hackish

When I was a student I jumped a sabre 210 for a few jumps and it had the second brake line. I didn't realize the 190 had it too but I do know the 170 and smaller do not have one. To the original poster download and read the owner's manual for that canopy. I've found many people who are unaware of the recommendations PD makes for what you should do on the nose of that canopy. While packing. If you don't like hard openings it's a good idea to study. -Michael

I think we should call Mythbusters. Although they probably won't do a lot of science I could see them dropping some things out of an aircraft and possibly blowing something up as well! -Michael

For excitement level I find the tunnel is like sex without the other person. Having said that I still enjoy tunnel time when I have something I want to work on. It's a great learning tool.

I wonder if a nylon sleeve inside the housing would improve the friction issue and mitigate the chances of the piece coming in contact with a metal burr. I have never seen a housing cut apart so I really don't know how they're made or what the chances are that a bur could possibly be inside. I like the UPT and PD products precisely because they are tested a lot. I've been considering getting a spectra reserve cord for my replacement rig. -Michael

I'd talk to L&B and see what they say. I was actually quite impressed with the cast aluminum body. Had mine for about 2 years. It got banged pretty good on the cessna door a few times but never gave me any problems. Can you maybe post pics of the cracks so others can look closely at theirs? -Michael

Sorry. What did you say? I'm wondering if anyone has considered the noise exposure in different planes? Skyvan is definitley loud! Or how about freefall with different helmets? -Michael

Even over an unpopulated area if you miss it you're still a litterbug. I've heard of an orange but personally I think they're all bad ideas. How about chasing an instructor? That can be safer and fun too. -Michael

I find it interesting when people approach a hop and pop for the first time. I started out with IAD so my very first jump was climbing out on the step at 3500'. I knew and loved canopy rides before I knew freefall. At a small DZ I fly with the tandems when I'm the 5th, but if the tandem has a video on a fuel load I find going solo from 10500 is boring. Hop & pop it is! -Michael

You can do it with an altitrack and a runway of known length. I calculated it for my Sabre2 on our 6000' runway and it agreed with published results. -Michael

I wonder if it looks at all like this: http://www.dropzone.com/stolen/Detailed/677.html -Michael

Has anyone ever seen those little units that measure blood oxygen content at the hospital? I wonder how expensive it would be to have a similar unit for high altitude jumps? I'm sure someone more medically educated could provide some expertise in this area. -Michael

Haha. Fortunately I've never had to re-thread a cylinder head. I did see another shop remove plugs with an impact though! -Michael

In my experience when someone has done something pretty cool or exceptional in their lives you will hear it from someone other than that person. Everyone I've ever known who was special ops or something like that, they weren't the one who told me about it. A few months ago I was at the range and made a comment holy @#$@# that guy can shoot! One of his friends said to me "you didn't know he was special ops for the last 22 years?" 10x the credibility of him coming up and telling me about it like he has something to prove.

I work on cars every day. Although lately it's less wrench turning and more organizing employees to make sure they have everything they need. Yes, running a business is expensive. Few people consider this when they hear of a shop's hourly rate. We're $70/hr and about $2.50 of that is profit. With standard tasks on a vehicle it's generally based on the book rate. So I open Mitchel, enter your vehicle type all the options and it tells me how many hours it should take to change your sparkplugs. I bill that even if it takes the employee twice that amount of time. People often say "that's simple, I can do it myself". Many times I replace sparkplug wires because the customer installed the plugs themselves and lacking the experience to know that their plugs have a crush washer they don't turn them that extra 270 degrees. Part of being a good mechanic is having the experience and knowledge to get the job done. Even to look at your old plugs and know if there is something else going on. Knowing which plugs work the best in your car - hint hint don't ever put champion or bosch in a honda! Of course there are crappy mechanics out there too. That sucks. -Michael

