councilman24

Each stitch and each piece of fabric should be inspected. That's usually more than "taking a look at it." If you've really looked at all the seams and the entire top and bottom surface you still have each interior rib and the slider to check, as well as the entire length of each line. If you don't have a place to hang the canopy up by it's tail and look in each cell, put on a head lamp, sit on a stool that isn't going to cause damage, and pull each cell over your head looking for damage to the ribs. A branch might easily have damaged a rib through the front with out poking a hole in the surface. A small easy to repair hole may get worse as you jump it. Also make sure your reserve container didn't get punctured by a branch or damaged during recovery. Ok, that's the politically correct answer. I'd probably just jump the damn thing. And you've got a great NSTIWTIWGTD story. Not many people end up in trees these days. Used to be routine. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Actually it is obvious if you know what your looking for. In fact it should of been obvious during packing that the D lines were shorter than the C lines. While it shouldn't have come from the factory that way, it should have been caught no matter who assembled it. I applaud you for wanting to assemble your own main. Many jumpers these days don't want to pack their main, let alone take a link apart. But if it's the first time you should get some advice. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

What's in my rigging kit? Too much stuff. Other things that directly related to packing include Bottom half of a click type ball point pen to aid in getting Cypres cutters into the elastic keepers, PC locking strap and rod (for collapsing PC's) for how I used to do Stong Pilot rigs. Rod also serves to hold PC collapsed to kicker plate with grommets on the one rig I still do that uses one. Line hook for stowing lines in Navy Back, or now stowing lines on Preserve V deployment bag. Preserve V's also require a couple of different materials as break ties. A couple of high quality hemostats. Most of the ones available in hobby shops or gun shows are pretty crappy. Still have a sewing palm. As well as Sandy Reid's Navy end tabs for needle pusher/puller. Large and small seam rippers and exacto knife. Extra main closing loops, I give them away. Hmmm what else. Materials like tack cords, spare links, rubber bands, safety stow loops, etc. Stamp pad and seal symbol stamp to help foil forgers. (reread and saw yours) One of Dave DeWolf's pull testers, but I don't like using it much. Soft, locking "bodkins" for bags like the Vectors. Allows you to pre compress the bag. My own design pull up handle. A 6 inch length of 1 1/4" delerin rod. I cut a saw cut in the middle half way through. By wrapping the pull up around the handle in the saw kerf and around again on top of itself it locks off with out having to tie a larks head knot or other wrap. Change the saw blade, table saw vs band saw, to accommodate either type II or cypres pull ups. Obviously mine includes things beyond tools. I have an instrument repairmans tool case that holds everything except weights, clamps, longest packing paddle, "Allen Silver" closing device, and table tension devices. It goes with me to the DZ so I have the needed the supplies and extras all in one case. I'm not one for going simple. Hmm also good dressmakers scissors, and surgical scissors for cutting thread and tacking material. Needle nose pliers, also for pulling needles and Security 350 springs. Probably more stuff that I don't remember without looking. Oh yeah, I use a molar strap. (No need to rehash the debate. If nothing else it scares the customers.) Again, I want to be able to do more stuff out of the case, like undoing finger strap stitching to change toggles. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I have a method that I show people but it can't be easily described. But your not alone. When I got my first ZP canopy I had about 1000 jumps, paid packers didn't exist, I'd been a rigger for 8 years, and it took me ten packjobs before I got one I'd jump. One hit. Do not put your knee on it and put all your weight on it. That will only make it squirt out. You can put you knee on it but keep your weight on the other knee and only put enough weight on the canopy to keep it in place. I also make a corner of my two knees, my left at the left side of the stack and my right behind the stack. This gives you a corner to work into. Have fun. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

When I saw the posted ad at college I called my parents to ask for the first jump course for my birthday. Mom wasn't home. My father and eleven year older sister talked about it for a few minutes and called me back and said ok. When Mom found out she couldn't go back on it. She still, 2500 jumps and 25 years later, doesn't want to know before I go. Only after. You have to decide if you want to do what she wants or what you want. Do the best to educate her on the training, equipment, and safety features. Good luck. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I don't use a through out but ..... With a pullout you have opened the container. You don't want to hold on to the pilot chute. This could allow the bag to leave and potentially malfunction when the PC is finally released. Holding on to the PC with either hand deploy system isn't a good idea but is really not appropriate for a pullout. So a base handle doesn't allow you to. Also remember the handle of a pull out is connected to the pin and only in a flexible way to the bottom of the PC. A similar handle on the top would put a piece of webbing and pin along with the handle on top of the PC. Too much stuff. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

tridenthc.com under reflex parts has the owner's manual as a PDF. It's in reverse page order. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

There are two types of chambers being discussed above. One is automated, calibrated, uses aircraft quality instruments, and is several thousand dollars. The other is something that holds vacuum, a valve, and a pump. It's suitable for function testing 12000's astras, altimeters, audibles, etc. Unless you do a lot of FXC 12000 testing and need a certified chamber it's not worth considering buying a fancy one. My simple function chamber uses a vacuum desicator and a small electric pump. A hand pump from the local auto repair store works fine. An 11" diam. vacuum desicator is available from www.vwrsp.com for $135. Part # 24987-048. Smaller ones are available cheaper. The same thing can be made with plexiglass plate, cylinder, a router, an 0-ring, and a valve. But probably easier to order it. Don't remember details off the top of my head of FXC 12000 testing but at some point they have to go in one of the fancy, calibrated, test chambers. It's been years since I've delt with them. You can function test them with the simple device but last I knew they needed to go back to FXC every two years for calibration. Any way, for about $180 dollars for the desicator and hand pump and no work your in business. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

It's a relic. Some tacking needs to be with waxed cord. While in the 20 years I've been rigging if I needed waxed I bought it waxed, you could wax your own. In addition, on early ram airs with 800 or 1000 pound dacron line, tension knots formed much easier. Those lines have a lot more friction to begin with and get "fuzzy" as they wear. Using soap or wax on the lines was thought to help prevent tension knots. Two of my four malfunctions were tension knots on dacron lines. My gut feeling, with out any data, is that spectra or microline is slicker and any knots that form don't hold. The newer aramid lines may not have that perceived advantage. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I don't have a church window PC (although there's one in a closet around here somewhere) but I have a Merry Widow. Black with a different color panel spaced all the way around. I thought it was pretty cool. Hmmm. I'll have to get it out and inflate it just to look at it. Too fat to jump it these days. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Type III, MIL spec 4088, webbing is 1 1/4 twill, 800 breaking strength. It's available here http://www.dj-associates.com/tapes.htm The MIL spec for type III tape (5038) doesn't include a 1 1/4". 1" is 525 pounds and 1 1/2 is 900lbs. "Break tape" mil spec 5608 lists E (extra heavy) Type I 1.250" wide 650lbs breaking strength. But good luck finding it, especially in small quantities. BTW this was all from Pyonter's. I didn't check the new PIA specs to see if they were still included, or have been converted. Shit, if I'd realized it was you I wouldn't have bothered. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I just ordered a DVD with some extras. Maybe it'll be on that. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Hey Winsor, Tell us what you really think. Of course I pretty much agree. On interesting note is that at the US Airforce Academy they have about 350 Rigging Innovations rigs with DUAL FXC 12000's. One for the main and one for the reserve. These are still left over from all most before cypres era and they are their own FXC service shop. They'd like to change but it's a lot of dollars. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yep, Quote from the movie posters. Don't know what a complete set looks like but I'm up to a couple of full size posters, two 8x10 posters and a 10x 30 or so. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

