skydiverek

Riser broke (RSL side) on Tandem jump approx 15 years ago. Collins lanyard did its job there.

Shouldn't he have collapsed the wings after the pull, to minimize the burble?

Almost identical situation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_MsYQ3GtAg

It has been done by Airtec for the last 20 years" "Meanwhile 19 years 3 months and 20 days later over 220,000 cutters have been manufactured and used "out in the field". Over 95 million jumps have been made using the CYPRES cutter. Still under the strict quality regulations layed down for the first cutter's by the 3 guys that designed it. With the advancement of technology in other area's even more quality regulations had been layed into place. Every CYPRES cutter is still generated under laboratory conditions, x ray ed, checked and tested by a number of individuals." http://www.cypres.cc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=304&lang=en

So were they just hoping nothing would happen, and released the bulletin only after fatality hapened?

I have one. Very comfortable, your mouth is visible, so other jumpers can do a little bit of lip-reading in tunnel, and are able see your emotions in freefall (your smile will also be on photos and videos, unlike other jumpers', whose mouths are covered ). See attached photos of mine. Since the mouth is not covered, you can talk easily with it on in the plane (and be heard!), unlike with other helmets. Does not fog. Due to many multiple padding panels (for each shell), and multiple shell sizes you can obtain tens of size combinations. I also like that the helmet's 'chin' is about an inch away from your face - gives me the 'spacious' feeling when I have it on. With other helmets I felt a bit 'claustrophobic', when the helmet's 'chin' was touching my mouth. Cons? The visor does not flip up very much, so it is visible all the time when it is up. You can fix that by unscrewing the screws which limit its movement. But that may cause the visor to shut down on its own when you do not want it to. I also read someone's opinion here that due to helmet's 'looseness' it may not be the best choice for sit flying (spacious helmet's chin catches air and there is nothing to tighten the liner around the back of your head, unlike Z1 for example). http://www.paratec.de/en/products-parachutes/69/ http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/gear/review.cgi?ID=464

Does DRX use magnets? I think Eric Fradet's INTERLOCK does. By the way, DRX looks somewhat similar to RAX system, and also to LES system. RAX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqxjHOSKTT0

The narrow one (1-inch) Javelin chest strap does not have a 'fold back'. If it had, it would not fit thru the small buckle.

Bill Booth was talking about the effect of 120 to 200 mph wind on the cutaway handle, out of its pocket. Your experiment did not include that. Probably a tucked-under handle (with a tube inside) would be very uncomfortable to the wearer, thus making him aware of the 'problem'. And what about this handle?: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1571027;search_string=thumb;#1571027 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=187982#187982

What is the DOM of these containers?

In FAA Riggers Handbook it says: is there are no broken strands, the cable can be straightened-out and put back into service.

"Most Tandem Jumps" thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3871036

From Bill Booth, the inventor of 3-ring cutaway system and the cutaway handle: "The hardest part about designing the 3-ring release system was coming up with a suitable handle. All previous releases had a safety of some sort to prevent accidental release. But I wanted a device that could release both risers with one easy motion. So I needed a handle that could be pulled only by the human hand, and never be snagged by anything else. Remember, the most important function of any release system is NOT to release. It has to hold firm 1,000 times between each cutaway. If I hadn't designed the soft handle, the 3 ring probably would have been a failed design. Remember, when a reserve ripcord handle is knocked out of the pocket, pressure from the reserve pilot chute spring on the loop and pin usually prevents an accidental opening. But a 3-ring cable has no such pressure on it until after opening, so a 3-ring handle knocked out during exit, would probably go completely bye-bye in freefall, resulting in a real surprise at pull time. The soft 3-ring handle has been pretty successful for over 20 years now. As a matter of fact, while I have heard of people accidently pulling it, I have yet to hear of it being knocked out of its pocket, or being accidentally snagged, on exit or during relative work." and "Again, if pillows are so bad, why are they used as cutaway handles on 99% of the rigs out there?" Although I designed the "soft pillow" handle for the 3-ring release in the first place, I won't get into the discussion (too much) about whether it makes a good reserve handle for freeflyers. Most decisions in skydiving are tradeoffs, and this is certainly one of them. However, I do think a pillow makes a better cutaway handle than a reserve handle, simply because, where the pillow is in a cutaway situation, is much different from where it is in a reserve pull situation. Think about it. In almost all situations where a cutaway is needed, you're hanging from your main risers, and your main lift web, where your cutaway pillow sits, is pulled up and away from your body, so your cutaway pillow is literally right in front of your nose. Now think of where your reserve handle is in a total malfunction. It's down below your armpit, tucked tightly against your body, maybe even UNDER the webbing, and more than a little bit hard to see, especially if you're wearing a full face helmet. Now think how much a reserve pillow handle feels like your harness, or a fold in your jumpsuit, especially if you're wearing gloves. Now picture yourself low, out of time, and in desperate need of a reserve handle that you can't see or feel. Aren't you glad you bought that Cypres?" and "In almost every case, when you need to use your cutaway soft handle, you are hanging under a main canopy, and your main lift web (to which your "pud" is attached) is pulled upward and away from your body. Even if your breakaway handle had been tucked under in freefall, it would be no more, and it is literally right in front of your nose anyway. In contrast, when you need to find your reserve handle, there is no load on your harness. So it will be much lower. and against your body. Therefore, your reserve handle will always be "harder" to find than your breakaway handle. If it is tucked under, locating it might take more time than mother nature has allowed you on that particular jump. Knowing this, before I let Relative Workshop offer "soft" handles for the reserve, I redesigned our breakaway pup with a solid metal core to make "tuck-unders" less likely. Most other manufacturers have now done the same thing."

