gb1

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Everything posted by gb1

  1. When he ran the Flagler Fl. drop zone with Rocky in the late 1980's, his nick name was HIGH SPEED.
  2. Sounds like you found the right mechanic. The last thing you want to do is listen to what we call " The Lounge Lizzards". They are ready to talk with the voice of authority if someone will listen. Sit around the lounge and not move. Suck up free coffee, while they have free checks coming in and hold you up from working with mostly bad data. And are CHEAP!
  3. OK Baronn, Your paragraph structure never crossed my mind while I read your data. I have operated an aircraft repair, inspection and mod shop for over 25 years. Your writing was very similar to the hundreds of aircraft logs that I have read, only yours was typed and readable. I have owned and serviced several jump planes. Now some scheduled maintenance on PT6's. It is legal for anyone holding a power plant certificate, to overhaul an engine in their garage because it is considered "scheduled maintenance". This is not always a good thing. Your first clue was when he did not want to go through the accessories. Accessory failure causes down time, maybe much more cost if the pieces take a tour of the engine, maybe injury or death. I appreciate you telling us about your experience. This type of situation happens to many in the airplane world. Now, if I have lost anyone because of paragraph structure, you do not need to know this anyway.
  4. The patent has expired. While the patent was in force, other manufacturers paid Bill royalties for the use of his invention. --Mark Invention? Most engineers will apply the ideas of others to get their result. In most cases, a better application than originally intended. Some engineers are of the "inventer" grade. I know balloon people that used a 3 ring device as a tether release back in the 1960's, long before its use on parachute harnesses. They got it from a WW 2 navy guy that saw it as a life raft release. There have been several times that I thought I had a new idea for something, just to find out that it was already thought of before. Don't get me wrong, the 3 ring release application was a perfect fit for releasing canopies. That has now lasted about 40 years. Is that it? What could be the next release? Even better. Start thinking!
  5. gb1

    New rigger

    Learn the other stuff he is doing. Learn how to use the harness machine and all the others. Do more with him than just repacks. You will gain the respect of the right people when they see you are more than a packer. Of course they will bring you pack jobs when they see you can do the other maintenance required.
  6. I saw a rig with a situation like yours. I noticed that someone had put an "S" fold in the webbing and sewn it to shorten that horizontal back strap to see if it would fit better. Not sure how legal that would be. He said he had over 250 jumps on it. I suggest you send it to the manufacturer for proper fix.
  7. Actual area to be shortened.
  8. The problem with the throat to presser foot dimension on a 217 is that the upper thread tension seems to release early, at least on my 217n-08. By removing the internal activation lever and carefully heating and bending it just a few thousands, the tension will release at a higher foot height. If you raise the foot, there are more problems to deal with like needle bar hitting foot. That can be cured with a lot of time invested. I do not recommend that. The 217 is not a heavy duty zig zagger. It is more of a light medium grade machine.
  9. There is a DZ in Michigan that states on their website that they offer up to two mile high tandems with 40 seconds of free fall. I noticed while flying by, they were calling ATC an altitude of 9,500 ft MSL. The elevation there is about 850 ft. That's 8,650 AGL. Maybe they have super drogues. Is there a chart in the SIM that lists tandem delays and altitudes? BTW, they do not allow many fun jumpers unless it is the end of the day and there is only one tandem in the 182. They would rather you did not have an altimeter. ha ha
  10. I know balloon people from the 1960's that used the 3-ring as a teather release. They use it today! They got it from a WW ll life raft release on the side of the ships. The 3-ring was a wonderful application to skydiving equipment.
  11. Ian, that was wonderful. I still have some of those kicking around. That was the time when people were thinking of a 'better wheel". There seems to very little of that type of thinking going on now.
  12. Merlin made me a "slow" suit. I had grip handles and padded knees installed. They create a lot of drag. Seemed to do the trick. Other manufactures probably have similar designs to slow you down. As mentioned she may need to experiment with weight belts.
  13. Met Tuna at Z Hills in 1972. He converted my Super Pro chest reserve to a center pull. That was the first time I saw "rigging". I couldn't believe someone could cut and sew on a rig. Good Guy. Welcomed a beginner.
  14. Finally someone thinking about coming up with a replacement for the line eating slider. The "Einsteins" would have to get very lucky to do better than the slider, but I know there must be a next system possible. Whether the Einsteins come up with it or just a beginner with a suggestion that the Einsteins can take credit for, it would be a great step forward. Thank you Bob for starting this in this direction. As far as holding the slider up, if it is the problem with these hard openings, Ray Farrell again, has an approved system called the "secure slider system". If he asks Ray nicely, he may send him a copy. D-3411
  15. Like I said, one size fits all when using this method. Very seldom a broken band. Openings the same every jump. Your choice.
  16. Warm weather will cause most rubber bands to break quicker. I use one size, single wrap and cinch it down from the attachment to fit the lines being stowed. One size fits all! Rubber bands are probably not the cause of your hard openings.
  17. Did you ever have your slider grommets hang up on that mess? Better yet a toggle fire?
  18. The canopy burns were caused by ropes entering grommets carried canopy fabric with it. We caused those little holes "astro vents".
  19. Neal lund near Salt Lake City is the most experienced that I have found in the US. nalund@gmail.com I do not have his number handy. He spent 10 or 15 years at the factory in Switzerland. The 217 is a very complicated machine with it's timing procedures and very little data is available to do it right. Most of the machines out there have been handed to local shops for maintenance, being treated like a common machine. He will tell you. Get ready to listen. Good Luck GB1
  20. Rob, I appreciate your reply and you are correct. My main concern was the diaper tail on a main square canopy. It appears that a diaper deployed main, with the high performance canopies, could give a wicked opening because of being less controlled. At least compared to the original 5 cell Strato Stars they were used on with success. However, the point came up that they caused a soft spongy main pack job, compared to power packed, rock hard main container. Also I think with a bag, the manufacturers can control the shape of the rig. I am concerned with the operation of the deployment. The shape of the container can be controlled in other ways. Thank's to all of you for your input. Yes, it would not sound right if you said you made a diaper for yourself Wendy. ha ha
  21. In the mid seventies, a linestow pad was sewn on the tail of the strato stars by many. It had a #8 grommet installed. Lines were stowed after wrapping a rubber banded tail wrap from both sides through the grommet. This held the first stow. The canopy was then folded in the container. Very few people had anything bad to say about this system. It lasted at least till the eighties. Why did it go by the wayside? Was there a problem that was discovered with the diaper tail? The old guys will remember this. Thank's
  22. Better to try Strong and get the real deal.