When to do a line check?

[jheadley 0]

I know a relatively young rigger who thinks it's necessary to do a full line continuity check after fixing a tangled parachute ( step through lines or risers).

I've also been told by an old timer that all you need to check is if you set the rig down like you're packing it and walk the steering lines up, and if they're clear and on top of everything else, then everything has to be ok. He says you only need to do continuity checks if the risers or links have been disconnected. Who is right?

[rushmc 23]

Your call for your rig. I do it everytime I pack.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[JohnGraham 0]

What do you mean by "full line continuity check"? Do you mean checking each line-group (i.e. line groups from all four links plus brake lines) are not tangled with each other, or checking ALL individual lines from each link up to the canopy?
I do the first sort every time I pack - I can't see any reason to do the second unless either a riser or links/lines have been disconnected. (I'm not a rigger, just my opinion)
When you talk about this to your rigger/anybody else, make sure that when you both say "line continuity check" you're both talking about the same thing - looooooots of misunderstandings arise when people use the same words/phrases to mean two different things.

[BIGUN 1,469]

A parachute does not have be disconnected to warrant a full continuity check. One can tangle the parachute enough to warrant a full continuity check...

Let me give you an example. You can take the rig and pass it thru one side of a line group (in between lines) and walk the steering lines and four groups up and everything looks peachy. Except, if you look at the connector links (or slinks) you will find line "A" & "B" of the same group rubbing on each other from a single twist, rather than running straight up to its attachment point. That one twist is like taking two pieces of cord and rubbing them together creating heat and friction... Not so good an idea for suspension lines.

A full continuity check is just that... It's not a four line check or a walk-up... It's a procedure to ensure that every line is in its proper place and takes a whole *maybe* five minutes if the canopy is hung up and two people work in tandem on it. One person at the connector links and one at the canopy.

Better to do a full continuity check and be wrong; than to not do one and be wrong.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[FrogNog 1]

I would base it on the nastiness of the tangle and whether it was my gear. For a simple step-through on my own rig I would do my standard packing checks (I do these every time; I don't want to open a step-through I didn't realize I had). For a nasty tangle on my rig, any tangle on any rig where I could not guarantee the risers were not disconnected, or any tangle on someone else's rig I check more carefully. (I don't tend to do an every-line check; I tend to do sort of a "ten-line check" - inside and outside line from each riser plus brakes.)

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[mark 107]

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A parachute does not have be disconnected to warrant a full continuity check. One can tangle the parachute enough to warrant a full continuity check...

Sorry, not so, and the proof is from mathematics. If the parachute was straight before it was tangled, and if it was not disconnected, then when you have untangled any two adjacent lines from canopy to link(s) on straight risers, the rest of the lines will be straight as well.

Mark

[mjosparky 4]

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A parachute does not have be disconnected to warrant a full continuity check. One can tangle the parachute enough to warrant a full continuity check...

Sorry, not so, and the proof is from mathematics. If the parachute was straight before it was tangled, and if it was not disconnected, then when you have untangled any two adjacent lines from canopy to link(s) on straight risers, the rest of the lines will be straight as well.

Mark

I agree with you. If the parachute was hooked up correct to begin with and has not been cut-away, all you do is run the steering lines down and the rest of the canopy will be straight.

In the same situation on a round, run the 4 lines in a 4 line check untill they are clear and the rest will be clear.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[BIGUN 1,469]

Anyone coming to WFFC? I would like the opportunity to demonstrate.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[mjosparky 4]

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Anyone coming to WFFC? I would like the opportunity to demonstrate.

I have seen people try before.

If the lines do not come off the links and the risers do not come off the harness, anything you do can be undone by clearing the steering lines.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[phoenixlpr 0]

What is a full line check for you?

[BIGUN 1,469]

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anything you do can be undone by clearing the steering lines.

OK. So after I wrote that to Mark last night, I'm laying in bed thinking about it. I was half tempted to jump up and write where I think the communication gap is, but was starting to drift off...

What I demonstrate is a between the lines flip through from the Rig up and flip the canopy thru the same way resulting in the twisted lines at the connector links, that are not quickly identified by a standard "Group Check" as the skydiver walks up holding the brake lines and four groups.

You and Mark are correct and I apologize. One can undo what I've done if they take the time to unflip correctly.

The communication gap was in my focusing on the portion of the original post of

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...is if you set the rig down like you're packing it and walk the steering lines up, and if they're clear and on top of everything else, then everything has to be ok.

The learning point I focus on is demonstrated with my example above; 1) This is not always true, and 2) That young rigger can get it done faster and there will be no doubts in his or the skydiver's mind that everything is correct.

I hope you and Mark will accept my apology for focusing on one area while trying to explain another.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[beezyshaw 0]

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I know a relatively young rigger who thinks it's necessary to do a full line continuity check after fixing a tangled parachute ( step through lines or risers).

I've also been told by an old timer that all you need to check is if you set the rig down like you're packing it and walk the steering lines up, and if they're clear and on top of everything else, then everything has to be ok. He says you only need to do continuity checks if the risers or links have been disconnected. Who is right?

Here's the deal. They are both right, in a sense. For me, if I know that the canopy was installed on the risers correctly, then a full line check is not necessary. If I run a "four line" up and it is clear, I can assure you that the canopy is ready to pack and jump. On the other hand, the new rigger is correct in that for him to feel comfortable saying the canopy is ready to pack and jump he needs to do a full continuity check. In time, as that rigger gains experience, he will see that the full line check is not necessary, but in the mean time it is the right way to do it for him.

[jheadley 0]

when i mean a full line check i mean checking the position of each individual line.

[masterrig 1]

Upon original assembly to the risers. Unless, it has been tampered with, you shouldn't have to do it again. If, the lines get tangled... un-tangle them but, the line continuity should remain correct. Make sense?


Chuck

[mjosparky 4]

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You and Mark are correct and I apologize.

No apology needed. Like you said, I think it was a matter of communication. I see your point of someone missing the line twists down at the link.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[riggerrob 643]

Sounds like the young rigger is erring on the side of caution: a healthy attitude.
A complete line continuity check only takes 5 minutes.

[riggermick 7]

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I know a relatively young rigger who thinks it's necessary to do a full line continuity check after fixing a tangled parachute ( step through lines or risers).

I've also been told by an old timer that all you need to check is if you set the rig down like you're packing it and walk the steering lines up, and if they're clear and on top of everything else, then everything has to be ok. He says you only need to do continuity checks if the risers or links have been disconnected. Who is right?

A properly assembled canopy that becomes tangled after, say a really rough landing will have entanglements above the slider, below the slider or both. Tangles below the slider have to be taken out by passing the harness/ container through the lines (always below the slider though). Tangles above the slider can be taken out by running the brake lines clear all the way up to the tail of the canopy and flipping/ passing the the canopy/ lines through the gap between them. Before this manouver can be done the lower entanglements have to be cleared first. Remember all this presupposes the canopy is correctly hooked up in the first place.

Mick.