hackish

I don't think folding the bridle in the mesh will be a significant wear problem because holding it from the hackey doesn't keep any significant pressure on the sides of the PC and once it is released the PC will inflate and release any bridle anyway. Let's not forget at terminal an inflated PC will put somewhere around 150-200lbs of drag on the bridle so I don't think friction is something we have to worry about. -Michael

My argument was made thinking of some of the old canopies that were designed to be used as mains or reserves. I can't remember if that was a swift or a raven or maybe both :) I know you can demo a PD reserve so I believe they're well enough built to act as a main. At the end of the day my decision would be based around the history of the design and if it is structurally sound. -Michael

My main has had more packjobs in the last year than a 20 year old reserve would yet it is perfectly airworthy. If this design is current and trusted and the condition of the canopy is as good then why should the age have any bearing? I understand that designs improve as we progress but if the model has proven to be reliable and it's in really good shape why not? -Michael

It's a tough decision to make. Many many people respond with emotional rather than scientific arguments. Your AAD is a computer programmed to operate within specific parameters. Such a thing should be decided upon with a scientific not emotional approach. Some people are so emotionally tied to their decision that they "won't ever jump with a XYZ on their back". Many people will point at a specific incident to say that brand X or Y is "unsafe". How about the time a jet was pressurized and all the vigils went pop? How about the time a cypres fired even though it appeared to be turned off? You can find anomalies with just about every AAD. I think all the AADs on the market are well enough tested and reliable enough. The differences come down to how rugged they are, what they cost to own etc. How many times did you use your AAD to open your parachute last year? These things aren't popping all over the place killing every second jumper. One in a million has an unexpected fire or something that didn't behave as we expected. If one in 999999 jumps has an AAD failure I think you should be more concerned about a rigger error or reserve malfunction. -Michael

Have your rigger examine it. Might be a bulk distribution problem or wear on the riser cover system - broken tuck tab or something? Mine keep popping out so I think I'm going to have to open it up and give it a massage (or a repack). -Michael

I didn't know there was any difference. I guess the shit-disturber inside of me wanted to find out if there was something like material traceability required for something to be considered "aerospace grade" so I could then ask to see the traceability documents and utterly confuse them. On an interesting side note I did notice this winter that the safety webbing securing the intake manifold on a nitrous dragster was actually type 7 webbing and stitched properly. Aerospace grade? Perhaps. -Michael

Perhaps the display is damaged and the LED has ceased to function after it was turned on. Airtec has said that any odd behaviour should be documented and the AAD should be returned to them for inspection so it seems like the right thing to do in this case. -Michael

I'm a diabetic not a doctor but I do seem to see a huge metabolic increase with the adrenaline related stresses of skydiving. For me that means carefully monitoring blood sugars along with taking less insulin. From this and the basics I know of nutrition I would say that eating a quality well balanced diet is essential. Consider it an athletic activity and athletes should eat properly. This probably means ensuring you get your complex carbs (not that sugary breakfast cereal) and proteins. This ensures that you get a consistent supply of energy rather than getting a good hard boost first thing in the morning and then running on empty the rest of the day. Someone in the medical field can probably better explain it since my experience is just with knowing how my blood sugars react. -Michael

Bear in mind that I'm not an instructor - however despite my low jump numbers I have expended considerable energy on studying all I could find about the mechanics and aerodynamics of parachutes. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to ease off an aggressive toggle input somewhat slowly. If you suddenly lift a toggle you can induce lineslack and it can cause the canopy to wind up. I have stalled a sabre2-170 into linetwists a few times. Freaks me out every time... Brian Germain's book has some good advice on this stuff. -Michael

Aw nuts! I hope not since I was considering planning a trip to paris just to jump that jet this winter! -Michael

I know from rigging that hardware should be stamped with it's MS or PIA numbers to identify it properly. Traceability was also included in the hardware and material requirements. Doing multiple searches for what the term "aerospace grade" really means I found many industries promoting everything from car parts to wedding rings as being aerospace grade aluminum or titanium. Does anyone have a formal definition for "aerospace grade"? I presume it includes material traceability as well as testing and the like but salespeople toss the term around like sugar. I was particularly offended when I was told that a camera bag I was constructed only from aerospace grade materials. It looked to me like some cheap chinese nylon tape and flimsy plastic hardware but I decided to keep my comments to myself. -Michael

LMAO at "Out of Order". -Michael

I deal with a lot of rigs on a day to day basis. I see a lot of nice features and differences from rig to rig. Mercedes or BMW? Take your pick. Despite the fact someone else may develop a skyhook-like attachment I'd put my trust in the original product because I feel that anyone else is just a knockoff. Testing a product extensively is an expensive proposition and the smaller companies are unlikely to have the same resources to carry this out. I like the mirage and the vector3 but there is vector3 that goes on my back. -Michael

If it's available I think a canopy piloting course would be an excellent choice. I took the Scott Miller course when I was in DeLand and it helped me out in a lot of ways. I don't think people on the internet can tell you if a 170 is right for you. It was right for me and I'm happy I got it instead of a 190. -Michael

At least in our sport we have an e-brake.

