erdnarob

I made my preference for the Vigil quite obvious and I gave enough details to explain why. OTOH, I am a rigger since 1977, a DZ safety officer, a member of a technical and safety committee, a pilot, a coach and an instructor. As you can see I am quite involved in the sport and concerned about all of its technical facets. In my life I make sure that my words match my actions, we can call that honesty. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Thanks Pchapman for the added details. In technology there are many standards for harware like: the safe working load, the minimum breaking strenght...etc Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

If you read Paragear catalog, you will see them all: types, size, steel or stainless steel etc and their strenght (safe working load) in lbs. French rapide link #5 in steel = 620 lbs (safe working load) French rapide link #4 in steel = 400 lbs (safe working load) French rapide link #4 in stainless steel = 615 lbs (safe working load) French rapide link #5 in stainless steel = 990 lbs (safe working load) #8 ring (harness ring for 3 mini ring release) = 2500 lbs #10 ring (harness ring for 3 ring release) = 5000 lbs medium ring (#2) (riser biggest ring) = 600 lbs most adapters for leg strap = 2500 lbs chest strap adapter (stainless steel) = 500 lbs main riser soft link = made from 1000 lbs spectra lines but are double = 2000 lbs Everything above are part of harware generally found on standard rig. Is that answer your question? Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Is there anybody who heard about a Cypres (tandem) firing in the airplane recently or in the past months. If yes, what happened and where that happened? We have Cypres in some of our tandem rigs at our DZ and we are concerned. Thanks. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

As Performance Designs said, there is actually neither semi elliptical nor elliptical canopies. If you look closely at them on the ground, they are tapered. Semi tapered or fully tapered. Sabre 2 is slightly tapered on the leading edge Nitron is moderately tapered on the leading edge and on the tail. Katana is highly tapered on the leading edge and on the tail. The taper involves generally the 2 last cells on each side while the middle cells are relatively straight. I would say that if you are proficient in canopy piloting on rectangular canopies you could go on a slightly fully tapered canopy like the Nitron at about 100 jumps and if you are good at it go on a Katana (highly and fully elliptical) when having 200-300 jumps (always get a good briefing). I am not speaking here about kleenex size canopies but about 150, 170, 190 canopies using the one which will meet your loading factor. Elliptical or tapered is not the only factor to be considered. For instance, the Nitron 135 has a quite shallow trim angle of, according the way I calculate it, is 13.75 degrees. The Katana 170 has probably the deepest trim angle with 18 degrees (that why the Katana is a diver when you turn in order to give you a lot of speed for landing). BYW if you land straight with a Katana it behaves like a Sabre 2 The Sabre 2-170 has 15.34 degrees. I hope I answered your question. Waiting to be beaten again by the moderator Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

It seems that UPT Vector is victim of its own success. A lot of people want now the Skyhook and why not add the riser cover with magnets. That's why I always sell my rig and order a new one in the Fall. That way, UPT Vector has the whole winter to make itt ready for the next Spring. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I got my Vector III M series in March this year and the reseve packing card is where I mentioned it, on the inside of the padding of the main lift web (left side). My former Vector III M series (2003) had it the same location. I am surprised the Micron has it on this very new location. I will go to sleep tonight less ignorant. Thanks. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Isn't that the main packing endorsement including disconnecting and reconnecting risers part of the A license requirments ? To make sure your are OK with the 3 rings, go on the UPT Vector website. There have pictures showing how to do it. I suggest you as soon as you have landed to: 1) uncollapse you slider 2) do your brakes 3) gather the canopy starting from the lines at the 4 risers and make big stows until your reach the attachment point of the lines. If it is the last jump of the weekend and want to pack at home after an inspection, then this time, do the 3) with daisy chain and lock the last link of the daisy chain with the slider. If somebody is to pack your canopy, he/she will be very happy to have the items 1), 2) and 3) done without daisy chain. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Hi Andyturner, did I answer your PS? Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I just hope you don't put your jump tickets in that pocket. THe VECTOR III has its document pocket (reserve packing card) on the inside of the main lift web in the padding just below the shoulder and the pocket is sewn on the top of the opening therefore you have to put back the document holder in a reverse way which makes the loss of them virtually impossible while having a relatively easy access. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

As you are in full progession I wouldn't not recommend you a full face helmet. That will limit the communication (visual and aural) with your coach or freefall partner. Moreover, if you have a malfunction a full face helmet will not help you to locate your cutaway and rerserve handles. I was coaching a girl (with about 40+ jumps) 2 weekends ago when she grabbed a full face helmet fo her jumps with me. I asked her to get a more conventional helmet for the reasons I mentioned. Same remark for the coach. PFF instructors for better communication purpose don't use generally a full face helmet. You have to resist to the trend : FASHION VERSUS FUNCTION Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Start with a Sabre 2-170 . Sabre-2 turns more flat than the Sabre 1, and has a powerful flare. And you will enjoy it for several hundred jumps. But get briefed for landings. The Sabre 2 is slightly semi elliptical. Better to start with it than a fully elliptical which is more touchy on toggles. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

You mean the FXC 12000? Just to give an more precise info for the readers because I am sure you know it, there is no cutter on the FXC 12000 since the device pulls the pin. . If this is the one you mean, I have tested it several times. HOW? You just put the square box sensor (generally attached to the main web and turned on JUMP) in your 2 hands, then you apply your mouth on your partially open hands and blow air powerfully. That tells the device the pressure increases fast simulating a descent speed and since you are on the ground then lower than the firing minimum altitude, the FXC 12000 fires. Don't do that too often if the device is not pulling the closing pin otherwise you can probably damage the spring of this AAD since there is no resistance. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

I was waiting for that question. First, did you notice that Argus has a 12 years life expectancy like the Cypres, that Argus has a 4 and 8 years maintenance just like the Cypres, Argus has 4 modes in the same unit while Cypres II has the possibillity to have those 4 modes separately, Airtec never bashes about Argus, in Reno Symposium in February 2007, Argus had its booth in front of Cypres while Vigil was at the opposite side of the hall from them, Argus has its cutter made by Nobel Energetics from Scotland and my little finger tells me Nobel is also the cutter provider for Cypres (BTW, Nobel refused to make cutters for Vigil) I wonder why ???????????????. For sure there are differences between the 2 units like using batteries from a store and changing them yourself, the display is different and also the appearance... But you have probably guessed it now, Argus is financially linked with Airtec the maker of the Cypres. It looks like Argus is the testing bench for Airtec since Airtec would like to include the 4 modes available on the same unit but because of their "philosophy" they are not about to admit they were wrong not doing it. Therefore they use Argus to do it for them. How do I know that and many details about Cypres and Vigil? Well I have an "intelligence service" which gives me the news concerning a lot of thing related with parachute industry. First, if you want to know something about the Vigil you just ask them and you will be surprised how open they are. If you want details about the Cypres, don't count on Airtec or SSk for it. Just get open a Cypres (not easy) and with an electronics engineer find out and test few componants. I also get info from some French officials who are working on the technical side of the parachute industry. And best of all, nothing can stop the technically curious person I am. Each time I have the chance, I visit parachute manufacturers and ask for special tour of their shop and ask a lot of questions. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

FXC 12000 mechanical AAD are reliable provided they are recalibrated by the manufacturery every 2 years. There is still many DZ which use it mainly for student rigs. Mechanical AAD have many advantages with respect to the electronical ones. No problem with: static electricity, EMR interference, batteries, cutter, broken cable... However there are not as accurate but they have saved many lives. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

You said it all. Airtec didn't say anything about the faulty sensors for 15 or 18 months. They have been told about the problem by the sensor manufacturer and did nothing for 18 months. The 4000 faulty sensors have been installed during those 18 months not 6 months. OTOH, if the sensors have an itermitent problem, they can easily pass the quality control. But when you are told by the manufacturer the sensors are not good, there is no excuse. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Having a load ratio of 1.2 when jumping a 210 means your exit weight is 252 lbs. I don't think so with that weight you should go for accuracy since in accuracy, soon or later, you will reach for the target at safe landing expenses. I would rather recommand you to use a 9 cells zero porosity canopy for powerful flares and soft landings (provided you are well briefed). A 9 cells ZP canopy will provide you with flare you cannot get with a 7 cells. OTOH, speed is an important factor for a powerful flare and that's why I would suggest you a Sabre 2-190. Nothing matches the flare of the Sabre 2. Why I tell you that, well, I am heavier than you and jumped for about 400 jumps a Sabre 2-170 with more flaring power than the Sabre 210 I had before. Now I am on a Katana 170 and I would say the flare is about the same than the Sabre 2-170. The Sabre 2 is really a canopy you will enjoy after mastering it (20-50 jumps) and you can easily keep it for 400 jumps. The resale value is very good. Nitron 190 is also an excellent choice. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

