JerryBaumchen

Hi Bill, Want to take a guess on the ratio of broken legs to landings prior to ~'91 when we ALL jumped those nasty ole F1-11 canopies? I never broke my leg jumping them. IMO, your mind is wrapped around the era of the ZP canopies and you just cannot get into what we did back then. For the record: I owned Strato-Flyer ( worst canopy I every owned ), a Fury and, in between those, a F1-11 canopy that I built myself. The Fury was a very easy landing canopy; could stand that thing up about 90% of the time. My home-built was a great canopy but just a tad too small; it went to a good home down under. I remember back when I was young and we had to walk to school when the snow was . . . . . . JerryBaumchen PS) Also for the record: I saw my first ZP canopy while in Brazil. One of the DZO's was jumping it, an ~150 Sabre. I remember thinking that it was even smaller than my old crappy Stato-Flyer and this guy was getting these amazing swoop-for-those-days landings.

Hi Tom, It was perception more than events. With the OneShots ( and I had them on a military surplus rig because I knew they were State-of-the-Art ). The design concept was that you would pull the covers open about 3/4 of the way & then just pull them both down further to cutaway. Often ( when on the ground ) when activated they would snap all the way open and you would have been cutaway before you wanted. Or so the rumors went . . . . JerryBaumchen

Hi Nick, It was Sheridan, OREGON; I know, I was there. However, I do have this strange 2" scar on the back of my head that I have no idea how it got there. JerryBaumchen

Hi Mike, You got that right; my first jumpsuit was a set of coveralls from Sears and my first rig was a B-4 with C-9 main & 24 ft twill reserve. I paid $125 for the rig and used that 24 ft twill on two occasions. But we were kewl, JerryBaumchen

Hi Jim, That it will!!!!!! Do you remember if the reserve container was a 2-pin or a 1-pin? The one that I have is a 1-pin with a cone that rotates for various types of ripcords. JerryBaumchen

Hi steve, IMO any of those containers listed by other posters would work quite well. Terry Urban just picked up a PopTop somewhere ( I think from ebay, maybe he'll update us ). Any 26 ft LoPo should work just fine. I've never heard of a SuperPro reserve container totalling; during a test jump this last summer one of them worked as designed. JerryBaumchen

Hi Drew ( which is my son's name BTW ), Your post assumes I work for a living, which I don't. JerryBaumchen

Hi drop, My CPA charged me $200 this year; but my refund will be $5900 YEE HAW JerryBaumchen

Reading your question. JerryBaumchen

Hi Jim, Enemy at the Gates (?????) w/Jude Law. JerryBaumchen

Hi Bones, I'll second that; the worst canopy I've ever been under. And I was not that heavy in those days. UHHHH, THAT LANDING HURT!!!!!! JerryBaumchen

Hi Paul, I don't know because I did not set the criteria of who is a Pioneer. I was only commenting on: 1. The criteria as originally determined 2. The change in the criteria If it were up to me ( and, thankfully it isn't ) I would restrict the Pioneers to those with a B, C or D license of three digits or less. IMO, those are the true pioneers. As I stated, I was not trying to disparage anyone. I have attended two of the Pioneers reunions and really did not care for them all that much. For those who have enjoyed them and those who will be attending for the first time: I hope that you have fun. I find that they tend to become more of a beer-fest than I prefer to be at. But that is just me. If you were to really know me ( and you don't ) you would know that I am someone who does not have an 'attitude.' If fact, I really do not care for those that do; and I have met a lot of them in skydiving. For the most part I am a rather quiet, unussuming type of person who prefers quiet conversation with only a very few people at a time. And I hope that I don't let the anonymity of the keyboard ever change that. For any of you that I might have upset with my comments: I apologize, that was not my intention. My apologies do not change my opinions regarding what is a Pioneer, JerryBaumchen

Hi Tuna, Back in the 60's there was a jumper in New England who would go into banks, grab a Deposit Slip and write on the back 'This is a stickup. Give me all of your money' and then put the slip back in the stack of Deposit Slips. I don't know if any unsuspecting customer actually got nabbed. JerryBaumchen

Hi skybeer, Atair Aerospace, Inc. 499 Van Brunt, 3B Brooklyn, NY 11231 718-923-1709 ph 718-923-1733 fax JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Just another case of a drowning man grabbing at a straw. IMO, this ( and the pocket crap from AirTec ) is nothing more than their trying to keep the competition's sales down. Other people have come into the market with better products ( in some buyer's opinions ) and it is cutting into CYPRES sales. It is called capitalism. It is an 'elastic' pocket; that means it can accomodate cutters of various diameters. I've used CYPRES elastics and have made my own. IMO, they all work just fine with any cutter I have ever installed. Just my two cents . . . . . JerryBaumchen PS) Bill Booth had it right at PIA/Reno '07 when he said that Sunpath & UPT would merely start making their own pockets ( and I would assume elastics ) for any AAD and if AirTec didn't like it: tough.

