Product Rant & Rave

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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With most skydiving helmets over $200, and the most common at $500 or more, it's a smart investment to protect your helmet when you're not using it.

Most skydiving helmet bags also have additional pockets to carry your smaller skydiving gear and helmet accessories together so you're able to keep everything in one place whether you're at the drop zone, the wind tunnel or traveling around the world.

Henry Kochen of the ChutingStar Crew took some time to show off a few of our most popular helmet bags this week to show you which helmets fit and the features of each.

Check out this video as well as a video from Mike Gruwell on the new Cookie Flight Bag, and then click the links below for additional info and ordering information.

Skydiving Helmet Bag Overview from ChutingStar.

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Bluetooth connection, 32 alarm sounds and syncs jumps to a Logbook, are just a few highlights of the SonoAlti G2 that shows off the unique design of the newest audible altimeter at ChutingStar.

Thanks to designer Casey Mongoven of Freefall Data Systems who integrated the Bluetooth connection, you can manage the SonoAlti G2 settings from an app on your phone. Any of 32 alarm sounds can be selected for an unlimited number of alarms for freefall or canopy flight, and then those alarms can be further adjusted by volume, pitch and tempo.

See this overview of the new SonoAlti G2 below, which is now available at ChutingStar at this link.

The SonoAlti G2 is one of 14 audible altimeters currently stocked and supported by ChutingStar.

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Skydiving helmet innovator Cookie Helmets has once again listened to skydivers and developed a new full face helmet that is a cross between the raved-about G3, G4 and Fuel helmets.

The Cookie G35 is here in all colors and sizes! You can place your G35 helmet and accessory orders at this link.

Cookie's new G35 is a unique crossover helmet that will appeal to skydivers, tunnel flyers and camera flyers. This modular full face helmet takes a little bit of the best of each helmet in the Cookie lineup, while specifically replacing the retiring G3.

Improvements over the G3 include:

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Digital skydiving altimeters have continued to be improved upon the past few years, but the recent release of the DigiAlti plus the Dekunu One SmartAlti. Alti-2 Juno, and AON2 X2 has really shaken up the offerings for skydivers.

One by Dekunu is the first sport skydiving specific digital altimeter featuring GPS with 3D location tracking. After jump feedback includes jump-path mapping, G-force, swoop and landing zone analysis, which is all synced to the cloud to view, analyze and share. The AON2 X2 has similar GPS features.

The DigiAlti by Freefall Data Systems features a unique LED LightBar in addition to an LCD Digital display. The LightBar allows you to customize up to 33 different light alerts and affects.

So far, VISO II+ has stood strong and continues to be the best selling digital altimeter, but that doesn't mean it's the best choice specifically for you. Read on for a comparison of features to make that choice for yourself.

Skydivers in the U.S. essentially have 7 digital altimeters to choose from. So what are the features of each that would make you choose one over the other?

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15 years ago, open face helmets were the norm for skydiving and only RW teams used full face skydiving helmets. But with the increase of wind tunnels over our planet as well as so many different disciplines of closer proximity skydiving, many jumpers and tunnel flyers go straight to a full face helmet as their first and only helmet.

With several different versions and brands to choose from, which one should you go with? We'll lay out the features, differences, prices as well as highlight some customer reviews, so you can make the most educated choice possible.

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(Originally published in Skydiving Magazine)

Learning how to patch torn canopies was a trial and error process for me when I first got into parachute rigging. I had to sew a so-called "basic patch" in rigging school on a damaged piece of fabric, but that in no way prepared me for working on real damaged parachutes when I bought my first sewing machine.

I would probably be embarrassed if I ever came across my first 20-30 patches. Opening a drop zone loft meant I got enough practice and work that I just eventually became proficient at patching damaged canopies. But it took me about a year, 30-plus patches, and several visits to other riggers for lessons, tips and tricks to get to that point.

Fast-forward to now and I'm very comfortable, efficient and fairly fast at patching a damaged canopy. Yet I see the same pain and frustration in other rigging students or riggers who don't patch canopies very often. So when Red Payne of Flight Concepts called me about a set of canopy patching tools he had helped develop, I jumped all over purchasing a set.

The canopy patching tools, called EZ Patch, are actually a set of 2 square templates to use on a variety of different damage areas on a parachute. The metal templates have two rows of holes on each side along with a 45-degree angle slit on the inside of each corner.

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ChutingStar did start out as the Rigger Rant & Rave...so true to form...it's time for some ranting...and then some raving.

To all you complainers out there who have been living under a boulder or in some weird bubble, we're living in the middle of a freaking pandemic. COVID-related deaths, disruptions and shutdowns are real. Be happy you're even alive to read this.

Some skydiving gear manufacturers, stores and drop zones have gone out of business, some are having staffing issues and others just can't get the materials needed to complete manufacturing. Some are communicating well to dealers and customers, and some are a complete overwhelmed mess of misinformation.

Anything skydiving-related not currently in stock at ChutingStar, and still available to order from manufacturers, is on the way to us, being manufactured or on some sort of backorder awaiting the manufacturer to manufacture. We are in touch with the manufacturers about delays and backorders on a daily basis so we can communicate to you expected ship dates. But even then, those get pushed back due to more manufacturing or shipping delays.

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For the last 25+ years, impact-rated helmets have not been an available skydiving gear option. Helmets with impact ratings, such as from the motorcycle world, tended to be too big and bulky for sport skydiving. But in the past two years, we have seen helmet manufacturers figuring out how to create skydiving helmets that are passing impact testing, and be comfortable and form-fitting for the heads of jumpers. And in a recent ChutingStar survey, we found that nearly 75% of jumpers want or need an impact rating. So what are the options available? Continue reading →