Pocket Slider

[r2hubert 0]

Did any body got some pictures of a pocket slider. I'm interesting in understanding how it looks like and how it works.

Thanks.

--
Renaud SMA #9
"Mind is like parachute. It only functions when it's open."

[Hooknswoop 19]

No pictures, but I do have a drawing. It is a piece of material, usually made of the same material as the slider, folded over itself, edged with binding tape with 2 or 3 pockets to catch air. I've found 3 pockets works best. It is sewn to the leading edge of the slider.

Hook

[skyboyblue 0]

I snapped a picture of this pocket slider on a SET 400 before I packed it tonite. the pocket is to the left, which would be the front of the slider. Its the only part of the slider that peeks out of the front of the canopy while packing it. enjoy

[r2hubert 0]

So I guess there is no way to collapse a Pocket Slider.
How does it react in flight after the opening? Does it inflate?

--
Renaud SMA #9
"Mind is like parachute. It only functions when it's open."

[skyboyblue 0]

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So I guess there is no way to collapse a Pocket Slider

Not necessarily, I'm sure you can deal with the drawstring kind of collapsible sliders,but the pocket would be out. Or if you pull it down, then wrap it all up including the pocket with some velcro tacked into the right places. talk to a rigger about that

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How does it react in flight after the opening? Does it inflate?

It flaps. like a slider, with a pocket.

[BoobieCootie 0]

What exactly is it supposed to do? (That a regular slider doesn't already)

[skyboyblue 0]

it makes the slider work just a little longer for you when it is supposed to...ie slow the opening down. I believe I've read somewhere around here that they have been used as sort of a last resort for canopies that don't open just right. I really don't have too much information on pocket sliders for you.

[Casch 0]

I guess a lot of original Sabres have had pocket sliders put on because of their damn hard openings. This is just what I have heard though.

[hookitt 1]

You heard correctly sir..
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My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[Kris 0]

Correctomundo! I had a pocket slider on my Sabre as well.

Kris

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[councilman24 37]

Of course some of us consider Sabre openings REAL parachute openings, not streamers that clear after 700'. But I'm an inch shorter than I used to be.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[riddler 0]

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it makes the slider work just a little longer for you when it is supposed to...ie slow the opening down.

Why not just get a bigger slider? Would it take a lot of standard surface area to equal the drag of a pocket? Or maybe the pockets help stabilize the slider on one side as it's coming down?

As a side note - on collapsing - if you really wanted to have one of these, it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to fork and extend the drawstrings of a collapsible slider through the inside of the pockets to the trailing edge. Then when you collapsed the slider, it would pull the pockets almost inside out so they no longer inflate. It would take greater strength to pull the drawstring, though.

[Hooknswoop 19]

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Why not just get a bigger slider?

A bigger slider allows the lines groups to be farther apart, reducing the effectiveness of reefing the lines. Imagine a HUGE slider, it would be totally dependant on drag to slow the opening, but the canopy would be allowed to inflate too much and it would slam the slider down.

Slider sizing is a trade-off. Small for better reefing of the canopy, larger to catch more air. Too small and it doesn't catch enough air, too large and it doesn't have enough reefing action.

A pocket increases the drag of the slider without decreasing it's reefing ability.

For collapsing, fold the pocket down after opening and it may flap in the breeze a little, but not very much, (not like a slider will) and it won't inflate. Extending the kill lines is do-able, but requires entirely new kill lines and channels.

Hook

[riddler 0]

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Extending the kill lines is do-able, but requires entirely new kill lines and channels.

Just an idea for you inventor types out there

To clarify - by "reefing", you mean the way the lines come together in order to go through the slider grommets? That would effectively "bow" the canopy at the beginning of the opening, so that it helps to slow the opening itself.

Also, the greater the reef, the more friction is applied to the lines during opening, due to the increased angle of the lines bending through the grommets - correct?

I knew that engineering degree would come in handy some day

[riggerrob 643]

Slider pockets also help delay openings by hiding the nose inlets for an extra fraction of a second, delaying cell inflation.
As for slider pockets stabilizing one edge of the slider: Weird Wayne Snider (from Eloy) recommends installing pockets on both front and rear edges of the slider so it catches air evenly.
Wayne has even sewn pockets on all four edges of sliders owned by photographers.
Yes, I have sewn pockets on dozens of Sabre (Mark 1) but I still believe that the leading cause of hard openings on early Sabres was sloppy packing.
How do we say this in a politically correct manner? Modern canopies are "more tolerant of sloppy packing>"