riggerrob

................................................................................. I learned to free-fall a year before the first civilian wind tunnel opened in 1980. I visited that tunnel after I had a couple hundred jumps and learned more (about my leg position) during those 5 minutes (of tunnel time) than I had during my previous hundred jumps. The original poster ask about which foreign (far away) DZ to visit for his vacation and AFF training. I suggested that he plan his vacation at a DZ that has a tunnel integrated into its AFF program (Perris, Eloy, etc.). Tunnel time is less expensive than free-fall time. Also consider that time in an tunnel is invaluable in reducing sensory overload during the first and second freefalls. My biggest teaching challenge is holding students stable during their first 20 seconds of freefall until their brain catches up to their body.

CSPA requires Canadian resident skydivers to buy CSPA membership if they expect to be covered for third-party liability insurance. That insurance covers damages to property of (non-skydiving) third parties if you land on their car, for example.

Did you look at diverdriver's website?

...and 70's aircraft maintenance.

*** So as I saw it: Wingsuit, spinning mal, reserve deployment on back, ... ................................................................................. Something I learned early in my wing-suiting career was to keep my knees together and arched until deployment was complete. It took me a dozen or so line-twists before I understood that any leg-spread flipped me onto my back during deployment.

.................................................................................. Yes, and it was the predecessor to Strong's 425 Master Tandem main and reserve canopies.

I am already pretty good at quietly walking up behind people, but need noisy machines to fly. Being able to fly quietly would be the ultimate. Maybe I need to resume para-gliding.

................................................................................... Female circumcision is standard practice in several sub-Saharan African countries. Not saying that it is popular with teenaged girls, just that it is standard practice. Theory holds that if you cut off external sexual "bits" then women will enjoy sex less and are less likely to become prostitutes. I cannot follow that logic, but millions of Africans do.

Circumcision is an ancient method of reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Millions of nasty little germs can hide under a foreskin. The practice started with ancient Jews, to reduce the spread of STDs after the usual post-battle mass rapes. Fast forward to this century, recent medical studies show that African countries that practice circumcision suffer lower rates of HIV/AIDS.

WARNING! The secret clockwork mechanism in the tail pocket will lock up after 20 years plus 1 day. A Master Rigger might have the special key to un-lock the tail pocket, but you would be much wiser and safer to deliver it to your nearest Master Rigger in a triple-sealed bio-waste bag, so that he can pass it on the National Bio-Waste Administration for ecologically friendly de-activation and disposal. Chances are, the cheap bastard will put another thousand jumps on it before he tosses it in the trash! Hah! Hah! Hah!

I train young riggers to check compatibility by looking at where the ball swage hangs relative to the "D" handle. If the ball swage is between the middle and the bottom edge of the "D" handle, great! If the ball swage is less than an inch (2.2 cm) from the top, I worry about an accidental deployment as the harness stretches during main deployment. If the ball swage hangs below the bottom edge of the "D" handle, I worry about accidentally snagging the ball while moving around the airplane. 26 inches used to be the industry standard for single-pin reserve ripcords. If you want to stock a spare ripcord, stock a 27 incher, because it can be installed in the most popular sizes of Vector, Javelin, Talon, etc. FYI Talons (Flexons, Voodoos, Telesis, Aviators, etc.) are built with a dozen different reserve ripcord lengths depending upon the size of container, size of yoke, type of harness (chest rings?) and length of MLW. The same variables apply to pilot emergency parachutes, so I pay more attention to where the ball swage hangs in the "D" handle.

Just apply a hammer to the AAD battery box. Hah! Hah! Hah!

Even gov't agencies cannot agree on international standards. For example, about 15 years ago, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO a branch of the United Nations) agree to simplify airspace by designating it Class A, Class B, etc. This made work way easier for visiting pilots because the letter codes meant the same thing in all countries. The USA is one of the few countries without Class F airspace (F=fear, be very affeared when flying through Class F airspace because it contains fires, riots and mudslides and military ranges, etc.) Instead, the USA stuck with a bewildering array of Military Operational Areas (MOA), restricted airspace, etc.

... Apparently the french have a progression system for canopy sizing. Given a certain exit weight and a certain amount of jumps, you're given a smallest size canopy you're allowed to jump. First downsize is apparently at about 110 jumps and then 150,200 etc etc....so it's a good idea tu jump there once you have acquired some experience somewhere else I guess or you'll be renting gear for some solid time. ... .................................................................................. The Federation Francais du Parachutisme is just trying to keep you alive. Down-sizing canopies too early is a leading cause of death. I have been ranting about wing-loading since 1983.

