
mark
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Everything posted by mark
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I'm sorry I don't understand which comment you are replying to or what you're trying to say. Do you mean: -- you'd rather be rigless than have repairs done without your explicit consent? or -- you'd refuse to pay the bill? or -- you'd pay the bill but then take your business elsewhere? or -- as a rigger you wouldn't do business again with a customer who put you in the position of having to choose? Mark
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Yup, sure is. Mark
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Let me up the stakes for you. You've got your skydiving vacation planned. Non-refundable airplane tickets, hotel reservations, etc. -- the works. You drop by the dz go to pick up your rig on the way to the airport, and your rigger says, "I'm sorry, I was unable to get hold of you to get authorization to fix something that in my professional judgment you need for your rig to be airworthy." See, the problem is that there isn't a right answer. Your rigger has to make a decision based on limited knowledge, and whichever way he chooses, sometimes someone is going to be unhappy. If you do not trust your rigger's judgment, if you do not believe he has your best interests at heart, why did you bring your rig to him? Mark
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I'm going to count your reply as a vote to disappoint the guy who needed his rig. The score so far is: work 0, disappointment 2. Mark
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I'm going to count your reply as a vote to disappoint the guy who needed his rig for competition. Mark.
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Let's imagine a customer leaves his rig, saying, "Please repack my rig. I need it for the competition this coming weekend." Unfortunately, the rigger finds there is more to do than just a fluff-and-stuff, but is unable to contact the customer. Now it's Friday, and the rigger has to make a choice: do the (unauthorized) repairs and have the rig ready to go, or leave the customer without a rig for competition. What would you do? (Sorry, for the purpose of this thought experiment, there are no other choices such as finding a rig for the customer to borrow.) Mark
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equals between 1-1/2 and 2 jump tickets. Your rigger is either underpaid or overpaid. Mark
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Correlation is not the same as causation. Everybody used to jump with lines coiled on the main pack tray, only locking stows on the bag. We quit only because the lines sometimes half-hitched on a container flap (we're talking major malfunction here), not because there was any other sort of malfunction. Mark
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Sport systems (not tandems or pilot rigs), from owners manuals and/or websites: Aerodyne: 136kg, 150kts Sunpath: before October 2001, 254#, 150kts Sunpath: after October 2001, 300#, 170kts Altico: no info on website or in owner's manual VSE: 254#, 150kts UPT: no limits Firebird: 150kg, 150kts RI: 254#, 150kts Sunrise/Wings: 254#, 150kts Jump Shack: no limits Mirage: no limits (except airplane must be going less than 150mph) Strong: 254#, 150kts Now that I've done the search for you, tell me why you want to know.
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For starters, the Australian Parachute Federation has the most comprehensive collection: http://hq.apf.asn.au/index.php/Service_Bulletins. Mark
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Feedback wanted, application for new cutter, Argus?
mark replied to df8m1's topic in Gear and Rigging
I think you misunderstand how PIA works. There is no "big picture" to see. PIA is not a regulatory body. It does not approve or disapprove designs or products. In particular, PIA never banned Argus AADs. Some PIA-member manufacturers choose not to allow Argus AADs in their rigs. Other PIA-member manufacturers are okay with Argus AADs, or take an agnostic position with respect to AADs in general. If you want to sell an after-market cutter, you need to convince individual AAD manufacturers (Airtec, AAD, FXC, MarS, and/or Aviacom, etc.) and individual harness/container manufacturers (UPT, Sunpath, Mirage, Aerodyne, etc.). You don't need to involve PIA. Mark -
Send me a dz.com PM (=Private Message) via the link at the top of this page. Tell me what your email address is. Mark
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PIA can notify you by email when they post a new Service Bulletin or Airworthiness Directive. You don't have to be a PIA member to subscribe. Send me your email address via PM to be added to the list. This doesn't change your responsibility to check directly with the manufacturer to ensure you have the latest information. There is sometimes a delay between the time a manufacturer publishes something and when it gets to PIA. PIA does not have any plans right now to create an index of older SBs and ADs. There are a number of sites that do a pretty good job at this. As always, go to the manufacturer first. Mark Baur PIA Rigging Committee Chair
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What does the manufacturer say about your method? Mark
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550 microline or 500 Vectran for Vengeance?
