riggersam

IMHO, I think its reasonable to put him at the bottom. I think the situation is perhaps comparable to Jurgen's death in that he had no intention of exiting at that moment. Mark

I have printed copies of the TSA rules regarding parachutes in my bag on top of each of my rigs: http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1147.xml One of the screening supervisors that read it one day commented that it was a really good idea.. Mark Edit: I just realized someone already posted the PDF version in this thread. I'll leave the link since it is to the official TSA page.

I have used Specialty Risk on a couple trips outside the U.S. myself. For the peace of mind, I think their rates are pretty reasonable. Mark

That is an awesome flight... I had to pull out my GPS program for that one. Unfortunately, my software doesn't have the road he landed on, but I figure he made it about 1/3 the way from highway near the landing area to the next road (seen next to the lake as the camera pulls back). That puts the horizontal distance around 1.3 miles. WOW! I'm very impressed. Mark

>All their gear, including a helmet-cam video tape of the approach and jump, was seized as evidence. >On the plus side, I've heard a rumor that they'll get the camera and video back (once copies have been made for the evidence locker). ---------------- Interesting... After getting busted in 1995 at "the large lake", my gear (two rigs) was returned after 5 years, but they refused to return the video tape.

Thanks for hospitality! I had a good time on my visit. As you know, the jump didn't go off that night, but we made it back out last night and got the job done. Unfortunately, the jump was the only thing that went off without a hitch. I'm sure you'll hear all the details. C-ya in October! Mark

Condolences to family and friends... Mark

I have PCA'd several people and have used the latter method on each (Hookitt, being the most recent). Each have had very positive remarks on their recall of the jump. I certainly had the same on Hookitt's PCA of myself (I believe he used the same method as I on him). The feeling of a 9' bridle "freefall" can only be exceeded by a non-PCA. My lowest PCA is now 210'...

I don't know this guy, but I agree that it is interesting that we have yet to see one reply from him in the several days that the thread has been on this forum. NCJumpJunkie, After reading these replies, what do YOU plan to do?

Ah.. Well, that's what I get. It says it was UPDATED on August 7th. Now, I wonder what changed.... Mark

What to ask before jumping out of a plane at 13,000ft. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4980771/ I didn't see it posted yet... Mark

I shared this thought with someone a few months back and I guess now isn't a bad time to bring it up. Keep in mind that I haven't thought this through or researched it more than what I'm putting down here: You buy enough land to support the use of a 2000' tower somewhere in the middle of nowhere and get FAA approval for a 2000' tower in that location. Rather than try to throw a LOT of money at a 2000' tower up front, you just purchase and erect the first 500' of a tower that is engineered to go to 2000'. Install an elevator and a "donut" at 500' and you're in operation. Like Tom suggested, lease some tower space to some "jumper-friendly" communication equipment. Since you're not going fly too far from a 500' tower, you don't need ALL that land initially, so you lease part of it out for crops or something on an annual renewal basis. I don't know what you'd charge for lifts to 500', but we're starting slow here.. As revenue begins being generated, you purchase and erect an additional 500', add a "donut" at the 1000' level and extend the elevator up to that height. Consider cutting back how much land you lease out the following year. Interest from communication companies is likely to increase as the tower gets higher, if the location is right.. Continue "growing" the tower to 2000' as revenue allows. It would take several years and would surely cost more than a 2000' tower would cost up-front, but you're splitting the cost up over many years. And, if at some time you decide that you can't get enough revenue to grow above a certain level, you stay where you're or sell it as-is. A tower engineered, surveyed and FAA-approved to go to 2000' might be really appealing to some TV and radio stations - much more so than the smaller towers being discussed in this thread.. I know towers exist with "high-speed" elevators that do about 200' per minute and some elevators have dual cars - one on top of the other. That can significantly affect the number of people you can get up and off the thing. I've never seen one, but I don't see why you couldn't have the tower engineered for more than 1 elevator. Just some thoughts/dreams ... Mark

Do they look like the things on the left side of my avatar? Generally, they are pretty high-power... Edit: Here's some reference material: http://www.eriinc.com/products/rbs/0103000A.pdf Mark

When I did break cord tensile strength tests, I rigged the loop material up above my head with some webbing (hung it from my garage door rail anchor) and stood on the floor scale. As I pulled myself up using the break cord and webbing, I noted how much of my weight was REMOVED from the floor scale. That told me how much went to the breakcord. It was accurate enough... This worked because I weigh more than the breakcord was expected to hold... Mark

MIL-T-5661 Type I Plain Weave cord is designed to have a breaking strength of 80 lbs (minimum). That breaking strength is measured with one piece of material pulled in a straight line. Breaking strength will be reduced by any bends or knots used. The knots you have in Test 1 and 2 use a "loop" of the material, that is, two pieces. In theory, that would take the breaking strength to 160 lbs. As you found in your tests, the material's strength is reduced (and is weakest) at the knot, so that is where it broke (your test2_break.jpg). A 97lb breaking strength indicates the knot reduced the strength by 63 lbs or about 39%. That's par... Poynter's Manual, Vol 1, Section 8.6 indicates a 40% reduction can be expected with a bowline knot. I'd go with Method 1 as well - It keeps the whole sling from sliding around. And as you mentioned, I'd avoid method 3 like the plague... Mark

I second that.

If you're going to go through the trouble of opening up the pack job, why not just look to see if the slider is up or not? If you're one to just pull the slider down, it should be pretty obvious. Either way, you should be able to feel for slider grommets about as easily as you would check brake settings.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/160889-6344-093.html I hope I'm still moving that well when I'm 96...

Yeah.. I finally got through to the confirmation page. Woohoo!

I'm getting the same thing and I was on the last step! Now I'm getting

Yeah, I don't know which is more fun... Clicking here or on your site. My coworker thought I was "like, tap dancing or something..."

The site says that registration starts at 14:00 EST (not EDT). It's only 15 minutes past 13:00 EST right now... The site is coming up for me, although a bit slowly. Everyone is just sitting there hitting aren't they...

What is the elevation of the exit point? For mid-year, it looks as if it might be a bit chilly there.

This is very sad news. My condolences to family and friends. I think this is the sixth in the valley and the third from this exit point - one each of the past three years. Be careful out there. Mark

I installed these on my canopy before my trip to the potato bridge and the BLM cliffs. (I just threw my steering line on the scanner for a quick photo) Mark