Tonto

I think living under anyone is better than dying under anyone else. t It's the year of the Pig.

Say what you like about how. Truth is, in the last 3 years more Iraqi's have died of "Random death" than in the 30 years of Saddam's rule. t It's the year of the Pig.

It still sucks. t It's the year of the Pig.

There's not. They are literally scared to death. Terrified. That's something Saddam never managed - and it does sound odd that this is, after all - a war against terror. t It's the year of the Pig.

What makes a country 3rd world? Is it it's location? Is it its economy? Is it it's lack of available resourses? Is it the lawlessness of it's government, or the lawlessness of it's citizens? I was in LA during the 1992 riots. I think many in the US are just under the boil most of the time, and when they get a gap - they go for it. Big time. t It's the year of the Pig.

That sucks. t It's the year of the Pig.

You missed the 800 who died in the stampede to escape a suspected suicide bomber... t It's the year of the Pig.

Well. Lucky for me I have 2 MT Mirages both with PD126R's and I've never had any flap open unintentionally on either of them. I have another Mirage, a little bigger (the size escapes me now) with a Tempo 120 in it. Same story. t It's the year of the Pig.

Sorry... I think many people do fine with bridles as short as 75 inches. Back in the days of "everyload" CRW, where after cranking points and opening at 2000ft a team would bang together a 4 plane, break to two 2 planes and either land them or whip them into downplanes and take them to sub 100 ft, we were using bridles as short as 40 inches, but pilot chutes were F-111 and huge, and we threw those things "like our lives depended on it." I think there is little to be gained - even when flying a wingsuit - in going beyond 110 inches. At that point more effort should go into pilot chute design and limiting the weight on the apex of the PC. I know nothing of BASE or WS BASE. t It's the year of the Pig.

I think using the right sized main and reserve in a container is 1st prize here. Using velcro to adjust for abusing the gear in some other way is a poor way to manage things. t It's the year of the Pig.

Too short is bad. Too long CAN be bad. t It's the year of the Pig.

umm no you'd be one DAY old, you need to complete 365 days to have one year of anything Read my answer in context to the question asked by the person I responded to and the information he gave. If you disagree - you're probably one of those who celebrated the new millenium at the end of 1999. The 2000m final at the Olympics ends at the end of the 2000th meter, not when the 1st person crosses 1999 into 2000. Although I am in my 44th year, I am 43 years old. Although I have been jumping for 20 years, 210 days, I still list 20 years in the sport, and not 21 - at least not until I have done 20 years and 365 days. If you work for a place for a week - the tax man doesn't charge you for a year even though you worked that week in 2004. If you went to Fiji for your year end holiday and arrived on Christmas day and left on Jan 03 - you never spent 2 years there, and if you tell people you did, you're a bullshitter. You've been in the sport for a year when you complete 365 days. You stay at 1 year until you get to 730 days - unless it's a leap year in which case it's 731 days. Then you go to 2 years. But I know you know this. I just said it so you know I know it too. t It's the year of the Pig.

If your 1st jump was your birthday - how old would you be? 1, right? There's your answer. t It's the year of the Pig.

I don't think so. I have 3 rigs, and do between 400 - 500 dives a year these days. I anticipate a drop in my number of jumps per year over the next few years due to some changes I'm making, so right now I'm set for at least 6 years before 3000 dives on 3 rigs, probably more. I'll watch other people use it for that time - and if it shows no negatives after half a decade in the feild, then I'll consider it. t It's the year of the Pig.

Well - they're saying 300 jumps, but I'm saying 1000 with no need for repacement - so there's a huge discrepancy there. I'm happy without velcro. t It's the year of the Pig.

Bill Booth says it better than I ever could... t It's the year of the Pig.

Just give everyone in Iraq a day off. That should save you a bunch to spend on repairs. t It's the year of the Pig.

Inside. t It's the year of the Pig.

I don't think so. We used velcro in the early days because it was there. Then we discovered many issues with it - and redesigned rigs with skydiving in mind. Now that that's been done - I can't see why we would need that application again. Rigs routinely make it to 1000 dives now without requiring any work at all - or at least my rigs do. t It's the year of the Pig.

So I guess the question "Do you REALLY need stainless steel hardware?" can be answered in 2 ways then. 1. Do you REALLY need stainless steel hardware to avoid corrosion on your rig? A. No. There are Many parts of your rig more critical, and more prone to corrosion than the hardware. 2. Do you REALLY need stainless steel hardware? A. Yes. All other types of hardware are either inferior (nickle plating) or being phased out (Cad plating) Personally, I think stainless steel lacks several of the qualities that we require in the applications we use it for. Legstraps slip - yes, I know people will say this has been solved but as recently as last year a major manufacturer was having issues with slipping legstraps in stainless steel. I like a little more than 200 days incident free operation as a guide before I follow that path. Secondly it's low friction charecteristics do measurably increase the cutaway forces in a high load malfunction - and we know this is an issue, or else why are some manufacturers "redesigning" the three rings which performed flawlessly for decades in the pre stainless skydiving world? Yes, I'm old, and grumpy, and anti stainless steel. I'll have to live with that. t It's the year of the Pig.

There is nothing wrong with the current reserve system. Without exception, all the problems you mentioned are either user problems, or problems with other aspects of the system. t It's the year of the Pig.

There is no untreated hardware. It's either stainless (or stain resistant) or nickle plated, or cadmium (sp?) plated? Your reserve PC spring is "raw" in that it's not treated or plated at all. t It's the year of the Pig.

Exposed is visible. "fully covered....offers some.." Are you happy with that? I did a season in the British West Indies. My non Stainless hardware was perfect, but when I got home and got my reserve repacked - the rust from the spring in the reserve PC had damaged the fabric and the PC needed to be replaced. Stainless is bling bling. Nothing more. In 20+ years of non stainless use - I've never seen a spot of rust on any of my hardware, which I've maintained simply by wiping with a dry cloth after jumping near the coast in the past. t It's the year of the Pig.

This is an auto reply - Tonto is currently out interviewing 450 million Africans to get a balanced opinion and should be back in early 2034, hopefully in time for his 72nd Birthday. t Seriously? He was democratically elected in 1980 after ousting a white minority government the world did nothing to get rid of. Why wasn't everyone going nuts about getting Ian Smith out of power? He's a black president in Africa and he shuffles a few laws. Has GW shuffled a few laws in the past 4 years? It's the year of the Pig.

Even if you do live at the coast... what's your reserve pilot chute spring made of? What's your reserve pin made of? Do you think these items are more corrosion critical than your hip rings? t It's the year of the Pig.