riggermick

rigging65 said that "you can jump whatever you want...as long as your intent upon exiting is to land the canopy you are deploying as your "main". If you want to jump a bedsheet (literally), and don't plan on landing it, legally you must have at least 2 other canopies. The law states you must have one parachute on your back that you don't plan on using except in the case of an unforeseen emergency, and that canopy must be TSO'd (US rules)." You can't land tissue paper? True, but not the point of his question. His question was "are mains are TSO'd", and "could he jump a parachute not made in the US" and the answer is, mains are not TSO'd and anyone can build one and jump it themselves. He should feel free to bring the main parachute to the US and jump it.

Tight enough so that it takes some effort to close it, not too much effort though. It's a rule of thumb thing. Mick.

Aprox 5 lb under "normal" operating conditions. Anything else is up to the conditions present at the time. Mick.

It used a pull out, not a throw out reserve deployment system. Mick.

No they don't. Nowhere does it apear in writing that a ripcord is "required" for any cerified equipment. SAE 8015 b 2.11 g,reads: Primary activation device (ripcord OR fonctional equivalent, including reserve static line, if used). Many years ago there was a rig called the Woomera from Austraila that used a pullout pilot chute reserve deployment mechanisim. Bounced quite a few people as I recall. I don't believe that it was TSO'd in the US, although if it went through the process required it could have dispite it's unusual reserve deployment system. Mick.

I propose to you that the D handle is better than a pillow. It is heavier and has less surface area than a pillow handle. Therefore in theory it should be more stable (not move around as much). A metal ripcord handle (on a cutaway system) will have a pendulum affect in FF (due to it's mass) as it will move at a lower frequancy than a soft handle (due to its lack of mass)This increases the amount of cable that is pulled out by every swing of said mass. The more it whips around the more the cable is extracted, I've seen it happen. Soft handles by contrast tend to move around at a much higher frequancy and end up fluttering at the end of the housings and not moving the cables along due to there being no weight (pendulum). That being said, both systems have their pro's and con's. While a metal handle is easier to grab it is also easier to snag. A soft handle can fold under the MLW webbing and become trapped there making it impossible to locate, a metal handle by contrast is all but impossible to turn under (try this on the ground (while wearing your rig)with both your handles, you'll see what I mean. I'm not taking a particular side on this issue as I believe my comments above illustrate, but I prefer the soft handle. It's just a personal preference. Mick.

Have a rigger do it. I've lost friends a couple of times over the years due to a toggle coming off after a swoop and flare. If you are serious about doing your own rigging become a rigger it's very rewarding. Mick.

All true. I had i5 machines That should read 15 not i5. Mick.

All true. I had i5 machines of various types: twins, bartacks, straight sew and class 7,and each and every one of them had a different personality. Another way to improve the clutch smoothness is to adjust the wing nut on the activation arm, it sets the amount of tension required to engaage the clutch. Still another way to slow a machine down is to install a rheostat control switch on the motors electrical feed, this will allow you to adjust the speed of the motor with the turn of a knob, in much the same way as volume knob on a radio works. Mick.

As far as I know nylon wasn't "discovered" until late during or after WW2 ended. All branches of the services were still using silk during that period. BTW there's noth.ing wrong with using recycled material as long as it meets it's specs. Mick

It kind of makes me uncomfortable. I feel awkward doing it because I'm never sure exactly what I should be doing. Old school I guess. Mick.

I Don't know about Sammy but Bungee was killed in a plane crash a few years ago returning from Perris after 20 way practice. I think that I was the last person to talk to him face to face as he did his pre flight. Very sad. Mick.

That's why "RUSH" work always costs extra. I recall a sign in the rigging loft, when I first started jumping in the late 70's: Reserve repacks: $15 If you watch: $25 Reminds me of the old sign we had on the wall @ the Perris loft. Rush job policy: You want it bad? You get bad. The worse you want it, the worse you get it. Mick.

Hmmm...Do you have any grey area in that peeve? e.g. folks who have a fair amount of packing experience and equipment knowledge but don't know how to sew? Blues, Dave Hi Dave, I do, and will (from my perspective) make concessions on a case by case basis. Example, People like JP or Frank @ SQ1 who are not rated but, due to the nature of their professions have an enormous data base about the subject @ hand. Also knowing these guys as I do, I know that they are fully aware of where their technical limitations end. The issue I have is with the lesser experienced (time in sport, ratings,exposure to a variety of unusual things(time in sport again)) people giving advise as though it were gospel. Most experienced jumpers are pretty good about limiting what they tell newer people but there are exceptions to this rule. I have seen it too many times when a relativly new jumper trying to make an impression on someone less experienced starts pontificating about subjects that they clearly don't fully understand. I can be very dangerous to the newer jumper. The motivations behind this behaviour are usually the same, either an ego boost or a way to score with the new student ( nearly always female). I have to admit over two and a half decades in this sport it is nearly (close to 100%) always males who exibit this type of behaviour. Like I said this is only MY perception of how things are. I don't mean to cram this down anyones throat. Mick.

I believe he does, like me every now and then. Mick.

Back in construction last I heard. Mick.

Non riggers who try to pass themselves off as technichly proficent in the art and have never packed a reserve let alone have the skill to sew. If you are going to give advise to someone, get the rating to prove that you can really do it. The same thing bugs me about non rated instructors giving students advice on equipment choice/ instructional technique etc. Once again if you want to give advice to people, get the rating. Mick.

QuoteIts common on many other types of gear, just not modern civilian gear anymore. Think of two tetris L shaped pieces and how the fit together perfectly when one is upside down. Same thing here. Then on the short-legged tip of the L a machine screw goes through it and screws into the other L. Once a tandem has been setup with that and has the screws tightened down properly...after the first repack cycle it takes a lot of grunting and cursing to pull the brackets apart. They stick together well. The L-bars are used instead of a rapid link on the line attatchment on the reserve. Why you ask? The tandem reserves in RWS gear have no line cascades, so there's a shitload of lines coming to the attatchement point. A rapid link won't work, there's too many lines and it will crossload the rapid link. Thus the L-bracket. The L-bracket isn't something that is normally dealt with doing tandems, you only see it on reserve rides and during repacks, a condition that would cause it to come undone is simply a rigging error. If the rigger doesn't insert the machine screws and tighten them to the correct torque setting, then its possible for them to come apart. However, like I said, if you set the L-bracket up correctly the first time, by the time the first repack cycle comes around, they are a BITCH to get apart, even with the machine screws removed. The last set we took apart at my DZ it took myself and another serious weight lifter a LOT of grunting and cursing pulling on opposite ends using suspension line with handles for leverage and it took us nearly 10 minutes of doing this on and off to pull the damned things apart. We were taking them apart to change a reserve to a new tandem container. Easy way to seperate L bar links, Back both screws out 50%, hang on to one side of the link firmly and tap it with a rubber or plastic kinetic type mallet. Sometimes it takes a few whacks but it has never not worked for me. Mick.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Funny, I dont see a lot of rocks being thrown around!! We ALL make mistakes from time to time, I personally missed an untightend rapide on my former business partners main after it was sent back from the factory for cell replacement. Was it the factory's fault for not tightening it? sure! But it was also MY fault for trusting that all the work was 100%. He landed safely and we fitted a new link but that incident reminded me that as a rigger, trust no one but your self and double check your self because even you are not immune to oversight. I feel for you buddy, you are doing the right thing, that takes some balls. I'm proud of you. Mick.

Mick, That is close. It was 1980 or 1981. And yes that is Bill Deli on the left but yours truly on the right, not Dave. It was a practice dive for the 42 way night dive that night. Sparky I stand corrected, thank you. But still, RIP to Dave Wildes, very nice guy, and Terry Dean also a nice guy, Tragic, a day that hurt a lot. Mick.

Kate is still around Perris, her and Tony split up. I think she is still part owner of Square One. It will be jumping Kate and Tony's big way camp in May followed by some 100 ways they are putting on. Jerry Swovelin and Barb are still around, alone with brother Pat. Jerry is the one who puts on the Old Farts every 2 years. How long ago do you think this picture was taken, and who is that guy? Sparky 1979 (best guess), Bill Delli, and maybe Dave Wildes (RIP) on the right. Mick.

Well done, welcome to the club. Mick.

THREE

Super, so now the answer is to put an asymetrical WEIGHT in the P/C? Errr, yeah. Let's make the P/C heavier...... On one particular drop of the Reflex, the spring and hard cap assy of the reserve pilot chute (non catapult equiped) busted through the mesh/ fabric section of the primary reserve pilot chute @ 60 knts( it was a re-used pilot chute/ free bag assy from the HEAVY drops and had some visable damage + many other drops/ tests on it) deployed the reserve whithin the perscribed parameters without any fabric drag whatsoever. It was an interesting development during the course of TSO testing. How about that physics stuff anyway ??????? Who knew? Mick. Throwouts work fine, but so do pullouts.

In addition to being almost twice as strong as seal thread, e thread is a mono filament nylon fiber thread, meaning that it streeeeeeeetchs quite alot. Seal thread by contrast is made from cotton which doesn't have much (if any) elasticity. So yeah it looks like he was tugging on it for a while. Mick.