On 6/3/2018 7:26 PM, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:

snipped for brevity/clarity...

...I write for the several young eaglets I mentor, and all the
other eaglets that read our posts. The safety culture on this thread is
not something I want someone new to soaring thinking to pervasive or
correct!
This has become a long thread. Time for a factual summary?

Fact 1 - Conflicting conclusions exist between professional/certified
'chute-riggers. Allen Silver supports a 20-year service life...and has
(allegedly/apparently) chosen to act as if he is Parachute Safety King. Don
Mayer - pointing to FAA guidelines on an extensive website - supports actual
'safe-condition confirmation testing.'
( http://www.parachuteshop.com/service_life_limits.htm )

Fact 2 - I'm aware of only one U.S. parachute manufacturer who specifies a
20-year life-limit on their 'chutes. (I infer the others are OK with
'safe-condition confirmation testing.')

So what's a person to do...whether young or not? I encourage folks to develop
their critical thinking skills...then act accordingly.

Tangentially, I find written nuanced thought not something generally amenable
to 'bullet-pointing' and thus inherently 'somewhat prolix.' So be it...

Bob W.

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