RMURRAY

Jim says: After three years I have finally secured all the elements to put together the new Team Extreme. Team Extreme will be the “competition” team of the World Parabatic Swoop Team (WPST). -this is the name Jim has given his "overall" team. Chuck We will not be releasing the identity of the new team members or discussing any of the specifics about the team until the official press release comes out which will be sometime before the new year.

Sorry, dont mean to thread jack again... I'd be interested to know, next time its time for a reserve repack to weigh your main and reserve, with lines and links, and see what kind of weight limit we then have to work with for the container. my rig is 18 pounds but I have relative large canopies and not a tiny rig. It may not be important to everyone but racers are the lightest rig out there. Here is a comment from Nancy when I asked her how light a power racer (ready to jump) could be.... "I'm sure if we made a step-in harness (no legstrap hardware), with a 97 AngelFire, and say a 101 FireBolt, I could get it down to 8 pounds" rm

Brett, give us a break.

Agreed, but my feelings are that at my experience level if I lose alt awareness I deserve to go in, i.e. it's my own fault. I could, however, be doing everything right and by some outside influence get knocked unconscious...that's why I keep a cypres in my rig. Well that and that my wife and daughter don't agree with me on the deserving to go in if I lose alt awareness. edit for spelling i don't have an aad but agree with you, the "getting knocked out in freefall" is what I would want one for. I think I am alone on this but I would want my aad to turn OFF when my main opens... rm

totally agree with you. the 2k3 (no velcro) is what to get for FFing. rm

I agree with the original poster. nothing but great service from Skyworks. my advice, forget email and pick up the phone until you get it worked out. do you guys have a JVX rds working the way you want yet? rm

Incorrect stowage that causes a toggle hangup is very rare on velcro toggles, they don't come loose on opening as long as you maintain the velcro (pile every few hundred jumps, hook side about half as often), and they don't lead to steering line replacement due to wear (spectra steering lines shrink enough to require replacement within a few hundred jumps regardless of what sort of toggle you use) when you place them back on the risers after landing & are careful packing. Toggle hangups are more common on velcro-less toggles which lack a standard way of stowing the excess line, brake fires on opening used to be more common (this seems to have gotten better), and you don't need to be as careful with your steering line. I haven't swapped any of my velcro toggles for velcro-less, but may switch to a velcroless snap toggle + elastic keeper for excess line on the next set of risers since it should be just as secure and lower maintenance. I have had a couple of sets jumpshack risers with the snap toggles and the elastic on the bottom broke relatively quickly. I think they have a snap at the bottom now. I am just about to order a set - never a chance of losing a toggle on opening...love them. my second choice would be velcro but I would be sure to change the velcro every 200 jumps or so... rm

here are the sizes of angelfire reserves. to get the relative pack size best to call Nancy at Jumpshack - she will steer you to the right one.....rm The AngelFire Reserves are available in the following sizes: 97, 114, 125, 150, 160, 180, 196, 226, 246, 276, 300 Square feet.

i prefer the PVC tube, it is cheaper and safer (lighter) than a hackey - if I was a free flyer I would probably not have either... rm

spectra can go out of trim in as low as 200 jumps, I'd get a rigger to check the trim.... rm

I borrowed gear once and it was a mistake. Turns out the gear had a baffed out PC and I was under a PC in tow during a low hop n pop. if it happened to me again I would reach around and grab the bridle and pull the bag off my back - in this way avoiding two-out. As it turns, out I dumped the reserve (opted NOT to cut away first) and had a tempo120 and jedei120 out in a biplane. VERY unstable but the last thing on my mind was to cut away the main. like you said, I had something that was working and did not want to change the situation into (potentially) a tangled death spirol. It was the one and only time I wanted to be on the ground, anywhere on the ground....key is to avoid the situation, if you have an aad do not get even close to the firing altitude in freefall. know your gear. replace the PC before it is crap. don't borrow gear... rm

nice rig! Looks very secure. what is the steel cable on the cutaway handle? edit... I see you are comparing to a normal sized D handle. rm

the racer 2k3 has NO velcro, has been out for about 4 years and is VERY secure for FFing. You can still buy a racer with velcro on the shoulders or on the sides (I love mine). In my opinion, Jumpshack does not do the best job of pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each model. rm

perfect, I get my JVX (steve's 96) on Monday. Comp line set - we will see how that goes. stock slider - for now... rm

here is something you posted a while back. After reading this I would not get a fully articulated harness or a soft reserve handle. I would get a low profile metal handle if I was buying a new racer................. I recieved this in a news letter from Skydive Calif. City, the Safey & Training section written every month by JC Coldren USPA I/E S&TA. It makes me wounder why anyone would use a pillow reserve handle or go without an RSL. Sparky From: Rick Horn Subject: 5000+ jumps, saved by RSL Date: 1997/00/03 I got saved by,a backup device (RSL) on Thursday. August 28th. I thought I’d relay the formation My background: 5000+ jumps, 107 cutaways, (No I don’t need to learn how to back, a lot of test jumps and films.) About 20 unplanned cutaways. 21 years jumping, AFF I/E, static Line I/E, Full time instructor at Perris, AFF Course Director for USPA. Equipment Background: Rig- Javelin, Articulated harness (Rings top and bottom), RSL and Cypres equipped. Soft Reserve pillow, Main, Stiletto 135. Reserve- PDI43R, I wear my leg straps and chest strap quite tight. The jump: A great APP Level 4, the student did well, I watched deployment on the student’s canopy, and hung around to give a thumbs up forte camera. This put everything happening a little lower than usual, so I threw the main out at about 2100, as opposed to the usual 2500 since I’ve gotten older and hopefully wiser. The main opened into a severe spin. There were no line twists, but I don’t know what caused the spin, as I could not see the left side of the canopy. After the usual playing around with It, I decided to get rid of it. My procedures are grab cutaway, grab reserve, pud cutaway, pull reserve. I went for the cutaway handle, and to my surprise, it was on the LEFT side of my chest I grabbed it, and reached for the reserve handle. It was somewhere under my left armpit I could only touch it with my thumb, and not grab it. My theory is that a combination of the severe spin and the articulated harness allowed the handles to move so far. I had also practiced hooking my thumb between the reserve pillow and the housing. I was unable to do it. I then pulled the cutaway handle, as I was not accomplishing anything in my attempt to find the reserve handle. After pulling the cutaway, I continued to search for the reserve pillow. I was unable to find it. I theorize that it tucked under the main lift web as the harness slid back into position That theory took a couple of days to figure out. Being honest, I have my sincere doubts that I would have found the handle within the 6 seconds of working time that I had left. My ML prevented me from knowing the answer. I have since modified my rig to include a standard ripcord on the reserve. This should also serve as a reminder that backup devices, whether they be ML or AAD can save your life, no matter what your experience. Please don’t make this into a debate thread, there have been enough. I just wanted to share the experience, so people could make informed decisions. Rick Horn D-6277 AFFI/E USPA APP Course Director

I have another rule and that is I get new risers at 500 jumps on them. here is that comment from Bill Booth...... The only part of a correctly made Type 17 mini 3-ring riser (with 5/8" webbing holding the small riser ring) that might need flexing is the white closing loop. This "flexing the webbing" business comes from 20 years ago when we used 1 3/4" Type 12 webbing to hold the small riser ring on Type 8 risers. This webbing, because it was so wide in relation to the small ring, and because there is so much mechanical advantage in the "large" 3-ring system, could cause a problem if it got "stiff". Just clean and lube the yellow cable every month with silicone, and you should never have a problem.

didn't bill booth say this was a myth - that 3 rings need to be flexed often and that the rings need to be rotated. in any case I do it whenever I remove the canopy from the rig - once a year.... rm

get a bunch of people and drive. our best is 18 hours from Toronto to Deland. rm

at Parachute School of Toronto (Baldwin, ON) we jump all year round - every weekend. nice wood burning stove close to the packing area. not as cold here at in Ottawa though. rm

I really like the jumpshack snap toggles. Never worry about losing a toggle on opening and they don't wear out. rm

you should contact them directly but I think the I heard them say 4 way from a Islander is NOT good. Point needs to watch out for the landing gear.... rm

you can buy a racer 2k3 (no velcro up the sides) or NOS (with all the velcro). Arguably, the racer NOS is the most comfortable rig out there. However, if I was into FFing (and I am not) I would look for a 2k3 - it is bulletproof. rm

what really matters is the force to release under a small spinning elliptical in line twists. I would like to see those test results of the "3 bloke test" where 2 extra guys are hanging from a hanging harness in lines twists. If I had the yellow cable, I'd be lubricating it regularly and I'd use the recommended food grade silicone.... rm

we don't have Ace Hardwares up here. I have checked all the ususal consumer outlets without luck. I bought a bunch of cans of Osborn Food Grade Silicone (product number 76194) at Acklands Grainger (an industrial supply place) just 5 minutes from my work. I gave to a couple of cans to dropzones because no one I know bothers to lub their yellow cable. I have a Racer with the red cable so never need to lub. only clean it once a year. Here is where you can get the stuff...rm http://www.osborn.com/DistributorLocator/DistributorLocator.aspx

food grade silicone is what I remember reading somewhere is recommended. I finally found a place to buy - an industrial supply outfit. rm