rigging65

There are tests to determine when you've got more porosity than what you want, but overall I'd say that a reserve is probably going to last longer than the length of most people's skydiving career (being that right now that's a average of about 7 yrs.). Obviously the periodic inspections are designed to warn you if there might be a problem, but if you take care of her, she'll be with you probably as long as you want her to be. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

As per the Mfg. And I quote: "A canopy which has been intentionally jumped as a main canopy (beyond one familiarization jump prior to reserve packing) should not be packed or used as a reserve. You may, however, use a canopy which has been previously packed as a reserve as a main canopy. After you intentionally jump the canopy as a main, do not return it to service as a reserve" This comes from Precision's manual, I don't have a PD manual on my desk, but you'll probably find something similar in their's as well. Besides, does it really make sense to take chances with your reserve? "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

No offense, but do a better job stowing your slider then! If I'm worried about drag, I kill mine, the roll it up tight before I put it into it's stowed position, this keeps the edges from inflating and adding drag. Regardless, with the amount of dirty air going past your head/shoulders/risers/arms, do you really think you're getting that much drag? The p/c is in relatively clean air (as compared to the slider), so my guess is you're seeing more drag there than with the collapsed slider in dirty air. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

I was asked to post about this, and I think it's an interesting topic. Riggers: To what degree to you consider yourself responsible for the gear you repack for your customers? That is, if you know they guy is 250lbs, and is jumping a 109 reserve, do you feel obliged to say/do anything? Would you refuse to pack it? Other comments? I guess I'll lead off by saying that IMO my job as a rigger is to recertify equipment to the specification laid out by the Mfg. and the FAA. How that equipment is used after it leaves the loft is out of my control. It does beg an interesting moral question though.... I have been known to discuss gear choices with people I think are in over their heads, but I also manage a gear shop, so that kind of goes with the territory... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Generally, it's the Mfgs. limits. PD reserves list the max loadings based on experience level, most others just give you one max loading. Manuals often list out the FAA max limits, but the lower Mfg. limit over rides that FAA limit. Why would this be hard? If you can prove the jumper was outside the spec. there are always other circumstances that can lead to failure. The canopy, when new, must meet the specs laid out...things can deteriorate over time...that's not something the Mfg. can control. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

No, once it's a main, it's a main. Guys used to jump Raven/Raven set ups (Raven Main and a matching Raven Reserve). When the main wore out, they'd get rid of it, put their reserve into their main tray and buy a new reserve. The original Ravens, Micro Ravens and Super Ravens (everything but the -Ms) have bridle attachment points on them so they can be used with a main D-bag. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

According to AirTec, it doesn't matter if you turn it off or leave it on...providing you're not going to be driving up and down hills (which makes the unit work as it's sensing alti change.) "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Again, it's all about what fits your face! "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

You might want to consider doing more research before you post like this.... As for the price being too high. AirTec did the R&D, put out the money up front, designed and built a basically bullet proof AAD, and have saved more than a few lives over the years. IMO they've earned the price they charge for their units. If you don't agree, I suggest you dump a few hundred grand into a project with a very small available market and take your chances like Helmut did. Best of luck to you!

Add chicken strips, problem solved. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

They happen, not all that often, but they happen. Some of them you can "ping" with a riser and get out of (load and unload the riser rapidly to allow enough slack in the line for the knot to slip out). Sometimes they clear, sometimes they don't. It's generally agreed that worn out lines are more likely result in tension knots than good, non-fuzzy lines. Stow your lines in some ordered manner, make sure they're going to pay out in order, and keep them fresh and in trim...you'll reduce lots of possible Mals just by doing these few things. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Just wondering, why? If you're not going to get rid of the p/c why worry about the slider? Keeping in mind that these reductions are really minor compared to just learning how to fly better, the pilot chute produces drag, the slider can be stowed away with any drag being left out there. I guess you could argue the riser spread issue, but IMO the drag issue is greater than the riser spread issue. To answer your question though, the best removable slider design I've seen was a two-ring set up on each line group with a single-hand pull-to-release (using straight pins on the end of dacron lanyards, with tight loops for the two-ring assembly). I don't have a picture of it, but it's a pretty simple design...fast and easy. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

I jump Gatorz, but I use the Converters specifically so that I can put lighter lenses in them so that my students can see my eyes during the skydive. The important thing is that they fit with very little or no gap against your cheek. And for those who have been around long enough to remember RW the eye contact issue overrides the cool function of dark shades. I have very sensitive depth perception, so I push them up on my forehead after I get the canopy flying, but other than that they're great! Been jumping em for over a year and I have no complaints. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

A2 lines go to the outside, unless I'm mistaken. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Yeah, but it should be noted that those Max load/Speed limits are not what you're allowed to jump the canopy at legally. The Mfg. puts limits on the canopy that are usually much lower than the maximums required by the FAA. Those are the legal limits. There are reasons for this. Don't think just because it says "Certified to 254lbs" on your little reserve it means you can jump it at that weight! Stick to what the Mfg. tells you the limits are... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

