Thursday, October 28th 2002
Mirage G4 Options/HOP 330 Tandem Canopy

Mirage Systems released its G4 container system on July 1. Earlier this year we had a sneak preview of the rig when it was test jumped by Team Method and Skydivegear.com at Atlanta Skydiving Center. The freefly team and gear company raved about the comfort of the new Mirage container. Last week, Chuting Star Rigging Loft assembled the first G4 ordered through Skydivegear.com. Sandy Dunn, a regular jumper at ASC for the past few years, ordered a purple and silver G4 MXS with all options. We assembled a PD 113 reserve, Cypres and PD Sabre 120 main into her new G4. For the jumper, the most noticeable difference between the G3 and G4 is the backpad and elastic lumbar support. The backpad has elastic cut-ins with padding around the shoulder blade area and an adjustable elastic lumbar support system. Both features add to the comfort of the rig, but I have concerns about the wear and tear of each. While the lumbar support is field replaceable, the elastic-covered shoulder blade area is sewn into the backpad and may be susceptible to wear during packing. We’ll find out how durable the area is over the next year. Sandy also has the “Fancy Pants” option, which is another version of a leg strap connector for freeflying. Again the system looks great, but wear and tear may be an issue with “Fancy Pants.” For the rigger, Mirage has constructed the number 3 flap deeper into the container fixing the occasional problem found in G3 containers of a gap between the bottom and side reserve flaps. Mirage has gone to a molar bag for the G4, which seems to make the reserve container closing procedure a bit easier. And Mirage has changed its reserve pin cover flap to completely cover the top of the reserve, while shortening the actual pin cover. While the comfort enhancements are great, I would stick to the G3 for unknown wear issues and for the lower price as the bridle/pin protection for freeflying remains the same.

A parachute manufacturer in the Czech Republic is beginning to make itself known in the United States with the release of its HOP tandem main. The 330 square foot elliptical tandem canopy developed by JoJo Wing was first promoted and tested in Australia at Sunshine Coast Skydivers. According to Sunshine Coast, tandem masters have made more than 15,000 jumps on the HOP tandem mains over the last two years. Earlier this year, Atlanta Skydiving Center received a demo HOP tandem main and has since ordered and assembled 5 more. From the first jump, I fell in love with the HOP. Just to give you a bit of perspective, I have made more than 1,000 jumps on SET 400 mains, about 300 jumps on Icarus/Precision 365 mains, 50 jumps on HOP 330 mains and a few jumps on PD tandem mains. While PD is not getting a fair shake in my evaluation, the HOP reins supreme. From deployment, you know you have a new kind of canopy. The HOP has an extremely staged and slow opening. The opening snivel, with the slider at the top, seems very controlled compared to the “searching for air snivel” of the Icarus/Precision mains. As the slider works its way down, the canopy seems to open to its full shape in a defined cell-by-cell pace. This is unlike the SET 400 that has an almost never-ending snivel followed by a fast slider drop and full canopy inflation sequence. Once fully open, the light toggle pressure is amazing, even with all control lines attached to one toggle, as on the Strong system. If the slider starts making a lot of noise, which has only happened once in my 50 jumps, it can be collapsed with two drawstrings. Flying the canopy does take some getting used to as it feels like flying a Stiletto with just toggles. The canopy flies well in deep brakes and the landing flare is powerful. For more information, visit http://www.scskydivers.com/HopDoc.html or www.jojowing.cz.

Mike on 10.28.02 @ 03:56 PM EST

Thursday, October 21st 2002
Practicing Emergency Procedures at Repack/Cirrus Save

Actually pulling your cutaway and reserve handles on the ground just before a reserve inspection and repack is a great idea and highly encouraged by Chuting Star Rigging Loft. A jumper should put the rig on, snugging down the leg and chest straps as if they were about to jump. You can then go through a malfunction scenario in your mind as you throw out your main, followed by an arch, cutaway and reserve deployment. I have seen jumpers who struggled with a cutaway on the ground as they forgot the need to peel the Velcro first. I have also witnessed jumpers who tried to push upwards on the handles (increasing the pull force) instead of pulling downwards. Recent comments and postings on the newsgroup rec.skydiving encouraged jumpers to pop their reserve when leaving a rig for a repack to ensure the rigger actually repacks the reserve and doesn’t just sign the packing data card. If that makes you feel better, that’s fine, but most riggers do inspect and repack every reserve. If you have doubts, then maybe you should find a rigger you trust a little more. Most riggers will let you watch, which is also an option for those that doubt a rigger is actually inspecting and repacking a reserve. But please don’t drag your open main up to the loft to cutaway, pop your reserve and leave the whole tangled mess for your rigger to sort through. Let your rigger inspect the closed container before you practice. An inspection/repack at the 120-day required FAA cycle (without a reserve ride) allows a rigger to inspect the loop length with the reserve closed to see how the pack job settled and make adjustments for the repack. When you pop the reserve before letting your rigger inspect the closed container, you take away that valuable advantage. Also, if you deploy your reserve in a loft, riggers generally like to remove the lead seal before you pop the reserve so it doesn’t accidentally end up in your reserve container or canopy.

An airframe parachute manufacturer made aviation history this month when it logged its first-ever “save” with a certified aircraft. The pilot of a Cirrus SR22 fired the rocket-launched Ballistic Recovery Systems parachute when he encountered control problems. “Lionel Morrison was on a return-to-service flight when he experienced a serious control problem,” AOPA ePilot reported. “When the airplane was in the shop, the left aileron was removed and put back on. Later while he was in the air he noticed that it was hanging on by a hinge. Morrison said it took both hands on the side-stick yoke to keep the airplane level. He launched the chute and the airplane landed in cedar and mesquite trees in northern Texas as golfers at a nearby golf course looked on in amazement.” Morrison was not injured in the emergency landing. “I've never had any desire to go skydiving," he told ePilot. Morrison said that Cirrus Design is replacing his aircraft. Ballistic Recovery Systems manufactures emergency parachutes for ultralights, experimental and certified aircraft. While the company has more than 100 “saves” with ultralights, this was the company’s first save with a certified aircraft. "A lot of people thought we were nuts," Cirrus President Alan Klapmeier told ePilot concerning the $10 million spent in development. "They believed the parachute was an unnecessary expense that added weight to the aircraft to boot. To make things worse, they thought competent, macho pilots didn't need it and wouldn't use it anyway. Lionel Morrison proved them wrong." In addition to the Cirrus aircraft, BRS parachutes are now available for Cessna 150s, 152s and 172s.

Mike on 10.21.02 @ 03:55 PM EST

Thursday, October 14th 2002
Missing Reserve Bartack/Handles Pulled in Wrong Order

By Jonathan Bartlett — On Sept. 28, 2002, I had my second cutaway under my Velocity 103. Same problem as the first: spinning line twist on opening diving over my left shoulder sending me spinning on my back. This time I cursed, took a deep breath, and took a firm grip on my cutaway pillow. As I went back into freefall, I flipped and got back belly to earth. I deployed my reserve, which had a great opening. Here is where the story gets interesting. As I unstowed my reserve toggles, the right hand toggle and lower steering line came completely off. Now that the steering line on the right side did not have the slightest tension, the tail flipped up a little creating a right hand turn. I knew I had to land the reserve on rear risers. I came in holding the left riser down a few inches to counter the turn and had a good flare. I was about to softly put it down on my butt when yeah, you guessed it, I stalled the canopy. Not too bad though, about a one foot drop onto my butt, very ungraceful. So what happened with the toggle? Well it turns out PD missed a bartack. The lower bartack at the right side cateye was missing. The line was finger trapped but not bartacked. About seven different riggers have packed my reserve. [Editor’s Note: Chuting Star Rigging Loft has never inspected or packed this reserve] So be careful, PD uses silver thread, which requires a better eye for inspections than other manufacturers, such as Flight Concepts, which uses red. [Editor’s Note: Color of thread is not an acceptable excuse for not catching a missing bartack. Chuting Star Rigging Loft has found two missing bartacks in the last couple of years. One was on a Para-Flite reserve and the other on a Strong tandem reserve. Both were silver thread and both were on the steering lines. Choose a thorough rigger.] Riggers, don’t forget to check the bartacks carefully. And what else did I learn on this jump? My PD113 reserve flies really well and lands softly, even on rear risers.

By Jonathan Bartlett — On Sept. 1, 2002, I almost died. I made mistakes and have learned from them but think I should let others know about what happened so maybe it will prevent another from being in the same situation. On the third jump of the day my team, GT Inviscid, was closing the last point as my Dytter went off, I tracked away and deployed by 3,000 feet. I was watching my opening and as it sniveled it started to oscillate back and forth as my Velocity tends to do. As the slider was making its way down, the canopy spun and dove over my left shoulder. After two revolutions I can see that I have about three and half twists. I cannot get my momentum going to get out of the twists due the incredible force of spinning on my back. At this point my Dytter’s third warning is shrieking in my helmet as I am going through 2,000 feet on my back in a serious dive. My head is pinned by the risers so I cannot see my handles. With this being my first malfunction, I can honestly say I was scared. All this together is what almost cost me my life. My system at this point had a pillow reserve. In the chaos, my mind felt pad and pulled, except I pulled the wrong side, I pulled the reserve in a diving spin. To my luck, the reserve opened perfectly and stabilized me. My Velocity was out in front of me and the risers and lines were clear so I cut it away, and landed uneventfully on my PD113 reserve. So why did this happen? Well to start with my team was averaging 20 jumps every weekend. I think I started to get lax. I know I did not actively go through my cutaway procedures like I normally do. I had two pillows that were near identical so there was no tactile difference. And I rushed because I was scared. Since then I have ordered a low profile metal D ring, which I highly recommend. Watch out for experienced jumper complacency; it happens. Go through your procedures on every lift to altitude. It could mean the difference between life and death.
Mike on 10.14.02 @ 03:55 PM EST

Thursday, October 7th 2002
Closing Loop Length/Routine Gear Inspection

The latest issue of Parachutist magazine showed a picture very common to riggers at Chuting Star Rigging Loft: a main closing loop that is too long. We routinely shorten main closing loops after inspecting and repacking the reserve and repacking or reclosing the main container. Many times this is on very expensive containers, specially made with freeflying in mind. These containers, such as the newer Mirages, have extra sub-flaps to keep the risers and excess steering lines from coming out during freefall along with excellent bridle and pin protection. But all of those features essentially go to waste if your main closing loop is too long. A long main closing loop may make it easier for you to close the container, but it also makes it easier for the container to come open in freefall. A bump with another skydiver in freefall or a scrape against the door jam on exit is usually not a problem if your loop is the correct length. If your loop is too long and your main pin is held too loosely, that same bump or scrape can lead to a nasty horseshoe malfunction, high-speed deployment or freefall/deployment collision. Do not let all those expensive freefly-friendly features go to waste on these new containers. With a main closing loop too long, you might as well be jumping a container without all of the added features of tuck tabs, riser covers and bridle protection. On the new Mirage containers, the closing loop length is clearly listed on the inside of the main container. Other manufacturers have the loop lengths listed in the owner’s manual. Most rigs are designed to have the main grommets stacked on top of each other, although some, such as the Vector and Infinity, call for a slight offset of the final two main container grommets. Ask your local rigger to check your loop length, along with tips and techniques on how to use leverage to close your container with a proper size loop. And change the loop when it begins to fray.

A worn soft link, a loose rapide link, a frayed 3-ring loop or a tattered steering line are just a few of the many items that can lead to a “bad day” at the drop zone if the part breaks at the wrong time. Malfunction, injury or death can be the result of inattentiveness to our skydiving gear. Riggers cannot guarantee that an inspected container system or main canopy will not develop dangerous wear points in-between reserve/container inspections, reserve canopy repacks or main inspections. That is why with every new rig assembled by Chuting Star Rigging Loft, we give out a “How To” list on inspecting a container and main canopy system. We also provide that information for those interested on our web site at www.chutingstar.com/rigownerinformation.html. Yet even with all that information out there, I sometimes fail to inspect my own main on a regular basis. I recently took a close look at my brake lines and decided the vectran fibers at the cateye were showing enough wear to require replacement. I should have taken the time to inspect the entire canopy system at the same time, but I felt I was too busy with customers’ work to pay any more attention to mine. Well this past weekend while competing with my 4-way team Mr. Pink at the NSL Playoffs, I received a wake-up call on inspecting my own gear. Because of the hot weather, I was trying to pack my main all weekend as fast as possible to get out of the sun and into the shade to rest and prepare for the next jump. It wasn’t until after the last jump of the meet, that I decided to pay a tiny bit more time to my pack job. As I was walking the lines up from the risers, I noticed a barrel of one rapide link seemed low. I checked the tightness and it was loose and almost unthreaded. After checking all four, I found one more loose barrel. Luckily I caught it before it got worse. Take some time this weekend to check you gear for wear points and loose links.

Mike on 10.07.02 @ 03:54 PM EST