JerryBaumchen

Just a note to all of you out there. If you come across a 217 (Adler/Bernina/Chandler) and you are not interested in it for yourself, then please post some info here so that others can have the opportunity to get them. I would hate to see them go into the landfills. JerryBaumchen

Hi JayHawk, If what you got is in good operational condition, then you just made the deal of 2007. Good on ya, JerryBaumchen PS) I paid almost twice that for just the head & cams. But I am glad that I did; a great machine.

Hi soignet, It looks like it is missing the 'goodies' on the backside to install the cams for various stitch patterns. But if it will only do a zigzag then it is still a very good machine. Get in touch with Al, he knows a lot about them. JerryBaumchen PS) Send me an email at: jerrybaumchen(at)verizon(dot)net and I'll send you a photo of my Bernina 217 with the 'goodie' box on the back side.

Hi yarak, QuoteIf you have a LLC and your business goes bankrupt. then your home cant be taken from you can it? *** I defy you to find an attorney who will put this guarantee in writing. JerryBaumchen

Hi Unstable, I've known him since we first met in about '73, and had a ton of written correspondence with him prior to that ( in the age before computers, if anyone can remember those days ). He broke/seriously injured his neck in a hang-gliding accident a long time ago; that is what took him out of jumping ( to the very best of my knowledge ). For many, many years ( early '60's forward ) he wrote a monthly column in PARACHUTIST called PARACHUTING POYNTERS. These articles were about the only way that rigging knowledge was spread around 'back in the day.' He has done more for this sport than anyone else that I know, JerryBaumchen

Hi Steve, ***Openning a low mounted reserve would have been particularly brutal. *** Yup, my first terminal gut pack reserve opening was with a B-4 harness; you were sure your boots touched the back of your helmet. Or as ZigZag says maybe you just hit the deck that hard. My second one was with a B-5 harness, a vest-type of harness, and it was very comfortable. The vest allowed the load to be spread over your entire back. There are some interesting experiences that one can have happen but life is really better if you do not have to experience them. A jump plane crash is also one of them, and I know. JerryBaumchen

Hi Nick, Disclaimer: I have no experience with this supplier. Will they give you a cert for the thread? That is the one thing that I really like about DJ & Associates; you get a cert with every purchase, if applicable. JerryBaumchen

Hi phil, The photo is not the one of Ken Rounds over Lancaster, which BTW was taken by Ralph White. In the photo of Ken (posted some time ago by MjoSparky) he is laying very flat & stable when he flushes everything. The photo that Sparky posted was actually one of a sequence of three; the first being Ken flat & stable and reaching for the reserve ripcord, the second being the mess coming out, and the third shows him with a grimace on his face just as he begins to experience opening shock. The three photos appeared in SKYDIVER magazine sometime in the summer of '64. JerryBaumchen OFR #2

OK, howard. Sign me up as OFR #2; as I have completed all tasks, many times. JerryBaumchen Ah ratings, it's what it's all about.

Hi howard, I don't know anything about when, where or who but it sure looks like a no-pilot chute deployment. It is not stretched out. JerryBaumchen

Hi skyjack, A partial DNA works like a partial fingerprint. You can say that Person A is somewhat like Person B if a portion of their fingerprints are the same (NOTE: I said a portion). However, if nothing of the partial fingerprint of Person A matches nothing of the fingerprints of Person B, then you can say Person B is not Person A. Therefore, they have ruled Duane out of the group that could be Cooper. Such is life, JerryBaumchen

Hi Florida, it happened here in Oregon. It's the judge's call. JerryBaumchen

Hi RiggerLee, Yup, that has been my experience. JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Always good to read your comments; and I mean that! The Crossbow & the Rapid Transit System (which I believe is today's Mirage) were both tested in the Low Speed category. You only have to read the TSO placard to determine. I think the parachute industry needs to quit thinking like the parachute industry. The rest of the world thinks and acts differently; and there are a lot of life saving devices out there. Most products get some type of Max Design Load test and then, what is usually known as, the Safe Working Load test. If we read the standards (TSO documents) then we know that the product should never see the Strength Test loads that it had to pass for certification. That is unless some dufus decides to exceed them; and I cannot prevent stupidity. It's tough enough controlling my own stupidity. I did not use the words 'harness test tower' did I? The original Centaurus rig was Strength tested in a tensile machine, it was never drop tested at the higher loads & airspeed. Troy Loney convinced the FAA that he could duplicate the testing better by doing it in a tensile testing machine. So the precedent is there; even if today's world does not agree with it. I understand that there are two test towers, PD's & Butler's; or so I have heard. I've seen PD's. I do agree with you that the concept does or could lead to some expensive testing, possibly. However, I also believe that most field riggers do not possess the knowledge or experience to really inspect & determine if a harness is no longer capable of holding the loads it was designed for. I am just trying to get some thinking and discussion going on this subject as I think it serves a worthwhile purpose. Is that not what the Rigging Committee is for? Thanks for your thoughts, JerryBaumchen PS) 1 1/2 years ago, after many emails with numerous people at PD, I flew down to DeLand to do some harness testing in their drop tower. I rented a car, drove to DeLand, checked into the hotel and called over to them. The first they they said was "Uh, didn't you get our email?" I had a nice visit, a nice tour, but flew home with no testing being completed. Their machine was down for maintenance.

Hi Terry, I have been giving this subject a lot of thought of thought recently. I believe that it is possible to test an 'older' harness and/or reserve canopy to determine its airworthiness. I would suggest a harness test in a tensile testing machine to a value of 3,000 lbs (the Low Speed value in TSO C23b/NAS 804). I chose this 3,000 lb load because the Standard Category in NAS 804 is 5,000 lb. I would recommend three tests and hold the load value for a minimum of three seconds. This would easily determine the useful/useable strength of the particular harness. For a canopy, it could be tested at some value less than that called for in the applicable TSO standard; oh, say about a 67% value. Again, this would easily determine the useful/useable strength of the particular canopy. Think PIA might come up with something along these lines? JerryBaumchen PS) This type of testing is done quite often in the non-parachute world to determine usefullness of a given item.

Hi riggerpaul, That will happen when the cows come home, when eskimos start buying ice cream cones, and women will think I am the answer to their prayers. I think riggerrob has hit the nail on the proverbial head. It will only matter when the 'goodies' hit the moving fan blades. If you inspect your rig each day prior to beginning jumping, you have performed some of your 'duties' as a rigger. Your reserve container and your harness are certificated and an inspection of them (IMO) is sufficient performance of that duty. I do not think that it has to be a full 100%/open it up inspection, just an inspection that everything looks airworthy. Just my worth-not-so-much two cents, JerryBaumchen

Hi NWFlyer, Think you could get some good newspaper coverage when you hand that check over? Like: From the skydivers of the USA (or the world). JerryBaumchen

Hi hackish, Part of an email recently from RiggerRob: remember that I will be in Quebec 1 - 13 November. I think that he is doing a rigger course there. Anywhere close to you? JerryBaumchen

Hi GLIDE, Some very good books & other rigging information can be bought from: www.parapublishing.com Go browse around. Also, try: www.skydivingmagazine.com He sells a lot of the same stuff. JerryBaumchen

Hi Nick, I know of no main risers that hold TSO certification. Yea, I know; nit-picking. As for how others make risers; I think the only mfr who makes their risers exactly as per the 3-ring instructions ( available from UPT ) is UPT themselves. Almost everyone else has some change to them. JerryBaumchen

Hi Peter, Tell me about it! I thought ( dare I say remember ) that the rings team used Vectors. Now if I'm wrong about that I got to get down the store for some Memory Pills. JerryBaumchen

Hi jon, You are correct. The original Ropes & Rings came out on the StatoCloud ( or maybe the SilverCloud, they kept changing the name of it ) and it was on the top surface. As I recall, it was rather more complicated than the bottom surface version. Actually, the StratoStar with the R & R system on the bottom skin worked virtually everytime, it was the R & R on the top of the canopy that 'sometimes' worked. And the on-top-system really would burn & tear the fabric. When it first came out it was 'real strange' to watch someone pull ( remember, this was the ripcord era still ), the pilot chute would almost go out of sight, time would go by and finally the canopy would come out of the bag. Definitely different. JerryBaumchen

Hi mom & zig, As regards the French link coming undone, I recall Beezy Shaw describing using one of the '0' rings that are twice wound from spring steel ( the kind of ring that many of us keep our keys on ) in lieu of the F-link. This ring would not come undone but I think it would be an effort to get the two loops wound in it. HTH, JerryBaumchen

Hi tdog, Just for the record, I'm with you. PR is a US Possession and the FAA governs there also. For those of you supporting this jump; take off your skydiver hat and put on your FAA hat. Here you are some flunky at some outpost FSDO and in comes this guy, who you have no idea who he is, and says that he wants you to OK his chuteless jump. Would YOU say OK? And risk your career in the process? It's fine & dandy to make statements on the internet (we all do) but I doubt many of you would risk your career giving the OK to any stunt like this. I also despise regs, but some of them are there for a reason (even if we don't like the reasons), JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Or Strong. Or Jump Shack. Or North American Aerodynamics. JerryBaumchen PS) You going to Spain?