kaerock

I know someone that jumps a stiletto 150 loaded at under 1.0. Other than the incredibly slow forward speed, insane riser pressure, and not having to ever run out a landing, the canopy performed well. With enough determination it's still swoopable, though. Flying in moderate to high winds was the only real hazzard to speak of, but good planning and awareness can counter that (it's still no fun). -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

That's another situation where double-stowing lines might be bad: low-drag pilot chute -- pilot chute in tow. I've not actually seen rigs with reverse risers, intuitively, it seems like a bad idea as it perhaps they are more likely to be pressed against something during a malfunction. -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I'm not too clear on what the actual mal was, was it a pilot chute in tow or a bag lock? They mentioned the rubberbands, what role did they have to play in this? -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

If' you've got to bend a pin to get the flap to sit correctly, then perhaps Sunpath needs to take a look at their work. Their own rigger didn't see a problem with the flap? Did she correct the bent pin or did you get it back with a bent pin? I'd think that their own rigger should've raised a red flag when that happened. What was her comment on it? I'd consider calling them and talking to them about sending it in to them to have them look at it. -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

After downsizing to a Samurai 105, I get the flatline at like 30ft after doing a 270...that tickled me the first time. Nothing like a klaxon in your ear as you're in your zone navigating a swoop. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

As you can see, you're going to get a million opinions on the subject. I'd suggest doing what works for you. You need to consider the thickness of your lines, how loose or tight your canopy fills the d-bag, and what you feel more comfortable with. Knowing that big rubber bands are way more common, you'll find them anywhere if you need one in a pinch. But keep a couple of things in mind: -Tension on the lines is only really required for the locking stows to keep your canopy in the bag until line stretch is reached, THEN the canopy is ready to be extracted from the d-bag. Having the canopy extracted before you get full line stretch will cause a painful opening shock. -You do NOT want excessive tension on all other stows, you do not really need any tension at all (see stow-less d-bags), you just need some way of managing all of the lines in your pack-tray so they don't knot up or wrap around something they shouldn't. Excessive tension causes your bag to wobble as the stows come undone, causing off-heading openings or line twists. Personally, my canopy is VERY loose in my d-bag, I have 550lb Microline (as well as using 750lb), so I double-stow my large rubber band locking-stows (all three of them), otherwise there is basically nothing keeping my canopy in the bag. I double stow all the rest of my lines with large rubber bands as well. I generally have very soft, on-heading openings with moderately to highly-loaded ellipticals. This works for me, my canopy(ies), my bag, my container, my hands. Experiment! -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

At that wing-loading the Stiletto would be very docile, I wouldn't have a problem with the jumper using that canopy if they jumper showed they had good judgment and reflexes. This includes standing up every landing, knowing how to do flat-turns and relatively decent accuracy...big emphasis consistency. -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Actually, I believe this would negate any potential use as a reserve. As I understand it, using it just once as a main makes it no longer suitable as a reserve again. Scratch that idea :> -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

In the immortal words of Special Ed: YAAAAAY! -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I think the 'correct' answer is: right away. While it *may* not cause a problem, it's not undoubtably safe. Anything other than perfect working order is not something you want with a reserve system. Are there any broken threads or does it just look like some of the threads have been pulled out a little? I think if some of the threads have just been pulled a little, they can possibly be worked back in, if they're actually broken, I wouldn't consider that acceptable. -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I concur, but another possibility is the packing area. Most people cocoon their canopies while packing, causing the topskin to be rubbed on the ground, especially while people kneel on it stuffing it into the bag. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I believe you are mistaken. The ZP fabric used in most canopies today IS ripstop nylon. And depending on the size, shape and location of the 'tear', it may or may not be an immediate problem. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Are you sure that wasn't just for a high AWE-DAMN-Factor? ;> -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Most people are still doing not more than a 270, actually. You really don't generate more speed from a 360 as you can prolong a dive from a 270 to gain as much speed as the canopy will take (going to double fronts, slowing the turn to elongate the dive). -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Actually, reading that section in some depth, one would find: A. An alteration to an approved parachute system used for intentional jumping must be done in accordance with approved manuals and specifications and only by those with specific authorization to perform that alteration. Specific approval is not needed for the method of altering a main parachute. Mains are not regulated as much as reserves are, I guess it would then be up to the Jump Pilot/DZ to decide if they want to let you fly your "altered" main :> -Rory You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Yea, this would be a major consideration even if you didn't jump in a dusty place. Every packing mat I've seen has been pretty full of junk. I'm not sure how sticky bees wax actually is once it's on the lines, so it could have no effect for all I know. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I don't know what the ignition point for Spectra or bee's wax are off-hand, but I'd venture to think that I couldn't turn my canopy fast enough to cause the lines rub on the guide ring enough to ignite. The initial question concerned the LOWER steering lines specifically, therefore, slider friction is a moot point. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I was wondering if anyone actually uses beeswax on control lines, or on any lines for that matter. Does it help them from getting chewed up? Does it help them slide through the guide ring? -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I'm just wondering if there is a general consensus on preference for Super Tack or Lite Super Tack. The applications I need are general tacking: riser housings, cable housings, etc, etc. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Have you considered a Samurai? It's the successor to the Jedei, I think you'll like it if you fly it. Demo everything you can. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Pulling a front or rear riser creates more drag? By making a distortion that sticks out into the air-stream? Pulling a riser does change the shape of the canopy yes, but not causing more drag. You're basically causing a deformation that changes the angle of attack of the entire wing or part of it. It seems to me that the only increase in drag comes because of an increase in airspeed caused by the resultant diving of the canopy. Pulling a toggle, on the other hand does cause the canopy to drag by deforming it much more drastically at the rear outside edges. Harness turns cause much more even and subtle changes in the wing shape, yes, but it's not more efficient because it doesn't make a distortion that "sticks out into the air-stream". -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Stop! - Jane's Addiction -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

holy brrr, batman. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

They are very accurate...assuming the watch isn't facing into the wind or caught in the burble of your wrist...then they can vary wildly. It's probably a good idea to try to ween yourself off of the altimeter anyhow. If you start your dive high enough, accuracy to 10 feet doesn't really matter, as you are in the middle of the dive you use your eyes to correct for entering high or low. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Canopy Nazi diatribe thread hijacking aside, One huge advantage of having a negative recovery arc is that it keeps you erring on the side of caution when swooping. Generally when you are setting up for a high-performance landing and you are rather high, you plain out higher than you wanted, you will still be able to salvage the swoop as you retain much of your speed. Generally if you have to stab because you are low, you will lose your elegant swoop, inching down each successive swoop to reach your goal of perfection. Foolishly, this is when you biff. A negative recovery arc would give you extra incentive in always turning 'a little high', rather than trying to inching it down. So, therefore, having a negative recovery arc can get you in the habit of 'missing' high rather than stabbing, saving your life and your swoop. ;> I think short recovery arcs teach people bad bad habits of trying to push it lower until they smack in. With this idea in mind, I think that if you are learning to swoop, it should not be on a short-recovery-arc canopy (personally I'd go for the Samurai). -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE