peek 21 #1 May 27, 2005 Pilot Emergency Parachute with Ram-Air Canopy Just a reminder everyone that you can put together a nice and relatively inexpensive pilot's emergency parachute system using a ram-air canopy that is no longer popular with skydivers, perhaps because it has Dacron lines or has a higher pack volumn than the latest reserves. I found a 1993 Para-Flite Swift Plus (225 square feet) for $200 and bought a new Parapharnalia Softie (Mini) with the square reserve bag. (About $100 extra.) Very nice, very soft. (They don't name it that for nothing.) And quite a lift to my piece-of-mind if I should ever have to actually jump it. Not to mention very easy to pack. Thanks Dan! (I am not a dealer nor do I have any financial motive in this post. It's just that I am so damn happy about it.) It's almost as cool as buying a new skydiving rig. (Oh, well, I guess you have to be a jump pilot to understand.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybeergodd 0 #2 May 27, 2005 The Aviator by Rigging Innovations is another comfy pilot rig that takes a square. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #3 May 27, 2005 I`m not sure but It may happen that those bail out rigs having a different TSO category than skydiving rigs. I`ve seen max 400km/h limit on our pilot`s bail out rig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #4 May 27, 2005 Gary, Congrats on moving your pilot emergency parachute into the 1980s. Hee! Hee! While working for Butler, I packed a few squares into back, chair and seat versions of his PEPs. I even sewed up a few freebags for him. While working at Rigging Innovations, I did most of the test packs on P-124A/Aviators along with assisting on most of the drop tests and wrote the packing manual. At Para-Phernalia, I simplified the freebag. Call me biased, but I would much rather wear a PEP containing a large square than any of the military-surplus rounds that I jumped in my youth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #5 May 27, 2005 I've talked with a lot of the Glider pilots I pack for, who have really liked the Strong Enterprises: Para-Cushion. Like you, I'm not employed by any manufacturer's. I'm just passing along what I've learned from PEP users. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
