BrianM

whois argus-aad.com Registrant Name: Karel Goorts Registrant Organization: G.V.C. BVBA Registrant Address: Leemveldstraat 42 Registrant Address2: Registrant City: Overijse Registrant State/Province: Registrant Country/Economy: BE Registrant Postal Code: 3090 Registrant Phone: +32.27850280 Registrant Fax: Registrant Email: karel.goorts@pandora.be Administrative Name: Karel Goorts Administrative Organization: G.V.C. BVBA Administrative Address: Leemveldstraat 42 Administrative Address2: Administrative City: Overijse Administrative State/Province: Administrative Country/Economy: BE Administrative Postal Code: 3090 Administrative Phone: +32.27850280 Administrative Fax: Administrative Email: karel.goorts@pandora.be Technical Name: Hannes Van de Vel Technical Organization: Connexeon bvba Technical Address: Neerlandweg 17 Technical Address2: Technical City: Antwerpen Wilrijk Technical State/Province: Technical Country/Economy: BE Technical Postal Code: 2610 Technical Phone: +32.33693333 Technical Fax: +32.33693334 Technical Email: domains@connexeon.com Name Server: be1.ns.connexeon.net Name Server: nl1.ns.connexeon.nl Name Server: be2.ns.connexeon.net whois aviacom.com Registrant Name: Karel GOORTS Registrant Organization: AVIACOM NV Registrant Address: Beekstraat 18 Registrant Address2: Registrant City: Zaventem Registrant State/Province: Registrant Country/Economy: BE Registrant Postal Code: 1930 Registrant Phone: +32.27850280 Registrant Fax: +32.27319798 Registrant Email: karel.goorts@LANNEWS.BE Administrative Name: Karel GOORTS Administrative Organization: AVIACOM NV Administrative Address: Beekstraat 18 Administrative Address2: Administrative City: Zaventem Administrative State/Province: Administrative Country/Economy: BE Administrative Postal Code: 1930 Administrative Phone: +32.27850280 Administrative Fax: +32.27319798 Administrative Email: karel.goorts@LANNEWS.BE Technical Name: Hannes Van de Vel Technical Organization: Connexeon bvba Technical Address: Neerlandweg 17 Technical Address2: Technical City: Antwerpen Wilrijk Technical State/Province: Technical Country/Economy: BE Technical Postal Code: 2610 Technical Phone: +32.33693333 Technical Fax: +32.33693334 Technical Email: domains@connexeon.com Name Server: be1.ns.connexeon.net Name Server: nl1.ns.connexeon.nl Name Server: be2.ns.connexeon.net "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

No, not in this case. It's a straightforward translation. Oh, and I didn't use a translator; I'm bilingual, and did all of my schooling in French. So there! Whispering to self: please don't let him look at the occupation listed in my profile, please don't let him look at the occupation listed in my profile... Now that I can agree with! (I know Rob in person; in fact, he taught on my rigger course, back when he was working on getting his rigger instructor rating). "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I don't see anything in Poynter other than how much to tighten the screws. What are the right and wrong ways? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

"Rapide" does not translate to "speed". It translates to "rapid", "fast", or "quick". Strangely enough , I never hear them called speed links, but do often hear them called quick links. "Speed" would be "vitesse".

Interesting! Thanks for posting about it. When the window was opened and the AADs fired, was the plane still descending, or flying level? If it was level, how long had it been level? Was there a response from Airtec? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Since you did your homework and were aware of the cutter recall, then you knew as much as the seller did. Have you looked at the dates on the current service bulletins? This has all been happening over the last couple days. Unless the dealer has a functioning crystal ball, he would have no way to know about something that hadn't happened yet. You made an informed decision with the information that was available at the time. These services bulletins came out after you bought it. And now you're accusing the seller of "taking advantage of me" in a "douche move" because you're "sure he knew all about this when he sold it to me" - but you're "not blaming anyone". Nice. If it were me, I would keep it on the assumption that they will do something to address the cutter issue. They don't have much choice, with so many of the major manufacturers banning their device - they either fix it or they won't sell any. You did get a great deal on it, and that will still be the case once the cutter issue has been resolved. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Yep, thanks! Well, if it's just a quick fix without much engineering and QA effort, then I agree, and that would likely have prevented most or all of the undesired firings that have happened. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

On rereading my post, I think I wasn't clear enough. I meant that if the plane had ascended to arming altitude, descended again, then the door popped open. I was trying to come up with a scenario that would eliminate the arming altitude from the equation to allow a more equal comparison. Sorry for not being more clear. I agree, though I'd prefer to have both, and if I could only have one, I'd take the better algorithms over the increased arming altitude. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Of course unnecessary complexity is never good in a safety critical device. Neither is insufficient complexity to do the job properly. What we are talking about here is something that improves safety. Yes, it will increase the chance of bugs; that is always the tradeoff. The question is whether the improvement in safety outweighs the risk of bugs - in this case I believe that it does. BTW, I'm an engineer with a background in embedded systems, including safety critical systems, and including systems using pressure transducers to measure the altitude and speed of a skydiver. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I think you see this a little wrong. One of the major development concerns of airtec when they began developing the cypres was the cutter. A lot of R+D went into this, as the task is not as easy as it might seem. To this day every cypres cutter is manufactured under laboratory conditions. As the Argus issue proves more than anything else, it takes more than copying an idea to make a reliable life saving device. I'm not saying this isn't a serious issue. It is. I was simply addressing the comments that every Argus is now a worthless paperweight. I think it's a tad premature to make that claim. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

