riggerrob

The original swift SB was about the ribs not being the right shape so it would affect the airfoil effectiveness. There was an SB on the swift plus concerning the cascades - bartacks being possibly too wide to grab the trapped line or something like that. .................................................. Yes, I have re packed a few 5-cell Swifts that had "Service Bulletin number xxxxxx" stamped on their tails. I have inspected and re packed hundreds of Swift Plus reserves and never found a loose bar-tack. Both generations of Swifts were among the best reserves made in their day .... but that day ended a couple of decades ago. Times have changed. For example, back then nobody loaded main canopies at 1 pound per square foot, so nobody expected Swift reserves to land softly when loaded heavier than 1/1. IOW Any one who loads a Swift reserve, or a Raven reserve, or an early Lightning, most 1980s-vintage canopies made of F-111 fabric (aka: zero to 3 cubic feet per minute) is a stupid, fat, white man who is doomed to meet lots of para-medics and nurses and surgeons and x-ray technicians and physio-therapists, etc. Oooops! Did I sound biased or opinionated or out-spoken or politically-incorrect?????? Returning to the original question ... if you visit the Parachute Industry Association or Australian Parachute Federation or Canadian Sports Parachuting Association's websites, you will find lists of Service Bulletins, Airworthiness Directives, special inspections, etc. If any offers to sell you gear mentioned in any of those SB, ADs, etc. - and a rigger has not noted the SB on the packing data card - walk away.

Better decision than mine. Many years ago, I was flying a Cessna 182 full of jumpers. Shortl after take-off, I noticed a fog bank on the far wide of the River, maybe 4 kilometers from our airport/DZ. As we climbed, I noticed how fast the fog bank was approaching the airport. I drooped the jumpers from 10,000 feet and they were in the clear the whole way, but by the time I turned onto final approach, the North half of the runway was covered in fog. Fortunately the runway was 7,000 feet long. I landed in the clear, but taxied back to the hangar in the fog.

I saw a Raven Dash-M that tore in 3 places. The jumper was over-weight, over-speed and unstable when he scared his Cypres. How many more mistakes can you make and expect to survive? One thing that might have prevented catastrophic failure was more span-wise reinforcement tapes. SWRT are now standard on canopies designed to be loaded more than 1 pound per square foot. For example, I have one jump on a Precision RMax-118 reserve loaded "to the top edge of the chart" and it flew just fine and landed me softly. I would never buy a resrerve that small, but would seriously consider buying an RMax-150 or 170. Raven Dash-Ms also had problems with line attachment tapes failing. Precision tried to save weight/bulk by using lighter line attachment tapes. The solution was to replace wimpy Type 3 tape with Type 1 webbing. Most ram-air mains are built with Type 3 tape for line attachments and they last 2,000 or 3,000 jumps. 3/4 inch wide Type 4 tape is rated for 400 pounds. Since reserves open harder, most manufacturers use tougher Type 1 webbing rated for 500 pounds. For comparison, tandems use even stronger tapes for line attachments (e.g. 1 inch wide Type 4 tape rated for 1,000 pounds).

Penny-sized holes require patches. Sticky tape might last you until the end of this season, but definitely get your rigger to sew on a proper patch over the winter.

Cypres loops are delicate, so delicate that they can be damaged during one pack job. Even a rough edge on a grommet or temporary pin is enough to fray a Cypres loop. The Cypres 1 manual says to replace loops when they start to fray. The Cypres 2 manual says to replace loops during every reserve repack.

................................... Hint: try colour-coding the corners .... Red fabric goes to red ring .... Blue fabric goes to blue ring ..... etc.

Just a reminder, strengthening core muscles is only half the solution. The other half is stretching muscles to allow your spine to correctly align.

You are seeing the difference between good-old-boys cooperation and formal written regulations. Fewer jumpers in the air means lower risk of canopy collisions, but it is still a good habit to fly a predictable landing pattern. The good news ... with the interweb and all ... is that DZ policies are converging on one global standard set of best-business-pratices. When visiting a new DZ, you should always ask a local coach, instructor or load organizer to brief you on local landing patterns. When in doubt , fly the same landing pattern as you flew at home, keeping it rectangular, with only 90 degree turns below 1,000 feet ... easy for other jumpers to predict and avoid collisions. The only local practices I am not willing to follow are DZs that have lax attitudes towards seat-belts. If I cannot wear a seat-belt, I do not fly in that airplane!

Also consider how much weigh you want to carry. If you only add a stash bag or sleeping bag, your weight increase will be insignificant. OTOH if you add enough camping gear to sleep out overnight (20 to 30 pounds) you should seriously consider large canopies to keep your landings soft. For example, military jumpers who routinely jump rucksacks filled with 100 pounds ... cough... cough ... of "light weight, go fast gear" plus rucksack, plus rifle, plus snowshoes, etc. jump canopies in the tandem size range (330 to 400 square foot range) and when they jump 500 pound bundles, they jump 500 square foot canopies.

After looking at the canopy, I concluded that there was no "melting" damage to fabric. It looks like cold dust pressed into the fabric. I could not smell any residue on the part that you washed with Woolite. However, the unwashed part tastes "BLAEIOUYK!" and needs to be washed and rinsed thoroughly. Washing should reduce any caustic chemical residues.

If you worry about tensile strength, there are two testing methods. The old-school method uses "calibrated thumbs." The scientific method uses (rubber jawed) Vice-Grips and a calibrated fish scale. Tensile-test was popular during the acid-mesh era (late 1980s) and Performance Designs encouraged it until recently. Tensile-testing tools are available from Para-Gear.

Just ask your local rigger for permission to dive into his used line bin. He/she probably has a few miles of old line after re-lining main canopies.

...................................................... Structurally, bias cut canopies are stronger because fabrics threads carry some loads diagonally away from line attachment points in addition to the horizontal reinforcement tapes (skirt) and vertical reinforcement tapes along the radial seams. Bias construction is the equivalent of the diagonal reinforcement tapes sewn onto the steering lines of Smart reserves ..... or the extra ribs in cross-braced canopies.

Continue patting it with a damp cloth. The next step involves dipping it in warm water and a mild detergent like Woolite. Washing should neutralize most nasty chemicals, then closely inspect the threads for changes in cross-section, melting, etc. if inspection under a magnifying glass reveals no structural damage, then you may return it to service. OTOH Replacing damaged fabric (with F-111) patches is a fussy process, best done by a master rigger. Remember that you are allowed a maximum of 5 or 6 patches per certified (reserve) canopy. The largest patch can only be half the size of a panel. Bottom line, gentle washing can prevent difficult patching.

Have you tried hanging exits from the smaller Cessna?

Did you add an extra floor level with the door sill?

I call the OP and wiki article "self aggrandizing propaganda that has tenuous links to reality." That makes more sense. ... With skydiver and parachute exiting at the same time. That fits the pattern of chute-less jumps. At least half a dozen guys have done chute less jumps since the 1960s. Most of them chased a buddy who held their parachute while one guy stowed his parachute inside a large mixing bowl. The bowl was stabilized by a drogue chute. Shortly after North Americans learned how to do freefall relative work (formation skydiving), Canadian Bill Cole made the first and second chuteless jumps. Bill only wore a harness and dove after a buddy who was holding a round reserve. Bill did two chute less jumps. "Skies Call" includes a series of still photos of a chute less jumper clipping his harness to a buddy who was wearing a regular skydiving rig, then he hung below on long risers ... more like a rucksack hanging below a military jumper than a modern tandem. The photos in "Skies Call" were published (circa 1980) before modern tandem was invented. Several chuteless jumpers have also chased buddies who held complete skydiving rigs until they clipped onto leg straps. A Frenchman also did multiple chuteless jumps where he clipped onto a buddy who wore a tandem rig. Sadly, French exploits are not easily accessible to English-only speakers. The recent revival of chute less jumping was led by (motorcycle stuntman) Travis Pastrani who jumped out of a Porter wearing only athletic shorts. Later in the video, we see his (parachute wearing) buddy clipping onto a climbing harness concealed in Pastrani's shorts. Now (since 1980) wind tunnels can be used to match fall rates, much of the mystery and danger has disappeared from chute less jumping. What twist will the next Cole or Pastrani invent?

......... I think this thing has as much chance of happening in our lifetime as the chance of the US Navy getting a flying aircraft carrier like you see in The Avengers. ................................................................... Saddam ya mean? The US Navy operated flying aircraft carriers back during the 1930s. The airships Akron and Macon carried Curtiss Sparrowhawk scout planes. Scout planes were launched and retrieved via a trapeze hanging under the airships. Sadly, the airships were too fragile and broke up In thunderstorms.

Hi Douglas, What wing-loadings do you recommend for (Storm) wing-suiting? I recently returned to jumping my Prodigy after being grounded for a year for knee surgery. My exit weight is now 230 pounds. Both my Stiletto 135 and Ariel 150 are a bit faster than comfortable for landing. Both my containers will easily accept 170 square foot canopies. My long-term goal is to up-size to a 290 square foot BASE canopy. Finally, I have made 6,000 jumps over the last 40 years. Would you recommend a Storm or Pulse?

....................................................................... "Cargo" was a relevant term when referring to the worn-out planes we jumped from during the 1970s. Those Beech 18s and DC-3s were built during World War 2 and flown hard by young pilots. Then they were refurbished for second careers as airliners. When the paint got too scratched for hauling passengers, their interiors were stripped to haul cargo. When the de-iced boots rotted out, they were stripped of blind-flying instruments to haul skydivers. After being over-loaded and abused by skydivers, the lucky airplanes got pushed into the weeds and were stripped of their few remaining airworthy parts. Back during the war, no one expected those airplanes to last 60 years. Unlucky airplanes crashed after their tired radial engines failed. As we wore out the last military-surplus radial engines DC-3s and Beech 18 quietly retired from hauling skydivers. So calling skydivers was "self-serving propaganda" back during the 1970s. .... back when sex was safe and skydiving was dangerous. Times have changed. Modern skydivers demand reliable airplanes ... maintained to the same standards as airliners .... and expect seat-belts maintained to the same standards as airliners.

"..... You tip a waitress for 'doing their job' when it was to get the right food from the back to your table. Here 'doing their job' resulted in you living." ................................................................... As an aside, waitresses get tipped because they are chronically underpaid. Most waitresses cannot even pay their rent on their minimum wage. Tips encourage them to provide quick, accurate and polite service ... the same as riggers. Decades ago, skydivers gained confidence that I would always save their lives, now they pay me for quick service and making their butts ... er rigs .... look pretty ... even when stuffing 10 pounds into a 5 pound bag. I also suspect that the traditional beer was standard wages .... back when I drank heavily.

No, you are not brain-locking. At least three different types of closing loops were installed in Security Safety-Chutes. The Safety-Chute 250 came from the factory with double-ended loops made of gutted nylon 550 cord (300 pound minimum breaking strength). They were similar to the white loops installed in most tandem drogue risers. The Safety-Chute 350 changed material and vastly simplified the construction method. Start with type 1 nylon suspension line (100 pound) and tie it into a loop 1 1/8 maybe 1 1/4 inches long. Leave the tails on and use them as pull-up cords to pull the loop through to the spring side. Once the spring and s-hooks are securely attached to the closing loops, you may cut off the excess tails. It is important that the knots end up on the spring side of the container. Most riggers now use Cypres cord (300 pound) to make replacement closing loops for Security Safety-Chutes.

One of the scariest things (about old gear) is riggers packing gear they do not understand. I recently had a Security 150 "table total" malfunction! It had two different closing loops. One loop was a factory original and it worked fine. The second closing loop was a copy of a Security 350 loop made of Cypres cord and it jammed because the knot was in the middle of the container, mixed in with all the grommets. The problem was that the last rigger did not know enough about Security closing loops to keep the knot on the spring side of the container. "If you don't understand something, copy it exactly."

Rasmack, The primary reason I dislike Velcro-assist (on any type of static-line) is that it is long enough to allow students to tumble enough to interfer with deployment. OTOH direct-bag or IAD lifts the d-bag beyond as-reach before they can interfere with deploring. only allows them tumble 30 degrees before line stretch starts to straighten them out. The greatest advantage to giving all students BOC, hand-deploy, pilot-chutes is that it vastly simplifies work for riggers and packers. After one season (using only one system) your ground crew will flatly refuse to pack anything else. Back during the 1980s and 1990s I participated in the conversion from military surplus rounds to piggybacks containing squares and hand-deploy. At times it was amusing listening to old instructors fiercely defending their favourite system. IAD was invented shortly after Bill Booth invented hand-deploy pilot-chutes. Parachutist magazine published an article about IAD circa 1975. Then USPA treated IAD the same way they treated Accompanied Freefall: stubbornly refusing to approve it. By 1979, a single Canadian DZ (Gananoque, Ontario) had converted to IAD. They also equipped all their freefall students with hand-deploy pilot-chutes and did buddy-jumps. Circa 1980 the North American military quit selling airworthy surplus parachutes, so as civilian DZs wore out student gear, they replaced it with piggyback containers, etc. Several more Canadian DZs adopted IAD until it became the national norm by the end of the 1980s. Meanwhile USPA stubbornly resisted hand-deploys for students. By the mid-1990s Roget Nelson (near Chicago, Illinois) started equipping his AFF students with BOC hand-deploys. Then American DZs raced to convert their student year to BOC. One of my last (2001) rigging jobs in Perris, California was converting all their student gear to BOC. That winter (2001) I attended a USPA IAD instructor course in California City and (course conductor) Bob Celaya said "Rob, you probably know way more about IAD than me." After seeing how gracefully the conversion process went in Canada, it was most entertaining watching USPA flip from stubbornly resisting hand-deploys for students to rushing to make it the national norm.

On a similar topic: how much demand is there for a 100 page manual specifically about pilot emergency parachutes? I can keep the PEP manual short by including interweb links to Butler, Para-Phernalia, etc. manuals and Service Bulletins.