mark replied to Shyandinnocent's topic in Gear and Rigging
Not exactly. It is higher maintenance for sure, so you have to want the marginal increase in performance. And if you want that marginal increase in performance, other line types work better. Mark -
Best solution: get a pair of inserts that fit. Next best: make the sleeves longer. You don't have to remove the old sleeves to do this. Temporary solution: tack the lower ends of the inserts to the risers. You don't need to tack the upper ends. As for cutting the cable housings to size, you'll need special tooling to crimp new ferrules to the cut ends. The old ferrules can't be reused, and you shouldn't leave the the cut ends uncapped even if you plan to use a generous amount of duct tape. Mark
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No, and no. As a rigger, it's easier for me to make your rig look good if the cutter is below the pilot chute. That's important because looking good is half of "Style & Accuracy." Dolphin, Wings, Javelin, Vector, earlier US Icons (if the cutter hasn't been moved because of a Service Bulletin). It takes a little more effort to make your rig look good if the cutter is above the pilot chute, but it is still possible. Mirage and Rigging Innovations rigs fall into this category. Having said that, I have two Mirages, each with over 2000 jumps, that look nearly new and pack very nicely. And my RI Curv is in production -- I saw the pieces cut last week, ready for assembly. In other words, the little extra effort should not deter you from buying Mirage or RI product if that's what you had in mind in the first place. Racers have the cutters below the pilot chute, but pack about the same with or without an AAD installed. In terms of fit, Cypres, Vigil, Argus, and MarS are all about the same. The only consideration regarding fit might be cable length for military freefall rigs (MC-4/5) in civilian use. Cypres cables are too short, Vigil cables are long enough. In terms of function, rig manufacturers are more or less happy with how AADs function in their rigs. There are exceptions, of course. And in spite of the plausibility of problems associated with long closing loop tails having to be dragged through numerous grommets when a pack tray mounted cutter fires, we're having difficulty reproducing the problems; the data is somewhat anecdotal. PIA has an ongoing study into low reserve openings, which is hampered by lack of enough common elements to tease out what is significant and what is not. Mark
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Can you elaborate on this? Mirage rigs used to have the cutters mounted on the #1 (kicker) flap, which is just below the pilot chute. In December 2004, they changed the cutter to the #3 flap, above the pilot chute. There were a couple instances where the pilot chute failed to clear the container even though the cutter fired, and the working theory was that a too-long closing loop (a) didn't compress the spring enough to get enough energy into it, and (b) the loop had to snake around grommets that weren't stacked, making more drag and/or makiing it more liable to pinching. For all the discussion about cutter placement, manufacturers have to make judgments about what they think is important in AAD installation. The closer the cutter is to the ripcord, the more a successful AAD activation is like an actual ripcord pull. The farther down the cutter goes, the less likely it is to interfere with a ripcord activation in the event the cutter doesn't work as intended, and the more likely the reserve won't open as fast as intended. Javelins work well with a tray-mounted cutter because their closing loops are relatively short. As mentioned above, Mirage's experience was different. Mark
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https://av-info.faa.gov/DsgReg/sections.aspx?SectionID=3219 Have your login and your credit card handy. The slides are basically the same ones Fletch had at the last seminar. I didn't see any new information. The test is not much different either, except that it is effectively open-book. Should take you about half an hour, including figuring out how to print your certificate. Mark
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A free FXC 12000 maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions is more expensive than a full-price Cypres. Mark
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Statistically speaking, you're better off with any AAD (Cypres/Vigil/Argus/MarS) than with no AAD at all. That's regardless of rig and regardless of cutter position. Mark
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Sounds like an urban legend. The wife was a good enough rigger to be able to close the rig, but wasn't so good as to be able to just pull the risers out, cut the lines, and push the risers back in again? Mark
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Call Sunpath. Mark
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The SB requires checking cutaway cable assemblies for rigs manufactured since January 2009, to be sure the cables are the correct length. Mark
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Great wikipedia entry. I love the reference to the "central business district of Stanton." Mark