The banner in the incident I described was also a lightweight piece of fabric. When it twisted up, it was not easily discarded. Twisting a loop makes the opening smaller. If it gets small enough, your hand is trapped. If it happens to both hands at the same time, things could get interesting! Sound impossible? I don't remember the exact details of what happened in the incident I described, but things went bad before one side was released. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I suspect there is more than just the arming altitude at play. If the plane had ascended above the CYPRES arming altitude, then descended back to the altitude at which the incident occurred, do you think the CYPRES would have fired? Or do you think it has data filtering and/or algorithms that would have prevented a firing due to a physically impossible event? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

So in the case of the Vigil, you have an AAD that could misfire at any time - in the plane, in the door, etc. I don't trust them to not fire at an inopportune moment. I don't want to jump one, and I don't even like having them in the plane with me. Seems like a no brainer to me! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Shortly after the incident in question, Vigil released graphs from the affected devices showing the recorded altitude and speed. The graphs indicate that both units fired due to a very short spike in air pressure which represented an acceleration from zero to firing altitude in under a second - an acceleration several times that which is physically possible. It was very obviously not a situation requiring reserve activation. There are also several incidents where they have fired on the ground (pressurized aircraft, slamming a car trunk lid, etc). Another physical impossibility - there is no way to be on the ground, and then in freefall at firing speed a fraction of a second later. Any sudden, short pressure spike will cause the Vigil to fire, even if it is sitting on the ground. It is clear that the Vigil makes little or no effort to filter the data, nor to detect what should be non-firing situations. These are situations that are easy to deal with, yet the Vigil is no better than a mechanical AAD such as the FXC 12000 in that regard. Not proven as a defined problem? The problem is clearly defined and it has been shown quite a few times that it exists. The manufacturer says so themselves every time they explain why one of these firings occurred. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

If the rig manufacturer says its not approved, then wouldn't it be clearly illegal in the U.S.? I didn't bring up legality in my previous post as I'm not in the U.S., and there are no such laws here. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

$51 stop ruining my cheap AAD buying spree geek boy With a bit of fear mongering, I'm sure we can get enough AADs for both of us. Geek boy? You're one to talk! Have you jumped that sheep costume yet? The chicken costume doesn't count! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

If you'd read the post you are replying to, you would know that I am a rigger. Sure, I suppose I could ignore whatever rules I can get away with. That's an ethical issue, and it's a different discussion. It also doesn't help me if I go to a DZ that does gear checks as part of the waiver process, and it doesn't help those who aren't riggers. But thanks for the advice. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

The already have. There is a thread in Gear & Rigging with a link to the service bulletin. That is what I will be doing with my two (also in Javelins). Frankly, I can't see the issue not getting sorted out. Think about it - if it was your company, would you fix it so you can keep selling products and making money, or just throw in the towel and close the doors? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I'm sure it could be manufactured in a smaller diameter, and in small pieces with a hole through one end. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I have a better idea. Make the closing loop out of det cord, and replace the cutter with a detonator. This will also eliminate the problem of container locks with too-long closing loops and below-the-freebag cutters! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

"worthless", "paperweight", bla bla bla... You guys realize the issue is just with the cutter, right? The cutter is not manufactured by Aviacom - they purchase them from another company. There are lots of makes and models of cutters on the market - if Aviacom and the cutter manufacturer cannot sort out the problem with these cutters, they can easily switch to a different model, or even a different manufacturer. Cutters are easily replaced in the field. Ah, screw it - I'm with DeNReN - I'll give ya $50 for it! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

The CYPRES hit the market in January 1991. I can't find the exact date for the Astra, but it was around 1995 or 1996. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Fortunately none of the places I jump (even when travelling for boogies) require an AAD. Well - one place I go for an annual boogie does, but will exempt jumpers with sufficient experience and currency. The rigger who packed your reserves should be able to remove the AAD without repacking the reserve. I'm a rigger, so I can do my own

I have 2 Javelins with Argus. I'm not happy about it, but no need to be out of action - I'll just take them out and jump without AADs until they sort out the problem. I'd never owned an AAD until a year ago anyway... "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

If they are made over sized they slip off real easy, and are easy to hang on too in freefall. Unless they somehow get twisted up and trap your hand(s). I saw that happen a few years ago. Resulted in a reserve ride, and a bloody, mangled hand that looked quite painful. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg