Problem with leg straps on Wings

[Antman 0]

To anyone who uses a wings container with friction lock legstraps.
On my last jump my left leg strap slipped to about two inches from the stops. It was kind of freaky just hanging there crooked in the harness and trying to counteract the turn while hanging on the right risers to tighten the strap. It kept slipping out again so I did the best I could and landed uneventfully. Now, I never had any indication that the left side was staring to slip though I did notice my right legstrap was slipping around half an inch after deployment about 50 jumps in. It is a new container I purchased about a year and a half ago and put 80 jumps on it. I tighten my leg straps making sure the elastic band is up against the hardware(i'm using stainless steal btw), roll the excess stows and tuck them in the legstrap pouches. After landing I re-tighten and stowed the excess in the pouch like I always had. When I stood tall and arched both would slip out with or without the excess stowed. WTF?! I'm sending my rig to Sunrise for inspection.

So has anyone had this happen to them and what did you do?
On average, how long does it take to for them to start slipping out?

[pilot-one 0]

I've seen this on other rigs. There are many reasons why the leg straps may slip. Let me ask you this: are every single one of your landings stand up landings?

[Antman 0]

Of 80 jumps on that rig, all but two were stand up landings. I've had a few stiff openings in the past but they didnt slip then.

[thedude325 0]

This is just a guess, but when the straps are new, they seem a bit more slick. as they wear in, they may grab a bit more in the hardware.

[pilotdave 0]

We had a jumper with a brand new Wings that had the friction adapter installed incorrectly. I can't describe exactly what was wrong with it, but some webbing didn't run through it correctly... it was manufactured wrong. Luckily it was caught before he jumped it and sent back to get fixed. I doubt you're having that issue since I think this one would have come loose on every jump, but it's probably worth having a rigger inspect it very carefully and compare it to another rig with the same hardware. It was a subtle difference that I know I would have never spotted myself.

Dave

[lowapproach 0]

I had a rental rig once that the straps would slip because the articulated harness rings were not sitting in the right place. It put uneven tension on the straps allowing them to slip, though not nearly to that degree.

[LongWayToFall 0]

I have a new Wings as well, although with the regular friction locks, not stainless. My straps have enough extra slack that I can stuff the tips of the straps into the legstrap padding, and then I run the bungie down to the ends to keep it there (not up next to the hardware). I also make sure to rotate the straps around my legs, by pulling back on the hip rings and forward on the straps between my legs. This makes the fit much better. I personally have never had any slippage on my leg straps at all. Good luck figuring it out.

[pilot-one 0]

Check to see that the straps and hardware are clean. I had a new rig that developed a kind of build up in the knurled part (some have this and some don't) of the hardware that didn't allow it to grip like it should. It's possible too that on one of your "not stand up landings" some dirt found it's way in there as well.

[Ronaldo 0]

Are you using a RW suit? I’m asking this because a few years ago I bought a brand new RW suit to start a BBF. I began to experience the same problem as soon as I started jumping the suit. At first I noticed that the canopy was turning on every jump then I saw that the straps were uneven. The suit was snug and the material was very slippery. When I switched back to the freefly suit the problem disappeared. I’m not saying that this is normal so please check with Sunrise. I’m on my second Wings (custom made) and this one has the webbing so tight that it takes a lot of effort to fasten or to loosen the leg straps.
BTW, both have stainless steel adapters which are supposed to slip easier.

Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted

[Antman 0]

Thanks for all your replys.
I wear my RW suit most of the time but sometimes freefly jumpsuit or shorts. When I wear the RW suit I have noticed that the legstraps slide down my leg when in a sitting postion. My jumpsuit is tight fitting so I expect it but always returns without slidding open when I stand up.

I inspect my gear before first jump and dirt is one thing I look for due to dry dusty locations were I jump at. Me and my rigger checked the straps for proper routing and condition of the hardware after that jump. We could not figure out why it happened. No movement was every noted on my left legstrap in the past but the right usually moved no more than about half an inch. I didnt think anything of it at the time. One thing is for sure, I aint taking any chances. The feeling of my legstrap slipping during deployment was a little scary and hope its just an isolated fault in my rig.

[ficus 0]

I landed in one leg strap on one of my Wings rigs last year because of this problem. I sent them both back to the factory and have had no problems since.

After I put the rigs in the mail, someone at the DZ showed me a trick. After you have tightened the leg straps to your liking, you can slide the top half of the friction adapter in the direction of the free end of the webbing and it will "lock".

This was interesting, but should obviously not be necessary.

It's discouraging to hear that they are still turning out rigs with this problem.

[SEREJumper 1]

I know of a jumper that had the exact same problem on his Wings with the new style stainless friction buckles. Made custom on 11/2007. He didn't notice it really until jump 11 on the rig (42 jumps total). He would tighten it down all the way and when we would arch, they would easily slip loose. On opening shock he remembers them loosening up a little, but the tension on the webbing during opening shock was probably harder and would lock up the webbing a couple inches into the slip. He had a master rigger put on the old style friction adapters with the knurled teeth and has had no problems since. He would have set it back but there was no time to send it back and wait in his case.

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

[koppel 3]

Quote

To anyone who uses a wings container with friction lock legstraps.
On my last jump my left leg strap slipped to about two inches from the stops. It was kind of freaky just hanging there crooked in the harness and trying to counteract the turn while hanging on the right risers to tighten the strap. It kept slipping out again so I did the best I could and landed uneventfully. Now, I never had any indication that the left side was staring to slip though I did notice my right legstrap was slipping around half an inch after deployment about 50 jumps in. It is a new container I purchased about a year and a half ago and put 80 jumps on it. I tighten my leg straps making sure the elastic band is up against the hardware(i'm using stainless steal btw), roll the excess stows and tuck them in the legstrap pouches. After landing I re-tighten and stowed the excess in the pouch like I always had. When I stood tall and arched both would slip out with or without the excess stowed. WTF?! I'm sending my rig to Sunrise for inspection.

So has anyone had this happen to them and what did you do?
On average, how long does it take to for them to start slipping out?

This has been an issue on a number of different manufacturers not just Wings. We have had a few Vectors and other rigs coming through our loft recently that needed the hard-ware changed out. It is sadly not really always noticeable until the rig is jumped.

There is a fix that Wings have that is simple for any competent rigger to do and the SB can be found on their website. I find that this fix is probably cheaper than sending it back to the factory but no-one will work on your rig quite like the manufacturer either

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[erdnarob 1]

You can rub beeswax on both side of the leg strap where it is threaded thru the adaptor. The beeswax will make it more difficult to slip. You can find beeswax at Paragear or at any store dealing with fabric and stitching.

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

[riggerrob 558]

The under-lying problem is that modern nylon (Type 7 and 8) webbing is too thin and slippery for MIL-SPEC hardware - that was originally designed for thick cotton (Type 13) webbing.
Slippery, polished stainless steel merely exacerbates the slippage problem.

Aerodyne noticed the problem in 2004 and published a simple solution.
Aerodyne Service Bulletin 071204, (Icon harness leg strap upgrade) says to sew an extra layer of Type 12 webbing along the lower leg strap. The increase in bulk increases friction and reduces slippage.

I have sewn this upgrade onto a few Icons as well as Javelins, Sidewinders, Strong Tandems (both student and instructor harnesses), Talons, Vectors and Wings.

Strong used to sew Type 12 onto tandem student harnesses, but now they use - even thicker - (1.5 inch wide) Type 4 tape to adjustable main lift webs (of tandem student harnesses) for the same reason.

[tkhayes 126]

take a close-up pic of the friction lock adapter from the side view with the webbing instal;led and email it to them at [email protected] to makes sure it has been installed correctly.

If they put it in the wrong way round, they do not work at all.

Basically, contact the company, they will fix it for you, the adapters should not be slipping like that - you can fall out of the harness.