erdnarob

Since the Cypres has a filter to let only the air in, I would say that the smoke didn't get inside the unit since the smoke is composed of fine particles quite big with respect to Oxygen and Nitrogen molecules of the air. You have to keep in mind that the Cypres II filter stops the water molecules at least for a while. I would be more concerned by the possible heath damage and because of that very unusual situation I would send the unit back for check up and have its filter changed. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Plenty of good answers. Thanks guys. When I was asked the question my answer has been that they have to follow the Basic Safety Regulations and both of them, Tandem Instructor and passenger have to wear a flotaison gear each. It is obvious to me that the tandem instructor has to disconnect from his passenger after landing in the water. Staying linked together is a scenario for drama since in this case each individual has no autonomy of movement. But on the other hand I wonder if the passenger is considered as a parachutist and therefore, some DZ could provide a water gear to the tandem instructor only???? Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

That's about the figure I had in mind, say a number between 90 and 120 fatalities in skuba diving. On the other hand in skydiving there is very few fatalities among students as statisics show it. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Somebody asked me a question today. Should a tandem pair (instructor and passenger) wear a flotation gear when jumping near water (3/4 of mile or less) and should both the passenger and the instructor wear one each ? Some flotation gear can support the weight of both in a tandem jump landing in water, is it a good reason for having only the instructor wear one ? I have my own idea but I really would like interested people to comment. Thanks Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I was about to say it. Everything said is good and in other words, put the rig on, shoes on and bend the knees. The jumper has to be able to bend completely his knees when standing up or flat on his stomach and at full knee flexion only the booties should be tight. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

That rig looks a copy of the Javelin or/and Wings. What I have never liked with those rigs (personal preference) is that the pilot chute top is apparent. I have seen during the summer when the weather is humid many Javelin or other rigs with apparent pilot chute top have their top less compressed and we could see the pilot chute fabric underneath it. For me that means the fashion was first instead of the design. Are you using a 3 ring release on your rig ? Are you using maybe a throw away pilot chute on your rig ? Well those have been designed by the "inventor" of the Vector namely Bill Booth. And now, you have the Skyhook and the magnets on the riser covers on UPT Vector rigs. It's so good that Javelin offers now the Skyhook, same for Aerodyne and many are following. Now your rig costs 2090 Euros. It is very expensive for what seems to be a copy. OTOH you can get an original Vector for 2300$ US Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Well, it depends. Skuba diving is an activity you can do alone (not recommended) and without any supervision. On the other hand skydiving has to be done at restricted places like DZs under the view and supervision of everybody and the DZO. Try to have repeatedly an unsafe behavior on a DZ and you will see what happens. In that sense, skydiving is maybe safer than skuba diving. Also, when you skydive, the danger is quite obvious while in skuba diving the danger is not seen but is permanent. In skydiving after your parachute is open, normally you are safe if you know what your are doing. Actually the potential danger in skydiving is normally lasting for 3 seconds ie. at opening. Skuba diving gives you the impression of relaxation but when being under water, you have more potential physiological problem while the air for a skydiver is a known and friendly environment. Now do you have a idea about how many lifes are lost every year in USA in skuba diving ? Quite a lot. The common things between skuba and skydiving are that both use very special equipment. In both cases you have to know your equipement and the appropriate technique to use it efficiently. Same for flying airplanes. I call them TECHNICAL SPORTS. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I am a private pilot for 23 years (550 hours) including night flying rating and I am a skydiver for 36 years (2100+ jumps) and I am still alive (few scarry things but not too much trouble in both acivities). The idea is to be knowledgeable about your airplane operating specifications and your parachute equipment and have skill and appropriate technique in both. But above all, you have to adopt the right attitude concerning safety. Better to be on the ground wishing to fly or jump than being in the air and have regret not to be on the ground Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I fully agree with FAST. The Vector III or Micron with the Skyhook, the magnet riser covers and the double riser protector flaps really rocks. No rig is more advanced right now on the market. Thanks to the free flyers, I now have an extra magnet on my Vector III and the riser cover fit is perfect. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I packed a reserve today and had the chance to have the owner with me so I could explain him how the Skyhook was working (cut away or just the reserve). Jerry have you read my thread STAIRCASE EXPERIMENT ? Just curious. Well for your computer, I have a cure; get rid of it and buy the one with a Granny Smith fruit as a symbol if you see what I mean just like me. And if you buy the cell phone/computer with touch control from the same company, this will be the perfect harmony or synchronization Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I have jumped mains using side pack a lot and more recently (since 1993) I do pro pack. I changed for pro pack when I got my first zero porosity canopy, a Sabre because PD was recommending a pro pack. But I would say both methods work well. I agree with Riggerob when he says that the pro pack method put less bulk in the middle for reserve and main as well. Now with most rigs having one pin reserve container, it is easier to use the pro pack method. Riggerob seems to have a knowledge about the end of the envelop canopies (canopies at hight loading) while I was speaking about the most common canopies (between 135 and 300 square feet) used with normal loading and speed. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

The hook knife "Jack the Ripper" with its double blade is one of the most efficient and it is made of plastic with metal blades. There is good plastics and cheap ones. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Read and review PIM1 and PIM 2b. You can download them from the CSPA web site. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Hello Jerry, BTW I received your paper seal samples. Thanks. I sent you an email but a non delivery notice came back. Maybe your mail box was full. Anyway I am glad to hear that John LeBlanc and I have the same idea about the 2 methods for packing a reserve ie. no difference. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

A friend of mine had to pop his reserve for repack. Since he has a UPT Vector harness/container V348 equiped with a Skyhook like mine, we decided to perform an experiment to verify if the packed reserve is extracted from its container by the weight and shock of the pilot chute falling when the reserve is activated. We also checked if by doing so, there was any interference on the Collins lanyard. There has been extensive discussions on this forum about this subject especially after a problem has occurred with a Skyhook equiped Tandem Vector in 2008. Here is in attachment the description, the results and facts found concerning this experiment. On the rig used for this experiment, the modifications including the split RSL and the staging loop were not installed. The rationale here is to see when being under a main flying canopy and the reserve is popped accidentally (AAD or else) if the pilot chute fall or drag can cause any problem. I invite everybody interested to make comments. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I have always flat packed my 5 cell Swift reserve (from 1983 to 1993). When I got my first PD reserve in 1993, I flat packed it for a many years and changed for Pro Packing after 2000. The advantage of the flat pack is that it's easier to control tension on the lines and to keep them in the middle of the pack where they are supposed to be since you apply tension from the top of the canopy. The advantage of the pro pack when well done is that it is a symetrical packing and therefore will theoretically give you an on heading opening. Both methods work well. I made cut away and reserve activation with both methods and I really cannot see any difference. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I agree with you provided that after say 20 jumps the tandem master uses a 100 pounds potato bag as passenger. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

That happened to me in the Nationals in late seventies at Winchester Ontario. I too was performing a back loop and I got an instant opening. The judges saw it with their telemeters but I wasn't granted a rejump. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Welcome to the club, Texas girl. I hope your interest for skydiving will be as great as for skuba diving. Both are technical sports. You should know your equipment, your techniques, some physiological aspects and emergency procedures...etc in both cases. I got a skuba diving certificate first in 1962 from France using the Cousteau-Gagnan system (probably one of the first civilian equipment) when very few people were doing that sport. In 1973 I got the certificate from PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) in Canada. But this is when I discovered skydiving and put my choice and money into it only. For a little while, I was doing both and at some and occasions on the same day but always skydiving first then skuba (never the reverse because of air under pressure dissolved into the blood from skuba which could cause problem at altitude (less pressure) doing skydiving). About the pressure to buy a rig now, well it comes generally from yourself when seeing people who started with you buying their own equipment. Actually, the Drop Zones which have rigs for rent are not pushing you too much for doing so since they make money form that. There is however a difference between skuba and skydiving: the skydiving equipment which comprises reserve and container/harness can be quite different from another equipment because of the performances of the main parachute. Skuba equipments are expensive but they are all giving the same basic performances which is not the case for main parachutes. To illustrate that, parachutes range in surface from 360+ square feet to 87 square feet or less which results in speed of 10-15 mph to speed up to 65 mph. For sure you don't have such difference in skuba equipment performances. I guess the beginning of your statement #2 concerns skuba diving. If I am right then skydiving is really the place for a continuous education concerning (licenses, coaches rating, instructors rating, organizers, competitors, competition judge rating, rigger rating...). Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Human body has some limit. Would you like to have a surgery when the surgeon is doing his second shift on the row. 24 hours is 3 shifts on the row. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Have a look (maybe you did already) at the UPT Vector site. They now have 3 type of fittings for their container: loose, standard and tight. They have also some container size number for a particular main but with a bigger reserve. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I have seen actually both. In the airplane (inside and at the climb out) and in freefall. But physically, it is more likely to happen at the climb out since there is the type of contacts which could lead to premature deployment. 6 Cases I have seen or heard of: 1) On a Cessna when your your reserve pin cover flap gets in contact with the door when being on the step. 2) On a Twin Otter that can happen with group exit with hackey (BOC) too much out or somebody grabbing the reserve handle by mistake 3) In free fall by somebody else grabbing the hackey (BOC) by mistake in a Side body point. 4) Doing style when doing a back flip and the right hand "brushes" the hackey (BOC) 5) in the Twin Otter when the main closing loop is to slack and the jumper is moving. 6) jumper exiting too high on a King Air and hitting the tail Note: As we can see it depends on the type of airplane and the type of jump as well. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

When you see that truckers are limited to a continuous 10-12 hours of work, that the pilots going overseas are not coming back and flying the same day. When airplanes go flying from Seattle to Singapour have 2 pilots crews for such a flight why we shouldn't apply the same kind of restriction when the fatigue and passengers safety is involved ??????? Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

When I was publishing posts during the AAD's debate I mentioned on this forum that I have contacted ammunition specialists associated with firing ranges. They told me that a lot of people were still firing WWII ammunitions succesfully (60 years ago). That put your fifteen years in the subjective type of statements. On the other hand I still have my TEXAS INSTRUMENTS electronic calculator (with red display diodes) still working. I bought that calculator at Boston in 1975 which was 34 years ago. This is not what I think, this is the reality. Who said that the manufacturer's check had to be compulsory. Anybody equiped with any kind AAD can when in doubt send back his device to the manufacturer for check up and maintenance just like any skydiver does it for his own rig and see his rigger. For sure some manufacturer found a good way to get more money. Imagine container/harness manufacturers asking for a compulsory and expensive maintenance by themselves every 4 years. That being said, a rig is a must to save your life while an AAD is just a back up device. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I doubt the problem comes from the center line elongation since it is likely made from Spectra which shrinks due the heat caused by friction. Could it be caused by the POD ? Twisting of the PC bridle is due to uneven shape of the POD or PC or both or an uneven flight. If for any reason the POD is not symetrical after deployment, that can be the problem. Do you do a lot of spirals after opening ? Yet another cause. Otherwise have a rigger inspecting the whole assembly. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.