Packing differences

[FallingMarc 0]

A few questions about packing in general...
1. I've had people tell me to roll the hell out of the nose and stuff it into the center cell, just roll the sides and leave the center cell hanging open, and most recently someone said that rolling the nose at all was "old-school, from when they didn't know how to design parachutes to open slowly," and that all it did now was cause off-heading openings. So what's the deal? I like to know my canopy(hybrid Triathlon) is there pretty quick--I get real nervous with 1000-foot snivels--but I don't want to beat the hell out of myself every deployment either. I haven't tried leaving the whole nose open, because I've also been told that that's a bad idea. I just roll the tail enough to control the pack when I lay it down... does this affect opening too?
2. If it's not rolling the nose, what does cause wierd openings? By wierd, I mean when it sits me up and immediately does a hard left 90, hard right 90, slow left drift, then the end cells inflate... granted I've only been pro-packing for a few weeks and don't pack very cleanly yet, but then again, I've had my best openings when my pack looked like crap--and when I get the canopy in the bag and think, "wow, that was one of my neatest pack jobs yet," it seems like that's when get wierd off-heading openings.
3. I know body position can account for hard openings, line twist, and whatnot... can that affect whether or not you open on heading as well? If so, how much of an effect can it have, compared to packing? I grab the risers as I'm being sat up, because I've been told it's a good idea to be ready in case you open on a collision course... is there any input I could be inadvertantly giving to the risers to cause the canopy to inflate unevenly?
4. Not really a gear question, but I'm curious. It took about 15 jumps before I actually thought about watching my canopy inflate, then I liked to watch it once it sat me up. Then I had a spinning mal and cutaway on #23... and ever since, I've been unable to look up at the canopy until I feel forward drive and hear the slider. I realize this is not good, but it scares the hell out of me, and I don't know why. I watch the PC inflate, then go back to a neutral box position, and recently, I've even thought, "just look up, dammit, look up!" And I haven't been able to until this weekend, when I brought myself to glance up for a second, but still not watch the whole thing. Is this very unusual? I always give a quick line check and controllability check as soon as it's inflated, but should I be watching the entire deployment? I want to, but as a matter of awareness, how important is it?
Marc

[Geoff 0]

As for watching the canopy during deployment, I would say that once you are used to the 'feel' of a deploying canopy, you would be better watching out for other canopies, and then look up either if it feels wrong (too slow, spinning, nothing happening, or whatever) or after it's opened and you're ready for a control check.
Geoff

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Hi Marc,
I'll whole-heartedly agree with Geoff on the watching the canopy issue.... its much more important to watch around you and get ready for evasive maneouvers if you get a 90 deg off heading in the direction of another jumper wioth a 90 deg off heading in your direction....
As far as rolling noses... I tried to do that on my sabre 210 but that method gave me my most unrully openings. Since then, I've never done it again. The more I think about it, the less I like the idea.. heres why... When you pack a ZP, there will be air in the cells; this air sill has to be forced out when you lay on top of the canopy... if the nose is rolled, it will probably end up unrolling all or part of it, and its the "part" that wories me as nothing will create off-headings as much as pack jobs that are not symetrical.
Which brings me to the next point: what else can create off headings. Make sure you lines are well stowed, even on both sides, and that you leave plenty of line between the last stow and the risers.
And if all you get are 90 degrees... it aint that bad
Remi
Muff 914

[zyzko 0]

AFAIK the need to roll the nose is very canopy-specific and it varies even on different canopies of same make and size, and there are many contributing factors to how quickly the canopy will open - if your canopy slams you you'll be discovering ways to slow it down quickly, but if your openings are ok without rolling the nose why bother - it is true that heavy rolling of the nose and tail can cause off-headings. So do what is best for you and your canopy and what makes you feel comfortable.
As for the "wierd" openings - every canopy has it's own characteristics - trash-packing the canopy can make the openings softer and nicer, because it takes longer for the fabric to unfold, but it is nicer to your canopy if you fold it nice and clean - no fabric between the lines and the tail nicely folded doesn't wear it so much. (At least that's what I've been told by my rigger, I don't know if it is of any real importance or just "fine-tuning").
Grabbing the risers and watching the canopy while it inflates is in my opinion generally a bad idea, you'll get nicer opening by staying in as stable position as long as possible (stare at the horizon and try to keep it in level with your body), and when the opening force snaps you to vertical position keep your hands on your sides and correct any possible turn by shifting your weight in the harness, and "steer" the canopy during it's inflation. If you grab your risers right away your canopy will open faster (by pulling the risers you make slider come down faster) and there is greater possibility that you'll be uneven on your harness, causing off-headings. Be prepared to grab the risers fast in case you have to avoid collision quickly, though. I don't really see any reason to watch the canopy inflate (maybe a few times just to see how it looks like), when you get to know your canopy you can tell from the forces what part of the opening is going on and when it is fully inflated.

[FallinWoman 1]

Hey Marc,
Unfortunately, packing for a bit of snivel is one of those things that if you ask 80 people, you will get 80 different and conflicting ideas. Who owned the canopy before ? I find Gentry to be the best source of info since he owned by Sabre before me. The only other real advice is to ask tons of people and try different things. Eric jumps a Tri, similarly loaded.
I find that I can have one or the other- on-heading, or nice and soft. I am experimenting with different rollings and tuckings. Keep trying!

[cloud9 0]

Hey Marc
I jump a triathlon 175 loaded at about 1.2 I pack the way aerodyne research says to. I pro-pack and just fold the the 3 cells on each side of the center cells in. I do leave the nose out and I pull the slider out over the nose. I do roll the tail about 4 rolls. My opening are great now. But I bought my canopy used and it used to open hard. I found out it had a modification done to the steering lines called a Lodi mod. This added a steering line and caused the canopy to open hard. Anyway I sent it to aerodyne and they fixed my problem. Also aerodyne has written packing instructions with pictures on their web site. They also sell a very good packing video. I have also found those folks to be very friendly when I called so if all else fails give them a call, I'm sure they can help you out.

[FallingMarc 0]

Thanks... I guess I've got some research and experimenting to do. I haven't looked at the Aerodyne site yet, that's a good idea. So much to learn! What an awesome sport...
Marc

[tlshealy 0]

Marc,
Just to let you in on some of my limited experience, I've got over 1300 jumps on F111 canopies and it seems like no matter what you do on opening they usually open the same, I just got a 160 Tri about 25 jumps ago and it seems like anything you do packing or body position affects the opening. At first I watched the entire opening until I realized that looking over your shoulder caused a turn in the opposite direction on opening. I like to watch the opening because I'm still trying to figure out how to pack it, but only after it sets me up. As far as touching the risers during deployment, I did that a few times until I bumped a toggle and it released early. Also if you need to steer quickly on opening use your rear risers because it's very hard to turn with front risers and brakes stowed. I've settled on rolling the entire nose tightly and rolling the tail also. So far that has given me the most consistant openings. It snivels for a while then opens nicely, but it doesn't take that much altitude maybe 600-700'.
Good luck and Blue Skies.
Tad.