Pacing. Learn how to pace yourself young man. UP until recently, I routinely out-worked TIS half my age. The key was getting my gear ready early so that I could move at a fast walk all day and not sweat too much. Running is for TIs who do not know how to plan their day.

In North America, we are more casual about "flight-line checks." Instead we casually scan each other's gear. ON more the one occasion, I have yelled at guys "where is your cutaway handle?" as they walked towards the plane. They looked down to find it folded under their harness (MLW.)

"... There was some rough standardization done a decade or so back,although at the low license levels differences are more likely to significantly affect jumper skills. ... ...................................................................................... That attempt at standardization was led by (CSPA past president) Harro Trempano. CSPA adopted his standards, but every other country needed to adjust the standards to satisfy their own egos. Sure a few grumpy old men were able to protect their own privileges, but they made life difficult for hundreds of young jumpers. Eric Fradet also tried to convince Europeans to adopt a common standard for certifying riggers, but AGAIN, too many grumpy old me were too busy protecting their privileges. I have trained riggers for Canadian, American and Swiss licences and cannot see the PRACTICAL difference in working standards.

The "ellipticals versus non-ellipticals) argument started back when rectangular canopies (all ribs the same size) were the norm (circa 1990) when the Sabre 1 was the most popular canopy, but Parachutes de France and Brian Germaine were experimenting with tapered canopies. Early ellipticals were far less tolerant of sloppy packing, sloppy deployments, etc. so they develop a "killer" reputation. Fast forward to this century, junior wing-suiters tend to be "marginally stable" at deployment time, so they suffer far more line-twists during opening. The last thing anyone wants is serious line-twists on the bottom end of after a "busy" wing-suit dive. Now most mains are tapered in one way or another. Even student canopies (PD Navigator and Aerodyne Solo) are tapered, so the "elliptical" argument loses a lot of momentum. IOW the only rectangular canopies still in production are made for: BASE, precision landing and reserves. A more modern restriction (on junior wing-suiters) would be to keep WING-LOADING below 1.5 for the first few wing-suit jumps.

Really weird to pull (metal) release housings off of a harness. I wonder if they were properly sewn on to begin with????? I would not worry too much about mini 3-Rings being built out of tolerance. In 1993, the Parachute Industry Association suggested reinforcing the bottom (of mini 3-Ring risers) with an extra layer of Type 3 tape. In 1998, 3-Ring Incorporated published detailed instructions on how to build 3-Ring risers. That means that the youngest mini riser in service should be less than 17 years old. ... and it should be built to modern tolerances.

Three rings started being put on '77 or '78, I think, They were originally a forged "5010" ring from Forgecraft. After Bill saw that it was going to be accepted and the other manufacturers started wanting the kits he had Forgecraft make the mold for the sloted RW1. It's very expensive to have that done. That's probably why there are so many WonderHogs out there with the 5010 rings. ............................................................................. When were slotted harness rings introduced to lines-mens' and tree-climbers' belts?

............................................................................... Wing-suit BASE jumper, rock-climber Steph Davis also wrote a book entitled "Learning to Fly." The book details her transition from professional climbing bum to skydiving, to BASE jumping to wing-suiting off of a variety of cliffs, bridges, etc. Steph published LtoF in 2013 and also gave a TED talk on the same subject.

If you look closely at the fractured wing root, you will see that it is built more like a model ... and less like a real airplane with spars, etc.

All reserves open hard. Tell your customer to quit whining.

An FAA-certificate holder should operate in accordance with FAA regulations except where (FARs) are repugnant to local laws. IOW work to whichever law is tighter. The local 120 day standard is tighter than FAA standards. If any student gets hurt, local police will hold you to local laws, which means that tandem rigs should be maintained to the local (120 day) standard. Sport jumpers are on their own. When they pick up their rigs, tell them about the local 120 day standard and write it on their invoice. If they chose to ignore local rules, that is their problem. Visiting foreigners are adults and should be held responsible for maintaining their own gear. As long as the local (120 day) cycle is written on the wall near manifest, you are covered.

Yes, all the Raven manuals tell riggers to side-pack them. However, at some point, the container manual begins to dominate. For example (wow! this is almost 20 years old!) when I was writing the manual for the Aviator/P-124A pilot emergency parachute, Sandy Reid told us to pro-pack. Pro-packing was mainly for (symmetrical) pilot comfort. George Galloway (of Precision) never saw the final pack job until a PIA Symposium, then George just stood there and smiled. There are two reasons most modern container manuals say to pro-pack reserves: first; symmetrical openings can be a bit harder before they tear a canopy and secondly, pro-packing makes bulk distribution easier around the AAD battery box.