hackish

My poor attempt at humour apparently. I'm talking about wrapping the chafed line that the packer cut and tension testing it wrapped around his neck... Isn't that like your mechanic telling you that your tires are worn our and just to make sure slashing them for you? -Michael

I like these discussions because I'm always learning new things. I didn't know that a cypres2 would be changed by the manufacturer for free. Definitely good to know as I've been looking for a used AAD... I wouldn't call the offset a design flaw in the vigil - if the display clearly indicates that it is in offset mode then any reasonable owner who knows how to operate his equipment should be able to easily identify this on startup. You do look at the display to make sure your AAD started up correctly don't you? -Michael

If I recall correctly in the US the packers have to be an FAA rigger or supervised by one. If the rig was unsafe then would it not have been proper to call it to the attention of the rigger on duty? If someone wanted to cut a few of my lines because they felt the lines were badly chafed and too weak then I could see tension testing them about their neck to see if they would stand up to the load. -Michael

Interesting. I guess the only thing public drinking water has less of is pee. :) -Michael

Just out of personal interest I was reading some older technical articles. One was on the effect of saltwater contaminated webbing where they tested the degradation of the breaking strength. The article was interesting and I learned a thing or two about wet nylon. However, in the summary they said that it was best to remove the AAD and rinse the rig as soon as possible and before it dries. One idea suggested was to dunk it in a pool but it acknowledged that chlorine attacks the spectra lines. So I thought about this a little... There is chlorine in pool water and also in most drinking water. Has anyone ever considered what effect a drinking water type concentration would have on spectra line strength? I know I'm probably just nitpicking... -Michael

Oops, my bad I meant an Astra. As for why you would want a multimode - it would be far easier to sell. If you're a pro then you can't sell your used AAD to a TM or a student unless it's a multimode one. -Michael

If the baglock has sufficient drag to stand you up from a stable flat position then it must be applying a fair amount of force to your body. I believe by definition that amount of force sufficient to stand you up would cause you to decelerate, not accelerate even if you were presenting a smaller aerodynamic drag. I haven't spent too much time thinking about all the ifs and buts so this is what my instinct says. It could be entirely wrong. As for the AAD's data I do believe it could help out here. Any time you're dealing with unknowns the more data available the better. -Michael

The only problem with the Argus I've heard is that they do not have an auto-shutoff feature so if you forget it on you may need a trip to the rigger by the next weekend. I read up on each unit, the cypres 2 and the vigil2. I like the fact that the cypres has more years of R&D but the vigil2 will ultimately be my choice. Not only do you have the bonus of a longer service life and lower TCO but you also have a larger potential market should you ever want to sell it. The vigil2 can be set to student, tandem or pro. I also took a good look at the cases, cables and associated hardware. From looking at each unit and toying with them a bit I believe the vigil is probably a bit "tougher". Of course an experienced rigger can probably comment more on that. -Michael

Be very careful about waivers. I've had the discussion many times with lawyers. In many areas you cannot waive the rights of your successors to sue. Another point my lawyer explained to me is that in many jurisdictions you cannot waive the right to sue for negligence. As others have said, ask your lawyer for advice - that's what I did. -Michael

Some people walk around doing things for others just to try and "prove" themselves. I work in the auto industry and frequently encounter people who think they are great "racers". Usually a day at the track shows otherwise when their lap times are poor and the instructors point out a number of things they do poorly. Similarly some people thing they're the world's next "natural" canopy pilot. I should expect a number of hard landings and coach criticism to dictate otherwise. What if your instructor says you're fine on canopy X? What nearly all of your landings are nice and stand-up? A bunch on the internet whom you've never met tell you you're going to kill yourself... A bunch of internet racers might be correct when they say that porsche is outside your driving skills but I think the weight should be put on those you drive/fly with. Sadly it's a no-win situation. If the pilot breaks something it's a long list of "told ya so". If he doesn't break anything then he "got lucky". There are some people with 500+ jumps who still can't stand up their navigator 220. There are some people with 50 jumps who fly their 170 just fine. -Michael

I can't really answer your question directly but have you considered renting or demoing a 190 first? I spent some time on a sabre 210 and found a spectre 170 was a significantly faster canopy. -Michael

I would think the correct procedure would have been to bring it to the guy's attention first. It's happened to me before when the worn out velcro risers on a rig kept opening up on their own accord. I appreciate it if people are paying attention to things like this. Personally I would think that your safety very much your business as a lost pin at the door could have removed the aircraft's tail or side etc. -Michael

Being incorporated does not necessarily save you from legal consequences but it can help. I asked about insurance and commercial insurance is in the neighbourhood of $3k per year at the low end. That's a lot of repacks. -Michael

No, you missed the point. There was a huge uproar when I tried a spectre 170. Lots of people said I was a dead man etc. Just like Chris in this thread. I was spending some time reading about canopies and trying to understand some of the more critical technical points and lots of people told me that I should quit it because I would never understand rigging with only 40 jumps. The point is I think Chris flies his canopy in a reasonable fashion and lands it well. So long as he's having fun doing it big whoop. People can make a lot of online assumptions but at the end of the day they are just ASSumptions as you've never met the individuals involved nor seen them fly. -Michael

To a point with only 42 jumps on a sabre 2 170 I should also be a dead person in training. For me I can accept that the 170 is an aggressive choice. It is a reasonable challenge and everyone who has seen and jumped with me has said that I'll be ok on this canopy. I choose to go with the personal advice of the 50,000 combined jumps that such advice has come from. Both Chris and I may be somewhat natural under a canopy but I don't believe for a second that I'm some sort of prodigy. Just an attentive enough and intelligent enough person to take on a challenge and enjoy myself in the sport. Let's face it, this sport is about enjoying yourself and sometimes people with higher jump numbers hold their nose up at those who are downsizing faster than they did. Hell with a few months in the sport and less than 50 jumps there is no way I know anything about skydiving, canopies, rigs or rigging. Or could I? -Michael

Depending on your local laws I would say quite possibly yes. Even reserves are not perfect but if it fails to open and they find a temp pin still inside the rig then that would probably fall into criminal negligence causing death or whatever that idea is called in your country. I'm building temp pins now and was thinking what happened if the pin broke or the ribbon came off. It's possible that you could close the pack and have a correct tool count when finished - not realising part of the pin was still in the pack. Things like that could create a grey area of liability. -Michael

I know of someone who went from a 135 to a 105. When the seller of the rig found out how many jumps he had she said she wasn't comfortable selling it. All he did was get his friend to buy it for him. From what I saw he seemed to fly and land the canopy just fine but my evaluation isn't exactly experience based... As the seller you can take reasonable steps to make sure you've educated the buyer but at a point the buyer bears responsibility over themself. -Michael

If there were no customers lined up for Skyride to screw then they wouldn't be doing what they do would they? What if there were 0 dropzones who accepted Skyride? Unfortunately every dropzone who does accept their coupons contributes to them continuing to do what they do. -Michael

Someone told me this once and I was a little curious. So I opened a little high and played limp dummy for a few seconds. The canopy did turn downwind and seemed to stay going that way until I released the brakes and turned it back for fear of not making it back. I don't know why it did that but it did... -Michael

I got a new address and it worked. I guess he's on the road a lot doing his lectures and stuff. I always try to get the errors off to authors. Usually they take them and send a thanks back. I have no idea if the errors get fixed in future printings, but if nobody reports them they're guaranteed not to be fixed. -Michael

I have nightmares about sitting in a plane without having a rig on my back. I've only done one tandem ever and it was the ride up with no gear that was scary. -Michael

If anyone has an email addy please PM it to me. I found an old one but it bounced. Just wanted to send a few typos I found in his book. -Michael

That's a good idea. It cost you $155 and included some jumps? That sounds like an excellent deal! I'll see if there is anything available. Otherwise I'll see about some of the others who came recommended above. -Michael

Fortunately or unfortunately every error in a book seems to jump off the page and bite me. Maybe I'll see if I Can find contact info for Dan so the correction can be made in future revisions. As for the thread I was digging through it is probably older than me so I've got no way to tell what it is made out of. I suppose I could try a burn test or something. -Michael

I definitely want to whistle like a turbine! I did check out the page for Scott Miller. Nothing being offered around that time - only a course at the end of December. Closer to that date I will definitely call and inquire about canopy coaching - even if I can only get a few watched and debriefed by someone. -Michael