Interesting slinks

[SEREJumper 1]

Found something interesting when inspecting a canopy the other day. Looks normal? Look at the next one in the series. Look at the pics before reading below.

Not saying it wouldn't work by any means, just was thinking it was different. 4 wraps wraps of specrta and then bar tacked.

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/Gearpics/Slinks/

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[slotperfect 7]

No pics

Arrive Safely

John

[mark 102]

Not PD/Precision/FCI/Aerodyne/PDF, but they look serviceable (for a main canopy) to me. What am I missing?

Mark

[MagicGuy 0]

For $30.. I mean seriously. Just buy a real set of Slinks.

But hey, to each his own I suppose.

[Blink 0]

Quote

For $30.. I mean seriously. Just buy a real set of Slinks.

What constitutes "real" slinks? PD Slinks? Aerodyne Softlinks? Precision Softlinks?

[SEREJumper 1]

Quote

Not PD/Precision/FCI/Aerodyne/PDF, but they look serviceable (for a main canopy) to me. What am I missing?

Mark

Nothing, just that I was expecting to see a factory made slink, not a homemade slink. I'm sure they would work, but it is up to owner to jump them. Just something to look for on a rig when they say, "canopy comes with slinks".

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[MagicGuy 0]

I'd say all of the above..? I've used Aerodyne's and PD's and prefer PD's, but that's just me. For something that is so cheap I just don't see a reason to try building your own.

Again, to each his own. Just my two cents.

[erdnarob 1]

Well we have to be careful here. What we know now about slinks has probably been developed in a basement by an amateur just like a lot of modern equipment parts. I understand that the slink shown on the picture is a bit unusual but the questions are :
1) Is the strength of this slink enough ?
2) is the bartack good enough to "lock" and stabilize the braids ? A master rigger can certainly use his judgement to evaluate that.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[tsalnukt 1]

Back before the manufacturers decided to try and milk every penny they could from skydivers lot's of people made their own soft links.....removable and not removable, and before that some were tying their parachutes onto the risers. If you know what you are doing you cold go into any loft and whip up a set of soft links for WAY less than 30 bucks. It may take a little longer than it would to walk into the gear store and buy them, and time doesn't always cost that much. I'm not saying that eeryone should run out and start making their own...it's just that easy.....And 30 buck is a skydive, a pack job and beer.

[riggerrob 558]

I saw one-time-use, home-made soft links as early as 1980. They lasted about as long as an F-111 main canopy: 600 jumps.
The first re-usable soft links were introduced by Parachutes de France circa 1996.
After that all the other manufacturers (Aerodyne, Glide Path, Performance Designs, Precision, etc.) copied the French design.

Amusingly, a young rigger recently told me that a set of Parachutes de France soft links were "dangerous" because they had no lark's head knot. I referred him to the original installation instructions.
Tee!
Hee!