Shrunk lines - hard openings on a Spectre?

[tdog 0]

I have a friend with a Spectre 150. The outermost A line has shrunk about 1 inch. The outermost D line has shrunk about 3 inches. The control lines have also shrunk (on the PD chart, the section called 'lower control lines', between the cascade and the catseye).

Yes, the right thing to do would be just to reline the whole canopy... But the lineset is not that old and as far as wear goes, it has most of it's life left.

The jumper is considering replacing the control lines for a few bucks of materials to get maybe another 100 jumps out of it. The reason is - he is getting hard openings AND at full flight there is a bit of deflection on the tail of the canopy.

So the specific question is.... Having a shortened control line - would it cause hard openings - as the user is complaining of hard openings. What about the fact the Ds are shrunk plus or minus the same as the control lines?

(Note this jumper moved from sea level to 5,100 field elevation at the same time they started to experience harder openings, so there are other variables to the situation that is making this harder to diagnose)

[peregrinerose 0]

I can't speak for the line set issues, but my Spectre 150 did open consistently more briskly at Mile Hi than at home in PA. Out of 400 jumps on that canopy, the only time I've ever had a hard open was that last jump I made out there.

I'd email Brian Germain... I've watched him lengthen lines just by stretching them, he can probably walk you through how to do it.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Spizzzarko 0]

Line trim will affect opens adversely. Tell your friend to send it back to PD and get dacron lines put on the spectre. That will give it the best openings. Slider position is also the most important issue in packing for nice openings, especially at Mile Hi. I can show them a thing or two this weekend if they like.

[upndownshop 0]

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Line trim will affect opens adversely. Tell your friend to send it back to PD and get dacron lines put on the spectre. That will give it the best openings. Slider position is also the most important issue in packing for nice openings, especially at Mile Hi. I can show them a thing or two this weekend if they like.

Dacron ROCKS!! I love them on my SP 150. My Spectre's have always opened nice but the Dacron really makes a difference.
But if your an old fart like me and prefer hard links you cant use the rubber bumpers. When the slider grommet sits on the bumber it restricts the space for the control line to move freely. So I went to reserve slinks and problem solved.

Love my spectre

[Spizzzarko 0]

I have about 700 jumps on a spectre 170 with dacron lines. They are the shizzzzznite!

[masterrigger1 2]

Spizzzz,
You should try one with 650 Technora on it!

I think it competes with the Dacron (and I am a Dacron fan....)

The Technora will also stay in trim during it's whole lifespan.


We are using it on a lot of different canopies now.

Cheers,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[fcajump 153]

Quote

I have a friend with a Spectre 150. The outermost A line has shrunk about 1 inch. The outermost D line has shrunk about 3 inches. The control lines have also shrunk (on the PD chart, the section called 'lower control lines', between the cascade and the catseye).

Yes, the right thing to do would be just to reline the whole canopy... But the lineset is not that old and as far as wear goes, it has most of it's life left.

The jumper is considering replacing the control lines for a few bucks of materials to get maybe another 100 jumps out of it. The reason is - he is getting hard openings AND at full flight there is a bit of deflection on the tail of the canopy.

So the specific question is.... Having a shortened control line - would it cause hard openings - as the user is complaining of hard openings. What about the fact the Ds are shrunk plus or minus the same as the control lines?

(Note this jumper moved from sea level to 5,100 field elevation at the same time they started to experience harder openings, so there are other variables to the situation that is making this harder to diagnose)

For what its worth, my Sp-230 has about 500 on it and in need of a retrim... however my experience is just the reverse. What was a slow openning canopy is now even more so, and about 1/4 I have to apply a little front riser to get it to fully inflate.

OF COURSE, the ONLY reason I have yet to retrim is because I need to understand what rigging customers mean when they describe their own experiences... (besides... I need a b-tack machine...)

JW

Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

[riggerrob 561]

OF COURSE, the ONLY reason I have yet to retrim is because ... I need a b-tack machine...)

JW

[jwynne 0]

My personal experience with my spectre 150 was as it got out of trim, it still opened fine when I packed it, but it was much less forgiving of fast pack jobs by other packers when I was training. It had 500-600 jumps on it and had gotten about 5 inches out of trim. Relined by PD and now it back to opening soft and reliably regardless of who packs it.

[azureriders 0]

I have a spectre 230 that is way out of trim, a good bit more than what you described, and if anything it opens slower then it used to. I get a surging stall on about 1 in 5 openings but nothing ever hard, no matter who packs it. I have to constantly remind packers not to be trying to slow it down.

[tuffyjensen 0]

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I get a surging stall

This is exactly what happens on the Spectre line of canopies within as few as a couple hundred jumps on a new line set of Spectra. The locking loop is set very deep in the brake setting, extremely close to the stall, so an inch or so of shrinkage causes it to partially stall and surge on opening. I think this deep brake setting is why they are known for such soft openings normally. Compare the same size of another canopy from locking loop to toggle and you will see a very noticeable difference. If the line is in good shape otherwise and has plenty of finger trap (4' minimum), simply pull out the bartack extend it an inch, re-finger trap and re-tack. Otherwise replace the lower control line as stated earlier, I do this about half way through every Spectre line set. Also stated earlier was controlling the slider, I am very convinced that letting the slider come down from the stops an inch or 2 can make a huge difference on the opening shock. It is very common that when making the second s-fold people push the slider grommets down off of the stops, so be careful and hold them up tight.

Blue Skies, Be safe, have Fun
Dennis Jensen
www.qcskydiving.com

Be Safe and Have Fun, in that order!
Tuffy

[bodypilot90 0]

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You should try one with 650 Technora on it!

is it crw friendly?

[masterrigger1 2]

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is it crw friendly?

It would be about the same as Spectra 725.

I would not want use it for CRW..... but some people would!

Cheers,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com