hackish

I find music breaks my concentration. Some people even listen to it when driving around a racetrack. I could never get that. At the track I listen to the engine, the tires and everything in between. In the air I listen to the wind. That's just me. I sit down to chew my gum too... -Michael

Maybe I'm slow then. Takes me about 2h just to inspect everything. $32.50CAD ($24.59USD) per hour is great if the loft is free, does not require any insurance, heat, or lights. It would be far easier to replace someone's front brakes (1.2h of labour on the book) 30min actual time. Again, I'm not in it for the money but it surprises me when people feel the current rate which hasn't changed a lot in the last 20 years is too much. -Michael

What about people in the "real world" that get raises every year even though they're still doing the same amount of work? Or the price of groceries/food going up. For example Pizza Hut recently raised the price of a pizza. I still get the same amount of pizza, but now it's $1 more. So it's ok for the rest of the world to raise prices but not riggers...interesting.... You are talking about inflation. That is totally different. The price of gas when I was a kid was .25. Now its over $2.00 As for the price for a repack 20 years ago was a lot cheaper then it is now Of course the consumer will always pay the price. If it cost more for riggers to their job I would expect them to raise their price. Just like every DZ I know raising their prices this year. Its not costing them more to pack less. Its that they are working less so they will be making less. There is a difference Inflation may be totally different but it is related. The $50 cost for repacks has been the same for how many years? It's hard for riggers to put up prices because the rigger down the street may not and skydivers being cost conscious folk may just go there instead. I don't feel that the $65CAD we get for a repack in Canada is a good wage considering how long it takes to do a repack without cutting any corners. However the pay is not my primary reason for doing a repack. I really appreciate it when a TM gives me 2 high altitude jump tickets in exchange for services. -Michael

Ok, so why not download the SIM and read it. Then ask questions about any part you don't understand. For some reason reading your post I feel like you're asking us to do your homework for you. So in school if you don't make a passing grade you can probably take it again. If you fail to understand something in skydiving and don't make a failing grade there you may not live to retake that test. -Michael

I thought the crazyiest thing I'd seen was the day we stuffed a PC in a tandem rig and crazy Larry Mausby strapped the sucker on his back and took it for a ride... I seem to think that's about as far as tricks with tandem gear should go... -Michael

I hope that's a good thing. For the unaware I tried my damnnest to figure out a way to make it fail. That's just what I do and I'm usually pretty good at figuring out ways to make things fail. The only thing I could come up with didn't even pan out. It's a good design, simple yet complicated and it works. Michael, I ( obviously ) disagree. Let's accept that I am biased, OK? However, when I try to look at both systems objectively I do consider the RAX System to be substantially simpler. I said that I was biased. Let me clarify, the machinery is more complex. Or at least I think it is. I know there is a lot of complexity around exactly how the skyhook release is arranged, sewn and all that. I don't think either system poses a significant chance of screwing up. Jerry, you're biased. You may get the chance sooner than you think. I stand by my words. It would cause TSO problems on my vector 3 wouldn't it? I was going to get a skyhook but I'd be just as happy with either one. If I had a tertiary rig I'd even do an intentional. Uh-oh what did I just volunteer for? -Michael

I had the privilege of trying to figure out a way to make the system fail. Spent a few weekends looking at it with other riggers. As people can probably tell from my love of nitpicking and finding the small insignificant gotchas I was able to give it a long and critical lookover. The RAX system really is a well designed and well thought out system. The system is a little more complex than a skyhook but if a rigger can't figure out how to set it up they probably shouldn't be rigging. If I had a compatible rig I'd get one. -Michael

I do not think you'd be able to get a nylon or teflon grommet to last under the abrasion of the lines. I believe a slider has to withstand about 1000 lbs of force. That is a lot for the grommets to bear before the slider starts to descend. The last thing you would want is the line cutting into a grommet and causing it to hang up 1/2 way down. Although you may be able to fashion a somewhat non-metallic grommet it would probably still need metallic reinforcement. Fiber-reinforced ceramics are pretty tough but I'm concerned about them being able to break - the failure mode isn't too pretty. They would, however put up with the abrasion and as a ring moulded into a plastic carrier could probably be attached with ease. (Sew the plastic carrier to the slider). -Michael

Well actually decrease your wingloading. You'd be losing the weight of your main, lines, risers, bridle, d-bag, pilot chute, reserve pc, reserve bridle, reserve freebag. You'd also be losing whatever falls out of your underwear after crapping yourself leading up to the cutaway... I was very surprised at how light a rig was on my back after landing under a reserve. -Michael

Besides equipping yourself with all the knowledge and paperwork you can one other very good strategy is to show up very early for your flight. I always bring a length of cypres cord with me just in case they want to open the reserve. This can help you to put stuff back together so you can minimize any chance of damage until you can bring it to your rigger for a repack. Not like I'd be allowed to bring a temp pin or a leverage device to properly close the rig but if they do open it it's really not the end of the world... -Michael

I started on a very small DZ but have been lucky enough to travel around a bit and see the larger ones operate. Sometimes I can see that the clients are having a blast at a small or large DZ sometimes they're getting poor service. I don't think it's the size of the DZ that matters that much. The staff and their attitudes probably have the largest influence. For your first time a larger aircraft will probably be most comfortable. The amount of coaching and attention may or may not be better at either. The coaches at a larger DZ may be more experienced and better but then they may not be. I haven't jumped at either place so I can't say for certain. I've talked to the folk at skydive city and their customer service was top notch - they went out of their way to answer all my questions and set up some CSPA coaches for me. That is definitely not the anonymous face in the crowd type service associated with some large DZs. Since you're aiming for tandem + AFF then I think you should visit each place and talk to the people. Pick the one that feels right. -Michael

For filing links I personally prefer using abrasives to work with stainless if that is what your link is made of. Those fingernail boards do a decent job. Just make sure you do it away from the rig itself as you don't want filings or abrasives to get into the webbing or the lines. I work with stainless for a living and have used a number of tumblers and vibrators with ceramic media they work wonders if and only if you use the correct process. If you were so inclined to do that you'd need to close the link so you don't damage the threads. I would wrap the wrench pads too but that's just me. -Michael

I think a dual SOS system would be too complicated to rig up. When you add more complexity to a system then you increase the chance of its failure. I did my first jump on SOS then switched to TAS. I think TAS with an RSL or MARD is probably the best for a student. They won't need to retrain for a sport rig and there is a significant chance of complete operation when the cutaway is pulled. I think leaving it uncomplicated to say you must look, grab pull this one, look grab pull that one and get them to practice it 50 times. On my FJC we practiced a mockup exit about 50 times. Literally spent an hour doing them it got to the point where it was feeling stupid but it really did help. If the student practices their EPs to that point then I believe they should be easier to execute properly and in order under stress. There is also a lot of research out there that agrees. 'Course who knows I'm not an instructor yet... -Michael

I used an altitrack and downloaded all my jumps. Then I wrote a perl script to process them. I figured out the speed and calculated the delta altitude between the first significant drop in altitude and reaching a set value (I think it was about the equivalent of 10fps). Maybe if I get extremely bored some day I'll write it into a windows app and give it out to anyone who is interested. -Michael

If you do decide to zip-tie then it's a good idea to zip-tie the handle with the other side of MLW so it will be impossible to put the rig on without removing the zip tie. As scrum mentions above it would be bad to forget a tie on your reserve handle. If anyone thought the safety tie added to the reserve pull imagine a zip tie :) -Michael

I would say from a technical point of view that neat packing means consistent openings. Play with the nose, slider and how tight you roll the sausage to influence how fast it opens. I did some analysis of my last 50 terminal jumps. Sabre2 170 and opened on average 540'. Go back 100 jumps and the openings were more like 350'. I didn't lose weight, I got neater and learned what to do with the packjob to make it open slower. When I'm tired I'll let the packing droid do it. He's just as neat as me but it sure opens "firmer". -Michael

Best UV protection I know if is to keep it out of the sun when possible. Best dirt protection - standup landing. Seriously though the makers of most of these chemicals do not know or are not willing to expose themselves to potential liability by stating that their product is safe to use with our equipment. -Michael

There have been many reports of type 17's breaking. I know there were some reenforcements made around the grommet areas where they were breaking. Key point take care of your gear and make sure you inspect it before jumping. I personally don't like the mini-risers but I've jumped them many times before. I don't think they're specifically unsafe unless damaged... duh. -Michael

Something I've noticed while supervising and teaching a few how to pack is that there is a tendency to over-manipulate it and muck up the work you've already done. I have found to flake let's say the B-C material I will secure the B lines and pull the C lines out so the nylon is stretched out straight then follow that with a quick tuck so as the line groups go back together the flake falls in place. I flake from A-D if that makes sense. I far prefer doing tandems and student rigs hanging but most DZ's do not have the facilities to hang a canopy so I feel it is important to learn the over the shoulder method as well. -Michael

We lack anything else to fuss about. I'm purely curious about the tiny piece of thread. We know with the existing specs it works so further research is unlikely to contribute anything to safety but my objective is to determine the actual amount of pull force required. -Michael

Depends on what you call ambient light. The last day of jumping it was cloudy and I politely reminded a jumper to put their rig out of the light. They wrongly claimed that you needed direct sunlight to have UV. Personally I'd rather jam it in a garbage bag to protect it than leave it laying about. If you leave it out in a spare room you may be exposing it to UV through a window. -Michael

As with any significant introduction of new technology you can expect a number of licensed and competing designs to be introduced. I own a vector 3 and will have it retrofitted this winter. If you happen to own a different brand of rig then see what your rig manufacturer can offer. I haven't seen the drx yet but I'm really interested to see how it works. -Michael

Someday I will do a heli-jump. From speaking to a commercial helicopter pilot who was jumping at my DZ even people moving around in the AC requires pilot adjustments. He says it's like balancing the AC on a pointy cushion of air and anything extreme will severely upset it. More than once people have mentioned the importance of falling out rather than launching out. If a commercial pilot says this I'd be more inclined to believe that than someone on the interweb who may or may not even have his private license. -Michael

The only good thing that comes to mind when thinking about the F111 canopies is that they're easy to pack :P I jumped a PD190 (I think) the other day and compared to my sabre2 it flared like a wet sack of potatoes. Probably not a bad choice for a student canopy... -Michael

Last weekend I did a test jump on a sabre 150 where the local rigger b (master rigger) had fabricated a larger slider. A canopy that previously had a tendency to slam people opened beautifully. I've only jumped the canopy a few times before and it never smacked me but the openings were very brisk. I believe the design and sizing was recommended by Gary Peek. You may want to look him up and see what experience he has to contribute. In our case it seems to have worked. -Michael