mark

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Everything posted by mark

  1. mark
    The spandex was looser? Or the 1" elastic at the mouth of the pocket was looser, possibly with the zigzag stitching broken? Both? If it was just the spandex that was looser, do you think that would matter much? Mark
  2. mark
    Getting this thread back on track -- and probably better off in Gear & Rigging -- I'm actually curious about these questions, and I'm interested in hearing from someone who has experience with both Strong and Vector tandem systems. I know the Vector system; I don't know much about Strong. I imagine, but do not know, that it would be a fairly simple matter to attach a Strong drogue to a Vector system or vice versa. Depending on where the kill line goes, the Strong drogue might need a Strong bag, and a Vector might need a Vector bag. Would that be right? After that, both have 3-ring releases for the bridle. As for performance, do I understand correctly that the Vector drogue collapses before extracting the bag, and the Strong drogue collapse after. Is that right? If so, I would expect different snatch force. Does the canopy design need to be different as a result? Thanks in advance, Mark
  3. mark
    Directed to the OP, not andyhughes: If you want to focus on repairs and alterations instead of packing, I think at least a few of the folks running those courses would be happy to work with you. You might not qualify for a US rigger certificate, but you'd learn a lot. Ask around. Mark
  4. mark
    Ummm, no. The 45 rule is not any part of the formula. Mark
  5. mark
    Well, that sure narrows it down. Mark
  6. mark
    What did you need the #7 for? Mark
  7. mark
    About half the time it's line replacement. It's nice to be able to quickly match each manufacturer's bartacks by pushing buttons instead of adjusting wingnuts and thumbscrews. About half the time it's miscellaneous repairs. Yesterday it was replacing a PD slider drawstring channel (2 different bartacks, neither of them 42-stitch). Other times it's been making/repairing pilot chute bridles, replacing rubber band loops on deployment bags, tacking down chin straps, a variety of "can you sew these two things together please?", repairing small container scuffs or tears, adding freefly bungee loops to leg pads, rebuilding leg pads, replacing BOCs, etc. Most of those could be done with a mechanical 42-stitch, but as with line work, set-up time is greatly reduced. Mark
  8. mark
    I thought my Juki LK-1900A-HS was expensive -- until I started using it. Now I think it is the most economical machine I own. Be sure to get MEL's chip with parachute industry bartack patterns. $250 several years ago, and he really should charge a lot more. Mark
  9. mark
    Usually not. However, sometimes the flight counter gets reset when extra maintenance is needed, for example, if some component fails and needs fixing to return to acceptable standards. Mark.
  10. mark
    @Unstable, and @sky4meplease: are these TSO'd components you are working on? Mark
  11. mark
    I'll bite. http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/goldfinger.asp Mark
  12. mark
    As a precaution, skydivers planning to jump naked cover their skin with SexWax to prevent hyperventilation. SexWax treatment also reduces the build-up of static electricity. Otherwise, landing shock would quite literally be a shock as the electricity discharges on contact with the ground. For aircraft, small antenna-like wires are attached to the trailing edge of the wings. These are static wicks, which wick off or dissipate the static electricity. Skydivers also use static wicks -- those tube-like devices attached to jumpsuit arms and legs. There is always a small amount of residual static electricity, though, and it is most visible on night jumps when landings produce an effect like fireflies. Mark
  13. mark
    http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Conspiracy-Kentuckys-Preppie-Mafia/dp/0380714418
  14. mark
    7 jumpers (not 10): 6 guys, 1 chick. Senior jumper had less than 500, a couple jumpers had less than 100. Some (all?) not local. Bad spot. The pilot asked the jumpers to get out early (at 10K) because winds were coming up. Low jumper experience level meant there were a lot of solos and small-ways, so jump run got strung out, too. Small landing area, including power lines, trees, and houses. 6 jumpers landed in one direction; spooked horses gathered at the other end. The last jumper landed in the opposite direction, spooking the horses who thought they had found a safe spot. Yes, there was some laughing, but not about spooking horses. More like low-time jumpers having survived an "emergency bail-out" and off-field landing in a confined area. 2 civilians, one angry/upset, the other not so much. The not-so-much one asked the jumpers to move slowly so as not to further alarm the horses. Jumpers complied. Mark
  15. mark
    .040" for UPT. It would be worth a call to Sunpath. The last MDS I got from them for their tucktabs was .030", but it might vary by model. Mark
  16. mark

