mark

You'd also have to buy a different reserve canopy. Mark

Sutphin

I have a PD reserve, DOM 1989. When do you suppose it was designed? Mark

Does your rigger charge for this service? He (or she) should. Removing a Vigil or Cypres is something you can do for yourself, and you are asking someone else to do it for you. Mark

Maybe there's a mesh-ish solution for that, too. Mark

Upper-surface ropes-n-rings could be an alternative to a slider reefing system on the tangle-less canopy. Mark

Depends on what you mean by "full scale." This is similar to what we already do for main pilot chutes. We could do mesh instead of suspension lines on ram-air canopies. There would be a lot more drag, as well as greatly increased pack volume. My guess is that the increase in drag would result in ram-air performance being very similar to rounds, and the pack volume would triple or more. The malfunction rate might go down, but the landing injury rate would, uh, skyrocket. Mark

Paratec has no control over QC at Mirage, UPT, Jump Shack, etc. Are they saying their Speed reserve may be used only in Paratec harness/container systems? Mark

I see you have left yourself the option to be towed somewhere else, and you didn't say you would be using those hills near where you live. Mark

Assuming you are followinging U.S. rules -- 105.43(c): "If installed, the automatic activation device must be maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions for that automatic activation device." You are not required to have an AAD in your rig. If you do, though, then it must be in date even if it is not turned on. When the AAD expires (or needs a 4- or 8-year check, or needs batteries because the current set is dead, etc), the rig cannot be jumped. If you want to jump it, the rig must be opened and the AAD serviced or removed. Mark

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4329234;search_string=tempo%20line%20trim;#4329234

Seems like a shame you'd have to take your rig to the Master Rigger an hour down the road just because the housing tacking was loose. The problem with not having a hammer is that then nothing looks like a nail. Fewer skills means it's more tempting to rationalize away problems instead of fixing them. Hand tacking isn't too much to ask. A new rigger should be able to tack Slinks, housings, some hardware like B-12 snaps. Mark

An entry-level sport rigger should be able to pack sport reserves, including other than 1-pin systems: Strong tandem (2-pin), Racer (2-pin, pop-top), and Reflex (1-pin, pop-top). For the skills you have listed, I'd put an emphasis on inspections, including wear limits. For AAD maintenance, consider knowing how to change the battery, cutter and control head on a Vigil and Vigil 2. Your list doesn't include fingertrapping main and reserve closing loops. I think it should. Mark

For larger canopies, low-bulk fabric makes a big difference. An Optimum-253 packs nicely into a container made for a PDR-218. At the middle, there is about a one-size difference: an Optimum-160 packs about the same as a PDR-143, and an Optimum-143 packs about the same as a PDR-126. For the smallest canopies, there isn't much difference in pack volume. The fabric is lower bulk, but tapes, thread, and lines do not scale. You're not buying smaller pack volume. You're buying a newer design, over a design that has been around since the late 80's. Mark

Every now and then, a gem. Thanks, Bob. Mark

Inspect it? If there were a card for the harness, would you assume that if the card said the AD/SB was done that it was done correctly? Mark

BLM smoke jumpers use TSO'd chest-pack ram-air reserves. Mark

You answer is in the bolded sections. The bolded sections might have been intended as an extension of privileges to specifically include main parachute packing, but the literal meaning is a restriction of privileges to only main parachutes. I am still hopeful the FAA (or someone in close contact with them) will be able to tell me what it means to supervise work on the types I'm rated for, and in what way "supervise" is different than "train" or "instruct." Mark

Actually, what 65.125 says is that supervision is limited to main parachutes. There's no provision for supervising reserve parachute packing, for packs toward a rigger ticket or for anything else. Mark

As a result of the correction, 65.111 is still screwed up. It now conflicts with 65.125(c). 65.111 requires the rigger to be current when supervising main packs, 65.125(c) exempts the rigger from currency when supervising main packs. Mark

Not exactly. There is no provision in the regulation for supervision of reserve pack jobs for any reason. The provision for supervision is limited to supervision of main pack jobs. That's what "in accordance with 105.43(a) and 105.45(b)(2)" means. And of course I'm still waiting for the FAA (or someone else) to tell me what it means to supervise maintenance and alterations in accordance with a regulation that deals only with main parachute packing. Just to muddy the waters a bit more, I'm in possession of a letter from the FAA that says that a main parachute is not a "type" (back, chest, seat, lap) of parachute. No explanation of what it means to supervise packing of types for which rated if only sport mains can be supervised. Mark

Working on it. Mark

Yes. Technically, no. A rigger can supervise only in accordance with 105.43(a) and 105.45(b)(1), which deal with packing main parachutes. Technically, a rigger may not supervise any reserve pack jobs. There is no exception in the regulation for packs that will be used to qualify for a rigger certificate. This is an unresolved issue left from the poorly written 2001 rule change. I make this argument not because I think supervised pack jobs are illegal, but because there are a few folks who insist that the regulations be followed as though there are no contradictions or inconsistencies -- and the logical consequence of such thinking is that all rigger tickets issued since 2001 were obtained without legally supervised pack jobs. Might be. I'm still interested in hearing a definition of "supervision" as used 65.125(b)(2). At one time, master riggers were allowed to both supervise and instruct, meaning the FAA thought these were two separate privileges. When one of the two disappeared, it was "instruct" that went away and "supervise" that remained. [url] If the FAA had wanted supervision to be limited to instruction, then it would have been "supervision" that went away and "instruct" that remained. A more reasonable interpretation of "supervise" is the one the FAA uses in every other case: personally observes to the extent necessary, and takes responsibility for the finished product. Mark

The ambiguity is in the conflict between Part 105 and Part 65.125(a)(2) and 65.125(b)(2), which explicitly permit supervision. The rule-making history of Part 65 clearly shows that the intention was to permit supervision under the normal meaning of the term, and not merely supervision for the purpose of qualifying for a rigger ticket. This issue is still pending resolution. In the meantime, some FSDOs (but not all) treat supervised pack jobs as they would pack jobs done by an unassisted rigger; some FSDOs (but not all) think that "supervision" really means "training" and don't like supervised pack jobs to be jumped. Mark

There are two issues. For Decelerator reserves, it's the size of the brake-set eye, regardless of the container. For Vortex containers, it's the stiffness of the reserve toggles, regardless of the reserve. Mark