what i noticed this weekend..

[Kelly 0]

its winter here in the northeast and its been really quite lately. This past weekend we had a boogie, and lots of people showed up. I was packing all weekend and noticed a few things. Before i mention anything, let me just say that i consulted a rigger in regards to many of these individual situations and ALWAYS told the customer.
what i noticed:
~closing loops wayyyy too long for a lot of jumpers (RW & FF) I probably shortened at least 7.
~closing loops too worn. I changed out 2.
~stains on canopies. I know it happens, but noticing it right away and taking care of it will diminish the chances of fabric damage.
~rigging done by jumpers to their own gear. inncorrect rigging by people who arent riggers. This only happened once, but the jumper had removed the velcro from their risers and caused some stitching to come undone. Our risers are only so wide, they have a serious job when it comes to our parachuting gear. Dont rig yourself! especially if you cant do it right!
~inncorrect sized rubber bands.
~Pilot Chutes with stitching coming undone/holes. They cost less than $100 and begin the deployment system. Dont sit by and watch it wear itself away to a malfunction.
~bridle covers that arent doing their jobs. It's an adjustment made to a lot of rigs. depending on the size of the canopy and how well it fills the container (not to mention pack job) this adjustment can be perfect for one canopy and useless for another. Make sure that your bridle cover actually does its job. it should hold the bridle there, thus, leaving less exposed bridle.
~built in twists to the brake lines. Every couple of jumps (if not every jump) you should untwist brake lines. Leaving twists in them takes away from the overall strength of your lines. Think about it like this: hundreds of very tiny lines are stronger if their braded together, seperate them into individual lines and their not as strong.
~sliders that were getting worn. Nothing bad, but did notice some minor holes (usually where the cords are to collapse the slider). Getting repairs done to your slider can keep it from further damage/ hard openings.
A lot of these rigs were from traveling jumpers. They werent all folks from this area snowbound and not jumping for the most part.
Safety day is coming up. Make sure you get your gear checked by a certified rigger to ensure that its up to par.
just wanted to send out a few reminders.
~blue skies and fun skydives~
My little corner of the web.

[Jessica 0]

Thanks so much for posting this, Kelly. Walk a mile in your enemy's shoes. Then you're a mile away and have his shoes.

[riggerrob 643]

Good point Kelly.
Thanks for reminding Northern jumpers to check their gear before the spring rush.
Most riggers are bored this time of year and have the time and patience to do really detailed inspections and really neat patchs. That attitude changes radically when the snow melts. Hint, hint.
April 6, I am giving a "Know your gear" seminar at Pitt Meadows. This will be part of CSPA's annual Safety Day.

[Aviatrr 0]

Quote

April 6, I am giving a "Know your gear" seminar at Pitt Meadows. This will be part of CSPA's annual Safety Day.

Hey, Rob....I'm gonna be up in Vancouver for a couple weeks in May.......how long is the drive to Pitt Meadows from there? I definitely plan on coming up and jumping with you guys for a few days..
Mike

[riggerrob 643]

Pitt Meadows Airport is about a 90 minute drive from Vancouver International Airport.
Rent a car unless you want to spend all day on city buses.
The only viable public transit is to catch a shuttle bus to downtown Vancouver, then between 2:30 and 5:30 pm. catch the West Coast Express commuter train. WCE drops you off one mile from the DZ.
The best way is to land your corporate jet on runway 26 left and top off the tanks with Jet A graciously provided by the fuel truck that was the Pacific Skydivers logo painted on the side.
We jump from Cessnas during winter weekends. Come May our King Air returns and we are open 7 days a week until Halloween.