A couple of newbie-weird questions!

[pertierr 0]

So, i'm a total newbie and i've searched the forums but not found answers to these questions so here goes:

1.)Are there any advantages to the military rigs(MC4,MC5)? I would think that given the circumstances they are designed to work under, they would be more reliable? Do sport jumpers ever use these at all?

2.)I've read through all the accident reports I could find, trying to learn much as I can..however, i rarely see equipment listed unless the person writing the report decides to note it. I would think that this should be a must for each report, in order to spot possible problems with specific gear? Are there even reliability/accident statistics for specific containers/canopies, etc? Or does it depend so much on how you pack/take care of it that it would be useless?

I know these might be strange questions, but as an engineer the gear fascinates me, the fact that it needs to be so reliable and there is so little room for error...

Cheers,
Juan

[3ringheathen 0]

Perfectly reasonable questions.

Here's my take on them:

1) Military gear is designed with different priorities in mind than sport/student gear.
Whether it's getting the soldier to the ground as fast as possible while still survivable (think hard landing), or jumping with tons of extra gear such as weapons, ammunition, rations, etc, military gear is custom tailored to different goals than sport gear.

In the early days of skydiving, everyone jumped surplus military gear, but it's been a few decades since the flow was in that direction. Nowadays, advances in sport skydiving equipment tend to make their way into military gear, not the other way around.

2) In the decade I've been jumping, very few of the accidents were attributable to specific gear designs. Most were jumper error.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...I believe the type of gear involved in fatalities is included in formal reports sent to USPA and similar organizations. If the gear appears to be a factor, it is published, other wise, it's not mentioned.

-Josh

If you have time to panic, you have time to do something more productive. -Me*
*Ron has accused me of plagiarizing this quote. He attributes it to Douglas Adams.

[brits17 0]

I gather that the military parachutes commonly used (MC 1-1 and T-10) are compatible with their purpose. With a hundred canopies in the sky, static lined from 800 feet, with 100 lb gear, its much more practical versus a ram-air parachute.

Listing equipment is essential in certain situations. Such as someone turning too low on a canopy they are not familiar with, or beyond their level of competent flying. I don't know exact statistics (in fact they might be in Parachutist) but most incidents are jumper induced, not failing gear. Heck every manufacturer claims they have the best container/canopy and give their reasons. You have to decide which is best suitable for you. Gear maintenance is important to your jumping career. Other than your setup being inspected and repacked every 120 days, you should have your own checklist as well. Here is a good start.

_______________________
aerialkinetics.com

[Chrisky 0]

The military gear is designed to cater the needs of a military drop. This usually includes tons of gear.
Usually the canopies used also have very different characteristics, like a better glide and slow flight behaviour due to accuracy for insertion in small DZs.

Unless there was a gear issue that led to an accident, there is no reason to state which gear was used. Pretty much all gear is tested and certified according to the TSO-23 c/d giving very detailed specifics what the gear must be able to take in terms of deployment speeds/suspended wheights.
Many or most components well exceed these specifications today. Nylon, Vectran, Cordura etc. are great stuff!

Usually every new rig will be checked twice before it's being jumped: one final very thorough check by the manufacturer himself, and then again by the rigger who puts it all together (if it's not assembled at the manufacturer). Sometimes issues arise, which are then addressed by mandatory safety bulletins. Depending on the danger of the issue, it sometimes is mandatory to modify the rig before the next jump (thankfully a pretty rare occasion nowadays though).

HTH.

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

[riggerrob 643]

MC4 and MC5 have an advantage when they are jumped from high alitudes (i.e. above 20,000') with loads far heavier (rucksack, rifle and snowshoes) than your average skydiver can carry out the small door of civilian jump planes.
Their 370 square foot mains are double or triple the size of popular civilian canopies.
MC4 containers are far too big and bulky to be easy to control on un-loaded freefalls. Those bulky rigs tend to fly the skydiver around the sky.

For comparison, Pacific Skydivers has one big-boy student rig containing a 340 square foot Para-Flite canopy. It is only worn by students who weigh more than 220 pounds.

370 square foot canopies would only bore skydivers, but not to worry, they would soon invent ways to kill themselves, even under canopies that docile. BWAHAHA! (evil laugh)

In answer to your second question: most skydiving accidents are caused by jumper error.

When equipment problems arise, the parachute industry is quick to issue service bulletins telling riggers how to correct problems. The FAA quit issuing parachute Airworthiness Directives several years ago as they have bigger (Al Queda) fish to fry.