It seems that Airtec has 4000 Cypres units with defective pressure sensor in the field. They apparently knew the problem 15 months ago according the memo from their Swiss pressure sensor manufacturer. That's why I don't understand with they recalled only 800 units very recently. If you take the serial numbers of the recalled units you easily can calculate that the difference is about 4000. I have been a quality control technician for Bombardier (Lear jet, Skyvan, Twin Otter, Challenger...)and I do know that when a batch has faulty devices, you have to scrap them all or recall them for an individual check at high cost. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Why do you want absolutely a 7 cells while 9 cells are known to have (and they do) a more powerful flare. The Furry is a 9 cells isn't it? You could go 2 size lower with a zero porosity 9 cells and still have the same support and even more. About the pack volume, a Sabre 2-190 should fit nicely in your container (in replacement of the Furry 220) and you will be amazed to see how soft you can land with respect to your Furry 220. A friend of mine, a quite heavy guy thought the ideal canopy for him would be a Spectre 230 (Spectre is a 7 cells and a zero porosity canopy). He got one. Later he sold it to get a Nitron 190 and it has been a revelation for him. From the Nitron 190, he get better landings. Two friends of mine complained about the Spectre. Way to slow to open (600-800 feet) and sometimes starting rocking at the opening. I want just to add what I know about things related to your question. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

That wasn't the case for a friend of mine who sent his Cypres 1 for the 8 years maintenance to SSK. No details on the invoice and a bill of almost 400$ including shipping, custom broker fees, handling fees , taxes ...He also found out that they had put a new cutter for no reason since the old one was perfect without mentioning it on the invoice ( I couldn't believe it). But understand that the new cutter will be good for nothing in another 4 years. Airtec doesn't want anybody to open their AAD even to change the batteries since this is their secret. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Sorry I just forgot. I am on a technical and safety committee and yes, Cypres cables break and the best of all, they have generally to be returned to Germany at least until recently. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

You send your Vigil back for a check whenever you want like you decide when to do your car oil change or when to have the snow tires installed. Being a skydiver is being responsible for your own equipment, it's a question of survival. OTOH, I have discussed the reliability of the self-test with systems analysis engineers and they told me that a device like an AAD having a failure when the self test has been successful is not likely to happen provided the software is well designed. For sure Vigil is newer than Cypres but that means nothing. I have a Vector III with a Skyhook and riser cover with magnets and this is new but well tested and so far no manufacturer tops that rig. Strong cable are important when we know that a rig at opening shock is subject to forces going up to 2000 lbs (snatch force). Nothing is rigid in a rig, and the inside of the reserve has its share of stress like all parts of the rig. As a rigger I have sometimes to give a strong massage to the reserve container in order to better distribute the reserve canopy volume, another form of stress for the cables. Cypres is not protected from faulty pressure sensors and that was the case for the recent recall of 800 Cypres units. When I say the Vigil is faster than the Cypres because of its use of Pulse Plus device which stays charged and fire within 2 milliseconds when conditions of firing are met, we don't have to forget that time means loss of altitude at the rate of 174 feet a second. That can make the difference between being alive or dead just like the Skyhook deploys a reserve on 75 feet instead of 150+ feet for a pilot chute deployed reserve. There are 28 saves for the Vigil (seen on their Web site) with about 9000 units in services. Cypres has more saves but has also more units in service. You can download the last 16 minutes of the Vigil (provided you have the software and the interface). I believe for a DZ it's a very important feature when something questionable happens in the air. The download provides you with all the data of the jumps and better yet you can like a Protrack get graphs for altitude -time and speed-time of your jumps. In some case this feature could possibly become a way to defend yourself in case of a lawsuit as a DZO. Now for a DZ with rental, student and tandem rigs, isn't nice to manage when the rigs are Vigil equiped and you can withing few minutes remove a Vigil from a student rig and put it in a tandem rig by just changing the mode. The DZ using Vigil love it for that feature. I personnally sold my Vigil I which has now another life in a student rig. I have now a Vigil II used in the PRO mode but recently I lent it for a couple of weeks to a friend of mine who is still on student status and have a medical problem. I figured out he needed the Vigil II more than me. As soon as my friend got his Vigil II (one more week), I will get mine back and thanks to the three modes. For sure Vigil and Cypres are both good devices but Vigil i and II are more user friendly and are one generation ahead with respect to the Cypres. The Vigil II has a batteries set lasting for 2000 jumps and 7+ years, not 4 years. Cypres has a culture of secrecy. Look at their 4 or 8 years servive invoice and you will find no details about what they have checked, they will even not tell you that they have changed the cutter when the old one was still OK. Advanced Aerospace Designs the maker of the Vigil is way more open about their device. You ask them. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

Not all the French but some having key positions and who are under the influence $$$$$ of Airtec Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

A D bag without rubber bands and equiped with line stowing pocket (just like a reserve free bag) has been made by GQ Security parachute manufacturer (if my memory is good) for the main canopy called the UNIT. That was in the early eighties. Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.