Stowing your slider

[PLFKING 4]

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This is fine for less experienced jumpers on larger canopies.

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As wing loading increases, it becomes more important to pull the slider down for three reasons:

1. the extra drag is a bigger issue at higher speeds

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3. the slider prevents the canopy from spreading out - in canopy terms, it remains very cathedraled, and this affects performance.

In these remarks, are you likening "higher wing loadings" to "high performance landings"?

I drive a Hornet 190 with Rapide links and a collapsible slider, have plastic bumpers. and my wing loading is approx. 1.37:1 (which is considered moderate-to-high, I believe). (162 jumps - about 80 at this w/l). I'm just now starting to experiment with surfing, with 90 degree-or-less turns and a VERY conservative approach to the whole thing. Or what I thought was conservative....you've given me pause to re-think that.

Are you suggesting that I should have larger grommets on my slider, so it will over pass the bumpers ? Or is your "higher wing loadings" reference pointed towards swooping ? I must admit, I don't like the idea of having to worry about unstowing a brake while pulling the slider down over it.


Don

"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

[billvon 3,099]

>In these remarks, are you likening "higher wing loadings" to "high
>performance landings"?

In a way. Most jumpers get smaller canopies so they can go faster, get longer planeouts, start swooping etc. In many cases, you can get the effect of going down a canopy size by simply making your current canopy more efficient. This can be done by:

-using a good kill line collapsible PC
-killing the slider
-pulling the slider down to your shoulders
-loosening your chest strap under canopy (make sure you have the proper equiment before you try this)
-making sure your lines are in good shape (get a reline if the outers have shrunk more than manufacturer's recommendations, or 3-4" for most canopies)
-making sure your toggles are trimmed correctly (you should be able to pull them down an inch or so with no deflection of the tail)

Since smaller canopies are less forgiving than larger ones in general, I recommend people do the above _before_ they get a smaller canopy. They may get the increased performance they want without the expense (and additional risk) of the smaller canopy.

[saramorgan 0]

We make slider keepers, just a couple peices of velcro and binding tape. Slips over the reserve flap, no kill lines, just roll it up tight and stow it behind you. I love this personally- it works great!

[MrHixxx 0]

The problem I see with this design is that it will come off with a reserve deployment. If this happens, there is always some chance of it to mingle and foul the reserve deployment.

I just came from a rigging seminar where it was mentioned that a reserve whistled in with the slider up from one 4 inch piece of E thread some years back. Imagine what a piece of velcro can do...

peace, Hixxx

[saramorgan 0]

We make the slider keepers with an elastic band (and 2 peices of 2" velcro, and a small piece of binding tape )that goes around the reserve flap, right up @ the top of the flap. Not too tight, so that in the event that you must cut away once it's stowed, it would pull off of the reserve flap easily, and float away w/ the main. And when the reserve deploys, if in fact the p/c or reserve did catch on the keeper, the keeper would be pulled off of the reserve flap quite easily. I am not a rigger, my husband is and we both really like this way. He has had a # of chops and I have had 2 using the keepers like this and we have never had, or heard of a problem w/ them.

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[Falko 0]

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A rigger told me that he had seen an instance where a slider drawstring tab had not been completely stowed in its little pocket, and a line had knotted around it on deployment preventing the slider from descending --> cutaway.

This is why I fold the border of the slider inwards (about 5cm / 2 inches), so that the drawstring tabs point to the center of the slider.
I believe this way it's less likely that lines will wrap around the tabs when you bag it?
Does not make a difference in deployment speed with my Silhouette 170, so I thought it doesn't hurt.

Ich betrachte die Religion als Krankheit, als Quelle unnennbaren Elends für die menschliche Rasse.
(Bertrand Russell, engl. Philosoph, 1872-1970)