riggerrob

I have lost a pair of goggles from deep stalling, then allowing the canopy to surge forward violently. The risers ripped the goggles off my face!

When I grow up, I want to become a science fiction writer.

To clarify: the Cypres will probably still work (e.g. Cut reserve loop at 750 feet AGL) after it's retirement date. I have several 15-year old Cypri (sitting on a shelf) that still do the usual start-up routine. The problem is that old batteries, old explosives and old solder joints become less reliable as they get older. The Cypres factory has been monitoring reliability of the fleet and they concluded that hard-working Cypress 1 will start suffering cracked solder after more than 12 years in service. When faced with the original poster's dilemma, I repack the reserve and write "Cypres retires October 2014" on the packing data card. Then I tell the customer that they are responsible for replacing the Cypres in October ... I usually write "Cypres retires October 2014" on the invoice as well. Come November, they are adults and if they chose to break the rules, they have been warned and they are no longer my problem.

How much do you weigh out-the-door?

Why would they leave a fleet of Caravans laying idle all weekend?

Welcome to the great Northwet! We have a bunch of small DZs serving the major cities. Let's start with the Skydive centre that operates at Victoria International Airport. If you are wiling to drive two or three hours up the coast. You can jump from Cessnas at Campbell River . If you take the ferry boat ovrt to theainland, public transit will take you the DZ at Pitt Meadows Airport. I have jumped at Pitt for over 15 years and still maintain most of their gear. Pitt mainly hauls tandems in their pair of Cessnas but can often sneak in free flier or thred. The biggest DZ is out between Abbotsford and the Mission Bridge. Abby flies their Porter, Kodiak and fleet of fess as out of a private airstrip. Finally Skydive Whistler flies out of Pemberton airport on the other side of the famous ski resort. SW welcomes fun jumpers as long as they have a USPA license and their own gear. If you insist on jumping stateside, then catch a ferry oat from Victoria to Port Townsend, then down the Olympic. Peninsula towards Shelton Washington. In Shelton, you will find a Twin Otter and several smaller stablemates. Enjoy your journey!

How about if the hypothetical courier company supplied a large market like Target retail or MacDonalds restaurant and just hauled skydivers as a side line?

A hypothetical courier company decides that it can turn a profit while hauling skydivers, so it buys up a bunch of DZs and starts making them operate more efficiently. What sort of changes do you anticipate?

Rather than start a new thread, I will pose my question about the latest radical change in CANPARA magazine's editorial policy? CANPARA and CSPA have been fiercely anti-BASE for the last 30 years, yet the latest issue (June - August 2014) contains 2 articles about BASE jumping and homages to 2 Canadians who recently died while BASE jumping. One of the deceased was a dear friend: the best tandem mistress I ever trained. I do not have an opinion on this issue. My only 2 BASE jumps were back in 1986, but I still often repair BASE gear for local jumpers. I also maintain tandem gear for 2 local skydiving schools. Why the radical change in CANPARA editorial policy?

How about Bell Aerospace getting all the R&D money they need to perfect helicopters? How about some R&D money for Igor Sikorsky or Frank Whittle ... Or Frank Worthington ...? Can you picture the 1944 D-Day invasion being led by also Valentine and French SAS buddies free-falling in? .... Then thousands of static-lined AT-11s (held together with soft links). How about PEPs with through loops and diapers? ... The second day, para-troopers are re-supplied by Budd Conestogas LAPESing thousands of tons of supplies.

Can't see it without opening the reserve flap on the non-student versions. I prefer the window option were you can quickly glance at it just before putting the rig on. As I said, it's a minor annoyance. ... .................................................................................... Funny! Bill Booth's logic on that design was to force skydivers to look at their reserve pins once per day. Hah! Hah!

If you phone around to various dealers you should be able to buy a production slot much less than 30 weeks in the future. Also, if you are not too fussy about colours, you can buy a stock rig off the shelf now.

What do you mean by "AAD remote location?"

You make several good points, however my understanding was that 727s were too loud while LANDING. To compensate for the massive amounts of drag generated by their massive leading edge flaps, they had to carry massive amounts of power on final approach. That extra power generated massive amounts of noise complaints from NIMBY neighbours. As an aside ... airport noise complaints are not directly related to decibels. Back during the 1960s my uncle used to make sarcastic comments about his neighbours who bought houses near Dorval Airport (Montreal) THEN started complaining about airliner noise!

My bad. I should have written EIGHTY years ago. How could our hypothetical rigger influence parachutes worn by Allied servicemen during World War 2?

A modern parachute rigger gets lost in a time machine . He/she applies for a job at the Irvin Industries Parachute factory, in Buffalo NY during 1934.

That spoof includes a computer-generated-image of a Boeing 727 tri-jet. Last thing I heard (???) was that Boeing 727s were banned form most North American airports because they are TOO LOUD!

They either conclude that he is crazy, or they ask him to share what he has been smoking!

If all the components were made in North America, the NAFTA agreement says that they are not allowed to tax it when it crosses the border. The best way to avoid the rapacious "customs brokerage" fees charged by major courier companies is to mail packages via Canada Post and the United States Postal Service.

"... But one thing I still can't kick is cafeïne. I tell myself I need it to keep awake. But I'm long passed that momemt. Cafeïne has no effect on me any more. So I could just as well try to stop that nasty habit. I'll give it a try. ..." ...................................................................................... Caffeine is a difficult addiction. I drank military levels of caffeine (specifically coffee) for decades. Most of the military advice about coffee was worse than useless. I still have not been able to kick my addiction to coffee, but after age 50 I figured out the correct dosage. One of my problems is that my version of ADHD actually requires a small dose of caffeine - every morning - to convince 2 or more brain cells to agree. 1.5 cups of coffee seems ideal. But I cannot drink coffee in the afternoon because afternoon coffee breaks make it difficult to relax enough to fall asleep in the evening. In the afternoons, I have to limit myself to green tea because it seems to contain the right combination of hydration and caffeine. That is my personal experience with caffeine. Yours will vary. I just wish pharmacologists could map out caffeine dosages to help people. Also keep in mind that coffee, tea, Mountain Dew, chocolate, etc. contain caffeine in various dosages.

"... It does sound like there's something else going on though, so while you might find some meds that make the symptoms bearable, you should also work with your doctors to isolate the cause. Maybe get your thyroid checked, have a sleep study done, that sort of thing. I know a lot of folks who didn't even know they had a sleep disorder until they shacked up with a lady and were told that their snoring was REALLY bad. The story's usually the same -- they do a sleep study, get a CPAP machine and sleep like a rock for the first time in their lives. ................................................................................. Yes, that sounds like a diagnosis for sleep-apnia. The original poster might want to get tested for sleep apnia.

What about rumors that some Quebec DZs are draining their swoop ponds because of similar worries about liabilities?

***Oh crap. Yet another knee jerk reaction from the DZO who is trying to eliminate all sources of liability, real or imagined, at the DZ. ... banned anything but 3-ring releases. ... .................................................................................... Come on? 3-Ring were the most popular canopy release system 30 years ago. Why mess with success? Hah! Hah!

Our protagonist jumps too close to a thunderstorm and opens over Orange Mass. Jacque Andre Istel meets him after he swoops the bowl. How does his day progress?