Hooknswoop

Wingsuits are cool. I did a solo on a Skyflyer today (first 3 on a classic, then 3 more on a Skyflyer total) and had 119 seconds of free fall at 4,500 feet, when the Pro-Track quit recording. I pulled faitly low, 2,500-ish, so I got a lot more than the 119 seconds logged. Got my reserve, pro-track, altimeter, and gear bag sold already. Wingsuits are cool, but not that cool. Derek

We are not sucking here in Eloy. I've got HH's laptop in the Bent Prop. Made a few wingsuit jumps w/ SkyMonkeyOne, who is currently very, very drunk, including a few flock dives. Bill V organized a Moderator 7-way out of the Skyvan today, pictures will be forthcoming. I dropped a rock on Skymama. Reserve rides and injuries have been very light. It started to rain this afternoon, shutting down jumping early. Good boogie, good people, good times, more to follow. Derek

Using PA's search engine: "Serial Number 55834215 is a Raven 181-M and IS AFFECTED by SB1221." Derek

I'm not concerned with 121 days after I packed it and I'm not concerned with tampering. I can pack(and have packed) Reflex's and Racer's. The Reflex is easy and there are harder rigs than the Racer. I am concerned with someone accidently tightening the loop(s) too much. I don't feel recording the pull force is a defense so I don't pack them. I do record extra information, and I am considering recording pull forces that cannot be changed by a well-intentioned owner. If Jump shack can show me a way to eliminate that risk, I will pack them. To hint that a Racer or Reflex is outside my abilities or say that I am lazy because I won't pack them is mean and unfair. Derek

I agree that it has never happened, as far as I know. I don't agree that an exposed pop top makes for the fastest reserve system. It is a liability that I am not willing to accept. There is no requirement to "properly" record pull forces. I don't feel that is protection for the scenario I described. Just my opinion. As a rigger, I get to make that choice. What I don't think is fair is to call a rigger that won't pack pop tops "not well rounded" or "lazy". Derek

Some of the numbers come from the manufacturer and some from canopies PIA has measured. I think the sq. ft. #'s in bold are from the manufacturer. Derek

Here is the scenario I fear with Racers or Reflex's; I pack it. The owner is jumping it and the closing loop losens (they do that) and the pop top starts loosening up. I'm not around so the jumper decides to tighten it themselves. They overtighten it, creating a very high pull force on the reserve handle. On their next jump, they have a malfunction, cutaway and can't pull the reserve. No Cypres, no RSL. They go in. The FAA investigates. My seal is on the reserve, my cert # and sig is on the card. They pull test the reserve and find a 50+ lb pull force. I'm in trouble. Derek

I won't pack Racers or Reflexs. Not because of difficulty (the Reflex is very easy to pack) or being un-able to, I have packed both, but because they are tightened from the outside. I am giving Nightjumper to change my mind at Eloy about racers though. Derek

#41 Pack up everything in your garage and load it up on a truck. Let someone else drive as you ride in the back and have them drive crosscountry at night with no headlights for 4-5 hours and then set everything back up in someone else's garage. Do this every 4-5 days. Derek

Thanks. I guess the best way to go would be to measure all canopies the same way aircraft manufacturers measure their wings. I would guess that there is only one way to measure an aircraft wing and all manufacturers use the same method. Derek

I don't think it would shrink with cold. It may not flex as much and may be harder to compress the foam padding. I have found that a helmet's fit is affected a lot by how long it has been since your last haircut. Is your hair langth longer than when you molded it? Derek

But if you don't use your reserve in 25,000 jumps, the odds of a double malfunction are zero. Let's say reserves do malfunction once for every 25,000 deployments. That does not mean there is a 1 in 25,000 chance of having a double malfunction every jump, only on jumps where you use your reserve. Derek

Another FAR that I think applys: "(c) In distress. An aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over all other air traffic. (d) Converging. When aircraft of the same category are converging at approximately the same altitude (except head-on, or nearly so), the aircraft to the other's right has the right-of-way. If the aircraft are of different categories -- (1) A balloon has the right-of-way over any other category of aircraft; (2) A glider has the right-of-way over an airship, airplane, or rotorcraft; and (3) An airship has the right-of-way over an airplane or rotorcraft." Derek

There are 2 SB’s for Swifts. I think they are for the 7-cell Swifts though. Swift Bar tacks and Swift Recall Your best bet for the Instructions is to contact Para Flite Derek

I had an XRS and there was no way anything over the PD-113R would fit in the reserve container. I knew someone that had a Stiletto 107 in their XRS and the D-bag finally split open. I'm not sure how much larger the RS is over the XRS it replaced. Derek

Really? I have over 600 jumps on a VX-60 and guess that I hook it anywhere from 600 to 1000 feet. That is only a guess though, I have never looked at my altimeter as I initiated a landing. I never wore an altimeter unless I was doing AFF or tandems. I don't think you would popping my reserve. Why is my not knowing the altitude I initiate the turn at so important? What difference does it make as long as I am not in the corner or hammering in? Might want to re-think your intentions of pulling someone’s reserve handle that doesn’t use an altimeter to land by. Derek

