KellyF

This is also a good time to remind everyone to stow your excess brake lines. Reducing snag hazards is a high priority when rigs are designed, it should also be a high priority when they are being packed. Only the really lucky ones get to re-live them again and again VSE on Facebook

As others have said, pack your main WIDE. To quote an old Pontiac commercial,"wider is better" This actually holds true for all containers. Think of it this way, a container is essentially a fabric box. If you want the "box" to have a specific shape, whatever you put inside it needs to have that shape also. If the "box" doesn't have support, it tends to cave in. This is why D-bags are built for the container instead of the canopy- you can have all sorts of different shapes to fit 400 C.I., but really only one of those will fit the container properly. We have done a few rigs with dynamic corners, but as far as packing grommet to pin, it depends on the particular model of Infinity. Some have a nearly square profile for the main D-bag (fine for grommet to pin), and others have a more rectangular profile (not so good for grommet to pin). For the BOC replacement, it looks more intimidating than it really is. The process is the same as it is for a "standard" BOC, but you don't have to tape the pocket. Simply unstitch the old BOC, insert the new spandex and sew it in. About the only tricks I can think of is to sew backwards along the bottom edge first, making sure the cordura is staying flat, then as you go up the side and top, make sure the cordura is laying flat (pulling away from the binding tape instead of getting pushed towards it). If you do this, you'll probably be surprised at how closely your new stitch pattern lines up with the original one Depending on the size of the rig, you may find it easier to open up the corners so the bottom flap lays flat while you sew

If you have a bicycle shop nearby, they should have some cable cutters for cutting brake cables. They'll work great for cutaway cables

We have a 138 and a 238. Never ahd to buy anythign except for a bobbin case for either one. The 138 is my favorite of the two. If I were to have only one machine in a shop, it'd be a 138

Take a close look at the bottom edge of your backpad (under your mudflaps). I think they should be zig-zagged to the main lift web just below the chest strap, and it doesn't look like your right one (as you wear it) is. Have your rigger check into it

Yep! Did you need long or short sleeve? I believe you got one with your rig, just don't remember which

Hi Eric, we were short on some sizes for a little while, so we threw in what we had. I figured you cold wash it in hot a bunch of time to get it to shink up Send me a PM with your mailing address and we'll get a large out to you asap

We have a customer (we'll now call him Butterfingers) that has had I think 3 reserve rides this summer, and lost his reserve handle ALL THREE TIMES. Butterfingers calls earlier this week to order up a replacement for the handle that we sent him just 2-3 weeks ago! So in the interest of saving him some money (and for being such a great customer), we built him the handle in the attached pic

I remember him telling me that he used to refer to that as the "Stingfoot" Also, at one point I guess it had "Stingray" across the bottom skin and at one point only had the N and G left- they stood for "No Good"

I think I've got to agree with Chuckie But there were enough "unknown" people swooping in the mid-late '80's that it's hard to pin the term "godfather" on one person. Jack and Rickster definately took it to a new plane when the Excalibur was introduced. I think I remember reading about them in Parachutist when I should've been paying attention to the teacher in the 9th grade

So, there was an issue with the coating cracking on a particular type of cable at some point, yet you say it's maintenance free? Personally, I'd still pull the cables out occasionally and inspect it for cracking...... Also, the red cable SHOULD be compatible with metal inserts since that's how they are routed to the 3 ring assembly

That's definately a new one to me I'm trying to figure out how it would happen since normally, the pin il end up close to the grommet after being pulled clear of the closing loop. What luck though! Not only did it punch through the center of the Ty-3 tape, but it managed to spear the kill lne at the same time

Glad everone likes the new shirt design! Wish I could take credit for it, but it was mostly Jeff's vision They are only available in black at this time and are $25, just give us a call and we can get them out to you, pronto! Shark, I'll bring one down for you next week

If the canopy is brand new, you can have some fun with it. But it will wear out quickly, and at that wing loading, you will notice it. I put some jumps on PD113R's at that wing loading and got great landings out of them, but after 30-60 jumps the landing performance certainly was degraded.

Yep, Billy Tylaska

My wife drives an '02 Jetta Wagon 1.8T and it has been a good car for almost 55,000 miles- no major problems that jump out in my memory, except some service dept. issues (the manager told me to put 87oct. in the tank to cure what I thought was a hesitation, even though the manual and gas door state 91 minimum- not to mention ~9.3:1 compression plus ~10 psi of boost). If you're looking at the MkIV, I would opt for at least the 1.8T. I don't think I'd take the plunge on a MkV yet, for reasons previously stated as far as buying the first year of a new model car. This is mine: http://www.mk1scirocco.com/scirocco/pics/mk2/_kelly/kelly3.jpg MkI chasis, MkIV drivetrain 1.8T w/GT28R and an 02M tranny. NO warranty issues whatsoever

I actually saw a real live truck parked in a house Sat. evening

LOL. I can at least solve the unnamed mountain part! Mt. St. Helen's It's actually Mt. Rainier. Those types of cloud formations are pretty common as well as plenty of cloud formations that block the whole thing from view

Based on the first pic, I think the other two stripes will reveal themselves when the rig is packed

I would say that unless the PC stayed attached to the jumper or his equipment, it was probably a hesitation. If he was near terminal and pulled flat and stable, it is entirely possible that the PC didn't clear the burble.

Number of flaps the closing loop has to pass through VSE on Facebook

Didn't they just change the rules reguarding how much of a downwind component is allowed? Not trying to take anything away from Jonathan and Shannon's accomplishments, just something else to be taken into consideration before everyone starts buying lead VSE on Facebook

However, there is a big difference between the covered grommet of the back pack and the distributed channel of the reserve D-bag, whereby there is not a continual brass to steel contact. I'm not sure what you're referring to as far as the "covered grommet" and "distributed channel", but the only rigs that I can think of that may not have "continual brass to steel contact" would be rigs that have molar bags. Then why aren't they still there? They are, rigs built by Rigging Innovations have the cutter placed above the PC, as does (I believe) the Centaurus, Vector 1, and original Infinity. I am one of those people. And, these questions and suggestions are being asked directly of the manufacturer on their thread. My motivation is not to create "gear fear," it's actually to reduce it. I'm more afraid of one overseas instance referred to as a "rigging error" causing the rerouting of the cutter unit within one to three months without adequate input, review, testing and acceptance industry-wide, than I am of my AAD's current configuration. I know that you're trying to help yourself and others better understand the situation, but unfortunately, it seems that some people only need one reason to dislike and trash a product (I'm not saying you are trashing the product, but you are giving a reason), no matter how valid it is. The location that Mirage has moved to is actually the location that Airtec would prefer all internal PC rigs to use, but compromises have been agreed upon for cosmetic reasons. That's why most current rigs have the cutter below the PC. Pop top and semi-pop top rigs are fundamentally different, allowing the cutter to be placed on the backpad. Again, the move that has been made is essentially a "no brainer" from a functional viewpoint. If they had moved it from above the PC to below it, you might have a valid concern as far as development time and compatibility.

The cutters have ALWAYS been placed between grommets, and have been placed on top of the PC on LOTS of rigs since the beginning. It's a non-issue. Some people are raising questions that should probably be asked directly to the manufacturer. When they get raised in a public forum like this it somtimes incites needless "gear fear" if it doesn't get an immeadiate response. VSE on Facebook

Got that part. Don't quite understand that part... Specifically - if the reserve PC needs a bit of load on the bridal - wouldn't a spring that shoots the PC as far as possible get load on it the quickest? Could you give me some more details so I understand why this logic works... I guess I may not have been real clear when I was talking about the PC launching 4 feet. The assumption is that the restriction on the bridle (usually from being placed under kicker flaps) is what would be preventing the PC from going farther. Let's say your reserve bridle is 15 feet long. A PC that launches hard to 4-6 feet can orient and pressurize itself faster than one that "lobs" out to the end of the bridle since it has less distance to cover before it orients itself and slows it's own descent rate down so the jumper can fall away from it as opposed to a PC that is "freefalling" for that 15 feet until it hits the end of the bridle. I know of tests where the bridle was rubber banded inside of the container and on some jumps there was no measureable difference in deployment time, while in other jumps it was up to 3/4 of a second faster.