Flat Packing Tandems

[Anvilbrother 0]

It may no be a "tandem" but my main is 370 Sqft, and I have always flat packed it, and have never had any issues, other than opening mildly hard due to freefall speed every now and then. On heading openings almost all the time.

Postes r made from an iPad or iPhone. Spelling and gramhair mistakes guaranteed move along,

[Andy_Copland 0]

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<-- No experience.

I was learning to pack tandems this weekend (read, I don't have a flipping clue what I'm talking about).

Half of the instructors I spoke to liked their rigs to be flat packed, the other half preferred them to be pro-packed.

Those who preferred pro-packing tended to be of the opinion that "Flat packing tandems is for fools". Those who preferred them to be flat-packed didn't seem to have a strong opinion the other way.

And thats when you say "pack it your fucking self then."

I propack all my tandems (regular tandems, 330 to 400 range. Not military 60000sq/ft) and they are fine.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[mark 107]

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I propack all my tandems (regular tandems, 330 to 400 range. Not military 60000sq/ft) and they are fine.

While they aren't tandem canopies, Airborne Systems' ram-airs, including Mega-fly and Giga-fly, are also pro-packed. I don't know exactly how big the Giga-fly is, except that the slider is about 400 square feet.
Mark

[mjosparky 4]

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I propack all my tandems (regular tandems, 330 to 400 range. Not military 60000sq/ft) and they are fine.

While they aren't tandem canopies, Airborne Systems' ram-airs, including Mega-fly and Giga-fly, are also pro-packed. I don't know exactly how big the Giga-fly is, except that the slider is about 400 square feet.
Mark

The Mega-Fly is 9,000 sq. ft. ellipitcal and the Giga-Fly is 10,400 sq. ft. I would like to see how they pro pack those monsters.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[LouDiamond 1]

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I would like to see how they pro pack those monsters.

Here they are, a few quick shots, circa 2006, of the chute while being packed. With over 5 miles of suspension line averaging 90+ feet in length from attachment point to the riser mechanism, there is a lot of everything to deal with.If you think it looks big in the pictures then you would really be impressed with it in person as it really is amazing to see a typical ram air canopy at this scale.

Pictures of it being packed:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=73256;
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=73257;
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=73258;



With all thats been said, the late Paul Rafferty could flat pack a tandem faster than most people could PRO pack and was usually bagging it while they were just getting ready to place it on the floor. It's pretty hard for someone with little tandem packing experience to screw up a flat pack of a tandem that causes a mal. On the other hand, I've seen several tandem mals, mostly line overs, caused by those new to/low experienced in pro packing tandems.

I wasn't a fan of it at first but have since changed my stance on it, the best way to PRO pack a tandem or other large canopy is using the elevated/suspended hook method to hold all the lines as opposed to draping them over the shoulder. I've seen this method used with very large canopies and it works fantastically.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[JerryBaumchen 1,452]

Hi Scott,

Interesting photos.

I would like to just grab a Coke, some popcorn & spend 1/2 of a day watching them pack that.

JerryBaumchen

[LouDiamond 1]

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Hi Scott,

Interesting photos.

I would like to just grab a Coke, some popcorn & spend 1/2 of a day watching them pack that.

JerryBaumchen

The cherry picker you see in the pictures along with a boat oar is what is used to create the folds in the canopy between the line groups. Just like a normal PRO pack, except your not using your hand/arm to create the folds and separate the line groups. It's not something that is done fast by any means.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[NovaTTT 2]

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The cherry picker you see in the pictures along with a boat oar is what is used to create the folds in the canopy between the line groups. Just like a normal PRO pack, except your not using your hand/arm to create the folds and separate the line groups. It's not something that is done fast by any means.

It's at that point the Jolly Green Giant comes in to purge the air and bag it.

"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

[mjosparky 4]

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Here they are, a few quick shots, circa 2006, of the chute while being packed. With over 5 miles of suspension line averaging 90+ feet in length from attachment point to the riser mechanism, there is a lot of everything to deal with.If you think it looks big in the pictures then you would really be impressed with it in person as it really is amazing to see a typical ram air canopy at this scale.

That looks like the drying tower at Air Delivery YPG. If I remember right that tower is just about 100 feet high.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[LouDiamond 1]

That would be correct.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING