Hooknswoop

http://www.apf.asn.au/apf_admin/downloads/rigging/apf/apfsb040610a.pdf Derek

Right, but voicing a negative opinion of a DZ will get you shunned by the locals (who tend to defend a DZ regardless of what it does) and could get you banned by the DZO. So people don't say anything negative about DZ's and the negatives don't get fixed/addressed. A DZ had a King Air crash w/ the RH engine 2000 hours past TBO (Time Before Overhaul). Now, given the TBO doesn’t have to be done legally. The aircraft should have been able to climb on one engine with only the pilot on board and light on fuel, but it crashed anyway. The locals will jump up and down telling anyone and everyone who will listen how safe the DZ is and how good the maintenance on the aircraft is and how good the pilots are in the face of the before mentioned facts. The ‘family atmosphere’ also means that people will defend their ‘family’, even when it is wrong. It is refreshing for me to be able to say anything I want about a DZ w/o fear of banning, or at least that banning having any effect on me. Derek

Why not? There are a lot of factors that contribute to a 'safe' pull altitude, but the BSR is based strictly on jump numbers/license and that BSR seems to work. Derek Why not? There are a lot of factors that contribute to a 'safe' pull altitude, but the BSR is based strictly on jump numbers/license and that BSR seems to work. That is why the BSR can be exceeded w/ the appropriate signature. The proposed WL BSR has flexibility built in. If a jumper wants to jump a canopy within the limits, but that is still too much for them, the DZO doesn’t have to let them. The BSR must be simple to be effective. Derek

I don't have a link, ut a search should reveal a lot of info about them. Basically they use a pouch for the majority of the lines and a system that doesn't use rubber bands to keep the bag closed until line stretch. Doesn't seem to matter what canopy is used. I think if it affected the openings, then the canopy could be defined as intolerant of packing methods. Nope, packed it like a reserve so it would fit into the molar bag easier. I just thought that your statement that the deployment must be staged is incorrect, as the different packing styles and d-bags prove that to not be the case. Hookitt here on DZ.com only stows the locking stows on his canopy as do other people. Could it be that the opening change had to do more with the lines than the stows? Dacron is much heavier that micro-line and if you used the same PC, it would de-accelerate the canopy more during the deployment, which should increase the snatch force. After that, the opening should be identical, except that the micro-line would transmit more force to you. Derek

I had it happen to me on a tandem. Double-wrapped rubber band. Derek

Then how do explain the new 'stow-less' bags? How do explain people free-stowing their lines, except for the locking stows, and getting good openings? How do you explain how I was getting normal openings out of a Stiletto 97 with a reserve free-bag? Derek

Jumper 1 has a Sabre1 that opens in 300 feet. Jumper 2 has a crossfire that takes 800 feet to open. They both have "D" licenses. They both pull at 2,000 feet. Who is safer? If someone is pulling at 2,000 feet and sitting in at 1,000 feet, the DZO can still tell the jumper to pull higher. If someone is within the WL BSR limits, but still un-safe, the DZO can still prevent them from jumping the too-small canopy. Then you will have to travel to get the coaching. Then you will have to compensate by jumping a larger canopy. Jumping only 6 onths out of the year does not lend itself to jumping a small HP canopy safely. I agree. A what? Exactly. There is the ISP that USPA backed down from requiring. If the FAA steps in to regulate, they will restrict the hell out of skydiving. They are un-informed about skydiving. USPA needs to step up and get it done. Derek

And didn't have the 4-year or 8-year maint done so the additional shielding wasn't installed. Derek

I used tube stows on my personall rigs my entire career. No bag locks from tube stows. My only bag lock was on a tandem, that someone else packed, because they double-wrapped the rubber bands (wasn't the locking stows either). I laugh that people blame line dump and bag locks on tube stows, they hold too well and not well enough at the same time. Derek

As long as the locking stows stay put until line stretch, you'll have a normal opening. If you make your stows too big, you could have a bag-lock. Derek

You could really help by collecting everything on the topic, take the best of each and present a really, really good proposal that can then be presented to a few DZ's to see if they will try it and return the results. Would you do this? Will you help? Derek

And USPA says self-policing/self-regulating works! Derek

Either his reserve was considered his main and the chest mount considered his reserve, or the main/reserve was packed illegally, or he broke the BSR for pack opening altitude. Can't have it both ways. SO if he says that his reserve is considered his main with a chest mount reserve, then he opened too low (BSR), if he considers the canopy he chopped his main, then his reserve was packed illegally. Derek

The skyhook may not work. At that altitude, if the Skyhook had come off the reserve bridle, he may not have had enough altitude. Too risky for me. Derek

To be a more accurate rule, yes. But it would make the rule to cumbersome. Same thing as minumum pull altitudes. There is more to having enough time to land safely than pulling by 2k. The altitude it takes for a canopy to open makes a huge difference. If you pull at 2k and it takes 900 feet for you canopy to open, that puts you at 1,100 feet, well below the recommended minumum altitude to decide to cutaway. If your canopy takes 200 feet to openn, that would put you at 1,800 feet, at the recommended altitude to decide to cutaway. By your opinion that the WL BSR shouldd include other factors, such as canopy type, then the minimum pull altitudes should be adjust for each person based on the amount of altitude for their canopy to open. Maybe each jumper's reaction times should be tested and that included in the calculation for their minimum pull altitude? This isn't done and the minimum pull altitudes seem to work very well. Same thing for the WL BSR, if too specific it becomes to cumbersome and in-effective. Derek

Um, well, he did. I never recieved the information fom you which office you contacted for the official FAA interpritation of the FAR. I go the e-mail address of an FAA inspector and sent him an e-mail, but he didn't reply and has apparently retired. I sent the FAA an e-mail asking which office I need to contact for an official ruling and didn't recieve a reply. I called and left a message, after being directed around to 3 different people and my call wasn't returned. Derek

Simon Mundel of Icarus canopies. That information came from Icarus, from Simon Mundel. So if you feel that the information is incorrect, you should call Icarus. BTW- did you ever get that official FAA ruling? Derek

Did you employ this jumper an independent contractor or employee? If they are an IC, then you can’t fault them for making money at another DZ, since they have neither the benefits or job security at your DZ. You can’t pay someone as an IC and expect them to act like an employee. Did you guarantee them enough work that they would have no need to go to another DZ? Did you offer to pay them more or give them discounted or free fun jumps if they stayed at your DZ? What would you have done if given an ultimatum? Seems to me you lost a valuable staff member and customer because you expected them to act like an employee but paid/treated them as an IC. Loyalty is a 2-way street. If you offered enough that the this jumper felt no need to work at the other DZ, then they probably wouldn’t have. Since you didn’t/can’t, how can you expect them to cut their own throat and not work at the other DZ? If Pepsi had a computer tech fix a computer, paid them as an IC and Coke called this tech and asked them to fix a computer for them, would he? Of course he would. Pepsi only paid for a specific service and because they didn’t need any more than that, didn’t hire the tech. By the same token, since the tech wasn’t hired, they must work on other company’s computers to make enough money. DZO’s crack me up. They think jumpers OWE them. How do companies earn my loyalty? Quality products at a reasonable price with good customer service. I will even pay a higher than reasonable price for a good product backed up by good customer service. You tried to put this jumper in the middle of your differences with the other DZ, like two divorced parents using the kids to get back at each other. You shouldn’t have put this jumper in the position of having to choose. You got what you deserve. Derek

Be very careful w/ a screwdriver as they can damage the Slink. A rawhide mallet and a few light hits will loosen a Slink or knot making it possible to untie/remove. Derek

Line set and how they are measured are the only differences. Have a '1' and want a '2'? Get a re-line and re-mark the size as 7% smaller. Derek

You probably got the Safire2 line trim, which is different than the 1's trim. I haven't ever seen any type of canopy lines elongate over time. Derek

They should come un-done easily. If they are tough to un-do, flex them back and forth a bit to loosen them up. Derek

You mis-understand. Instructors will do everything they can to teach you and keep you safe (the good ones anyway). But sometimes people are in over their heads. For example I'd imagine that a violin teacher would explain that maybe a different instrument would a good idea for me after a few lessons. Regardless of how hard I work at it or how hard my Instructor works to teach me, I lack the ability to learn to play the violin. In music, that just means bad playing, in skydiving it means yours and/or others lives. Skydiving isn't for everyone. It is rare that some that shouldn't be skydiving trys to stick with it anyway and the Instructor has to finally 'give the speech', but it does happen. Derek

Yes. I have seen other, similar occurances. I knew an AFFI that refused to re-dock on a student becuase they didn't want to get kicked. Derek

I have seen exactly the opposite at DZ's. I worked at a DZ where a tandem I forgot to hook up the upper connections. He would have never known if the cameraman hadn't pointed it out. he was back doing tandems the next day. Derek