CrazyL

Ok here goes: Premature Brake Release is caused by one of two things in most cases. Cause 1: not properly stowed (pilot error). Cause 2: slider hits the tip of the toggle hard enough to unstow the brake. Cause 1 can happen with any type of riser and toggle. Cause 2 happens predominantly with type 17 (1") risers mostly due to the amount of resistance holding the toggle in place during deployment. The velcro riser/toggle covers most bases yet for some skydivers velcro makes the excess line fuzzy and scary to jump. Some jumpers prefer velcroless riser/toggle for this reason. Most risers being jumped have a toggle keeper that holds the tip of the toggle once the brake is set. Majority of toggle keepers are made with 1" elastic, type 3 tape or type 12. Some open at the top some sewn closed. The hard tip of the toggle has for the most part remained the same throughout time. For the time being I will limit this discussion to U.S. manufactured toggle designs. Velcroless toggles: Tip of toggle is held in place by the toggle keeper w/ brake set. For the rest of the toggle from the grommet down there are many designs. The lower part of the toggle may be held in place by a straight pin fitting into a sleeve on the riser, an elastic keeper holding a hard sewn part of the toggle, stiffener fitting into a sleeve, a snap on riser and toggle, etc. From what i've seen, the majority of toggle designs that have no resistance below the grommet on the toggle release too easily and have been partly the cause of some mals. The designs that have positive resistance just below the grommet do not release as easily when the slider races down the lines and slams into the tip of the toggle. There are more reasons why the slider even makes it to the toggle area,the connector links. Soft links are standard now days. Many skydivers use them. Some have slider bumpers that work for a while. Rapide links and silicon slider bumpers are still in use as well. Each have their pros and cons. I'd bet many skydivers who jump with soft links on type 17 mini risers have been surprised to have their slider over their toggles, wondering to push it up or pull it down. Those with velcroless with premature brake release as well. Some velcroless designs have no place to stow the excess line. Some do. There are a few more things about risers and toggles i could write about here, maybe later.

Thanks for the additional 3's. Sorry,I got all caught up in the P's and left out the 3's! Think them through thoroughly and be good at them!

The Warm Tunnels name is Sally?

QuoteReally? Do the people you see alot of speak of other canopies that are good in canopy progression? I came up in the 'old school of swoop' before the term swoop was swoop. Sabre 135 was the hottest parachute on the market. The stilleto's began gaining popularity among the wild men. Hook turns became popular in incident reports and still are to this day. Stilleto's and Blue Trac were the fastest parachutes around. Nova's were popular for a little while. Would not recommend a Nova canopy for progression. The Stilleto has it's place in canopy progression if a person desires to go fast low to the ground while participating in one of the most painful and deadly parts of the sport. Stilleto recovers faster after a turn , short diver in comparison to Alpha. Alpha has/had longer dive and longer recovery arc in comparison. Just by a little bit. The Crossfire and Crossfire 2 were even longer divers and longer recovery arc with extra flare power in comparison to Alpha and Stilleto.

After seeing a jumper spiral in from nearly 500 ft. Having unstowed the brakes well under 1,000ft, one toggle got stuck. 2,3,4 BAM lights out. Since then I like to have full control including brakes unstowed and toggles in hand by 1500 feet. And I am not a newbie.

Quote Now that made me L M A O !!! So true ,so true.

Your welcome. I feel you have learned a good bit. Have fun.

Ok, I have MADE and/or MODIFIED many RISERS and TOGGLES and have worked with MANY DESIGNS to meet the needs of todays skydivers special needs. Maybe I can help. Gear has made advancements throughout time. Much has remained the same. Main risers have changed more rapidly than most all other components. There are many designs out there. Main risers are not TSO'd which may have a little bit to do with the many designs. Some cover all the bases, function well,and serve their purpose well. Like type 8 risers w/ velcro toggles and excess line velcro stow and no extras. It is highly doubtfull that the slider would untow the toggle from the brake setting prematurely with type 8 risers for a few reasons. One being that the diameter of the slider grommet barely fits over the type 8 risers especially if there a slider bumpers covering the links. PREMATURE BRAKE RELEASE: due to riser design is common with many types of velcroless toggle systems, there are a few reasons. Wanna know why? If anyone is interested say so and i'll spell out why. The answer could be a long winded one but i'll give it up if theres interest.

What??????? WARM TUNNEL? What's her name? Tropical drinks!!!! I wanna play!!

Ya you got it bro! Ever heard of the 7 P's ? Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. The 3 P's ? Pull, Pull on time, Pull stable. The EP's? You gotta know them by now. Relax and enjoy the ride!

Best 'o luck with your new endeavors.

JP, your motives are good. Much respect. CL

Wow, this thread got crazy! 'bout them brakelines, yes the twists cause problems, some subtle, some wicked. There are several good bits of info on this thread. When I do rigging for a customer I like to also have the main as well. A couple days ago while inspecting the fellas main canopy the right brake line was severely twisted and the left had very few twists. After questioning the owner, his canopy has been turning to the right a bit after opening. Once he lands he drops the right toggle and pulls the left. The right toggle leaves his hand and riser for more time than the left. Result is the obvious. After removing the twists, to a certain extent the line would not untwist. Once a certain amount of twists are in the brakelines and having been loaded(jumped) the twists take a 'set'. Basically one side of the weave of the line is loaded more than the other side and tweaks the weave. To fix this, replace the mid and lower control line at about $45 a set. Have you ever twisted a rope or line until it makes a loop on its own from a result of the twists? The loop caused is a hazard which can cause tension knots. If the loop closes around another line there is a good possibility of a knot. Keep in mind during deployment the lines are a bit slack and whipping wildly as the bag reaches full line stretch. Like another poster mentioned, the twisted line also breaks easier. When you have your own gear if you untwist your brake lines regularly the maintenance will cost less over time, the performance of the canopy will last longer as well.

Good luck, many jumpers have the same problem. The bagging begins with the gear. Is the canopies properly sized for the gear? If your having to pack 10lbs of shit into a 5 lb bag, ZP or F-111 will be difficult. F-111 still easier. If your packing the largest size main into the bag/ container it'll be difficult. New ZP as you know is very slippery. Learning to control that slippery chute is a task. Common problem I see is pressure,too much pressure being applied to slippery chute.Here's some general stuff. Once canopy is flaked and on the ground take a break. Get prepared to do the S-folds and bagging. Press air out very slowly, the more you rush the messier it gets. Be good at the S-folds. Once the S-fold is done use as light a pressure on the center of the S-folds as possible. Put too much pressure here and the canopy squirts to the sides then it's a mess. Try to make S-folds shape like a shoe box(rectangle) like the bag. It's good to have a bit of slack in the lines at this point as any tension pulled on the lines will cause the S-fold to come apart. Work one side of canopy and bag at a time. Slide bag under and over canopy one side at a time. Other than that observe others when you see it done well, try to learn from that person. If you ever run into me , ask.

If I remember correctly, they - like all other manufacturers of parachuting equipment - also said that they couldn't guarantee correct operation within the life span since they could not guarantee correct operation period. *** QuoteSo true. There are warning labels, waivers, that all state 'can cause serios injury or death'. So many disclaimers with skydiving equipment. Ultimately it is the users responsibility of the use/maintenance of the equipment. No one can guarantee our safety while using skydiving gear. Nice of the manufacturers and the FAA to give us a little guidance, manuals/ FAR's.

I'd recommend Bonehead helmets. Made in U.S. Easier to get service than out of U.S. companies if your in U.S.They have a good variety for every skydiving application. Good service. Replaceable liners which also means that if you buy a used shell and replace the liner it'll feel like new again, and can be better molded to your head. For RW you may go with the full face model with flip up visor for superior protection. Pro-Tec is the good 'ol tried and true and least expensive. Get good protection. Buy a really nice one and keep it for a very long time.

Yahoo! Congrats for your 100th jump! Good thing you spoke up on the dz about your 100th. Sounds like some cool skydivers heard you and a great skydive was made. Keep it up! If you like getting on skydives with others, invite them along, don't wait for an invitation. Have alot of fun!

Hi Bill. There are several great suggestions in this thread. Our jump #'s are very different, similar situation. Part of the key to relaxing is realizing that you'd rather perform in more of a relaxed manner. You've done that. There are still skydives that get me super amped, sweaty palms, a bit nervous too. From competition skydives, coaching, organized, zoo loads, 2ways to 100 ways.Smiling, breathing, going through the dive in my mind before the dive(visualizing) are still a part of each dive, so maybe i'll have a relaxed mind while flying my butt off. You can load up a jump with several tasks. More tasks = more to perform = more prep = more anxiety to have to perform. You've been pretty busy in freefall throughout AFF. AFF teaches you skills that you will use on every skydive you make. At some point the basics should become second nature. During your solo jumps you can laod up the skydive with many tasks like your AFF jumps or simply stick with the basics and freefall while performing one task other than the basics which is fall. Take a look around enjoy having your knees in the breeze all the while maintaning altitude awareness and pulling on time. Even for such a simple jump, thinking the dive through before getting in the plane makes for a bit more relaxing time. When i coach a skydiver, i like them to plan on doing a fun easy skydive before starting the day coaching. Really loosens them up. Be good at the basics. Have a good time on them solo's, you get to organize them, there all you bro!

Has'nt been a month yet. Lowest tide of the year is this sunday, i'll be in San Clemente catching octopus and lobsters.Where will you be?

Thanks Mel! We've been in contact, his gear will be ready when he's ready. Was in Oceanside early today. Nice offshore winds early, 3-4 ft swell fair shape, water temp 58 F, air temp 52 F this morning. Was surfing for 1 and half hours. Good fun.

Your right! Thanks.

what everone else posted and,DON'T SEW OVER EXISTING BARTACK. Post pics and get advice from other riggers by showing them the stitching. Also, a stitch is 2 threads that 'loop' each other during sewing. The 'loop' is the 'knot' of the 'stitch'. The 'knot' should be in the middle of the material/line. If the 'knot' is on one side of the line consistently throughout the kit you could have problems with the stitching coming undone.

The Love Pat. Pummel till Tidy. Once tidy it's ready to go. Sure it's a karma thing. It's the universal sign of being completely done with the packing/ gearcheck too. It's a shaping/setting/conditioning thing as well. If the Love Pat gets to you a little you should'nt watch a rigger just after closing a rig after an inspection and packing. Pummel till Tidy.

check out all the emotocons.

thanks. it would be preferred to NOT to have the reserve p/c fabric exposed. Like riggerrob said about the oil in the housings and cable. Have assembled new complete system before that had excess solvent in the cable housing. I contacted the manufacturer and my questions were answered well. The housings seem to have been tumbled,cleaned,polished,and dried. Not dried thoroughly. I was instructed on how they would like me to clean the housings,lint free cloth and 550 spectra.I agreed and completed the task. The cable itself covered with a light to medium grease almost oil can be cleaned easily while off the rig by wiping it w/ clean rag, preferably lint-free. It would be nice to know if the ripcord is from the manufacturer or loft and if it was tested to 600 lbs. If the ripcord has a ball and shank at the end by the handle and is tested to 600 lbs an RSL may be used. If the cable end has just a ball and no shank i'd contact the manufacturer of the H/C with questions before using an RSL with the ripcord. W/ rig packed with reserve cable housing stretched out to its fullest there should be atleast 1 inch from the end of cable to handle.