riggerrob

Yes, a junior jumper might be able to wash his own rig??? But if he is smart, he will do the work under the supervision of a rigger.

Options vary. Millions of military packers were taught "if it ain't perfect, you're gonna die!" OTOH, Manley Butler told me "Nothing matters above the diaper." Most packers are somewhere in the middle, trying to flake fabric outboard of seams (to prevent burns) while keeping the skirt even to prevent inversions.

Why are you Americans so worried about Arab refugees raping your women? That "rape culture" originated as a form of birth control in arid, dirt-poor countries. Unfortunately, the "don't fool around with girls" message got perverted to "girls are evil." The underlying problem is that men cannot control their sexual urges. Even worse than that is the perversion of the Koranic message that "love between men is for forbidden" got perverted to read "sex between men is okay. However, Afghan man-love has been perverted to be far more about domination and reinforcing the power structure than releasing sexual tension. If you allow Afghan refugees into your country, you should worry about your sons when Pashtuns import haram practices like "man love Thursday" and "tea boys." Many of these traditional cultures (e. g. Pashtunwalli) pre-date Islam by thousands or years and are forbidden by the Koran. For an insight into Pashtunwali, watch the film "Hyena Road" currently in cinemas. Maybe the first step is reminding refugees that American laws are based the same Ten Commandments thatGod handed down to Moses. The Prophet Moses passed those 10 Commandments onto the the children of Israel. The Jewish-born prophet Jesus reminded the faithful about the 10 Commandments. The Prophet Mohammed reminded the faithful about the 10 Commandments, etc. down the 600 year cycle of the prophets: Sadly, we are at a low point (the bottom of a wave) in the 600 year cycle of the prophets. Wow! Did I just write something all theological??

Warning! Thread drift Because in America, gun violence and mental illness are directly related and many military veterans suffer from mental illness (e.g. Prolonged traumatic stress disorder).

Judging from the OP video, buddy missed all 3 open field within striking distance. An earlier turn into the wind would have put him in the open field past the trees and wires.

Ask DJ Associates. It looks like regular carbon steel with a durable matte black coating. The black coating is more durable than the cadmium-plating on MIL SPEC hardware.

..... we had to draw rations from Etheopians.

When I was a young soldier, my regiment was so poor that we slept in snowdrifts.

.................................................................................... Think farther back than that. In 1980, my buddy J.P. Forrest jumped onto the North Pole with a group of Canadian Army Field Engineers to bulldoze an airstrip on the polar pack ice. The field engineers were supporting Canadian scientists mapping an ocean floor ridge. They hoped that their survey would support Canada's claims to the high arctic. I doubt if J.P. was the first person to parachute onto the North Pole. Most Canadian flights to the North Pole refuel at Canadian Forces Station Alert, at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island. You will need permission from Ottawa to land on the military airstrip. Hint: pre-ship your own fuel.

You nit-pickerswill be happy to know that I found a typographical error on page 2-15. Page 2-15 talks about free-bag bridles "2 feet wide." I suspect that John Sherman meant to say "2 or 3 INCHES wide." Tee! Hee! Please resume the flaming .....

Opinions vary ..... The FAA would prefer to ignore main canopies completely ... if they were not mentioned in Federal Air Regulations. On a practical note, many POPS know how to assemble their own mains and do the job gracefully. Sadly, this skill is rarely passed on to junior jumpers, so we always encourage junior jumpers to have a rigger inspect their assembly before jumping it. A second set of eyeballs is the best inspection tool.

Yes Pat, When you look under History + Canada, you should add an article about the first emergency parachute jump over Canada. The Royal Canadian Air Force history describes it during the 1920s, over the Prairies, from a biplane. Under canopy types, you might want to add "Rogallo." I have jumped (1980s) Delta 2 and Paradactyl. I also have a PZ-81 and Talka Rogallo canopies in my collection. Rogallos were only briefly popular in North America, most notably the Paradactyl, but they provided a valuable link between military-surplus rounds and the gliding square canopies of today.

Tube Stows are made of surgical rubber tubing. Surgical tubing is available on two or three different types of rubber. There is also a black rubber version of Tube Stows. Surely you can find a synthetic rubber version of Tube Stows that will not aggravate your allergies. Speaking of allergies, what happens to your fingers when you handle latex rubber? IOW What are your symptoms?

Joeflies quoted directly from Parachute Industry Technical Standard 102 which became the industry standard 30 years ago. However, not all skydivers follow the written standard when selling second-hand equipment. Used canopies without links get sold every week. Selling a canopy without links is cruel because it requires the new owner to devote an extra half-hour to straightening lines before he can start to search for new links, etc. .... a frustrating waste of time "@&$! Selling a used canopy on risers is fairly common, partly because mini-risers wear out quickly (lasting maybe 1,000 jumps) and most mini-risers are cross-compatible with most harness/containers. Selling the d-bag with a canopy is just, plain silly since the d-bag is made at the container factory to match that specific container. Finding replacement d-bags involves comparing, measuring, head scratching and often concludes with a phone call to the container factory. However, if some of the other components are missing, it might be a blessing as they are high-wear items. If someone tries to sell you an incomplete harness/container, try to talk them down a few hundred dollars ..... the cost of replacement pilot-chute, risers, etc.

Ask Pete Swan (Lodi) or Mark Lancaster of Aidan Wolters.

The most critical dimension is the distance between the bottom edge of the harness ring (e.g. RW-8) and the grommet through the riser. The worst combination is installing long risers (e.g. Aerodyne Mini-Force) on a short (RW-8) harness ring. OTOH

How thick are the reserve pin cover windows on Sigmas? 20/1000? 30/1000? Other? Are they made of Lexan? How much does UPT charge for replacements?

"How's yo mama?" "HOT!" Then begin the out-in-out count/head swing.

..................................................................... And the better instructors have the patience to "say again" 20 or more times until the lesson sinks. The best instructors observe whether their lesson is sinking in and modify their approach (auditory, visual, experiential, tactile, etc.) to match the students' learning style. Excellent timing on this thread as I am also updating my resume as I transfer within the same company.

The next step in the compatibility-check is to attach your new(Aerodyne) risers to your (Mirage) harness. Wrap one hand around the harness (just below the 3-Ring) and pull the riser in a variety of directions. If you always have a bit of slack in the (metal) release housing .... Cool! Finish assembling your rig and go jump it! OTOH if you see any tension on the (metal) release housing, your new risers are incompatible with your harness.

For accompanied freefall, we teach the student to lead the exit count. We use: eye contact, look forward, out, in out. We also teach the student to use his/her for timing: breath out during the initial "out" movement. Breath in during the "in" movement and breath out during the final "out" (go) movement. Breathing helps steady the pace of the three separate movements. Depending upon airplane type, the movements are head-wave, hand-wave, leg-swing, etc. The more large muscles involved, the better.

...................................................................... Motorcycle helmets have grown thicker, heavier and mor bulky since they were fashionable (for skydiving) during the 1970s.

Fortunately, (3-Ring Inc) published common standards for 3-Ring riser manufacture a long time ago. Since 1998 most of the manufacturers have been sewing risers to the same standard, so they are cross-compatible with most harnesses. The longer white loop just improves the mechanical advantage of the Aerodyne risers .... a good thing because it reduces pull-forces on the handle. Is the RSL ring on the correct side to make it compatible with your Mirage? Speaking of compatibility, do the Aerodyne risers have round rings .... or oval "Mini-Force" rings? Mini-Force risers require slightly longer release (3-Ring) housings that might not be compatible with your harness. Fortunately, most other harnesses have enough slack (excess length) release housings to accommodate Mini-Force risers. When in doubt, ask your local rigger to inspect before you jump it.

Try sending your question to the two dropzones serving Vancouver: Pitt Meadows and Abbotsford. Hint: Pitt Meadows (aka. Skydive the City) is closer to downtown Vancouver, so close that you can a city bus to within 1 kilometer of the DZ.

My guess is that the purchaser intends to salvage components (valves, hydraulic cylinders, etc.) and sell them to people who still fly DC-9s. Even if the engines are too old to overhaul, they can still provide hundreds of small parts to an engine overhaul shop.