NovaTTT

I will again give my condolences to the families of Sierra and Dan. I don't think you're going to get closure by coming onto a skydiving forum with the notion that It's clear that you do not understand skydiver's or skydiving. We are safety conscious. It's a large part of our training and practice. And we sure don't need someone without a clue telling us we need to be safe. We know it. We are someone's child but we are not children. We choose to skydive because we enjoy it - each for his own reason. But it's a fact of life that shit happens. It happens bowling, cooking, having sex, skydiving - it can and does happen everywhere. It's just that with skydiving the effects are greater. It is my opinion that if you want comfort and closure you should make a fitting tribute to your daughter. Support her decision and live a little like she wanted to. Go out there and make a skydive and enjoy the excitement and thrill of living outside the norm. I think that would be a fitting and meaningful tribute and memorial to Sierra. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Understandable, but remember - a main must be packed by a certificated rigger, someone under the direct supervision of a rigger or the person intending to use the parachute system. A new packer has to learn and after a few practice packs he/she will learn live. Just like the rest of us learned. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Jerry Baumchen has instructions for making slinks. It's a 10MB file so I can't upload it. Give Jerry a PM or shoot me an email and I'll send it to you. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

I don't speak for SE but as a rigger and experienced DH packer. The ALS locking bungees should be tight enough to neccesitate the use of a pullup. If you can easily pull the bungee through the grommet and stow the lines then the bungee is too long. I rarely see them short enough and in my experience if one is packing more than a few DHs, it is easier and faster to use the pullup to get the bungees through the grommet and over the last three stows. If the bungees are not short enough they do not keep the ALS flap in place as the bag is lifted from the container. This is an important step in the staging sequence so I'll encourage DH packers to make sure the bungee stows are as tight as regular line stows. As for aching and swollen hands, they come with the job. The hurt goes away soon enough but you'll notice you deveop a bit larger, or 'swollen', hands - stronger hands - as a regular DH packer. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Holy fuck. Write much? Man, if you jabber like you post, I'd hate to be in a life raft with you! If your epic posts are designed to prevent people from responding to you, it's going to work. If your ridiculously long-winded ramblings are designed to prevent people from reading the same, it is working. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

...and yet you say so much. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

EFS. If S is out of the question, then it's E and F - and there's plenty in ATL. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Congratulations on the new parachute - I hope you never have to see it. I'm sure you've learned from this bad experience. Now teach what you have learned. Blues "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Condolences to the family of Ms. Thomas. Not to feed a troll, if this is the case, but a bit of fact here won't hurt. The main parachute of a dual-parachute system used for intentional jumping must be packed within 180 days prior to use by a certificated rigger, a person under the supervision of a rigger or the person intending to use the parachute system. The reserve parachute of a dual-parachute system used for intentional jumping must be aired, inspected and packed within 180 days prior to use by a certificated and type rated FAA rigger. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Jim: You'd be the saddest rigger known if it weren't for vintage gear! These pilot rigs might be old, but I don't think they're museum quality! Terry: I called for Dan today but he is at the Expo. The info I got, however, is that they (Para-phernalia) want PEPs grounded at 20 years but the TSO remains active - so my understanding is that if it's judged airworthy it's legal to pack it. Am I missing something or is this correct? Not that this applies to the 1972 Softie (I think they've gotten their money's worth from that purchase!), but I am seeing some older gear that remains airworthy in my judgement despite being at or near the two decade mark. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Thanks for the info, Peter, Terry & Jim. As was mentioned earlier, I think the 15 years is a BPA or UK equivalent of the FAA rule. Handsome said the entire EU grounds everything at 15 years. Of the two Safety Chutes in my loft, the one is certainly not even worth my time to even inspect. The other, however, is in excellent condition so I'm going to take the time to give it a soup-to-nuts inspection and then decide if it's worth any more of my time. I don't have a problem returning gear unserviced. But I keep getting this old gear! - like the 1972 Softie that was dropped off today. I just don't see myself working on gear that was manufactured when I was in grade school. ETA "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

I've not inspected them yet, Rob, but obvously they're old gear. One is manufactured in 1978, the other 1979. Do you have a link to or a copy of the GQSB that recommends 15 years? I'd feel better having a manual or SB that gives a service life recommendation as I would like to have some ducks to line up when I deliver the bad news. Thanks. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Jim: Thanks for the tip - but what the hell!??!!? He told me the "Egyptian Secret" was the trick for closing the two-pin seat or chest rig! That rascal has too many "hot tricks"!!! If you have a usable version of the manual, I'd appreciate it! The 1978 version I have as .pdf is so crappy it won't even legibly print! Terry: OK - I admit to mis-typing as I know UKS has it, but doesn't have a newer version. I stand corrected! "Thank you" The two I'm working on are definately over this limit but I've not inspected them yet so I don't know their condition. I'm not able to locate the manual you referenced, but it sounds like it doesn't specifically limit the 150. Maybe they have the same service life philosophy as Strong. A few years ago there was discussion about service life and SE's position is to leave it to "rigger's discretion". Now I don't necessarily have a problem inspecting a rig and giving it a thumbs up, but as a matter of principle I don't like the manufacturer passing the buck down to the rigger. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Thanks Ian and Peter. I'm familiar with Skydive KY, I just have no use for them (and their copy is also 1978). Thanks for the tip nonetheless. Maybe there has been no substantial modification or improvement since 1978 (excluding the PC ejector disc AB). "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Does anyone have a .pdf copy of a manual for this PEP? I have one from 1978 and cannot find a newer version. Is there a newer version?? UKS and PM do not have any Security Manuals. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

If you have a seat (or chest) rating, you will self-supervise. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Nevermind. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

I hope this guy won the Die Hard Award of the 2005 for that. Talk about not giving in or an inch: Did you see he pulled the reserve down, pulled it out and shook it open? That guy has his shit together, man. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

I don't want to read through 3 pages of posts to see if this has been addressed. The SUBJECT is, Do Veterans Hate Newbs? when it actually should be, Do Dorkzone Veterans Hate Newbie Internet Assholes? Basically, when the same question comes up 500 times, you're going to find Dorkzone veterans will rupture a blood vessel and then rant about the SEARCH FEATURE! Understandable. Frankly, there should be a banner in the Introductions forum that flashes: USE THE SEARCH FEATURE, ASSHOLE! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY HAVE AN UNIQUE OR NEW QUESTION SO IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED ALREADY! LOOK IT UP!! I envision the bandwidth of Dorkzone could be halved if redundancies were purged. Not that it matters; I'm just sayin' my .02 "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

There was a video posted a several months ago of a tandem bag-strip. It was pretty nasty. I don't have time to search for it, but IIRC it was misidentified as a "line dump" in the thread subject. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

Line dump happens when the lines are released from the stows prior to linestretch, usually upon extraction of the bag from the container. Bag strip is where the parachute prematurely escapes the bag. The parachute then inflates, or begins to inflate, and the jumper reaches linestretch to find himself hammered under an anchor in the sky. ETA: It's not a dumb question. You have to ask if you want to learn. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

It's not about just hardness, it's proximity. A helmet is closer to the TI's face than the back of the head. Ergo, more likely to strike. FWIW "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

I know it. You know it. He doesn't know it. Therein lies the foundation of the supposed-to-be-funny comment. I guess I shouldn't quit my job to become a comedian. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

A rotten situation for both guys, but IMO this one kicks the stuffing out of the first. "Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73