crapflinger2000 1 #1 November 1, 2011 Another question/observation... In my time as a rigger I was always a bit anal on safety stows... 1) I see more then a few rubber strands broken? Replaced it. 2) Overlap ends not well sewn together (i.e. zig-zag stitching not the full length of the overlapped bungee so that the ends can fork) so that it doesn't run freely through the channel and grommets? Throw it in the sewing machine and fix it. 3) Locking stows seem abnormally loose after packing into freebag (i.e. to the point where the recommended 2" stows just did not seem "enough") - replace it with a slightly smaller one. Legality issues aside (I suspect as a senior rigger I probably should not have been making my own safety stows - or at least not making them outside of factory spec), I always felt pretty sure of myself on the first 2... However, the last one I was always tearing my hair out, trying to strike the right balance between "can I avoid the PITA of making a new safety stow by just making the locking stows a wee bit longer?" and "nope I gotta replace it" and "don't forget it has to be loose enough to function in a horse-shoe scenario." Of course I was doing this all through guesstimation since I was not aware of any empirical data on how much tension in the stow was too much and how much was too little... Anyway, just throwing this stuff out there as I am bored at work and probably at least one current rigger probably is wondering the same thing. __________________________________________________ What would Vic Mackey do? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
likestojump 3 #2 November 1, 2011 you forgot : pull out the safety stow and find majority of strands broken past the zigzag junction and the stow being held together by sheath only I get plenty of those, as many people seem to never pull the stow out to inspect it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #3 November 1, 2011 It really takes a double throw zig zag to make one well and I don't have one, yet. So for the few bucks they cost I just keep them on hand. They do stretch, breack inside, and get hard. Kudos for finding the broken rubber strands inside and replacing them. The only time I've really seen one two loose was when the canopy was so small it didn't fill the bag and there was NO tension on the safety stow. It was a Tempo or Raven 150 in a J5 Javelin. I refused to pack but one or two other riggers did. The owner sold it to another guy, he called me to pack it, I recognized the rig over the phone and said no. If a factory spec safety stow is too loose I'd say the canopy is too small for the container. A rare event these days. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ctrph8 0 #4 November 1, 2011 I believe the short answer is that the safety stow is a TSO'd part and technically no one but the manufacturer is allowed to make them. Each of the materials used in TSO'd parts is listed and approved for use in that system. In the case of a manufacturer that is out of business I think a master rigger can make them. The reality is that people make them all the time but technically they are supposed to come from the manufacturer. Also, changing the dimensions of a TSO'd part would be inviting trouble. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captain_stan 0 #5 November 1, 2011 QuoteIt really takes a double throw zig zag to make one well See photo of Sunpath-supplied OEM safety stow. Very obviously single-throw stitched as can be done on a 20u. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #6 November 1, 2011 I knew that when I wrote my reply but the double throw seem to be more secure to me.I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captain_stan 0 #7 November 1, 2011 Quote So for the few bucks they cost Quote the double throw seem to be more secure to me. But if you're gonna buy these from the mfr, then you're gonna end up with some of those "inferior" single-throw zig-zag stows as pictured. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #8 November 1, 2011 Yep. I just think the double throw zig zag ones seem more secure. Both work. And my Pfaff zig zag doesn't like making them.I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnSherman 1 #9 November 2, 2011 Quote3) Locking stows seem abnormally loose after packing into freebag (i.e. to the point where the recommended 2" stows just did not seem "enough") - replace it with a slightly smaller one. Because the Safety Stow has no stiffiner to keep the grommets separated at a specific distance the tension can never be depended on. We made a series of tests on all types of rigs where we measured the tension of the Safety Stow on the bight or how much does it take to pull the lines out. We found that one stow always had a very low release force requirement (<5 pounds) and the other had a reasonable moderate release force (12+/- pounds). It was observed that only one stow had to release to allow the canopy to fall out. So it really did matter how long you made the stow as long as you were close. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
