told him that his reserve flaps were closed in the wrong order. And that if that was all that was wrong, it would *probably* open fine if he needed it, but that was his choice. And that he really really needed to have a rigger check that out after the load. (Yes, he jumped.)

It was the second reserve pack on that rig since he had bought it...he thought it "looked funny, but I figured the rigger knew what he was doing." Or something like that.

Guys, ASK--at worst you'll learn something.

Blue Skies!
-=Christy=-
D-21464

[Hooknswoop 19]

Quote

I caught a visiting jumper in the plane on jumprun once wearing a Vector 3 with its reserve flaps closed in the wrong order. The bottom flap was closed after the side flaps (it's pretty obvious...stripes where they shouldn't be showing).

I saw that once. I asked the owner who packed the reserve, innocently. Then talked to the rigger and told him he had closed he flaps in the wrong order. He said he didn't have the manual. I didn't think that was the best excuse in the world. He said he would take care of it. The next week, same jumper, same rig, same closing squence.

Derek

[GAskygirl 31]

Note to jumpers...if it doesn't at least look like the pictures on the manual or manufacturers' site, ask why. There might be a valid reason...or not.

Blue Skies!
-=Christy=-
D-21464

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Quote

If someone else's gear looks bad, ask them to have a rigger look at it,

I am a rigger. But i still don't know if it's ok to approach someone....thats why i asked the question.

Hi Sunny if I were a rigger i would probably ask them . something like this.
Hi there, I was just checking out your rig and noticed it looks a bit different to what I normally see, can you tell me why it looks different, is that a special mod.

But since I'm not a rigger I would probably tell a rigger there that it looks wierd and ask if they know anything about it.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?