Hooknswoop

I've tried to pack 3 line-overs. First one did deploy with a line-ever, second cleared on opening, and on the third, I used a rubber band half-hitch around the center/left "A" line and a steering line. It deployed as a line-over. You would think it would be easy to pack a mal....... Derek

Sort of meets your requirments; I had a main-main entanglement. Cutaway one main and it didn't clear. Cutaway the entire mess and landed the reserve. Derek

My personal decision is to not re-pack a rig with Cypres batteries that will come due before the reserve does. A note on the card would probably relieve the rigger from any legal liability. Obviously informing the owner of the rig that the reserve will be due when the batteries are due would be the prudent thing to do also. I don’t think DZ’s would check or notice the note on the card and some jumpers would continue to jump the rig with out of date batteries if they can get away with it. I would rather just avoid the entire situation and change the batteries. Take away temptation. Derek

From FAR Part 105: "(c) If installed, the automatic activation device must be maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions for that automatic activation device." “The 2-year maximum does[/I] period does not start until the battery is installed in the Cypres.” “The Cypres1 battery assembly must be replaced every 2 years, after 500 jumps, or when the low battery error code (8998 or 8999) is displayed, -[I]whichever occurs first[/I]" Edit: The italics are not mine, this is how it appears on their web-page and news sheet. The batteries are 'good' for 2 years from the date of installation. Past two years the batteries are no longer 'good'. To jump a rig with Cypres1 batteries that have been installed for more than 2 years is a violation of FAR Part 105. It is not 2 years from DOM, it is 2 years from installation. "When stored as instructed the batteries have a long shelf life; the two year period does not start until they are installed." “CYPRES-1 batteries have a long shelf life (approximately 3 years), as long as they are stored in a cool, dry location (below 68°F).” Airtec is very clear on the requirements for replacing Cypres batteries. Derek

Correct. You can re-pack the reserve even if the batteries will expire in less than 120 days. But, the reserve is due for an inspection and re-pack when the batteries expire. I won't pack a reserve if the batteries will come due before the reserve does because I cannot guarantee the owner will not jump the rig once the batteries expire. So there is no leeway, as NightJumper posted. Once the batteries expire, the rig is not legal to jump. Derek

Be specific, chop (cutaway), and then............? Derek

What would you do in this situation? Derek

0 ft if the round reserve has no airspeed. Derek

Volume 67, No.7 Second January Issue, 2004 cover shot has "Jumpmaster Arnie Herring makes ready to take an exciting 4,000-foot parachute jump (one of his more than 8,00 career jumps) from Amy Eichorn's 1976 Super Cub 150 on Baumann floats over Grand Rapids, MN." Nic pic of him standing on the right float. Derek

It doesn't always help, in fact sometimes a smaller slider helps. Slider grommets are usually either stainless steel or brass. I don't think it makes much of a difference, if at all. (Most reserves have brass grommets and we know how they open) I have had great sucess with adding a pocket to the front of a slider to tame the openings. I'vee seen them before too. PD Sigmas have a domed slider. Another good option, but expensive to make than a pocket. It is possible to make the slider smaller and more of a domed shape with some sewing, but I've never tried it. Derek

Part 65 lists 4 possible people that can "pack, maintain, or alter" a main canopy: (b) No person may pack, maintain, or alter any main parachute of a dual-parachute system to be used for intentional parachute jumping in connection with civil aircraft of the United States unless that person -- (1) Has an appropriate current certificate issued under this subpart; (2) Is under the supervision of a current certificated parachute rigger; (3) Is the person making the next parachute jump with that parachute in accordance with §105.43(a) of this chapter; or (4) Is the parachutist in command making the next parachute jump with that parachute in a tandem parachute operation conducted under §105.45(b)(1) of this chapter. Derek

Depends on the main/reserve sizes. I think that is one of the factors that determines how well they will fly together. Also size. and line trim play important roles. Derek

My advice is, as Lisa said, either deal with it or quit. Given your back ground, I think you can deal with it. Channel that nervous energy into learning/education/training. Knowledge dispels fear. I have 3300 injury free skydives, and I wasn't one that didn't push my limits. Learn everything you can. Take the sport seriously. Know exactly what you would do in an aircraft emergency every time you get on the airplane. Maintain your gear. Have a rigger go through your gear with you. Ask questions, get several answers and explanations for the answers. Canopy control is the no 1 source of inciddents and 99% of those could have been prevented. If you want to continue jumping you have to accept that an incident can happen. You have to also realize you can decrease your risk of an incident with a lot of hard work. Good luck, Derek (A proffessional golfer hit a hole-in-one at a competetion. After the game a reporter mentioned what a lucky shot that was. The golfer replied, "Well, the more I practice, the luckier I get." Make your own luck)

Only a few reserves that I can think of use a hole in the slider. Why not mesh? I don't know, but I would guess that mesh sliders weren't around when the reserves were designed or that the manufacturer(s) felt that a mesh slider wouldn't be durable enough for a reserve. I'm sure someone on DZ.com knows the real answer.............. Derek

Any word yet? Derek

Are you thinking of the video, "Malfunction"? They showed a test jumper cutting away the main in a bi-plane situation. The main almost snagged the reserve, folding it up for a second until the main cleared. All the side-by-side cutaways they showed cleared cleanly. I've done a few side-by-side cutaways and they cleared cleanly. I think there is only a small chance of an entanglement from cutting away the main in a side-by-side. Taking a side-by-side to a downplane will put the canopies into a down plane, but they will not want to stay that way. In trying to keep them in a down plane I have managed to have both canopies return to a side-by-side flying backwards, with both canopies having 180-degree line twists. The only way to keep them in a downplane have one canopy in front with no line twists and the other behind the jumper with a 180-degree line twist. The danger of 2-out is that, with what we know now, the stability of the the 2 canopies flying together cannot be predicted. They may be very stable, on the edge of entangling in the slightest turbulence or input, or may entangle immediately upon deployment of the second canopy. There are a lot of different possible main-reserve combinations possible today, that testing every configuration would be costly. I would like to see some of the more popular main-reserve configurations tested in 2-out situations. Because of the unkowns and risk involved, 2-out situations should be avoided if at all possible and treated very seriously. On one of my test jumps when I deployed the second canopy, they immediately downplaned, then entangled. Upon releasing the second canopy, it remained antangled with the first, rendering it un-landable and neccitating the use of the last reserve. Derek

Krusty the clown: Yes, I have been drinking gasoline, mother. Derek

Derek

"the Jan. 2 engine failure " Failure, not fire, at least as far as the article is concerned. Derek

I have a few more than 100 skydives. What insults did I ‘throw out’? Correct, I was not there, but it makes little difference what the exact wind speed is if students are backing up under canopy. They have the same airspeed regardless of the winds. So, in your experience, backing up under canopy is no unsafe? And your experience is? Oh well, if you stopped backing up at a round 500 feet, then I guess it is OK……………..(sarcasm) You didn’t start thinking about landing until 500 feet? What altitude do you normally start you landing pattern? So because nothing happened, it wasn’t unsafe? A canopy collapse can kill you. Landing off the DZ in high winds can kill you. Flaring high while landing in high winds downwind can kill you. You didn’t say you were in any kind of danger, so backing up under canopy as a student must not be dangerous. Hmmm. All that time I wasted sitting on the ground when I could have been jumping with a student because I thought it was dangerous. If drawing a conclusion from the information given is bashing people, then so be it. Sometimes conclusions are positive, sometimes negative. Because others can learn from what happened. Which would be who? So he should not talk to people that are very knowledgeable about skydiving? Who again should he talk to? Cool. Jumping in winds that exceed the canopy’s airspeed present serious challenges to the pilot. It is difficult to see where you are going over the ground. A mistake can leave the jumper unable to reach the DZ. In the event of an off-DZ landing, a student may not have the benefit of radio assistance and may not be able to figure out which way the wind is blowing. This may cause them to miss their target and hit an obstacle. There is a reason 14 mph was established as the limit for students with a square reserve. Again, regardless of what is legal, students should not put under canopy if they will be backing up. I had a very light student. We decided (the student and I) that her wind limit would be 10 mph. Any higher and she would be backing up under canopy (a Sabre 170). Hot tip: students backing up under canopy is unsafe. There are excellent Instructors all over the country. No third party organization tracks DZ’s safety records. There are no safety records in skydiving. Who did I bash? Why keep it quiet? To protect the DZ? You talked about safety records, why not keep things public? An apology! For explaining that students backing up under canopy is not safe? Should I also apologize to the jumper at Eloy that had the misrouted cutaway cable housings? Thanks for advice, but pointing out that he should not have been backing up under canopy is part of the answer. So because YOU felt it wasn’t unsafe, it wasn’t? What do you base this conclusion on? Derek

What are the facts then? Several people have said the facts are not what we have been led to believe they are, but no one has supplied the 'correct' facts that contradict the facts as we know them. Derek

So your response is you think you are right, but don't have the time to explain any further since you have a life and I don't? Hmmm. And yes, I have more jumps than posts. Derek

They are supposed to be. Derek

Which of these is wrong?: 1) The student was backing up 2) The previous loads had jumpers (possibly students) backing up 3) The Instructor could have reasonably concluded that if he took the student(s) up he (they) they would be backing up under canopy also. 4) Students jumping in winds that cause them to be backing up under canopy is unsafe. 5) The Instructor should not have taken the student(s) up in the aircraft. I am not bashing the DZ, only pointing out facts. If they are negative towards the DZ, that is not my doing. That does not change the facts. A safe DZ does not put students in unsafe situations if they can prevent it. Derek

Which may or may not be a USPA GM DZ. I know of a non USPA GM DZ that follows the BSR's better that a few USPA GM DZ's I can think of. Derek