On the ankle assures the most constant, cleanest airflow, thus the most constant readings of what you're actually doing. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Why? If the DZ is following the USPA 'A' lic. card, they shouldn't need this. If they're not, then they might need this. If you want to cut down on paperwork, use the system USPA has set up. It's complete and in a compact form. We insist on 2B. You need to have the info in the log book, but also each item on the card checked off so we know were the student is going on their next jump. We force some responsibility on our students: They will remember their logbook and Card. Why let them off the hook? Would you let them off the hook when it comes to remembering their alti? How about their emergency procedures...? As it is, 2B. I don't think so. We're a busy DZ with a good amount of students and Instructors. We may be jumping with someone who has done several jumps with another AFF/I, but he's busy and we can't discuss the last jumps with him, so we need the info in the logbook, as well as the progression on the Card. Card gives the concrete data, Logbook gives the "feel" of the dive...both are important. Since we don't use a "Student Manual" as a check off sheet (although we do have a very complete Manual for reference), I can't answer much on the last few questions. I will say this though: Manifest is a busy place, they have lots of jobs to do. We expect our AFF/Is to pick up the student, figure out what they're going to be doing (see below), brief them up, jump them, debrief them, and then let them know what they'll be doing on their next jump. Of course, that info is also in the logbook and, by default, on the card. I don't like the idea of replacing a log book with a Student Manual, because they're eventually going to need a real logbook, and that won't have all their info in it if they've been using a Student Manual up to that time. So now they've just got to hold on to another document, when it could all be in their "real" log book. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Technically, anything that changes the functional design of the TSO'd pieces of the system (ie- if you do something to radically change the harness design or how the reserve system functions) you need to re-TSO. Of course, a lot of the changes you might put into a rig are already "industry standards" so the changes can be passed through with that notation on them and they may not require anything more than confidence drops. Keep in mind, a TSO is issued to a process and location, as well as a functional design. The FAA wants you to show them that what you've built will meet the standards they put out, but what they're actually certifying is the process by which you built it. What the TSO is saying, is that if you always use these specific materials, cut using these patterns, assembled in the manner you set forth in your MOS sheets, inspected using the Inspectors and methods you lay out, you will end up with the same product every time, and that product has been proven. Even if you change physical locations of your shop, the FAA has to come out and look your new location over. Because the physical layout is part of your TSO package. So when you talk about a TSO'd piece of equipment, what you're really talking about it the process it went through to be "born". It's all traceable, certified and can be reproduced. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

There are only a few reasons I would disconnect my RSL. 1) Doing CReW. As you want to be able to fall away from a cutaway to be sure you have separation from the mess/people you're cutting away from. 2) Camera work. REAL CAMERA WORK, not just jumping a side mount. The ring sight that most professional camera flyers jump is just a hook out there waiting to catch something. In this case, I'd want to be sure my cutaway was complete and I wasn't trailing a line hooked on the sight before I put out the reserve out. 3) In very strong winds, I might (but usually don't) disconnect my RSL after opening (once I'm sure I have a good canopy)...in case I trashed the landing, was getting drug along, and none of the many deflation techniques available worked... just my 2 cents on the topic... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Isn't it cool to learn new things? Just another reason I like RSLs... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

We (Action Air Parachutes) runs group course a few time's a year for $900 plus materials for the one week course. We also run One-on-One courses set up through out the year. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

That's true, but you could reach up with your hand and manually deploy the reserve using the RSL as it's own handle (in the event you simply "couldn't" find the res. ripcord). This is the "6th" handle on Tandem systems, and there is no reason why you couldn't use it on a sport rig. In fact, many RSL systems are set up such that the shackle is on the right riser, so that if you can't use/get to your left side to pull the reserve, you could get to your right side RSL shackle and still put the reserve out. You think someone might have thought this whole RSL thing out, eh? "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Ummm...no...I'm not over estimating my carving approaches. I've been doing them for several years under Stilettos, then Crossfires...from right at about 500 ft. When I switched to the Xaos, I nearly put myself into the dirt because I only added about 100 feet to my start point. Snap turns certainly don't require nearly as much, but my carving approach is slow and broad...it takes time and burns altitude...the trade of is A LOT more speed. "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Pack volume is in cubic inches. Area is in square feet...and no, not everyone uses the same method to come up with square footage. PIA tried for years to get a standard measurement scale put in place, but some of the canopy Mfgs. did want to give in and do it like everyone else. Why would you not want the public to know that your canopy is smaller/larger than what it actually is?? Let's all say it together now: MARKETING Heaven forbid they just give you the info and let you choose what works best for you... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

Wow, that's deep... "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..."