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Note to self: Don't fabricate stories about the Pixie Arrive Safely John

sdgregory's great question about the differences in performance in canopy designs deserved its own thread . . . It's now in Gear and Rigging. Arrive Safely John

This is a great question that deserved its own thread in G&R. I look forward to seeing the results myself! Arrive Safely John

Here you go Also, you can search the forums for Sabre2 opinions . . . there are a TON of threads from the past on the subject. Arrive Safely John

Personal gear downsizing path: Cruiselite XL (245) > Raider (220) > Sabre2 190 "Non-standard" military gear downsizing path: XL Cloud (270) > Cruiselite XL (245) > Startrac II (290) > Startrac I (260) > Falcon 265 > Falcon 235 > Silhouette 230 > Silhouette 210 I'm showing my age! Arrive Safely John

Hi all! It is getting busy in here! For the forums overall that's a good thing.

Me too . . . it serves to forward the sport and support many organizarions within. I also like to teach, which is more extensive in AFF vs. tandems. Do you own your own rig? I get paid $30 per tandem, $40 if I pack the rig. Using school owned equipment, that is. Arrive Safely John

Hi Henrik! It would really help you and us if you filled out your profile. Then we might be able to find out important information that would help us make a recommendation: -wingloading -experience level (# of jumps) Also, what is your DZ elevation above sea level?

Hi Guys, One clarification: to honor the forum rules about advertising, and the guidance from Sangiro on signature lines, I ask that we keep this list focused on manufacturers and not gear dealers. The intent of this post is to provide dotcommers with a contact list for seeking answers, problem solving, or educating themselves about particular items of skydiving equipment - straight from the source. Doubtless, there are gear dealers here that are highly knowledgeable and can provide sound advice as well. My intent is not to discount that knowledge at all. The list I posted, with a recent improvement by HH (thanks!), links directly to individuals that are in one form or another factory reps for skydiving gear manufacturers. I purposely did not link to the factory websites, since they can be found in the "Gear" section of this site, and I did not want to encroach upon the forum advertising boundary. Individuals that own or are employed by gear dealers that are factory reps in a more direct capacity than sales are absolutely welcome in the list. I will however list the manufacturer name and not the dealer name. Thanks, Arrive Safely John

Only a jousting jest! See you this weekend. Arrive Safely John

Yup . . . it matches your ego! Seriously, I have two custom made XXL/L (extra extra large/long) Factory Divers that fit great. I ordered them through Skycat Arrive Safely John

Marks hit it on the head, Katie. BTW - My Sabre2 is set 1" above the factory mark and is dead-on perfect for me. Arrive Safely John

I guess I am a rare bird because I love doing "work" jumps. Tandems and AFF are both a lot of fun for me. Back when demo jumps were "work" jumps for me, I loved doing those too. Just when I started getting bored, something would come along to make things interesting in a new way. It amazes me how this sport does that for me. Now, most of my jumps are in fact "work" jumps, some on the weekends for extra cash, some at work earning my military salary. The fun ones I seek now are the ones that are really challenging for me, or different, maybe new experiences. Arrive Safely John

PM Chris Talbert (TalbertGK4) and/or Paraclete Aero (ParacleteAero). PM me when you get an answer, will ya? I haven't talked to Chris about it in a month or so. Edited to add: quoted text Arrive Safely John

Throwing my opinion in the mix . . . The pack data card should stay with the reserve canopy. It reflects the number of pack jobs and the number of uses, and of course any repairs or compliance with service bulletins. Knowledge of the number of packjobs and number of uses is very important when determining airworthiness and resale value. If the container and reserve go their separate ways, a photocopy of the original card should go with the container to reflect its history. I did a boatload of work to a friend's Javelin once, way more than I could fit on a pack data card. It needed a major tune up. Instead I made an itemized list, gave him a copy to keep with the container, and kept a copy in my Riggers Logbook. Food for thought. Arrive Safely John

Kimberly, I feel that you clouded some very sound advice with some unnecessary comments that were not very constructive to the thread. Rather presumptuous and judgemental of you to sum up the qualified advice of the wealth of highly experienced instructors that post in these forums. Do you realize that you just disqualified your own opinion? Yet another highly judgemental comment. Please think before you post. I agree with you here. Clayton has an advantage over others in that most student gear is sized such that he will be able to safely downsize over time and under supervision by renting student gear that will likely be in the size range he will stay with anyway. Arrive Safely John

Hi Clayton, First, the advice to rely on guidance from your instructors is sound. If I were you I would rely very heavily on their advice at this point (early) in your skydiving career. Second, why the poll? I really don't understand the purpose of it. Please explain. Arrive Safely John

He already started his own congratulatory thread HERE Let's keep that one going rather that doubling it up, OK?

