hackish

It's my primary rig for the rest of this year. Next year the primary will have a katana 150. Again, I think I just need a few more jumps on this thing to decide if I'm going to keep it. -Michael

Still waiting for some good weather so I can jump this thing a few more times and make my decision. It will mostly be my backup canopy anyway. I still think it's a little insane the way it turns but it might just take a little getting used to. -Michael

My Jav looked like that when I was stuffing a Westway 200 into it (borrowed canopy). I found adjusting the bulk a little helped. I did this by widening the cone and shortening the s-folds. In my case it's just because the container was designed for a 170. -Michael

Sorry. Haven't been able to update the profile for like 2 years now. Internal Server error every time. Anyway, 350 jumps. Not a student anymore.

Been considering a Diablo 150. Test jumped one. One little tug on the toggle and it will corkscrew toward the ground until you stop it. Flying the canopy it doesn't appear to have a long recovery arc but I just can't believe how that thing turns. Makes me feel like a newb all over again. Of course it could just be way out of trim or something. Any real experience on the endless spiral tendancy? -Michael

Good question... I'm not too terribly fond of the idea of having the lines pass over the stows to the risers but the chances of this causing a problem are probably related to how neat you are. Another possible issue could be the locking stows tagging the reserve on opening and causing an out of sequence deployment. -Michael

Do not forget that case where a cypres that was turned off fired out the door of an aircraft. The advice when dealing with an AAD that won't turn on or off always should be to have it removed and inspected before jumping it again. I too saw a cypres that wouldn't turn off at the end of the day last year at a boogie. I also tried a trick someone on this forum mentioned where you take two AAD's side by side and press the buttons at the same time which would presumably work if the LED was inoperative for some reason (bad solder joint or bad wire). It didn't work in this case. I'm sure if there were as many (competing brand) out in the field you'd probably find some sort of consistant failure on those too. I would be interested to hear the official report from airtec. -Michael

For the computer geeks in here... purl, start a holy war! -Michael

If you are concerned about the unit having enough juice to flash the LED so you can turn it off then how the heck will it ever have enough juice to charge the cap used to fire the cutter in the event of a firing? Instead I would be leaning more toward a cable failure. -Michael

Another way to look at things - would you go for a skydive with a broken altimeter? If you've got thousands of jumps you probably have a good eye for how high you are. That's good enough isn't it? -Michael

Yes, all older folk plus Jim gave me a hand getting everything set up. Proper adjustment is a good point and one that did not escape us. That was the first time I actually put it on. There was a lot of excitement at the DZ that afternoon since someone had crashed an airplane so it was crawling with press and cops. We were grounded for 2h while they cleaned up the mess so many photos were taken and many practice capewell cutaways were done. -Michael

To be honest I didn't really look that closely at the yellow lines. Some of the older folks had it mostly packed by the time I got back from lunch. As already mentioned it was a Niagara Parachutes rig and the parachute was EAG. The reserve, loaned by Jim Wilson happened to match the rig very well. Strong Enterprises "Starmaker" 26'. Here is another pic. -Michael

Well it has toggles you know. I just steered toward the centre of the field. If I had known the landing would have been as "firm" as it was I would have worked harder to make the peas themselves. Since it doesn't have a lot of forward drive it is very important to carefully pick your spot. At 4k I was going backwards facing into the wind. By 2k it was all OK. -Michael

It's entirely guesswork on my part and I could definitely be wrong. The reason I think it would have less chance of snagging is this: Suppose you had the metal handle floating on the metal cable. If it's at the end of the cable - against the swage then there is (little as Paul points out) give. Something snagging it momentarily, arm, leg whatever else can easy pop the pin. With the extra play built into the spectra cable you can then have the metal handle extend an additional 3" or so before it starts moving the pin. Arm or leg it may allow the handle to pivot around the obstacle. May. It may not. When my insurace finally gets around to settling my new rig will probably have a R/C cable so I'll have all winter to play with it... -Michael

I looked into that sometime ago but I found that it would be very difficult with Canada's privacy laws. There are computer geek ways one could generate a verification number for every packjob - date plus rigger's number plus a secret passcode through a 1 way hash but that's too much effort spent on something that hasn't been killing people. On the subject of pencil packing, sometimes people say they can recognize their own packjob. When I open one I always look at it very closely - sometimes even measure where the S folds were made. If it's a really nice packjob then I do my darnest to copy it! On thing I found once was a small 3 hole punch sized piece of paper with the date and rigger's seal on it. It was inside the packjob. From a technical point of view it would never affect the airworthness or opening of the packjob but would be a far more effective way to show a packjob was yours. -Michael

How many jumps on it? Can you post photos of it just so we can all get an idea of what sort of shape the thing is in? -Michael

Sure it felt safe. I understood and worked with the elevated levels of risk while I was practising with the shot 'n 1/2 capewells on the ground. Main issue was completely different emergency procedures. Another issue was the spot and I spent considerable time triple checking it. Landed 10m from the peas. I liked it and want to jump it again. I throw this out for those who haven't ever jumped a round it defnitely adds a new level to a quiet peaceful canopy ride. Without a lot of forward motion you hear nothing up there. I could hear the voices inside my head quite clearly the whole way down :P -Michael

If this is happening to you regularly then I would suggest it is a major safety problem and you need to correct it before jumping again. I've only got 300 and change but this has NEVER happened to me. I have NEVER had a canopy wrap and I've NEVER had to use my knife. I've NEVER personally seen a handle floating, never seen a wrap, and never seen anyone use a knife. I know in this sport shit just happens but sometimes I think people stress about very unlikely events. Sir Snagsalot will probably never get a chance to slash his spectra ripcord. When the OP gets his spectra or mine come with my new rig then I will spend some time comparing it by jumping around as a fake floater... [reply[ Which one has a bigger probability of snags Metal or Spectra? (this is not a rhetorical question, I have no idea, I haven't tested this and I hate using personal hunches) I believe the metal since it will have no give whatsoever. In other words if it snags and is pulled 1" then your pin moved 1" - POP. The snagged spectra will first have to stretch the distance of the bungee section before it starts to directly apply the pressure on the pin. -Michael - Sir NoSnagsalot.

You could be correct on that point. Jim may have gotten some photos of the deployment as well. All I know is that it left my back then it felt like a scary long time before anything started to happen. There is no kicker plate on that one. I remember there being stows for the apex lines but I think they were part of the sleeve. I will have to look again next time I jump it. Of course this post wasn't about the PLF - although it did feel like I was a wet sack of potatoes falling from a truck. -Michael

Ok, one more. I know it's fuzzy but still a nice photo of the deployment. I'm almost at linestretch and the sleeve is still on. Any ideas on what that dark dot is under the pilot chute? -Michael

Since losing my gear I wanted to pick up an older rig to use as a backup. How old is too old? I tried this rig out but I'm not sure if I can put up with the landings. Thanks to Jim Wilson and Andre Lemaire for allowing me to perpetrate this jump. -Michael

No, I'm making fun of the image of some crazed tazmanian devil madly slashing everything in sight including the reserve cord. The chances of your reserve handle coming out are slim. The chances of a canopy collision are slim. The chances of having your reserve handle come out and being involved in a canopy collision are extremely slim. Now, reserve handle, canopy collision and lines wrapped around near your reserve handle coupled with hook knifing the spectra? If you live you'd better buy some lottery tickets! Taking the emotional argument out of the equation and using logic, science and probability, the metal cables aren't killing piles of skydivers every year. I don't believe switching to spectra will change this. They are, however easier and cheaper to manufacture. I believe they are easier to inspect than swagings. So take your pick but let's be reasonable in trying to see if there is a safety issue in this product. -Michael

We had a very good laugh at this at the DZ yesterday. If you're madly whipping your hookknife around you should be careful not to cut your reserve risers or legstraps too. As Booth said 3". If you happen to slash your spectra reserve then with a steel one you would have probably hookknifed the cable and deployed the reserve into the mess anyway. Maybe once you're done your mad slashing your AAD could successfully deploy the reserve in this case. Unless of course you believe AADs are unsafe too. -Michael

I think all the rigs mentioned are good quality. There are certain ones I like packing more than others. I think all the major rigs on the market today are safe enough for me to jump and have the track record to show that. Quality of construction, material used and all the extras seem to be the major differences. Some rigs do offer extras like the skyhook, magnetic riser covers etc, while others offer type 13 webbing instead of type 7. Personally, I am ordering a vector 3 with the skyhook and magnets. -Michael

Riggers should work to keep themselves current and that's one thing I use this forum for. Every time I'm in Florida I try to visit some place and chat with a local rigger/manufacturer and maybe even pack a reserve with them if the weather permits. It's all about continuing education. -Michael