firemedic

In the video she looks pretty damn close. If I'm understanding you correctly she was spiraling down over you and you lost sight of her because your canopy was blocking your view. That would scare the hell out of me. If I'm understanding correctly you were considering chopping your main to avoid what you perceived as soon to be an imminent collision. I assume you wanted to release your RSL so you could get some distance between her and you before deploying your reserve. Sounds like a reasonable consideration to me. If I saw a canopy spiraling toward me and thought I was about to be clocked, circumstances being the same as yours, I'd consider chopping as an option. There are a lot of what ifs being offered by others here and they are valid. Here are some what ifs I think are just as valid. What if you had not seen her or you balked and she did crash into you. What if your canopies wrapped up. What if you both were injured badly enough or unconscious so as not to be able to cutaway. Just some food for thought and I'm very glad everything turned out ok for both of you.

+1 I do, however, have an AAD

Current I&R Pricing $60 If you watch: $65 If you help: $100 I have one additional category $60 If you watch $65 If you ask questions: $80 If you help: $100

My issue is undetected entrance. Hard to miss a smashed door frame or a busted window. But how do you tell that your house was unlocked, entered, and then relocked if you had a key floating around out there. If you had an alarm or video monitoring you would know. The missing/busted up Knox Box and the Damage to the wall where it was secured would probably be a pretty good indication.

I have a little bit of a unique story that might be interesting to some so here goes. My first tandem after the certification course. My student is in his early 30s and of average weight/height. I gear him up and take him to the mock up and train. I ask him if he has any questions. You bet ya. What if the chute doesn't open. Ok, I tell him about the reserve and what I want him to do if we need to cutaway. He acted like, ok no big deal. Well, as fate would have it we had great jump but had a tension knot that made the canopy not controllable, landable, etc. I start telling the guy we're going to have to cutaway so...... right there in mid sentence the guy puts his legs back and crosses his arms and grabs his harness just like he's ready for exit and says "ok." I take care of business and we land. This guy was so stoked he wanted to do it again. Another cutaway that is. 2 weeks later he started AFF. I must say it was nice to have had someone who was this heads up.

I have to agree with Sparky on this one.

A rigger showed me that method on those risers (not the same risers that came with the rig). After several hundred jumps doing it this way I still haven't had any issues, and its way easier (elastic on the back is much tighter). And for looking more during tracking; Yes I probably should be turning my head a bit more, but remember you can only see what the camera sees not what my eyeballs see. So yes. I will make an effort to do a better job looking around in the future. My openings are pretty much Identical including the end cell closures.

Probably the guy who wants to create and direct a new bureaucracy. Something like the...... "Department of Mileage Fees that will pay for my pointless job "

And if you had been around in the early 80's you would know that the Vector looks just like a Centaurus; the first 1-pin modern design rig. Hmmmmmm JerryBaumchen PS) To you old Pitlet jumpers; yes, I know that Hank had his before Troy did. Did you mean Piglet? Or am I really just showing my age.

I was using one also and an FAA guy showed up at my DZ one day doing a ramp check. He looked at the PDC on a rig and said that the signature has to be written. I bet that if you were to ask 10 FAA guys about that you would get 10 different answers.

Thanks to all for the input.

Some info is listed in Poynter's Manual Volume 2 page 171. Go to google and search Parachutes De France Surfair Click on the link titled "The parachute Manual: a treatise on aerodynamic decelerators.

True, don't you know a MAC is better. ETA: Personally, I think the chick got what she got because she was interfering. On the same token I think the cop could have done better with a can of pepper spray or a taser.

I don't know.. I am just one of those funny Americans that think justice is supposed to be handed out by the courts as put forth in that 200+ year old document that so many keep blithering over incessantly... not thugs in blue. Rule of law needs to apply to all!!! I have to agree with this one. I've watched both videos several times and from what I saw they were in a grappling match until the cop slapped the woman in the face and set her off. Then the cop punches her with a cuff in his hand. Looks to me like the cop escalated the situation when it was his duty to diffuse it.

Installing silicone bumpers eliminates that problem and when I get a reserve to repack and it has metal links, I always install bumpers if it doesn't have them. I appreciate the input. Not wanting to make a big issue out of this. Just curious if their ever was a written standard that said to install them that way. Thanks

What everyone has said so far makes sense. I always install silicone bumpers when I assemble a reserve with metal links so that will protect the grommets when the slider comes down. A link failing and coming open is always a possibility if the barrel is overtightened and cracks. I've been asked by skydivers why the barrels are supposed to be inboard and I just tell them I honestly don't know why other than some manufacturers say to do it that way. I hate not having a definitive answer, if there is one, for someone who wants to know. Does anyone know if there is written rigging data that would explain the reasoning behind it.

Does anyone know why reserves assembled with French Mallion Links should have the the Barrels of the link facing inboard when mounted on the risers? Some manuals for pilot rigs say to do this but don't say why. I can't find anything in the Poynter's manual either.

Thanks, I've never heard of this as an option. I'll bring it up next visit.

Right, we don't know exactly what the FAA would try to do. Until the FAA comes out and actually says that manufacturer's SB's are as good as an FAA-issued AD, I will continue to believe that skydiving SB's are the same as a Cessna-issued SB (non-mandatory). Derek V I agree with the line of thought here. I suppose we will never know. At least until someone goes in and happens to have a "banned" AAD in their rig. I suppose then we'll see who gets blamed.

I've got one of those sitting in the next room. I wish I'd never sold mine.

You young jumpers out there (and I'm not talking about age)...take charge of your learning! Ask questions, read, initiate conversations with people! It's a grand idea to do that before you act. This is a great piece of advice that needs to be repeated to the newbies constantly. Hopefully they will heed this but sometimes in their enthusiasm they don't. Case in point. There's a newbie at my DZ that just wouldn't listen to us. One weekend he showed up with some equipment he bought and wanted me to inspect it for him. It was a Wonderhog with a 26' LoPo reserve. My first inclination was to laugh. But I bit my tongue and explained the problems with this very outdated technology and issues of airworthiness. He got taken by his own ignorance, enthusiasm, and worst of all, not listening to his instructors.

I am not in favor in any restrictions other than the 2 stated in the original post. Mental Illness and violent criminals. I believed that private citizens should be able to freely possess any man carried firearm including fully automatic weapons.

If I'm understanding you correctly, it would mean that the approval is set in stone at the time of manufacture until such time the FAA officially revokes it by issuing an AD. I think that's reading into the regulation. The regulation is merely stating the fact that those who use an AAD should ensure it is approved by the manufacturer or FAA. There is nothing stated or inferred about time of purchase or reference to a contract/requirement. The reg also states approval is by the manufacturer OR the FAA. It leaves the door open to one, the other, or both to grant , deny, or rescind approval.

I've been told that SS being harder and smoother than brass will allow the slider to move down the lines more easily than brass. I can't say that is fact, it's just what I was told by a master rigger.

Read this excerpt from FAA Document AC 105-2C. I think this issue is covered here. The FAA is saying that an AAD installation must be approved by the manufacturer. I believe this specifically addressed the installation configuration such as pouch location, cutter location, control unit location, etc. However, the area here is sufficiently gray, to me at least, that it may include the device itself. Paragraph 4. e. (2) (2) –Automatic Activation Devices. A jumper may have a tendency to feel more at ease if equipped with an automatic activation device (AAD). However, experience shows that such devices may not be completely reliable and Should be used only as a backup to proper training and procedures. Skydivers who use an AAD on their reserve/auxiliary parachute should ensure that the installation of such a device has been approved by the parachute manufacturer or the FAA (see paragraph 8). The FAA does not approve AAD's. They do approve the installation which is submitted with the manufacturer's TSO paperwork. The manufacturer's instructions for installation should be followed. The installation of an AAD to a TSO or military specification (MILSPEC)- approved parachute constitutes a major alteration to that parachute. A jumper who uses any type of AAD should be aware of its level of reliability and become fully proficient with the device. A prejump check should be made for proper setting, arming, and operational reliability to ensure proper functioning of the AAD. When the situation requires use of the reserve parachute, the jumper should always manually pull the reserve/auxiliary ripcord even when using an AAD.