councilman24

Of course there are many other canopies available. Forget the 24' T10r no matter what you weigh. Strong or other Lopos, National 28' Aerostar, Preserve I, Butler LoPo. Of couse Butler doesn't sell them for sport use. Make sure you have a full stowage diaper, mesh cover modifications, and big enough for you. And, most important practice PLF's from 6' forward and backwards. I landed an old Phantom 28 as a main at a load of about 250lbs. And walked away. But I hit the pea gravel and know how to PLF well. New one pin flat chest containers with a PC that uses the same spring as a Vector PC are available, BTW. Tell us what you weigh and we can tell you how much to worry. I almost stood up a Phantom 24 when I weighed 175, and landing lopos at 180 is easy. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

What keeps the accessory plate in place? If it's just sandwiched between the shoe and the the plate it could slide fore and aft and perhaps rotate some. I'm not a fan of any of these mounts with a solid plate under the some of the shoe. All of the old ones I jumped for the most part only had fabric under the shoe. Some not compatable with booties but I have an idea for one that would be. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Your making Rob's point The stuff your talking about was only 10 years old!. In the 60's But I recently was asked to pack 2 2001 Strong seat rigs with 1953 C9's. Sixty two year old parachutes! Someone had packed them when they were 54. They are closer in years to the first intentional freefall in 1918 by Leslie Irvin than they are to today! They might have been actually have been airworthy but they were stained, smelly and tired. While I could pull test them I can't pull test every inch. I can't pull test the thread or every seam. When I started in 1980 they would have been 27, not so bad. But we've both gotten older. Riggers can ask themselves would I sew a patch with a dusty, stained 60 year old roll of thread? If the answer is no why would you pack a parachute that old? If the answer is yes I'll give them your name. (Actually the current owner got them with an airplane and is more than happy to replace them.) I don't quite agree with Rob. In the last 20 years there hasn't been that much advance in reserve/emergency canopies or container design (other than style, ignoring MARD's for this discussion PLEASE). And while a manual for a 1980 GQ Security 150 might be hard to find (not really) and a bad copy the manual for a 1995 Softie or Preserve I hasn't much changed. I'm as much concerned about design as I am age. In 1990 we had Safety Flyers, X210R's, Tricon's, Sac's, unreefed lopo's, 5 cell swifts, etc. Along with original Kevlar lines that liked to break, acid mesh (it wasn't only the mesh!). I pretty much won't pack any of those. I've got lots of gear older than 20 years that I jump and a pilot rigs that old that I'll pack. But I also have grounded three year old rigs that had faded from hot pink to white. We all get to pack what we want. And it's real tough to go to court and explain why you packed something the manufacturer said you shouldn't. Doesn't matter if it makes sense. Suing AirTec because the loop wasn't through the cutter didn't make sense either. It doesn't help that the FAA won't issue an AD for a parachute anymore. Haven't since the 1999 RW amp fitting AD. They have said in the past parachutes weren't an aircraft appliance so AD's couldn't be issued, even when manuf. wanted them. Today we wouldn't have grounding AD's for acid mesh canopies. Lately some FAA officials have said they didn't see why they wouldn't issue an AD for a parachute. But I'll believe it when it happens. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

$150 is the cheap price. You could pay $230. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Do you believe it was right angle gravity? From what little I saw on the tv it just looked like the thing was partially inverting. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Put anti inversuon netting on it. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

You can buy your own hundred footer. http://www.armysurplus.com/store/parachute-g11-100-ft-dia-cargo-chute-heavy-drop/dp/7747 They must mean largest supersonic. We've got one of the G11's out at the old dz. Had it inflated on the ground once. Space Shuttle SRB recovery chute we're list as 113' I think. A while.back there was a tv special.on landing the Mars rover. The we're testing the parachute deployment.in a high speed test wind tunnel. It kept shredding too. As I watched it my guess/observation was that it was partially inverting. Even told my wife. They.made a big deal about all the engineers sitting around a conference table trying to.fix it. After high drama and maybe dramatic editing.they "eventually" put high speed cameras on it just before they were going.to delay the program. And yes, it was partially inverting then failing. They need at least one oldtime rigger sitting around the table with.the PhD's. Lee, I envy you being.envolved in this stuff. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

A whole lot like someone else's. https://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/top-gun-smoke-shoe-bracket Go advertise your look alike in the classifieds. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

From a USA law basis...... On an emergency parachute, yes. (There's at least one that specs tube stows by name in their manual.) If you read 14 CFR you could come to that conclusion for a main. I don't. Some do. It's an old debate as you know. I have seen tube stoes installed wrong. Add in AC105 2e you find simply assembly for transport or storage. AC 105 was written by a very limited number of people and then accepted and published by the FAA. If my FAA inspector asked my opinion I'd tell him it was part of packing. As a DPRE I have to point out the law and the examples were beyond simple assembly. Obviously tradition has been anybody can legally do anything to a main. That has never been the law, even though at a meeting in the mid 2000's many of the principles or officers of many manufacturers and experienced riggers believed that was true. The reality is that the FAA can't prove it so it has been the norm since the beginning of civilian parachuting. And in reality jumpers should know how to and do these activities. You can't do a daily inspection without knowing how things work and to do these activities yourself. BUT, an example. A friend installed after market toggles on his main. They were installed right but were not built correctly. This problem directly lead to a toggle brake setting locking up and causing a spinning malfunction, a tree landing and deep lacerations. As soon as I inspected the gear I recognized the problem that he didn't. When I started pre internet you had to ask someone how to do this stuff. Now you can find all sorts of diy videos and instructions, some good and some not. For students who would bring me wreck.skydiving printouts I used to compare internet advice to used chewing gum on the side walk. You don't know where and who it came from and how good it is. My own included. I've seen instructors put on canopies backward, d-bags inside out, toggles wrong in many ways, and on and on. And I done.some.things wrong over the years. Hopefully that newbie is taught the right way to put on a tube stow. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

First the disclaimer: The only thing you legally can do is pack your main. ALL of the rules on who can do what that apply to a reserve apply to a main. Except keeping records and having specific facilities. ALL of your examples require a rigger under the law. (Assembly) That being said, since no records are required violation by the FAA would require a confession. I believe most newer skydivers don't know anywhere near enough about their gear. Most highly experienced or older jumpers would do all you mentioned and more. Key word in your question is "appear". A lot of us learned by trial and error but don't repeat our mistakes. You don't know what you don't know. And things are more complex all the times. I've seen lots of cutaways and some serious injuries caused by amatuer rigging. I've seen all of your examples done wrong by people who thought they knew what they were doing. Please don't expect to learn rhese rhings drom the internet only. As Lee said you need to LEARN these things, not think it's obvious. Sizing PC's, sizing cutaway cables, getting a toggles on right etc. need specific information. I want you to be able to do everything you mentioned, but right. It drives me nuts when a customer can't assemble their theee ring. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Call Bordon forge and ask them if they know. It may never have been tested 'wrong'. I'd guess more than 50% reduction based on the smaller retaining tabs on the bar that take the load when reversed. I've seen this happen before. What happened was a student unthreaded instead of unsnapped. Then an unqualified person reassembled wrong. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

If you mean something other than parachute rigging your asking the wrong place. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Fixed it for you. As you know getting a rigger ticket has nothing to do with being able to recommend appropriate gear. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

N expert but probably not enough info for size. Like where are you? Insulation? I replaced one several years ago. Calculated pay back at time on high eff vs 93 (or whatever still needed chimney) was 30-40 years. Smaller house in MI. YMMV but make sure the savings is worth the cost differential. Energy costs, usage, etc goes into thinking. Of course energy eff. may be worth the cost for non financial reasons and prices may have changed. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I'll forward your information to Don and Sam. The Flyers won in South Africa too. Sam and Don both often tell stories about your dad and Rocky and wear their belt.buckles all the time. If you look up United We Fall by Pat Works on google you'll find it complete on line. In it the Rainbow Flyers are mentioned. You'll also get a felling about jumping in those days. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I pack the reserves for Sam Brown and Don Carpenter (when he jumps, sort of retired), both members of the Rainbow Flyers. Both of them are good friends. I started in MI just before your father died. I might have met him once. I 've met Rocky but don't know him as well. A bunch of the Beach Nuts got together last labor day and with a bunch jumping that hadn't jumped in 30+ years. Sandy Reid, owner of Rigging Innovations put it together with help. If you PM me contact information I'll pass it on to Sam and Don. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

you got me confused there Sorry you can't translate a typo. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Your question was unclear to start. We don't know if you were including the +/- 6 months in your "end of life". IF DOM is 7/2003 it is no longer supposed to be in the air according to the manufacturer's instructions after 1/31/2016. I personally will not pack a rig with a cypres that will expire before the end of the 180 days (U.S.) unless they are an established customer of mine. While a note on the card, telling the person, etc. is all good I'm not convinced a rigger won't be held accountable for an expired cypres in a non expired rig. Either under FAA regs ( your inspector may vary) or in a civil court (everything is up for grabs there). Each rigger can read the regs and do what they wish and I don't have any grief over that but it's the inspector that investigates the fatality that will decide the issue. I know as above many riggers will pack a rig as long as the cypres is good to go at the date of the pack job. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Your right, I don't know you and my comment was much more at Red Bull's PR program than at you. Its effective but I still don't like it. I'd say the same thing about any extreme sport stunt that Red Bull sponsors. They leave a bad taste in my mouth. Pun intended. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

*** Hmmmmm, that's what I used to do with my Paracommander. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

And I hope someone swoops this one just like landing a wingsuit and the high altitude record. Little fanfare, no BS, no buildup. Shut up and jump and tell us later. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Old school ball point. Hotel/convention center pens seem to be the best. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

The fact that you can't throw it the wrong way in the relative wind and wrap it around your body. Your two reasons NEVER came to mind. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

There is a reason all sport and pilot reserves are still ripcords. Lots of advantages. Throw outs are as much for style as function. But tonight I'm too lazy to explain. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I stand corrected, but would like to see it litigated. I'm not a smoker, don't like to be around smokers, but have trouble believing this would make it through a court challenge. But no ACLU for smokers. Michigan is an at will state and they may be hiding behind that. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE