Hooknswoop

That is only an issue with mini-risers. I don't know of any modern reserve systems that use mini-risers (or any system for that matter). I think you are right. It is a gray area though, i.e. "Note: this approval is based on compatibility with the FAA Approved Para-Flite Safety Flyer Reserve only" Ever pack a PD reserve into a Vector II? Does this mean the TSO is void? Since it was TSO'd as an assembly? If so, then there are a lot of illegal Vector II's out there. From what I have seen, containers still have P/N's for each component. I would change allowed to "already determined to be compatible". We are in a gray area and different interpretations aren't wrong. Right, I agree. An A-3 PC (9" crown, 36" canopy, 20" spring, 25-30 lb spring compression would probably work better than the MA-1 (6" crown, 17" spring, 30 " canopy [actually measures 36"] ) in some assemblies, but not others. I'll quote Riggerrob: It isn't something that should be taken lightly, and I wouldn't substitute a reserve PC on a customer's rig, but again, for my rig, I wouldn't have a problem putting a Mirage PC in my Micron. I don't have a problem with that, like you said, especially in this country. I don't mean to give the impression that I would take a hodge-podge of components from different manufacturers, thrown them together into some thing that might resemble a reserve assembly, call it good, then stand (hide) behind the "The assembling rigger determines compatibility" statement. Such as the Vector II and the Safety Flyer? It is a gray area. That would be very nice information for rigger's to have. It would help to define and eliminate the gray area. I definitely agree the FAR's are out-dated, vague, and sometimes, conflicting. Parachutes and parachute rigging is VERY low on the FAA's priority list. I recently asked a question of the local FSDO, The question was routed to the best person to handle it and I got a 10-minute "I don't know". Best he could or me was to direct me to a MIDO. As a final, open, question, what is the opinion of riggers out there? Will you only put Slinks on PD reserves? On only specific containers? Which containers will you and won't you use Slinks with? If you will use Slinks with other reserves besides PD's, are there any you won't use them with? Hook

http://www.landings.com/evird.acgi$pass*52728363!mtd*41!var*20!cgi*/cgi-bin/get_file!buf*66!src*_landings/pages/airmen_test.html!ref*airmen_quest/para_rig.html http://av-info.faa.gov/data/airmanknowledge/rig.txt These links will take you to all the possible questions for the FAA Senior Parachute Rigger written test. The second one is the FAA's site. Hook

That is what the FAR's say. Some of the Vectors out there have "Note: this approval is based on compatability with the FAA Approved Para-Flite Safety Flyer Reserve only" on the TSO label. Does this mean that only the Safety Flyer reserve can be put into Vector II's? No. A rigger is qualified to decide compatability. What I meant by "as long as they will work", is that I wouldn't consider Slinks compatable for use as a replacement for seperable connector links, ("L"-bars, used on rounds), for example. But for most reserves they will work great. I have them on my Javelin with a Glide Path reserve (which is now Flight Concepts). Will they work, sure. Why wouldn't they? They have less bulk, are stonger, easier to install and inspect. I wouldn't use anything else on my reserve. Hook

Sure, a rigger could refuse to pack anything. There are a couple of containers I won't pack for different reasons. You would just have to ask around. BTW- With Slinks, you don't need slider bumpers. Hook

A senior Rigger can assemble gear and has the responsibility to determine compabatility. Reserve Slinks are TSO'd and therefore can be used on any rig, as long as they will work. For the same reason I COULD put a Mirage reserve PC in my Micron, and it be legal. Hook

About two weeks ago when I called the local FSDO and talked to the FAA and previously before that in a case where a private piloted had his license supsended for flying jumpers, even though he was not paid. I can look up tha case # for you. You can split the costs of flying, but you can't drop jumpers. It doesn't matter what you or I think, all that matters is what the FAA thinks. None taken. The FAA doesn't have to make sense (TFR's). I had to get a Chest mount rating to qualify for Master PArachute Rigger. That is gonna be real handy and makes a lot of sense. Call your local FSDO and ask. Hook

The pilot needs a comercial license. They have ruled on this before. Any time a pilot recieves compensation (you can split the costs and be OK) he/she must have a commercial ticket. The FAA considers flight time compensation. Hook

A bigger slider allows the lines groups to be farther apart, reducing the effectiveness of reefing the lines. Imagine a HUGE slider, it would be totally dependant on drag to slow the opening, but the canopy would be allowed to inflate too much and it would slam the slider down. Slider sizing is a trade-off. Small for better reefing of the canopy, larger to catch more air. Too small and it doesn't catch enough air, too large and it doesn't have enough reefing action. A pocket increases the drag of the slider without decreasing it's reefing ability. For collapsing, fold the pocket down after opening and it may flap in the breeze a little, but not very much, (not like a slider will) and it won't inflate. Extending the kill lines is do-able, but requires entirely new kill lines and channels. Hook

Well, I was being vague, but you can hook up some Ravens (with the bridle attachment point) and jump it once and PD has a demo program, so I sorta went with the plural. Of course I guess you could rig any reserve with a line so that you don't lose you D-bag and PC and jump it, direct bag it, or use an old bag and PC. I suppose all manufacturers should have the program, and all jumpers should demo their reserve before they buy it or have to use it, but I have only heard of a couple of people actually demoing a reserve. Again, skydivers aren't too terrible concerned with safety when it involves actually putting forth effort and/or money for that safety. Hook

What happened? If the 4 passengers were not intending to jump, were they in approved seats? Hook

Higher top speed, more altitude lost in a 360, faster turns. Hook

http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/wingload.pdf It is true, a 120 at 1:1 will be faster than a 190 at 1:1 Hook

Manufacturers have special reserve canopies that you can demo. They are only for demos and aren't used or sold to be used as real reserves. Hook

The FAA doesn't say that. At least one manufacturer, that has a bridle attachment point on some of their reserves, allows a canopy to be jumped once as a main, then either as a reserve only or never used as a reserve. Hook

No pictures, but I do have a drawing. It is a piece of material, usually made of the same material as the slider, folded over itself, edged with binding tape with 2 or 3 pockets to catch air. I've found 3 pockets works best. It is sewn to the leading edge of the slider. Hook

My standard line twist spiel: Line twists have gone from a common nuisance to a common malfunction on small, highly loaded elliptical canopies. There are techniques for reducing the chances of incurring line twists and correcting them if you do get them. The first step to handling line twists is to prevent them in the first place. The looser the chest strap is the wider the 3 rings will be on deployment, which makes it harder for line twists to develop. Of course, be sure that your harness is secure enough to keep you from sliding out of it. Make sure your leg straps are even. For free flyers, a piece of bungee or elastic between your leg straps will help keep the leg straps from creeping to the back of your knees and keep the risers loaded evenly on deployment. Evenly loading the harness on deployment by keeping your hips and shoulders level with the ground will help keep the canopy opening on heading. A pre-mature brake release can easily cause line twists and limits your ability to steer away from others immediately after deploying. When stowing the lines on the deployment bag, keep the stows neat and even. Refer to your owner's manual or call the manufacturer for the correct size rubber bands. Leave 12 to 18 inches of excess line between the side with the least amount of excess and the corner of the reserve container. This will prevent the lines from hanging up on the reserve container and twisting the deployment bag as it leaves the container. A worn out pilot chute can spin on deployment, which can spin the deployment bag. Replace a pilot chute that has holes in the fabric or tears in the mesh. Re-line a canopy that is out of trim. If one end cell “A” line has shrunk more than the opposite side, the canopy will open turning in the direction of the shorter line. Also, if one steering line has shrunk more than another or has excessive twists in the line, the canopy will want to turn in the direction of the shorter line on opening. Take care when setting the brakes of your canopy and take out any twists in the steering lines, which shorten the line. Pulling the slider down to the 3 rings can prevent self-induced line twists and most importantly, smooth control inputs. Even if you take all possible precautions, line twists still happen. If you find yourself under canopy with line twists and the canopy is flying straight, simply kick out of the twists. Make sure you are kicking in the right direction. You can also twist the risers to bring the twists closer to you and reach above the twists for leverage to get yourself out of the twists. Let's say that you weigh 170 lbs. And that when you open, you have 60% of your weight on one leg stap and 40% on the other. So the harness shifts on opening, so that the links are not even. The canopy begins to spin, creating spinning line twists, i.e. harness steering. As the spin rate increases, so do the "G" forces. Initially you had 102 lbs. (60% of 170 lbs.) in one leg strap and 68 lbs. in the other leg strap, a 34 lb. difference. Now, because of the spinning, you are pulling 2 "G"'s. Now in one leg strap there is 204 lbs. and 136 lbs. in the other, a 68 lb. difference. If the canopy is spinning with line twists, react quickly, look up at your links and make them even by shifting your weight in the harness. Be careful not to overdo it and cause the canopy to spin in the opposite direction. At the same time, make sure your brakes are still set. You can use any reference you want, but I’ve found using the links to make the risers even is easiest. The canopy should stop spinning and fly straight. Now kick out of the line twists. Again, make sure you are kicking in the right direction. A canopy that is spinning in line twists loses altitude rapidly. It is critical to maintain altitude awareness. If you are on your back, it is because as the canopy opens and you sit down into the harness, you are in a de-arched and stable back-to-earth free fall position. The speeds generated by a spinning canopy can be close or even overlap with free fall speeds. The same aerodynamics forces that would put you back-to-earth in free fall will put you back-to-earth under a spinning canopy. Remember under a highly loaded elliptical, you don’t have much time depending on your pull altitude and you do not want the twists to include the excess cutaway cable in the back of your risers. This can make for a difficult or impossible cutaway. Riser inserts have been proven to reduce the pull force during a cutaway from line twists. Hook

You shouldn't have a problem with the 170 and the J2. Hook

Depends on the container, closing loop and PC. I experimented with a very small PC. It couldn't pull the pin, but if I reached back and pulled the pin manually, it deployed the canopy normally. It didn't have enough drag to pull the pin, but it could lift the bag OK. I have also set up an intentional PC in tow (that I could fix) to A) get it on video, and B) feel how much drag and impact a PC in tow produces. I was amazed at how little I could feel it. Closing loop tension can be consistant between sizes of containers, but the weight of tha main can be very different. Hook

On a flight from Denver to San Francisco, I sat next to a Flight attendant that was "dead heading". We had a great conversation about how airport and airline security hasn't made much of an improvement and that much of they changes are designed to give the public the impression of heightened security. He agreed that he was only marginally safer flying today than he was September 10th. There are FAA TFR's that prevent over flying a public assembly below 3000 feet. In a Lear jet, packed with explosives, 3000 feet or 5000 feet would not make a difference. A fighter could not be scrambled to intercept much less make the decision that the Lear needs to be intercepted before it was all over. Again, in-convenience to give the impression of high level of security. Nail clippers. C'mon, really. Stand up in an airplane announce that you are hijacking it with a pair of nail clippers. Whatever is left of you would be difficult to perform an autopsy on. Israel has never had an aircraft hijacked, we could learn a thing or two from how they do business. I don't think they are stupid as much as ignorant and misguided. Without major changes and a huge budget, actually increasing our security level would be difficult. So they make policies that make it appear to Joe Q. Public that the security level is OK. Otherwise Joe Q. Public doesn't fly anymore and there goes the airlines and hammers the economy. Hook

We would intercept Soviet Recon aircraft all the time during the cold war..... Hook

It has to "available" to the passengers. Whether or not it is avaible is up for debate, if the pilot has the only tube in his mouth. And yes you will get made fun of if you ask for O2. It depends on the aircraft, but I haven't seen one with O2 at each seating location, only a bottle up by the pilot. Some have multiple tubes coming off the regulator, making it easy for jumpers to get O2 if they want it, other don't. Some DZO's would rather not spend the time and money getting them refilled often, hence the attitude of not wanting to give jumpers O2. Depening on how you interprit the FAR's, "Available" should mean a tube of O2 available to each jumpers. Hook

I moved from TX to CO last year. Expect a faster speed, similar to a Crossfire2 97-ish, longer recovery arc, harder openings (not a problem with a Crossfire), Higher stall speed and less lift. It will take a bit more toggle input to get the canopy to plane out. The overall effect is similar to downsizing a size or two. Hook

F-111 for F-111 canopies and ZP material for ZP canopies (not really F-111)and patch it. Hook

i was skydiving when the 3-ring was invented, nor was I skydiving when there was a recall of the large ring of the 3-ring, but I know quite a bit about the 3-ring. Wether someone was jumping or not when a piece of gear was invented or being produced doesn't mean that they don't know anything about it. If you would like to defend the Nova, fine, then post your opinion of it, hell start a new thread, but don't defend the Nova by attempting to discredit someone because they were not jumping when it was being produced. Hook

Gear education and gear checks. I have never owned a rig without a kill line PC and I have never had a reserve ride because of it or forgot to cock it. Hook