In my limited experience I have seen that bulk distribution of the reserve has a big impact on otherwise properly functioning tuck tabs. On my rig (V3) they pop out yet before the repack they didn't. With only a few hundred jumps on it the rig is in excellent shape. I may try massaging the freebag a bit. I wonder if magnets can be installed after the fact? -Michael

Thanks, that better explains it. I've never been in this situation so I didn't know that you'd be suspended below them. I read somewhere that downplanes can fly at 100+mph so I assumed you'd almost be in freefall. Maybe that was incorrect. -Michael

I would think about it to see first how valuable the time I have is. I like doing hop & pops at full altitude so if it happened then the decisions may be different. A reserve can only save you if it's inflated over your head. Since it is possible to steer a canopy into a downplane I assume it is also possible to steer one out of a downplane. -Michael

The question was not whether or not to chop, more that if the reserve were pointing down with respect to the rig the reserve risers would be passing down your back and the mains would be at your head. If you chop the main I was curious about how the transition of being suspended by the two would go when one was suddenly chopped. More specifically if the chop had a good chance of inducing lineslack which could obviously do bad things with your last chance for survival (reserve). -Michael

Just had a thought. If you had a downplane with 2 out you'd chop your main. What would happen if your reserve is on the bottom? Do you run a significant risk of a self wrap or is the centrifical force generally enough to stop from going into lineslack and potentially falling into the reserve when the main is chopped? Your feet would be facing the sky when it levelled out so do you end up doing a front or backflip in the harness? -Michael

A downplane is when one parachute is flying opposite the other. This causes you to fly toward the ground since the two are pulling against each other. http://www.march.afrc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/080430-A-0003L-002.JPG If you did end up with 2 out, the behaviour of the two would probably be more related to the length of their respective lines. In the two out report they did talk about the two parachutes being in the same general size and I think the 228->190 ratio is better than 143->170 because they don't scale in a linear fashion.

I think the 190 with a raven 218 is a better ratio of square footage - congrats on your purchase. One thing I'd like to point out here is that there are vast differences in regional advice. I started jumping a Sabre2 170 at about 40 jumps. In my region this was not out of the ordinary. Someone just visiting my DZ today had 55 jumps and is on a sabre2-150 and I'm sure he weighs the same as me - that's aggressive in my mind but I'm not an instructor and haven't tried a 150 yet. Another guy has about 35 jumps and is on a sabre2-170. In some parts of the world and certainly on this forum we are all labeled as loonies or DGIT's. Those who saw me in person and the guy who did the canopy course this fall all felt I was just fine. The local instructors too. I went from a 280 to a 210 to a 170 in a span of about 10-15 jumps. That doesn't strike me as inconsistent with a 170-150-135 given 40lbs less wingloading. 135 sounds aggressive to me - like the local guy with fewer jumps on the 150 but let's not forget the proposed rig had a 143R in it! Some say we have better training up here but ultimately the best advice should really come from a variety of local instructors who know their student and can assess the skills of the individual. Lots of interweb advice can be contradictory - how about fallfast69 who calls the advice of erdnarob bullshit but then tells the student to try a 143!!! We are all just e-web identities hiding behind keyboards so make sure you talk to a real live instructor for your important advice! -Michael

Never had any problems once the canopy was open but I couldn't arch for crap in freefall. Failed so many jumps for that. On my final checkout jump to get my solo cert I had to do an intentionally unstable exit. That one jump I think I finally "got it". Sometimes us technically minded people have to let go the over-think and just "feel" it. -Michael

I did my course in Farnham with riggerrob. He was a grouchy old guy but once you buy him a bag of apples he's just fine. It was a very good technical course - by no means a walk in the park. I did a lot of prep work - read and studied all of Poynters until I understood a lot of the technical and historical stuff before even showing up to the course. Most who took the course described it as brutal. -Michael

I won't tell you how appropriate a 170 is for someone with your jump numbers - I'm not an instructor. I have done about 35 jumps on my sabre2 170 and am still alive. Not everyone is the same and your local instructors can give the best advice on it's applicability to you and your skill level. The thing I would be concerned about is the size of the reserve. If you're used to flying a 170 then I'm guessing a PD143R is going to sail along a lot faster than you want. The other concern is that in a 2 out situation the more similar in size your 2 canopies are the better behaved they tend to be. In my rig I am pretty sure I have a PD163R. Normalize the price for the fact I have no AAD (yet) and I paid what you are considering for a rig with less than 1/2 the jumps and probably 5 years newer. -Michael