riggerrob

Tandems are fun and news-worthy, but may I suggest a simpler way to parachute dogs onto the trail of poaches? Static-line vastly simplifies training and weather requirement. S/L jumps can be done as low as 500 feet, if clouds force you down. That low, you would want a military-pattern round canopy. It takes about a week's worth of practice before they are ready to jump onto the trail of poachers. If you can bump exit altitude up to 3,000 feet (1,000 metres) then you can use (300 square foot) square canopies and school would still only require one week. For S/L jumps, the handler straps the dog across his knees (similar to a rucksack). Note that tracking dogs already wear fancy harnesses/vests. Once his canopy is open, the dog handler lowers his dog on a 4 metre lowering line. The US Army dogs have done S/L jumps since circa 1950.

....................................................................................... Brilliant!

Racer risers have RSL rings on both sides. When I worked at Square One we had dozens of rental rigs and canopies. To eliminate compatibility hassles, we installed Racer risers with mini rings on rental harnesses with large rings (RW-1). Outboard RSL rings slightly increase the risk of accidental snagging and pulling the reserve ripcord prematurely ..... slightly.

Cookie Fuel Roller mount.

First, all the seat-belt buckles should be the same type. IOW only one type of belt buckle throughout the airplane. Secondly, pair them. Bolt a female buckle, then two male buckles together, then two female buckles together, then two male buckles together and repeat along the bench. Colour-coding can also help: red male and female belts for the first person, then orange belts for the second person, yellow belts for the third jumper, etc.

NickyCal, There has been no "official" change to seat-belts off altitude, but fashion is trending upwards .... similar to the way fashionable opening altitudes are trending upwards. The old logic of waiting until you climb above 1000 feet considered that you were high enough to open a reserve and the engine(s) had survived the first power reduction. Most aircraft engines are only rated for full, take-off power for a minute or two. Run them too long and they overheat and melted bits start falling off the engine(s). The new logic - behind waiting until you climb above 1500 feet - is related to collision avoidance. Since most of the "Sunday fliers" enter the landing pattern at 1,000 feet, that is the altitude with the greatest risk of a mid-air collision.

For pictures of tag-line belts (sewn by Hooker Harness) see Annette O'Neil's 4th article about seat-belts on the dropzone.com home page. Hooker belts are also referred to as "single-point skydiver restraints," etc. They bolt to one original seat-belt fitting - on the floor - and wrap around the jumper's harness hip joints Sadly, original seat-belt anchors in single-engined Cessnas are poorly placed to anchor skydivers. We normally seat all skydivers facing aft: one tandem pair behind the pilot's seat and another tandem pair leaning against the co-pilot's instrument panel. If the Cessna is large enough (205, 206 or 207) to accommodate a third tandem pair, they sit farther aft on the right side (from the pilot's perspective.

Courts recognize that some one has to support a child. Since governments do not want to support the child on tax-money, they bully the father into paying.

Update:I now have 4,500 tandems 20+ reserve rides 0 packed by me. Most of my early tandem reserve rides after F-111 canopies (Strong 425 and 520) tore on opening or broke lines. Desert dust accelerated wear on those canopies. Since converting to ZP tandems (SET400j, SET366, Sigma 420-ish, Racer 400-ish, Icarus 330 and 360) most of my mals have been tension knots on Spectra suspension lines. Even suffered one step-through - that I landed. A dirty look at the new packer solved that problem. We always seemed to suffer a malfunction the first month after hiring a new packer. I have also noticed (wearing rigger hat) that smaller ZP mains (e.g. Icarus 330) are more likely to spin-up during opening. I have suffered a few "slider suck downs" that cleared, but those could have been prevented by 25 jump inspections and owners who were willing to reline as per Strong Enterprises' instructions (400 jumps per line-set or when difference across the A lines exceeds 3 inches). Caveat: I am not dissing Strong because I have seen similar line shrinkage problems on Spectra lines made by a half-dozen other factories.

Did your local DZ use electronic manifesting software a decade ago? Electronic manifesting can remember base-line data: date, altitude, airplane's, coach, etc. Also ask USPA to dig up data Tom your last license.

You are correct Keithbar. I need to look at the label close enough to determine whether it is a Velocity or Valkyrie.

You nailed it Annette! Every decade .... or so ...... skydivers ask me to sew up an ash bag. Now the local DZO is "encouraging" me to sew up my own ash bag. "It will be easier on the survivors." I would prefer to spend my time sewing seat-belts ...... 'cus more seat-belts equal fewer ash dives. Clarification: Hooker (single-point skydiver restraints) come standard on new jump planes like Kodiaks and PAC 750s, and can be retrofitted to another dozen types of old jump-planes.

Over on the swopping forum, there is a thread about Performance Designs offering complimentary line sets for the first thousand Valkyrie canopies. I suspect that the problem is unusual wear patterns on Valkyries that have "more than 300" jumps on their first line set. Moderators: please cross-link ..... merge this thread with the thread on the swooping forum because both riggers and competitors need to be aware of this problem/solution.

..................................................................................... Good point about "furiness!" Back when Dacron lines were fashionable, we replaced them when they got furry because the incidence of tension knots increased dramatically with furry lines. Desert dust complicated the issue, causing even faster furriness and more tension knots. Desert dust also abbrades suspension lines much faster. As mentioned in the recent Thai fatality report, some videographers are making a thousand jumps per year on 300 suspension lines and pulling more Gs during their landing pattern than during opening shock. No wonder the (Russian jumping in Thailand) videographer broke a 300 pound line. Hardcore competitors only expect 300 pound lines to last 300 jumps, so re-line their canopies on a regular basis. We doubt if videographers are replacing 300 pound lines very 300 jumps. I suspect that Performance Designs' latest announcement (complementary line sets for the first thousand Velocities) is a response to videographers making "more than 300" jumps on 300 pound line sets. Which reminds me ...... There is an early Velocity in my loft. I will have to double-check the serial number.

Amusing how that UPT interview combined two sales pitches about a new d-bag design and a new removeable deployment system. How long before we combine both functions in a RDS? Hah! Hah! ...... similar to the deployment system on PZ-81, Rogallo reserve (made in Russia). PZ-81 bridle links the reserve pilot-chute directly to the slider, preventing premature descent of the slider. Some American-made, military HALO and HAHO containers use similar bridles and they were popular with some Jalbert Para-Foil jumpers circa 1980. Double-length bridles doubled the reefing force of a single pilot-chute. One end of bridle was tied to the pilotchute, while the other end was tied to the middle of the bottom skin. The bridle ran through a pulley sewn to the middle of the slider.

On sizing of main lift webs ........ The Javelin method is easy. Start by asking a buddy to measure your height and inseam (sans shoes). Subtract your inseam from your height. Subtract another 20 to 22 inches (head and neck) and compare the result with the length of your MLW. Measure your MLW from the bottom of the 3-ring to the hip joint. For example, I stand 72" tall with a 32" inseam. Minus 22" (head and neck) = 18" MLW.

Back during he last century, Richard Bach TE-fuelled his Piper Cub at Snohomish, Washington. We chatted briefly and Richard suggested that I read "Bridge Across Forever." Bridge cured me of a bad skydiving habit. Thank you Richard.

Dear mathrick, We agree on most of those points. Both Collins Lanyard and Skyhooks are add-ons to RSLs. Whether an RSL ends in a pin or a Skyhook or a lasso is off to the side of th OP. As for Mr. d. We could get into a long and rousing debate about the curvature of L.O.R. and Sigma. They are more curved that MIL/PIA SPEC ripcord pins but less curved than Asauito-pattern curved main pins. Because Sigma and Asquito pins are curved, they can be pulled from a variety of different angles.

Dear Mathrick, We realize that English is not your first language, but we should still be careful about terminology. A variety of RSLs try to solve the problem of ensuring that both main risers are released before deploying the reserve .. with varying degrees of success. The only "dual RSL" rig that I have packed was an Atom made by Parachutes de France. The French L.O.R. system has two separate RSLs. The Atom reserve is held closed by two curved pins inserted into separate closing loops. Both closing loops are routed up through a single stack of grommets. Each pin is connected to a separate RSL which is attached to a different main riser. Both pins need to be pulled before the reserve container will open. L.O.R. pins can be pulled by RSLs or the reserve ripcord handle. Sigma uses a variation on the L.O.R. system, but only one pin and only one RSL. That single RSL is only attached to the right main riser. When you pull the cutaway handle on a Sigma, both cutaway cables fall away. As the right riser releases and the Collins Lanyard pulls the cutaway cable to the left riser. The Collins Lanyard ensures that both risers release before the reserve pin is pulled. Racers use "cross-connector" RSLs that is attached to both main risers and routes under the reserve ripcord. Both main risers need to leave before there is sufficient tension to pull the ripcord. The disadvantage is that - in some circumstances - a cross-connector might choke off the reserve (e.g. main released after the reserve has deployed.)

Just watched your first video. Your problem started when your pilot-chute got loose at faster-than-normal airspeeds. Deploying any parachute faster than it was designed for is asking for trouble in the form of hard openings, out-of-sequence openings, torn fabric, torn muscles, etc. Start by reviewing your packing techniques to reduce the risk of pre-mature pilot-chute deployments. Amusing how you "table totaled" the Seamless D-bag by demonstrating an out-of-sequence deployment (on the ground). Any rig can be "table-totalled" by bored skydivers, but not all those "table totals" can be repeated in the air. I have never packed a Seamless bag, but it looks like a two stacks (left and right) of 3 magnets each holds the mouth of the bag closed: line stow pocket magnet, closing flap magnet and bag magnet all working together to hold the d-bag closed until line-stretch. When you peel pocket magnets (before line stretch) you reduce the number of magnets and deploy the canopy out-of-sequence. Since pocket magnets never need to open (to deploy lines) they should help hold the mouth of the bag closed until line stretch. Then you should still have 6 magnets holding the d-bag closed. Also consider that magnets work opposite of Velcro. While Velcro is strong in shear and weak in peel, magnets are the opposite: strong in peel and weak in shear, so magnetic bags need different configurations than Velcro bags or bags held closed by rubber bands.

Lines catching on containers is usually due to sloppy packing. Circa 1980, trash-packing was fashionable and deployment bags were optional, do some jumpers just "figure-8ed" their lines in the main pack tray. That packing method worked great until some lines half-hitched around a side-flap. For some silly reason, during the 1990s, it became fashionable to bend main suspension lines around the lower corner of the resrve container. After resewing reserve containers back onto: Javelin, Sidewinder. Talon and Vector, I convinced the Sidewinder factory to add triangular "line guides" to the lower corner of their reserve containers. Grommet mania 2000. Now that more and more pond-swoopers are leaving more and more lines unstowed, we an expect another iteration of this foolishness.

Agreed! The challenge is asking when they are in a mood to chat .... not rushing to pack for the next load. Evenings are a great time to ask a few questions and listen to stories about all the mistakes that Parachutists Over Phorty (POPS) made when they were young and beautiful. They will cheerfully share their stories around the bonfire in he evening. They will share 3 or 4 stories if you bring a pizza or case of beer. POPS really do want young jumpers to acquire their knowledge .... without the scar tissue. The next best timer ask questions is during rainy days. Sign up for he next packing class at your DZ. Packing classes will answer many of your questions about gear. Stay curious, because curiosity keeps you alert: checking gear, checking your buddy's pins, checking the spot, swivelling your head to watch other canopies, checking the windsock one more time, etc. Because the day you quit learning is the day you should quit skydiving.

.................................................................................. Skydiving is ridiculously expensive in Japan, so you might want to book a one or two week skydiving vacation in Australia. You will get first-rate instruction and equipment in Aistralia. I know nothing about skydiving in the Phillipines.

What engineering data? AllI have as a rigger is that the Mirage is TSO'd in the low speed category and some PD's can produce more opening force than the harness is certified to. No "subtle wordings". ..................................................................................... And I just mentioned some drop-test results that prove that Mirage harnesses are plenty strong enough for TSO C23D.

......................................................................... If I hear the word "legal" one more time, I am going to vomit all over your shoes! You guys are sounding like lawyers. I fear lawyers because of the misery they have dragged me through over the past eight years ..... with no end in sight. GRRRRRR!!!!! Lawyers argue subtle wordings while ignoring the bigger engineering issues. Yes, the harness must be stronger than the opening shock, so that it does not tear. Since low-speed canopies and hard-opening canopies have disappearred from the skydiving scene, that side of the debate is irrelevant. As for modern Mirage harnesses not being strong enough to meet TSO C23B standard category opening shock ... I say "poppy cocks!" My 1985-vintage Mirage was as strong as a Vector or Racer harness .... similar materials, similar hardware, similar thread and similar stitch patterns. Twenty years later, Mike Johnson (sp?) designer of the modern Mirage G3 and G4 harnesses showed me a stack of drop-test data. I vaguely remember him saying that the drops were done on PD's drop test tower. He concluded that modern Mirage harnesses (doubled Type 8 MLW) were slightly stronger than older Mirage harnesses because Type 8 stretches slightly more than Type 7. That additional stretch allows webbing to absorb opening shock slower. The Mirage factory did not apply (to the FAA) to update their certification because repeating all the drop-tests to TSO C23D standard was cost-prohibitive. The FAA has long allowed parachute factories to continue manufacturing "aircraft accessories) under older TSOs provided they keep the fatality rate low. In the end, you guys sound like a mob of "barracks lawyers" when you argue over subtle differences in wording while ignoring engineering data.