riggerrob

Do you have the original floor, with that ugly lip up to the door sill? As for spotting, the challenge is leaning your head down low enough to see forward, under the wing.

Cameramens' time would be better spent taping over all the %$#@! snag hazards on their helmets. Stock GoPro mounts are the worse snag hazards!

................................................................................ When I used to wear a heavy, tight-fitting camera helmet, I slipped in a boxer's mouth guard before clamping down the cin strap.

When I was a poor student, living in the student ghetto near the University of Ottawa, I switched to grapefruit, Vegemite and pumpernickel bread, because none of house mates would steal them. Hah! Hah!

I would NOT want to be humping that rig around all day. .................................................................................. Apparently Eddie Grimm experimented with an extra-long static-line, back during the 1970s. They used a 50 (?) foot long static-line to deploy a round main canopy. The test-jumper enjoyed his jump, but it tore the heck out of the container!

***I've noticed that there's a tendency for the older generation (WW II era) to play down their service. ... ................................................................................ Yes. True heroes feel uncomfortable bragging about their battles. For example, three of my family served in RCAF Bomber Command during World War Two. Only one of them came home. He never talked about his experiences. The only thing I could get - out of other family members - was that he earned a DFC for staying at the controls of a burning Lancaster long enough for the rest of his crew to bail out. Another "old boy" from my home town flew as a tail gunner in Lancasters. He always changed the subject when we asked him about the dark skies over Germany.

Read all the UPT manuals before the course. Pack a few Sigmas before you go. lso read the Australian Parachute Federation's handbook for TIs.

This. And yes, it can apply to independent contractors. If you are an independent contractor subject to a non-compete agreement and concerned about violating the non-compete agreement, contact an employment lawyer before taking any actions that may violate the agreement. SOURCE: http://kielichlawfirm.com/non-compete-agreements-independent-contractors/ Bottom line: Don't sign it and move on. ................................................................................. A non-competitive contract is sooooo bogus for an independent contractor. If the original DZO values his employees so much, he will work them so hard, and pay them so well, that won't have any desire to moonlight at another DZ. Furthermore, the original DZO should pay his staff full-time staff a base salary for every day they are scheduled to work, even if it rains all day. The best DZOs offer bonuses after staff have made "X" number of jumps with students per month.

If your heart is set on a 7 cell then take a good look at the PD Storm. Personally I would recommend a Sabre 2 or Pulse - both 9 cells. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be. . ............................................................................. Agreed! Nine-cells have a larger flare-window, meaning that they are more foregiving of poorly-timed flares.

By the time you get to 3 new variables, it is time to ask whether you should stand-down?????????????

They are probably comparing 500 Dacron with 825 pound Spectra. Old-style Dacron suspension lines came in a wide variety of strengths. Dacron suspension lines came into fashion as the first square parachutes were perfected during the 1970s. Dacron's greatest advantage was its low stretch (compared with nylon), which helped keep square canopies in trim for hundreds of jumps. Tensile strength ranged from 500 pounds to 1500 pounds. 500 pound Dacron did not last all that long, while 1500 pound suspension lines were more likely to be found on tandem mains. Outside of skydiving, you can find Dacron cord ranging in strength from a few dozen pounds to thousands of pounds.

... The steel ring type tend to stay low just outside the riser set on one side or the other (and stay put). ................................................................................. Bad habit. You are at risk of the slider grommets trapping the soft link between two pieces of metal. After repeated slapping, the soft link will fail. Have you ever tried the trick of cutting rope with a (smooth-faced) hammer? The primary reason for hand-tacking soft links is to hide the joint from the slider grommets.

Trivial note: when Parachutes de France introduced the first re-usable soft links, they set snaps in their risers. The (male-only) part of the snaps allowed you to easily secure the link's steel ring. Purists wolul only install Parachutes de France links on main riser made by P. de F. The rest of us just hand-tacked. Hah! Hah!

.......................................................................... I always try to leave a little slack in the hand-tack to allow future riggers to easily slide the end of the link far enough to the side that they can inspect the lark's head knot.