Thanks to Rob and Zhary for the explaination and photos. I don't really have a big problem with the bridle holding the loop in but I think it's less idiot proof than some other methods. Reminds me of something Rob showed once - one of those old fashioned round deployment diapers... I'm curious about where the closing loop attaches. I can see the cutter on the left side flap. Or is it one of those 2 pin jobs? I'm not so partial on their elastic stowing system either. What is the mbs of that elastic shock cord? What's it's maximum breaking strength? -Michael

Oh yes, forgot something relevant to the AAD discussion. 2 weeks ago we had a jumper who chopped out from linetwists at 1000'. Reserve opened normally. When I repacked his rig I noted that the AAD had not fired. I would need to check my logbook but I think it was a cypres. -Michael

With no main open the RSL will not and must not interfere with your ability to deploy the main. If it did then that would be a major design flaw. Forget the RSL get nylon over your head! -Michael

I'm lucky that one of my DZO's has been a pilot for many years. I would hope that no DZO would send up an aircraft that's not safe. Peoples' safety aside it's short sighted because aircraft that quit on takeoff may not come down as gently as they took off... Having said all that it is also possible that you were kept out of the loop. Maybe they had a problem with the aircraft's sparkplugs and they used up the last 6 new ones they had and were unable to get the larger plane repaired. I work on engines and cars for a living and sometimes a problem that is very difficult and technical is easier left unexplained to a client "it's fixed" can be simpler. -Michael

The downsize comment comes from the fact that many generous people at the DZ have loaned me gear until my new gear is covered and the insurance covers it. This has been a wide variety from a nitron 135 which to be perfectly honest was a big scary up to a sabre 210. The simple fact is that last year I anxiously waited and checked the weather for the weekend. Recently it's just been like blah, maybe I'll go do some jumps. I'm not sure if the excitement has faded or if it's just the lack of my own gear. I know that there is lots more space in a 170 for me so I'm resisting the idea of downsizing. I did have some fun designing a few things and doing some study of equipment. I can't remember if I showed you the no-drop toggles I built in the fall or not. Interesting fun stuff but I'm not going to become a master rigger nor do I want to try and make a living sewing/inventing stuff. So I guess the reality may just be summer stress with my business (15h days all week) or that I just need a change in pace. -Michael

This has been a very interesting and informative thread. I only think the strong systems don't look as nice because of that back flap. That's all I think. Can anyone post pics of the reserve staging system they use? There are no strong systems within 100mi of me and I may never pack one. -Michael

Good point. Never though about that. I was trying to think about it in terms of torque from the engines like a cessna has a slight offset to counteract this. -Michael

Just to be clear I was referring to some minor twists in brake lines, not attach to a drill and put 500 turns in it twisted, just a couple here and there. Whenever I attach a main to risers and especially when I attach a reserve the lines will always be 100% twist free and exactly in the proper order - no exceptions. With respect to twists in the lines increasing the likelihood of a mal, a properly staged opening keeps a reasonable amount of tension on the lines so I don't think some twists will matter a great deal. If it did you would see a corelation between those who untwist and do not untwist, especially on something like tandem gear! I believe maintaining your elastics would be far more important. -Michael

One thing to keep in mind is that after a canopy is chopped there isn't a lot you can reliably tell looking at the trash. If both brakes are still set that's something. If there is evidence of burns that's something. Brakes don't always stay set as it flutters down, tension knots don't always stay in. I'm not even convinced that twisted lines give you a significantly higher chance of a mal. -Michael

Wow, after 31 years they're not even the same shape. Did you find it was like going from horse and carriage to a sports car? -Michael

So I've got close to 300 jumps. My gear and car got stolen a month ago. A very generous person has been loaning me his gear. I used to stare up at the sky every time it was blue, disparately wishing I was jumping. Not anymore. I don't know if the love is fading a little, if it's just the lack of my own gear or if this is just a normal after 300. I know I could downsize from the 170 quite comfortably but I've been resisting that since I know there is still lots of unexplored capacity on a canopy of this size. Maybe the love will return when insurance actually gets around to covering my gear. -Michael