July 2015

Washing your harness/container every few years can keep your investment looking brand new. You'll be surprised how clean and bright a used container can get with a thorough washing. Below are tips and a step-by-step "how to" guide for washing your harness/container. These tips have been taken from several manufacturers, riggers and my own experience of washing a few hundred rigs over the past 10 years. Continue reading →

The Tonfly Cutaway System install with materials needed, photos, instructions and video.

The install can be done at ChutingStar if you don't have all the tools. Or if you do have all the tooling, just follow these instructions, photos and video.

Items needed to install Tonfly Cutaway System:

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At the 2007 PIA Symposium in Reno, I gave a seminar on packing/closing tips for the Mirage reserve container. It had been two years since the last seminar I gave on the subject and updated some of my tips and techniques. 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. Continue reading →

Jumpshack's Racer container elicits many comments from riggers due to how different it is from most other rigs on the market. At the very least, a Racer container takes a little more thought and preparation; and that is where a new DVD packing manual released by Jump Shack steps in to save the day.

I highly recommend every rigger who plans on packing even one more Racer in their lifetime purchase the Racer DVD packing manual. The packing updates, tips and techniques straight from the manufacturer are well worth the money ($15 plus shipping).

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I've had some riggers tell me that they don't usually replace the reserve closing loop during each inspection/repack because a new loop stretches and affects the finished look of the rig. Apparently some riggers feel it's the fault of a "stretching" new loop that the reserve pilot chute isn't completely seated or compressed like the prior pack job. Yet my experience shows that a reserve closing loop made out of spectra Cypres cord and threaded through a Cypres washer can be manufactured and pre-stretched precisely to the desired length. It's just critical that the rigger have a standardized method of construction, measurements and pre-stretching. The following is the procedure for making a Cypres loop at Chuting Star Rigging Loft. These procedures are for most reserve container systems, but not all. Rigs such as the Racer, Reflex and Tear Drop have other procedures. Continue reading →

Reserve Slinks have a yellow tab with an SR-1 identifier. The Spectra is thicker and longer than the main Slink. Main Slinks have a white tab with an SM-1 identifier. The Spectra is thinner and shorter than the reserve Slink. Continue reading →

Assemble the Slink normally with two passes through the lines/riser. Position the tab centered inside the riser and push toward the top of the riser. Continue reading →

Put the bumper over the riser and open up a pathway with your fingers for the Slink to pass through the riser. Route the Slink through the line group (in the correct continuity) and the riser twice. Routed the end of the Slink through the hole at the hole at the bottom of the tab and then insert the tab through the loop at the end of the Slink. This creates a larks head knot. Pull tight and hide the tab inside the riser. Continue reading →

Landing or swooping downwind seems to be a continuing rage at many drop zones. Many of these jumpers are hoping to get a longer surf to finish a great skydive while some are the “high performance canopy pilots” practicing for upcoming competitions. Either way, this is not setting a good example for students or less-experienced jumpers. And even worse, this is leading to some hectic traffic patterns and close collisions during landing. While jumpers are trained to check the windsock or tetrahedron for the landing direction they are also trained to land in the same direction as the skydivers landing before them to prevent conflicting traffic patterns or collisions. Continue reading →

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. Incident #3: An experienced skydiver posting praise for another drop zone's boogie on a skydiving newsgroup finishes off his comments by bashing a close-by DZ that had nothing to do with the boogie. Continue reading →