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bigbearfng

Misrouted leg strap-not chest strap!

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This seems to be a rarity, but after seeing it thought it would be worth putting up here for learning info.

I'm in the habit of looking at chest straps on the plane and on the way out to the plane and have caught a couple misrouted straps.

We were in the door getting ready to exit when a kid on the jump backed out of the door and started looking and tugging on her rt legstrap.
Yup-misrouted!!!!
She managed to correctly thread it and we let others start exiting, then she decided to ride the plane down-no critisizm with that decision!
Afterwards turns out she had already made a jump on the rig that day with no problems. It was a rental that was a bit large on her-legs straps a lot of xtra that she had folded over several times so it would have been tough to see it even if you were looking for it. But i do admit other than a gear check on the ground for a newb I have never really looked for leg strap routing in the plane.
She must have unthreaded all the way on that side when she took the rig off for whatever reason, and then misrouted it and put the elastic band back on.
To her credit she noticed it kept loosening as she was getting up to the door and didn't ignore it, but checked it.
And when I saw what it was it sure got my attention.
So I'll be letting my eyes drift over leg straps, not just chest straps now......

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At the DZ we did once find a V-ring on a student rig legstrap (with B-12s) that was reversed. This was at the end of a season and could have been that way for months! Presumably someone had fooled around with the rig, removed the hardware from the leg strap, and reinstalled it reversed.

The shape is different on one side compared to the other, with it designed to best lock the strap in position only when installed one way.

Nobody had spotted it as nobody expected one to be wrong. It just can't get that way in "normal" use.

(Yet despite the problem I never heard of complaints about slipping leg straps.)

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At the DZ we did once find a V-ring on a student rig legstrap (with B-12s) that was reversed. This was at the end of a season and could have been that way for months! Presumably someone had fooled around with the rig, removed the hardware from the leg strap, and reinstalled it reversed.



Recently had a wingsuit student with buckles not only reversed, but at opposite end of leg straps (friction lock/buckle beneath the butt, excess webbing going from butt to front of crotch). After asking the student about it, she explained the rig had been intentionally built that way for comfort.
Would never have noticed it in the aircraft.
Anyone else ever seen this?

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Recently had a wingsuit student with buckles not only reversed, but at opposite end of leg straps (friction lock/buckle beneath the butt, excess webbing going from butt to front of crotch). After asking the student about it, she explained the rig had been intentionally built that way for comfort.
Would never have noticed it in the aircraft.
Anyone else ever seen this?

Parachutes de France have/had this option of "reversed legstraps", seen it a couple of times.
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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Someone in the US used to offer that as an option. IIRC it was ment for CRW hanging in the harness a long time. Never looked that comfortable to me.

I've found misrouted v rings before. Some student unthreaded it instead of unclipping it (really hard to do) and then it got rethreaded wrong by someone who didn't know better. We think another student.

If you know what to look for it only takes a glace to check them. It was part of my routine when checking students and still is for the most part.
I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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We were in the door getting ready to exit when a kid on the jump backed out of the door and started looking and tugging on her rt legstrap.
Yup-misrouted!!!!



So what you're telling me is that this jumper didn't check her legstraps until she was poised in the door and seconds away from jumping?

I really hope that there was some attention paid to her gear checks, and that in the future they should include that all three straps are properly threaded and tightened appropriately, and that these checks should be performed earlier in the flight, allowing sufficient time to correct any anomolies.

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Recently had a wingsuit student with buckles not only reversed, but at opposite end of leg straps



Also seen rigs built that way for style jumpers. Less intrusive during a tight style tuck.



That's the reason I was given when I asked about someones rig with reverse legstraps.
Do you want to have an ideagasm?

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At the DZ we did once find a V-ring on a student rig legstrap (with B-12s) that was reversed. This was at the end of a season and could have been that way for months! Presumably someone had fooled around with the rig, removed the hardware from the leg strap, and reinstalled it reversed.



Recently had a wingsuit student with buckles not only reversed, but at opposite end of leg straps (friction lock/buckle beneath the butt, excess webbing going from butt to front of crotch). After asking the student about it, she explained the rig had been intentionally built that way for comfort.
Would never have noticed it in the aircraft.
Anyone else ever seen this?


Spot,

How did Cookie do? She told me she had a blast.:ph34r:
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

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Back in the day of leg mounted pilot chutes it was not uncommon to catch a jumper sitting on the plane with a twisted leg strap, making a main deployment impossible. Or twisted so the pilot chute was against the leg.
I always check before exit, in this order...
Leg straps
Chest strap
Cutaway handle
Reserve handle
3 rings
get a pin check
Pilot chute

Usually 2 or 3 times, 4 if I'm jumping with Canuckians!;)

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At the DZ we did once find a V-ring on a student rig legstrap (with B-12s) that was reversed. This was at the end of a season and could have been that way for months! (Yet despite the problem I never heard of complaints about slipping leg straps.)



I regularly find them wrong, and found out that some students are so excited about their jump that they unthread them instead of unsnapping the snap, and then packers that don't know the difference put them back on reversed. But like you I have never heard of enough slippage to be a problem.

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