gowlerk

Riggers often buy and sell used gear. It probably is not his personal rig. You can't verify jump numbers. All you can do is have it inspected for it's condition. Buying used gear is a nightmare for someone like you. Because you don't really have a clue and must trust others. Develop a relationship with a rigger that people you trust recommend. There is no way for you to develop the knowledge you need before you buy. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I can't believe the shit storm that parts of this thread have become. Some people just can't get over the fact that skydiving is an adult activity and that adults who understand the sport are entitled to decide for themselves the amount of risk they want to assume. I have no canopy suggestions for you. I've been flying the same Stiletto 170 myself for nearly 20 years. I do want to say welcome back, be careful and enjoy. Thank God these people who would like nanny state regulation don't rule. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ravens do have similar characteristics to BASE canopies. That's why they are crappy for skydiving. Most of them are reserves but the older ones have attachment points to use as mains. The Raven 1 is the largest one that will fit your container. For your BASE jumps you probably use a much larger canopy. So unless you get a huge container You won't be able to simulate your BASE canopy with your skydive canopy. My only BASE jump was 20 years ago and I used my Cruiselite which was my main at the time. 220 sq ft 7 cell. You could look for one of those, but it won't fit in your Vector, and they are all bagged out by now anyway. If you really used want a 7 cell at a reasonable price that still lands reasonably well you might consider a Triathlon. They are a compromise canopy that is supposed to be good for everything so they end up being not particularly good at anything. Of course my other suggestion is that you give up the dark side and join us in the relative safety of higher altitude jumping. But then you'd probably become a swooper and that's just as risky! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

No one can tell you if this rig is good to go by looking at that pic. I do see possible wear on the legstrap, but I can't tell by just the pic. The fraying on the main flap looks like a poorly sewn repair of the stiffener or velcro. The wear on the right legpad is just on the ROL spandex pocket where the pilot chute used to go before it was fitted with a BOC pouch. FWIW I do not see any problem that says "do not buy", but that is not worth much at all. Unless it is dirt cheap insist on the right to have your rigger or an escrow service inspect it. If you can get good references for the seller and use paypal and he agrees to a purchase inspection then it is reasonable to agree that you pay shipping pending inspection. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I didn't say to tack it. I said "do not sew the tab" What you can do is to apply some tacking to the riser to keep it closed and the tab trapped. It is not normally required, but if you have made the mistake of allowing the Slink to take a set that keeps the tab outside this is one way of helping it to take a different set. Only Reserve Slinks are approved under any TSO, not main ones. And yes, if it is not coming out there is no problem. However that's not what he is asking about. He is asking about what to do about some that are. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I gotta agree with this as well. Oh well.... Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Another silly argument. If you have made the decision that you are going to lower the slider and put it behind your head you need to do it before you release the brakes. You also need to assess the situation and decide if stowing the slider is appropriate on this particular canopy ride. I usually do it. But I leave flying slider up as an option. If I release the brakes for any reason lowering the slider is no longer worth the trouble or risk. Just because one Bozo never does this doesn't mean another Bozo is wrong. G. Tirebiter Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You can have a line snag the tab if it gets outside. The slink will take a set after a few jumps. You need to "train" it to take a set that keeps it inside. If it develops a set that is wrong you may need to push it back in and then use super tack to close the webbing and trap it there until it takes a new set. Do not sew the tab. Ask your rigger if need be. Every package of PD main Slinks comes with a set of hats. You can probably ask your rigger for some of those as well. They usually have some spares because a lot of people don't use them. But you need to remove and reinstall the Slinks to install the hats. Go here, near the top you will find Slink instructions. And lots of other cool stuff to read. http://www.performancedesigns.com/support.asp?filter=sport Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

" Find qualified instructors" That's where. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Chris, part of the real point I'm trying to make is that skydiving is really just a cool recreational activity. There are really only two things that matter. The first is of course that you survive the jump. The second is that you enjoy your jumps. How fast you learn and how high your skill set gets is completely tertiary to these things. It's only skydiving, it matters naught in the big scheme of things. But I like it. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm willing to go on record as being with Chuck on this. It's kind of sad to watch a true pioneer of the sport slowly turn himself into crotchety old man. Even if he is correct, his approach is wrong. Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The endless debate about which DZ uses the best progression method is quite comical. Pretty much everyone thinks that the method they are most familiar with is the best. And they are mostly all correct. That fact is that every DZ chooses the method that makes the most efficient use of A) the available aircraft and B) the available instructors. Only after that decision is made do they develop a rational for why their way is the "best". The best way to learn skydiving is to skydive. Find qualified instructors and then jump as much as you can. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

A quick incomplete history, bearing in mind that I am not Dan Poynter, and although I'm an old guy, I only started jumping in '92. When sliders were invented, ram air canopies became much more practical. Early sliders used various rings in the corners and many different configurations. Enough about that. For many years the combination of #8 brass grommets, risers made of type 7 webbing, and #5 rapide links where the norm. The grommets had a nasty habit of slamming into the links and becoming damaged, which would lead to line damage from rough edges. So slider bumpers were added to protect the grommets. Then, at roughly the same time things started evolving. Canopy makers introduced stainless steel grommets which are very hard to damage and create sharp edges. As well light spectra lines started to replace much thicker and less easily damaged Dacron lines. And canopies went faster. People wanted less drag and smaller type 17 risers along with skinny lines helped with this. Then with smaller size 3 and 3.5 links and thin risers you could pull the slider past all your controls and tuck it away behind your head. (Carefully) This stopped the annoying noise and parasitic drag of the ZP slider flapping in the breezed caused be the speed of the new rocket ship canopies. Then came popular new soft links. No more grommet damage. And now people who did not want to deal with stowing the slider had the problem of having the slider come down and interfering with the toggles. This problem is solved with slink hats, which are essentially slider bumpers all over again, but for a different purpose. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Probably because it works well and is cost effective for tooling. Canopy makers intend for the slider to stay at the links like most people want. Those of us who pull it down are not following the recommended procedure. If they used larger ones they would come down past the links when it is not wanted. Making brake toggles fly off and inducing other problems that I haven't thought of yet. Even if you do want to pull it down, you will want to be able to decide when. You don't want the quickly descending slider to continue past the links until you are ready for it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

They don't. At least not commonly on modern canopies. I'm sure there are exceptions for RDS systems and such, but almost all sliders come with size #8 grommets. The newer stainless ones have a slightly smaller inside diameter, but they are basically the same as the brass ones for size. Different types of risers can be easier or more difficult to get past grommets. Some are not possible. A lot of people don't want their slider to ever go below the links. Which is the safest way to go. When you pull your slider down you are creating possibilities for several different problems. More than I am aware of probably. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm not sure why you would do that. Except possibly if you want to get 7 cell practice in preparation for learning BASE. A Raven 1 (181 sq ft) would likely fit. It would fit better if you had one with spectra lines, but they are well known for hard openings so if you are planning to take it to terminal velocity you may be better off with a Dacron lined one. Also be aware that if you load a Raven at more than about 1:1.2 max you will suffer from ankle stinging landings. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I sold it this afternoon. Gone, never to be seen again I hope. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

New jumpers get to be emotional about their home DZ. A DZ is partly a familiar family where you develop strong feelings for the people involved. But at the end of the day they are all businesses as well. If another DZ can meet your needs better, go there. You will not lose your home, you will find a second one. And it doesn't sound at all silly. Those kind of feelings are common and normal. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You are a wise person. That reserve will soon be listed in the classifieds for cheap. I have a PD 176 I can use instead. After fighting with it for 4 hours I never want to see one of these again. I got it in the bag on the second try, but now it needs to go into a Wings W13 and I can't get the bulk right because it holds so much air. It probably would work a lot better in a container that is more forgiving. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Great. Now all I need is to find a correct way of neatly packing a partly ZP canopy. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Hi Rob, Herringbone weave double bar tacked attachment tape. I think that's what the b means. I checked the SB right away. I remember that from your class. I hope to sell it to a girl that weighs 140lbs. I was thinking I may go as high as 1:1.1 loading depending on the victim, I mean customer. It's a 181. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I bought a used rig with a Raven -mzb. It has been a closet queen. Packed only once, in 2001 when it was new. I suppose that a ZP topskin reserve made sense to someone at the time, but I can't see why. It certainly needed a repack. The coated fabric was pretty much stuck together after 12 years. I'm tempted to fashion an attachment point to it and use it as a main. But I'm going to just repack it and sell the rig. Anyone got any helpful packing tips for me? Where is Riggerrob when I need him? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

If you are seriously considering matching up a 190 main with a 143 reserve you need to do more research into what is considered safe. And yes, price is important, I agree with that. But this is a road too far. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

What do you know? A customer of mine just handed me a Mirage M6 and a Pulse 210 to go with it! I've never packed a Pulse before. It's got an Optimum 193 as well. Both these canopies are at the "soft" end for the container. He did his research all by himself and chose this combination for comfort and safety. It will be easy for him to pack...and me too. Very smart man, engineer type. I think I'm going to buy him a beer. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I think you should make up your mind about whether money or fashion is your first priority. It's obvious that safety is third. Personally I'd advise you to opt for the purple rig. I've been hanging out here for a while and Wendy is never wrong. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.