councilman24

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Everything posted by councilman24

  1. The two that I described in detail were pretty clearly age related. I was the rigger for and good friend of one of these folks and for lack of a better words coach/mentor to the other gentleman. So I knew them other than just in the air. Yes, there are all sorts of issues with younger students. But it's not usually being in slow motion. Younger students seem to be in high speed but making wrong decisions. These older folks seemed to be a little behind in sorting it out and then making wrong or no decisions. I've seen young and old folks saved by their aads, not remember the dive, screw up the exit, miss the landing, crash a landing. I just wanted to point out the possible down side of older students. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  2. I'm the skeptic and cynic around here. So let me give you the bad things I've seen with older skydiving students. And at 56 I'm old enough to have some of these issues myself, but I already learned how to do this. Two older students who became skydivers come to mind. One was in his 60's when he took it up. Was a biker, thin and lanky and no real health issues. Engineer as I recall, anyway some sort of technical professional career and still working when he started. But he was always one beat behind the dive. He could get out, fall stable, open his parachute and land. But when simple RW was added he was always not quite with the flow of the dive. I often saw a blank look on his face asking (What's next?) And not just the points. Exit order and plan, awareness of other jumpers, etc. He just was no longer thinking and processing as fast as others. Now maybe this was age related or maybe he would have always been like this. After a collision on opening due to awareness issue and some other near misses he finally realized that maybe he wasn't quite up to the task. I helped him come to this decision not because I didn't like him but because I did. He LOVED skydiving as much as and more than many students/newbie jumpers. Skydiving was keeping him young. But it also almost killed him at least twice. He went to Quincy several times and loved hanging out. And he realized his mistakes after they were explained to him but was not progressing at his awareness and skill in the air. Several of us were more than happy to go jump with him to try to help him out. But it sometimes bit us. He desperately wanted to do a balloon jump at Quincy but wanted some to go with him. So I agreed and we planned for me to exit on my back filming with him exiting a second later and opening first. After we climbed over the side he never looked at me, let go just as I let go and got under me and had no clue I was there. Took all I could do to get out from above him before he dumped with no clue where I was or even remembering I was in the air. When he landed he thought everything went as planned. He retired from skydiving with a couple hundred jumps and went back to biking. And thanked me and gave me some of his gear. Other older student was similar but more arrogant in his attitude. Not bad but no humility. He owned his own tool and die business and also loved jumping. But again seemed to have issues keeping up with what was going on and NEVER became acceptable at canopy control, even though one DZ owner had him talking in students on the radio at 100 jumps. (Don't ask.) We tried to help him out some too but wasn't interested in advice. He ended his career when he had his ripcord folded under his harness and pulled on his FXC braided housing instead of his reserve ripcord until the FXC opened his reserve. He was tumbling and blew up his round reserve. Landed on tarmac with the lower lateral band severed and canopy split to the apex. He lived but was broken up pretty badly. Some others come to mind also. Again, folks that weren't staying up with the program and never quite got it. One couple in their 50's. She had no concept of altitude awareness. I watched her fall on her back until she finally got stable and pulled. Even when I saw her main leave her back I thought she was dead. Her main opened faster than it ever had. (pre AAD era) After she came back from the off airport landing she didn't know anything went wrong. Her husband spun himself into the ground after being warned/trained about low turns several times. He used to wear a USPA polo shirt and give advice to students when he had 30 jumps and no clue. Yes I'm being a negative nancy but wanted you to hear something besides the cheer leaders. After all if they are on here they survived being a student. You SHOULD get into skydiving, I think everybody should. But be aware of your limitations as they may appear. I know my mind isn't working as well as it did at 30. (See my sig line.) And when everything goes great blow raspberries at me. On the positive note another student started in his 50's. He became a very good skydiver quickly and we still have fun jumping together. Get going, have fun and be aware as things might come up. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  3. The price was fair if it's in good working condition. Any older metal gear machine is now up to $200 to $250 most places. When I bought the ones I mentioned above they were closer to $100 but everybody has figured out that they are better than newer ones. AND the internet has driven competition and prices of for lots of things. When the one local buyer that might want one was the only person who likely would or could buy it the prices were lower. Now that the whole world may be buying you $100 machine there's more competition. Best place to look may be craigslist. Again, if someone thinks it's worth selling rather than giving to Good Will then it's probably working. I have bought machine off ebay but not sure I'd do it from an individual. I've bought from sewing businesses. Like this: http://winchester.craigslist.org/hsd/4831394108.html Somewhere in the same region as you. Belt easy, top not needed. Or this one. http://baltimore.craigslist.org/app/4869851619.html Take material (your patch square if you kept it) and #69 upholstery thread (same size as e thread) and try it out. Put in "sewing machine slant" in craigslist. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  4. But is it a change? Or an addition. I don't see where the original load bearing configuration is being altered in form or function. (But I did just skim the SB and haven't done it myself) I don't see an alteration or modification. I see an additional component being added with minor sewing to a non load bearing component needed to make it possible. In fact the sewing could be left off. Hot knife and hand tack, or not. And is only needed for type I. Do you also consider Type II as in the SB an alteration? or an assembly? No sewing required. Just hanging things on an existing manufactured product. Certainly much less critical than reserve assembly. Mark and I don't always agree but I'd call this senior also. Know, there are examples that would make the point your trying to make but I think you picked the wrong one. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  5. I'm thinking it would not be in there for months, but I could be wrong. My machine may sit unused for months in a closet until the day that I need it. The OP said it, not me. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  6. My comments were based on the OP putting it in the closet for months and not having a place to set it permanently. He doesn't want a pump oiler to spill. The wicks would be okay if used like you mentioned. I've also been told that lots of short uses don't allow the self oiling to provide enough lubrication. Seems reasonable to me. I have both kinds of self oilers and don't have anything against them. Just not for the OP. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  7. The Crash I know, a member of the Rainbow Flyers, got his name by hitting the snow pile at the end of the runway with.the landing gear of the Cessna. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  8. MEL misspoke. Dacron are braided lines and can be flat or round. They are.not kernmantle constructed with a braided outer sheath and inner strands. The kernmantle lines are nylon. As long as it's not too fat doesn't make a.lot.of.difference. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  9. It won't/shouldn't cost $200 again. The main doesn't need to be disassembled unless they make you a whole new rig and maybe not even then. The reserve will have to come off if they rebuild something. I wouldn't send the canopies anyway unless they want them for sizing. Never send anything you don't have to. Cost, loss, damage. But expect to pay the rigger for his work. Unless he's you dealer and/or measured you it's not his fault. If it's Velocities fault ask them to pick up the rigging costs. You picture sucks. Wearing less baggy clothes and have someone else take front and side views including the leg straps and close ups of leg strap pads. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  10. I don't expect you to get one but don't get a self oiling machine. They are commercial machines that have a reservoir of oil, sometimes on top and sometimes underneath like the oil pan of a car. They either pump or wick the oil to SOME of the spots where its needed. Pump machine that only run for.short periods.may run most of the time with not enough oil. Wicking machines may keep dripping oil. Oil it before you start each day, put a new needle in for each project and maybe during a project. and brush or blow.the dust.out. BTW needles are cheap when you buy them by the hundred mail order instead of the local fabric store. Often 1/10 the price. A little more.on thrift shops where things are donated. The machines they have often don't work because people can't sell them if they don't work. So they give them to goodwill. Craigslist maybe better because the owner thinks it works good enough to sell. But often people want.too much money on craigslist. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  11. When I wore out the hook on one Necchi it was going.to be $100 for a new one. Just. Ought the viking 1020 to.replace it.for.$100. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  12. The manufacturer is Jerry Baumchen (user name JerryBaumchen on dz.com) and often posts here. Ask him. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  13. Viking sewing machines like this one are very good. I used a viking 1020 for many years. It is STILL better at sewing 6 layers of Type 4 for the nose of a toggle than my industrial machines. Here is one similar but higher in the series. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Husqvarna-Viking-30-10-3010-Sewing-Machine-with-Case-/151393983264 This guy wants too much. Should be closer to $200. They were closer to $100 when I got mine. Also Necchi sewing machines like this one are good. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Husqvarna-Viking-30-10-3010-Sewing-Machine-with-Case-/151393983264\ Also had a Necchi BU. These are good, popular machines and can be set up with table top portable motor or in a commercial table with a knee lifter and clutch or servo motor. Be careful of thrift stores. I still troll them routinely for good machines but many are plastic geared, often with the gears stripped, and others are just odd enough not to be able to find parts. Stay away from anything with a plastic body and square corners. Easy way to usually tell new enough to have plastic gears. The singer slant o matics you mentioned are good too. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  14. You got a reasonable number above. As reference I paid $750 for a 1990's Vector II, Raven reserve, and original Sabre. And that was a rig I knew the history of. I haven't heard Firefly reserve in a long time. I'm not sure I'd pack it no matter what the condition, based on design and age. And I don't own any equipment newer than 1997 except AAD's. EVERYTHING opened NORMALLY in the 80's. None of these new canopies that streamer and then eventually open even though you should have cut them away. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  15. Took a while to get to the bullets. Got this ad first. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLnhuzh9uY I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  16. Text with quotes from company that installed the ferry tank seem to say that it was gravity fed only. Not having.seen.any details of the system I can think of lots of issues. Off topic I had a friend who decided to fly his 170 from Michigan to Florida non stop. Put a 55 gallon drum in the cabin on a cradle and plumbed in an electric pump to pump fuel up into l the wings. He made it there and back in one piece. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  17. What is the third attachment? Can't tell in the photo. But agree this is dangerous and useless unless it's intended for some.unknown purpose. Which doesn't keep it from being dangerous. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  18. And/or find it here: http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/cms/files/file/1819-3-ring-construction-manualpdf/ I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  19. If the yellow thread is broken the strength of the webbing is significantly decreased. Around 30%. Webbing needs to be replaced. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  20. This is being done by PIA. I don't know the current status of the project. There are about 15 instances know and I have reports on most but frankly haven't even studied them in detail. No common factor to find. Remember tso standard is 3 seconds and up to.4. 300' if 3 seconds can't be meant for cutaways. 3 sec at terminal with firing alt. of 750 gives little toon for delay. 4 secs may put you in the dirt at terminal from 750' 750 was always the ragged edge but worked because most were faster when introduced. Now with new rig designs and reserves designed to be closer to 3 sec we've pushed into the dirt. That's why PIA risk management comm and others pushed for higher activation altitudes. For what little it's worth based on getting to know the principles I trust AirTec implicitly. I am neither a dealer or have other.affiliation with any gear other than a couple.of.pilot rig.manufacturers. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  21. We had some of the locals decide they had to be the big dogs and start their own cessna dz 10 miles down the road. They painted a red arrow on a 2x4 (I'm being generous on size) piece of plywood. They would hold this.up over their head, usually tipped the wrong way, way too small and no contrast. Then the guy would shout 'all the way around' to the students under PC's.with very poor training. They broke a few legs and one back of a guy landing.60' up a tree. The guy that did most of the jumpmastering would tell students that if they didn't protect their chest mount reserve ripcord and opened the reserve "YOU WILL DIE. I WON'T BECAUSE I'M GOING TO JUMP OUT OVER YOU BUT YOU WILL DIE!" DZ lasted about a year and a half. We put out an arrow on the wind line and left it. Went through no radios or.other ground control to cb's until an asshole down the road gave students false commands. Then nothing again (besides good training) to Motorola commercial pagers. We had one airplane.owner that had flown the club and flew occasionally. In 1 inch dymo letters he had.on the inside if the.in flight door "IF YOU DIE ON THIS JUMP ARE YOU READY TO MEET GOD!" Great for students. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  22. While I wish I was young and rich and could base jump walls in Norway, jump pocket rockets with no fear, spend thousands in the tunnels, figure out how not to fall stable and do this head down crap I don't much like the attitudes around the DZ's. One of the attractions pre AAD was the idea of complete self reliance not to die. Skydiving was one of the very few situations where if you did nothing you were sure to die. We all knew you could die skydiving. Even driving down the highway at 80 if you take you hands and feet off the controls you may or may not die or even get hurt. Maybe swooping is replacing that back of the mind knowledge that if I don't do something (right) I'm going to die. And being there, no parachute and none expected, knowing you were going to bounce was not a good thing, I know. And first jumps before tandems meant you had some level of self reliance. That was part of the attraction. You were getting out of an airplane, by yourself. Yes static line and maybe radio but still you had to climb out and jump, take care of any problems, and ultimately land on your own even if you had radio help. That feeling of self accomplishment is one of the things that attracted me. When people used to ask me whether they should do a tandem or static line I'd explain if they think they only want to do it once, ever, they would get more of the experience with tandem. If they want the challenge of doing it on their own and relying on themselves to survive (sort of) they should do a static line (later or AFF) AAD's are good, tandems are good, but I believe both of those things changed the sport in indirect ways. Better or worse depends on you. I wasn't there (started in 80) but my guess is the 70's where the race for the first 8 way was on. Where lots of folks did 10 way speed star and didn't have to be professional skydivers to compete. Remember when skydivers were equated with outlaw bikers? We were killing more in freefall, so that wasn't so good. But few died under an open and fully functioning parachute. I'm glad I got around 300 round jumps. Used my PC to follow students long after I had two ram air rigs. I'm glad I early enough to catch some of those early changes and advances from military gear. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  23. You don't need to know how to flat "pack", but you should learn the details of the construction and rigging of your canopy that you might learn by flat packing. If layed out to flat pack I can do a full line rotation in about 15 sec without getting off of my butt. That's the kind of thing that flat packing allows, seeing and learning about your canopy. You can learn that without going ahead and packing. There are some advantages to flat packing. As stated above in cam distribute the bulk better and.allow.a.canopy to fit.a container better. Also be.aware there are at least three major ways of flat packing with endless variations. Learn about your canopy and keep packing and.get the damn thing in the air. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  24. Is that price for a standard billboard or time on a changing electronic billboard with multiple advertisers. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE
  25. I use some very much like these with very good success. Diagonal cutters with straight cutting edges flatten the cable. http://www.lowes.com/pd_338233-32251-2972-PKG_4294719596__?productId=3554900&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo= I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE