riggermick

For the vast majority of jumpers, the split saddle will work just fine. There is a small percentage of scenarios that a split saddle combined with a premme or canopy collision or CRW or something else that may it not work for them. When it fails, it will be catastrophic, ie death of the jumper. To reduce risk you can either reduce probability of occurrence or reduce severity of occurrence or both. In the case of falling out of a harness, you can only reduce the probability of occurrence. That is done by properly adjusting a harness (for tandem passengers or students) or maybe an extra horizontal strap (for sport rigs). I'd like to EMPHASIZE that a properly adjusted harness is the best way to reduce this problem, especially for tandem passengers. See RWS FMI. As far as I know, a properly adjusted tandem harness will prevent a passenger from falling out. This has been demonstrated millions of times. I thought about this a few years ago and built a prototype harness/ container based on a climbing harness's lower design. If anyone has seen a climbing harness then they will know what I am talking about. Picture a normal split saddle design with webbing eminating from the bottom of the main container at the backpad (at the centerline) and then structurly secured to each leg strap, forming an upside down "v". If the new webbing "vee" is secured to the diagonal behind the backpad as well as to the leg straps then it will take the dynamic load of a premature opening. The down side of a "vee" strap is it would have to be adjustable requireing additional hardware. This creates comfort issues complexity of construction issues etc. In order to have it work correctly in all body positions it would have to stretch and retract along with the jumpers movements, otherwise it would have to set in its loosest position to allow for a sit. The resulting twin snag loops (that are structural) from the loosest position would create a whole mess of issues on their own. A non structural version would work also but not in a premature opening/ sit fly scenario. The simplist solution would be a return of the belly band that is routed behind the main lift webs instesd of in front them. Snugged up enough it would hold one in the harness head up or down long enough ride out the opening shock, but it would hurt like hell!!!! Food for thought. Mick.

There's one less lever in the system so by definition there is more force transferred to the teflon cable than with standard risers. It's not teflon coated cable it's Lolon coated cable. Unless it's a Jump Shack (red) cable. Mick.

Built many containers with a normal single needle straight sew. The only time I've ever needed a needle feed was during the back pad and container(s) intergration phase. This is due to the thickness encountered by sewing multiple layers already bound edges together. It can be done with a normal straight sew but it's a pain in the ass. Minimum number of machines to build a rig (correctly): 1) Straight sew. 2) 42 stitch bartacker. 3) 3/16" spaced needle feed twin. 4) 7 class (for harness work) Every other machine one would use for building harness/ containers is nice to have and make the job a whole lot easier, but these are the minimum requirements (although I have seen the bartacker left off the list, not recomended) Mick.

The manual says 'should', not 'must'. To quote Rudyard Kipling: "and hereby the ditty hangs. Those of you that know kiplings verse will understand the reference. Mick.

On sewn together products, the needle essentially perforates the material. A failure can rip out a large section - sort of like ripping off a paper towel off the roll or a page out of a spiral bound notebook. ----------------------------------------------------------- A properly adjusted/ maintained sewing machine with a sharp needle doesn't perforate the material it seperates and passes between the fiber bundles, undoubtedly it will take a fiber or two out on each stroke but the structural integerity of the material will be maintained and the "zipper" effect is extremly unlikley to occur. As materials age, environmental factors come in to play such as UV damage, rotting etc. A close examination of the edges of a ruptured seam on equipment in the feild for some time will reveal that the fiber bundles have succumed to degradation rather than catastrophic failure due to perforation and damage by the machine needle. Occasionally a catastrophic failure will occur due to an overload of the entire system and the weak point will enevitibly be where the the structure has been joined or in very close proximity. Mick.

Another pro is that with the 180 day cycle, the jumper pays twice a year instead of 3 times a year. Oh, wait a minute that is a con since the rigger will only get paid twice a year instead of 3 times a year! ----------------------------------------------------------- Any rigger who's in it for the money is in the wrong game, just look at how most full time riggers live :Hint, if your house has wheels your'e not rich. And as far as getting paid twice a year over three times a year, can you say price increase. Don't be a cheapskate. ----------------------------------------------------------- Come on isn't there a rigger in a country with a 180 day cycle who can tell us what he is seeing and what problems the longer cycle has created? I don't think injury/fatality rates are necessarily higher in those countries to indicate real problems, but can't someone tell us the facts instead of all this rigger speculation on how bad it is? ------------------------------------------------------------ As far as fatality/ injury rates go, that's not the issue with rating holders. The issue is one of increased liability due to the fact that the equipment is out there and can be legaly jumped (read abused) for a longer period of time. If your'e ok with the increased odds of somthing happening out of your control get your RATING and stop whining about the cost. When you pack your own rig it will be FREE! and when you pack someone elses rig you will be on your way to RICHES! Of course you will want to stash a portion of this newly found disposable income for any future litigation you may be involved in due to your increased exposure. Have fun with it. Mick Cottle. Master Rigger, AFF I, Former rig designer/ builder etc.

Doubtfull. Mick.

In a word, DRAG!!!! When binding thick material, inside or outside curves you MUST have drag on the tape, lots of drag. This is acomplished by pinching your RIGHT thumb and forefinger around the tape as it enters the tape folder. Without drag the tape will refuse to follow a contour and will want to travel in a straight line evidenced by the tape rolling under and the inside stitch line sewing off the tape. You will want to use your left hand to manipulate the work. Slow down when doing curves it allows for more control of the tape/ work. Drag on the tape will also resolve the tape pucker. The cheap "paraGear" folders are just fine, all it takes is practice, shit I built over 2000 rigs with them. You DON'T need an expensive folder to do quality work, you DO need LOTS of practice in order to be a good binder. It can take years and thousands of edges taped to make a highly skilled binder. When manufacturers get someone like that they will usualy go out of their way to keep them. Mick.

There are a lot of warm weather countries from which to draw information regarding this subject. Is your conclusion based on such information? Gotta agree on that one Rob. Mick. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I rigged in the Southern California desert for nine years (1992 to 2001). The first year I only worked on pilot emergency parachutes at Manley Butler's factory in California City. There I concluded that the maximum repack cycle on PEPs should be 2 years, but some customers were such slobs, that 100 days would be a safer repack cycle for them. Then I moved to the Perris, Elsinore and Hemet region working in a variety of lofts (Square One, Air Affair, Adventure Sports Loft and Riggiing Innovations). After repacking huge amounts of faded, frayed and filthy skydiving gear, I concluded that harsh California sun fades nylon rapidly, while the salts in desert soils pre-maturely wear out nylon fabric. I also noted that the more ambitious weekend jumpers made 350 jumps per year, far too long a period between inspections. In conclusion, I may be arrogant and opinionated, but my opinions are based on nine years experience rigging in the Southern California desert.

There wasn't a swooping disipline back then. a few people liked to "hookit in" but that was about it. Nothing formal. Mick.

It looked like it was in very good shape, just very old. Like me! Mick.

Is that an old SST with R3 tape wells I see, circa 1979? Mick.

In order to test a new design (one that has not been built under an existing currently aproved TSO) one must wear a certified (aproved) harness and reserve assembly (can be any certifed design) in conjunction with(underneath or outside)the article being tested. That's the legal requirment. Having done many many test jumps under a variety of designs and configurations here is a little advice to keep yourself alive. If you ever want to strap on somthing that has never been tested before DON'T. Go and work for a factory and learn how to do it properly. Learn the insides and outsides of the craft before you attempt it on your own, also more experience would be a plus. Just my .02 worth. Mick.

Why, in gods name would you want a Hobbit? There are much newer choices out there. Is it diapered? Mick.

Old engineering axiom "if it doesn't fit, get a bigger hammer!"

Don't hit it so hard, it takes a while to set them. Many softer blows as opposed to fewer hard ones. Once the grommet is at the point where it is about to split or fold, stop and remove the tool. Place the outer (finish) side on a flat tempered steel block. Use a body shop hammer from this point for the final set. A body shop hammer is made of very tough plastic and filled with lead shot. Using the tempered steel flat block as a base gently start to hammer the washer side until it sets. Do a few practice runs before you attack someones rig, as hammer force, positioning and technique will all affect the outcome. Tempered steel block can be found at any machine shop (they will probably give yo a free off cut)and body shop hammers can be found at most hardware stores. Mick.

Did I miss this in the skydiving media, or was it not reported as effectively as the initial reports? (I have no reason to doubt you; your take on the events is consistent with what little info I was able to find about this incident so long after the fact.) At any rate, it appears that I stand corrected, and hope you will accept my apologies. I do accept your apology and if you wish I will try to furnish you with a copy of the original investigation (I'll have to dig for it) and it's conclusions. I hold no malice toward anyone involved with these issues, as emotions ran high and tended to obscure the facts as they stand. We are all guilty of "going on a rant" when we feel strongly on a subject near and dear to us. I feel that it's important to set the record straight regardless of the outcome. Don't ever stop questioning what, in your gut does not feel or sound right. You have restored my faith in you. Rock on dude! Mick Cottle. Reflex (Catapult) designer/ builder.

I would have been more accurate if I had said the Catapault contributed to this incident, rather than saying that the incident was "due to the consequences of the Catapault." It was however, this particular incident that motivated me to finally listen to the experienced riggers around me, and have my secondary reserve pilot chute removed. Ok first and foremost the fatality occured because the lady in question never pulled the cutaway handle while trailing a bag locked main canopy, the resulting entanglement has happened on numerious occasions to many different rigs with a single reserve pilot chute. Failure to jettison the bag locked main prior to reserve deployment was the cause of the entanglement. An independent investigation confirmed what we (the factory) had deduced from the resulting evidence. The main bridle was looped around the main suspension lines at the deployment bag, thus effectivly locking the main canopy in the bag. We tried many different way to replicate this configuration, the only one that worked was a premature main container opening with the ROL pilot chute still stowed in it's pouch. At some point the main pilot chute was extracted from it's pouch either by the jumper or the wind whipped bridle. The resulting bag lock was not jettisoned prior to reserve deployment. The Catapult had nothing to do with entanglement. The rigger at cross keys had a long and vocal opposition to the Catapult and was only too eager to implicate it in this accident. Another rigger in California tried to implicate the Catapult in the "grommet hangup" fatality but could not and was observed by witnesses present to be visibly annoyed that he could not, he too was a vocal anti Catapult person. Some riggers out there have strong personal predjiduces and minimal engineering backgrounds but still like to be right all of the time, especially when a rival manufacturer (with much to gain) advocates the same posisition. Mick.

Wasn't it Vector 3, introduced in 1994? "Two great minds but a single thought"? no. I did see Bills design at the 93 symposium and thought it could be simplified and still work. Aparrently I succeeded. Mick.

Excalibur,at least I think that was a PD product. Mick.

The only documented Catapault "save" I remember involved a PC(x2)and freebag entangling with the just cutaway main. I could never understand how that secondary pilot chute was able to provide more drag than the main. Never heard that one, we did have three saves that I know of involving primary pilot chutes and their owners snagging them on various body/ equipment parts. There was at least one fatality due to the consequences of the Catapault. A jumper encountered a scenario (that had been predicted by many) that had not been planned for by the designers. Never happend. I want you to prove this statement or apologize and withdraw it. If you don't do either, your credibility is shot (at least with me) Mick Cottle.

Air tec sould remember the axiom; Once is an incident, twice is a co-incidence and three times is a trend, seems it is a little past three now. RIP Adrian. Mick.

I have one or two rides on a Pioneer KXX (that's 20' diameter kids), a remarkably soft landing I might add. I still have it, it was one of the drop test "tersh" rigs I have. It packs up about the same size as MR 150. This reserve "mysteriously" "sprouted" a full stow Phantom 22 diaper a few years ago, (after it's "tersh" days) must be due to maturety or something. Of course it's not street legal any more but it dosen't get used as a reserve anymore either. It's not the only round I've landed under, just the only one I've had to use "in anger" thanks to a malfunctioning Dragonfly (anyone remember that one?). Mick.

" We have met the future. Now that skydivers are exceeding parameters (when Cypres was invented) there is greater incentive to READ THE F---ING MANUAL! Hint: nobody was jumping 100 square foot canopies when Cypres was introduced in the early 1990s. Ah newbees. Got all the answers, don't they Rob? Mick.

I wore a frappe hat for thousands of jumps. It was always nice to take it off under canopy and feel the wind blowing through your hair. As a main side JM you could put your head right up against a students rig and body without brusing them and feel the exit as though your head wasn't wearing any covering at all, much like wearing gloves as opposed to not wearing them. It worked for me, had the same one for seventeen years until some bastard in Anapa (Russia) stole it. I use an Oxygen theese days. Mick.