Hooknswoop

Oops. It was a long night. Anyone TiVo it? Derek

I agree with Chuck. For traditional AFF, large canopies are the way to go. For AFP (3 learning tandems first) you can use smaller ZP canopies. Beyond that, it is just too much performance. They won't be able to recover from mistakes or walk away with a hard lesson. They will get hurt. If a student is afraid under canopy, they are in survival mode and cannot learn. Jut like in freefall. As long as they are working things out, I let them recover on their own, as soon as they felt like they were in trouble, they stopped learning and were just trying to survive. Students don't tend to have great stability during deployment. That is bad for elliptical canopies. They tend to reach during the flare, making an un0even flare worse. They don't have much experience to make good choices under canopy for things like making it back to the DZ, what obstacles to fly over and what obstacles to not fly over, low turns, handling turbulence, etc. In short, with training tandems, I am a fan of higher performace canopies for student training, within limits. Those limits are quickly reached. A velocity would make a poor student canopy. At the other end of the spectrum, there are down sides to using huge F-111 7-cells. Somewhere between those two extremes lies the perfect middle ground. Personally I find the Sabre2 or Safire2 to be a good compromise. I do not think a Stiletto (or Cobalt) makes a good student canopy. If the plane is full of students, the DZ is going to still make a lot of money with a go-around. If you cannot give your student a good spot, you do not exit. Do not short change your student with a poor spot. If the DZ won't give you a go-aound if you need one for a good spot, ride the plane down. If the DZ has a problem with that, quit. Never, ever put money ahead of your student's safety. Derek

I have the Aviator A2. Got it as a gift. I absolutely love this flashlight. Press the end cap a little for temp on or twist it a little for constant on, and you get 3 LED's of light. Press the end cap a little more or turn it farther and you get a very bright xenon light plus the LED's. Very well built, small, bright, handy, and with the option of LED's or xenon in one small light, very versatile. The quality is second-to-none. If you want a high quality flashlight, Surefire is the only choice. Only downside is they are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Derek

If you do a search of Instructors by tunnel and click on their names, you'll see what each Instructor is signed off for. You can be a level 2 Instructor with some level 3 sign-offs, such as supported head down. Looking through the Perris Instructors, it looks like they are signed off for supported head down. Derek

Yes, it used to be stowed that way. Derek

I do the same thing, but have the wire attached to a large handle so it stands out. It is also about 18" long. My thoughts on tools it to make them either too big, too heavy, or with a 5-foot flag on them so they never get packed into a rig. The paddle I use for the "S" folds is about 2 1/2-feet long. It won't fit into the container. Derek

There no ongoing certification/education requirments for riggers. Yes, there is inititial certification requirments and currency requirments, but no ongoing certification requirments or ongoing education requirments. I think we said the same thing here? Again, I think we said the same thing.? Derek

The fax is a packing supplement, not an SB. I called RI and requested it because at the time, a Voodoo packikng manual didn't exist. Derek

That is because he isn't at fault, it was folded correctly. No, there is a hole in the system. Manufacturers change instructions without any notification. Derek

I remember reading somewhere (probably PPM) that for main closing loops, when it is frayed 10% of it's total thickness, replace it. That way it never gets to less than 90% of it's total strength. I do not remember ever reading anything on reserve closing loops. I replace them every re-pack just in case. Derek

I am very familar with lockwire. 0.020, 0.032, and 0.040. Also brass break wire. I was an Apache Crewchief. This was none of the above, thinner than 0.020 lockwire. Somewhere around 0.010 or less. I don't think it would have made any difference to the deployment at all. Fortunately it didn't rust while it was in there. Derek

Exactly. You would think there would be some sort of notification system in place when a manufacturer changes how the reserve should be packed, but there isn't. Derek

You are absolutely correct, the bridle was stowed correctly. RI changed how the Voodoo's bridle should be stowed. RI used to require the bridle be stowed from the free-bag grommet to the top flap. The current manual requires it to be stowed sideways. I have a faxed "Voodoo Reserve Packing Supplement" from RI showing the bridle stowed from the grommet to the top flap. Derek

None. Unless the FAA revokes your certificate. Only the FAA has any authority over riggers. I have only heard of one rigger's certificate being revoked and that was very recently. I try to contact the rigger when I find stuff like this. Derek

No idea. It is very thin. Can't imagine where it came from. Also- the card says it has been packed 4 times while the label on the reserve (a PD-R) has only 2 "/"'s on it. The funny part is this is the same rigger that when he opened a friend's rig, he told him it had been packed wrong (by the factory), and then proceded to pack it wrong, without the manual. Derek

Opened a Voodoo today with the bridle stowed incorrectly and a 7-inch metal wire in the "s" folds of the canopy. Derek

What is the attitude at the DZ you work at regarding refusing to take a student up for safety reasons? Have you ever refused a student? If yes, what was the result? Personnaly, I was fired from a DZ for refusing to take a 250+ lb AFF student. I have seen a TI threatened to "Take the tandem, or you are fired". Derek

During a flat turn, your canopy will have the exact same airspeed regardless if it is going into, cross, or with the wind. It will feel and sound exactly the same regardless of the wind. The only difference will be your ground speed/ground track. It is impossible to determine wind direction under canopy without a ground reference using only feel and sound. Let's say you are under canopy over a perfectly smooth cloud layer. Let's also say your canopy has a foward speed of 25 mph. Going into the wind, your airspeed wil be 25 mph and you will feel and hear the 25 mph airspeed. Then you turn down wind. Your canopy will still have a 25-mph airspeed and you will feel the exact same air moving past you and it will sound exactly the same. During this time, your ground speed could have gone from 0 to 50 mph or not changed at all without you feeling or hearing a difference between those groundspeeds. A goldfish swimming at 1 mph will not feel a difference if it's fish bowl is stationary or moving smoothly at 10 mph. Sailing is much different, as has been pointed out. For landing out, I always knew the wind direction on the ground at take-off, knew where I was in relation to the DZ, and therefore knew which way the wind was blowing. I have also used the pond/rippel method and differences in ground speeds facing different directions to determine wind direction. Derek

That method will not work, since it will feel and sound exactly the same regardless if you are going into or with the wind. Derek

Not true, PA applied the SB to my -M and did not up-grade the tape to type1. I am still waiting (about a year now) for the average peak forces for all the -M's as required to be on the canopy labels by the TSO. As of right now, Raven-M's do not comply with the TSO requirements for markings. Derek

I looked at the Benelli's, but didn't want to spend that much and didn't want a semi-auto. Derek

I was thinking more of something like this: http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/tactical_shotgun_specs.asp with the collaspable stock Derek

Beats me. As for the gearbox, shifted fine for me. Derek

LOL- I wish. They go for about 500k. I just got to drive it. Absolutely amazing car. I can't think of anything I have ever been in that acclerated like this car did. The owner stopped it on the free way, in the fast lane, then got back up to speed before the traffic 1/4 mile behind us could catch us. He said it is the 3rd fastest production sprts car and the fastest stopping production sports car. Derek

Took one for a drive today. Hit 120 mph on the on-ramp. Didn't look at the instruments after that. It wasn't even working hard yet. That is one hell of a car. Derek