Bag top Grommet?

[henrik.anderson 0]

What is the purpose of the grommet at the top of the bag? Parachute de France Tandem bag doesn't have it. It has 2 "slings" attached to each side (inside/outside)?
/H

[mjosparky 3]

It allows the bridle to pass through the bag and attach to the canopy. The one you describe sounds like a loop on the inside of the bag that the canopy attaches to and the loop on the outside of the bag is for attaching the bridle. The advantage I can see for this method is you eliminate the metal and the chance of the canopy getting caught between the bridle and grommet.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[slotperfect 7]

Quote

The advantage I can see for this method is you eliminate the metal and the chance of the canopy getting caught between the bridle and grommet.

This "grommetless" d-bag configuration saves a LOT of maintenance. On the Tandem Vector, the original bag design resulted in lots of small holes in the center of the tail from the very thing sparky commented on. Even the most careful packers got a hole now and then.

The other advantage is being able to remove the drogue or pilot chute (to repair it, swap it out, etc.) without having to remove the bagged canopy from the container, or the folded canopy from the bag.

Arrive Safely

John

[pchapman 262]

For non-tandem rigs, having no top grommet appears to have been a common variation in bag design in the 1980s. Larks head the bridle ontop of the bag, and larks head a short section of bridle between the canopy and bag.

The design must have fallen from favour once collapsible pilot chutes emerged, as the kill line designs normally used require the kill line to be connected through the bag to the top of the canopy.