Has anyone had a container tear like this before?

[linebckr83 3]

First off, I apologize for having no pics of it but my rigger took the rig to send off to get repaired.
Yesterday morning I had an unusually hard opening. Not being the first time, it didn't suprise me too much and once I cleared my airspace I inspected the canopy and lines for any breaks or tears. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my right 3 ring sitting a little higher than usual. Also, I could see my reserve toggles (still stowed) on the back of my shoulder. I figured that the reserve risers were just yanked out a little on opening. After getting down and back to the hangar, I was looking my rig over (a '92 Vetor 2) and saw that the rsl on the right riser was pretty tight. Lifting the reserve flap up you could see the pin almost out. It was about 1/4" still in. Damn close to a 2-out situation! I grabbed a rigger to check it out. Apparently the harness strap that connects the large ring of the 3-ring to the container is sewn to the rig in 2 spots, right behind the shoulder and down at the lateral behind the back. It had completely ripped out behind my shoulder which allowed the 3-ring to rise up like it did. After some debating we figured that if the bottom ripped off it would have been pretty nasty since the main would basically be a streamer, only connected on the left side, and the rsl would have fired the reserve into the mess. Has anyone seen or heard of this happening before?

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[javelin1 0]

how many jumps on this 16 year old rig? sounds like maybe time to retire it, what other problems may be lurking beneath the surface that you cant readily see with the naked eye?

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

sounds like maybe time to retire it...

I think the shop to which it was sent for repair will make that determination.

You shouldn't be doing that here, because you can't even see it.

[linebckr83 3]

I believe it is going to Tom Dolphin for repairs. I will support any decision he makes since he is the expert, but the rig is in excellent condition for its age........well........besides some minor stitches that might have a purpose

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[PeteS 0]

Yes, several Vectors both sport and tandem. I've seen alot of Wings with this type of failure also. There was a service bulletin on the tdm vector some years ago regarding this very problem.

[Bertt 0]

I've seen one Wings do that after an extremely hard opening. The RSL did pull the pin and the resulting two-out was landed successfully.
The thing that caught my attention in your post was "Not being the first time...". If you're having hard openings on a Spectre, you might want to go to Dacron lines and check to see what else you can do to tame those openings.

You don't have to outrun the bear.

[skybeergodd 0]

Well Tom well definitly do the right thing. If he repairs it and sends it back, then you know you have an airworthy rig. If you could, please call Tom and see if he will take pictures and e-mail them to you so you can post them. I have a good idea of the damage but nothing beats pics.

[mdrejhon 8]

I currently jump a '93 Vector 2 but it had only 200 jumps when I bought it, and now it's still under 500 jumps.

It recently got a full inspection at Relative Workshop two years ago (I consider it the "half-life" major tune-up), as I sent it away to do some numerous maintenance items such as a full inspection and replacement of key items such as velcro, etc.

I was told that for a rig of this age, it is in excellent condition. I do need to be careful when closing it though because I've been squeezing a 170 into a container originally designed for 150. But I've been pretty good (better than some less experienced packers) at doing it to the point where the closing loop feels too loose and actually have to tighten it a bit. Before that, I was stretching the bottom flap a little out of proportion before the RWS servicing.

I think that a rig of this age, does need to have already gone back to a factory rigger for a complete inspection and tune-up... And a washing too, to get built-up abrasive dirt out of the stitchings and fabric (but not washed too often obviously, as washing itself can weaken fabrics).

[linebckr83 3]

It was actually the 2nd hard opening on this setup. The first one was from pulling in a track (30ish jumps) and it ended up ripping the canopy. The rightmost cell blew up on opening. Come to think of it, that opening could have very possibly started this tear or damaged the stitching enough that this one just finished the job. Otherwise, 99% of the openings on it are absolutely perfect! I couldnt ask for a slower opening.

I have never talked to Tom but have heard nothing but good things about him, and all 3 riggers here brought his name up immediately after seeing what happened.

I guess the worst part of the situation was the lack of control. I mean I practice emergency procedures religiously, and I believe I can handle a typical malfunction fine. But the harness and container system you just expect to not fail, and in many cases when it does there are few, if any, options.

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[RiggerLee 61]

As they said this isn't new and there was a service bulliton to address it. with a hard opening that zigzag may have torn all at once. The idea of two out is scary and could be a real problem but I don't think you would see a catistrofic failure from this. In your first post you seemed affraid that you might lose one entire side of the main. I don't see that happening. You'd have to take it apart to see but the diaganal loops in a V around the lower lateral band behind your back and even if you managed to tear all the stiching to the main tray you'd still have an intact harness and would not fall out. There's a fair bit of redundency built into these rigs and the actual structural harness stiching is pretty tough. I'm not saying it can't fail just that it's rare. So sleep a little easier and save your worrying for other things.

Lee

Lee
[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com

[alexey 6]

Can you please give a link to that bulletin?

Lexa

[linebckr83 3]

That explanation is very much appreciated. It makes sense to use redundancy on systems like these, and probably explains why container failure is so incredibly uncommon.

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[riggerrob 558]

Sorry, but I do not have an exact link to that Relative Workshop Service Bulletin, but circa 1990, they told field riggers to ensure that Tandem Vector 1 and 2 had THREE rows of zig-zag where the diagonal back strap disappears under the top edge of the reserve container.
The SB is also mentioned in Poynter's Manual, volume 2.
The SB did not mention solo Vectors, but I have seen popped stitches on dozens of smaller Vectors (1 and 2) and added more rows (up to three rows) of zig-zag to prevent this failure mode during hard openings.