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Airviking

Slider doesn't stay collapsed

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Second jump on my used Spectre, I decided to try collapsing the slider. Pulled the lines, but it un-collapsed as soon as I released the lines. I can't see any mechanism (friction devise or the like) that would hold it closed. Is something wrong, or am I missing something?
I believe you have my stapler.

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Second jump on my used Spectre, I decided to try collapsing the slider. Pulled the lines, but it un-collapsed as soon as I released the lines. I can't see any mechanism (friction devise or the like) that would hold it closed. Is something wrong, or am I missing something?



Did you pull the cord(s) past the locking tab(s)?

There are tabs sewn into the cords that form sort of barbs such that when you pull the barb all the way out of the slider channel, it won't go back in without some effort.

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Play with it on the ground.
Pull the kill lines out, ALL the way.
Look for the little tabs of line that stick out from the kill lines, that will catch on the slider instead of sucking back into the slider.

Sometimes those tabs get bendy and soft over time, and don't catch well, but they can be given more stitches or have the mouth of the kill line channels narrowed a little.

Edit:
Figure out how things work on the ground before trying them in the air. :)

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Keep pulling. There should be a 'barb' sticking out of the kill line way up near the front. This barb will pop out and prevent the line from being drawn back into the slider.

You may need to hold one hand on the trailing edge of the slider pushing forward, while the other hand pulls the line rearward. Another trick is to grasp both lines at once, and pull them outwards so they pull against each other, as this will also provide the neccesary tension to extract the barb from the slider channel.

Have a look at it on the ground before your next jump, and become familiar with it down here where there's no pressure. If you're already packed, wander into the packing area, and check out the slider on any unpacked PD canopy, it should be the same as yours.

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Thanks all. Yeah, I guess I just didn't pull it closed far enough. The main's unpacked at home, so I'll take another look tonight.

BTW, critical functions like uncollapsing the slider, I make sure I have thorough understanding of when I need it. But collapsing the slider...well, it didn't seem like there was enough friction from the lines themselves, but maybe it worked in the air, but not on the ground? (Uhum..."magical thinking"...) Anyway, it seemed like a non-critical function if I ever saw one, so I thought I'd just give it a try, see what happens.
I believe you have my stapler.

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...Anyway, it seemed like a non-critical function if I ever saw one, so I thought I'd just give it a try, see what happens.



This is scary. Please talk to people before you try anything...even if it seems to you to be a non-critical function.
Spend some time with somebody to teach you about your gear and how it operates.
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

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...Anyway, it seemed like a non-critical function if I ever saw one, so I thought I'd just give it a try, see what happens.



This is scary. Please talk to people before you try anything...even if it seems to you to be a non-critical function.
Spend some time with somebody to teach you about your gear and how it operates.



My thinking too, near 300 jumps and this question?
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

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My thinking too, near 300 jumps and this question?



Most were many years back; he came back to the sport recently.


OK fair enough:)
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

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I used a wrap of electrical tape to stiffen up the 'tab'.



I would think the glue would get gummy, and then the tape would slip off the barb when you pull the cord, leaving a wad of tape inside the cord channel.



Agreed. Gaffers tape would work a lot better.

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Took a look at the slider Sunday, and I found the little tabs on the lines to be so far forward, that the only way I could collapse it (while on the ground) was to manually bunch up the channels lttle by little, working from the front to the back while pulling on the lines. It looks like the slider has had some work done to it, which may be the cause of the problem.

I contacted the seller, who's a rigger and a good guy, to ask him if he had issues with it.
I believe you have my stapler.

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Took a look at the slider Sunday, and I found the little tabs on the lines to be so far forward, that the only way I could collapse it (while on the ground) was to manually bunch up the channels lttle by little, working from the front to the back while pulling on the lines. It looks like the slider has had some work done to it, which may be the cause of the problem.

I contacted the seller, who's a rigger and a good guy, to ask him if he had issues with it.



Sounds like the lines have shrunk.

Should be easy enough to fingertrap some line as a new tab on the kill lines.
"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

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Replacing the finger-trapped tabs is a lot easier and waaaay cheaper than a new slider.


Chuck



I think you need a new slider, line set and risers. Give me a call. :P

Sparky


the d-bag and the PC may need replacing too; it often comes all together. i'll do a complete inspection for you! :P
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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My rigger wants to sell me a new slider




Does your rigger 'happen' to have one in stock that's the right size? Or is your rigger busy as shit, and would rather solve the problem by making a phone call to order a slider than working on yours?

Now for some support for your rigger - you did say upthread that the slider appears to have been worked on, so there's a chance that it might have been 'fixed' one too many times already. It's like with a car, you can only bondo over a dent so many times. Eventually you're putting bondo over bondo, and there's no more 'car' underneath.

That said, as easy fix to replace the kill lines. The stiching at the leading edge gets unpicked and the old ones come out. New ones are just dacron steering lines with some little 'nipples' of dacron fingertrapped and sewn into the line, then the line is sewn back down at the leadng edge. It's probably a 45 mintue job if you take the slider off yourself. Add 15 minutes if you just hand the rigger your whole rig and expect him to remove/replace the slider. The whole thing 'should' cost less than $50, or less than half the price of a new slider.

Of course, that's only if the slider is still easily repairable. If it's already been worked on to within an inch of it's life, you might be out of luck. If the seller was a rigger, see if he'll cut you a deal on fixing it, and mail him just the slider. It shouldn't be more than $6 or $8 to ship, even if it's all the way to the west coast.

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