Softlink Should Be Tacked

[tdog 0]

So my softlinks were never tacked when I put my main on. I thought they would set in on their own... (my reserve IS tacked)

Well, 3 out of 4 set correctly.

The 4th, my right rear, set a little askew... I normally dressed the ring back in when I packed, but it did not always stay hidden away because the "set" was not centered...

Today it caused a minor mal (but one that made the canopy not landable using toggles until I fixed it)... And this was the second time this happened, the first time I did not have enough time to see what the problem was so I landed on my rears and it fixed itself before I could see what happened so I thought I put a twist in when I packed...

Long story short, the Aerodyne softlinks have rings, but the tab version made by others could have done the same thing...

The brake line got twisted around the ring somehow as the deployment occurred...

I have attached two photos of how the brake can get caught on the soft link, either way causes a huge amount of friction (like you can pull the toggle and it works, but does not go back up on its own).

Today, knowing I opened high and had time to tinker, I undid the problem above my hard deck. It was not as easy as you would think with the tension on the lines. I had the "softlink around" as shown in the photo, and as tame as that looks on the ground, under tension it actually twisted the riser 180 degrees between the loop the brake line goes thru and the soft link, causing enough friction that I could pull down but it would not go back up on its own without a bunch of shaking.

So, if your soft links are not tacked, even if they are "set" in the correct spot, I would encourage you to tack them. I tacked mine tonight.

I am sure the guys with a bunch more experience than I will say "duh", so this message goes out to those who are not "in the know" of what can happen if they are not in place.

T.

BTW... I pulled the link out more than normal for the photos, and yes, my dog sleeps on the carpet right where I took the photo and I need to vaccuum... The rest of the house is clean, I swear.

[mjosparky 3]

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(my reserve IS tacked)

What type of soft links do you have on your reserve? I am not aware of any were the manufacture calls for tacking.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[tdog 0]

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Quote

(my reserve IS tacked)

What type of soft links do you have on your reserve? I am not aware of any were the manufacture calls for tacking.

Sparky

The ones that came with my PD reserve (thus PD brand slinks)... And I want to say the rigger said he installed the tack with one stitch with a thin thread so it would break should it, and not the slink, actually take a load... It has been a while, so I am digging into long waisted away synapses.

I checked the owners manual for my PD Reserve, page 33 says:

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Note: Should you find that the tab does not remain in place, PD recommends tacking the tab to insure it stays
locked between the risers.

[justinb138 0]

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Quote

(my reserve IS tacked)

What type of soft links do you have on your reserve? I am not aware of any were the manufacture calls for tacking.

Sparky

The Icon manual shows that the links should be tacked..

[RIGGER 0]

Any Soft Links on a main canopy MUST be hand tacked to the main risers to eliminate the problem you had.

The only company which made soft links with rings & add a ring holder in the Ty.17 risers is Parachutes De France & NO need for hand tacking when PDF soft links are used or any soft link with the proper size ring, if soft links with tab are in service they must be hand tacked.

The hand tacking better be done with Nylon "Super Tack" with a GOOD needle & with a contrast color like
Black webbing with White thread & White risers with Black thread. It is easy to inspect & easy to unpick when needed. hand tack when the soft link is pulled up to the high point like on deployment. Be careful not damaging the webbing.

1" Ty.17 risers are too narrow to hold the Soft Link ring or tab in place & they might slide out at any time & point during packing & deployment process.

There is also one more reason for the hand tacking, eliminating the slider grommets to impact on the ring or tab area & damage the area to a point of failure. see the attached photo.

When PD SM1 main Slinks are used with the 1" risers covers they should keep the slink tab in place but at every packing job they must be checked as well & set back in place because they move up sometimes.

When the risers covers are not used hand tacking is a must.

Regarding Reserve Soft Links: Aerodyne mandate
the hand tacking of the Smart/Tempo soft links rings when packed into the ICON h/c - see the ICON manual page 11.

Regarding hand tacking the Reserve canopy Soft Links: Wide risers like Ty.7 & Ty.8 have more area to keep the tab or ring in place & when they set properly.

I saw at the RWS reserve risers that has been damaged to a point they needed to be replaced because of the damage done by a bad needle used by the rigger who did the work.

Enclosed some links to PD & Aerodyne info.

http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/SlinkInstructions_RCI.pdf

http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/SlinkInstructions_1.pdf

http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/ControlSysMalf.PDF

http://www.aerodyne-int.com/download/icon_manual.pdf

Safe Jumps & Safe Rigging !!!

[RIGGER 0]

Aerodyne in the ICON h/c manual page 11.

http://www.aerodyne-int.com/download/icon_manual.pdf

Safe Rigging !!!

[dbattman 0]

Good catch on the slinks. Get it fixed or replaced ASAP- at least one fatality is believed to have had the brake line locking as a contributing factor. Jumper spiraled all the way in with no control or cutaway.

Softlink related fatality

[tdog 0]

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Good catch on the slinks. Get it fixed or replaced ASAP- at least one fatality is believed to have had the brake line locking as a contributing factor.

As I said in my post, they are now tacked and spin free.

I hope others heed your advice too.

Here is the text from that thread to prove your point...

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Maybe it happened after the fact. We won;t know for sure. It seems that one of her brake lines was wrapped around the horn on her Slinks. It has happened to one other person that I now of but they simply reached up and unwrapped it and had an uneventful landing after.

I thought I would post this as I have used many packers, even some of which hold their rigging tickets too, in addition to people on a few DZs commenting about "who makes your soft links, I am not used to seeing rings"... But no one has said, "even when they are set, they still can spin out just enough to cause problems... Tack those before the next jump."

I learned the hard way (proof that if we all had the brain power to read every post on this website from the beginning of time, especially in incidents and gear and rigging, we might all be smarter and history would repeat itself less often.)

[dbattman 0]

Whoops- missed that part. But thanks again for bringing it up. It's good to revist these issues from time to time.

[br0k3n 0]

Its a little hard to be sure from the picture, but are those slinks attached properlly???

With the metal ring, isn't the end of the slink is supposed to go through the ring before it goes over the ring..(does that make sense). In your picture it looks like the end of the slink has just been put over the ring, and not through it first..

-----------------------------------------------------------
--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[tdog 0]

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With the metal ring, isn't the end of the slink is supposed to go through the ring before it goes over the ring..

That is not what the owners manual shows, they are attached per the manual's drawings.

EDIT: ADD COPY AND PASTE IMAGE FROM MANUAL.

[mjosparky 3]

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Good catch on the slinks. Get it fixed or replaced ASAP- at least one fatality is believed to have had the brake line locking as a contributing factor. Jumper spiraled all the way in with no control or cutaway.

Softlink related fatality

While this particular fatality involved a Slink it was the method that the excess brake line was stowed that caused the hang up. Ever with the tabs tacked this could have happened. The jumper was stowing the excess brake line in the loop at the top of the riser. The same space you are trying to keep the taps/ring in with hand tacking.
It is shown in the PD Safety Sheet on Control System Malfunctions.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[mjosparky 3]

Thanks for the information. I was not aware that Manufactures were calling for tacking on the reserve use of soft links. Thanks for the links, I have downloaded them for reference in the future.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Damion 0]

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So my softlinks were never tacked when I put my main on. I thought they would set in on their own... (my reserve IS tacked)

Well, 3 out of 4 set correctly.

Another case of instant gratification. I walk around the dropzone sometime and notice all the minor things wrong with rigs. from untacked slinks to little stitches that should be burned to a fuzzy chest strap. its never an issue til there is a problem. ive seen holes in canopies that are fixed with duct tape! man i could go on, but the only reason why i posted this was to explain the problem with instant gratification. people spend all that time waiting and are in a hurry to get it done so they can go jump before the weather rolls in or whatever. take your time, its your life.

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains. - Dutch Proverb