councilman24

Civilian riggers predate the FAA. I have a book entitled "Parachute Technician" by Charles A Zweng published by Pan American Navigation Service. The preface reads "This text is especially written to prepare the applicant for his government rating. The first text of its kind. Here the parachute technician will find a basic text fortified with pertinent "typical Multiple Choice examinations", designed to prepare him for his written test. Contents Include Construction, Operation, Inspection and Maintenance, including instruction covering parachute packing." While not dated written in pencil on the inside cover is '1944'. This book includes Civil Air Regulations on Parachutes General(60.36 to 60.734): equivalent to some of part 105 AND some of SIM includes a parachute requirement for anybody doing aerobatics, a minimum jump altitude for exhibition, training, or demonstration of 2000', prohibits freefall other than "necessary to properly and safely clear the aircraft, which in no case, except in an emergency jump, shall be less than 1,500 feet above the surface of the ground," flotation near water, a permit from the administrator for every jump except emergency jumps, and the 60 day packing requirement. Parachutes (Materials and Tests) (15.31 to 1531); equivalent to the TSO standards including that zig zag will be two step, Functional Tests (Normal Pack), Functional Tests (Twisted Lines), Strength Tests, Rate of decent and more. Part 25 Parachute Technician Certificates (25.0 to 25.9): equivalent to Part 65 and the Practical Test Standard with all of the requirements for THREE ratings, Parachute Rigger, Senior Parachute Rigger, and Master of Parachute Maintenance. It also includes written test questions, the requirment for a 3'x40' table, a seal and the use of it, AND direction for how someone with a current mechanic certificate with a parachute rigger rating will only be valid for up to 12 months after Jan 21, 1943, "during which time the holder thereof may secure upon application a parachute technician certificate....". So the beginning of separate rigger ratings. Also a section of lofts that includes regulation of parachute material, reporting of defects, definitions for major and minor repairs and major and minor alterations. This book also includes chapters on the Harness, the Canopy, the Pack,Operation of the Parachute, the Jump, the Decent, the Landing, and a lot more. This really does seem to be Poynter's, the CAR's, the SIM, the Practical Test Standard and some instructions all in one for 1943. Only 111 pages. So, first civilian certificates were endorsements on mechanics certificates. From text above it seems separate parachute rigger certificates must have started Jan 21, 1943 and were required by Jan 21, 1944. Very interesting book with much of the current requirements. Years ago before I had this book I traced the FAR's back into the CAR's but don't remember if I have copies somewhere. BTW requirements for parachute rigger certificates included "Applicant shall be of good moral character." I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

If its a 5 cell swift cut.the.lines.off. good in the day but five.levels of safety and.performance better now. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

A protec with a para rescue liner is probably the best that has been normally sold for skydiving. None of the carbon fiber things do more.than hold your hair, audible, visor and go pro. When they get hit they brake, don't absorb much energy and slice you head open like a razor. Back in the day hockey helmets were hot and still are useful minus the cage. Of course skydiving isn't about safety it's about being cool. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I've been a member of our city council cor 17 years and.attending meetings regularly for 15 years before that. We are one of.the few local.governments in our area that start with an invocation. It has always been open to all religions. Religious leaders or church sign up for.a rotation. While mostly christian we routinely have Hindu. We have had Jewish (not so much their thing to do this.according to our Jewish attorney who.sits.on the dais with us), Sikh, native american, something close to wiccan. Probably a couple more I'm forgetting. I'm trying o remember a muslim but honestly can't. Of course.the Christian prayers run from non-nondenominational that invoke the god of our choice or.one good without mention of Christ (by both catholic and protestant to what amount to short sermons by fundamentalists invoking Jesus in every line. At the complaint of an atheist citizen about this he now is included in the rotation and has given two atheist invocations. The only ones that bother me are the ones that are clearly Christians who invoke Christ. Seems that I should expect that and do but many christian clergy invoke the one god or the god of our choice recognizing the multiple religions in the room. Helps me more feel respectful of the Jew and Muslim on the dais with us. When the scheduled person fails to show up I'm often called on to give.the invocation. While not.particularly religious I have a couple of "god of our choice" invocations in my drawer. I had hoped that SCOTUS would have banned it. But at 5-4 we have a split decision like so many issues. I do agree it is largely ceremonial. BTW we have non Christian about 1 in 8 or 10 or so. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Mark's idea isn't new. We were discussing this when we asked for.the.exemption and as I recall the.exemption request did not include student or tandems. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I would submit that there are fewer mistakes available on a parachute and the sooner the inspection the sooner it will be found. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yes you are a student and will be learning for the rest of your life. We want that to be long. The bold part above is the problem. And, quoting from an Alti-2 website describing the product.. "The N3 is a digital altimeter which can be used as either an audible or visual. Emphasis added by me. We remember when we were baby skydivers. But every day there are new questions that some of us just can't believe. The manual doesn't say to hear the alarms you have to wear it in your helmet. But is does say that the hole in the helmet must be aligned with the speaker hole on the N3 or you may not hear the alarms. Hard stretch to think you can hear them from your wrist in freefall. But, we have learned one more thing that we can't rely on common sense to teach, that we will have to explicitly state. We are a bunch of crotchety old farts that want you to make it to 100 jumps. Forget the assumed! Ask those questions you 'assume' your know the answer to before you ask one we can't believe. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

First this poll and thread is NOT about whether the inspection cycle should be 365 days or whether the way your country does it is better or worse. Only the old debate about 120 versus 180 in the U.S. A recent request from another country prompted the memory of this change. PIA and USPA asked for an exemption to 180 days for it's members, EAA members, and Soaring Society members in order to be able to collect data supporting longer cycle. FAA indicated exemption was too broad but initiated rule change to 120 days on its own. PIA never voted to support or not to support the 180 day cycle. Rigging committee was split on issue but didn't meet after the NPRM was issued and before the end of the comment period. During the NPRM comment period many experienced riggers and DPRE's voiced objection to the extension. Not so much on grounds that the reserve wouldn't work but based on the other maintenance that was needed on the rigs. Most pro comments were from customers who wanted a longer cycle for convenience and cost reduction. PIA didn't have an opportunity to comment as an organization because the comment period opened and closed between PIA business meetings. It would have been a lively debate and I don't know what PIA's position would have been. As we know it went into effect based on military and foreign experience with longer cycles. Six years later a question has brought this to mind and I've been thinking whether I've changed my position. How about you? Poll questions say it. Good or bad then, good or bad now? Did you change or not? Just curious. I was against it and haven't really considered if I've changed my mind. Your votes and comments? I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

To be fair, if you'd actually read his post you'd realise that it was his buddy who bought the N3 - he started the topic because he was considering buying one himself. He's trying to do the right thing by getting to know the gear before purchase. No to be fair he expected to hear it in freefall. In spite of once in a while being able to lip read /shout in freefall and communicate you cannot hear something outside your helmet. And he still thinks an audible goes on his wrist. To the OP an audible goes next to your ear. People have trouble hearing and/or noticing audibles in their helmet let alone on their wrist. You might be able to hear it on your wrist under canopy but that's not where an audible goes. There's another thread asking what you think the worst thread on dz.com is. I voted for this one. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

A pretty good one is brand new on gear and rigging. The guy wondering if his buddy was setting his new N3 wrong because neither one of them could hear the audible alarms when jumping together, with it mounted on his buddies wrist. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

This is classic. You said neither one of you could hear it. It is EITHER a digital wrist altimeter OR an audible altimeter worn in the helmet. You cannot hear the audible alarms when worn on your wrist and can't expect to. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Unless you're jumping a rig with dual RSL attachments (Racers, correct?) I feel it's not necessary. People say that the RSL will cause the main to stay attached. I have a hard time seeing how that could happen, esp. with the tension off the pin end of the reserve ripcord. (assuming that either the AAD has fired or the reserve ripcord has been pulled.) I don't include disconnecting the RSL in my EP training for 2 out on single RSL rigs. Comments to the contrary are welcome. BTW, I am NOT a rigger. If you have a rsl that has two rings on the reserve flap with the lanyard ring in between them the force required to bend the cable between the two flap rings is not insignificant. RC cables usually have a permanent u shaped bend after a cutaway/rsl deployment. With your weight supported by the reserve canopy the drag of the main might not be enough to immediately pull that cable out between the rings. Releasing the rsl would alleviate that issue. BUT a faster way to eliminate that issue is to pull the reserve ripcord. Much faster than undoing the shackle. I don't know if this has ever been an issue in an actual two out cut away but it could be. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Your beat to hell household scissors won't do it. You need to have quality scissors that never see paper or anything else than parachute raw materials. I don't even use my good ones for closing loops. I've got about $150 in 3 scissors. You don't need to spend that much but you do need to go to the fabric store and get some high quality new one's. Then don't use them for anything else. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I'd suggest not asking. I knew someone who had a business scattering ashes from an airplane in CA. Even though.the.feds control the airspace there were other regulations that inhibited where he could scatter cremains. IIRC he pretty much had to go out over the ocean. But.he was doing it commercially so everyone knew what he was doing. Some land owners would not like the idea that they might land on them, even if they really blew away. Don't argue jurisdiction with me. Just saying he couldn't dump them anywhere he wanted. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

There was a long thread on this a year or two ago but I'm too lazy to search for it. You must be too. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Okay, so what manufacturer gets credit for the save. Only photo on his website that shows his parachute. I'm thinking its a strong based on laterals, back pad and adjustable harness. Opinions? missed that the rig was identified above. Also some rigger gets a pilot save, not to common. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

There is little that YOU can do. This is almost entirely a function of your rigger. Loops, if not damaged during packing and made of the appropriate material, can be expected to not brake. But it is easy for a rigger to damage a loop, actually hard to not damage a loop to some extent. Have packing aids that can damage a loop if not handled correctly. Occasionally I need to open a rig and replace a loop again before giving a rig to a customer. Many riggers replace the loop every pack job. Some riggers base it on condition. Some figure that if it doesn't brake during packing its fine. You want a rigger that replaces it every pack job and takes care not to damage loop during packing. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

First jumps 1978, at 19. Not jumping as much as I want at the moment but when I finally get out of the plane I where I'm supposed to be. Comfortable, relaxed, and in the best place. I NEED to get out of an airplane! Time to go do my reserve instead of someone else's. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

As twardo referred to you need to make ALL of the decisions on the ground. Hard deck for cutaway, hard deck for pull the damn thing, YOUR procedure for PC in tow. How long your going to mess with a fired brake. Or line twist, which USPA lists still as not a malfunction but when you get to higher performance canopies often are. Body position for cutaway. Etc. etc. The biggest thing is being willing and ready to accept that you HAVE to use your reserve. NOW! About muscle memory. some may be fine but during a cutaway the handles are NOWHERE near where they are on the ground or in freefall. If you don't look, don't feel, don't pay attention you may be pulling on the wrong thing. In addition after a cutaway they may not be where you 'muscle memory' thinks they are. Procedural memory for look reach look grab pull pull is great. relying on muscle memory for finding the handles isn't so great. Get in a hanging harness with your rig and a VERY experienced instructor and get it right, several times. But also remember most of us have survived our first, second, twentieth cutaways. The ones that don't are the ones that don't do it when they should. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Not that I need one but is there a dealer for these in the U.S.? Didn't find one. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

Yeah, but I was hoping someone would give me one like when I asked about a C-9 sleeve. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I have a sleeve for a C-9. Would like to obtain, or borrow for pattern to make one, or obtain plans for, a sleeve for a 35' T-10 with anti-inversion netting. Have one I don't especially want to static line. 34 years ago I used to back them in a bag for students, including free-fall but I don't remember exactly how we rigged the bags. I have both static line components and a different conventional sport rig that will hold it in a sleeve if I can come up with one. Any help? Anybody ever SEE a 35' T-10 sleeve? Not sure I have. Thanks I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

I covered the ear openings with matching color duct tape. Been there for decades. Attenuates the noise but can still hear well enough. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

In 10 years your Vigil with have 10 year old software. Your Cypres will have been updated twice. You can see this effect where the manual has different instructions for differing serial numbers. Vigils need batteries. Cypres' get batteries with the 4 year service. I appreciate having my last chance to live being tested and maintained on a regular basis. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE

dpreguy on here is a DPRE in Golden. If you don't want to go that far he may be able to recommend someone. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE