riggerrob

Opposite story from the early days of the US Army training tracking dogs to jump. These were tough, athletic dogs who cheerfully swam with their handlers, lept through obstacle courses, etc. First jump, they strapped dogs across thier trainers legs ..... Similar to the way military static-liners hang thier rucksacks. They lowered the dogs on ropes after opening and everyone enjoyed thier jumps. Second load was on a hot and humid day and a JM opened the door early to cool off the cabin ...... Before the third load, officers announced that all dogs must be securely strapped to jumpers before the door opened.

"Intimate" jump-master techniques can prevent a whole raft of problems. Best way to prevent a student from climbing back in (Cessna) is for the JM to "assist" (hand grip on harness) by "accompanying" them towards the end of the wing strut. I sometimes "tap" thier foot off the step. As soon as thier foot is off the step, I plant my left foot on the outboard edge of the step to prevent them from climbing back in. A firmly planted left foot also prevents them from whacking the step. "Crowding" the student allows intimate eye contact and yelling instructions in thier ear. If we fly too far past the spot, I can also peel thier fingertips off the strut. Finally, I am amazed that Danes can turn a profit with Cessna 182RG. I would have thought they were too heavy to climb well. I have seen a jump step installed on a later-model 182 with tubular main gear legs. On a similar note: the primary difference between a Cessna 206 and a 210 is the massive hump in the aft cabin. That hump hides the retracted gear, but also limits cabin volume to a pair of tandems.

I agree, I had someone drop a rig off for repack. She was a small girl and a newly licensed skydiver that had not jumped over the winter. Needed a repack and thought I'd let her pull ripcord to practice emergency procedures. She struggled and couldn't pull it. I could see the problem that she was trying to pull upward and not peeling the velcro. I stopped her struggles and spoke about peeling the velcro first and pulling down on reserve handle. The 2nd time she pulled it no problem. I suggested that she go to DZ and speak with instructor and practice in hanging harness. Good thing she did as during the refresher training she only really remembered her single handle gear emergency procedures, but her licensed gear is a two handle system. After a bit of retraining she was good to go. ................................................................................. I had a similar experience with the owner of a major West Coast DZ. Initially she struggled to pull a soft ripcord handle ..... until I explained the "peel and punch" process. She thanked me profusely for the lesson.

How many seconds do "paint ball" grenades "smoke?" Are they the same diameter as military M-18?

Moderators: should this thread move to the "incidents" forum? ...... or the "urban folklore" forum? Hah! Hah! Who's brother's cousins' ex-wife started this rumour?

I disagree. Keeping your legs arched (backwards) during most of the opening will improve stability ..... and reduce the number of line twists. I learned that lesson - the hard way - during my first few wing-hit jumps. We have heard this complaint (bruised thighs) from dozens of junior jumpers. We suspect that most of those bruises are caused by leg straps slowly sliding down (towards knees) during the plane ride, then rapidly sliding up the thighs during opening shock. The best way to avoid bruises is the ensure that leg straps are riding high in your crotch just before exit. The best person to teach that "3 of 3s check" is the same local instructor who helped you adjust your harness just before boarding the plane.

Yes, if you roll with the center (top skin) seam and orange warning label around the outside, you contain the entire canopy within one sheet of fabric: the center-cell top-skin. That single sheet of fabric is much easier to steer into the d-bag.

That same "!?&@$!" passed me as I was driving out of downtown Vancouver. I was driving a 60-foot-long articulated bus across the abut rare Street Bridge. The loud sports car passed me on the right, then passed two cars on the left before switching lanes to pass a fourth car. The Australian tourist beside me held up her fist with only her pinky finger extended! I busted a gut laughing! "I agree completely sister! .....er ..... What did you just say?" "He drives like a man with a small weeny."

To combin the best parts of Pro-packing and psycho-packing ..... I do most of a Pro-pack (over my shoulder) and gently lay it on the floor. Then I kneel on the bottom part of the canopy (to prevent the slider or steering lines from wandering). Then I push the bridle-attachment off to one side and start rolling from the top of the canopy. When I have most of the canopy rolled, I slide one corner of the lip of the bag under a knee and shove the rolled canopy into the top corner of the bag. Repeat on the other side. Stow lines in locking rubber bands.

I have a recurring nightmare about wandering around without my pants. I am mightily embarrassed during the dream, but no-one else seems to notice. Hmmmmmm?

You do not need to do a full Psycho-Pack to benefit from the rolling stage. I learned to roll canopies into the bag long before we heard of Psycho-Packing. You have the option of Pro-Packing the canopy over your shoulder (or hook) then laying it gently on the floor. Tuck the sides in gently until it approaches the same width as the d-bag. Then start rolling at the top. The Pro/Roll method is as easy to bag as a Psycho-Pack.

British Columbia tree-hitters have been doing some mighty silly things in the name of "carbon capture." First, they try to tax carbon-generating fuels, but then they just put the "carbon tax" in general revenues. I might respect a carbon tax if the money went directly to tree-hugging or non-polluting transportation (e.g. Electric city trollies). Another carbon-capture scam involves pumping waste carbon dioxide down depleted oil wells to squeeze out the last few barrels of oil! Holy copying the tree-nuggets to increase oil company profits! Hee! Hee! Finally, we are not going to drill for the last barrel of oil because it will be too deep and too far off-shore. As oil becomes scarce and prohibitively expensive, the rich will still be able to afford Lamborginis while poor folks will be stuck driving gas-guzzling old V8s. The rich will be able to afford two or three different cars to help convey the appropriate image to whichever clients they are meeting that. Lamborginis to impress bold customers. Lexus for conservative, wealthy customers and an electric car for meeting tree-huggers. Meanwhile, the working class (e.g. construction workers) need a large truck to carry them to construction sites off the main transit lines. They need a big truck to lock up all their tools but they cannot afford the latest and most fuel-efficient vehicles so drive huge, tired old beaters that consume great gallons of gasoline.

Hackish, Beware of awakening the dragon. Transport Canada knows less about parachutes than the FAA. Transport Canada knows little about parachutes and cares less. As long as parachutes stay out of the path of airliners (Class A, B, C and D airspace), TC would prefer to ignore them. Sometimes ignorance is a good thing.

I just peep thier fingers off the strut.

Only 5 things are "must do" when packing mains. All the rest are "should do" or "could do." Must do: 1- lines straight 2- brakes set 3- slider all the way up 4- closing loop snug 5- bridle routed correctly As long as the lines are neat, a ram-air canopy will open. As for straightening out lines .... once you are satisfied that there are no step-throughs, set the brakes and slide your hands up the lines. Take the slider with you. Look back to confirm that all lines are evenly tensioned. Grab all the nose openings and pull them off to one side. Give them a light shake. A lines will automatically fall together. B lines will automatically fall together. C lines get a bit vague, but are easy to find because they are all the same length. What happens with the bottom skin is insignificant, so just start at the A lines and flake the stabilizers outboard of the lines. The easiest way is to start at an A line and follow the tape along the edge of the stabilizer. D line placement does not have to be precise, as long as they remain near the centreline. Same for steering lines. "Steering lines over" are the most common result of sloppy packing. So grab all the stray D and steering lines and pinch them through the center seam as you wrap the tail around he canopy. Lummy gave some sound advice about bagging canopies. I start by folding the canopy on half (vertically) and stuffing the mid-point into the top corners of the d-bag. Then I scrunch the top quarter into the bag. Finally, I grab lines just below the slider and push the slider up until it "clunks" against the slider stops. Last step: shove the slider into the middle of the d-bag.

You could use negative reinforcement ... or you could use positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement involves thinking impure thoughts about naughty lads sneaking up behind you. Positive reinforcement involves fantasizing about sneaking up behind the most beautiful woman in the world. Either fantasy will clench your butt cheeks together tighter than a misers' wallet.

Paragraph 5 is especially accurate. A small-town (a fishing village up the coast) drug dealer bragged that he could buy any machine gun or rocket launcher he wanted. Both classes of weapons are "prohibited" for Canadian civilians. In the big city, repeat offenders routinely rent guns from other criminals. After the "hit" that gun goes into hiding for a few years. Most of those "hits" are against other organized criminals. Few innocent bystanders get shot in Vancouver. There is a two-way trade across the Canada-Us border with marijuana going south in exchange for guns and hard drugs.

Well, last I heard, Gowlerk traveled around the US - So I wasn't really referring to truck drivers themselves as much as I was referring to the ladies that frequent truck stops. . . Lot Lizards is what I was told they were sometimes called... ................................................................................. How many trucks have "no lot lizard" signs on the side because professional drivers just want to get their official 8 hours of sleep?

Coreeece, Be careful what you say, because your last post bordered on a personal attack. As for stereo-typing all truck drivers as white trash ..... Hah! Hah! How little you know about Canadian truck drivers. We have dozens of different nationalities in Unifor 111 (Vancouver bus drivers). As for the red-shirted assaillant being Quebecois .... I doubt it. She does not have have the "Norman face" characteristic of "pur laine" Quebecois. Sure, plenty of "pur laine" Quebecois have dark hair, but few have skin as swarthy as hers. Besides, she lacks the prominent Norman chin. I might know what Quebecois look like because I grew up in Lennoxville, Quebec and earned my degree at (bi-lingual) University of Ottawa. The assaillant might be from any of the other dozens of racial and ethnic groups that populate Quebec: Jewish, Jamaican, Italian, Portugese, United Empire Loyalist, Scottish, Scots-Irish, Irish Catholic, etc. Her hair colour and complexion are far too "average" to tell her heritage.

Pity they did not publish a sound track. It is impossible to determine the assaillant's ethnic origin by her hair colour or complexion. She looks as "racially average" as modern fashion models. My suspicion is that the assailant recently arrived in Canada from some troubled Moslem country. I suspect that the assailant was forced out of her homeland by militant Moslems, ergo she has little patience with orthodox Moslems who refuse to dress like average Canadians .... assimilate. On that note: Monday, my church welcomed a refugee family from Syria. The mother and (12 ish) daughter wore full-length hair scarves and long skirts while the father and young son wore jeans and t-shirts. My church applied to sponsor a Syrian refugee family most of a year ago and it has taken that long to complete all the government paperwork. Even with all the pre-arrival vetting, they still needed to complete 3 more hours of paperwork before they were allowed out of Vancouver International Airport. The red-shirted assailant provided the worst possible welcome to a new immigrant. The American example has shown repeatedly that the sooner you get immigrants into housing, schools, jobs, churches, health care, etc. the more likely they will assimilate and become contributing members of society. As for wearing hair scarves ...... that is the least of my worries ..... because I can remember my own mother wearing hair scarves back when they were fashionable during the 1960s.

More of a philosophical point: if you don't kill the occasional soldier in training, you never fully prepare them for war. Any military course should be cold and wet and windy and involve long hikes across rough terrain, scary things jumping out of the bushes, loud explosions, sleep depravation, bad food combined with too little food, etc. That is the only way to separate the warriors from the wannabees.

Yes Jerry, The marketeers are diluting our "skydiving" brand. Next thing you know, marketeers will start selling par-ascending as "parachute rides!" Shucks! On a more serious note, please share your grandson's version of his wind tunnel experience .... perhaps on the wind-tunnels forum.

The Special Air Service employs infantrymen, artillery gunners, forward artillery observers, tankers, medics, signallers, field engineers, auto mechanics, etc. These volunteers come from every regiment and corps in the British Army. A few SAS volunteers come from the (British) Parachute Regiment, but most have never jumped before starting SAS selection. Static-line parachute jumping is just one of dozens of courses that every prospective SAS operator has to pass during his/her training. If that SAS operator gets assigned to "Air" troop, he also attends HALO and HAHO schools. Most other armies pattern their "special forces" training on the SAS. Even the US Army's Delta Force was raised by Colonel Charlie Beckwith after he did an exchange posting with the SAS.

Agreed: The difference between 11,000 feet and 12,000 feet is insignificant. However, the worst DZs are willing to sneak tandems out at 4,000 feet on cloudy days ........ so 1/3 the altitudes you are talking about.

Fashion changed when square reserves came into fashion during the early 1980s. In 1981, Para-Flite introduced the first decent square reserve: the 5-cell, 176-180 square foot Swift. A couple of years later, Precision introduced the 7-cell, 176 square foot Raven 1 reserve. Back then most skydivers were jumping mains in the 200 to 230 square foot range. The next major change cane during the late 1980s when acid-mesh grounded large numbers of round reserves, sending skydivers scrambling to buy (proven, trusted) Swift and Raven reserves. Fortunately those Swifts and Ravens packed into the same volume (400 cubic inches) as the 26 foot diameter LoPos that they replaced. By 1990, most skydivers were still jumping main canopies with more than 200 hundred square feet of F-111, with only smaller women jumping 176 square foot mains. Then things got confusing when Parachutes de France introduced zero porosity fabric making much smaller mains practical.