Kolla

been using blackberries for a couple of years but now have an iPhone - my life is so much better Blue Skies Magazine

The line on the canopy in question IS the line PD sells. What John is saying is that we don't make it available the same way we make other line types available. The 300 HMA line sets are can not be bought as "kits", they must be installed at PD. We try our best to make sure that people requesting that line know the pros and cons and will not hesitate to recommend heavier line if the jumper is not a competitive swooper. I am always surprised at how many people request 300 HMA reline, even jumpers that claim to be conservative and have no interest in swooping . Blue Skies Magazine

There has been some amount of misinformation and speculation in this thread, so with this post we hope to clarify a few things. We have waited to post the reply to allow us time to look at the canopy & lines and speak to people before posting. We are grateful to dropzone.com moderators for allowing us to add this post to the thread, as we feel it contains good information for the high performance pilots that frequently read this forum. Below you will find facts and observations from John LeBlanc, PD's VP and chief designer. They address a recent incident at Skydive DeLand, involving an in-flight failure of 300 HMA suspension lines on a Velocity. Bit of a long read, as John has a lot of information to share, but we have set this up in a bullet format for easy reading. 1. Two lines failed (not three). The center A lines failed near the fingertrap at the lower end of the lines, where the end of the fingertrapped line terminates inside. The line was PD's current 300 lbs HMA line, which is made available on a limited basis to competitive canopy pilots. 2. The two lines separated just after the canopy pulled out into level flight on rear risers, after a 630 degree front riser turn was made. The jumper lost control of the canopy once the lines separated. 3. PD recommends that jumpers using 300 HMA replace lines every 100 to 150 jumps (150 at the most). This particular line set had between 250 and 300 jumps on them, something we STRONGLY discourage. The lines were worn to the point that they really did not look airworthy. 4. This jumper has previously been known to continue jumping with PD's 300 lbs HMA until the lines break. His last 300 HMA line set went over 400 jumps before he broke several lines. Whilst PD did not specifically request this of him, we did appreciated the feedback as it helped us gain confidence in our 100-150 jump recommendation. However, in light of this accident, we consider this an unsafe practice and again request that jumpers using 300 HMA reline their canopies at or near the 100 jumps mark. 5. It should also be noted that a hard opening may very well cause these lines to fail on opening at far fewer jumps than 100. It is primarily meant for competitive swoopers to make practice and competition jumps. 300 HMA is NOT a suspension line suitable for everyday use. 6. Due to the typically soft openings on a Velocity, we now see that it is possible to have worn lines receive a higher load in flight than they may have received during repeated openings. 7. Many of MEL's comments about our 300 HMA suspension lines are incorrect. The supplier mentioned (CSR) does not manufacture any HMA line for PD. The information about our suppliers for that line is proprietary and will not be disclosed. 8. To address MEL's comment about the 300 line being a 350 line: It is important to understand that the advertised RATING of a line is not the same as BREAKING STRENGTH of a line. Each line manufacturer sells their line with a rated strength, met by a process that may have some variation from time to time. In other words, they apply a safety factor below the breaking strength to arrive at their rated strength, to allow for minor variation from one lot of another. How much of a safety factor is actually applied does vary from one supplier to another, so arguing whether it is 300 or 350 is a bit of a moot point. 9. MEL appears to claim that his "blue coated HMA line" is superior due to that treatment offering better UV protection. We believe, based on extensive testing of many lines and line coatings, that this is not a significant factor in strength or wear resistance. In short, we disagree with MEL that UV degradation is a relevant factor when it comes to HMA line sets used in competition swooping canopies, since the the time that the line is exposed to UV is so short. Compared to the abrasion the line receives from slider grommets and other factors, there is certainly not enough exposure to sunlight to make it relevant for HMA. Zylon is the only type of fiber that would need such care and that line (to the best of our knowledge) is only used in space recovery systems. Zylon simply falls apart after a short exposure to sunlight. Conclusion. The important thing for us ALL to learn from this incident is that the typically LOW opening shocks of modern parachute designs, combined with the HIGH G forces possible in flight, now mean that it IS possible to create high enough loads on worn lines THAT THEY CAN FAIL IN FLIGHT, even after having survived a “normal” opening. We believe this applies to any worn line regardless of the type or strength. This is actually the second time we have heard of an in flight line failure. The first time was several years back when another cross braced canopy, manufactured by another company, had a control line fail during a landing, injuring the jumper in the process. This canopy was equipped with standard factory Vectran line set that had been heavily worn. It failed at the brake locking loop when the jumper was flaring of a swoop for landing. The solution to this is to properly maintain your gear. We believe that the common belief that we structurally test our canopies on opening, we can just "jump it until it breaks" is no longer a viable idea, keeping in mind the slower opening canopies of today and the flight loads they can generate. This applies regardless of the type of line used and it's strength when new. So lets maintain our gear! Kolla Kolbeinsdottir Performance Designs, Inc Sponsorship & Marketing Operations Blue Skies Magazine

Nah Agent, YOU da man!! Blue Skies Magazine

Yeah Mark!! Nice containers, I'd say it's totally badass, matching hacky and all! Blue Skies Magazine

I'll help you out a little.... it's 4 Just start clicking around and see what you come up with. Not all the pieces of this puzzle have come to light yet and putting it all together might require some teamwork... - fun stuff ahead! Blue Skies Magazine

Hmmmm Blue Skies Magazine

Granted I'm no swooper, but isn't it the PILOT that is supposed to be flying the canopy? Stu, man, you gotta be the leader of your pack - for some reason these parachutes are just not respecting you as a canopy pilot! Blue Skies Magazine

Stu... Stu... Stu.... tsk tsk tsk. You go back to your parachute and tell her you are very very sorry, that you love her and this will never happen again! Blue Skies Magazine

To amend Eric's original post, please note the following request from Kelley's family: The service will be in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday May 31, 2008. There will be a viewing Friday night. In-lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (in support of breast cancer research). Kelly's mother died of breast cancer when Kelley was 20 years old. Blue Skies Magazine

Official notice to STORM enthusiasts, straight from the PD Headquarters.... Effective immediately, Mondays have been eliminated from the week of May 4th - May 10th, 2008. Please note that this week it will be SUN, TUE, TUE, WED, THURS, FRI, SAT. We hope to go back to normal configuration very soon... (not "Katana-soon" though) and then be able to feature a bright and brillant new canopy on our website :) People that don't care much about the STROM may proceed with Monday as normal STORMY skies! Kolla Blue Skies Magazine

Ask Arizona Airspeed what they think.... the team jumps a mixture of Velocities and Stilettos (3 of each)

I don't know about the Otter - guess calling manifest would be the best way to find out ( (772) 388-5672). Blue ones, Kolla Blue Skies Magazine

The standings are up on the PD Blog for those interested. Also... I heard Bryan had a special outfit for the awards ceremony, did anyone happen to snap a picture of that??? Would love to see it! Blue ones, Kolla Blue Skies Magazine

No I didn't, I wasn't sure myself that I was winning until the scores came out late that night (I'm sure you know how that goes). But this is good, you and me both winning - proud to be your teammate on the winning team!! Blue Skies Magazine

Aahhhhh ok, good - at least you are somewhere warm :) I don't know why I got it in my head you were in CA - but then I'm easy to confuse :) Heal up quick - and I hope those 2 months go by very fast. And have fun learning to use your left hand - I'm a confused lefty (write with left hand but do a lot of other stuff with my right) so maybe we can get some training together Blue Skies Magazine

Here is Shannon's reply, check it out http://pdblog.typepad.com/pdblog/2008/04/shannon-pilcher.html Blue Skies Magazine

Gail! You crazy girl, get your ass back to FL and into the loft, no cars there! Blue Skies Magazine

Well, you weren't the only one - if that makes you feel any better. Shannon had a great time with it and commented that there were actually some good candidates out there - maybe you were one of those! We had a great time with it - it's not every day that we are able to pull off a prank on Shannon, the master of pranks Blue ones, Kolla Blue Skies Magazine

Hey - I'll gladly just get straight to the point :) The Vengeance is a product that has been discontinued, we do not accept orders. If airlocks are your fancy, then I suggest contacting Big Air Sportz. If if it is the performance of the Vengeance you like, I would recommend trying the Katana. Hope that helps! Blue ones, Kolla Kolbeinsdottir Performance Designs, Inc. Blue Skies Magazine

Yeah Mark, our little Dan is all grown up now! Dan, Pete and Chris - awesome job guys!! I've been watching Dan since he was a little kid in diapers, swooping a giant Sabre2 - and look at him now, laying down distance runs like the pros!! Definitely was an eventful meet with tough conditions, but the competitors did a great job keeping cool and focused. BIG thanks to Jay and Brian for stepping up to help with organizing, course maintenance and general meet directing after Al decided to clock out early to go hit on some cute Putnam County nurses Judges Kim & Laticia worked hard as always - and this time around were lucky enough to have a couple of helpers, AJ, Monica and Amber - and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. And a quick note to the competitors.... hug a judge next time you see one. These people for the most part are working for free so that you can compete! We aren't perfect, but we do our damn best to keep up with you guys so the meets can happen. Usually I'm not sure why I even do it, but then when I hear Loud Dan won the comp, Pete came in 2nd and Chris in 3rd, I just get all warm and fuzzy on the inside - and I know Kim and Tish feel the same. Hope to see everyone in Sebastian in a few weeks! Blue ones, Kolla Edited: and yeah.... next time when there is a weather day there will be no x-box crap, if we have a weather day - you are all sitting through a judges course to become regional judges!!! It will do you good and give you a better understanding of how judging works - it will be fun!! Blue Skies Magazine

Thanks for sharing Brian! The guys look great, love the video

Keep in mind that it's bike week down here so even the crummiest motels are booked solid. Odds are that finding a place to stay won't be easy - your best bet might be in Gainesville or Jax. Blue Skies Magazine

Merriah from team Flew-id claims it's snow - try that one Blue Skies Magazine

A little bit of HMA info can be found here: http://www.performancedesigns.com/hma.asp edited to fix the link.... I guess it helps :) Blue Skies Magazine