There is a guy in NZ that has over 15,000 tandem jumps. Confirmed with the DZ.

Watch carefully - the video has been edited (cut in lenght).

Good idea to subscribe to them, if you have a YouTube account! New videos added frequently: UPT: http://www.youtube.com/user/PablitoElio#g/u http://www.youtube.com/user/UPTVector#g/u PD: http://www.youtube.com/user/PDBlog#g/u

Please check the attached PDF file.

20 uses or 40 repacks, whichever comes sooner. Not years.

True, but on the other hand, there are some advanced psycho-packs out there!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYb6R8CNqDQ&fmt=18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qICN19uaRE&fmt=18

I have started jumping with earplugs. Here are the key things and SOLUTIONS to your 'fears': - air pressure equalizes inside your head, not outside your head, so earplugs do not affect this process (as far as I know, there are no natural holes in the ear-drum for the air to pass thru) - please correct me if I am wrong. Watch the below video (disable AdBlock first, if you have one): http://video.about.com/pediatrics/Ear-Pressure.htm - buy the highest NRR rated ear-plugs (NRR33 is the highest one possible). BUT, not all NRR33 rated earplugs block the same amount of noise at DIFFERENT frequencies. I have done a lots of research the 'Moldex' disposable foam earplugs (used in NASCAR) are THE BEST. Check the dB table in the PDF for a given model: http://www.moldex.com/hearing-protection/foam-earplugs/ - do not reuse foam earplugs. 'One jump-one pair' will keep you away from ear infections - buy the CORDED version. That way, you can remove the earplugs from underneath the helmet, after the opening, by pulling the cord (tuck it neatly under the helmet for freefall). With earplugs removed under canopy, you will not be deaf during the canopy collisions and command exchange with another jumper ('you cutaway!', etc) - freefall noise is over 120 dB, airplane can be over 100 dB, Optima is 120 dB. On an average skydiving day you are exceeding your daily noise quota (measured in minutes) many, many times, permanently damaging your hearing - there is no cure for deafness (apart from hearing aids...), or for tinnitus (constant 'ringing in the ears') - set your Optima canopy alarms to Volume "1", and the far-most left pitch (if you take your earplugs out, under canopy) - once you fly the airplane and jump wearing the earplugs, you will not want to do it again without them. It is like jumping with and without goggles - you are less worn-out after the day of skydiving - you can actually hear people BETTER in the airplane (the 'bad' engine noise is canceled, and the human voice is filtered and passed thru - pretty neat, huh? :-) ) - read this whole thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4059225;page=1;mh=-1;;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC

m/s or 'miles per hour' ?

I will skip Argus, but I would say that Cypres had fewer problems than Vigil, same number of years after the introduction. Also true, fewer people used Internet in 1995, so bad news was not so spread out. By your same argument, CYPRES was able to avoid widespread news of defect in the early days, too This is what I was saying. Cypres was introduced in 1991, Vigil in 2003.

I will skip Argus, but I would say that Cypres had fewer problems than Vigil, same number of years after the introduction. Also true, fewer people used Internet in 1995, so bad news was not so spread out.

come on, stay fair. Any unit can malfunction. Errors/defects have been noticed, AFAIK, on all AAD brands and models. True, but you _have to_ agree that Vigil has had a lot of them, not only in the early phase.

It would be even better if they built the better quality product in the first place.