ZigZagMarquis

Tom... I've heard similar. Why don't you call up Sunpath and ask for written verification one way or the other. I'd be currious to know what Sunpath's NO SHIT position is on this too. i.e... 1) Removal of the RSL from a Jav or Odessy voids the TSO and a rigger SHALL NOT pack one that has had the RSL removed. OR 2) They HIGHLY RECOMMEND that the RSL shouldn't be removed and that riggers are advised not to pack rigs have had them removed. I hate to sound like a lawyer, but if rig mfgr's don't want RSLs removed from their rigs and they don't want riggers packing their rigs that have had RSLs removed, they need to quit being meally mouthed about it, be more careful about the words they use in their manuals and state things very spicifically! Of course, this opens them up to liability rather then dumping it all on the riggers in the field to deal with if the FAA and Lawyers come knocking.

Thanks Terry. That's pretty much what I figured. Regarding the topic of whether... "a rigger could remove ANY rsl lanyard if installed by the factory". That's a good one too, but can quickly degrade to arguments over wheter or not RSLs are "good" or "bad"... the two opinion camps on this are pretty polarized. Even so, its probably worthy of yet another thread if there is new info to share from the recent PIA convention. My understanding is there is at least one major rig mfgr out there that is now saying that since their rigs come standard from the factory with an RSL that it is illegal for a rigger (even a master rigger) to remove it totally from the rig... if the user chooses to jump without it hooked up, that's okay, just that a rigger cannot remove it from the rig altogether... even though this isn't specifically stated in their current issue of their owner's manual... As for the ADDs Required or Not... hopefully this thread will not by hijacked by that...

At the DZ this past weekend... someone who was at the recent PIA convention was trying to tell me that at some point the Skyhook was going to become MANDATORY on all reserve systems. Is this, in fact, true... or was it just something "talked about" at the recent PIA convention? Anyone have any real in-site??

Okay... I admit, I borrowed CMan's post (above) from an old 04 thread, but I thought it good base to kick-off my question... Any of y'all all fresh from the recent PIA convetion and all jacked up on safety... PD says... "Fabric testing should be done annually"... and... "apply 30lbs for 3 seconds". Okay, I'm not here to debate the use of the word should in the above excerpt from the PD Manual, but what I'd like to ask is was there any discussion of Pull Tests at the recent PIA convention? Some more specific questions... 1) What about other reserves / mfgr's other then PD? Do they recommend Pull Tests on their products? 2) PD's recommendation is different the PIA's TS-108, which is basically the same, but 40lbs for 3 seconds. Any discussion of clarifying the difference between the two?

Ah! That Bill Booth guy, he's pretty smart!! Guess that's why he gets paid the Big Bucks! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how these new magnetic riser covers play out and how Mx free they are...

No so. It will be interesting to see how Bill's new "Magnetic Riser Covers" fair over time. Not that it should surprise someone that rigs need some periodic maintenance from time to time... i.e. Velcro wears out and needs to be replaced... i.e. The plastic in tuck-tabs sometimes cracks and needs to be replaced... permanent magnets can loose their magnetism.

Pax River, that sucks. I worked there once for about a year back in 91-92. Place has grown up lots since NAVAIR moved down there & and is even more expensive to live there now. Anyway, the DZ at St Mary's Airport in Canifornia, MD. is long gone. Crosskeys up in New Jersey would be cool, but quite the trek. Check out some of the places folks up thread have suggested. But it sounds like you'll be breakin' out your USPA DZ Guide and doing lots of driving on the weekends.

True enough. I'd have recommended a pull test on the probable weakened / damaged nylon next to the mesh... washing may not have been necessary.

Anyway... back on topic... Wish I could get into IH... I'm sure that place exploded over this again.

Ha!Ha! * Laughs and Points * Welcome to the world of new ZP.

A brake fire is when one of the brakes on your car overheats for some reason (e.g. hangs up, locks-up or otherwise drags on the drum or disk) to the point where it causes the rim, tire, brake assembly, etc. to catch fire. Its also a slang term used in skydiving to describe when one or both of your steering lines & toggle come un-stowed on opening. Acoisa, if you don't know what it means for your steering lines / toggles to be "stowed", you'll learn that in FJC. Its usually dealt with by just unstowing the "other" toggle (i.e. the one that didn't come unstowed on opening) and cycling the brakes... others may suggest opposite riser to counter the turn while you figure things out... again, Acoisa, more stuff you'll learn in FJC, but, Acoisa, when you do take FJC, plan on dealing with it (if it happens) the way your instructors teach you. Some of the things that can go from bad to worse if a steering line & toggle come unstowed on opening are, but not restricted to: 1) The spin can be violent enough to spin you into line twist that you cannot kick out of. 2) Damage the canopy. 3) With one brake line / toggle unstowed, the canopy will turn. With this happening on opening, this can confuse an inexperienced canopy pilot and one of the worst feelings one can experience skydiving is just after opening, looking up at your chute and thinking, "What the fuck is that?!!?" Not dealing with minor problems correctly or quickly enough have hurt and killed people skydiving. I've had steering lines / toggles come unstowed on opening more then once throughout my skydiving career. Basically it was just a matter of unstowing the other brake, stopping the turn, cycling the brakes, etc., fly, land, pack, jump again. I've had both brakes come unstowed on opening at least once I can think of. That was a real sporty opening... i.e. Hard... surprised I didn't blow my main up on that jump... and the canopy tried to go straight into full flight with both end cells fully collapsed.

