Four line check

[steve1 5]

This may be a really stupid question, but it still has me wondering. In the olden days when packing round canopies you always ran a four line check to make sure everything was straight. You did this by following the center four lines back to your risers. I'm just wondering if you could do the same thing on a square. I know this may be a little more complicated because there are also B and C lines to contend with, but they should cascade down to just four center lines going back to your risers. So my dumb question for the day is, "If these four lines are straight, would your canopy be clear to start packing?" Is there any way it could be still messed up? I know most people (when in doubt) check all their lines back to the risers. I'm just wondering if there is an easier way. Steve

[PhreeZone 20]

A quick three line check (Front, Rear, Steering) walking from the risers to the canopy will let any set throughs, line twists and other issues apear as fast as you can walk it up. Place the front lines between your ring and middle finger, the rear lines between the middle and index and then let the steering rest on your ndex. Walk up to the canopy then. All the lines should be seperated into their line groups all the way to the canopy. This will take care of a lot of prep to pack and its the first step in how I was taught to propack.
If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will....

[quade 4]

Assuming that the canopy was at one time verified to be hooked up correctly, then you can do the same thing with a square canopy. You should do this every time you reconnect the risers to the container.
Check the brake lines as they go through the slider grommets and run them up to the canopy.
Check the outside read riser lines the same way.
Check the outside front riser lines the same way.
If none of them cross any other lines and the front goes to the front / rear goes to the rear, then everything -should- be set up correctly.
After you've verified this, all you should have to do the rest of the day is simply run the lines up as you pack and you should be able to instantlly tell if you have a walk through or not.
quade
http://futurecam.com

[GroundZero 0]

Yes ...
most (some) of us do a 4-line check on every packjob... many don't realize they are doing it.
Packing today usually is PRO or some variation, (PSYCHO, or Wolmari, etc.)... but none the less, we are performing a 4-line check. Take note that with squares, usually we are looking at lines that run clear to the outside of the individual risers vs. the insides with a round canopy. Have someone show you at the dz... it's just as simple and just as important!
Chris

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Maybe he's refering to flat packing when the canopy is on it's side, and you run down the lines from the stabiliser to the riser making sure those lines are clear and attached to the outside of the riser, and then run up the brake lines to check they're clear.
When I grow up, I want to be a post whore

[slotperfect 7]

Get your Rigger or a knowledgeable instructor to show you how to do a "continuity" check on your main. It's good to know, and will confirm as previously posted that your main has been assembled correctly.
Then he can show you how to do what I call a "six" line check (2 front, 2 rear, 2 steering). Note that if the canopy was assembled correctly, nothing should pass over the steering lines when the canopy is in proper layout (a rule of thumb).
To elaborate on the earlier post, when we "PRO" pack, we are in fact doing a line check by walking four distinct line groups and two steering lines separately from the risers to the canopy to begin packing.
This was a great question!
Respectfully,
SP

[markbaur 0]

You might have done a 4-line check on a round canopy as part of your packing procedure, but you probably used the 2-line method when confronted with a tangled parachute. If the canopy was assembled properly in the first place, then following any two adjacent lines from apex to link or vice versa, clearing walk-throughs, dips, twists, and knots along the way, is sufficient to straighten things out. If the two adjacent lines are straight, it is mathematically (topologically) impossible for any other lines to still have a walk-through.
You can do the same thing with a square canopy, and all the methods described by others here work because at heart they involve the same sort of 2-line check. The easiest pair of lines to work with are two A-lines from the same link, but it's possible to use the center lines if you want. As long as one adjacent pair of lines is free from walk-throughs, the entire canopy is.
Mark