26 ft lopo for water jumps, rigging question

[dhracer33 0]

I just bought a 26ft lopo for water jumps and I have a question as to what modifications, if any, I need to do. I was wondering things such as do I need to remove the daiper and if a tailpocket needs to be installed. Any of you out there who are jumping old round reserves, let me know whats up. Just lookin for some pointers before I throw this thing in a container. Thanks......

[TomAiello 25]

26 feet is really big for a water canopy. More fabric means less consistent (and longer) inflation, so be sure to pull high until you get dialed in.

Removing the diaper is nice, but not strictly necessary. I don't recommend using the diaper, though, even if you leave it on. Diapers aren't all that necessary for sub-terminal jumps. If you are doing long delays on the system, you might consider using the diaper, but I'd talk to some skydiving riggers first, and do some test jumps to dial in the (slower) diapered inflation speed.

You'll need to put a handfull of big rubber bands onto your bridle (you only need one at a time, but when it breaks, it's nice to have a bunch more you can just keep using one at a time without removing the PC.

When packing, push the rubber band down over the apex around 12-18". This will block off the vent, and encourage faster inflation.

There is no need to install a tail pocket. The "standard" method for stowing lines on a BASE round is to put stow bands into the inside of the pack tray, down near the bottom. Any competent rigger ought to be able to do this in under 15 minutes. You just stow the lines into the bands (because off heading generated by racetracking isn't terribly important on a round over water). Alternately, you can use a "nose pocket" (tailpocket sewed to the nose of the round, usually installed at the same time the diaper is removed), but if it's your first experience with rounds, I don't recommend this, as it's a nonstandard technique I've only seen used by a few experienced jumpers.

Also, note that your round is going to be very undersized for your "normal" sized BASE container. If the container is velcro, this means it is very important that it have the side flaps stiffened (as the normal pack volume, which generally does the job on an unstiffened rig, isn't present).

A few other thoughts:

Pin rigs are usually better for repeated water jumps, because the shrivel flap picks up water like a sponge, and the velcro doesn't work very well until it dries out.

If you are planning on a lot of water jumps, it's worth the money to invest in a properly sized water container. Marty at Asylum made me a very nice Perigee W pin rig a while back (I'm sure that Apex or Morpheus would be willing to make a similar rig if you asked nicely).

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[base428 1]

Tom summed it up pretty well, so I'll only add a few comments. I've been jumping a 26 Lopo for about 10 years. I've also been on several 2 and 3 way jumps with other round jumpers with no noticeable difference in canopy inflation or opening times. If you don't routinely pull low, then you shouldn't have any problems.

I've got an old, but still very applicable, round canopy packing video that was given to me by Rich Stein. It might be the only one out there. If you need a copy, email me. Good luck.

(c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted. <==For the media only

[riggerrob 558]

Choice of canopy fabric can make a huge difference in inflation times.
The worst choice would be an old Strong Lopo made of 0-40 cubic feet per minute (cfm) fabric.
The best choice would be a new Preserve or Phantom/Aerostar made of 0-3 cfm F-111 fabric.

[rz66 0]

i'm looking for my old friend rich s. do ya know him? can ya pass this along.

thanks
randy z

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