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Grommet inspections were brought to the forefront of the rigging industry at the end of 1999 due to a main/reserve entanglement fatality. The cause of the entanglement and subsequent fatality was caused by the inability to fully cutaway the main canopy because one of the suspension lines was caught under a grommet in the main container. Service bulletins were issued in 2000 by Fliteline (Reflex), Sun Path (Javelin) and Relative Workshop (Vector), among others. It was immediately apparent that as Spectra and similar-sized line has replaced the larger Dacron line as a main canopy standard, “grommet seating” in containers was that much more important. Atlanta Skydiving Center jumper Jack Barnes survived a main canopy line catch on a Javelin container in 1999 (Chuting Star save #7) because the reserve cleared the trailing main. While a line catch on a main container can be deadly, the industry was lucky to catch the problem before it happened on a reserve container. Still, just because the service bulletins are out there and manufacturers have heightened its quality control, it is up to the individual rigger to thoroughly inspect the grommets of the main and reserve containers at each reserve repack. We still get Reflex containers in that have not had the service bulletin completed even though the original bulletin was issued four years ago. But it’s not just sport skydiving containers that we need to be concerned with as evidenced last week at Chuting Star Rigging Loft. A National seat container came in for a repack and the closing loop was nearly frayed completely through at both pack tray grommets. The grommets had not been set/rolled completely and were sharp at the rolled edge. Both grommets were reset, inspected and a new closing loop was constructed. In addition to lines catching under grommets, make sure the grommet rolled edges are smooth to prevent dangerous wear and a broken closing loop.

Of the four Vigil units we received just before Christmas, we’ve already sold two. Feedback from those customers has been positive. One jumper took it home to play with the menu before having it installed in his new Mirage. He said it was “extremely easy” to reverse the view as well as the Pro, Student or Tandem settings. A fellow rigger had a concern with the easily-accessible Pro, Student and Tandem settings and the possibility of an experienced jumper skydiving with a tandem setting (2000 feet activation if above 78 mph instead of a 800 feet activation if above 78 mph). The good news is that when the Vigil has completed its startup process, the operating mode is displayed. So, if an experienced jumper somehow set his Vigil to “Tandem” he would automatically know because the Vigil will continually display “Tandem” at the end of startup similar to the way Cypres displays “0.” An experienced jumper knows his Vigil is ready to jump when the display reads “Pro.” Some of the less-published features include a battery that is encased in epoxy making it completely water resistant. The battery lifespan is 4 years or if the “Bat Low” or “Bat Rpl” message appears. The unit also has bronze filters that protects the unit from dust and “a certain amount of resistance to water,” according to the Vigil manual. The jump and freefall recording part of the unit can be accessed through the display menu. The unit stores the last 16 minutes of freefall information, which can be downloaded to a computer through an infrared communications port. I’m still working on getting information on the software for downloading the jump information and will give a review as soon as we get our hands on it. A few other items of note include the display is slightly larger than the Cypres display, but does fit in the same size pockets. Also, the power pack portion of the unit is noticeably heavier than the Cypres II. Overall, I’m impressed with the Vigil.