teason

I recently built new d-bags for my student systems. No grommet on the bag for the bridle to go through. There is a small attachment piece that goes from the canopy to the bag and a small attachment on the bag that you attach the bridle to. Very clean. If you remember the days before kill lines, you remember the bridle going through the grommet on the bag and the fabric snags that were caused by sloppy packing. That can't happen now and I can even change the bridle without unpacking the canopy. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

One of my jumpers found a parachute in the air at our DZ's satelite photo on google earth! Considering we had crappy weather last year, what are the odds! The co-ords are 49 33'11.22"N 96 40'43.06W The Canopy is over the grass strip coming in for a landing. You can see his shadow and the radio controller is also visable on the strip (it's a student canopy). I never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it.

I knew a girl who weighed 100lbs. She jumped mantas and couldn't land the thing worth shit. She was convinced that it was the canopy(it was too big) and got herself a Sabre 150. She couldn't land the thing worth shit. She was convinced it was the canopy(it was too big) and got herself a sabre 135. She couldn't land the thing worth shit. To make a long story short, she ended up broken on a runway with a severly shattered leg and a nice new stiletto 107 fluttering next to her (i guess it was too big). The moral of the story. 1.) People progress at different speeds, regardless of weight. 2.) wing loading is only relevent if you look at the loading of the previous parachute they were jumping (it's all relative this girl went from a 290 to a 107 eliptical within a couple hundred jumps). 3.) with the exception of the odd anecdote here and there of the newbie who got a 135 as a first canopy and flew it ok, it is unsafe for the majority of newbies to get that size as a first canopy off student status. Advetising it as such is irresponsible and has a high likelyhood of either hurting the jumper or disappointing them when thier DZO tells them "aw, hell no!" Then it's the DZO that looks bad (I know, oh god I know). And all so that some dude can sell his gear and make a couple bucks. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

We seem to have a situation here where we have suposition vs testing. A theory comes and the testing doesn't support the theory. Either we have a problem with the testing or the theory is false. If it's a problem with the testing, let us know what the problem is or design a better test. Ignoring the tests and banking on an unsubstantiated claim is not a proper way to progress and it doesn't matter if you are right or not. Fact always trumps theory. Once again, I'm not sold on the catapult yet and maybe there would be problems if you used one. But saying there is a problem simply just isn't enough. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Point taken. A reserve hesitation, however, is quite different from a loose main bridle in freefall that gets worse as the jumper moves performs his/her jump. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The answer is instability and omnidirectional nature of the wind hitting an unstable jumper. Another cause is the flexing of the pack when a jumper is flailing through the air (bent at the hips.) Moving from the obviously student example above to more experienced jumpers, it is the various manouevers a jumper performs on a skydive when his pin has popped. It's the change in airflow over the back that happens when jumpers track, backslide and turn. It is the flexing of the pack as they do the same manouvers. The point posed, however, assumed a stable body position with stable belly to earth activation and the RPC not clearing the burble. According to the manual, the secondary PC is placed under the #1 top flap. That means that the secondary PC will only come out if the jumper has an omnidirectional wind flow or excessive flexing. I've seen jumpers roll into burbled PCs and the result is a potental horseshoe. If you have a potential horseshoe then a secondary maybe useful. ... well you asked. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

As I said before, I'm not sold on the catapult, I don't know enough about it. I just like to see fully formed arguements that are educated and relevent. That is how we learn and understand things. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

That's a really good point. Bill, however, mentioned a situation where the riser covers are closed and the main is still in the container. As the Reflex is a poptop, the likely hood of the secondary PC would be able to come out would be rare as the spring isn't pushing the flaps open (unless there is something in the packing that I'm missing, I don't have a manual here and I haven't packed a reflex) I'll have to check my manuals after my bazillian Tandems today! If the second PC is outside the flaps under the first PC, then possibly .... but if the second PC is contained in anyway, I think it would be a stretch. Once again, a manual check could answer all.... or riggermick's input I'll quit being grumpy now, it's a bad habit I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

um, ok..... If the jumper has a pilotchute hesitation, that means it is trapped in the burble on the back, ergo, a stable body position. That means a situation where the second pilotchute, bridle and bag are also in the burble, so that arguement is sketchy at best. Now a reserve pilotchute entangled with a part of your body would imply a unstable body position and therefore a situation where the burble is not on the back and where the catapult could come in handy. I'm not sold on the catapult but your arguement need either more work or more explanation. Ask yourself a simple question, how is a secondary pilot chute going to sneak out of a burble if the spring loaded primary can't do it? Please tellme if I'm missing something. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Is it the video of the swooper going under the bridge and land on the freeway? I didn't get to see the footage (slow speed) but that's probably Paulo Assiz. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Very true, the only people worth listening to are the ones we disagree with. We'll always be stronger in a belief if we have to explain why we believe it. Either that or we'll see the flaw in our position. In any case we become better for it. The frustration comes from those who refuse to listen. It wastes an oppurtunity to evolve our beliefs. Now if anyone disagrees with that, I don't want to hear about it! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Damn, why did I have to get to this thread so late! Mick, a negative reception to a new idea is one of those constants in the universe. People, in general, don't like deviation from the status quo. We're all quilty of it. There seems to be a need to either venerate or detract, balanced and fair views are few and far between and admitting you don't know something is not an oppurtunity to learn but an admission of inferiority. Often, people want to seem in the know. They want to be seen as knowledgable. If they don't understand something they detract it because they fear what they don't understand. They start by looking for a weaknesses first and move on from there. Besides, people listen more when you say "that's dangerous" than "I'm not familiar with the system". The latter admits ignorance while the former assumes a greater level of knowledge than the even the manufacturer themselves. It's obvious to see what appeals to people with ego (which we all have to some degree). Also predicting that a device or system is flawed puts the maker of the claim in a unique position of not being able to be proven wrong. If I made the claim that dying cordura blue will eventually cause the gear to fail, I cannot be proven wrong because the statement is prediction of a future event. I can only be proven right if something does happen. As twisted as the logic is, it is commonly used in all walks of life (especially in polical punditry and religous ferver). No system is perfect but if a perfect system was ever developed, you can gaurentee it would be labled a death trap faster than you can say "poptop". I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

