(Published in Australian Skydiver Magazine. The text and photos from the magazine article can be viewed at this link.)

I recently had to retype/update the following file since it was lost during a computer crash last year. Thought I would post it on the Rigger Rant and Rave for all skydivers to access online. Many times when a skydiver purchases their first rig there is a lack of information or education on how to care for their rig. The following is a good start for all new skydivers. Enjoy...and tell others to check it out.

Read more: Before jumping your new rig...

Below is a series of photos showing how a young jumper at Skydive The Farm ended up with a main canopy toggle malfunction.

The jumper did try to stow the toggles per the manufacturer's manual (United Parachute Technologies TruLock Toggles). But the stowage instructions aren't as detailed for canopies with longer excess brake lines. The jumper also may not have been looking at the toggles when she released them or may not have realized the brake line was looped over the toggle during deployment.

Read more: Toggle Malfunction Prevention

So you’ve decided to delve in the realm of freeflying, but you bought a used rig that’s just a tad big on you and that one main riser cover is always opening on you during exit. Is that a big deal? Probably. Can it be fixed? Maybe. Will I have to buy a whole new setup? Not likely.

Lets take a look at a couple of things to consider before subjecting your body to the possibility of a premature opening at 150 mph.

Read more: Is Your Rig Freefly Friendly?

T

he Parachute Industry Association Symposium 2009 has wrapped up in Reno, Nevada, and it did not disappoint those looking for the latest, greatest skydiving products, gadgets and information.

Here is a rundown of the new products and improvements you'll soon see for sale in gear shops.

Performance Designs announced it's Optimum Reserve canopies are being manufactured in the larger sizes. This low-bulk reserve canopy was only previously available in sizes 99, 106, 113, 126 and 143. It is now being manufactured in sizes 160, 176, 193, 218, 235 and 253.

Read more: PIA 2009 Gear Showcase

Dropzone.com may be the be all, end all of internet forums in the U.S., but Skysurfer.com.au is Australia's internet forum...and it's a more interesting one to follow at times.

Read more: Australian Skydiver Forums

(Published in the August 2009 edition of Blue Skies Magazine.)

T

he range of naked skydiving experience is far and wide. For some, their only skydive ever was naked courtesy of a tandem jump sans clothes, perhaps with Fast Eddie of Huntsville, Ala.

Fast Eddie Grantland has taken 111 naked tandem passengers since 1991. Number 111 was two weeks ago.

Read more: Rigging for the Naked Skydive

On a gusty day this past weekend, three jumpers of different skill levels decided they needed to make a skydive even though tandem instructors along with numerous experienced jumpers had made the decision to wait for the winds to calm down.

The winds were gusting from 7-25 knots and switching directions 100 degrees. The jumper experience level ranged from about 100 to 2,000 jumps. Amazingly enough, it was actually the most experienced jumper who in the end made the worst decision when coming in for landing.

Read more: Jumping in Gusty Winds

Atlanta skydiver Loralyn Laurie recently had an interesting save account that was added to ChutingStar’s “save” page on the Web site. Laurie was attending Mike Mullins’ Halloween Boogie at West Tennessee Skydiving in Memphis, Tenn., when the save occurred.

According to Laurie and witnesses, the freefly portion of the dive was going great until breakoff. When Laurie transitioned onto her belly to track away, her right shoulder (main pull arm) went out of joint. Laurie was unable to deploy her main and was forced to deploy her reserve.

Read more: Dislocated Shoulder Reserve Ride

Incident #1: A visiting experienced jumper tells a seemingly content and happy skydiving student how he doesn’t enjoy jumping at the particular DZ they are at because of all the “bad vibes.” This jumper also tells the student to check out other DZs where the “vibes” are better.

Incident #2: A regular experienced jumper comes out on the weekend to tell as many jumpers who will listen that another experienced jumper at the DZ has probably stolen several hundred dollars from her. The “accuser” has not personally spoken to the “accused” about the alleged theft but chooses to instead take the accusation public in an attempt to ruin the other jumper’s reputation and gain support for her accusation.

Read more: DZ Talk

ChutingStar riggers assemble several new rigs a month and the most recent popular reserve/AAD/container combination is Tempo/Cypres/Mirage.

We recently noticed that Parachute Industries of South Africa added spanwise (side to side) reinforcement to its Tempo reserves. This follows similar reinforcement (although not identical in design) of popular U.S.-made reserves manufactured by Performance Designs and Precision Aerodynamics.

Read more: PISA Improvements