mark

Noriega/Ortega/Panama/Nicaragua. Or was it Commandante Zero? Don't cry for me, Argentina? It all gets to be blur after a while, doesn't it. We're lucky to remember anything at all. Mark

The ParaFoil spider slider was attached to the pilot chute via a bridle that ran through the canopy. Is the Matrix spider slider similar? The web site says "lower surface pilot chute retraction", but it also says "brisk openings", which is what you would expect if the spider slider were slowed only by the aerodynamic drag on a couple pieces of webbing unconnected to the pilot chute. Mark

I have to ask: did you free pack everything, or did you use a bag, frap strap, or raeper? Mark

IIRC, tubular nylon. Mark

So a "working jump" entitles someone to be ungrateful? Jeez! Mark

Nope, so edited my response to add waffling. I hadn't thought about attaching the rsl to the middle ring. Does the big ring just act as another guide ring then? Mark

The middle ring just barely fits through the large ring. Having the RSL shackle hooked to the large ring would make it harder for the middle ring to fall through. However, like you I can't see that having the RSL hooked to the housing would be so bad (except for disabling the RSL), and I think having the shackle fixed to something is better than hoping that it's going to stay stowed under a riser or mudflap. Mark

The last one I saw was on a ParaFoil 252, installed in a new Wonderhog and using the standard RWS throw-out pilot chute. Mark

You or I could do it if we remembered to peel the velcro before trying to pull (with RSLs held in place with velcro). It's an awkward move, made worse by the absence of a good grip and the need to pull the ripcord cable between closely-set guide rings instead of pulling on the pin directly like a Tandem Vector RSL. I wouldn't expect a student to be able to do it. The problem is that even with very good instruction, we all have limits to what we're able to retain for recall under stress. if you spend more time training your student for this unlikely event, you make it more probable that he or she will have an inappropriate reaction to a more likely event. Mark

You might try TSO-C23d. Mark

There were a few folks who posted at PIA who haven't posted here. Willem DeVos (a great post: home-made fabric permeability tester) comes to mind. If having a separate PIA forum is what it takes to hear from them, I'm for it. I'd prefer they all came here to a restricted split-off from the current "Gear and Rigging" forum, so that rigging threads aren't jumbled in with the "what color should I get" threads. Unlikely, though. Mark

Most flight schools have a "Companion Flyer Course" either by that name or something similar. The courses are typically customized to each participants needs, depending on the kind of flying they anticipate and the kind of aircraft they expect to find themselves in. As a skydiver, I'd think you wouldn't care much about navigation, but you'd care a lot about what the flight and engine instruments display. In an emergency, you'd like to be able to operate the radios to ask for help. In larger aircraft such as a Twin Otter, you may be able to sit up front and talk with the pilot about what he or she is doing and what the gauges indicate. Most jump pilots enjoy having a real non-ATC person to talk to, and some are flight instructors. A very few will allow you to try the controls in aircraft that have two pilot seats. As you make more jumps, you'll become accustomed to normal sounds and normal flight patterns. Anything abnormal is call for putting on your helmet and doing your check of 3's. Unfortunately, the most likely abnormal event is running out of gas, so it helps to know where the fuel gauges are and how they work (not well on a Cessna). It's every pilot's fantasy to save the lives of his fellow commercial jet passengers by taking the control after the crew has been incapacitated -- like Kurt Russell using his Bonanza training to land a jumbo jet -- but your opportunity will be limited. It's surprisingly easy to make a survivable landing in a 182, more difficult as the airplanes get larger and landing speeds get higher. If the pilot is wearing a parachute and altitude permits, it might be better to launch a 2-way then pull the pilot's ripcord -- another hero fantasy. Do enough training to feel comfortable, save the rest of your money for skydiving. Mark

And now we have learned that some protective measures are counter-productive. There are hidden elements of society that do not want us to know the truth. Mark

I had a white reserve for sale. How much imagination could that possibly require? And yet, "Could you send pics?" Mark

On the way to Speakers Corner: Their reported 4th quarter income was up also, to $100 billion. That means profits in the 10% range. Is that a lot? How much do you think their profits should be? Would you be willing to subsidize them if their profits are too small? Do you think other industries should be have their profits restricted? How about real estate? IT? Profits are the difference between what it costs to produce something and what the product is worth. They are a measure of wealth creation; wealth which is re-invested elsewhere. Is creating wealth bad? Or is this just creating the wrong kind of wealth? Profits are a measure of efficiency. If Exxon Mobil was less efficient about getting its product to market, it would have a smaller profit. Would that be a good thing? Econ 101. Mark

Apologizing again for thread drift. Might be tandem Slinks, but the reason I asked was because I've also seen Precision Wrap-Its installed like Slinks, with just two turns instead of three like the directions say, resulting in a bigger loop like the one pictured. Tandem Slinks would be okay, just overkill. Wrap-Its installed incorrectly would be a problem. Mark

Warning: thread drift! What kind of links are those? Mark

I agree. My point was just that if I have recommended a customer get his canopy relined, I've already inspected it -- so he'll pay the inspection fee twice by sending his canopy to PD. Mark

On every student chute I've jumped, the answer would be: unlikely. If you pull the tail down far enough that it is below the nose lines, you reverse the airflow and the canopy attempts to fly backwards. In addition to pulling the brake lines down, you are also pulling them toward the center, so the ends meet -- looks a bit like a line-over. This configuration is rarely symmetrical, so it usually spins. The pilot chute trails in front of the nose. You shouldn't try to land the canopy this way, but there's nothing tangled, so I wouldn't call it a malfunction. When you let up on the brakes, the canopy surges forward as it recovers to normal flight. One side of the canopy usually recovers (inflates) before the other, resulting in a turn, spin, or violent spin until the other side inflates. The surge could possibly result in a pilot chute under the nose, and depending on how far under the nose it is it may be a malfunction, but I haven't had a pilot chute under on any student canopy stall recovery I've done. Whether you get a turn, spin, or violent spin depends a lot on wing loading. Under light loadings typical of student canopies, it's rare to get line twists. What you finish up with is a likely to be a normally flying canopy after a really fun ride. Mark

If we could just figure out which FJC student was going to make a first jump off of student status! At the tunnel last year, I asked Chromy what he teaches his non-tunnel AFF students. He said, "Boxman." Mantis is intended to be neutrally stable, like a Pitts, good for maneuverability. Deep arch is better for positive stability, like Cessna 172/Piper Warrior. Which airplane would be better for a student pilot to learn in? Mark

I know this is true for Flight Concepts, but I'm not as sure as you about PD. PD requires an inspection ($15?) before they work on a canopy. Plus they ship the canopy on a card. If I have to assemble a canopy returned from a factory reline, I have to charge for my time. On the other hand, if I do the reline it's easier for me to assemble the canopy on risers than it is to assemble it on a card -- so no extra charge for assembly. Mark

I was going to answer "Of course!" until I thought about the exit. When you do an unlinked exit, Bill, what is your body position when you leave the aircraft? Does it matter if you're tail (head-up hop-n-pop position) vs. inside center/diving? I ask because I remember Anne when she came back from the tunnel a couple years ago. She had no problem at terminal, but was unstable on exit because she started freefall in mantis (and because she, like most students, had trouble with lower airspeed and non-vertical relative wind). So it's not a slam-dunk, though my strong preference would be to let my student fly mantis. Mark

Before PD reserves shipped standard with Slinks, they shipped with Rapide links. Would it be okay to use those Rapide links with a non-PD reserve? Why or why not? In the US, most riggers would feel comfortable using Rapide links supplied by any parachute industry manufacturer, including manufacturers other than those who made the particular reserve or harness/container. Further, it is extremely difficult to counterfeit Slinks, but easy to find unairworthy Rapides at the hardware store. Aren't we better served by installing a part we can tell at a glance is TSO'd? Mark

That's true, but there's more. The Mars AAD may not be TSO'd, but installation in a rig not already Mars-compatible would require FAA/manufacturer approval for an alteration to a TSO'd component. The Mars AAD combines all functions (control, processor, cutter) in one box the size of a cigarette pack, installed in a special pocket where the closing loop mounts. If you wanted to install one in, say, your Javelin or Vector, you'd have to remove the closing loop grommet plate, make a pocket for the unit, and fashion a window to through the backpad. These are not trivial tasks, and even if you could find a non-Mars manufacturer willing to approve the alteration, you'd be faced with the major task of converting the rig back if and when you decided to go back to the standard configuration needed for Cypres/Vigil/Argus. Mark

Where in the US Constitution is that? Are you speaking as a lawyer practicing in the US? Or as someone who heard something from a DZO who got the info from a FOAF? We sign away rights all the time, don't we? Miranda waivers are routinely upheld, even when crooks should know better. Babies are routinely adopted only because parental rights are signed away, powers-of-attorney are routinely exercised. Many contracts are enforced through binding arbitration, the contracting parties having signed away their right to sue in civil court. Mark