I realize that's the prescribed procedure, but washing a "suspect" reserve or round used in a bailout rig and then putting it back in service always seemed foreign to me.

Good plan!

I saw one come through Cal City for a repack about 2 years ago that failed the acid mesh (Ph) test... upon further review... the aflicted canopy was from one of the range s/n's from mfg's you speak of.

2, 1-Way

Then neither should 1/3 of the population with high blood pressure, poor eye sight, etc... With modern medicine, many things can be "fixed" to the point people can live successful and rewarding lives. Get over yourself and the desire to always be right. My opinion... not yours... I can live with that.

Redtwiga... my 2 cents... There is no Dilemma here. She shouldn't be skydiving. For what its worht... I would talk to her and try to help her realize that. She can easily stop skydiving and disappear from the sport with out being "outted" or "ratted out" to the DZO or S&TA. If she doesn't see it that way and decides to continue to jump, then its up to you to decide for yourself if you want to say something to the DZO or S&TA along the lines that you know of someone that has a medical condition that might be good reason to preclude them from jumping. Also for what its worth... once in the past, I was faced with a decission on whether or not to advise an up-jumper to reconsider jumping because of a medical condition. I decided to be "cool" and not tell them it wasn't a good idea for them to be jumping now. A lot of times being "cool" gets you in trouble... I've learned that when the feeling comes over me to "be cool" and "just keep my mouth shut" that should serve as a warning to pause and rething things... sorry, its part of getting older and gaining wisdom from experience in life. Anyway, this person hurt themself on the very next jump. I'm not going to give details, so just push the "I believe" button if you can, but it could have been much much worse AND there was no real good reason for it all, is all I'm going to say other then to say, that if faced with a similar situation in the future, I WOULD advise them, one-on-one, NOT to jump and if they persisted with their intention to skydive I WOULD go to the DZO and S&TA and inform them of the situation and my opinion... you know what they say about opinions. Being medically fit to skydive and/or disclosing any medical conditions which may preclude us from skydiving is in the waiver, and "Yes" we've all signed it.

hmmmm... I doubt info on how to clean that up is in Poynters. My suggestion to you is to just use losts of fresh water to spot clean the canopy and then make sure its well dry before packing. Call up the Mfg and ask them... and then post their answer here... should be good for a laugh. Quit having sex near and/or with your gear on.

Did you ask your rigger what he or she thinks? Also, surf back to R.I's website and get their phone number and call them up... ask to speak to a rigger and/or say you have a rigging question and ask who you can talk to about it... ask them your question. I think we'd all like to hear what they say. My initial blush on going one size up on a reserve is it might be "do able", but it "depends" on several things... for instance, is the 160 tight in there now or not? The rigger packing it now would be able to tell you. But... The Mfg would be the best source of info.

Interesting. I encountered a burgandy reserve once. It was a Tempo. I cannot recall if it was a pain to inspect or not, but I inspected it on a canopy rack in a hangar and not the crawling through each cell in the living room technique. Anyway... the whole white reserve white thread used to not bother me much until someone pointed it out to me and now I don't like that much either...

Nope. Then why don't you call it shin flying??? ... or being unstable cuz ya never learned how to deal with anything more than an advanced student arch *** ... hhhheeeY!

Except when you rush to get onto that last load at sunset, and by the time you get to altitude, the sun is setting, and it's getting dark down below. And now you're vision and depth perception are going to be impaired by those very same sunglasses... ... been there done that, was on a "sunset" load a Perris with some way higher jump # buds, at the time... well, they still have a lot more jumps then me... but anyway, I had around 300 jumps at the time, and was on this "sunset" load at Perris, that I should have logged as my first night jump because of it being way after legal "sunset" & having sunglasses on... takin' them off once under canopy wasn't an option, they were perscription... Anyway, my 2 cents to the original poster... try jumping sometime without goggles... then maybe you won't hate them as much.. I think thats what you call it when you're trying to transition from a sit to a stand-up or somesort of other freefly move and wind up on your knees... ... kinda like getting out... getting unstable... and calling it freestyle...

Well, lets see... There was an entry I made when I had 200 and some jumps... when I got to jump a C-121...

Interesting point you make about "bitter veterans" and I agree that the original article would be met with good reactions from folks like-minded... since I think Gary's orig was "spot on"... but back to what I first said... interesting point you make about "bitter veterans"... please tell... How do you think we've gotten this way? Do you agree with what Gary says on how we got to this state of being, just don't like it, or how?

Yeah, but I sure do miss her and Michelle "getting busy" with each other under that blankie in the back of the Otter on the ride to altitude! Anyway... funny how these discussions always morph into "the demise of America's youth" threads.