P/C Bridle Sewn to D-Bag?

[Gary73 10]

I've seen a couple of cases in which a rigger has split open the lower part of the bridle of a collapsible pilot chute and sewn the halves to the top of the deployment bag on each side of the grommet. That makes it a royal pain to change pilot chutes, of course. Is there a reason for this mod that makes it worth the effort? Thanks

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

[councilman24 37]

This was factory on my Reflex. I think I've seen it on something else too as factory, but maybe not. Nice clean set up.

Mick?

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[JerryBaumchen 1,468]

Hi Gary73,

Cliff Schmucker put out a document on collapsible (sp?) pilot chutes that shows this method.

It has been around for at least 10 yrs.

Jerry

PS) I have a copy somewhere.

[PhreeZone 20]

It used to be standerd on Sunpaths rigs also. I had to replace my worn out F111 pilot chute 2 years ago and remember it being a pain in the rear to swap it out for a ZP.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[mark 107]

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That makes it a royal pain to change pilot chutes...

Not so much. Just cut the bridle as close to the stitching as possible. (For Reflex, you may need a larger grommet installed, too.)

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Is there a reason for this mod that makes it worth the effort?

The rapide link in loop method allows the bag to rotate around the bridle, causing some wear where it does so. Also, if the link is not tacked, it tends to rotate through the loops, eventually side loading the loops and causing premature wear. (Some folks use circular key rings instead of links, which avoids the second problem.)

Some loops are over-long. That makes it easier to install the link, but it also means the link bangs against the grommet on opening. Eventually the grommet forms a cone, exposing the sharp spurs on the washer portion; the canopy can be damaged by contact with the spurs or just by being caught under the edge of the grommet.

Mark

[masterrig 1]

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Is there a reason for this mod that makes it worth the effort?

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Simple. To reduce lower-end bridle wear.


Chuck

[riggermick 7]

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This was factory on my Reflex. I think I've seen it on something else too as factory, but maybe not. Nice clean set up.

Mick?

Yeah, I stole that one from Sandy, it was the cleanest setup I've ever seen, almost no wear on the attachment point. Dunno why anyone would put canopy grinding (extra) hardware in there, ease of change out I guess.

Mick.

[teason 0]

I recently built new d-bags for my student systems. No grommet on the bag for the bridle to go through. There is a small attachment piece that goes from the canopy to the bag and a small attachment on the bag that you attach the bridle to. Very clean.

If you remember the days before kill lines, you remember the bridle going through the grommet on the bag and the fabric snags that were caused by sloppy packing. That can't happen now and I can even change the bridle without unpacking the canopy.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[mark 107]

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I recently built new d-bags for my student systems. No grommet on the bag for the bridle to go through. There is a small attachment piece that goes from the canopy to the bag and a small attachment on the bag that you attach the bridle to. Very clean.

This would be like Tandem Vector/Sigma bags. I agree, very clean. Works only if you don't need a kill line going to the canopy attachment, though.

Mark