Repack a 5 cell swift?

[Beatnik 2]

Quote

I've been asked by aerobatic pilots with round PEP's how to flare their canopy for a soft landing...it's what they see US do.

One of the first questions I always get when I bring out some vintage gear to any dropzone is do you flare it for landing. People may do that because of what they see, I guess what I am saying is that study was invalid on many levels because there were many errors with how it was done, the conclusions it made and the overall process, other than the one I pointed out.

[riggerrob 558]

Like you, I sat through that same silly lecture.

But my lecture was back in 1986. I sat through a silly lecture about parachutes - during a CF-18 introduction course - and the lecture was a joke! The enlisted medic teaching it had only made a handful of static-line jumps at the Canadian Army's Airborne Center and he had already forgotten basic information, like how to collapse a canopy after landing!
The bottom line is that young pilots are over-loaded with huge amounts of trivia. Young pilots are also taught to be far too arrogant to believe that they can do any wrong ... er ... will ever need to eject. Ergo, young pilots "power dump" large chunks of material right after they pass an exam.

That article in "Flight Comment" magazine detailed several ejections. I read "between the lines" that several of them flared round canopies, because they already had civilian skydiving experience under square canopies.

I was forced to read "between the lines" because that is what I learned as a Master Corporal serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. The CF rarely tell enlisted men enough information to do their jobs. If an enlisted man is naive enough to believe everything told to him by Senior NCOs, he WILL get screwed over repeatedly!

[gowlerk 1,923]

First of all, I love my 5 cell Swift. I've landed it 4 times over the years, and only once did I break a bone. (heel) and even then that was only because 300 ft was not enough time to get out of about 8 line twists before landing on the tarmac with no flare. So I can tell you all for sure that as poorly as they flare, they land much better flared than with the brakes still stowed!

Secondly I will mention that when riggerrob taught me the rigger A course last year, and I brought it along with me, he made it pretty clear that this was the oldest ram air canopy that he would even consider teaching me to pack.

I also still use mine in a second rig, and would not hesitate to use it. However a new and very low budget jumper would like to buy a cheap rig from me, and I'm not sure if I should sell him
the reserve to save him some money. He is only about 140 lbs, so loading is not an issue, and I'm being right up front to him that the most it's worth is $50, but I'm still a little uneasy about it.

Ken Gowler

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.