Width Reduction Folds

[jheadley 0]

There seem to be many ways to make the width reduction folds when packing reserve canopies. Some take each fold seperately and fold under, others fold the AB fold up and the BC fold down... I've even seen everything from the A-B fold to part of the tail folded under all at once.

Which method do you use and why?

[darkwing 5]

I use the way the manufacturer recommends.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[jheadley 0]

And what if the manufacturer doesn't specify?

[darkwing 5]

Well you have a couple of choices, the canopy mfr or the rig mfr might help you out. From a strict FAA perspective there is no other option.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[JustChuteMeNow 0]

I originally used a method that did not specify doing any reduction folds because for the most part I was packing Quasars for Strong Enterprises and Strong does not specify the need to do reduction folds.

That said I did work with a rigger who showed me how Dave Dewolf teaches how to do reduction folds in his course and that technique has the AB fold up and the other folds down prior to wrapping the tail.

I purchased a CD from Jumpshack and their video shows taking the tail and folding all of the folds under at the same time you are cocooning the tail.

Personally I think the most important part of the process is making sure that the noses are able to be exposed to the wind upon deployment of the canopy. If there was a significant difference in the method governing the ability of the reserve to open in a timely manner I would suspect that all of the manufacturer's would require that method.

Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that statistically half of them are stupider than that.

[jheadley 0]

Quote

That said I did work with a rigger who showed me how Dave Dewolf teaches how to do reduction folds in his course and that technique has the AB fold up and the other folds down prior to wrapping the tail.

In his current version, both folds are folded down. I'm curious why he changed it.

However, if one were to even use Dave Dewolf's method of flaking and bagging a reserve, that would be against the manufacturer's instructions. This is what drives me nuts about rigging. We all know the golden rule is to follow the instructions to the letter, but it doesn't really work like that in the real world.

[JustChuteMeNow 0]

I quess I should have qualified my reply a little better. The person who taught me showed me his technique and while he did learn from Dave Dewolf I have no idea if he followed Dave Dewolf's teachings. He was a master rigger who had been rigging for mucho years.

Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that statistically half of them are stupider than that.

[pchapman 279]

Quote

This is what drives me nuts about rigging. We all know the golden rule is to follow the instructions to the letter, but it doesn't really work like that in the real world.

Ditto!

For width reduction folds, I usually use the technique of 'all down at once'.

That fits with the technique Precision showed at least as far back as '91, when I learned, when the Ravens were very popular. It also matches PD, once they (years later) came up with their Pro Pack addendum. It's good enough for Aerodyne too.

At times I will use some sort of microreefing without doing all the folds together. I tend to do it if the previous rigger did it that way, or in cases where volume is at a premium, especially the smallest reserves. I suspect that the individual folds might tend help allow a tighter pack job with less air in it.

When I'm doing individual folds I tend to do each fold upwards, individually (with the tail wrapping around all but the nose). I've also done it with each fold individually downwards instead.

For a while I was trying to be fancier, and did AB fabric upwards; BC, CD, and tail wrap downward together (ending up above the AB). I'm just not sure it really brings any advantages. With all the different methods out there, I haven't been able to pick out one method as superior.

Even among BASE friends I've seen methods change, sometimes becoming more complex and then simplifying again. I'm not in tune with a lot in that world, but even they may have found limits, in that there is a point where fancier does not equal better.

I do use the manufacturer's technique for what seem to be special cases, such as tandem reserves.

If a rig & reserve is something ancient from the early 1980s, with no modern manuals, I certainly don't flat pack and then wrap the reserve around the closing loop(s) in some intricate manner shown by the manuals of the era. I would use more modern techniques, propacking and molar-ing the canopy.

Everybody has different techniques published.
Old manuals without propacks weren't always updated. PD still has propacking as an optional second way. DeWolf changed his folding from his '03 to '06 manual. Flight Concepts has the canopy propack flaked neatly, wrapped, and then laid down without going through everything again. Paratec and Performance Variable in Europe does it similarly. PD insists on clamp pull tests, FCI now specifically prohibits any clamps, and Rigging Innovation shows lots of clamps to pack a reserve.

I guess in the US, the canopy manufacturer's word comes first, over that of the rig manufacturer, for canopy packing technique. But even then, where does "packing the canopy" end and "folding it into the bag" begin? For example, Velocity mentions packing the canopy according to its manufacturer's instructions. But then it still shows steps for a specific folding technique (pretty much AB up; BC,CD,tail down above the AB).

And we'll all go straight to hell according to the FAA if we don't follow the manufacturer's instructions. So I like to remind people that on account of that, an Aerodyne Smart in the care of a rigger MUST be kept between 15 C and 30 C, at 15% to 70% humidity. The manual says this must be done.

[Pendragon 1]

As an aside, I've seen a number of variant methods used in BASE packing, like those you describe. Doesn't appear to change much.

Likely reason for preference: The way you were taught / always done it!

--
BASE #1182
Muff #3573
PFI #52; UK WSI #13

[masterrigger1 2]

Quote

However, if one were to even use Dave Dewolf's method of flaking and bagging a reserve, that would be against the manufacturer's instructions.

Dave's method is one that is used in the course to simplify the various methods.

It simplifies the process for both the student and the many instructors of which I am one.

He has a disclaimer on the cover page that states that the instructions should not be used as a replacement for the manufacturers instructuctions.


BS,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com