mark

Here's what Poynter says in Volume 2, page 332: "A tiny jumper under a huge student canopy may have a wing loading of 0.3 lbs/sq ft, while an experienced jumper might prefer a relatively smaller canopy around 1.1 lbs/sq ft. The tiny jumper will float with little forward speed or descent rate. The experienced jumper will be zipping all over the sky. Most jumpers should not exceed a wing loading of 1.0. "If the canopy is to be used regularly at higher elevations or where the humidity is high, design a larger canopy. Sport jumpers who like a wing loading of 0.7 in Florida may prefer 0.5 in Colorado."

His email in reply to advertisement in classifieds:

ParaCo's website is here. They don't claim to make TSO'd parts, though. Their facebook post from 6 weeks ago says they do not yet make freebags or [reserve?] pilot chutes.

Except in the commercial, both sides could be right.

I'm not Jerry or Rob, but I am a master rigger. Extending the laterals on a Vector is very expensive. The rig has "stabilizers," stiffeners that cover the laterals. The stiffeners are sewn into the backpad and the hip junction. Extending the laterals requires opening container seams to replace the webbing and stabilizers, as well as redoing the hip junction. Your local master rigger might have the tools and equipment, but is likely to be doing this for the first time in a long time. If you really want longer laterals, you'll be much happier with the manufacturer's work.

They always fit great when they're empty.

The line sequence was: sheath-and-core dacron kevlar spectra vectran/hma Kevlar has poor abrasion resistance. It is also skinnier than dacron, so less friction in slider grommets and harder openings. Also, kevlar doesn't stretch much, so less shock absorption than dacron.

Kevin Gibson claims to have the galleys, and he led me to believe the copyright holder is still alive. I couldn't find an email address or phone number for him, and he didn't respond to a snail-mail letter I sent. You're right: I've not seen a better manual for an intro to sewing for riggers.

The manual is copyrighted.

What reasons do they give you for departing from the 30-35 weeks they advertise on their website?

This, mostly. Even experienced jumps make mistakes sometimes, especially if they're setting the brakes in the high-distraction environment of the landing area. Pull the brake-set eye below the guide ring before inserting the tongue of the toggle. The pocket for the toggle tongue can be tightened by running a row of stitches directly on top of the existing pocket stitches. Try along one side before doing both, as the result can be dramatic. If the bottom of your toggle is secured with a pin, the slot for the pin is exactly 3/16" wide, which is the standard gauge on a double-needle machine. Overstitch the existing stitches. This is easier on some risers than others. Any moment now, the Racer fans are going to chime in about snaps. --Mark

Yes.

How much of a premium would you be quite happy to pay? How much lower would the risk need to be?

44745 will require cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders. Part 135 pilot requirements include a requirement for check pilots, and oral/practical check rides every 6 months. See 135.265 for maximum duty time and required rest periods. Someone is going to have to keep training records and duty/rest records.

Maybe. The magnetic riser covers are a change to the TSO configuration. Since they cover the reserve risers, they may affect airworthiness. They are an alteration. Did you get approval from the manufacturer or the FAA, or did you just do it?

For jumps to count toward USPA licenses, ratings, and awards, they must comply with USPA Basic Safety Requirements -- see Ian Harrop's post. However, the US FAA does not have a minimum jump altitude or a minimum opening altitude. Note that it is not possible to set a new record for minimum altitude. The best you can do is tie the existing record. For minimum altitudes for jumps outside the US, check with your local skydiving/aviation authority. In the US, jumps from Part 103 ultralights (which includes most powered parachutes and paragliders, as well as some gyrocopters) is generally prohibited by the FAA, since the jumper would be a passenger, not a student pilot undergoing flight instruction. Additionally, skydiving from Experimental and Restricted category aircraft is also generally prohibited by the FAA.

Battery life is not an issue if there is an accessible charging port.

A simple collision is unlikely to extract the trigger. Think of how difficult it would be to extract a Cypres control head from its pocket in similar circumstances. You might be able to extract the trigger if the collision involved snagging the RSL. I can't recall any incidents involving snagged RSLs on any system, so we should consider the probability of this happening to be quite low.

In the US, unless a TSO approval states otherwise, a shelf life/service life limitation does not apply to formerly military equipment in civilian use. See AC 105-2E para 13.b.(2).

I'll give it a try. Every rigger has the responsibility of declaring airworthiness or non-airworthiness when asked to pack a rig. But his decision is not binding on any other rigger. The owner is free to find someone else to do the work. Caveat emptor! I don't think this is what you are asking though. I think you are asking who can permanently ground a TSO'd component. And I think the answer is "no one." Everything is repairable or replaceable, including TSO markings. When a manufacturer or other expert says something is unairworthy, they are really saying it is economically unrepairable. How should we convey "economically unrepairable" to the owner? As important, how should we convey it to anyone else who comes into possession? The most concise way is to obliterate the TSO marking, by removing it or by writing "unairworthy" or "condemned" or similar on the label, words that are technically not true because it could be made airworthy if time and money were no object. I'm okay with that, but I'm open to alternatives. It still belongs to the owner, though, and he should get it back in exchange for the agreed compensation for inspection, shipping, etc. --Mark

Glider record is a little over 74K, although pressurized.

I get that. But I don't think it's a lot of money.

I disagree. Harness/container manufacturers may have at most 8 or 9 different freebag sizes, and they can look in their records to see which sizes they have shipped separately from rigs. Ditto main bags. High-demand items should be available for immediate shipment. Some have two reserve pilot chute sizes, most have just one. These should also be available immediately. If you have an exposed pilot chute (e.g. Racer, Javelin, etc.) it might make more sense to wait for orders instead of having some in stock, I'll bet many customers would be okay with basic black if they could get one right away -- the new colors aren't going to match the sun-faded colors anyway. Likewise, they know what riser lengths they have been shipping. Running a few more for spares when you're making a batch anyway shouldn't be an issue. Ripcords and cutaway handles are frequently custom, but most of our customers would be happy to have a metal-handle ripcord and a red cutaway pillow if it would get them back in the air by the weekend. Disclaimer: I am not a manufacturer, just a whiner. Perhaps someone who is can chime in to explain how scheduling and production work, and why having ready-to-ship spares ties up too much capital.

Some things to investigate: Damaged area on bottom skin: along the seam? If so, maybe manufacturing, since these are relatively new canopies. Color of the fabric? If always the same color, maybe a problem with that batch of fabric. Location of the damage: center cell? end cells? right side? left side? Where did the tear start? Adjacent seams with elongated stitch holes show greater stress in that area. Burn or burst to start? Sliders burned or burst? What extra steps have packers taken in response?

Are these examiners FAA employees? If so, how are their travel expenses covered? Or are they DPEs? If so, who is prohibiting them from traveling?