captain1976

Put to several people over the last couple of days including the manufacturers of both the rig (Dolphin) and the main (PD), along with some very well known friends, I think its narrowed down to 3 possibilities since it was obviously an out-of-sequence opening. The first one is a possible body position issue. I will admit when I'm by myself I don't pay as much attention to it as I should. Having a so-called "sniveling" canopy probably made me a bit sloppy there. The other was a problem Bill Booth recently commented on where he believes hard openings can be caused by uneven riser releases, whether they are velcro or tucks. The last issue could have been uneven line stows, however they are always double-banded. I'm just going to pay a little more attention to those items in the future and see what happens. Thanks all for your comments and input. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

I stand corrected. I will just put on a new set I have Thanks You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Hi Beatnic, There is no doubt that a asymmetrical inflation took place, the left side of my body can attest to that, however with only 150 jumps on the canopy and no other problems to speak of, I will for now assume it was an issue with a slider off the stops. Thanks for your input You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Thanks Andy I will do some research on it You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

The toggles are the ones that come with the PD canopies. The photo was simply to show what a super-duper hard opening can do to it. I like the toggles and never had any issues with them You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

It is collapsible but the issue seems to be the slider moving away from the stops during bagging. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Andy, Please tell me more about the pocket. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

You freepacked it??

After your slammer opening, were any of the locking stows on your bag broken? Actually no, one was frayed a bit but otherwise no band damage. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Since I didn't see it in the picture, does your risers have a stowage pocket for the top part of your toggle? I know on early velcro risers it wasn't very common to have them. Yes it has the pocket, which means it pulled it out of there first. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

I got wacked really good today on my Spectre 230. I suspect the slider came down from the stops a little during bagging as this happened before and I started banding it to the center B lines. But using packers like I do most of the time it’s not always practical. Anyway the opening was so hard I probably won’t be able to jump for a couple weeks. What was interesting is the fact that the right toggle was pulled through the small ring (see pix) and it took 3 people to get it out. The picture shows the last part which was the hardest, it originally was in about ½ way. I'm no expert on the subject but to pull it out of the keeper and force it through that ring must have took a lot of pressure. Under the canopy I was still in shock so I didn’t see the problem until it was too late and I had to land that way countering the turn with the left rear riser (really a bitch) since I was in so much pain. Back to the rubber bands, I already advised my packers to please do it as I cannot afford another opening like that. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Probably no one here will remember Ron but he passed away today. Ron started jumping at Hebron Illinois in 1968 and had several hundred jumps. He last jumped in the early 80's and was one of the first to buy a para cloud. Real nice friendly guy, we will miss him. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

I never heard of an apology from the US Government for its criminal activity in their 1950's. They infected children with radioactive oatmeal in the orphanages to view its short and long term effects. Quaker Oats fully cooperated with this program and I have the same respect for them as I do for our Government. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Great advise. This seems to work well especially with the larger canopies. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Sounds like me too. Just couldn't get stable, probably from the fear, but finally managed it. All my friends who started later who I jumpmastered and trained did it in 5 with no problem. Made me feel like an idiot, but I guess I am. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

There is a great screen capture program I use on all my computers. ITS FREE http://www.snapfiles.com/get/mwsnap.html You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Call Bob NPTC (National Parachute Testing Center). He is an expert on that canopy and can probably tell you what you need to know. Their number is 352-489-4898 in Florida. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Just don't go so retro that you mount a pilot chute on it... Yeah, that wouldn't be a good idea. I used to have one years ago and had the pilot chute go in front of my arm on 2 occasions. Others I understand twisted their belly bands and caused further problems. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Does anyone else here wear a belly band? There was a bunch of discussion on them a few years ago on the forums and even comments that they were coming back, but so far I’m the only one to my knowledge who has one. I originally installed one on my previous rig to carry a flag pouch for demo’s, but I liked it so much for general jumping I put one on my newest harness. I like the way it keeps the rig from moving around and I have it attached with a quick ejector so its easy to release. http://s875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/captain19762003/?action=view¤t=rig.jpg You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Sure saves the taxpayers a lot of money not having to cage him. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Interesting analogy, but Muslim can be spelled both ways. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Looks like airline passengers are gonna get to experience what its like to sit in a jump plane going to altitude. http://www.3news.co.nz/SkyRider-Smallest-airline-seat-unveiled/tabid/420/articleID/176190/Default.aspx You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

That was about the worst story I ever read. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Lots of great suggestions here and I'm not a Tandem Master, but from what I see triple material on the ass would probably be a good idea. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

Agreed. Just having trouble getting my pilots to see it that way. (I'm more worried about that situation than they are... are we're in open-cockpit aircraft...) JW Yeah, I see it too, but some people just think nothing will ever happen to em. This story and some others come to mind; http://www.dropzone.com/news/Coolpilotsaves11skydiver.shtml You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime