hackish

It's too much trouble. All the riggers use the old school method of logging their reserve repacks. Most riggers could spent their entire career searching serial numbers and never find a match. Sucks when you lose your gear but it's rare that it ever shows up. I spent months searching all the classifieds sites without finding a single rig for sale let alone my own. -Michael

No, actually the photo was shot to foster the type of discussion that has occurred. I felt that it was improperly stitched but lacked the expertise to confirm this. It's outside the privileges of my ticket but if I were able to do this repair I think it would be best to unstitch it from the harness and replace it completely. -Michael

If my ticket allowed me to do a repair like this it sure wouldn't be done like that! It surprises me that any rigger would do that. Properties that type 8 and 17 lack: a) ultra-slippery property - allows the webbing to glide through the friction adapter both ways oh so easily. b) extra wide property - Standard width of the webbing should be 1 23/32 so. More is better right? You get an extra 5/16" of adapter bar impeding webbing to make chest strap removal a zip. c) extra strong property - 1500lb stronger than the 4000lb capacity of most chest straps. More than the friction adapter that holds it on... All joking aside this was found on a rig that was going to be jumped. I hope some educational feedback and discussion comes from the photos. -Michael

This rig was grounded but I still wanted to post up photos of the work for discussion. I don't have a problem with the strength of the webbing used. The width seems inapropriate for the friction adapter and it doesn't lock properly on the slippery polyester webbing. Photos attached. Sorry for the quality they were shot with my blackberry. -Michael

Is there a way to "fix" it if you're under said configuration? For example pulling down some of the lines to offset the opening and encourage opening? -Michael

I'm just impressed that an old geezer like Terry knows about these new fangled computer things. :P -Michael

I think it can be hazardous to assume 2 are better than one. Is the grommet large enough to allow both loops to pass? Was it designed for this? If both loops try to go through the grommet at the same time can they hang up? What if one loop is caught inside the other? My concern is that 2 loops are a bandaid for not maintaining one and may just cause more problems than they solve. -Michael

Read through the manuals. They list the procedure and with that you will know if you need any tools. Personally I use a piece of rigger's thread to pull the slink through the main canopy lines but you can use many different things for that. Pullup tool, piece of string etc. For attaching the d-bag some rigs use a mallion rapide and some don't need anything at all. On my Javelin i used a slink. Refer to your owner's manual 'cause I don't know the G4 off the top of my head. -Michael

As a rigger we must certify it as being airworthy. I think most responsible riggers will verify everything when a rig arrives without their seal on it. The advice stands and will be only as good as the rigger asked to certify it - as a further precaution the advice was to notify the rigger of the assembly procedure was given. Since the OP is reading all the instructions and following the directions I think it's reasonable to expect they'll probably get the main assembly part correct but the advice above was to also have a rigger check it anyway. If in the USA a normal jumper isn't allowed to hook up their main alone then having a rigger go over it will still shift the responsibility. If someone asks me to check their stuff over then it's going to be done as well as if I hooked it up myself. -Michael

I have a number of welding flow meters that go way past 15lpm. Not sure if they would work with oxygen as I use them for argon. Someone did give me a nice pair of shiny new medical O2 regulators. I've been meaning to build an O2 system for our AC. Haven't had enough time to read up on it as far as aircraft regs go. -Michael

I think you're well on your way if you're reading the instructions. Your rigger should double check the assembly and connection of the reserve and all that. Maybe mention to them that you assembled it so they can also verify your work on the main and such. Installing something like your AAD is probably also best left up to the rigger. Maybe you could arrange something with your rigger where the two of you could do the work - be a good learning experience for you. -Michael

My point was more that the extraction force will depend on what type of pilot chute you have. Some have mesh some do not. Some have longer bridles. Some are larger, smaller etc. The test may be somewhat valid for a racer but for nothing else. The TSO requirements are pretty specific about how the test must be done. It's a benchmark and has to be repeated X number of times with a dummy in the real air, not with a fish scale on the ground. This is a far more reliable method than trying to figure out how much of a tug you might have and call something theoretically non-airworthy. -Michael

Although I respect the fact that the Racer is a well assembled and carefully thought out rig it remains my second choice because of the availability of the skyhook on my first choice. Despite claims to the contrary I believe the physics of the issue put the racer on the losing end of the race for a skyhook aided reserve extraction. In the case the reserve pilot chute beats the skyhook (no main etc) then the subject of the research here becomes relevant. Because of its design the racer will probably beat most of the rigs out there. This test relies on a specific amount of reserve PC drag and therefore is of questionable use on other rigs. Somehow you would need to determine the coD for your type of rig as well as the dynamics of the pilot chute as it flies off your back and then changes attitude as the wind catches it. I definitely would not bet my life on a 300' reserve deployment although I have seen at least one of my packjobs chopped at 1000' and it opened with lots of room to spare/flare... Finally, if the rig is in good serviceable condition then should we trust a long complicated procedure that may be subject to a lot of assumptions or should we trust the fact that the gear has already passed the FAA TSO tests? Just my random thoughts... -Michael

Thanks DSE, Tried all the of the above, then got frustrated and installed the SW on my PC at work. Yay for lots of ram and quad core processors. -Michael

I decided to buy Sony Vegas Movie Studio. So I paid for it and installed it. Keeps giving me errors about can't load twain_32.dll. I googled that and came up with tons of people complaining but no solution that works. People suggested that WIA needs to be running which it is... Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem while running a legit version of the software. -Michael

If you guys have looked at the latest designs UPT is using they're a fair bit larger than these pins. I haven't tested them yet but they did give me a few to play with. I had some discussion with Nancy at Jumpshack about the pins they produce in their metal shop. Properly hardened pins should be able to be bent like 90 degrees and straightened again without snapping like a piece of glass. -Michael

I inspected the rig fully and there were no additional issues. So I was happy with that. For the most part I've been lucky getting ex-military border guards - some of whom have done at least a few static line jumps and seem to have an appreciation for what we like to do. When my new rig comes in from UPT I think I may just put my primary canopy in my backup rig for trips. -Michael

Thanks for all the info. I just hope they didn't poke any metal things through my brand new canopy. Haven't had the chance since I've been so busy at work and packing all the reserves for the upcoming season. I'll be doing a complete AIR before jumping it. Crazy the stuff done to inspect - hoping they never decide they want to disassemble or drill any holes in me as I get searched to enter the country! Don't worry sir, we'll just drill a hole in an inconspicuous place like your leg, nothing too noticeable like your forehead!!! :P -Michael

It is definitely not realistic to expect them to have some order not to search anything in your car, but it would be nice if they could have allowed me to be present while they were dicking with it. Weather here isn't going to be great tomorrow so I'm not going to jump it anyway but what if they inspect someone's rig, pull the cutaway out a bit then kink it going back in? That sort of thing might not be caught on a regular gear check. There are many what-ifs and what wuffo is going to know how to handle a rig anyway? Why did they pull the cutaway? Maybe it looked like a pocket that could be opened. Maybe they wondered if something was inside the pillow who knows? Think about the first time you ever saw a rig - hard to guess what everything was and what everything did... -Michael

Sorry, these guys were homeland security. The last time I went down I happened to get a border guard who had done 30-40 jumps and he actually knew how to handle a rig so I was happy with that. This time I got captain Dick. I've learned that they're not the people to piss off lest they volunteer me for a rectal exam for every next time I want to get into the USA. I think the solution lies in ensuring the policymakers understand and write proper policies for handling our stuff. If that were in place then it would be simple to tell them to go look at SOP #12345 on what to do in the case they need to inspect a parachute. -Michael

This is a bit of a rant but safety related all the same. Today I drove down to NYC from Ottawa, Canada. I'd like to do a jump or two at the ranch if the weather is good so I brought my rig and all my equipment. The border guards wanted to search my car so I told them that there was a parachute in the luggage in the trunk, it is a life saving device and it was very important that it be very carefully handled etc etc etc. They would not allow me to be present or watch as they searched the car because it's against their policy. I wasn`t able to keep an eagle eye on what they were doing. This evening, arriving at my hotel I opened my luggage. They`d gone through everything. The pilot chute was still intact but the main pin was popped. and the bridle 1/2 pulled out. The cutaway handle had been pulled and then stuck back in place (obvious because of the cables being visible. One 3 ring was released because of this. The reserve handle was also out of its velcro but fortunately not pulled. I understand that US Customs has a right to bend you over and search every nook and cranny of your car, luggage or whatever but this just simply does not seem right. Should a wuffo customs agent have the right to dick around with your rig in a way that could kill you? I can't imagine any malice involved - just someone who doesn't understand how to handle a rig, oops, this red thing came off, I'll stick it back where it goes... I'll repack the main and triple check everything before I jump it but I'm still a little pissed off about this incident. Maybe the USPA could get involved with homeland security and work on a published SOP of them when dealing with parachutes during a border (non-airport) search. -Michael

I find that Racer owners are like Mac owners. It's so easy to start a holy war. Like every rig out there they have some unique features that set them aside from the rest, but like everything they have their problems too. -Michael

I used to love cars they were my hobby. I've been working on them full time now for 6 years. I hate cars now. Make sure your choice doesn't ruin your hobby. I vote for getting a job in your educated field. -Michael

I went through Rob's course. There was a lot of vintage stuff that we won't see in the field unless our initials are J.W. For me it was valuable to see how we've arrived at present designs and to see what some of the problems were in the past. I think most people out there really don't need to be able to pack a round reserve. At some point I'll probably earn my round rating just out of interest but nobody is going to ask me if I can pack their round reserve. -Michael

Basically it costs close to what the freebag and pilot chute cost if you lose them. I spent almost an entire day trudging around a florida swamp looking for a freebag and main. -Michael