Rant & Rave Blog

The first Skyhook-equipped Sun Path Javelin Odyssey was dropped off at Chuting Star Rigging Loft in April 2008 for a full assembly. I had seen the new Javelin Odyssey updates at the Parachute Industry Association 2007 Symposium in Reno, but this was the first time I was able to really see how the updates work with a fully-assembled and packed rig.

From the outside, the Javelin look remains the same. It has always been a rig that has little flash, but gets the job done. The Javelin reserve container has also been one that is what I consider to be rigger-friendly and easy to make look good. It's a combination of the limited reserve container flaps (4) and the fact that the reserve freebag sits fully against the side flaps. This keeps wrinkles in the reserve container nearly non-existent with a smooth pack job.

The new updates do not change the looks of the reserve or main container. A smooth pack job still leads to a nice looking rig.

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Many Kudos to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which updated its Web site every few hours during the recent shutdown of the United States airspace. The Web site at www.aopa.org kept aircraft owners, pilot and skydivers informed of the lobbying AOPA was conducting to get private pilots and general aviation aircraft back in the air. No other Web site had as much timely and accurate information during a time when fulltime skydivers were forced out of work. And the site’s updates continue as the struggle goes on to bring our airspace back to normal following the terrorist strikes on Sept. 11. Continue reading →