Aerodyne says to tack through both sides of the riser THROUGH the steel ring, but still allow the ring to "float" a little. The hand-tack serves two functions: first, it prevents the slider grommet form slapping the end off the soft link. Granted, it would need hundreds of slaps to wreck a soft link, but who wants to take the risk. Secondly, the hand-tack helps prevent the link for opening. ... a slim possibility on the first-generation soft-links made by Parachutes de France, but almost impossible on newer soft-links that close with lark's head knots (Aerodyne, Flight Concepts, PD SLinks, Precision, etc.). OTOH, I hand-tack all Performance Designs SLinks through one side of the riser and the end of the cloth tab. Again, leave a little room for the cloth tab to "float."

Moderators .... Should this thread be moved to "incidents?"

... There was an issue with rubber bands that people were using on their hip rings that were causing a massive acceleration of wear to the harness. ... ................................................................................ That harness wear problem is only vaguely related. Rigging Innovations did not even see that wear pattern until a Flexon had been jumped hard (Airspeed hard) in the Arizona desert for four years. The wear is caused by the folded edge of one leg strap rubbing against the folded edge of the next piece of webbing. It took four years for the wear pattern to develop with the original, large RW-0 hip rings. Relative Workshop/UPT issued their Service Bulletin after they noticed unusual wear related to smaller RW-8 hip rings. The rubber bands were forcing leg straps closer together and forcing them to press/rub harder against each other, accelerating wear. The moral of my story (and yours) is: if you don't understand something, copy it exactly. IOW when sewing stows onto main risers, copy the factory pattern.

Wrapping confluence tapes around those joints will dramatically increase bulk, but add little to strength. The added strength will only help during hard openings. Openings so brutally hard that wish you were not awake. The biggest problem with confluence tapes is that they might increase the thickness of the seam that your sewing machine might break needles. Then you dodge fast-moving pieces of sharp steel! Keep your prototypes simple.

................................................................................ A variation is to sew triangular "slider catchers" to the bottom of your risers. Start with 1.5 inch wide, Type 4 tape. Hot cut 3 inches long. Fold (hot cut edges towards the center-line) into a triangle. Mark risers 2 inches from the crotch. Align selvage edge or triangle with alignment mark, folded tip up. Zig-zag the bejezuz out of it. I call these triangular slider-catchers "Andreas' pattern" because that is who firt asked me to build them.

Hip rings also come in handy when stuffing large guys into small Cessnas.

... Standard riser length is 22" I think. You probably wont know if you want something else until you try it. ... ....................................................................................... Riser length is determined by arm length. When in doubt, but risers a bit too short ... to ensure that you can easily grab toggles, dive loops, slider cords, etc. while hanging under canopy.

Are you quoting a USPA document? When I applied to Strong Enterprises, I needed a minimum of 500 tandem jumps, a Class 3 medical, 3 letters of recommendation, I had to go to Florida for evaluation dives, etc.

Try asking the British Parachute Association, United States Parachute Association, Canadian Sports Parachute Association and Australian Parachute Federation, because all of them have published guidelines for opening new DZs. All the national parachuting organizations have similar standards, with BPA having the tightest safety regulations. IOW a Basic Safety Regulation written by USPA may not be LAW in England, but it is considered "best business practice." One of the first things you need to do is get permission from the local airport administration/or owner if it is a privately-owned airfield. Airport management will want to see a sound business plan and plenty of insurance. At a minimum, they will want to see third party liability insurance to repair any airplane you accidentally land on. Early in the process, you should also talk with local air traffic controllers.

A third possibility is that you bruised a bone. Bone bruises heal slowly. I have bruised my heels a couple of times. The second time, the doctor told me to quit running on hard surfaces for a couple of months. The last time I bruised my sternum and ribs, it was five months before the pain went away.

***The downside I can see is people picking up on recorded soundbites and turning them into cause celebres, just as happens in national politics today. ... ............................................................................. Sometimes elected politicians have to "speak to the audience back home," ... for example: many of the foolish speeches made by the last Prime Minister of Iran. Hah! Hah!