riggerrob

.............................................................................................. 2) What are the pros and cons of a D-ring steel reserve handle versus a reserve pillow? ....................................................................... Steel D ripcord handles as best for grumpy, old, grey-bearded POPs who learned (primacy of learning) how to pull shiny reserve handles when they were young and beautiful and please don't waste your time telling them anything new! Huuummmpppfff! For example, 37 years ago, I pulled a metal reserve ripcord handle and lived. All my rigs have had metal ripcord handles. The minimum standard (that I am comfortable with) are the fabric loop reserve handles installed on Sigmas. I like handles that I can stick a thumb through. Too much frostbite and a bit of arthritis make me wonder if I could pull a pillow reserve ripcord on a cold day. Metal handles are easy to find by feel even when your goggles fog up. A disadvantage is that sometimes your buddies pull loop handles accidentally during linked exits. Pillow reserve handles look best on ten-way speed-star competitors where rough-and-tumble exits increase the risk of accidental deployment. .................................................................................................." 3) While we're at it, what are the pros and cons of a (soft) D-ring cutaway versus a cutaway pillow? Who would benefit and who would not? .................................................................................................. OTOH release handles need to be lighter - to reduce accidental releases - because release pull forces are rarely more than the effort to peel Velcro. A different "feel" adds tactile feedback during high stress malfunctions. If you want a loop release handle, then buy a handle that lays flat on your chest - to reduce the risk of accidental deployment. For solo rigs, I prefer the rubber-coated, pillow, release handles installed on Voodoo Curv. "Pocketed" release handles on Strong tandems are better, but my favourite release handles are the fabric loops installed on Sigmas. Tandem reserve and release handles are less likely to snag accidentally because they are protected by students' shoulders.

But a Pelican case that classifies as carry-on luggage: 21" X 14" X 9". Pelican 1510 measures 22" X 14" X 9" so you MIGHT be able toe ram it on as carry-on baggage, but I would buy the next smaller model to carry a solo rig, plus jumpsuits, helmet, etc. You might have to carry the helmet in a second bag. Airlines usually allow you to carry a carry-on plus a briefcase.

Agreed DBCooper, Last time we ferried our Cessna 205, just before take-off, I noticed the baggage door ajar, so we reclosed it (from the inside) just before takeoff roll. Not sure if the pilot even noticed. This baggage door has an after-market, sheet aluminum cover protecting the door latch from the inside. That was the only time I have seen that door open. I probably have 1,000 jumps from that particular 205.

As elegant as Poo-Pourri toilet deodorant and waaaay more classy than anus bleaching.

........... We mostly jump a mix of static-line students and sports jumpers. Adjusting the club gear to include a seatbelt by default may be an option, but we definitely cannot mandate that on sports jumpers individual gear. ................................................................. Agreed! So you loop semi-permanent harness belts onto school harnesses and offer them to instructors. Confirm that semi-permanent harness belts are compatible with Hooker tag-line or stock Cessna buckles. Leave the Hooker or Cessna belts installed in the airplane. Visiting sport jumpers can still use Cessna or Hooker belts in the normal manner.

Reminds me of a customer who jumped a Vector 2 with an RSL and "6" pin similar to Tandem Vectors. When his main spun up, he cutaway and followed through with his steel reserve ripcord ......... er ........... he tried to follow through with his reserve ripcord. Since the first tug did not remove the ripcord cable from the spiral housing, he tugged again. By the fourth tug, he was getting desperate! Then he looked up to see a fully-inflated Micro Raven 150 overhead! Hah! Hah! Moral of the story: a Sigma pin can jam sideways to the mouth of the metal housing. No big deal, because the pin is out of the Cypres loop and the reserve pilot-chute is long gone! On another note: RWS/UPT has installed at least 4 different thicknesses of slightly-curved reserve ripcord pins (aka Sigma or 6 pins). The first "6" pin was made of stainless steel wire and brazed to close the loop. A few other manufacturers (e.g. Parachutes de France) have copied the early "6" pin. Most subsequent pins are made of sheet stainless steel. The first few Sigma pins were thin and cold stamped from sheet steel. Later "6" pins were stamped from thicker sheets of stainless steel. The most recent Sigma pin is forged and thicker than earlier pins. If a customer wanted a replacement ripcord for his Vector, Micron or Sigma, I would order the most recent version of Sigma pin from UPT.

......................................................................................... Thanks for sharing that YouTube clip on an Australian improvement to Hooker's tag-line belts. "Good on ya mates" for continuing to think-outside-the-box ...... er ...... casket. Good idea stowing un-used belts along the cabin wall. Those extra buckles reduce "belt counts" to a 1 second glance. I am curious as to why the Australian narrator said that Hooker belts will be "obsolete in '17"? Is this an Australian government standard? I still prefer the belting method illustrated in the FAA's 1998 report: through an upper leg strap, the around the Main Lift Web, because it limits how far up the MLW the belt can slide ...... limiting the size of your flail arc ...... limiting the number of buddies you boot in the brain case during a bad landing. If I may suggest an alternative: attach belts/lanyards to harnesses on a semi-permanent basis. For example: how about clipping tandem students' side straps to cargo rings (alternate Maillon Rapide #6 connector link)? When I mentioned this option to a major tandem manufacturer, they gave a vague, boiler-plate answer "we can neither confirm nor deny ...." then admitted that they could not afford to certify a harness-belt configuration that crosses the border between FAA TSO-C22 (seat-belts) and C23 (parachutes). Another alternative is issuing each instructor with a short loop of webbing - that wraps around their hip joint - and is compatible with existing aircraft belts. It helps if he/she clips to the adjustable end of a regular seat-belt.

Only the skinniest of skydivers could exit through the baggage of most single-engined Cessnas. In the worst case scenario, you lean against the baggage door. The door opens. Your pilot-chute gets out. One of your canopies inflates. If you are lucky, you suffer a few broken bones as the canopy drags you out of the airplane. If you are unlucky, the pilot loses control and has to land a plane full of jumpers suspended by only a 96 square foot reserve. I would only lean against a baggage door if it was bolted shut and the boot was secured with locking-wire, cotter-pins and a large dab of Locktite!

Adrenaline is a great cure for exercise-induced asthma! Did I tell you how much I enjoy adrenaline?

Most schools - that I worked at - insist that harnesses be snug before students leave the hangar. Then you do a quick harness check before boarding the airplane. Harness adjustment is difficult in large airplaness and doubly difficult in cramped airplanes. Any inflight adjustments are psychological/reassuring the student because MLW go slack when sitting, but tighten up when they arch. In conclusion, a slack harness - during boarding - killed one tandem student. We learned our lesson and there is no excuse for repeating that miserable lesson.

.......................................................................................... Does your local rigger have a pair of "Ghost Loops?" There are two methods for packing Racer reserves (aka Pop-Tops): Ghost Loops or the hard way. I used to manufacture my own adjustable Ghost Loops, but now they are free from the Racer factory (aka Parachute Labs).

These are leading questions ...... leading us to say that your invention is a good idea. It would help if we knew more about your invention. For example, please explain how your invention can speed openings when current, military static-lines pull parachutes to line-stretch within 2 seconds of exit and negligible altitude loss. You might want to allow multiple answers for respondents who have military jumps, recreational jumps, BASE jumps and experience test-dropping parachutes. At a minimum, separate questions into round versus square parachutes.

........................................................................................ Would installing a large nose-wheel (Cessna factory option) help with propeller clearance?

.................................................................................... Did Nick Burden say WHY he cutaway his home-made parachute? I suspect that the colours clashed with the rest of his wardrobe. Hah! Hah!

Who's local cut shop has spare time on their laser cutting table? The future includes designers e-mailing cut files to your local cut shop. You provide a bolt of fabric and go home with cut pieces complete with alignment marks and panel numbers.

Good point quagmarean, My first kit-parachute was 210 square feet 7-cell. I gained some weight, so my second kit-parachute was a 220 square foot 9-cell.

Has anyone considered how all this extra paperwork Prolongs Traumatic Stress? Some of those veterans returned from nasty places with miserable memories. Some are simply trying to forget their miserable memories. Put miserable memories behind them ....... allow them to fade in their rear-view mirrors .. ..... The last thing they want is to be reminded of their miserable military service years after the fact.

In comparison, when Canadian soldiers returned from Afghanistan, their danger pay, overseas allowance, etc. were tax-free, allowing them to buy nice cars, pay off mortgages, etc.

What is TBO on Allison/Rolls-Royce 250? How often do they run till TBO? How much does an overhaul cost? How often do they bed hot section inspections? How much does a hot-section inspection cost? Same questions for PT6A-20?

mr2mk1, If I may add a couple of tips? When you slide the d-bag under the canopy, kneel on the corners of the bag lip. Then your knees clamp the canopy to the bag to the floor. Clamping prevents the bag from wandering and frees up both hands for stuffing the canopy in. If the canopy tries to expand - out of the bag - knees prevent expansion. Another tip: fold the canopy in half (so that the bridle attachment is down near the slider. Stuff that mid-fold into the top corners of the bag. The second step stuffs the top quarter of the canopy into the bag. The third step folds the slider into the middle of the d-bag.

....................................................................................... If you stop taxing the wages of government employees, then you eliminate two or three levels of bureaucracy, saving (civilian) taxpayers a few million tax dollars per year.

Please clarify - why would an open riser cover result in a wrap or cause the need to cutaway? I did some head down back when riser covers did not exist at all. .............................................................................................. If the packer is too lazy to stow excess steering line (between toggle and cats' eye) they increase the risk of entanglement. Double risk if they deploy unstable with loose steering lines flopping about.

................................................................................................... Soloy turbine-converted only one Cessna 185, back during the 1980s. Since it was their first fixed wing conversion, Soloy used the Allison (now Rolls Royce) C250 engine to test a new reduction gearbox and do market surveys with bush pilots. The newer, more powerful engine burned more fuel, reducing range or cargo. Soloy eventually perfected their turboprop conversion with Cessna 206 and 207 conversions, which proved popular with bush-pilots and dropzones.

You are talking about child support but the article is referring to something different--alimony. ............................................................................................ Not all judges can remember the difference between child support and alimony. For example, after I left my ex-common-law wife, she dragged me into court and demanded spousal support. There were no children involved. The judge recognized that she was too fat, too lazy and too sick (in body and spirit) to support herself. Since the Canadian government did not want to support her, they ordered me to send her a cheque every month. I made all the payments (despite being off work for a few months due to injuries suffered during a plane crash). The misery dragged on for 7 years after I left her! Ironic how a man on unemployment insurance was still paying spousal support. Talk about "death by a thousand cuts."