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boozy

Safe to buy a used reserve?

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Well, I have gotten a few great answers. I think jumping the gun on downsizing could prove to be a terrible mistake. But, I get nothing but bad reviews from tempos, it's gotten to the point of just praying I don't have to use the damn thing. You'll notice there are a lot of them for sale compared to PD reserves, I think this is for a good reason. I liked the idea of flying a PD160, that is the largest reserve my container can handle anyway. It has a tempo 170 right now, but I was told it packs up a little smaller so it fits quite well, plus my rigger is very talented. So if anybody has a PD160 stitting around, pm me please. :)

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I think jumping the gun on downsizing could prove to be a terrible mistake. But, I get nothing but bad reviews from tempos, it's gotten to the point of just praying I don't have to use the damn thing. You'll notice there are a lot of them for sale compared to PD reserves, I think this is for a good reason.



A really good way to alleviate this fear is to get to know your gear. WHY are Tempos getting bad reviews? What makes you think your Tempo isn't airworthy? What does your very talented rigger have to say about your Tempo? Have you asked him? Determining the airworthiness of a reserve is a pretty simple process.

If you bought that smaller reserve, a reserve that so many people thinks is too small for you, why would that make you feel safe?

To me, finding myself under a reserve that's too small to land me safely is a much bigger concern that finding myself under a canopy that's not trendy anymore.

Gear tends to get unpopular quickly when a manufacturer stops making it. This makes sense. Often times manufacturers stop making gear because it's dangerous or outdated. That's not what happened here. Pisa stopped making the Tempo when Pisa and Aerodyne merged, the new company choosing to sell the Aerodyne Smart reserve instead of the Tempo.

I used to have a Tempo, I used it once and it saved my life. It opened, flew straight and flared nicely. What else could I ask of a reserve? Now I've given that reserve to my wife, and am happy to know that she's got a reserve that I trust.

_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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I used to have a Tempo, I used it once and it saved my life. It opened, flew straight and flared nicely. What else could I ask of a reserve?



If it was made before 2001 you'd want a stronger reserve because older Tempos have no span-wise reinforcing tapes.

After an AFF jump master got knocked out and had a CYPRES fire I saw him on the ground with his reserve (not a tempo) split into 2 and 5 cells connected only by a single reinforcing tape at the taiil. No tape at all would have been fatal. Strong span-wise tapes across all line attachments should have reduced the injuries.

If I had an older tempo in my main rig I'd replace it. I'm thinking about replacing the one in my birdman rig to be more responsible towards my fiancee.

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After an AFF jump master got knocked out and had a CYPRES fire I saw him on the ground with his reserve (not a tempo) split into 2 and 5 cells connected only by a single reinforcing tape at the taiil. No tape at all would have been fatal. Strong span-wise tapes across all line attachments should have reduced the injuries.



Just out of curiosity...what was his WL on that reserve?

_Pm
__
"Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

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If it was made before 2001 you'd want a stronger reserve because older Tempos have no span-wise reinforcing tapes.



I have six rides on a tempo 150, and one ride on a Tempo170. Not all were sub-terminal. Neither canopy was manufactured after 2000.

It is true that PD Reserves are built stronger, with spanwise reinforcement, but for a given pack volume (not switching containers), the Tempo has greater surface area. I can fit a 150 Tempo where I can only fit a PD 126.

If I were to order myself a new container today, I would likely order something large enough for a PD reserve sized to my liking. But, it would be foolish of me to give up 24 sq ft of nylonover my head just so I can have a span-wise reinforced reserve in the container I currently fly.

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And seeing as how boozy is loading the Tempo 170 at 1:1...is lack of span-wise reinforcement really that much of a concern?

The Tempo 210 that AndyMan gave to me (yes, I'm the wife ;))--I'd be loading it at 1:1 with gear on. The max exit weight is 223lbs, max deployment speed is 150 kts. It was manufactured in 8/98, no span-wise reinforcement. As mentioned before, Andy put one ride on it (in 11/01). Our rigger hasn't expressed any concerns over it so far...

_Pm
__
"Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

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And seeing as how boozy is loading the Tempo 170 at 1:1...is lack of span-wise reinforcement really that much of a concern?



No, not at 1:1. 150 knots is nearly 173 mph. The concern I have with Boozy is that he will have to land an F111 seven cell low aspect ratio rectangular canopy loaded at 1:1 at 5000ft msl. If he downsizes his reserve, he'll be coming in even faster. IMHO not a wise choice for a canopy used in a situation where at least one thing has already gone wrong.

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hi i'm newly qualified.....36 jumps.....

you guys are talking about testing a reserve canopy and how it could save your life.

how do you test a reserve canopy. put it on your main risers??? what do you do about a reserve incase the one you test f**ks up???

im using my universities club rig, theyve never mentioned testing a reserve . am i worrying too soon too early?? i doesnt seem so to me but i dont know how to go about testing the reserve we have (especially with my wonderfull, almost maxed out, overdraft].

how much would it cost to test the reserve im using now (in £'s) ???
cheers,

caspar
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

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hi i'm newly qualified.....36 jumps.....

you guys are talking about testing a reserve canopy and how it could save your life.

how do you test a reserve canopy. put it on your main risers??? what do you do about a reserve incase the one you test f**ks up???



What we are referring to is demoing a reserve, same model and size as the one in your rig. It is packed to your container as a main canopy, with your three ring main risers. If it malfuntions, you would cut away and deploy your reserve, per your normal emergency procedures.

The cost depends on how you obtain the canopy. Some manufacturers will send you a reserve that is rigged as a main for a fee. Contact the manufacturer of your reserve for an exact price.

Since you are using club gear, perhaps you might consider demoing a like reserve for each of your club's rigs, and making a club event out of it, so the price of the demos and shipping can be shared, and everyone gets to experience first hand how their reserve will land, before they have to deploy it in an actual emergency. TALK TO AN INSTRUCTOR BEFORE YOU PLAN THIS, FOR YOURSELF, OR YOUR CLUB.

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