councilman24

The Ace lubricant is essentially the same thing. I'm not talking about silicon oil like that used for orings or cypres loops, I'm still talking about a silicon spray lubricant that food grade. The idea with the any silicon is to spray some on a paper towel or cloth and wipe it on, leaving a very thin coat. The food grade just refers to the vehicle used in the spray can. Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Always a good idea to see it and test jump it. That's a good reason to buy the hornet, not the patch. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I actually might be interested in a very good condition mini system. But they aren't worth much because they usually just take up space. If you have no conscious you can probably get the most money out it on ebay. Also even if you cut the lines off it for some parachutes you can get a $100 as decoration. Unfortunately a Pap with all the vents isn't as desirable as decoration. PM me and we can talk about the mini system. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Hornets are fine, as indicated above. But, one patch on a canopy shouldn't necessarily turn you off. You may easily snag you "new" hornet on a thorn and need that patch the day after you buy it. If done well, and with appropriate materials the patch isn't going to hurt anything but ascetics. If its across a seam I'd look much harder at the workmanship, but still not necessarily a problem. I'd pick the one you want, not through out the Sabre due to a patch. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Video exits of the wide bridle trying to launch a main bag from an open container. I've never seen it on line. Just kind of bounces along. While it's a good story and many stick by it, I wouldn't ever depend on the bridle to extract a bag from a tight reserve container. If it's out and going it will aid in deployment if the PC has trouble. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Just the description indicates to me (a chemist for 24 years) that this is NOT the same as the recommended products. Silicon isn't going to guard anything against smears. Get food grade silicon lubricant. ACE, hardware if you have one near, I've been told has this. I go to an indipendant hardware store. A restrauant supply house may also have it. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Maybe nothing, except that you'll have more experience to form an opinion, more time to gather other opinions, and be able to buy the latest and greatest that's available in 2 years. You may very well want a bullet camera that doesn't require an external mount, a top mount video versus a side, or something else we haven't even thought of yet. Who knows what will change in the future. THAT's why I suggested spending $40 on a Protec, which many jumpers think are MORE protective, and save the big bucks for when you know what you want. As for the noise mentioned above, most of my Protecs have color matching duct tape over the ear holes. And I can take it off for CRW, where you want a helmet but not covered ears. As to not wanting more than one helmet. You've got your camera helmet set up for a hot load. You've got a chance to jump on a CRW or fun load or water jump or whatever while your waiting. Do you want to pull your camera? Jump with the extra weight, or go without a helmet? When I'm using it, I have my camera helmet set up and use something else when I don't want it. Sometimes I want my frap hat to hold my audible, sometimes I want a hard hat, sometimes I want a camera, and sometimes I want nothing. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Because you now have the distractions of dealing with the camera, the tape, the lighting (yes, you will start thinking about it), the exit, etc. You may very well spend time turning on the camera when you should be checking your main PC handle, or the spot, or someone elses handles, etc. etc. ANYTHING that distracts you from the main business of learning to be a very good and safe skydiver adds risk. One camera man was so focused on the camera he forgot his rig, and died. Forget the camera, learn to skydive, then think about what you want to add in complexity and risk. Or, ignore the advice of those of us with decades of experience and are just trying to save your butt, and see if you get away with it. Can you get away with it? Sure. I've seen lots of newbies strapping cameras to their helmets. Most without a clue. And most get away with it. Some don't. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

You'll get lots of contrary advice, but I'd recommend buying a Protec (app. $40), put color coordinated tape over the ear holes (unless your doing CRW), make elastic pockets for the audibles and figure out what you want later. This gives you some time to try things out, look around, and make a better decision. Of course us old farts don't care about style. I've trying to decide on a different helmet for 5 years and can't find one that I like or that I'll pay for. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

There is a whole lot an experience jumper can see in the 5 or 10 minutes it takes to pack. Broken stitches, maybe not. But the main doesn't need that level of inspection every jump. But, I can see lots of things. Condition of the bridle, pin, PC, kill line grommets, loop, harness, toggles lines, velcro, etc.etc.etc. There are lots of things I see in other's canopies while they're packing. Do a good general inspection at the beginning of the day, after any hard landings, openings, or unusual occurances. See the lists available from USPA or elsewhere. Stitch by stitch, maybe every month, repack, year, never? Depends on your level of paranoria, how good you take care of your gear, if you let anyone else use it, whatever. I've don't think I look at my mains specifically panel by panel, stitch by stitch since I got them a few hundred jumps ago. Riggers gear is the last that gets maintained. But I also take good care of my gear. And others routinely ask me to inspect their mains about once a year. I you did that inspection after each jump you'd only make two a day. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

The harness and reserve are getting to the age where some riggers won't pack them. My personnal limit is usually 20 years. Some riggers use 15, some 25 and some will pack any age based on condition. If the lopo doesn't have a full stoage diaper I wouldn't pack it anyway. My personnal decision. The biggest thing is that there is much safer and more reliable gear now. For $1000 you can get a good early to mid 1990's harness and reserve. For $1500 you can get a very good, almost state of the art used harness and container. These newer rigs would most likely be AAD ready if you wanted one. My second rig is a Triathlon 190 so nothing wrong with that at all. Is it as airworthy as is was? Sure, if you took care of it. Is a lot better gear available? Sure. Might as well take advantage of the advanes in the sport. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

viva la RIPCORD! We all jump one! . I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

But is it the square that's malfunctioning or it's lines, brakes, sliders? The diaper and anti-nversion netting have greatly reduced the round malfunctions, usually partial inversions. I have a couple hundred round jumps (PC) and three round reserve rides. Two on a crossbow reserve (basically a lopo type) with modications without mesh, no diaper, and from an old SST prototype. Hmmm, and I lived? The other is on a Phantom 24'. The malfunctions were ram airs two with tension knots in the steering lines and one with blown up steering lines. If you make the best possible round reserve and the best possible ram air reserve I don't know how they'd come out. But the best possible round reserve was never made. I don't think any RESERVES were made with anti-inversion netting. Another round reserve with a "slider" is the Strong Aerosport. It has a spider slider, two pieces of webbing sewn in an X with a grommet at each end. The lines go through the grommets in four groups. The slider is held below the skirts by two piece of supension line sewn between lines that limit the upward travel of the slider. The slider is the first thing stowed on the FREE SLEEVE after the locking stows and the rest of the lines are stowed on the sleeve. I service two of these. S/Ns in the thirties. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

This was something used by riggers and others before we "borrowed" the tensile testing clamps from the hot air balloon crowd. Yes, you can damage good material. It's a feel thing and no good way to describe. You have to try it out with some good fabric, see what you can do, and moderate how much pressure you use. No it isn't pushing has hard as you can. If I don't have my tools with me and I want to see if something is really dead, I still do this from time to time. If the fabric has really failed you can easily poke your thumb through. In fact you can pinch it between your thumb and forefinger and pull it apart like Kleenex. Now go here http://www.pia.com/piapubs/TSDocuments/ts-108.pdf for a description of the REPLACEMENT for the thumb test. Two modified locking pliers and a spring scale are needed. The procedure calls for 40lb pull. This is debated among canopy and fabric manufacturers. Some believe that 40 is too high and recommend 35lb. This is what I'm using most of the time for general tests not related to a service bulletin. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

The concept of a hard opening is also in the eyes (or thighs?) of the wearer. As an old timer I consider some of the openings on the newer canopies as streamers that clear. We would have cut alot of those away in the old days. (Well, maybe not only because we'd be playing with it trying to get it to open to a 1000'.) The first time I jumped a Viper the owner warned me not to chop it, it'll take 700' to open. I'm glad he warned me. I didn't buy a Spectre because the openings were 700' whether a hop and pop (at 2000', flatline on the audible) or terminal. Now, these kind of openings are what newer jumpers want these days. And maybe that good, they won't end up an 1" shorter like I am. But I prefer what most new jumpers would call a hard opening. 200-300' Don't get me wrong, there are openings that are too hard. I currently jump a Sabre 170 and had a 190. The 190 was a lemon replaced by PD so I won't talk about it's openings. The 170 opens like I want a parachute to, brisk to me, hard to people used to Spectres. A couple of times a year it slams me, but nothing that ends a weekend. I haven't tried to slow my Sabre down with a pocket slider, so I defer to others experience. I have thought about it, only because I haven't done any pocket slikers and need to experiment on mine first. Anyway, opening hard or soft are individual descriptions that will vary from jumper to jumper. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yeah, but I have duct tape. I ususally don't have much heat shrink around. Freeflyfree, I've seen the no sew locking method before. But you know, I've never used it. Hmmmm Have to try some time. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Forget any fid that involves a threaded cavity at the end of a rod, metal or plastic. This requires hot knifing or melting the end so the hard melted line ingages in the threads. Then you have to try to screw this into the end of the fid. And not leave any hard parts out side to snag. Much better alternative (LEARNED AT PIA SYMPOSIUM) app 18" of 0.030 or 0.035" piano wire, available at any model hobby shop, a 6" piece of 3/4" or 1" dowel, duct tape, drill. Drill small hole through dowel in middle, i.e. 1/8". Bend piano wire in half. Stick the two ends through the dowel leaving about 6" of the double wire. Bend the two ends in opposite directions. Wrap dowel with duct tape to hold wire. Now, insert end of piano wire "needle" into braided line from beyond the far end of the finger trap. Gather line onto "needle" until you get to the entry point and exit the piano wire out through the braided line. Insert the standing end of the line to be inserted a little ways (1/2") through the loop at the bend in the piano wire. Pull line through, actually pushing the line off the wire (to keep tension off the finger trap) as you pull it through. Pull line out of wire, cut to final length if not alread done (at an acute angle to minimize strength loss, milk back into the outside line, and tack or sew if required. I have literally spent an hour trying to do one finger trap with the old metal fids. (Not having a good day) I can do the same thing in 20 secs with this. This is the single most valuable rigging tip I've ever learned, from Rags at the PIA symposium. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

