BrianSGermain 1 #1 February 16, 2004 The new line-set for the Lotus Intermediate Airlock canopy is now available for all Lotus Pilots. The new trim includes the following differences: 1) Eagle Trim: reduced anhedral arc for reduced stall speed. 2) Altered "C" and "D" line lengths for higher airspeed and improved flare characteristics without significantly compromising glide ratio. 3) Spectra outboards to prevent shrinkage from offsetting the slider stops. Although the existing line-sets are perfectly safe, the new trim makes the Lotus a better flying wing. If you are interested in putting the new lines on your canopy, contact Big Air Sportz today! +Instructional Videos:www.AdventureWisdom.com Keynote Speaking:www.TranscendingFEAR.com Canopies and Courses:www.BIGAIRSPORTZ.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #2 February 16, 2004 >Spectra outboards to prevent shrinkage from offsetting the slider stops. Brian, I'm not understanding how Spectra would prevent shrinkage. Could you explain this one in a bit more detail?Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrianSGermain 1 #3 February 16, 2004 You bet. I now see how my wording could be confusing here: “3) Spectra outboards to prevent shrinkage from offsetting the slider stops.” The original line-set design on both the Samurai and Lotus canopies utilized Vectran outboard lines to prevent shrinkage. This accomplished the goal but created a new problem. Due to the shrinkage of the rest of the lines, the outboard lines eventually became longer than the outboards. This, if left unchecked for more than 700 jumps can cause the slider stops to become a “vestigial” element of the system. In other words, the center cell lines were actually shorter than the slider stops on the stabilizer panels. This can result is undue wearing of the center cell bottom skin. The Vectran outer lines were not shrinking, of course. Due to the shrinkage of the rest of the lines, the LACK of shrinkage on the end-cell lines was the source of the problem. This did not create a dangerous situation, just a potential for minor damage to the skins in the long run. The truth is, I have never needed to repair a canopy for this reason. I just wanted to make the change to be on the safe side. Thinking ahead can save a lot of work in the future. The concept of the original line-set was to prevent long-term effects of slider grommet friction from dimensionally altering the line-set. When I realized that the reason Spectra lines were shrinking due to the low melting point (297 F), I realized that the solution was a material with a higher melting point. All Vectran line-sets burn out way too soon, so a mixed method seemed logical. We tested the method with great success, but customers jumped the line-sets beyond the recommended lifespan. It’s ironic, really. By addressing the issue, I managed to create another problem to solve. All changes have secondary effects. It is the anticipation of such effects that is the hard part. +Instructional Videos:www.AdventureWisdom.com Keynote Speaking:www.TranscendingFEAR.com Canopies and Courses:www.BIGAIRSPORTZ.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
