riggerrob

This reminds me of a couple of other "dyed rigs. The first was brought to R.I. (aka the Talon Factory) by a San Diego-based rigger. The second owner had dyed the rig black with some unknown type of shoe dye. Sandy Reid's response was: "This rig was never here. We never saw it. We will not do any repairs on it. We will not do any updates on it." Sandy worried that mysterious dyes may have weakened harness webbing. Since the rig was overdue for a couple of updates, it was effectively grounded. A decade later, a Reflex showed up in my loft. The second owner had changed the colour of the Center flap with a felt marking pen. Since the colour change was only the outer (cosmetic) layer - several structural layers - I chose to ignore it. Have no seen that Reflex in a long time and suspect that it had retired.

"Snaking" through grommets only occurs when the closing loop is more than 0.5 inches (more than 1cm too long. Then the loop is so long that grommets no longer stack on top of each other and the excess closing loop gets squeezed between the raised edges of grommets, creating enough friction to hold the container closed until you slap it on the side. Several variables need to all stack - on the wrong side - before a container will hesitate: reserve canopy too bulky, closing loop too long, side flaps allowed to spread until grommets are no longer stacked, cutter low in container, weak pilot chute spring, etc. Improving any of those variables reduces risk.

................................................................................ Removing the yoke is a complex job requiring an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer's (A&P in the USA) knowledge, because if you remove too many parts, controls jam.

................................................................................. Big thank you to Dave Singer and his assistants within PIA for providing base-line data. This base-line data will eventually lead to more drop-tests to answer more complex questions posed on this thread. As for replicating rests with "bounced" rigs ..... the most blatant malfunctions can be replicated on the ground at slow deployment speeds. For example, the problems created by ridiculously long reserve closing loops was well understood a decade ago. Eric Fradet even sent me a diagram of a "worst case" long loop. As for replicating "stupid tight" container/canopy combinations ...... that is a well-understood problem.

The stronger the line, the more durable.

Agreed! Pat talks fast - but if you can follow - you will learn something every time you chat with Pat. The other issue is that Pat is more of a "zen" skydiver than a "nuts and bolts" skydiver (Dan Poynter and most riggers). I like Pat's approach to filling in "what-were-they-thinking?" behind modern practices and regulations because most regulations are written in blood, but people quickly forget the bloody lesson (crash in Perris 1992), and by the time regulations are published, the rules cannot be understood by reasonable men. Then lawyers find loopholes and the rule gets mangled beyond recognition. The only thing I fear more than airplane crashes is lawyers. We are fortunate to have people like Pat Works who fill-in-the-details of what-were-they-thinking way-back-when.

Specially-printed logbooks are available from USPA, CSPA, BPA, Cypres, Para-Gear and a dozen other dealers. As long as they contain all the important data: date, place, type of airplane, type of parachute, altitudes, distance from target, instructor's signature, etc. they are valid records. A notebook is not quite as good a record, because it does not have specifically-defined lines for data and you might forget to write down something important. The challenge comes when you apply for your next USPA license or rating and USPA headquarters staff cannot read the scribbles in your note book.

Lee Valley Tools.

The OP provided a good example of best-practices for night-jumps: familiar DZ, familiar airplane, familiar parachute, solo hop-and-pop, medium altitude, senior jumpers coaching junior jumpers, simple dive-plan, etc. The only hint not mentioned were cell-phones and whistles in chest pockets.

Nice job! I've done two, one preplanned and the other, well, not so preplanned. ........................................................................... Like John, I have only done two water jumps. The first jump was well-planed ...... near a friend's lake-side cottage. The evening ended with a BBQ. My second water-jump was not so well-planed ..... lost my jump-suit ...... missed the beach .... landed in a quarry .... near a clothing-optional beach .... most embarrassing! Hah! Hah!

I won't take people with dreds on tandems. I will vomit on that unwashed mess of bullshit. .............................................................................................. Not sure where your prejudice originated?????? While it is rumoured that some Masai warriors weave cattle dung into their dreadlocks .... North American dreadlocks get washed on a regular basis. I have never noticed any unusual smells from NA dreadlocks. OTOH I insist on people with braided, beaded cornrows wearing frap hats out of fear that their beads will ruin my boyish good looks. Hah! Hah!

Well that's just wrong. I still take big people, but I don't take HUGE people anymore. And at some DZs I don't do fat fees, which means no one over 199. [ ................................................................................. Agreed. I took the biggest, heaviest, clumsiest students until my hair turned grey. My hair turned grey after that King Air crash. ...... hair colour ...... and strength changed because some wounds never fully-healed.

Looping a seatbelt through leg-straps works well structurally, but still allows your head to flail around a huge arc, maybe developing enough momentum to crack your skill when you head finally stops at a bulkhead, floor, friend, etc. Looping a seat-belt through a chest strap does reduce your head's flail arc, but might fail because most chest strap buckles are only 1/5 the strength of other harness buckles (500 versus 2,500 pounds). The best place to route a belt is between your belly and your harness at waist level. Belts - around your Center of gravity - prevent you from shifting far enough to unbalance airplanes. Anchoring near your waist also shortens flail arcs for arms and legs. Hooker belts perform the same way because they wrap around harness hip joints.

Hee! Hee! I had a similar experience with a tandem student who had massive dreadlocks! Since his hair was far too big to fit inside a leather helmet, his dreads blew in the breeze. I had to look around the dreads to see my altimeter. After opening, I had to push his locks away to confirm that 3-rings were still attached. He was an athletic carpenter/hippy from Salt Spring Island and we both thoroughly enjoyed the jump.

..................................................................................... Agreed. There are two paths to speed-flying. One path involves paying for hundreds of jumps from loud, noisy, smelly airplanes. The other path starts at your friendly, neighbourhood para-gliding school. Once you have mastered the basics of launching docile school para-gliders, you can take advanced courses on progressively faster wings until you are speed-flying. If my only goal was speed-flying, I would start at my local para-gliding school.

BASE is a distinctive sport off to the side of speed-flying and skydiving. All three started with regular skydiving canopies and harnesses, but that was back in the days when your average skydiver jumped a 220 square foot, 7-cell. Nowadays, BASE canopies are still 7-cells but closer to 300 square feet and specialized for low-speed openings. These days few BASE jumpers load their canopies more than .7 pounds per square foot. Most BASE canopies can legally - and safely - be skydived out of airplanes as long as you pack them into a big student rig. You might need to add a sail slider to soften openings. Speed-fliers and swooping skydivers evolved in the opposite direction with 9 or more cells, tapered platforms (elliptical), cross-bracing and lines trimmed for fast, steep, nose-down flight. Faster flight is also promoted by the much heavier wing-loading screen favoured by speed-fliers and canopy-swoopers ... as much as 4 pounds per square foot. Many skydiving canopies can be speed-flown, but will not last very long exposed to sunlight, cacti and thorn bushes. Recently, speed-fliers have adopted more durable fabrics (e.g. Dacron sail cloth) that are too bulky to pack into most skydiving containers. Speed-flying canopies also have skinny lines that won't survive many terminal openings.

The best USPA Group Member drop zones designate a separate "swoop lane" for small, fast canopies. They also enforce separate landing patterns for the "swoop lane" and pea gravel bowl. For example, a dz might designate only left-hand patterns for the "swoop lane" while students, tandems and sport jumpers all fly right-hand patterns. The two separate landing patterns should never cross.

The primary reason that TIs need to pass medical exams is because it was part of the original (1983) waiver to allow tandems. Back in 1983 Strong and Vector applied for a waiver to do tandems with the general public. They wrote tough standards (similar to ultralight instructors) that the FAA was familiar with and could easily approve. After jumping with a waiver for 25 years, the FAA finally, formally approved tandem jumping. Since the medical standard kept tandem fatality rates low for 25 years, the FAA, USPA and manufacturers saw no reason to "fix something that was not broken." OTOH the general public expects TIs to work to the same standards as airline pilots. Canadian TIs still need a note from a doctor (saying they are fit to skydive) but do not have to waste time or dollars on Transport Canada paperwork to acquire a full-fledged aircrew medical. Another factor is our aging TI workforce. After age 50, we might deteriorate rapidly. Hopefully a doctor will notice warning signs BEFORE a TI lapses into unconsciousness under canopy. In the end, I can forsee USPA relaxing medical paperwork to "equivalent to FAA Class 3 Medical" but the general public still deserves healthy TIs.

Sadly, lawyers devote enormous numbers of "billable hours" trying to penetrate "corporate shells." Lawyers only succeed when the corporation has deep pockets and committed gross negligence. Waivers discourage frivolous lawsuits and protect wounded against the long-winded, exhausting, frustrating, expensive process of suing to reclaim damages. Fortunately, now that Obama-Care requires everyone to carry medical insurance, there is less incentive to sue.

Students, BASE jumpers and precision-landing competitors tend to load their canopies around 0.7 pounds per square foot. A-licensed jumpers usual load thier first canopy around 1/1. Senior jumpers load canopies all the way up to 4/1. .... though I have never seen anyone survive landing a 7-cell loaded at 4/1. Hah! Hah!

Depends upon the school. The more progressive schools keep two or three sizes of student and rental canopies in service. Most of their fleet will be in the 280 square foot range, then one or two 230s and finally a few 190s. Once students demonstrate competent landings under 280s, instructors might allow a student to start jumping a 230. If you can borrow/rent a Triathlon 230 ... Great! I forget exactly the largest size of Triathlon. Again, the best person advise you (on canopy selection) is a local instructor who has watched your last half-dozen landings.

Agreeing with councilman, Get a Triathlon 210-ish and a similar-sized reserve. I vaguely remember a Swift Plus 215????? There was only one Service Bulletin on Swift Plus .... improperly bar-tacked suspension lines. Since the SB was written (early 1990s?) I have inspected and repacked dozens (maybe hundreds) of Swift Plurs and never found any defective bar-tacks. If you cannot find a decent second-hand Seift Plus, Performance Designs, Aerodyne, etc. all make slightly better reserves and major dealers (Chuting Star, Square One, Para-Gear, etc.) all have 210 square foot reserves on the shelf. Just phone around. Given your 200-ish pound weight and another 20 pounds of equipment, I would recommend canopies in the 220 square foot range.

In Canada, the "old man's seat" is sitting behind the pilot, facing aft. In the OMS, I have plenty of width to clip side hooks and spread my knees while tightenin side straps. The down-side is that the old man always gets the largest student.

Correction: before 2000, there were several different methods for measuring canopies, but since the turn of the century, most manufacturers have converted to Performance Designs' method. During the 1970s, every manufacturer used a different measuring method, with only Para-Flite and Parachute Industries of South Africa agreeing on the same method. ..... maybe because Para-Flite taught PISA how to build their canopies under license. During the early 1980s, the Parachute Industry Association adopted Para-Flite's measuring method as the industry standard and it worked great for measuring for rectangular canopies. Para-Flite, PISA and PIA measure canopy chord from the trailing edge to the the top leading edge. However, as tapered canopies increased in popularity, we began to see limitations to the PIA method. Performance Designs simplified its measuring method by measuring chord along the bottom skin. Before 2000, PD was the "odd man out" using thier own canopy measuring method that only considered bottom skin size (span multiplied by chord). Amusingly, before 2001, New Zealand Aerosports (aka. Icarus) used the PIA method, but converted to PD's method in 2001.

Practice arching by laying face-down in a hammock. Feel the muscles across your chest, belly and thighs stretch as they relax into the hammock. Alternately, you could lay your spine on a giant Swiss ball and feel gravity stretch those chest, belly and thigh muscles. As an earlier poster suggested, as long as your belly button is your lowest point and your chin is up, you will fall stable. The next step is learning to relax your arms and legs. So work hard on your arch (e.g. butt cheeks clamped tightly together) for the first few seconds after exit, then start relaxing arm and leg muscles. Wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes and wiggle your nostrils ..... um ..... er ........ breath through your nostrils. Durning dirt dives, feel air flowing through your nostrils as you focus on the horizon.