Zoter 0 #1 March 18, 2005 So its gonna be the first gorgeously sunny weekend in the UK this year..... I packed last night and left work early today....n found out my car battery is flat ...so I have to wait a couple of hours before I go anywhere...... Just was watching some vids to pass the time and started thinking about a slow deployment sequence I was watching..... Now we all know we need sliders on ram air chutes at terminal speeds How did they slow down the openings on all of those 'old' chutes....rounds ParaCommander...Thunderbow etc........ Did they need it?...if not why... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #2 March 18, 2005 We did not worry about slowing down openings on round canopies. We were just glad when they opened! It was not until the 1990s that anyone figured out how to install a sail slider on a round canopy. Too bad they had fallen out of fashion with skydivers by then. Yes, I know that Starlites (Para-Commander clones) had spider sliders, but they were never very popular. Only REAL MEN jumped back in those days. ... because only REAL MEN could tolerate the hard openings and hard landings. We would do 2 or 3 jumps, then retire to the bar to drink until we forgot about our sore necks and sore knees, etc. ... and the toughest of us jumped Delta IIs. That OSI slowed down openings maybe 1/100 th of a second, so that openings only felt like being tackled by half of a football team! When ropes-and-rings were introduced, sore necks - caused by hard openings - became a thing of the past, however, our hands got sore from packing that 64 foot long rope. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,584 #3 March 18, 2005 Actually, sleeves were the deployment device that slowed down round openings mostly. a terminal opening on a non-diapered round reserve is pretty impressive. Wendy W. (obviously a REAL MAN , since I not only tolerated the hard openings and landings, but I also had a Starlite with no slider )There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dazzle 0 #4 March 18, 2005 I don't remember hard openings from the rounds I jumped as a student, mostly Aeroconicals but don't remember anything specific to slow openings on those. How come they opened acceptably slowly? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #5 March 19, 2005 A round canopy inherently slows it's own opening. If you look at high-speed photography of a round opening, you will see the skirt of the canopy stays nearly closed while the top of the canopy fills with air. Only when the canopy has nearly filled, does it finally force the skirt apart. For a full explanation, read The Parachute Manual, Volume 1, Section 8.1.11, page 463."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flipper 0 #6 March 21, 2005 I managed to jump a Delta II a few years back ... talk about a reality check ... take my hat off to the people who jumped these things .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #7 March 22, 2005 QuoteI don't remember hard openings from the rounds I jumped as a student, mostly Aeroconicals but don't remember anything specific to slow openings on those. How come they opened acceptably slowly? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ... because Aeroconicals are way more refined than the crude flat circular or parabolic canopies formerly sold by American Army surplus stores. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