    Vector 2 RSL

    mark replied to AndyMan's topic in Gear and Rigging

    Yes, that is the intention of the design. Mark
  17. mark

    Vector 2 RSL

    mark replied to AndyMan's topic in Gear and Rigging

    What do you mean? If the RSL does not open the reserve container (total malfunction, or partial without the RSL hooked up), then the RSL pin usually stays in the marine eye at the end of the ripcord cable. The ripcord then jams the RSL pin against the reserve ripcord housing, and the ripcord can't be pulled any farther. So far, this has not been a problem. In an unstable deployment, a dropped reserve ripcord becomes a snag hazard. This was a problem in the ancient past, when gravel ban plugs (Para-Gear M5950) prevented main ripcords from coming all the way out. Some folks liked the idea of not having to worry about dropped ripcords. Some folks found out that it was not a good idea to have floating ripcords in the same area as their deploying chest reserves. Mark
  18. mark
    91.307 requires the pilot to make sure rigs are in date. The issue is how to do this without the pilot personally checking data cards on every load. Most FSDOs are satisfied with a system in which a manifester checks the data cards and keeps jumpers with out-of-date rigs from manifesting. Many DZs use JumpRun or similar manifest software to keep track of pack dates. Your DZ obviously uses a different (or supplemental) system. Before you call the FSDO, make sure you know what you are asking for. If you push the FSDO (like telling them some of the different ways to get around the controls), they may decide they'd like a perfect system -- like having the pilot check data cards before you load. Mark
  19. mark
    Kinda depends on what you're scoring. Mark
  20. mark
    I like customers who are interested enough in their equipment to see exactly how it works. I don't mind when they bring in their reserves already assembled. Of course, I'm going to verify it's done correctly. And I don't mind when they bring in other work they've done to see if they've done it right. I think customers like that are more likely to be safer jumpers (risk management for me!), they are more likely to be repeat customers, and they are likely to bring me other new business. Mark
  21. mark
    I do not have personal knowledge of such a case. The anecdotes USPA has collected do not seem to have a common thread. Low reserve openings might be statistical noise, or might be a result of smaller containers (since some components don't scale), tighter containers (design issue), rigger error (such as a too-long loop resulting in insufficient pilot chute compression), slower reserve opening (design issue resulting from customer demand for softer openings), or maybe something else. If there is a problem with delayed openings, then regardless of the origin of the problem, raising altitudes is a defensible response. Mark
  22. mark
    The USPA has identified a potential problem with low reserve openings. If the problem is more than statistical noise, it may be caused by low reserve deployment initiation. A low reserve deployment may be the result of a sniveling main canopy, or AAD firing altitudes set too low for softer-opening reserves. (There have been some suggestions that newer reserves open slower than older ones, not because newer ones don't meet TSO certification requirements, but because older ones opened faster than required.) Raising deployment altitudes would allow a longer time for emergency procedures and also would allow AAD firing altitudes to be raised. Of course, raising deployment altitudes would penalize those who are jumping faster-opening canopies and those jumping without AADs. I would prefer the BSR be stated in terms of "planned altitude for canopy functionally open" rather than "pack open." Mark
  23. mark
    That's only true if he is tethered by the top of his head or his feet! And if he doesn't have arms. Mark
  24. mark
    I agree that there needs to be documentation of time/jump/use-limited parts. The maximum time before another inspection/repack is due, for example, or the due date of AAD service if that information is not available from the control head display. Otherwise, the history of the equipment is irrelevant to the inspection. It doesn't matter who did a repair or how long ago. All that matters is whether the equipment is airworthy when it is packed. What should a rigger do with knowing the repair history that he wouldn't have done anyway without it? Mark
  25. mark
    I can see why you might have that opinion. My opinion is that it is a fact that in a time of limited resources, the FAA chooses to go after certificate holders because they are easier targets. Mark