Rant & Rave Blog

As of April 5, 2025, a new baseline 10% tariff was levied on all imports into United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency with the U.S. trade deficit. Additional tariffs were announced and then paused for 90 days. On the heels of the tariffs, the American dollar has fallen in value.

All of this combined is already affecting the price on the gear you use to skydive. Skydivers use a wide-range of gear from manufacturers across the globe, so it is impossible for pricing to not be affected by the tariffs or falling dollar.

ChutingStar imports gear directly from some of your favorite manufacturers outside of the United States. And most manufacturers inside the United States use parts or materials that are sourced from overseas.

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(Written by ChutingStar's Henry Kochen.)

A 20-Year Journey of Growth, Safety, and Complacency

Over the last two decades, skydiving has evolved significantly, transforming from a niche thrill-seeking activity into a widely accessible and increasingly safe sport. From improved equipment technology to enhanced training protocols, the sport has made remarkable strides. However, amid this progress, a concerning trend has emerged: complacency among experienced skydivers and a lack of respect for the inherent risks of the sport. This is resulting in an unfortunate retrogression—more experienced skydivers getting injured or even killed, while newer participants neglect the importance of vigilance, discipline, and respect for safety.

The Growth of Skydiving: A Safer Sport

Skydiving has experienced exponential growth over the past 20 years. What was once seen as an extreme sport reserved for a select few has now become increasingly accessible to a broader audience. In 2000, skydiving was largely a sport for adrenaline junkies and military personnel, with the equipment and training far from the streamlined, professional systems we see today. However, advances in equipment technology and training have made skydiving more reliable and safer.

One of the major factors contributing to the sport's safety is the development of modern parachutes. The introduction of “square” or “ram-air” canopies, which are far more stable and predictable than the old round ones, revolutionized how skydivers navigate and land. These canopies are designed to offer better control, making the landing process less perilous.

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These are the Mirage Packing Tips I have given since 2007 during my seminars at the Parachute Industry Association Symposiums (most recently in 2025 in Daytona Beach) as well as during each ChutingStar Senior Rigger Certification School.

I've added a link at the end of this summary of the presentation so the entire text and photo presentation of the seminar can be downloaded for reference. Keep in mind these tips and techniques are only meant to supplement the Mirage owner's manual. I have found these techniques to lead to a cleaner, consistently better-looking Mirage reserve container.

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FAA Advisory Circular 3-1 now requires all current and future FAA Parachute Riggers to have a U.S. Agent For Service if they do not have a U.S. physical address.

This requirement was effective as of April 2, 2025, which was the date the USAS website for U.S. Agent registration went live at this link. That is where foreign riggers and rigger candidates designate their U.S. Agent For Service.

That U.S. Agent must:

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Check back here for all the gear sales from skydiving gear manufacturers and ChutingStar throughout the year!

Discounts usually are a rare thing in skydiving, and even more rare in the current supply shortage climate. We're focusing on making sure we have available items in stock and shipped to you by the time you need it for your next jump. Currently, ChutingStar has the following sales and ways to save listed below.

Here's the rundown on current deals:

• Discounted stock of all PittZ Freefly Suits & Pants
• Last-of-Stock Rawa R3 Helmets On Sale
• GoPro Camera Discounts
• UPT Stock Containers
• PD Europe Used Canopy Sale
• 30% off the base price of any In-Stock Wings Container
• Top 11 Ways To Save $$$ @ ChutingStar!

Deal Details

Here are the links to more info and the ordering process for these deals from ChutingStar:

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Performance Designs Europe has a batch of "pre-loved" canopies that are looking for new homes at reduced prices!

See the list below with all the currently available canopies, as of November 26, 2024.

If there is a canopy that you want to purchase, contact ChutingStar at this link, and we can confirm availability and the pricing for you.

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Firebird, which manufacturers the EVO container and RUSH reserve, now has a stock list of available containers for a quick turnaround time.

Ready In stock rigs usually take 2 weeks to ship, Stock rigs in production take around 4-6 weeks and custom orders take around 6 weeks (all times as of November 25, 2024, and are subject to change).
Turnaround on RUSH reserves are around 4-6 weeks

Following canopy sizes will fit containers noted above: L 210-170 SF, M 135-170 SF, S 120-150 SF

The base price is the same as custom, $3750, but you get it faster than a custom order.

For more details and/or to place an order, contact ChutingStar at this link

Below, and above, are photos of the stock container patterns.

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While ChutingStar may seem to some like some huge corporate monster of a company, we are a group 7 people serving the skydiving community out of one location in Marietta, Georgia. For the most part, we're available 24/7 in some manner be it in the shop, on the phone or online.

Since 1999, we've mostly been able to provide seamless support by staggering breaks for our staff and covering for each other's "specialty" so that you rarely know when one or two of us are gone for a few days.

Many skydiving manufacturers have a summer and a winter shutdown that may be a week or more. ChutingStar has always stayed open during those times to support skydivers with info, advice, parts and gear. That will be changing slightly this year.

For 2025, there will be a couple of staff breaks to give our group a breather. This will delay custom orders processing and some shipments, but we've scheduled these breaks around holidays and manufacturer shutdowns where we are limited in what we can do at that time anyway.

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The Parachute Industry Association has released Technical Bulletin TB-266 that gives its interpretation of the FAA regulations for sealing a packed reserve container. This bulletin addressed the common use of lead seals, which are banned in some countries due to environmental and health issues.

The PIA Rigging Committee completed a review of other available materials being used outside the United States, and found these to work just as well as lead seals while satisfying 14 CFR 65.133.

14 CFR 65.133 Seal. Each certificated parachute rigger must have a seal with an identifying mark prescribed by the Administrator, and a seal press. After packing a parachute he shall seal the pack with his seal in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendation for that type of parachute.

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The popular speaking audible altimeter from Freefall Data Systems has an available update for improving the sound quality, volume and reliability of its built-in speaker. Reports of failing speakers was determined to be a firmware issue, which is resolved with a firmware and sound file update.

If you have a SonoAlti 3V unit with a firmware of 1.0 or 1.1, this firmware update is for you. To find out what firmware version you have, press the button adjacent to the speaker with a paper clip to hear the firmware number.

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