KellyF

The AAD is based on the Aircrew Cypres, and there will be just one, intended to activate the reserve and release the drogue when it fires. VSE on Facebook

I'm not sure if I want to put ALL of the differences in print, and I'm not sure exactly what I'm free to discuss about the project, but the main differences you see are probably the pockets for the oxygen bottles on the sides of the rig, and some extra flaps on the reserve pin cover flap. I turned the pin cover into another container for the drogue pilot chute, and put a small container for the drogue at the top of the backpad. The footage of Felix in droguefall in that video isn't the rig or the drogue that we built. That's from earlier in the program, before we were brought on board. The jump is planned to be a true freefall, with no drogue- it's there incase stability or excess speed becomes an issue- therefore it does not act as a pilot chute for either canopy and gets released when either ripcord is pulled. The handles are also in different locations, and shaped differently since Felix will have limited mobility and visibility when the suit is pressurized. I don't think they have a firm date for the jump yet, as there are still plenty of things getting worked out for the project.

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Slider down doesn't count A MARD will get the reserve out of the bag at about the point where the reserve pilot chute is at it's highest point in the picture that PilotDave posted. The rest of the deployment will come down to what kind of canopy is coming out of that bag.

The best answer is to look at the profile of the D-bag. If it's rectangular in profile (with the exception of a bag designed like what Scott has pictured) the lines generally should towards the bottom flap. If the bag is more square in profile, you can place the lines in either location. It's mostly a cosmetic issue- imagine trying to fit a vertical rectangle into a horizontal one of the same area/volume. Does it fit?

I've never cared for the ball/rubberband slider stows, since you have something in the airstream that is INTENDED to hook a line/rubber band and not let go The risers look like UPT risers, not that it would have made much difference if they were ours. I doubt your last line stow had much to do with the malfnction, unless your main PC is very weak and has a hard time lifting the bag away from your back. No line twists on the reserve? AMAZING! Good job on dealing with an unlandable canopy VSE on Facebook

It looks like there's a couple of tings going on there. 1) It looks like the reserve closing loop is on the long side- I think I can see the PC cap. 2) There appears to be a lot of bulk under the secondary riser covers- like there's bulky toggles, dive loops, or the risers aren't laying side by side. The sides of the reserve packjob could also be pushing out instead of the sides bing perpendicular to the backpad. 3) Maybe try filling out the corners of the main bag better- that will help fit the canopy in the bag, and support the main side flaps to help get rid of the wrinkles. We definitely like seeing our rigs smooth and tidy!

Well, we could've put your order on the slow boat and shipped it after the new year Just one VW owner helping out another VSE on Facebook

The locking stow rubber bands had been put on the standard way with a larks head, then later broke. The person that packed the canopy then used the long piece of the rubber bands to half hitch the locking stows instead of replacing the rubber bands. VSE on Facebook

I've seen video of the exact same scenario (not the jump in the picture, however), and the opening was normal. I believe the canopy was an Icarus 360? The one I saw was caused by poor packing- half hitching the locking stows, naturally they broke. VSE on Facebook

It *should* be fine left packed, but having no idea exactly how tight it is, or how well it is packed, I can't say for certain if fabric is slipping out from underneath grommets and such. And for the record, I'm not suggesting downsizing to a 135 or anything like that, jsut saying that there ARE 150's that will go into your container. I have no first hand experience with your 155, but as mentioined earlier in the thread, the fabric alone could make it pack larger than a Sabre 170, and if that's the case, I would quit trying to fit it in the container

This bears repeating :-) There has been a lot of good info from everyone in this thread, so I'll just mention that the I-33 was designed to hold a Sabre 1 150 on the very high end, and a Stiletto 150 would be considered more reasonable. Depending on the construction of your 155 and the material it's made from, it may not be realistic to expect it to fit at all. If you have to muscle it in the container on a consistent basis, it's probably best to find a different canopy or container (canopy is usually easier if your container fits you well). FWIW, my favorite trick for closing tight mains since I was a kid was pulling the pull up cord as far as I could get it, then standing the rig up and using my foot on the pull up cord between my hand and the rig (basically standing on the pullup cord). You can pull up LOTS of loop that way, but as Rob mentioned, too tight can damage flaps and stiffeners..... VSE on Facebook

That looks GREAT, Greg! VSE on Facebook

Actually, an RSL is exactly what he had on that jump- the pin got pulled by the departing canopy, just like the RSL's on any brand of rig on the market. What "failed" was the MARD (Main Assisted Reserve Deployment) portion of the system. We don't know how or why at this point, but I'm curious to find out. It should take a couple hundred pounds of force in a straight line from the main canopy to the reserve bag to break the red lanyard (I don't know the exact figure off the top of my head). It will take up to 20 lbs. of force in a straight line from the pilot chute to the red lanyard to break the red seal thread holding the lanyard to the hook. So something broke (more or less by design), was it the red seal thread at the hook, or the red lanyard on the RSL/Skyhook? VSE on Facebook

I almost haven't forgotten about your risers We sent stickers and pullup cords down with a demo rig for Square 1 Elsinore, should be there today or tomorrow

If you look at 1:17, you'll see the cutaway main canopy ~50 feet away from the jumper with no freebag of PC attached to it. If the Skyhook FINISHED the deployment, you should see the reserve in that shot. The Skyhook initiated deplyment by pulling the reserve pin, then either disconnected, or the lanyard broke because it couldn't pull the bagged reserve from between the jumper's head and right shoulder. So the question I have is: was the lanyard found intact or broken? VSE on Facebook

Actually, we think that the last picture is a "safe" way to close the container. There needed to be more bridle tucked in above the pin, with the pin flipped over, for us to be able to see potential for the pin to pierce the bridle

Depends on the rig. The rig in the photos has a closing loop that is 1/4-3/8" too long. The side flaps are designed to just "touch". Another manufacturer has a theory that this malfunction could be related to the pilot chute not being fully cocked, and the centerline bunching up the outside "tubular" portion of the bridle when the pilot chute inflates. It's certainly a valid theory. The malfunction could be one, or a combination of both factors. VSE on Facebook

It sounds like your team mate was probably stowing his brakes incorrectly. Toggle keeper or not, the brake shoudn't come unstowed when the lines get loaded. I've seen a LOT of people set their brakes ABOVE the ring instead of BELOW the ring. In these cases, the only thing keeping the brakes set is the strength of the toggle keepers, which I've seen ripped off many times. Toggle keepers were originally intended to make it easier to pull the slider past the toggles, and to keep the slider from knocking the tip of the toggle out of the brake setting should it come flying down the lines and get past the links

It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. We buy ours cut to length and finished, I think Jump Shack cuts and finishes their own (at least they used to), for example. VSE on Facebook

The housings are actually made of stainless steel, and the ferrules on the ends of the cutaway housings and SOME ripcord housings are brass. These ferrules sometimes don't completely cap the sharp ends of the stainless coil where it was cut after they've been applied. This is something that's looked for during inspection, but isn't as big of an issue with coated or bare cable as it could be with a braided line. If you look closely at the ferrules of your ripcord housing (UPT), you'll notice that they are stainless steel also, and reach further inside the housing. I believe Bill stated at one point that that style housing was the only kind he would use with a spectra ripcord (Bill, correct me if I'm putting words in your mouth

I've seen one video of bag strip on a tandem canopy that had all the locking stows half-hitched. The canopy came out of the bag 1-2 feet out of the container, with all the rest of the linestows still in place. The canopy opened normally (soft). One thing to keep an eye on with your bag is the wear on the fabric around the magnets. If they are just held in with para-pack, the lines could wear through the fabric fairly quickly. Have fun with it though! We've made a few variations on the idea, and for the most part, the people that jump them love them. But I'm not comfortable selling the style everyone wants VSE on Facebook

Structurally safe, yes, but near impossible for someone sitting across from that person to visually check the routing, which is what prompted the thread

Thanks for the reply Mark. I was basing my comment on the tests that you guys shared with me at PIA (which you certainly didn't have to). I'm sure I didn't see all of them, but I didn't see any where the reserve was deployed under the flying main and the pilot chute broke the thread, initiating deployment of the reserve. I don't know what the wing loading of the canopy was, or any of those details, but I would guess it was in the 1.0-1.3 range. One of the tests seemed to indicate that it would take more speed than the canopy would produce in straight and level flight to break the thread. Again, I'm not privvy to ALL of the tests you've done. I try to post based off of what I've seen, and some informal tests I've done didn't seem to agree with what Bill had said, either

You're welcome, Josh! Your rig shipped out on Monday, so you should have it in your hands real soon