PM SkymonkeyONE . . . he may be able to refer you to someone in your area. Arrive Safely John

Works for me . . . check out this thread from The Bonfire! Arrive Safely John

I assume you mean a separate post: "I had this issue, I called XYZ Company, and they told me this." Great idea. We all learn that way. Arrive Safely John

Many questions are asked in this forum about skydiving gear, and there are many highly qualified folks who can provide excellent input. You may notice that most of them add the comment "contact the manufacturer." Reading all such posts here, I find that many folks would rather post their question in these forums instead of contacting the people who made the gear in the first place. Instead of scratching my head wondering why, I decided to stick this post at the top of the Gear and Rigging Forum hopefully making a few skydivers better informed. Did you know that there are a large number of Dropzone.com members that own or work for companies in the parachute industry? I have posted a list below of the ones I have been able to round up. Please, if you know of more that are dotcommers, let me know. I will continually edit this list to keep it as up-to-date as possible. In my experience with manufacturers, they are all very approachable and work very hard to answer my questions. Through my experience, I have some tips for those who want to ask them a question: -read the manual first. It might answer your question by itself. If not, you may only be calling the manufacturer for a clarification instead of a complete explanation. -read all related manuals. If the component is used in conjunction with another, read both to understand the full picture. -use email. I get better results with email because it can be forwarded to exactly the right person to answer my question, and the issue it contains can be addressed when that person is focused on it, rather than having a phone call interrupt them. -be clear and concise. Stay away from the "story" unless it is specifically relevant to your question. Focus on the specific issue. -use their manufacturer homepage email address. That address will give your question more visibility. Bear in mind that some manufacturer dotcommers will read their PMs, others may not. -provide as much information as possible: your full name, phone numbers, best time(s) to call, email address, the component serial number (SN), date of manufacture (DOM), and model. -just buy a used rig? Ask them to fax you the production sheet. It will provide you with much useful information such as when it was made, who it was sold to, all harness measurements, what canopies it was built for, and even clear up whether an unusual feature was incorporated during manufacture or during a later modification in the field. The list (updated 25 Jul 2013): Company - dropzone.com username - Real Name [UL] [LI]Aerodyne - sanzlk - Sandy Kimball[/LI] [LI]AeroSports USA - jerrybaumchen - Jerry Baumchen (Owner/Operator) [LI]Airtec GmbH - airtecjuergen - Juergen Sennert[/LI] [LI]Atair - cobaltdan - Dan Preston[/LI] [LI]Aviacom (Argus) - goorts - Karel Goorts [/LI] [LI]Aviacom (Argus) - trojanhorse - William van Heerden [/LI] [LI]Basik Air Concept - bkr - Jerome Bunker[/LI] [LI]Basik Air Concept USA Service Center - marinho - Gus Marinho[/LI] [LI]Big Air Sportz - briansgermain - Brian Germain [/LI] [LI]Birdman - jari - Jari Kuosma [/LI] [LI]Birdman USA Service Center - tso-d_chris - Chris Dembowski [/LI] [LI]Bonehead Composites - hottamaly - Linda Hardesty [/LI] [LI]Firebird - kimblair13 - Kim Reuter-Winslow[/LI] [LI]Firefly Suits - fireflyunltd - Sherry Jasnos[/LI] [LI]Flite Suit - skydance - Ray Ferrell[/LI] [LI]HiPer - lavielle - Pascal Lavielle [/LI] [LI]Hypoxic - trunk - Mark "Trunk" Kirschenbaum (Owner)[/LI] [LI]Icarus Canopies USA Sales - [LI]Jump Shack - sid - Peter Draper [/LI] [LI]Jump Shack - tmpattersonjr - Mike Patterson[/LI] [LI]Liquid Sky - YM4 - Julio Ruiz (Owner)[/LI] [LI]Lunatic Apparel - Jungstie-[/LI] [LI]Mirage Systems (Authorized Service Center) - chutingstar - Mike Gruwell[/LI] [LI]Mirage Systems -

What a great goal! Right now you're all about the numbers, but be sure to get quality while you're racking up the quantity. The requirements for the manufacturer's rating (first step) will vary slightly, so you need to decide which system you want to get rated on. This may be driven by which DZ you will want to work at. I suggest you pick a tandem rig type and go to that manufacturer's website to get the specific prereq's. You will also want to read the rating requirements for NZ's equivalent to our USPA and work on those simultaneously. Learning to pack tandems will get you familiar with them, and make you a little cash for jump tickets. Pick up a strength training regimen and get yourself strong, especially your upper body, especially shoulders. AggieDave has a good workout posted HERE Specific skill sets that will help you when you get the required experience: -knowledge of how gear works and how to inspect another jumper -spatial awareness on exit (which way is up during a tumble) -canopy accuracy . . . shooting each approach to land where you want to -continuing to fly the canopy until it is on the ground . . . keeping your wings level and your canopy pointed into the wind Good luck and, of course, keep us posted!

See this thread and this thread Arrive Safely John

Thanks, guys. This kind of thread really contributes to the betterment of our sport. Thanks for the links and the specific instructions for making the wire fid. My pal Rags Raghanti made mine for me, and it works like a charm. My choice for control lines is, like previously posted, is to tie the overhand knot making the loop, attach the toggle, then fingertrap the excess in smoothly, leaving as little of a gap as possible between the knot and where the excess enters the line at the bottom of the fingertrap. I don't sew mine either. Arrive Safely John