mark

No regulation requires specific additional information on the packing data card (except the catch-all about following the manufacturer's instructions), but it is good practice. Mark

Five required items on the data card: date and place of packing, rigger number, rigger signature, notation of defects found. There is no requirement to have owner information, description of maintenance, make/model/serial number of canopy or harness/container. 65.131(c). The required items for the rigger logbook: owner's name and address, date and place of work performed, description of work performed, parachute type, parachute make and serial number, and results of any drop tests. 65.131(a). The purpose of the data card is to show the canopy has been aired and dried within the previous 180 days (60 days for natural fibers); owner information is irrelevant for this purpose. The absence of a requirement to put serial numbers on the data card comes from the time when data cards were physically attached to the pack. Putting owner info on the data card is good for lost-and-found of the card or the rig; putting serial numbers on the card associates the card with the rig. Riggers should put at least the h/c info on the card. Although it has been common practice to put just the canopy info on the card, doing so means the card cannot be matched to the pack job without opening the pack job. It's a good idea to put maintenance info on the card too, especially AAD info and Airworthiness Directive/Service Bulletin compliance info. "Parachute" means parachute system, not just a canopy. Mark

I assume the floats are completely symmetrical. Or is that incorrect? If so then why would the RH wing not stall at the same point and need this 18" stall bar? I'm no pilot but I am always curious about these things that fly (or don't). -Michael The engines are not mirror images. Mark

Britten-Norman Islander. (There is a Wilga in the flikr photos, though). Mark

Yes. We already count drogue-fall -- essentially a glorified hop-n-pop -- as freefall time for the purpose of qualifying for an AFF rating. Tunnel time is way more useful. Also, the AFF IRC is a performance-oriented course. I'm not sure there should be any minimum freefall time requirement, as long as a candidate can meet the instructional and freefall performance requirements. There should, however, be a minimum time (it used to be a year or two to go from jumpmaster to instructor) and minimum number of jumps as a USPA Coach before attempting an AFF rating. There are way too many instructors who go from no ratings at all to holding an AFF-I rating in two weeks. That's another thread, though. Mark

Infinity also. Optional, though. Mark

Why, so you can make another buck? Amazing how long you've been around and how little you've learned. That's uncalled for. I disagree with Shlomo on what the regulations require and what skill levels parachute riggers may possess, but I do not doubt that his first priority is the safety of his customers, not the state of his pocketbook. Mark

This was not a riser problem. The manufacturer simply failed to anticipate that some customers or riggers would pick the stitches holding the risers to the harness. Riggers and customers still do meticulously stupid stuff. Mark

Mark, why do you think that? (BTW, I have no particular preference.) My observation: Instructor (to student in FJC): "Remember HARM: heading, altitude, reserve, main." Student (in freefall): < thinking: there's an word. . . injury? hurt? maim? broken leg? > Teaching acronyms requires a student to remember that there is an applicable acronym, remember which one it is, decode it correctly, then take action, all as he or she is really thinking with a different part of the brain than was used in ground training. Mark

The acronym is HARM, and many thoughtless instructors teach it that way. Mark

I have constructed line sets. If you want a standard line set, PeteS is your best non-factory source. I might be interested if there was some experimenting going on. Mark

Well, those _are_ trim specs. But they're not _full_ trim specs, just enough to check trim on a line set manufactured to full specs. The only way these specs work is on continuous-line (no cascade) canopies, like Xaos. Mark

This is the industry standard position for the control line guide ring. Mark

Most of the time, the trim specs say the measurement from a B-line attachment to the link should be some amount longer than the measurement from its A-line to the link. However, the length of the B-cascade depends on where it joins the A-line, and that information is not usually included with the specs. Mark

In the packing instructions, available on the RI website. Mark

Not PD/Precision/FCI/Aerodyne/PDF, but they look serviceable (for a main canopy) to me. What am I missing? Mark

Does UPT ship with a "pre-installed loop" already knotted at the recommended length? Mark

Maybe I'm missing something here. After the cutaway pillow separates from the harness velcro, don't you get the 6" of harness deformation back? Mark

I don't doubt that's what you were taught, and I don't doubt that it's pretty much nonsense. The amount of cable you have to pull for release is not more than about 7 inches. Mark

Para-Gear will be carrying the Pocket Rigger Kit. IIRC, the price complete with all tools except mini-seal press is expected to be US$495. Mark

"Lock on." -- Gosh, how I hate that! Mark

I'm unreasonable, and a bit simple. Count the day of the jump as Day 0, and count yesterday as Day 1. Any time yesterday is within a day of today. The analogy is the FAA's requirement for an airplane annual. If you'd like to fly your airplane in February 2009, you'd need to check to see if the previous annual was completed in February 2008. The FAA is okay with you flying until the very end of February 2009 even if the annual was completed at the very beginning of February 2008, almost 13 months earlier. Mark

Actually, wasn't it Mark Baur that used the floor as his packing table? And the FAA agreed that it had 'real short' legs. JerryBaumchen Wasn't me, was the guy I got my seat rating from. Mark

The crossport damage is what I would expect from a ZP canopy with a couple hundred jumps. Inspect the other mains at your dz, and you'll find most have more fraying than that. I don't worry about the fraying until the oval hole is rectangular. I don't try to trim the fray. Having the threads knot up keeps the fraying from getting worse. Trimming the fray just gives new fraying a head start. The repair shown in Poynter might work okay for tears, depending on the size of the crossport and location of tear, but is not appropriate in this situation. I'd look elsewhere for the cause of the turn. Mark

That was a common construction before we discovered we could crimp battery terminals to the cable housings. I'd put it at mid 70's; by late 70's everyone had gone to the battery terminals most are still using today. Mark