hackish

I personally feel that it would only be OK to use a type1 cutter where the unit is not sandwiched between grommets. However when the rules say to change it I change it. I also change the perfectly good vector closing loops every time because they say I have to. I tend to be anal like that. -Michael

I think a new rigger should be as capable of packing the reserve as any other. The big experience difference I find is in looking at the rig and its setup and judging what is acceptable wear and what is not. More than once it's taken me longer than normal to assemble and pack a rig because I had to take it to the local rigger b for second opinions. Opening some packjobs they're really wrinkly and sometimes the lines have moved a little. Some are so neat that they look like they were ironed and the lines sit side by side like combed hair. I am confident both would open. Some of the messiest ones were packed by old riggers and some of the neatest ones by newbies. -Michael

I figured at some point you'd still be ragging on me for going down to a sabre2-170. In some regions this is considered an accident waiting to happen. In some it is fairly normal and nothing to raise an eyebrow at. The downsize was done with the nod from all the DZO's and instructors despite the fact some people online felt I'd kill myself. 100+ jumps on the 170 and I am still enjoying and learning with it. I just view it as a comfortable progression. Before I tried it I worried it was too quick, when I tried it I felt it was OK but still worried because of what people here said. Now I scratch my head and wonder if it was really out of line. In a similar fashion I'm interested in training to do video. I was told that I should spend time learning to fly with a tandem and learn to do video with fun jumps. Except on the exit I'm never within 50' of the tandem and this rings no warning bells with me or anyone else involved. I appreciate any howto advice here and that's all I'm really asking or looking for. I'll look to the experience of those I've jumped with and those who know me in person to give safety advice. -Michael

I have a 20D which is similar to the rebel series. The flash is quite flimsy and I'm not sure I'd trust it to last very long if it were used a lot in freefall. For ground photography I find the internal is limited and only good in a pinch but I'm also concerned that a larger flash like my 580 may have too much stress on the shoe. Maybe you could externally mount something on the helmet but I'd be afraid of snags.

I've only ever done one jump with a camera on my head and it obviously threw a monkey wrench into what I was used to. Obviously why it was done in a 3 way and that's why I seek more info on camera skills. Jumping with a TM and passenger throws a whole different fall rate challenge. I've been used to adjusting a few mph in fall rate jumping with others but with a small passenger punched out as big as I can I was barely able to match fall rates at 100mph. Next time I'm arched and small like a mofo and just able to match rates at 138mph. Just to be clear I'm not in close proximity to them while flying either. I see matching the extremely different fall rates as a necessary skill before learning much else. In all my RW jumps I've never seen more than a +/- 5mph fall rate or so - don't always look at the alti's recorded speeds after. To answer most of your questions... No experience with the camera on my head so hard to say how I'm "framing them". Safely keep with a funnel, yes, usually within 10-20 feet. Knowing about the people around me - yes but I'm usually only with a 2-3 way so it's not too much of a challenge. Altitude, primary eyes cross-checking against alti and internal timeclock with an audible as a backup. I like to break off at 5 to pull at 3.5-4 anyway. I've been learning to backfly whenever possible but it's not safe enough to do around others yet. Spent some time working on it in the tunnel. I'll prolly spend a few more hours in the tunnel when they open the one in Montreal. I have about 70-80 jumps on a hand-me-down suit with swoop cords but they don't seem to get in the way as you describe. I usually unhook them when I'm loosening the chest strap and collapsing the slider.

Just to add a few to points to what Rob already said... The MLW will be made from nylon. It should be stitched with nylon unless it came out of the local museum. Many parts of the container could fail during a hard opening but the MLW and its associated hardware is the main part responsible for taking the stress. Back to what you originally said, prolonged wetness alone does not necessarily make the "fabric" weaker. -Michael

Maybe to those who do not work with their hands all day it is not evident that rings and stuff like this do not mix. I do not know of any tradespeople who wear rings to work. Definitely wouldn't let anyone working for me to. -Michael

No, I'm working to the point where I can fly camera for a tandem. I tried flying the camera with 2 other experienced jumpers on a 3 way and it all went to shit which is why I questioned if there was a better way to exit or if it just takes practise. In Canada we have no BSR saying you need 500 jumps to fly video near a TM. Mods, please delete or move to an appropriate forum if this isn't video related enough.

Ok, so I'm inexperienced. I'd like to get into video so I approached a TM about training to do video with him. We discussed how to exit and fly around him and the passenger. I spent a series of 5 jumps practicing exiting and matching levels. I've been hanging on the strut, back to the prop and on the count just letting go a fraction of a second before they launch. Puts me pretty much level or below them slightly to avoid the drogue. Ok. Next I did a fun jump with the actual camera on my head. The idea was to do a 3 way and I'd film. Unfortunately this big camera on my head seems to have the tendancy to screw things up. It caught the prop blast and turned me around. As a result I ended up like 50' below the other 2. The question I have is how as a videographer do you actually deal with letting go of the aircraft? I assume leaving a fraction before the TM is right but what do you do with the forward drive until you're belly to earth? Also, how many jumps does it take before you can get reliable footage? The search feature was not able to enlighten me at all. -Michael

I do not believe this is correct. Nylon typically loses about 12% of it's strength when wet but regains it when it dries again. Mould does not eat nylon either but someone more into biology could answer whether it releases acidic byproudcts that could harm the nylon. I did some quick searches but wasn't able to come up with an answer on that point. End of the day, as mentioned above get the rigger to check it over. -Michael

I've seen it at a few dropzones, a 3% fee for credit card and they add it because that's what they're charged from the processing company. In some places this extra "fee" is illegal and instead it has to be considered a "cash discount" and no discount if you use the plastic. -Michael

If you think about it that's a tough situation. If you chop your main and it lands on someone elses property but they won't allow you permission to recover it what CAN you do? Many people would probably just trespass and get their main. Take it a step further - what if Mr. McNasty goes and retrieves your main with a pair of scissors in hand? $1000 is a lot of money to lose. Don't you owe beer for landing out anyway? Maybe the beer should go to Mc. Nasty. -Michael

Yes there was some velcro damage on it because the amount of line didn't fit in the keeper very well. Since this was after the toggle attachment (even after fixing the problem) I judged it to be of no consequence. I believe it has been set up like this for at least 15 years. I should have taken photos of the finished job - much neater with the excess fingertrapped in. -Michael

Thanks for all the responses. I got together with another local rigger and we carefully measured it. A previous rigger (perhaps as many as 10 years ago) incorrectly assembled the rig and it went unnoticed until just now. We measured the lower brake line from the cateye to the toggle and determined it was about 2 1/4" too short. The factory mark at 18 5/8" was in the correct location. The mark was visible at the toggle grommet and without measuring appeared to be correct. The problem was that the loop for attaching this to the toggle was on the wrong side of the mark. Y brake cascade | | | | O cat-eye | | O knotted toggle loop - mark | | extra line This means the reserve would have been flying under 1/4 brakes at best. I removed the toggles and retied the lines in the correct location, then trimmed the leftover and fingertrapped it. The measurement PD lists as BK-TOG is now the correct length according to their trim chart. It's a good thing to put in my bag of experience and check in the future. I can see how it's an easy mistake to make. -Michael

Good point about "measuring" the line trim. I did verify that they are tied off at the little black mark as per the PD manual but that's not to say the mark is in the right place. I just rechecked it and I believe they are tied off incorrectly so BK-TOG part of the line includes the knot. I'm going to call PD to triple check this before changing it. -Michael

Was the rip in the slider all the way through? If so then I could see it venting more air through itself (like a reserve slider with a hole) and that strikes me as consistant with what you suspect. I just had a brutally hard opening on a borrowed s2-170. I suspect it was his packing but I know where you're coming from. This was so hard I could only see black then stars after it slammed. People on the ground said it sounded like a gun. Couldn't move my legs until a few minutes after landing. Nothing like a powerful flare of a sabre2 so you can deposit your beat up body on the ground gently... -Michael

This is for the reserve steering lines for a PD143R being packed in a Javelin Odyssey and Sunpath does not say anything about the reserve toggles. So falling back on the PD manual they give specific instructions on how to attach reserve toggles with microline (this is spectra- I assume somewhere around 600). The thing that concerns me is 15" of extra line after the knotted loop for the toggle. PD says "PD recommends that the excess line be finger trapped as shown in the diagram." I don't have a problem with this but why would there be 15" of extra? That's longer than the line from the toggle to the brake loop. What do people normally do in this situation? The last rigger just wound it up neatly in the velcro line keeper but this length of line flapping in the wind makes me nervous. Am I just being too picky? -Michael

My little sister just called to ask if I could skydive into her wedding carrying the rings. My little sister is such a wuffo... 991 more jumps to my EJR :) -Michael

The answer to your question is of course jurisdiction dependant. Where I am I can't put up barbed wire around my performance shop to keep the thieves out because they could sue if they get injured and so could any member of the general public. A lot of times something like that would be covered in the question of whether the person ought to know that the barbed wire they put up is intended to injure. It may be worthwhile to have a conversation with the DZ's lawyer and see if anything should be done before someone is hurt - for example send a letter asking him to remove the barbed wire because you believe it could injure a skydiver. That sort of thing is sometimes very useful in showing that someone was warned about the potential problem of something they did. I'm no lawyer so go ask one :) -Michael

I've heard of jumpers getting out of a 172, they sideslipped the AC a little and just pushed the door open. To me I think the jumper made it sound a little easier than it really was but I know it's been done. -Michael

You may want to try an aggressive camera pack on your Mr. Bill since it should slow the opening a fair bit. I've done some playing with my main - packing it like a reserve and doing a camera man pack with an increasing number of rolls. With like 8 really tight rolls on each side of the nose it takes almost 1200' of sheer terror to open. -Michael

I think I'll send it in for a reline this winter. I wonder if I could get them to make the brake lines out of the next size up spectra. Also considering asking if it's possible to have it relined with HMA but I don't know if it's available for the sabre2. That black stuff that comes with a Nitron would look ultra cool... The amount of time to make a lineset it retarded so there is no point in doing any of the work myself and with the local master rigger. -Michael

A reserve is trimmed to open quickly and reliably. I don't really know anything about ground launching but I assume you need something with a decent glide ratio - a reserve may not be that. You may be better with someone's patched up and ragged out old main. -Michael

Oh yeah, forgot to actually get to the point... About the reserve ride. I was feeling pretty crappy about it and questioned what I was doing in this sport. Eventually the skies called me back. As a student a reserve ride can be a big confidence builder. By the time I had my 2nd reserve ride I was confident enough and knew what I needed to do. I was also confident that my reserve packjob would open fine :) -Michael

I don't know about all riggers but I have to remove the main to pack the reserve so doing the assembly yourself would be a waste of time. Give it to the rigger without the main then attach it yourself and ask any rigger at the DZ to double check your work. I think most riggers wouldn't charge anything to double check and even give some instruction on attaching a main. -Michael