Hi daytripper, I don't know about that. I am sitting here at my computer and I have a CYPRES pocket, a Vigil pocket and a ASTRA pocket in front of me. All three have two holes in the far end. The holes in the Vigil pocket are somewhat different than the holes in the CYPRES pocket and the ASTRA pocket; but they work in the same manner. Anyone else ??????? JerryBaumchen

Hi kim, Thanks for your thoughts. I never meant to be disparaging to anyone. I did not come up with the title 'Pioneers' nor the definition; it was there before I attended my first event ( Tuscon '02 ). The 'organization' ( Pioneers ) is no longer defined by what it began as. That is what I was referring to. As far as the younger crowd, I am more than willing to have them at almost any event. Heck, I always felt that by hanging out with them on the dz is what kept me young ( ). At some point in most of our lives we join something that is well defined; maybe we just go up to the local senior center for cards, etc. I know the local senior center here means you have to be 60 or older ( I don't go there because it is full of old people ). So, any thought of the exclusiveness of the Pioneers was not defined by me. However, it is no longer what it began as. That is what my comments were in regard to. And, most importantly, I have never considered myself as any kind of trailblazer or anything like that. It was just happenstance that I started in the mid-60's, nothing else. On most Thursday evenings I play drop-in competetive volleyball. It is only for those who know how & can play a fast, hard-pounding game. We 'run' those that cannot keep up off of the court. Why, because we want to keep the game at the level that we want to play at & not some rat ball crap. Is it selfish, yup but that's life. JerryBaumchen

Hi daytripper, The FXC Astra pocket is almost a complete copy of a CYPRES pocket except that it has no markings of any type on it. It would make a 'universal' pocket to avoid all of this possible hassle. JerryBaumchen

Hi howard, I cannot agree that it is the 'Pioneers' anymore; they are letting the young folks attend these days. There was the day when it was an accolade to take some pride in. JerryBaumchen

Hi rob, Since you use the word 'legal' I have to take you to task on this. Only the mfr and/or the FAA can determine what is legal with their ( the mfr's equipment ). In my nearly 30 yrs of building gear I have NEVER had the FAA tell me what is legal. In fact, it is just the opposite; I tell them what is legal via the submittal of my 'specifications' to the FAA. 'Specifications' is FAA-speak for what most of us would call the drawings and supporting documentation. This is an area that only the mfr can control. In fact, the FAA cannot control what the mfr lists as being part and/or parcel to the equipment the mfr makes ( NOTE: all of this is relative to FAA TSO'd gear and nothing else ). In the process of obtaining a TSO-authorization the only thing that the FAA actually approves is the Quality System; and, IMO, they know little of that area. The mfr determines what materials/processes/etc will be used in the mfr of their equipment. And the AAD mfr cannot make a mfr of TSO'd equipment use a certain material. They ( the AAD mfr ) lack authority to do so. The only area where the FAA enters into anything to do with an AAD is where they require that it be maintained in accordance with the AAD mfrs instructions. Sorry to hammer you on this but I do consider these things a bit touchy; IMO too many people with very little knowledge of the whole TSO process like to make themselves out as knowing about this stuff. If anyone wants to really know about the TSO process then I would suggest they obtain a TSO, it really would enlighten them. End of rant, JerryBaumchen

Hi Mike, I talked with Ned at PIA/Reno and he is no longer with PISA. He is now working for Aerodyne. JerryBaumchen

Hi John, It was worse than that. Back in the mid-50's there was a mid-air over the Grand Canyon. The FAA response/proposal would have shutdown all GA in this country. Fortunately, cooler minds prevailed. When you say: Nothing is more frustrating for me professionally than someone rationalizing their laziness or lack of confidence by hiding behind the banner of "safety." you are right on the money. With 30 yrs of federal employment behind me it was always so frustrating how some people only wanted the money and not do the work. CYA to the extreme. It is always safe to say 'No' because then there is no risk. This will be a never-ending battle all over the world. End of rant, JerryBaumchen

H Hawks, Back in the mid-60's a guy by the name of Gary Patmor was modifying them for sport use; they never really did catch on. If you were a jumper in the mid-60's you WOULD know the name Gary Patmor. JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Take a 2nd look at the photos. It has the cable with an eye on the end going around the T-4 (?) webbing. This eye/webbing then goes up inside the barrel where it can then move back & forth, i.e., the slack necessary. Anyway that is how it looks to me. Anyone else???? JerryBaumchen PS) IMO the best soft handle is the one by ParaTec that has the cable on the backside of the soft handle and using a mchined part for the cable to pass through. Very easy to see/inspect and to move back & forth. But that is just me . . . .

Hi likes, Looks as though Mirage sometimes uses Type 8 and sometimes uses Type 7 for the MLW on their ringed harnesses. Wonder what makes them decide to use one vs the other? To the best of my knowledge, they only have one rating for their harness. JerryBaumchen