It's possible that the gear is too small for you. I had a friend that bought a used Jav that was too small and no amount of padding helped him. He even had to take time off jumping to heal. Before you buy extra padding, have the gear checked for size by a rigger. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The excess line is not always finger trapped back inside but when it is, it does look cleaner. You and your rigger should determine the right toggle length for you and once set, let your rigger finger trap the line. Fingertrapping does shrink the line and therefore should be done right to ensure proper line length. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Something that can bend a pin quickly is to have it seated with the shoulder resting on the grommet. It's something you should always look for especially when tightening a pop top. The pin wants to be flat from one side of the grommet to the other. The shoulder lifts it up and the tension bends it. .....and now to the PIA riggers forum I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Sorry, I can only make rigs that look like bugs Jeez, a good thing I didn't show you what I did with the back pad! It rolled many an eye! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Just curious, how was the issue of using Cypres pouch's addressed when the Astra came out? Or was that the Astra didn't offer the same competition to the cypres that the Vigil does. Also, did the Astra seek approval like the vigil is being asked to do? Is the astra affected by this? I have some Astras on the DZ, maybe a call to the manufacturers is in order. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

LOL! I often tell jumpers that if they want to know how good a manufacturer is, check out the production facility. If riggers are sewing, walk out! There are very few riggers out there with decades of comercial sewing experience. (like Al from Flying High etc.) I've learnt more from the "little latina ladies" about sewing than most riggers know. ...and the more I know, the more I know there is stuff I don't know. Stay away from riggers who know it all. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I hang the canopy for the same reason but it does also make inspecting in the cells way easier. I bought c-clamps (with rubber ends) so that I can hang a canopy almost anywhere. I like to put the rig on my back so that I can look up the lines to check continuity, whether it's a new customer or my own gear that I've packed dozens of times. It just makes sense and it only takes a second. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Points are always given for creativity. A few years back, I jumped at a DZ that was down right cruel. Pies inclused BBQ sauce, lots of mustard and the occasion tin of sardines. We stopped shy of lining the pie plate with tacks so that it would stick. On my 500th, they knew I had brought clean clothes "just incase", so they threw me in the pool. When I changed clothes thinking the worst was over, they pied the bejezzus out of me. The last person I pied, I turned into a pie! I pinned him down, kneeling on each arm. I then dumped a tin of cherry pie filling on his face, dumped a bottle on chocolate syrup on that, spayed wipping cream on that, rubbed pie base in his hair and liberally topped with sprinkles. note: make sure airways are always kept clear! I also had a friend who was tarred and feathered (molasses for tar) The more we like ya, the worse it'll be! Mwaa ha ha ha ha ! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

When reminding a male student arch: "When we roll out the plane, I'm gonna be arching like a mother, so unless you want to feel my junk in your back, you better be arching too!" Arches have improved with my male students I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

On my malfunctions, I've always been hooped for another jump the same day so it doesn't make any differance to me anymore. I did, however, get back in the air right after I struck a canopy in freefall. That was waaaaaay more freaky. One thing I would not recomend, however, is not "getting back in the air" after an accident if you post tramatic stress. A friend of mine rendered CPR on a jumper who was later pronounced dead. The next day, her friends dragged her up on a jump. She spent the jump having flash backs of the accident and completely lost awareness. It was a dangerous scenario. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I've jumped quite a bit without goggles and I wear contacts. I'll only wear goggles if I'm going higher than 6000'. I've done some camera jumps where I've forgotten to put my goggles up and I didn't notice any problem. The only time wind has affected my eyes is when my goggles don't fit right. that's when a jet of wind sneaks under the goggles and right into my eye. Blurry contactless landings always follow. I think that the shape of your face and sensitivity to the wind are what plays a main role. I would never suggest to anyone that they jump without goggles, I've seen many a student come down with "raisen eye". My experience is annecdotal and not the norm. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

powerlines or fence, however, require more input. best to keep it simple than give them different scenarios. What we teach is no more than 90, look first and identify the clear area and focus on the safe area. students who watch the obstacles are more likely to get target fixation. but this is diverting from the thread. Tim I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I'll agree in part, there is no excuse for hitting an obstacle ... ever. harvesters and cultivator don't jump out of the bushes. A first jumper, however, should not be afraid to avoid an obstacle. If you imply that it is better to hit an obstacle than do a low turn to avoid it, the student will second guess his altitude until he's too low to do anything about it. I make it clear that a 360 or 180 will dive you into the ground if you are too low but a flat 90 is appropriate for obstacle avoidance. At 200 feet I want them to react, not wonder if they are at 50 feet yet. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.