This is a more reasonable standard. Than the 0.005" in the Capewell spec. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Agree with Mick and Sparky. Your right. One of these is wrong. It might have come from the factory or the legstrap might have been shortened or restiched at some time. While you weren't in immanent (sp?) danger, it is suppose to be in the direction that catches on the front of the friction adapter. GOOD CATCH! It should be fixed, as Mick said it won't take long. And someone should do it for nothing since they missed it too!. I couldn't sort out who was local where. If the rigger that inspected isn't local it's probably not worth sending anywhere to have done for free. Just have someone do it. Before next jump? Yeah it should be. But I might make an informed decision to go ahead if it was a hot load. Just kidding, kind of! It so easy to fix it should be done before you jump it again. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

And you won't as long as you pay attention to packing the PC and bridle, and maintain your pocket. I just "made" two customers replace their tired spandex BOC's. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

We need to know if your asking about a hackey versus pillow handle for a throw out system, OR a throw out versus pullout deployment system. See below: From http://www.dropzone.com/safety/aff/napoleon/level8.shtml "The Pullout Deployment System Though it was developed after the throwout system, the pullout deployment system is actually more like a traditional ripcord deployment system. In the pullout system, the deployment handle is attached to a straight closing pin and to the base (or bottom) of a springless pilotchute. As the deployment handle is pulled, the pin is first extracted from the container closing loop. As the handle is pulled further, the pilotchute is pulled from the now open container and inflates, pulling the handle from the skydiver's hand. The handle is usually mounted on the bottom of the container. The Throwout Deployment System The throwout system was the first ``hand deployed'' pilotchute system developed. The handle is attached to the apex (top) of the pilotchute. The pilotchute itself is externally packed (usually in a pocket on the legstrap or bottom of container. The pilotchute is extracted from its pocket and released at arm extension. It then inflates and pulls a curved pin from the closing loop, opening the container. " _______________________________________________ Some newer pillow handles have been used on throwout PC to decrease possiblity of inadvertant deployment due to drag on the hackey. These seem to be more secure but vary from rig to rig. I personally don't like them. I find them harder to grasp, but this can likely be overcome with practice. I also don't do much free flying. Pullout versus throwout is a long running debate, >20 years. Over the time I've seen many more reserve rides do to no pull or floating handles with pullouts. Modern pullout handles are more secure. When we were still experimenting with various pin/loop combinations on throw outs, pull outs had the advantage that the jumper was physically pulling the pin. With the advent of curved pins for throwouts the reliablilit became MUCH higher. I for one prefer to maintain my throw out system and let the much stronger force of the PC pull the pin than pull it myself at what is an awkward angle. Both systems can be packed with PC malfunctions but IMHO pull out packing is more critical, for reasons I won't try to explain in text. Throwouts have the majority of the market, through with proper instruction and experience pullouts are a successful alternative. Winsor, While pullouts remove some types of horseshoes, some of those have also been eliminated by BOC location. Pullouts also have the possibility of increased bad horseshoes because the pin is pulled and if the bridle NOW wraps around something the main can leave. If a throw out wraps around something like an arm the container may still be closed making for a cleaner deployment. I'm not telling you anything you don't know but offering an expanded discussion to your one liner. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

The APF list is one of the best. http://www.apf.asn.au/apf_services/parachute_rigging.asp PIA also maintains a list http://www.pia.com/piapubs/public_document_index.htm This loft site has one of the best lists of links. http://www.parachuteriggers.com/packing%20instructions.htm This loft site has a lot of good links. http://www.chutingstar.com/bestweblinksever.html I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yeah but clothed skeet fly unpredictably and make hitting them harder. Skeet should be free to fly nude to their death! I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

And you notice none since 1999, although some manufactures have requested them. Right now you can't get one no matter what. PIA, and I believe USPA, have protested to the Administrator that safety is now being compromised. PIA Rigging Committee Chair PIA Parachute Certification Standards Committee Co-Chair I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Main pins are cut from stainless steel and sewn to the bridle. Throw out pins are bent to enable the pin to rotate and the bridle to pull it out easily. Throw out pins are straight since the jumper pulls the pin. Reserve pins are made by cold forging and have to be swaged to the cable. By definition of the process the metal has to be soft enough to "flow" into and grip the steel cable. Two different beasts. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE