wolfriverjoe

The 26 minimum overall (couldn't remember the exact length) applies to both rifles and shotguns. And FWIW, a normal pump or auto shotgun with an 18" barrel and nothing more than a pistol grip on the back is still legal. The overall is something like 27" or 28" Mossberg markets one. http://www.mossberg.com/product/shotguns-pump-action-mossberg-500-tactical-500-6-shot-8-shot-500-cruiser-8-shot/50580 "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Very true. The church run shops around here all check to see if they work at least reasonably well. And the rest are willing to let you plug it in and test it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Those rules have been in place for a long, long time. Since 1934. They are actually pretty simple. If it can go up to your shoulder, it's a rifle. If it can't, it's a pistol. Smoothbore (shotguns) have no "pistol" provisions (so Mad Max's side-by-side is NOT legal in the US). If it's a rifle, barrel has to be 16" minimum. Shotgun is 18. Minimum length is for stuff that can't be easily taken apart (brazed or silver soldered flash hider or dummy suppressor) There's a minimum overall length too, but I can't remember it off the top of my head. Most places that sell pieces/parts are pretty good about labeling stuff as "Pistol/NFA ONLY" in their ads. Have fun building. ARs are so modular that it's easier than IKEA furniture. But it's not too difficult to make a mistake and get into trouble. Thompson/Center Contenders and Encores are like that too. Modular and switchable enough that getting into trouble isn't too hard. And they are still called "ARs". Just not "assault rifles." The "AR" part stands for "Armalite", not Assault Rifle. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

OP's leak is on a weld seam. It's a different kind of hole. It may or may not work. Given the cost factor, it's certainly worth a try. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, technically, modifications are beyond the privileges of a Senior Rigger. So "I can't do that sort of thing" is a perfectly reasonable answer. You might ask these guys what specific mods they want you to do. I'm going to guess they don't know. It's sort of like on the car boards, where someone gets a "killer deal" on a car, but it's an auto trans. They ask about the best way to convert it to a manual. The best answer is "sell it and buy one that's a manual." "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

No kidding. IIRC, the Pats were busted for improper use of a video camera on the sidelines at a Packer game in Green Bay a couple years before they finally got sanctioned for it. It wasn't reported to the NFL and the footage wasn't confiscated. They just made the guy stop. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Decide what discipline you wish to pursue. Find a DZ with an on-site tunnel. And cheap accommodations (or favorable weather for tent camping). Take a canopy control course. No matter where you plan on ending up, you will still need to land at the end of every jump. Find a good coach who does both "in sky" and tunnel coaching. Listen to that coach's advice. That will determine how you split your time between the sky and the tunnel. My $0.02 "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I don't see these as obsolete. Older perhaps but both the Triathlon and the Talon are rigs that are still in production. You can order them today. Sure there are newer products. Sure, there are product improvements that have been made over the years (line trims changes, tuck tabs etc.) but I wouldn't see them as obsolete by any stretch of the imagination. The stuff by para-flite is a different matter. It is very old, the manufacturer no longer is in the sport business and quite frankly what jumpers expect from equipment has changed. (They expect soft opening high performance parachutes and what was originally considered high performance in the day is now often considered as low performance now.) That was my point. There's a big difference between "older" and "obsolete." I may not have made that clear enough. My Talon (and a few other rigs I see) are "older." Still modern, mostly, and perfectly serviceable and airworthy. I don't have a problem packing them or jumping them or recommending them for newer jumpers, appropriate to skill and size of course. I wouldn't let a newer jumper jump a friends Diablo for example. The rig in the OP is one I would consider "obsolete." And appropriate only for experienced jumpers who wish to jump vintage gear. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I caught this quote on last night's news (Bolding mine): From the CDC site, you have to scroll down to the MMR part: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

If you want a cheap portable that will do most of what you need (including pulling E-thread), go to your local thrift store. Really. Goodwill, St Vinnies, that sort of place. They almost always have older domestics for $25-$50. If you don't know how, take it to a local store and have it gone through for another $50 or so. These are often the well made, metal, vintage machines that someone's mom or grandma had and when she died or went into a retirement home, nobody wanted. It won't be a knee lift, industrial machine. But for the price you can't beat it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I don't automatically dismiss gear as unairworthy simply becuase of age. My backup rig is an older Talon (97) with a 190 Triathlon. This rig, however is obsolete. It has been superseded several times by more modern stuff. For someone into vintage gear, who knows what they are doing, fine. I might even find a manual and pack it for them. I don't have the equipment to check the FXC though, and it is probably due to be sent in for calibration (about $175). For a new jumper, however, no. I'm not even a big fan of "budget gear' with an F111 canopy for them. I've flown F111 Mantas. From brand new to 'almost ready to be retired'. When I switched to Zero-P the difference was remarkable. For newer jumpers, training on Zero-P, switching to F111 and then eventually back to Zero-P isn't the best idea, IMO. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

As I understand it (and I welcome correction if I'm wrong), the underinflated balls were only used in the first half. The second half was played with "good" balls. And the Patriots destroyed the Colts in the second half. So even if they did cheat (and I believe they did) it didn't affect the final outcome of the game. So if they are found "guilty" then they will most likely face a fine or loss of draft picks, just like last time. Perhaps a game or two suspension for Brady or Belichick. At least that's what the press is saying. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

What reason would you have for either of those statements? Being "outdated" doesn't mean it is unsafe. Depending on the jumper's size and the condition of the main I'd say an old F-111 main would be fine for some jumpers, assuming they aren't loading them heavy and the canopy isn't ragged out. As far as the reserve, if it is airworthy, what reason would you have not to pack it? Toss it in a box and send it to me and I will pack it if it is airworthy but it gets a full inspection first. As far as rounds, there is nothing wrong with a round reserve. Some drop zones still use them for student gear and every pilot bailout rig has one. I have one in one of my three rigs and I'm fine with it. I guess some riggers won't pack anything they don't think is sexy. Well first off, I don't have a manual. I'm not going to pack it without one. Second, it's got an FXC. Do you have a pressure chamber (actually a vacuum chamber) to test it? That's a requirement for every repack. I wouldn't jump a round reserve because squares are a much better option. That's a personal choice. I wouldn't send a student to a DZ that uses round reserves. My old DZ had some seriously old student gear (Sweethogs with Ravens of some sort for reserves), but it was steerable squares, not rounds. I wear a round reserve as a Pilot "Bail-out" rig when I fly the plane (my sport rig isn't as comfortable). But I'm almost certain not to use it. It's old and obsolete. Modern gear is better. It's probably serviceable, and possibly airworthy. But it's 30 years old. Lack of "sexiness" has nothing to do with it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

My memory is that the swift container system was made for the 5 cell swift reserve (and even the 5 cell swift main?), back when the 5 cell swift reserve was a hot ticket. I believe the total system's low weight and small size was a big selling point. Ok, thanks. I actually learned something on here today.

How exactly did you "get your hands on" it? It's really outdated. I'm guessing it has a round reserve. The Strato-Cloud has been obsolete for years. The FXC 12000 AAD in it is also very outdated. They need to be sent back for calibration every other year, and checked in an altitude chamber every repack (and those are both rare and expensive). I'm going to guess you would have a very hard time finding a rigger to inspect & repack the reserve. I wouldn't. I wouldn't jump it and would strongly advise you not to either. I doubt you'd have much luck finding a buyer. Maybe a collector of vintage gear would give you a few bucks for it. But it's pretty much obsolete and worthless. Sorry. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Others have answered most of this, but here goes: 1) No. You won't hurt anything, provided you don't do something stupid and cause damage or aren't overstuffing the container. 2)Other than it not being as "fluffy" and the Pilot Chute not being uncocked, no. Something you want to keep an eye on when jumping, but not exactly every jump is untwisting your steering lines. I don't know where the gremlins, elves or whatever hide, but no matter that I don't twist them in the air and I re-stow the toggles immediately after landing; I still take a lot of twists out of them every weekend. 3) Real in-person help. All the video and books in the world isn't really an adequate substitute. Anyone from the DZ that you can invite over for a packing session/beer session? An hour or two of direct instruction would be very helpful. And those aren't anywhere near "stupid questions." There's no need to apologize for your ignorance... Unless you do nothing to correct it. (I told you I was stealing that, Sandy) "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Glad you liked it. I have a great sense of humor. Are you coming back to North America anytime soon? About those women... Yeah. They're out there. They tend to be... Difficult. Needy. They don't like my motorcycle because it's "dangerous" and they're "scared I might get hurt on it." And skydiving? Fuggedaboutit. And jealous. If I even look at another woman, I hear about it. Talk to one? No matter what the subject. Hoo boy. They often have a lot of trouble holding a job. So I'm expected to support her. And "being fixed" is hard (not in the veterinary sense). I have flaws. I know it. I'm working on them and some have a long way to go. But to have someone else decide which ones need to be "fixed" and how to fix them and when to fix them and... Better check your messages. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I find that difficult to believe Professor. Do you know how much Disneyland costs? It's the second thing they do. They have to steal the good jobs first to make the money to pay for it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Ok, then why did measles show up at a huge tourist destination, instead of where all these "immigrant children" are? And you criticize it as a "hit piece", yet can you refute any of it's facts about immunization rates? Or the fact that there's been zero cases of measles in Guatemala and Honduras in the past 25 years? The piece also does a pretty good job of pointing out that incorrectly placing blame for disease outbreaks on the "dirty immigrants" is common throughout history. To repeat: Obama's immigration policies are worthy of discussion and debate. I'm not really pleased with them. But to blame the measles on that is to completely miss the point. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

The insurance companies are very interested in safety. They have good stats on accidents and their causes. They are usually very willing to help their customers do a "safety survey" and find places where safety can be improved. If nothing else, they will have a page on their website, something like "10 ways to make your home safer." Remember the AllState (I think?) ads a couple years ago promoting safe driving courses for teens? They started off with a line of cars, each full of kids and quoted a stat about how many "never make it home." But it's all about the bottom line. It's cheaper to pay for a safety course than to pay out the claim. For the tub: Presumably there's a dead kid floating in it. But how much will the insurance company have to pay for the flood damage? For the tipped over TV: Presumably there's a dead kid under it (it's actually a very common accident). But how much will the insurance company have to pay for the claim? If a small cost in education (never leave kids alone in the tub, always secure flat screen TVs with a solid mount) can save the insurance company a bunch of claim payouts, great. If it saves lives too, well, that's a nice side effect. Yes, I'm a bit cynical about insurance companies. And I know the people that work for them actually do care. But for the shareholders, it's all about the bottom line. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Apparently, Mt Dew "Kickstart" contains some very potent psychedelic drugs. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

The Bud "Horse & Dog buddies" one was cute. A little forced, but cute. The Doritos ones have been good. Who do you want to sit next to? The "Tortoise and the Hare" ad was pretty good. They had been hyping it the whole time and I hadn't figured out where it was going or who it was from. I knew the tortoise was going to win, but wasn't expecting him to use the new Mercedes GT to do it (which is a really cool car). "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Americans who traveled abroad used to get a litany of inoculations depending on where they were going. Did we stop doing that, too? I'm sure that the flood of illegal immigrant "children" who recently arrived from Central America has not even crossed their minds. Even the right wing fringe is right some of the time (look at Palin, Bachman, and Romney with respect to Russia). Also, any administration with a such an irresponsible immigration policy could be blamed. Don't need ODS to recognize dereliction (or worse). I don't know if any vaccines are required for US citizens travelling abroad. I took a quick look through the CDC site and only found "recommendations." Considering that the "Flood of illegal immigrant children from Central America" is probably better immunized than US kids, I would guess that the CDC considered and rejected that idea. WHO reports that neither Guatemala nor Honduras has had a reported case of measles since 1990. http://www.texasobserver.org/disease-threat-immigrant-children-wildly-overstated/ Not sure what the "Texas Observer" is, but they seem to have good sources on their info. The Right Wing fringe may or may not be right on rare occasion. About as often as the Left Wing fringe. And Obama's immigration policy is worth debating separately. But to imply that it has anything to do with this is ridiculous. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Good point WRT young age and medical conditions. But I don't know how "huge" that number would be. I am in favor of vaccination, almost to the point of mandating it. I'm especially in favor of returning to immigration policies that require screening and vaccination of ALL incoming immigrants ...like the olden days. It's a little disgusting that we have immigration policies that have allowed a disease that had largely been beaten in this country to again gain a foothold, and then try to place the blame on those who become infected. All incoming immigrants? Including tourists? Or Americans coming back from abroad? CDC is saying that one of those is probably the source. Of course the right wing fringe is going nuts about it (I'm not implying that you are part of that). ODS is rampant. Michael Savage is blaming Obama and his immigration policies for the outbreak. Of course. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

it seems that the last weeks, there were more kids shooting people in the U.S. than ISIS beheadings Don't misunderstand me. I am not against guns. But it seems that many gun owners are just plain irresponsible and should not be allowed to own a gun. Bolding mine. There's a fair amount of truth to that. I volunteer at my local shooting range as a range officer (safety guy). It's my job to keep the idiots from endangering each other (and me). And believe me, I have a hard time believing that some of these guys go out in the woods with a loaded gun and don't end up shooting someone (including themselves). And some do. But it's a right, not a privilege. And while I agree in theory that minimal training/qualification for gun owners would be a good idea, I don't support it in practice. Just like voting. Again, in theory, ensuring that voters are intelligent/educated enough to cast sensible votes sounds like a good idea. But in practice, those in charge use those tests to prevent certain groups from voting. Guns would almost certainly face similar problems. Impossible standards. Prohibitive costs. All resulting in people being denied their rights. Look at Chicago. Despite losing the court battle, the city is still trying to enact restrictions that would prevent lawful gun ownership. My personal 'favorite' is having a training requirement, yet prohibiting shooting ranges (where are you supposed to get the training to meet the requirement?). They lost that one in court, but they keep trying. They are currently trying to put ridiculous video requirements on gun stores (after losing a court battle that would have basically prohibited them in the city). They will probably lose that fight too. And they will almost certainly try to put more restrictions in place. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo