How often you have your main canopy inspected?

[marinho 0]

Hi everybody,
I'm just trying to get some statistics from you to be used on my seminars. I appreciated it!
The main inspection means handle your canopy to a/your parachute rigger. He/she will hang the canopy, check fabric condition, lines condition and line trim and/or anything he/she thinks that needs to be checked.
It also means you pay a fee for this service.
Thank you and blue skies,
Augusto "Gus" Marinho
Rigging Solutions

Gus Marinho

[darkwing 4]

The vast majority of the jumpers I know would answer "never".

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[rwieder 0]

every reserve repack without fail. you never know.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[ianmdrennan 2]

When I send it in for a reline, so every 400 jumps it goes through a major inspection. Otherwise I do a quick visual inspection about every month.

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[GravityGirl 0]

I recommend every 500 jumps to my customers. Winter is a good time to give it the once over.... twice...

Unless there are other factors involoved:

Hard openings
Water Landings
Wraps
Jumping in adverse conditions
Opening problems

Links/Slinks should be visually inspected at the begining of each jump week/end. Feel your slider grommets if you notice sudden wear.

Always give your canopy the once over while packing it. Glance at your bridle attachement point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Gus, apart from the cursury inspection I give my canopy just after every opening and the one I do as I am packing, the answer is "not until the canopy gets sent back to PD for relining every 600 jumps."

chuck

[Nightingale 0]

Every repack cycle. If I had a real slammer of an opening, I'd probably ask my rigger to take a look at it then too. I'd rather pay the money for an inspection than have to pay for a repack because of a reserve ride.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

When it gets sent back for a reline.

Steering line shrinkage is obvious - they get replaced when that happens.

With the brake lines fixed opening issues, new minor built in terms, or changes in flare suggest it's time for a reline.

I look at the connector link ends and connector links/S-links/slider bumpers a lot more often.

I do a thorough job on my reserves every pack job, BASE canopies maybe every 10 jumps (I should probably start logging that). You know - hang it up; inspect every seam, bar tack, finger trap, line; crawl inside each half cell (I never downsized my reserves beyond a PD143, coouldn't do this on a main).

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

The main inspection means handle your canopy to a/your parachute rigger. He/she will hang the canopy, check fabric condition, lines condition and line trim and/or anything he/she thinks that needs to be checked.
It also means you pay a fee for this service.

In one month short of 23 years of jumping I have never given my main to a rigger to inspect.

All the items you mention are inspected on repacks of the main, eg after each jump. I also check connector links tightness and slider grommets for knicks.
I pack for myself.

Why would I need to pay someone to do the same thing I do on every jump?

.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Kris 0]

I try to crawl up inside my Stiletto once every couple of months or after any really squirrelly opening.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[riggerrob 558]

I recommend asking a rigger to inspect your main every 100 jumps or once a year.

[AndyMan 7]

Never, unless the rigger does it on his own without my request, during the reserve repack.

I inspect my own often. I do a throrough inspection annually, including hanging. I inspect different aspects of it each time I pack.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[relyon 0]

CRW main canopies get inspected quite often, though usually not by riggers (unless it happens to be by the 10% of CRWdogs that are riggers and that's free). Given the constraints of your poll (a paid for service by a rigger), I'll have to say it never gets inspected.

FWIW, my main gets inspected thoroughly by me at every reserve repack, after every cutaway, after any sort of wrap or entaglement, before and after relining (every 250-350 jumps for a CRW main), and just for the heck of it every 20 or so jumps. Since I'm not a rigger, I guess that means my inspections don't count - whatever.


Bob

[ChileRelleno 0]

I have my rigger inspect my main about every other re-pack.
I inspect my main after a hard opening, and whenever I have nothing better to do.
I probably inspect it myself aprox every other month or so, I hang it and go over it in detail, anything that catches my eye get shown to a rigger.

ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

[marinho 0]

I'd like to thank you for participating on this poll. As I stated on my post, this poll was to get some statistics and ideas about main canopy inspection.
I'm very glad that a lot of people participated and also gave some inputs on how you have you canopy inspected.
Thank you again and blue skies,
Augusto "Gus" Marinho
Rigging Solutions

Gus Marinho