billbooth

I intend to make them optional on all our rigs, but it takes time to change all the templates. Someone in sales should be able to tell you what will be ready when.

Are you really sure about this? Did the safety stow break? Was the correct safety stow used? Is it reported to RWS? /D Yeah. Me too! We have never heard anything about this. The only way this can happen is if the safety stow breaks. That is why I made the red Skyhook lanyard weaker than the safety stow. This has been tested many times on the dynamic drop tower, and Skyhook lanyard always breaks before any "line dump" can happen.

You pretty much have to dissemble your entire container to add all the spacer foam we put on a new rig. However, you could add some at the bottom of the main container with a lot less work. It would seem simpler to sew some spacer foam to the back of your jumpsuit.

A few years ago, I had a bad spinner on an experimental tandem canopy. The "G" forces were so high I thought I was going to pass out. Yet, my breakaway was virtually effortless. The hardest part was peeling the velcro. I'll say it again, a properly manufactured and maintained 3-ring system can easily handle sport tandem loads. While 4-ring risers do lessen breakaway forces, I doubt the average person would even notice the difference in an actual emergency. More complexity, with no material gain, just doesn't make any sense, does it?

I'm glad to hear that someone else is still jumping them. I thought I was the last one. Oh well...I never was much of a "fashion plate" anyway.

We have so far found that our magnets do not affect electronic devices like AAD's, Pro-trac's, i-pods, or video cameras. They will however "swing" a compass if you get them closer the 18 inches. However, the effect is not that large (under 5 degrees) until you get closer than 12 inches.

You are right. While the PDF tandem is not a "true" 4 ring, the Advance tandem is.

Hey! I'd never call your children ugly...at least not to your face.

2 quick questions: 1. Are the magnets in the white part of the rig in the photos, or in the black part? 2. How close must an ordinary compass be to the magnets, to be influenced by the magnets? 1. The magnets are in pairs, on both sides. 2. Magnets will affect compasses if you get closer than about 18 inches, and the effect is below 5 degrees until you get closer than 12 inches. Only a tall guy, sitting backwards in the front right position of a Cessna can get them close enough to matter. The magnets do not affect the gyro compass, GPS system, or the pilots eyeballs, so there is very little chance that they will ever create a navigation problem aboard jump ships.

Yes. Sigma mains will have them. Tandem rigs really need them.

Yes. The Advance is a true 4 ring. I had only seem the PDF Atom Tandem before.

We have over 1,000 jumps now on magnetic riser covers, as well as countless ground tests. They work better than anything else I have tried (and I've tried a lot of different designs). If they did not, I would not offer them. You don't get gimmicks out of my shop...whatever the name of it is at the moment.

You're right. If you drastically upgrade the performance of one part of your parachute system, i.e. going to a sub-300 tandem main, then you had better be sure that the rest of the system is up to the increased demands your tiny new main will put on it. Your release system must be able to handle higher "G" malfunctions, and your reserve deployment system really ought to have a Skyhook system installed. You also have to train yourself to be a lot more stable and vigilant at opening time to stop line twists before they happen. My opinion is that if you can go too small with tandem mains, safety will be compromised...But then, I'm an old fart who jumps a 190 when solo.

3-ring releases, correctly made, are more than adequate for loads up to about 550 lbs., even with a spinning main to breakaway from. We do make a 4-ring for military tandem bundle systems which can handle loads up to 1,000 lbs. If you have a hard pull on a tandem breakaway, your 3-rings were, most likely, manufactured incorrectly, or not lubricated. The French tandem 4-ring is not a 4 ring at all. It is "reverse" risers system that lacks the 2-1 pulley effect of the white closing loop of a correctly manufactured 3-ring, and therefore needs the extra tab, with a grommet in it, to bring it up to the mechanical advantage of a normal 3-ring. The "problem" with Strong's tandem 3-ring is that their riser rings are too "fat". This was done in an effort to make them stronger, but it backfired by severely lowering the mechanical advantage of the system. Because the resultant force on the yellow cutaway cable was so high, they had to switch to a much stiffer, non-coated stainless steel cable, so that it wouldn't suck through on opening. But the rough surface of the non-coated cable increases friction even more. The end result is a 3-ring that is closer to a 2-ring. I'm sorry, but I have to say it again. Every effort I have seen to "improve" the 3-ring has simply not worked out. One of the simplest things you can do to increase your own personal safety, is to make sure you 3-rings are correctly made, and maintained.

