parachutist

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Everything posted by parachutist

  1. parachutist
    As a follow-up: My local sewing machine guru was in the area yesterday, and he stopped by my shop. He spent about 15 minutes with my 199 to make it behave the way I'd hoped. Now it sews 8 layers of TY-8 smoothly. This picture shows the needle bar at its lowest point, with a little room to spare above the presser foot. Like you suggested, he asked for a 135x17 needle, inserted it into the needle bar, made some other adjustments, and it was that easy. [inline 199RB1A1_135x17.jpg]
  2. parachutist
    MEL, What model would you recommend for a zz machine that can handle thick materials well? This 199 sale reminds me of the low 6mm clearance on my 199. Chris
  3. parachutist
    It's common, but usually the person in pain is a TI with thousands of drogue pitches. Maybe those fat CRW pilot chutes in BOC pouches + stuffed containers required as much force as a drogue to toss Chris
  4. parachutist
    Those needles actually look affordable too. I'll have to try some out. For some projects I've gotten in the habit of doing 3 tacks, sit and wait, blow on the needle til it's only lukewarm again, then repeat the cycle. That's with machine speed turned down to 800. At higher speeds smoke may come up from the material
  5. parachutist
    How about those air cooling nozzles that blow air directly onto the needle? I've been looking at those in videos, but all I see is the end piece, where the air comes out. Do those require an air compressor? Chris
  6. parachutist
    I've been happy with the CSM550 model: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Industrial-Sewing-Machine-Servo-Motor-CSM550-NEW-3-4-HP-/111229877281?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item19e5d13c21#ht_3918wt_1105 It has a little dial for adjusting motor speed. Newbies learning how to sew patches love that feature Chris
  7. parachutist
    Building on the Pilgrim hats idea... here's a possible fix. The Witch hat works well on the packing mat, but hasn't gone on a jump yet: [inline 20140103_113800_resized.jpg] [inline 20140103_114341_resized.jpg] Chris
  8. parachutist
    MEL, Thanks! I may end up using that option. One customer who needs a solution just got your coated vectran X-fire2 lines installed. He's enjoying the orange lines... the original lines got worn fast (circa 300 jumps)
  9. parachutist
    ... and a lazy tandem instructor who didn't bother to straighten out the 3-rings when he dropped the rig off to said packer.
  10. parachutist
    Mark, Thanks for your input. It made me think more about exactly what I'm wanting. I think neither the hat nor the slock provide a full solution here. Slocks (or hats if the slider gets pulled down past the brims) would keep the slider down below the lines to preserve the lines, but it wouldn't prevent the slider from moving further down and interfering with the brake toggles/lines. Hats per their original intent would keep the slider above the brakes but would allow the slider to ride up and bugger-up the lines. So what about a hat design with two short slocks that only stick out toward the outside of the riser: One slock at the brim area, and one slock about 1" above it. Pull the slider down past the top one so it stays parked in place between the two. Chris
  11. parachutist
    Good place to look, but these grommets are nice & smooth. SS Rutgerson models
  12. parachutist
    So I have this recurring experience of low-time jumper who bought a canopy with HMA or Vectran lines. The owner will collapse the slider, but not pull it down below the toggles. The slider sits up at the soft link area and vibrates on the outside lines, wearing them away in 150 jumps or less. Here's an example. 23 jumps on this new canopy's lines: [inline 20131231_203937_resized.jpg] These newer jumpers usually don't want to bother pulling the slider down behind their heads. I was thinking what about a Slock option at the tops of the TY-17 risers, installed horizontally right where the webbing is sewn together, at the top of the joint (also right at the top of the dive loops usually). I considered using fabric bumpers similar to what's on Sigma mains, but I'd rather not push the slider up further. Has anyone tried this, or have any other ideas to serve the same purpose of protecting the lines and soft links from wear? Chris
  13. parachutist
    Oops... I thought you were looking for quotes to have embroidered on the side walls. Was gonna say "Never give up" "Put your best foot forward" "Die trying" Regarding the Curv though: I love mine. It fits great, has some new features, looks great, and just sticks to my form whichever way I move.
  14. parachutist
    That was entertaining. When trying to edit using lots of short jump-cuts like that I get a headache & start overthinking it. Was that clip too long, maybe too short? Let me re-watch that.. no I already knew what was coming so maybe that's affecting my perception of how long the scene's on the screen. *pulling hair out* AAAaaaargh!
  15. parachutist
    How to interpret this line from the top of page 4, in the section 5, about AADs? Not long ago I sent out compatibility questions to several container manufacturers asking about Mars M2 AADs. Some manufacturers indicated it wasn't their place to approve or disapprove of specific AADs in their containers. They leave it up to the end user and rigger to make such decisions. Are these manufacturers now required to make a decision? also, from page 15 of this AC 105-2E:
  16. parachutist
    Many of us have had similar thoughts at some point, worrying about $ that may be lost in a forest if you need to cut away your helmet some day. The deal is: You set up your helmet in a way that gives you a low chance of entanglement with yourself or others. ie: not a standard GoPro mount sticking up on a stalk. Put time into planning of your helmet: eliminate gaps and other snag-likely anomalies. Then during the skydive you behave in a way that reduces your chances of snagging cameras (in freefall being aware of your camera and the proximity of others; during deployment head pulled down, centered, away from your risers and lines). These two actions, Careful preparation and careful execution will greatly reduce the chance that you'll get into a tangled mess. Your chances of losing that $1100 will then be pretty darn low. If you do ever need that cutaway system you'll be glad you bought it, and the 1100 will seem not such a high price you paid to save your neck, IMO
  17. parachutist
    Maybe caused by packer dragging the rig while stowing the main lines. Friction on the reserve handle could expose a bit of the blue spectra?
  18. parachutist
    I like this idea. Gonna try it out locally.
  19. parachutist
    We have a few LCD screens up on a wall for showing spec photo/videos. In front of those screens we have a glass counter with DZ T-shirts, hats, shot glasses, etc to sell. Behind the counter is a staff member who sells the goods and shows the specs. He or she has a remote control used to start/stop videos on the screen. That person is also there to monitor the area, making sure customers aren't taking pics of the screens. Most all customers end up at this glass counter, because that's where Skydiving Accomplishment certificates are delivered, and questions are answered about scheduling more jumps. So it's worthwhile to have someone there selling stuff and showing videos. Chris
  20. parachutist
    I've found some hardware compatibility improvements and better memory management with Win8, however, neither of those really helps when using Vegas to edit, so no, I'd say you'll not see any speed upgrade with windows8 for video processing. Chris
  21. parachutist
    Hero 3 silver or 3+ silver are my preference. Blacks fail, silvers are solid in my experience. The 3 and 3+ both have fantastic mics compared to Hero 1 & 2. I'm biased on the glove choices because I manufacture them. That said, mine's still the only one providing GoPro glass lens covers to protect the camera lenses: http://funjump.com/ Chris
  22. parachutist
    Rapide links with cadcaded vectr. lines are used on the precision TR-375 reserves. It's nice for rigging.
  23. parachutist
    Here's the design and some explanations of thoughts that went into it: [inline 01.jpg] [inline 02.jpg] [inline 02b.jpg] [inline 03.jpg] [inline 04.jpg] [inline 05.jpg] Here at my DZ local instructors have about 2,500 jumps collectively on this design, with no snags reported as of yet. I honestly think one would need to try hard to snag something and make it stick Chris
  24. parachutist
    I saw your glove/housing at Chuting Star in Deland last week. Not bad, but I thought it might be a big snaggy at the glove/housing juncture. Chuck I'll post some pictures later & maybe you can point out the area you're indicating. I designed that joint to avoid snags, so I'd like to know what you're seeing. Chris
  25. parachutist
    [inline h3pspecs.jpg]