riggerrob

.............. Skyhook really likes disengaging for no obvious reason... Does anyone have any stats on that? I've heard anecdotal numbers that it disengages when it shouldn't .... ............................................................ We have much less data on other types of MARDs: pin (Strong Boost) or trap (Mirage). Too little data to reach conclusions. Let's wait 5 years, until we have sufficient data for comparisons.

Some courts order the loser to pay all court costs. In my case, a Crown Attorney (defence) stammered "We are okay with Mr. Dause's maintenance program." [after his plane crashed]. Lawyers for the prosecution requested an adjournment because they were not prepared for this change in pleas. The judge reminded CA that they would have to pay any additional court costs caused by the adjournment. The delay lasted 15 months. I am not sure which was worse: the lengthy delay or starving for 15 months??????????

Just look at the vast expanses of sea water and ice that prevent you from driving or sailing to the poles. If the poles were as real as scientists claim, everyone would be able to visit them. As for airlines claiming that they fly over the North Pole .... I saw dozens fly over CFS Alert the summer I worked there. .. their flights prove that the earth is one big flat disc. Odd how airlines never brag about flying over the South Pole????? Makes you wonder if the South Pole even exists.

.......... I don't understand why some riggers struggle with them - to me at least they are easier and more intuitive than other rigs ........ ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Intuitive" varies from one person to the next. What is "intuitive" to one rigger totally baffles the next rigger because he cannot relate it to an earlier skill. Relating to an earlier skill is important because most sport jumpers only learn one packing method and that is sufficient as long as they only ever jump one style of gear. Only Master Riggers need to learn three or more ways to do the same job. As a young rigger, I learned all 4 different methods of packing Pop-Tops. Initially, I struggled to route pull-up cords through all 8 grommets, then back down again. Steel T-bodkins simplified routing pull-up cords. I broke a quick-disconnect steel T-bodkin the first time I used it! Grrrrrrr! Hated searching for a sharp piece of steel mixed in with the reserve canopy! Grrrrr! Then Racer introduced free-bags. I tried the factory method of tying a pair of steel T-bodkins together ...... Once ...... Then reverted to a pair of locking pull-up cords (ala. Vector). When Cypres hit the market during the early 1990s, I experimented briefly with skinny, steel T-bodkins made from mattress needles. Them I struggled with soft bodkins plus steel bodkins. Too many tools to count. A German rigger (Frank Carrera?) suggested Ghost Loops. I tied up my own Ghost Loops with metal rings on the bottom. Eventually I tied my pair of Ghost Loops together and finger-trapped pull-up cords to them. That reduced a bewildering array of bodkins and cords to one tool. BING! A light came on and for the first time packing Pop-Tops made sense. Ghost Loops make sense because they allow me to use old, familiar skills (Vector or Javelin) for 3/4 of the pack job. Metal rings allow me to use plenty of muscle to pull up and secure side flaps with temporary pins. Then the only Racer-specific skills revolve around the pilot-chute. A few years later the Racer factory sent me a handful of Ghosr Loops and I wondered why they had no hard lumps on the bottom end. Over the last 33 years I have tried a wide range of Racer packing methods and tools, but for the last decade have only used Ghost Loops (with metal rings on the bottom). If a young rigger asks me to teach him/her how to close Pop-Tops, I will only teach him/her how to tie his/own Ghost Loops and the finer points of threading them through all 14 grommets.

........ I may as well add "180 days in Canada". ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In practice, this becomes an annual inspection, since most Canadian DZs are only open 5 to 7 months out of the year. From a rigger's perspective, this becomes the "mad rush the week before the Kamloops May Meet," or the " mad week before the Christmas Boogie" or the "mad week before the Reno Air Races." Last week, I rushed to prepare 5 tandem rigs for a local DZ. This past week I rush repacked enough sport reserves in time to the Kamloops May Meet. Today I am rushing to complete harness repairs on the local DZ's last tandem and then there is the line kit that only arrived on Friday ......

A lesson worth repeating for each new generation of jumpers. Back in 1992, American skydivers learned bloody lessons after a pair of fatal crashes (Perris Valley, California and Hinkley, Illinois) Bless their hearts, because USPA changed attitudes over the winter (of 1992-1993) by making seat-belts fashionable. Fast forward (16 years) to 2008 when I was injured during an engine-out forced landing. During lengthy court proceedings, a lawyer stated: "There is no evidence to support the notion that seat-belts save lives." I promptly found accounts of 18 jump-plane crashes (between December 2014 and the fall of 2016). Only one of those crashes was fatal. Annette O'Neil published those findings (on dropzone.com last year). Damage was minimized by well-trained pilots and most jumpers wearing seat-belts. The other change was the recent proliferation of cameras provided in-cabin footage during several crashes, confirming that belts reduced flail arcs. Bottom line: ever new generation needs to learn the same lessons, which is why magazines - like 'Parachutist' - repeat articles on a 3 or 4 year cycle. Junior jumpers can read about bloody mistakes made by their predecessors .... or they can learn the hard way .......

Reminds me of a demo jump. I. had about 300 jumps when we landed at a local baseball diamond. The baseball diamond was only a mile - or so - from the DZ. As I walked off the diamond, a local boy asked me: "How do you breath in freefall?" I responded: "Sometimes through my mouth, but usually through my nose." Hah! Hah! I had never thought about his question until I had 300 jumps! Hah! Hah! OTOH When I get nervous or am performing a difficult task for the first time, I have a bad habit of holding my breath which increases stress and decreases oxygen flow to my brain.

****** ...... The cross connected RSL offers absolutely no advantages at all, only disadvantages. ....... ------------------------------------------------------------------ Many trips to hell start with good intentions. The original motivation for cross-connector RSLs was to require both main risers to disappear before the reserve container opened .... reducing the risk of two-out entanglements. Cross-connectors were standard on many early (1980s) student piggyback containers (e.g. Else-Flyer). Unfortunately, cross-connectors can increase the risk of other types of entanglements: helmets, cameras or reserves. Several other manufacturers have invented several other solutions: French L.O.R. and UPT's Collins Lanyard. Parachutes de France's L.O.R. system uses two RSLs, two curved pins and two closing loops to ensure that both main risers are gone before the reserve container opens. A decade after the Collins Lanyard was introduced a clumsy tandem instructor deployed his main low and learned (the bloody way) about a disadvantage with Collins Lanyards. Cross-connectors were an early, crude attempt at preventing a malfunction mode. L.O.R. was a better way. Collins Lantard is even better, but we are still searching for the perfect RSL.

Hesitator loops are most relevant with heavy reserve canopies. Back when (up until the mid-1980s) heavy military-surplus and Lopo round reserves were fashionable, most containers included hesitated/staging loops made of bungee cord. Their objective was to prevent the reserve canopy from falling off your back until the pilot-chute was definitely pulling. Hesitater loops fell out of fashion as reserves got lighter and lighter, containers got tighter and tighter and we depended more and more on friction (between bag and container to stage openings. However tandem reserves remained huge and heavy and we eventually found out (the bloody way) that heavy reserves could cutaway one side of a main canopy ... via a Collins lanyard. UPT's fix is to install bungee hesitater/staging loops in their larger student and tandem containers.

Hunger collapsible pilot-chutes were briefly popular during the 1990s when jumpers started exceeding wing-loadings of 1 pound per square foot. Heavier wing-loadings eventually rendered bungees obsolete. Bungee are still okay provided you: stay within that narrow wing-loading range, avoid hop-and-pops and calibrate them every few hundred jumps. Back during the 1990s, I sewed bungee cords into hundreds of pilot-chutes and even jumped one for a decade or so, but by the time I routinely jumped canopies loaded at 1.5 pounds per square foot, my old bungee pilot-chute word out and I replaced it with a kill-line pilot-chute. If the pilot-chute fabric has become too porous, just buy a replacement.

These dirty old men are being fired because of 'generational stagnation' and changing sexual mores. Back when they were rising stars, they learned one set of standards for sexual behaviour. That set of old values rewarded them well for decades, ergo they saw no reason to change. Unfortunately, sexual standards and word meanings changed over time. The sad thing is that journalists are getting fired because they act oblivious to changing social standards. The sadest thing is that some dirty old men are being persecuted for things they did decades ago. Isn't there a legal principal that says that you cannot be tried for sins committed before a law changed? I am not defending dirty old men, just saying that it is cruel to punish them for things they did decades ago, when societal norms were different. Since those sorts of sexual advances are no longer considered polite in modern society and those dirty old minds are impossible to change .... sometimes they need to be "encouraged" or forced into retirement. The worst thing is dragging the scandal out in public because rape trials have never been gentle on victims and repeatedly recounting traumatic events can cause Prolonged Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Over the years I have dropped (S/L, IAD and AFF) students with a bewildering array of main canopies: military-surplus rounds, Para-Commanders, big (300?) docile CAS canopies, DC-5s, Mantas, Skymasters, Lasers, Navigators, Solos, etc. I have also jumped most of those canopies. Mantas are the industry standard for student canopies. Mantas are available with all F-111, hybrid (half F-111 with ZP top skin) or all ZP. Unless students exceed 200 pounds (90 kg) all ZP Mantas take forever to land, so we only hang the heaviest students under all ZP Mantas. All ZP Mantas are also slow to pack. Fortunately, these days most student and tandem mains are hybrids with ZP top skins and the rest F-111 which makes for quick packing and consistent flares. I was most impressed with Solos. During my first jump on a Solo 270, I enjoyed the opening and turns but was most impressed with the flare! That Solo 270 "hovered" for a couple of seconds before setting me down softly. When packed neatly, Solos open neatly. In conclusion, if I were buying canopies for a school, I would recommend 9-cells in the 230 to 300 square foot range with ZP top skins, but the rest F-111. For suspension lines, I recommend a zero-stretch line like Spectra or Vectran. All of the major manufacturers make decent student canopies these days, so test jump and shop around (major dealers) to determine which will sell at the best price. Finally, when debating price versus quality, always go with quality because you will only regret buying better gear once.

Seriously, if your mouth hangs open, it will scoop too much air. In freefall, it is easier to breath through your nostrils. Consciously controlling your breathing helps control fear because the average human can focus on breathing of fear, but not both at the same time. Breathing out helps you relax. Relaxed skydivers fall smoother, see more, etc. For example, some Canadian schools teach freefall students to breath consciously during exit. Conscious, mindful breathing also helps Accompanied Freefall Instructors time their exits. Students start by lining up in the door. They gaze lovingly at the propeller. As they breath out, they swing out. As they breath in, they swing in. As they breath out they swing out of the airplane. Swings do not need to be huge, as long as other team-members /instructors can clearly see the breathing cycle. Breathing also helps regulate a medium-speed place for the exit count. Finally conscious breathing does not require learning a fancy new set of words/lip movements. Similarly, on final approach (to landing) I often hear myself mumbling through a checklist that includes breathing through my nostrils.

Been there. Done that. Dislocated my shoulder. Dislocated my knee. A judge recently concluded: seat belts might have reduced injuries.

Yeah! Whatever psiifish said. Save the old card and staple it to the new card. If you worry about losing or washing your reserve card, save a photo-copy. If you are selling gear, follow tradition by sending the card with the reserve canopy and a photo-copy with the container.

There was a bewildering array of experimentation during the 1970s. Back around 1980, we had not standardized on cutaway right and open reserve with left handles. Eventually we standardized on the current: right hand open main, right hand cutaway and left hand open reserve. I simplify this for students by telling them to work along a diagonal line: starting at thier right hip, then diagonally up to their left shoulder. The Australian Parachute Federation has a tradition of starting every accident report with: "The deceased was wearing borrowed gear." Standardizing handles has reduced the number or car accidents, motorcycle accidents, airplane accidents, parachute accidents, computer accidents, etc. I have only sewn a handful of left-handed BOCs and they were all for guys who never regained full-mobility after injuring their right shoulders. The first customer's right arm got shot up in Viet Nam.

------------------------------------------------------------- Yes! Even if you only learn how to psycho-roll the canopy, it is way easier to "bag." When you roll a canopy, you reduce it to a single "log"'with only one outer surface: center cell. The single outer layer of fabric helps prevent all the rest of the fabric from sliding sideways. As for practicing on your own??????? I have mixed emotions about solo practice. Your first few practice pack jobs should be done under the direct supervision of a coach or rigger. THEN go practice at home. Next Saturday, ask the same coach to watch your first pack job of the weekend. I also helps to do the same step a dozen times to burn it into longer term memory. Finally, learn to match your packing pace to the pace of the canopy. Because it is difficult to squeeze air out of new canopies, you can jump up and down and scream at it for 5 minutes, or you can lay on it quietly for 5 minutes. Either way, it will take 5 minutes to squeeze the air out. Once you have squeezed the air out, clamp the canopy with a knee and move onto the next step. By clamping the (partially folded) canopy, you prevent ai from sneaking back in.

This is how both the Eos & the Reflex did it. Jerry Baumchen ------------------------------------------------------------------- Voodoos also have RSLs pulling from the top of the shoulder. Two separate pieces of ripcord housing (flexible, spiral-wound, metal tubing) are securely tacked to the conainer. The longer housing extends from the ripcord handle (left chest) to the top of the left shoulder, while the second housing protects the ripcord cable between the pin and the top of the shoulder.

Why am I picturing a future skydiving school with a fleet of drones that haul static-line students to 500 or 1000 metres high? Drones would use GPS navigation to fly over the dz and drop students automatically over today's spot.

RSLs are a huge and complex topic. Since the 1960s, RSLs have evolved from 4-pin steel ripcords to curved Sigma pins that are not permanently connected to the ripcord handle. Racer is one of the few sport reserves that still uses 2 straight ripcord pins swaged (permanently squeezed) onto a MIL SPEC steel ripcord cable. Racer is unique - among American-built containers - in locating its ripcord pins in the back pad, against the jumper's spine. If an RSL is going to open a Racer reserve, it has to pull the ripcord pins out of the back pad. Racer has a more complex RSL that works great when assembled correctly. OTOH Racer RSLs leave more leeway for "creative rigging." "Creative rigging" can negate the virtues of any system = killing customers. In conclusion, I would only buy a Racer with a single-sided RSL and preferably attached to the right main riser. Disclaimer: I neither like or hate Racers, but seem to be one of the local rigger's who understands how to pack them. Today I have to repack a pair of Racer reserves and - if time allows - will repack a Strong seat pack, also with a Pop-Top reserve. Hint: I made my own Ghost Loops long before the Racer factory started giving out free Ghost Loops.

Flat glide angle implies a shallow angle of attack (flat) producing slow forward speed (less drag) and slow rate of descent. OTOH swoopers like to increase forward speed in order to build up excess speed that they translate into longer horizontal swoops. They increase forward speed by diving or turning their canopies. Diving is easier with canopies that already have steep angles of attack.

Outsourcing! Outsourcing! They are outsourcing everything these days .... even telephone help lines! The other day I was feeling so depressed that I called the suicide not-line. The connection was slow and scratchy, but eventually I got to talk to a guy with an Arab or pakistani accent ..... I could not hear clearly enough to identify his accent. "Garble, garble, mumble .... suicide hot-line. How can we help you?" So I started telling about my problems with airplane wrecks and lawyers ... He interrupted me to ask "Can you drive a truck?"

Hee! Hee! The OP never asked about Talons or Voodoos. Er ..... I was trying to remain unbiased ..... R.I. was still selling the ocaissional Talon 1 and lots of Telesis 1 when I started working for them in 1994. I had recently bought a '94 Talon and a couple of lessons - from factory riggers - taught me the finer points of packing the new generation of R.I. containers with molar bag, Stealth pilot-chute, etc. Eventually I incorporated those packing secrets into the Talon 2, Telesis 2 and Aviator packing manuals Talon 3, Talon FX , Telesis 3 and Voodoos all use the same Stealth pilot-chute and variations on that molar bag. I still jump my 1997- vintage Talon 2. If I needed to replace my 20-year-old Talon, a Voodoo Curv would be my first pick. The only limitation is that my old Talon refuses to wear out. In conclusion, yes I like packing Rigging Innovations' containers.

During the 2017 Parachute Industry Association Symposium, Gary Peek gave a seminar on C getting a 1957 Cessna 182 for jumping. Gary's PowerPoint slides are available on the PIA website.

Stabilizing chutes are often used when helicopters sling awkward loads.