Plastic on rig, question for riggers

[LaRusic 0]

So kind of an odd question and im pretty sure i know the answer however id rather here it from the riggers

I was having a conversation with a diver friend of mine about how metal buckles are more robust then plastic. He then went on to tell me about "skydive rated" plastic buckles and that a skydive instructor friend of his had them on his rig.....seemed odd to me.

So I guess i have to ask is there any truth to this especially for load bearing areas and if there are regulations set that would dictate the type of hardware used in a harness

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[stratostar 5]

Only the drug runners use that stuff so they don't show up on radar.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[diablopilot 2]

Tell your friend to give you your leg back.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[LaRusic 0]

pretty well what i thought and i called him on it, especially owning 2 rigs of my own and id be scared absoulty shitless to jump something with plastic

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

He then went on to tell me about "skydive rated" plastic buckles and that a skydive instructor friend of his had them on his rig...

Tell him to give you the name and phone number of that skydive instructor.
He either doesn't exist, or he's a fraud.

[petejones45 0]

Quote

Only the drug runners use that stuff so they don't show up on radar.

Dropzone? the movie?

Look out for the freefly team, Smelly Peppers. Once we get a couple years more experience we will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future! BLUES!

[LaRusic 0]

And thats pretty much what i figured....fraud.

pictures or it didnt happen....thats the skydiver way isnt it


Sorry i had to make everyone a bit dumber by asking the stupid question but being a 120 jump wonder, i needed the call from the experienced guys

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[riggerrob 558]

" ... Sorry i had to make everyone a bit dumber by asking the stupid question but being a 120 jump wonder, i needed the call from the experienced guys

[riggerrob 558]

It might be possible to build some parachute hardware out of plastic, but it would fail far too soon where you have metal-to-metal contact, because no plastic can survive that intense point loading. Plastic would "gaul" far too soon.

[councilman24 36]

He indeed may have seen some plastic buckles on a skydiver. But they weren't part of the load bearing harness. I have some looped onto my legstraps that the wings of my camera suit attach to. My Protec helmet has a plastic buckle on the chin strap. There may be other similar applications.

There is Black finished metal hardware available and he may have seen this.

An example is H315BK at http://www.paragear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=34&level=1

But load bearing plastic hardware as part of the harness? Nope.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[theonlyski 3]

I got a chest mount reserve container with a plastic handle... does that count?

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[bofh 0]

Quote

and id be scared absoulty shitless to jump something with plastic

So you consider nylon to be what?

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

Quote

and id be scared absoulty shitless to jump something with plastic

So you consider nylon to be what?

A good bargaining tool for the services of the ladies during WWII?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[airtwardo 6]

Quote

Quote

Quote

and id be scared absoulty shitless to jump something with plastic

So you consider nylon to be what?

A good bargaining tool for the services of the ladies during WWII?

~one .45 caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days concentrated emergency raisons; one drug issue containing: antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair a nylon stockings.

Shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi ski,

Quote

I got a chest mount reserve container with a plastic handle... does that count?

Some handles were made of plastic and some were made of nylon. There is a difference.

I seem to remember that the plastic ones were recalled; they were/are white in color.

It had to do with brittleness at low temps.

JerryBaumchen

[councilman24 36]

It only counts if your silly enough to jump it. Or you find a rigger that will pack it.

There were a variety of 'plastic' handles made from plastic, nylon, lexan and fiberglass.

The white, thermoplastic ones were the really, really bad ones once. I have direct knowledge (saw it when it landed) of one breaking when used and the jumper having to pull the reminants out of the elastic pocket to pull his reserve.

Some were recalled, some weren't, all were abandoned by the mid 80's.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[theonlyski 3]

Quote

It only counts if your silly enough to jump it. Or you find a rigger that will pack it.

There were a variety of 'plastic' handles made from plastic, nylon, lexan and fiberglass.

The white, thermoplastic ones were the really, really bad ones once. I have direct knowledge (saw it when it landed) of one breaking when used and the jumper having to pull the reminants out of the elastic pocket to pull his reserve.

Some were recalled, some weren't, all were abandoned by the mid 80's.

Its on an strong chest mount... Hey, gotta get those repacks somehow

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[councilman24 36]

See this FAA AD.

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/0/AE2D789F0EC884CA86256A390068A4EA?OpenDocument

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[dragon2 0]

Quote

Hi ski,

Quote

I got a chest mount reserve container with a plastic handle... does that count?

Some handles were made of plastic and some were made of nylon. There is a difference.

I seem to remember that the plastic ones were recalled; they were/are white in color.

It had to do with brittleness at low temps.

JerryBaumchen

Not totally abandoned: we use a buch of those in our training belts for FJ student groups

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[councilman24 36]

So they are "pulling white" instead of "silver"?

BTW I hate the phrase "pull silver"! Sure sign of a newbie.

Pull your damn ripcord!

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[fcajump 153]

Quote

See this FAA AD.

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/0/AE2D789F0EC884CA86256A390068A4EA?OpenDocument

I'll have to go back and check mine... One of my Strong Star Makers has a metal handle, but the other is white plastic... The metal one is bent, but I don't remember the plastic one being bent...

JW

Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi Jim,

Quote

I don't remember the plastic one being bent...

I'm going from memory here ( so give me a break ) but I seem to recall that the early PopTop's had a plastic ( white ) handle with a severe bend; they were not actually bent, they were cast in that configuration. The 'bend' was almost 90 degrees IIRC.

The 'bend' was what is shown in the OpenDocument that you cite.

JerryBaumchen

[councilman24 36]

Strong Pop Top's had some very severe angle plastic handles for awhile. They later changed.

White plastic 'crappy' handles were also used flat. I think the one that broke was on a very early Norther Lite, one with original round three ring harness rings.

As shown in Poynter's and in the AD some were okay but we pretty much took them all out of service just cause. I'm pretty sure I've got a 'good' non-metal handle around here somewhere. One of the oval cross section.

I just realized I had a 'good' Strong bent 'plastic' ripcord. I had Jerry make me a good metal one to replace it.

Attached is a photo. Note the oval bar and the ripcord going all the way through. Also the bend isn't as extreme as I remember the bad ones.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[erdnarob 1]

The only "plastic" material I have seen quite stronger than metal of the same size is a carbon fiber rod. It is used to reinforce concrete when only a thin layer is possible to be installed, like for some bridge. They offer resistance and lightness.

That kind of material is very expensive and so far I have the impression that it is not used for hardware.
The metal offers abrasion resistance and strength.
Note: when a parachute opens, forces are as high as 3-4 G and done every jump. I don't see a plastic hardware made from ABS or else used on a parachute equipment at places bearing the opening forces. Slinks are used on parachute but they are made with several hundred of tiny braided fibers which is quite different.

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

[sniper1rfa 0]

Just speaking from an engineering standpoint, there is no real reason why you couldn't make plastic hardware that would hold up. Probably would end up with UHMW HDPE or one of the more high performance plastic (amarids and so on), would be my guess.

Nobody would trust it, of course, as you can see in this thread. ;)

Plus, if you already have a supply of metal hardware (so no tooling or engineering costs) it would be a little pointless. There just isn't much reason to migrate to plastic, especially given the stigma it has.