I'm sure I've covered this before on DZ.com. Flex pin closing systems appear to offer more "security" over curved pin systems, but I'm not actually sure this is the case. Anyway, the downside of flex pins is that they created much more friction on the closing loop, and therefore wear it out much faster...probably 10-20 times faster. And heat damage on a closing loop may be hard to see, so you should change them often. Since the problem is friction, a little lubrication (say with silicone) might make the loop last longer. I say might, because I've never done any definitive tests. Of course the best solution is the Sigma Disc System, but that is a lot more expensive than a few closing loops.

Just curious...I assume it was a Strong tandem rig. If so, was your cutaway cable raw steel, or nylon/Lolon coated?

Rare earth magnets are very light, and a lot less dense than the other hardware on the rig. You won't even know they're there, and I doubt the screener at the airport will either. However, as I said above, I wouldn't store my credit cards, or video tapes that are out of your camera, in close proximity (less than 6'') to any magnet.

Absolutely. Atair has an issued patent on this technology for parachute use.

You are right about credit cards, and I wouldn't rub them all over out-of-camera video tapes...but in-camera tapes, and other electronic devices used by jumpers, seem unaffected. When encased in Cordura pockets they are "muted" enough to no longer draw blood, but I know what you mean from handling "raw" magnets. We have tried them on toggles, but they have a nasty habit of constantly re-attaching themselves, which annoyed the test jumpers. They also stuck to open magnetic riser covers, which is a bit more of a problem. Besides, we already have a damn good, velcro-less toggle system.

I too would like to see pictures. While I think I have clear understanding of the product. My eyes are yearning to look upon them....Do you have any pics available to post Bill? It's very simple. (It has to be, because nothing in skydiving that is very complicated, ever seems to work out.) The magnetic outer riser cover fits into a pocket with two more rare earth magnets in it. I'll see if I can get someone to get some pictures up on our new website (which isn't even finished yet). Things are moving too fast. I didn't intend to start talking about this for a couple of weeks.

Magnet closure is now used all over the place, from cell phone holsters, to women's purses, to rain gear, to refrigerators. Magnetic bracelets are being endowed with miraculous healing powers, and selling (I'm sure) in the millions, for God sake. As I said above, we have rubbed our riser cover magnets all over every electronic device we could think of, with no ill effects. I don't claim they are perfect. I just think they work better than anything else we now have. Otherwise, why would I go to all the trouble of introducing them. By the way, my first major in college was aerospace engineering. I switched to music simply because the music majors had better drugs. It was the 60's after all. (Just kidding kids.)

How much will I have to pay to work for you? Where do I sign up already? Actually, it's so much fun, you have to pay me!

At the moment, only on riser covers. They are a $25 option. Tuck tabs are still standard. Our tuck-up main protector flaps, and tuck-under reserve protector flaps on Vectors and Microns work so well, I see no reason to change them. Riser covers are the problem that needs fixing.

Iron rich "dirt" is something I have been concerned about from the first. I have dumped iron filings all over the covers, and they just brush off. We will have to see if it is a real problem or not. I know it is not in Florida, because one test jumper has over 300 jumps on them. However, it is possible that people in certain areas will have to careful not to drag their rigs through the dirt. I think they will find that the advantages the magnetic riser covers offer might just be worth a little extra effort when handling their gear. For instance, PD thinks that tuck tab riser covers, releasing unevenly, are the main cause of otherwise unexplained hard openings that are injuring jumpers so often nowadays. To me, that is more than reason enough to keep them in good working order. When I first came out with the 3-ring, some people worried out loud that twigs and grass would get into the white closing loop and lock up the system. Luckily, they were wrong.

Would you like a job with Relative Workshop...Whoops, I mean United Parachute Technologies? None of my test jumpers ever get the broken away main to land in the middle of the field. They're always in the trees, or the middle of a swamp somewhere.