[maple_leaf_eh]

When my brother was posted in Germany, and learning parachute rigging, he went around to the various Pfaff and Miele stores. As a Canadian soldier who spoke adequate German and wanted to learn the hardware, the store owners treated him well. He repeated to me what to look for, and from the postings above, most of those things have been mentioned.

His hanging-around drop zones was providential because a few years ago, out of the blue (bad joke), one of the German parachute makers invited him to test as a 'proofer' for their line. He gave them some samples of his work and copies of documentation. Now he is something like the only North American authorized inspector for other riggers' work for that line. A proofer is sort of a master master in the German craft system.