cobaltdan 0 #1 January 18, 2003 just got back from test drops with rws last week. while there bill booth queried me about our experience and data using "small" pilot chutes, as atair recommends pilot chutes smaller than any other manufacturer. the discussion was extremely interesting. while inspecting one of our pilots, bill explained a few things that we took for granted but would explain why we have success with small pilots and some other manufacturers have not. for starters bill pointed out that many companies manufacture pilot chutes with improper technique or tollerences. such technique does not matter much on larger pilot chutes but makes all the difference on small ones. i.e. sewing tapes on the mess with the weave will result in skirt of the pilot not being equidistant to the bridal. there is a drastic difference in the drag of, and collapsing operation of a properly constructed small pilot and one that is not. we have always promoted pilot chutes custom made for our canopies by jim cazer. they are exceptional in construction quality and we have just took it for granted that all manufacturers would build them the same way. i have now inspected pilots from some major rig manufacturers, many would simply not work in a 22" size because of how they construct them. another interesting point brought up is how pilot size is measured. different companies measure them differently ie. cut size or sewn size. turns out that rws is considering offering a pilot for their smaller rigs that is almost identical in size to atair's 22". i believe bill will be giving a lecture at the pia covering pilot chute construction, hardware and more. sincerely, dan<><>Daniel Preston <><> atairaerodynamics.com (sport) atairaerospace.com (military) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kolla 0 #2 January 18, 2003 Thanks for sharing that Dan - many feel that "a pilot chute is a pilot chute", but as you pointed out they can vary quite a bit in not only size but construction as well.The pilot chute can play a big role in the opening of your canopy and that is at times overlooked by jumpers when they dealing with opening problems.Thanks for the heads up!KollaBlue Skies Magazine Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #3 January 19, 2003 One of our experienced load organizers was complaining last spring that he was getting serious PC hesitation with his new rig (including new PC). It turned out that the PC had the reinforcing tapes parallel to the mesh weave, rather than at 45 degrees.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keskeie 0 #4 February 5, 2003 Who was the rig made by?We were never feeling bored because we were never being boring. -Zelda Fitzgerald Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