Fortunately reserves are not affected by statistics. If they were, after 25,000 jumps, your next one would be fatal, but your 25,001th jump has no more chance of being fatal than your 1st, all other things being equal. Also, someone with 25,000 jumps probably hasn't used their reserve on every jump, I hope anyway. If they have 50 reserve rides, that is only 50 chances of having a double mal. If someone with 1000 jumps has no reserve rides, the odds of them having had a double mal are 0 for those 1,000 jumps. For every 25,000 reserve deployments, odds are that one will mal. Doesn't have to, but odds are one will. (I'm not sure about the 1/25,000 number). Derek

Stastics is one thing, but there is no reason why they would be more at risk than someone with 1 jump. The reserve on their back is no more likely to malfunction because of their jump numbers. Derek

1,800 feet from a GK Fokker F-27. At least the jump run speed is high, something like 126 mph or knots. Star Trac I main. Derek

I don't see PD, Icarus or whatever recommending smaller PC's to fix a hard opening canopy. What out of norm recommendations had PD made, or Icarus or Flight Concepts? I don't know if it a design or QC problem with Cobalts, but they do have a reputation for opening hard. A smaller PC for the fix is silly. I do remember reading somewhere that they were re-designing the Cobalt 170 because of opening issues. I don't think the Crossfire1 was a design flaw, but a QC problem. This thread was started in response to the PCsize/Cobalt thread. I had an Alpha 94 that opened great. People say the same things about Sabres, some open hard, some open great. OK, some Sabres, and some Cobalts open hard. A few Crossfires that weren't manufactured correctly had collapsing issues. I fail to see how it is bashing to say some Sabres open hard if you don't also mention another canopy twith the same issues. You read it that way. PM the poster and find out if that was their intention. Off hand packing techniques? I do know they do not recommend pocket sliders, I asked. True. The difference is they admitted to the problem and fixed it at their cost. True, but this changes nothing about the Cobalt, nor their advertising of how they open. I know of no other manufacturer that recommends a smaller PC or other mod to fix a hard opening canopy. I have seen manufacturers take back and either fix at their cost or replace hard opening canopies. I call it like I see it. I do think that claims that are obviously not true by a manufacturer can lead to their being hammered for it here in the forums. Recommending a smaller (or possibly too-small PC) to fix a canopy that is opening too hard qualifies. Edit: If PD or Icarus recommends to someone to put a 22-inch PC on their rig to cure a hard opening canopy, I would rake them through the coals too. Derek

So, do you consider the above "bashing?" Guess not. So how is being honest about Cobalts "bashing"? They also recommend 22-inch PC's for smaller than 135 sq. ft., which is not industry standard................ BTW- I agree that Sabres open hard (or can) and that PD has not and probably never will admit it. I disagree that the Crossfire1 had a design flaw, there was some manufacturing issues. I measured and inspected a Crossfire that was affected by the SB and found gross errors in the manufacturing of it. I will be jumping a different Crossfire made to the same specs, that was manufacturered correctly at Eloy. It flys (and opens) great. Derek

Right, my point is that the larger PC in relation to the resize on the low end does not cause hard openings. Derek

If you don't stand it up, it don't count Derek

Yep, once. Right, once with only 2 total parachutes, 50+ with 3 parachutes (ended up down to the last canopy on one of those) Not like anyone can do anything. This year, VX-60 main, PD-106R reserve. Nah, if people are dumb enough to do what I do, they deserve what they get. I should get a shirt that says; “Do not try this at home” Nope. Nope, did it too low for anything to go very far. I put my own stuff back together. I figure if I packed the reserve and I intentionally used it and it doesn’t open, I deserve what I get. Nope, just bored. Derek

Basically they use a pouch for stowing the lines and a set of tabs to keep the bag shut until line stretch. No tight rubber bands to prevent hard openings. At least one 4-way team has put a lot of jumps on them. A search should bring up several threads on them. Stiching with the automotive analogy? Who used an automotive analogy? When did I compare apples to oranges? You said tight rubber bands help prevent hard openings. I countered that with the example of a d-bag that uses no rubber bands and only locking stows that is not producing hard openings to show that tight rubber bands are not necessary for soft openings. Really, how many sizes of reserves have become available since 1992? A couple of smaller sizes and a couple of larger sizes. PD added the 113 and 106 on the low end and the 281 on the high end, from 8 sizes to 11. Those 3 sizes passed the more stringent requirements of TSO C23D. If the reserve PC made that big of a difference, they would have either failed because the PC was too big, or not opened within the altitude specified because the reserve PC was too small. Since they received TSO certification, this wasn’t the case. Yes, I was/am confused. Are you saying a PD-106R opens harder than a PD-281R deployed out of the same type of container because they both have the same size reserve PC? True enough, but I do know the difference between a hard and soft opening. I have put over 500 jumps on a single canopy, 3 different times. How many test jumps does PD put on a single size/type canopy before releasing it? I also know that PD claims that Sabre’s don’t open hard. I have learned that manufacturers aren’t the end-all of gear information. If they were, we wouldn’t ever need SB’s and AD’s. Deal, except the reserve re-pack is only $35.00 (I’m the rigger) I do believe we landed on the moon. “anyway on cobalts our pc recommendations are as follows: 170: 24" jim caser zero-p collapsable pc 150: 22-24" """""" 135 and smaller: 22" """""" currently we are testing 20" pc for use with our 65-85 but at present we still recommend the 22" as we have tested that size thoroughly.. “ You are right, no one is recommending a 20-inch PC. They are recommending a 22-inch PC and researching a 20-inch. A 22-inch PC will cause a PC in tow and/or a PC hesitation on some rigs. Interesting reading Xaos-27 78 with only locking stows Derek