Rant & Rave Blog

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?

Continue reading →

I've put together the following gear price comparison information for skydivers in the market for new or used gear. This is a brief but direct overview on some of the more popular skydiving gear that we see come through ChutingStar. The following info will give you a brief education on how to value used gear against new gear, and then you can determine which is the best choice for you.

Note: Canopies/brands listed below are those that ChutingStar has had the most success with and are the most common within our area.

Also, please see our other articles on buying used gear and using ChutingStar as an Inspection/Escrow service to prevent the seller or buyer from getting scammed.

Continue reading →

Skydivers today have the widest choice ever in which Automatic Activation Device (AAD) to have installed in their reserve container as a backup safety device.

An AAD cuts the reserve container closing loop if the skydiver is exceeding a set speed at a set altitude. For most sport skydivers, the activation speed is the same (78 mph or greater), but activation altitudes vary from 750 to 840 feet. Regardless of the unit, it's a "last chance" deployment for a skydiver who has become incapacitated to deploy or has lost altitude awareness. For U.S. skydivers, there are four AADs that are in the majority of sport rigs world-wide. This article will focus on the CYPRES2, m2 Multi and Vigil Cuatro.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

(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.

Continue reading →

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

Click here for a link to the current list.

The base price is the same as custom, $3000, but you can 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.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Airtec offers a trade-in credit on your expired CYPRES unit when you purchase a new unit. ChutingStar participates in this trade-in program for any skydivers who purchase a new CYPRES from us.

Here's how it works:

• Purchase a new CYPRES unit at this link
• Within 60 days, send in your expired CYPRES unit to ChutingStar
• Include a copy of your new CYPRES order or purchase receipt
• We credit the original payment method $65 if sent with a cutter that has not been fired
• We credit the original payment method $45 if the cutter is fired or missing
• Expired unit returns after 60 days receive a credit on your ChutingStar account
• Expired CYPRES must be less than 1-year after unit expiration date

Continue reading →

Assembling, inspecting, packing and repairing skydiving gear is our bread and butter, per se. ChutingStar Skydiving Gear SuperStore actually started out as ChutingStar Rigging Loft focused solely on parachute rigging. We now service, sell and support everything related to skydiving.

Since 1999, we've had local skydivers and pilots dropping off gear for reserve repacks, main relines and gear inspections, as well as helping manufacturers with service bulletin work. Skydiving rigs and emergency pilot parachutes are shipped to us from all over the United States every week (and right back out when finished).

FAA Master Rigger Steve Haseman leads ChutingStar Rigging Loft, and is available Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at our Marietta shop. You can also catch him on the weekends at Skydive Monroe.

Gear can be dropped off at ChutingStar, shipped to us or handed to Steve at Skydive Monroe.

A list of the more requested services are on our current ChutingStar Rigging Loft Gear Service Order Form (at this link), which also has our current prices.

Continue reading →

Need an AAD during the time your unit is in for maintenance? Or just one to get you by until you can save for a new AAD, or find a great deal on a used one? ChutingStar has several CYPRES 2 Changeable, Expert & Speed units available for rental at just over $2 a day! Here's the scoop on how the rental CYPRES unit program works: Continue reading →