skytribe

Is the tape the cause or is the tape a bad attempt to stop the damage getting worse ? Putting tape on a rig is rarely a good fix to anything.

Yes the point is not directed towards the product but towards their customer service or lack of.

Everyone's opinion is different. My general opinion of Mirage has definately not been great customer service. Slow responses when parts are ordered, Nothing in stock for handles. Wrong parts being sent despite being provided with serial number, main risers sent without rsl ring and then not wanting to replace them. In my personal opinion, a warranty repair would be good customer service. Have the customer send the old part sent back and you can re-use the handle. Do I think the customer has abused the handle to pull the strands out - no !!!. Do I think there is a problem with manufacturer/materials that allowed this to happen - yes !!!. But its up to Mirage to determine that and obviously the 95 bucks plus shipping means more to them that a customer feeling they got a faulty part which they then got screwed on having to replace.

I've done Kirk's for senior ticket and Derek Thomas' for Master ticket (which had others doing pack jobs for senior ticket) and on both of them you can learn the tricks for packing each type of rig. I've seen people do 1 or 2 in first few days and then struggle later. A strategy I used was each day pick a different rig and pack it 3 times - 1st time will always be slow you learn a few tricks on rigs and the next 2 will go by really quick. If you have all you written work done then you dont have to think to much about that. You have full days, morning till late at night to finish pack jobs - use it don't think 10 -5 with 2 hour lunch break. As the week progresses you will naturally speed up, you packing and even when doing different rigs you will bet 4/5 rigs done in a day. If I said what is useful is being around a sewing machine. Even if its you mum's home sewing machine. If you can use on of these and have you written work squared away the 20 required pack jobs is easy. When I did mine - although I'd got pack jobs because I'd been cleared to pack specific reserves in another country - I still did 22 pack jobs that week before thursday and I even got the Racer out which rarely happens just to kill some time. So it is not difficult with time management.

Then kirk will go over the repacks with a whole variety of rigs during the week. You will get to pack a whole host of current gear.

Find a rigger to apprentice under or doing a formal rigging course will provide you with lots of opportunity to practice. Doing things by yourself is often not the best course of action - you may end up practicing incorrect or bad habits.

The question I think I would probably ask is if Mirage are going to replace for free - ie. send us your old ripcord back and we'll send you a replacement or if they want to charge 95 + shipping on a new part. One is good customer service, the other not so good.

Then pick it up and do a bit of jumping on it.

And you haven't seen slinks installed incorrectly, ragged out or homemade ones installed on mains ? Main slinks on reserves. Some equipment is also not permitted to be using slinks on. So I don't know if the reasoning on upgrade is necessarily completely true (but is a good personal opinion) , however I think both soft and hard links work and require correct installation and can both be damaged/compromised if not.

I've packed all 3 (optimum, nano and smart lpv) and I would say the optimum appears to pack up the smallest. LPV - I didn't notice much of a difference in material feel and pack volume did not appear to be much smaller. But my feeling is that Smart' reserves (The non lpv version) always tend to pack up a bit bigger anyway. .

Not popular with Wingsuit jumpers. Who make piss poor excuses as to why they can't keep a distance away from the tandems - despite there ability to fly long distances in their suits. Guess what - there is no reason for them to be doing fly-by's of tandem except to get their own jollies. Unpopular among wingsuiters - I can live with that. As to making rules with jump numbers etc. That wouldn't work either, every jumper has different abilities/skills. These jumper number rules, people ignore them (normally the jumpers with least ability and unable to meet the jump numbers). Why can't wingsuiters simply follow the rules that have been established - its not all about you....

So VSE told you the I-33 would fit a 117-150 and you have put canopies of that size in the container and it worked. So the info VSE told you about their sizing was correct.

With 40+ jumps you should get good at jumping 1st before strapping on a GoPro.

Is it dangerously loose ? and have you shortened the closure loop significantly. Your rigger should be good at determining compatibility. Especially BPA riggers ;-). I've seen people pack things and its really tough to close and others pack the same thing and its loose. Neatness of packing and technique played a big part. Same canopy, same container, same location. I've had a container (Javelin) I've had everything from a 99 to a 176 in it. On the 99 side we had a foam plilow behind the deployment back in the main tray that helped provide some additional volume in there. On the 176 size - it was an ugly CRW pack job. The closing loop was significantly different between the two.

I would say that's you best source for an answer. Others can answer the question or maybe if you've got nothing else to do take it to the local rigger and assembly and try packing it. Or just ask a bunch of random total strangers for advice. You have the document with sizing info. I'm questioning whether you are just hunting for the answer you want to hear or are you asking for the correct answer. What happens if they are different answers - who do you value most ?

Manufacturers just love for putting out misinformation.... In the time taken to put up this email you could have sent an email directly to the manufacturer. If you seriously doubt the number - why not give them a call or email and discuss it with them. I'm sure they have answered numerous sizing questions and can give you the best advice. Many factors can effect compatibility. Material, Packing Technique, humidity, closure loop length etc. They may be able to tell you more about why they recommend such sizing that is on there canopy compatibility chart.

So how is this rule unenforceable. The planned flight for wingsuit jumpers should be no-where near the tandems. If the wingsuiter jumper can't fly a path that keeps them away from the tandems then they probably shouldn't be flying the suit. If the wingsuit jumper choses the ignore this info and do flybys anyway then they are knowingly breaking this BSR. I like doing CRW but that doesn't mean I should be doing it with a tandem. I'm sure the tandem student would enjoy that as well. But there are rules for that as well.

You can pretty well ask any manufacturer to build velcro toggles/risers. Most reserves use velcro toggles so its not like they don't have the material or haven't built them before. CRW teams mostly use velcro toggles. So simply detail it when ordering. The manufacturer will probably question it as its not as common on modern gear to verify thats what you really want.

If you eyesight is good enough to skydive - they work just fine.

Packers are often lazy. Hence it was fine. If your trying to eliminate a problem make sure everything is correct.

Anyone have a good source for the RSL shackles.

Not that they are skydivers but take a look at Travel Channel's best places in the world for some ideas. http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/outdoors-and-adventure/articles/worlds-best-places-to-go-skydiving

I agree and encourage people dropping rigs off to practice their emergency procedures and pull the reserve with a single caveat. They do it when I (or another rigger) is around in a clean location so that the stuff doesn't get damaged or contaminated before I get to work on it. I had one jumper who thought it was fun to pull his reserve after his last jump before a repack while running around a muddy landing area and having a bus ride back. This increases the chances of contamination and damage and resulting in a tangled mess that he provided me when it was thrown in a trash bag for me. So I would say speak to your rigger beforehand.

Check the canopy compatibility for the container size. http://www.velocityrigs.com/media/site/canopy-compatibility-chart.pdf

Talk to a Independent rigger/instructor (not the person selling it to you) about equipment choices if buying used. I have been seeing people recently buying gear which not right because: a. Too small for there ability level. (I doesnt matter if the harness fits you. If the smallest canopy you have jumped is a 170 - don't go thinking a 126 reserve is an ok choice). b. The components are not appropriately sized. The canopies may be oversized for the container. An overstuffed container will look crap and potentially compromised functionality. And your rigger won't appreciate the tight pack jobs or may just plain refuse to pack it. c. Thinking size is just a number. All canopies are not the same. Some older designs have wing load limitations. A swift is not the same as a PD Reserve. They perform totally different. One is still in production, one is not. Both were preventable by having an knowledgeable independent 3rd party (rigger) play devils advocate and do you own research. You can buy some parts used and some part new - its not an all or nothing situation.