hackish

I have yet to break one so I really didn't know where they would break. I'm curious to know more about this vigil washer and their closing loop material. Unfortunately since the vigil allows the cypres material to be used but the cypres does not allow any alternatives, the value of a rigger stocking the vigil kit is somewhat questionable. Unless of course it is much better and there are lots of vigil customers. -Michael

First let me say I have no kids... However I see that many kids are anxious to help their parents but the age you choose must also mean they've got enough maturity to understand the importance of what they're doing. I'm sure a 5 year-old would feel very good about packing his/her mommy/daddy's parachute. I have a few parents who want me to build fast cars for their kids to which I tell some of them I'm not comfortable building a 300hp WRX for their 16 year-old. Often the response is "Billy is a very mature kid" etc etc etc. So I think it's important to understand you will probably be biased in evaluating the "right" age. Maybe the right answer is to put Jr. through the packing course and let your local rigger approve their packing skills because they are more likely to give an unbiased opinion. Technically I suppose they would need to be supervised by a rigger in the USA anyway. -Michael

From a strictly technical point of view Airtec says that threading through the 3 holes of their washer reduces the amount of pressure on the knot to 30% when the loop is under tension. Since the breaking strength of their closing loop is listed as in excess of 450lbs does this mean that the knot does not reduce the strength of the system to 80% as they typically would in a straight tensile test? I also notice the photo posted of the vigil washer posted by erdnarob http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=101145;. Assuming I am correct about the ultimate strength above is correct then how would one consider the strength of the vigil system? I'll try to post about the Dyneema material later so as not to overload this discussion with too much info. -Michael

I did some research on an unrelated project about trunk temps. This applied to using low temp wire for a battery relocation but I recorded a maximum trunk temp of 132F in a black car on the hottest day available. In some more reading at the time I found a document from the SAE describing that trunk materials were expected to withstand 170F temps. Out of interest I may send an email off to airtec and vigil to see what they say about the batteries. -Michael

I made one out of an old broken guitar string. The only downside is that I had some trouble taking the burr out of the end for the eyelet. Used some silver solder on it. I also destroyed a few pieces of wire trying to turn my TIG welder low enough to fuse the wire end so it wouldn't catch on the weave :) -Michael

That may be a possibility. I didn't pack that rig so I can't say for sure. It was the first jump of the day and I understand that mistakes are probably most likely when the packers are tired at the end of the day. The TM did say that he checked the 3-ring - they usually do - however it might be a good thing to point out as part of the routine. -Michael

This has been bouncing around in my head for a while now. I believe the equipment was a vector tandem rig there are sigma and eclipse rigs at the DZ but I don't know the models that well. One of the handles had a little chafing on it. The TM attempted to pull this handle and found it very difficult. He applied an extreme amount of force and "reefed" the handle out. He experienced a drogue in tow... The TM then pulled either his cutaway followed by the silver or vice versa. Description of the events are contradictory from the first to subsequent recounts. A little hesitation and the reserve deployed. The drogue remained in tow until he landed. It was examined at that point and the 3 rings released with ease. It is believed that the extreme amount of force pulled the bridle and 3 ring for the drogue into a corner of the container and thus prevented it from releasing. Prior to hearing this I didn't think it was really possible to have a "drogue in tow" given the amount of "pull force" it offers, of course this is barring a packing error. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen or heard of anything like this or if anyone could propose an alternate explanation as to why the drogue would not release? -Michael

I'm not in a position to give you advice but I would like to point out that the sabre1 and sabre2 are completely different canopies. -Michael

I do it similar to Andre - pull the inner braid about 1/4" in after I cut it. The outer braid fits in the washer nicely. Of course both are included in the knot as about 1.5" of excess are cut off after the knots are tied. I have also tried rubbing the cut end on some beeswax so the strands stay together and can be threaded through the hole - that works too. I assume the sealing thread trick is used to pull it in from the loop end? going to try that next time I get a chance. -Michael

I sat down one rainy weekend-day waiting for a reserve to arrive and started making them. The reserve didn't arrive until the next day. Now I have about 100 of them and an empty spool of cypres cord! I like the "tool" that comes in the cypres kit. -Michael

As VectorBoy mentions canopies that are not sewn. I read a paper on some sort of laser "welding" or "gluing" and it resulted in a canopy that packed much smaller. I suspect we will find these as the next major advancement. Did some searching - couldn't find the paper but I think the material was called Cuben Fiber. I`m sure someone in the industry who has actually attended the PIA symposiums could add more about it. -Michael

Yes I have once or twice. I suppose if you do have a mal that develops the possibility of falling out of the harness could exist if you had to chop and deploy your reserve. I assume that's the reasoning behind it? I usually loosen the chest strap by about 3-4" or as much as the harness wants to spread. -Michael

novacaine, I think any rigger is sufficiently equipped to test it as we must test many reserves before repacking. -Michael

I've seen lots of 40 year old cadmium plated hardware that shows zero corrosion. I can take a piece of mild steel, dip it in salt water, then clean and dry it an hour later and it doesn't really show "rust". I think the cadmium plating is fairly thick and wouldn't be worried about it - of course you should inspect your rig after it dries. Many rigs these days come with stainless hardware and it is reasonably immune to saltwater corrosion. As someone else mentioned rinse it with clean water to get the salt out before it dries. Saltwater itself doesn't damage the nylon. I don't think the problem is so much salt expanding as the salt crystals cutting the nylon strands in the webbing and such. There were some tests done on salt damage and letting it dry and manipulating webbing had a significant impact on the strength. -Michael

I do a lot of h+p's at full altitude and don't normally unstow my brakes until about 5k. Still lots of time to deal with a brake stow problem but I do think it's a legit reason not to release the brakes immediately after opening. I would also prefer to chop something at 5k versus 14k - chances of getting your main back are much smaller. I'm maybe wrong when I say this but I don't feel that a reserve ride that starts at 4k is significantly more dangerous than one that starts at 13k -Michael

When I say "I suspect something is X because of Y" then I consider that an invitation to discussion about a topic. I read the procedures out of personal interest some time ago - I just wasn't able to locate the document to prove or disprove my suspicions and I think I've been pretty up front about that. -Michael

If I understand your question correctly then I believe the answer is 2x the breaking strength of the line. When I was told this I didn't believe it but I watched the crane operator take his 6000lb cable, loop it through the hook and the crane end twice and lift a 20,000 fixture... -Michael

I think the original question was more a worry that the PC over the nose could allow the canopy to fly to pass the controllability check then later move around (let's say after a turn) and choke it off at an altitude where you couldn't chop it. -Michael

The only thing I have to compare is that a Sabre1-170 was noticeably slower than my sabre2-170. I assume with a more efficient wing you would then have to trim it flatter to bring the forward speed down? -Michael

I'm not sure if the elliptical or tapered as mentioned above has anything to do with the flare. There are so many variables that come into play - the attachment points, the tale length, the steering line attachments. As the PD rep just pointed out this weekend even the front/rear bias of the cascade has an effect on how a canopy flies and flares. A tapered wing is more efficient than a non-tapered so it should fly faster. I found my Sabre2-170 was far more responsive to the toggles than a sabre1-150. That may be related to the speed but it may just be that the steering lines are deflecting more of the airfoil. Might be a totally different reason too :) -Michael

So I'm a leech. It keeps me in jump tickets and has been really good for improving my packing skills. Last reserve I did went together 10 times better and no doubt that was due to a neater pro-pack. As a leech I like to pay other leeches to pack my gear when I'm out jumping. Saves energy. I didn't notice the article - what page was it on? -Michael

Before writing my "irresponsible" suspicions I did pick up my poynter and read the section. I wasn't able to locate a more up to date reference. However if the reserve was certified under category A then the maximum deployment weight would be 90kg (198lbs) and 130kts. You can now see why I might go along with the original poster's 180lbs maximum. I don't know if there is anything out there still certified under C23a but there is more than one photo in poynter 1 showing 23a tags. I also seem to recall that the 8015B standard called for using drop test dummies of different weights. I know that the TSO C23B called for them only to establish the shock rating. As a general rule I usually do some reading before stating any facts in a post but I can't find my copy of the C23d stuff which is why my comments were entitled "I suspect" This entire discussion does bring up an important point. If the manufacturer states that use is not recommended above a certain weight then is it the responsibility of the rigger to certify it's airworthiness for the user or just for the equipment? -Michael

Are we talking about the maximum deployment weight or the manufacturer's maximum recommended weight? I assume the OP meant the former. If the manufacturer states "do not exceed" how can you argue against that? -Michael

I suspect that your reply is wildly inaccurate. It may be totally incorrect but if the label says max deployment weight of X then there is probably a reason for it. I had the formal TSO testing specs somewhere and they had a long list of the test drops where a dummy of some weight had to be under a flying reserve after X feet under a bunch of different conditions. If I could find it then I'd know for sure but I assume they pass the TSO requirements with a dummy that is not outside their design specs. Anyone got a link to the TSO testing procedures? I'm curious. -Michael

I wonder if you could find someone who has a cypres that is expiring and still has sufficient time remaining on their battery. I know I pulled a battery with 1 year left on it from an expired cypres - of course it went back to the owner... Of course you'd have to read the fine print rules to ensure you are allowed to do that. -Michael