AndyMan

I think landing on risers is an excellent skill to have, one that I've done both for fun and necessity. I was happy that the first time I had to do it, I knew what to expect. As to whether it's appropriate for that individual is a choice that she should make for herself. Ultimately doing a manuever like this takes confidence in the pilots landing skill, something she likely built up in the canopy course. I do think every jumper with more than 100 jumps should know it's a viable option. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Thanks for your opninion. I value it tremendously. __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

?!? I'm a rigger. Replacing a kill line is an easy way for an experienced hand to extend the life of your pilot chute. I suppose there are easier pilot chutes, and there are harder ones, but I almost always prefer fixing something than just selling a new one. The fact that I don't own a gear store may have something to do with my bias. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm a big fan of Brian's courses - I encourage everyone I meet to take his courses, no matter how many jumps you've got. He's a great teacher. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I jumped my last pilot chute until it was literally frayed to pieces. I had thought of replacing it, but I didn't because it always worked. I got to the point where I said : I could replace this raged old pilot chute that works perfectly well, but why? If your pilot chute works, and doesn't show signs of eminent failure, replacing it seems like a waste of money. If the ball is getting sucked up through the apex on most jumps, that means the kill-line has shrunk due to friction. Your rigger can easily replace this kill line - and having him do so is a lot cheaper than buying a new one. Those things are expensive! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm a rigger and I jump two different airlocked canopies - a Samurai and an older Jedei. If I were to have an upached hole anywhere on the system, the airlock is the perfect place for it to be. It's the least critical place for a small hole, anywhere. I don't see a significant amount of depresurization happening through a small hole in an airlock. If you're willing to wait until winter, then great. Keep an eye on the problem and keep jumping it unless the problem grows. I'd be curious to see what happens if you did absolutely nothing. The airlock takes most of its wear during opening, and not during flight. I think the worst case scenario is simply what you've already got - a torn airlock. A torn airlock is kind of like no airlock. Most people jump with no airlock. This is assuming the tear is in the airlock itself and not the bottom skin. If this is true, the tear isn't going to spread onto the top or bottom skin. Also, since the tear is in the center-cell, there's no issues relating to symmetry during opening. If the tear is in top or bottom skin, get it fixed right away. If you had a brand new Samurai that you loved like your first child, then get it fixed. It sounds like you've got some manageable wear on an older canopy, so maybe you can live with it. Also, I agree with the previous poster who suggested adding an extention flap to the airlock. It does sound like something is mis-cut and pulled too tightly during opening. Trust the advice you get from Brian. If he says it's safe to wait until the winter, wait until the winter. He'll be happy to have a winter project. _Am (and yes, this is the first time I've ever suggested NOT fixing a problem. I'm glad you're having it looked at by a few different people. Consider all advice) __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't have any problem putting sharpie marker on mains or reserves. I've seen reserves that fail pull tests where the 10 year old sharpie marks are still quite strong. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Most modern student progressions teach basic freeflying skills around jump number 15 or so. As an instructor, it's entertaining because the student almost always flails uncontrollably as they try to master the new positions. However, the few times I've been surprised at the successes are some of my favorite jumps. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If I'm flying something that resembles a normal pattern, I can fly any parachute and land it accurately. In the last month I've jumped a very highly loaded Samurai, a moderately loaded Triathlon, a very lightly loaded Navigator, and a Strong tandem. If I fly a proper pattern, I can put them anywhere I want. If I try to swoop it, then it becomes laughable. I have a lot of trouble swooping my triathlon - even toggle whipping, I just can't get it to burn altitude like I like, so I land long. I landed even longer when I tried to swoop the Navigator. Obviously I haven't tried swooping the Strong tandem. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You don't have to like it, but - at this point in your skydiving career, if you don't believe it, you're not being honest with yourself. The obvious examples are collisions, so I don't know why you're intentionally ignoring these. Don't forget there's also a pretty extensive list of people who've died after malfunctions, even when they did everything right. We teach people a simple set of emergency procedures for two reasons. 1) They're the best we've got. 2) They work most of the time. But, "most of the time" is not "every time". Sometimes they don't work. Sometimes you perform exactly as trained, do the best you can, and it just gets worse. I used to know some people who thought this. They are dead. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Interesting, I hadn't seen your previous thread when you first posted it. I've had this type of "damage" to my risers for some time. I had diagnosed the problem as glue spreading out from where a rigger had installed excess line keepers. I had consulted with other riggers and the agreement was the previous rigger used a non-standard type of hot-glue. Now I think that it's more likely a melting of the risers from hot slider grommets. Interesting. The "damage" to my risers also appear to be very superficial, as I've put a few hundred jumps on the system without any concern since I first noticed it. At this point, I've not seen anything to indicate a structural weakness in my own risers, however - I am concerned. In my case, the canopy is a highly loaded Samurai manufactured by PD, with HMA lines and stainless grommets. The risers are Aerodyne. I'm curious - to the other people having this problem, who manufactured the risers? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think it's clear the jumper had no excuse for being a dumbass. What I'm trying to figure out, is why the same shouldn't be said of the pilot. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

No. It's not the packjob. You should not be feeling backpain on opening, even if it's a hard opening. Get to a doctor and get checked out before your next jump. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't know what the different dropzones would say, but I can tell you personally that as an Instructor, I would not take your dad in his current state of health, simply because of the recent major surgery. All of that changes once he's had sufficient time to recover from the surgery. I would either want to hear from his doctor, or I'd consult with one myself - but right now I don't see why a kidney problem alone should stop a skydive as long as he's fit and strong. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If you're willing to go tandem, you could go nude on your next jump at most dropzones in the US. If you're wanting to jump on your own, you will have to finish through your student progression and get your 'a' license before anyone will allow you. There's a lot to think about on most student skydives, and I don't think many dz's will let you go naked while you're still a student. Once you get your 'a' license, you can jump nude pretty much anywhere. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Oh, I understand! Here's the thing. To me, especially on a wingsuit dive, the most common malfunction is a spinning one. In this case, getting to the cutaway handle is just as important as getting to the reserve handle (arguably more important...), and often more difficult because of the g's from the spinning malfunction. Yet the industry standard for this case is a soft cutaway pillow, and I assume that you use one too, and are relatively happy with it since you haven't told us you switched it to a metal or fabric loop one. If it's so important to have a metal reserve ripcord handle, why isn't the same true for cutaway pillows? If you believe so strongly in the importance of a metal ripcord handle, why don't you think the same thing for your cutaway handle? I think that we're most comfortable with the stuff that we've been jumping for a long time. This is especially true for jumpers that have a lot of jumps. We like the gear we're comfortable with, because we're comfortable with it. To me, this isn't a good reason to recommend gear to students. There's a lot of gear that I'm comfortable with that isn't appropriate for new jumpers. (like my highly loaded eliptical) To get back to my previous point: If these things were dangerous, we'd see evidence of that in the incidents forum. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't think you're wrong, and I do think your opinion is valid.... But I am curious. If the metal ring is so much better, why are you sticking with a soft cutaway pillow? It sounds like you think there's an awfully big downside to having one. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Again.... I've not seen any evidence that handle shape helps with pull order recall. I don't think we should be pressuring students to pick one piece of gear or another without actual evidence. I don't know of any DZ's that use soft handles on their student gear, so it's hard to compare real data. However, recent jumpers buying new gear is a reasonable approximation of student jumps - especially since most students don't have a real emergency during their student progression. Most jumpers experience their first real malfunction on their own gear in their later phases of learning. So... If new jumpers are buying soft handles, (it sounds like they are), and soft handles are a safety issue, then we'd see a statistical increase in accidents caused by that new component. Soft handles have been popular for some time now, and we haven't seen that statistical increase. New jumpers everywhere are using these things, and they're not having a problem. That's hard evidence that these things are safe for new jumpers. It also suggests that they are safe for students, since there's little difference between students and new jumpers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I am not concerned. Pulling a soft reserve handle is no more difficult than pulling a soft cutaway handle. In fact, in many situations, it's quite a bit easier than pulling a soft cutaway handle. Hard pulls on the reserve are less common than hard cutaways. Soft reserve handles work just fine. Ultimately, I would prefer that new jumpers use the same equipment that they're being trained on. All things being equal, this puts the onus on the schools to use student gear that resembles sport gear. In a perfect world, schools would switch to soft handles, simply because they seem to be popular right now, and work just fine. I have not seen any evidence to indicated different shaped handles help with pull order recall. Our obsession with the reserve handle being a hard handle seems mostly historic. They're that way because they've always been that way, going all the way back to before we were using piggyback containers. As progressive jumpers switch to soft handles, there does not appear to be a safety decrease. There's a lot of reasons why we should be concerned for newbies. This list sometimes includes downsizing too fast, poor instruction, poor quality of student gear, and ultimately ego inflation. Soft reserve handles work just fine and are not one of the things I worry about. _Am (AFF, TM, Senior Rigger) __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Like others have said, you can wipe it down with cold clean water. You can also use a small amount of mild soap like woolite. Plain water is easier though, you don't have to worry about cleaning all the soap off afterward. If you're trying to clean desert dust, don't forget about wiping down inside the canopy too. It's not enough to do the top and bottom, you also want to get inside the canopy. That's easiest when you're hanging the canopy up from the tail. Most DZ's have an apparatus to hang a canopy, but you can also do this at home if you've got a long and high curtain rod. When you're cleaning it, try to avoid any tapes getting wet. Water doesn't affect ZP fabric, but it can cause the tapes to shrink. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I just don't see any room for interpretation here. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2014206;search_string=tandem%20fatality%20hawaii;#2014206 Both should wear floatation gear. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I was surprised to read this. I would think replacing a safety-stow is no different than replacing a closing loop. Especially no different than replacing a Racer loop. I'm certainly not smart enough to argue with Sandy Reid but I am curious: Is his interpretation widely adopted? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

In addition to the metal guide ring, be sure to take a close look at the fabric loop that holds the ring in place. I've seen rigs where small burrs (caused by jumpers melting excess thread with a cigarette lighter) wears against the lines. I have not seen anything resembling premature wear on either my heavily used Icon or other Aerodyne canopies. I doubt this is a systematic problem - more likely a problem that's local to your rig. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

While having less pack volume, the Optimums are also - More expensive - Have a higher weight rating If you don't mind the price premium of the Optimum, then jumping a larger reserve is better than jumping a smaller one. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It really comes down to what you mean as "nicest". By far, CSC's aircraft are the cleanest, and and most well maintained aircraft in American Skydiving. This is fairly easy for them as their aircraft are also the newest airplanes in skydiving. Their PAC is less than a week old, and even their Otter is basically two years old, after having a complete rebuild. Every inch of wire is brand new. Every instrument is brand new. Their engines are low time, and are regularly overhauled. The interior is immaculate. I've watched them do maintenance on the otter, and it's amazing to see what it looks like once they remove the access panels - everything is so very clean. Under the hood, it still looks like a new car. CSC gets a lot of props for their aircraft maintenance. However, CSC's "fleet" is only two aircraft, I don't know if that makes it a fleet or not. Certainly not compared to Paul Fayards or Larry Hills. If you think a "nice" fleet is a large one with a variety of aircraft, then it's tough to beat Larry Hill. I hope CSC eventually grows its fleet and keeps their standards high. They have the opportunity to set a new standard for the skydiving industry. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.