When the ground comes up at you like a sledge-hammer.... When the sweat freezes on your brow.... When jumping isn't only a way to live, but a way to die, too... you're a ................ what? I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I had a newby customer who bought a used rig at the end of the year in MI. He was so bored all winter that he used a fabric marker to change his rig from navy to black. He brought it to me in the spring to assemble and pack. I started looking at it and I knew something was wrong. But he'd done such a good job that the color was absolutely even. But it felt just a little weird. Then I realized the back side of the webbing was blue. He'd only done the surfaces that faced out so the webbing under the riser covers was still blue as well as the body side. I just started laughing. He'd done such a good job you couldn't see any stripes from the marker. When I told him it was junk now he said "The marker said it was safe for all fabrics." I told him if he wanted he could send it to RWS (is was a vector) and if they packed it fine. But I wasn't going to touch it. And I didn't want to set next to him on the airplane because it was kind of rubbing off. Dyeing a OD green surplus rig black used to be the hot thing to do. Of course dyeing a rig is a major alteration and requires a master rigger. Forget about the idea of dyeing a modern rig. It may be "possible" but it's not worth the effort, risk, or ugly rig your likely to end up with. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

An ICD (defibrilator) is NOT a pace maker. Did the manager know the difference and is an ICD an automatic no? I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Some but not all. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Give me a call. I'm sure I can find SOMETHING wrong with it. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I head a rumor a few years ago that there was an old lap parachute and someone with the rating here in Michigan. We talked about trying to track it down to earn the rating but never got any farther. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Except the question the Fed's don't want to answer, is how you do all the TSO testing without violating a FAR? They pretty much tell the manufacturers don't ask don't tell. Now, I recently a couple of riggers who "repaired" a set of capewell female releases by building a new harness around them. Or "repaired a rig" by building a new one around the old label. So if you doint test jumps, on the ten year program, you might get away with jumping your own design. But only if you don't ask. Your still violating the FAR. One of the interesting BS sessions at the PIA meeting. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

A too tight loop may cause a PC in tow, although with the current stainless pins and well mantained PC it is less likely than it has been in the past. A too tight loop may cause the pin to damage the gromment but this is likely than in the past with wider use of stainless steel gromments instead of nickel plated brass. Not all rigs use stainless grommets though. A too tight loop might distort the intended geometry of the main container making it look bad. For instance a Vector is designed to NOT have the grommets stack up. Thats why the top flap is offset. So if the grommets stack up on some rigs the loop is to tight and or the canopy too small. And it makes closing it harder than neccessary. Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

We used to tell newbies on rounds not to look down. If you look down very near to the ground you suddenly see the relative motion and automatically try to brace yourself, usually by sticking out a leg. That's the one that usually breaks. With forward speed I'm not sure it matters so much. Your looking out at wear your going to land anyway, and you have very little vertical speed. Hey, after this long do what works. Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Forgot that some had diapers. But the vector used free bag and that's what I'd recommend. I know what your saying about the kevlar lines. But Kevlar of that era snagged awfully easy. We still have a hobbit in service with them around here. I've been trying to get the guy to upgrade. Rob's right about in a reserve the kevlar wasn't such a big deal but I still wouldn't necessarily want to wear an X-210R regardless of the lines. I haven't seen a strong reserve in a while. Is it the same real soft kevlar from the early 1980's? Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yes a cypres can be retrofitted by a master rigger approved by airtec. But as stated above you've bought a 20 year old rig. The main was nicknamed a "Cruisefright" because of it's speed at the time. If your under about a 170lbs (maybe 180 or 190 with experience) your probably be alright. Do NOT load this 1:1 with low experience. I'm more concerned about the reserve. The X-210 was one of the first "high performance" F-111 canopies. It didn't last very long before becoming out dated. The X 210 reserve is just a TSO C23B version. I would consider this a second generation reserve, with safety flyer's and original 5 cell Swift's as 1, PD, Raven, Glide Path as 3, and maybe some of the new ones as 4th generation. This reserve may have had kevlar lines. If it does replace it. If it doesn't I'd still consider not jumping it. Also be aware that many riggers have a 20 year old limit on the gear they will work on. They may make an exception for the harness but I personally wouldn't make an exception for the reserve. Mainly based on design but also age. BTW the free bag may need to be retrofit with a safety stow. I don't remember when RWS started using them. Ask your rigger. Terry I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE