New Rig

[HotLoad 0]

Just got my first rig in. WHOOO HOOO!!!!
It's a beautiful javelin w/sabre 170 and pd160 Reserve and cypres. A group of us are heading down to Skydive San Marcos this weekend. I'll be making my first jumps from an Otter as well as a King Air.....guess I'll be in debt a bunch o' beer. Hope everyone's in the mood for some Schlitz or Pabst Blue Ribbon. By the way if there are any Sabre owners out there with helpful hints please don't hesitate to reply. I think there might be an old post about that.
Blue skies

[Merrick 0]

Congrats on the new rig man.
When I first got mine (a beautiful Javelin/Sabre 190/pd176 mix) I was nervous, excited, & any other emotion you can think of about jumping it & my own pack job for the first time. It was AWESOME tho!!! & the sabre's are so much fun to fly for us newbies that haven't flown anything else but huge ass mantas & skymasters.
All I can say about packing it is roll the nose (I roll mine 4 & 4 and stuff in the center cell), make sure your stablizer is flaked, lines are straight, quarter the slider & pull it way out over the nose, and roll... roll... roll... the tail. Otherwise, definitely check out the few recent Sabre discussions in the 'gear & rigging' forum, there's some really good hints there.
Be safe & have fun!!
"Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!"
Merrick
Edited by Merrick on 5/23/01 12:16 PM.

[HotLoad 0]

thanks for the tips. Found a guy at the local dz that had a sabre. He said you gotta roll it bigger than a soup can. I hear there's no middle ground.....it's either silky smooth or a slammer. You are most definitely right about the no more manta/skymaster thing. No more bruises in the crotch all week just to go do it again the next weekend. Was your first pack job your own canopy, or did you pack student gear before. At any rate, it sure adds to the rush.
Blue Skies

[Merrick 0]

I've actually never had a 'slammer' on my sabre... even going so far as to not rolling the nose (just stuffing in the center cell). I think they're kinda like the old Johnathans, if you get a good one they're awesome, but if you get a bad one it's gonna' break your neck (OK, so that might not be the best comparison - Sabres are nothing like Johnathans LOL).
Yeah, my first pack job was my first jump on my own rig, and it was a re-currency jump after not having jumped in about 3 months. lol it was a blast!!!
"Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!"
Merrick

[Snowflake 0]

Congrats on the new rig (I'm turning green over here....gonna be July before I can afford one) It's gonna be a fun weekend at SSM I plan on doubling my Jumps this weekend which won't be hard since I'm on #12. I'll see ya out there
Drop till ya party
JG

[weid14 0]

PD does NOT recommend stuffing the rolled nose into the center cells. You may get good to weird openings. I'd be careful with it. I found the best way to have consistent (soft)openings was with slider handling and line stowes. then I got even more consistent and soft openings with my Safire, then even more with my crossfire! I did have one slammer on my sabre (not packed by me) that knocked the wind out of me and some other damage that hurt for 6 months. need to be careful!

[Pammi 0]

Congrats on your rig Hotload!!
I felt like I needed to say one thing though...be careful. I'm not sure what you're used to jumping, but if this is your first canopy off of student status, you might consider having someone help with some paddles or even a radio to show you where the flare is the first time. Also, it was recommended to me when I got both of my canopies and jumped them for the first time, to do a hop n' pop with it first. They said you don't want to introduce something new while also trying your first four-way (like I had been going to do). One thing at a time to concentrate on.
Anyway...just my thoughts...be safe and ask someone you trust. Especially about two-stage flares if you haven't heard of that or done them before. You'll LOVE the Sabre, in my opinion. I absolutely started dreaming of it day and night after I flew mine! And as my good buddy Kris told me, be ready to surf whether you mean to or not if it's a no-wind/low wind day! I already got a little surf outta mine unintentionally on my fourth jump on it. Woohoo!!
Have fun, be safe!
Pammi
Oh, and as to rolling it...I roll this shit outta the nose and tail both. Mine is practically new (40 jumps or so) and I've only had sweet openings. I didn't roll my Tri's nose at all, she opened perfectly without that, but I always roll the tail mostly to keep things nice and neat.
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[Merrick 0]

Quote

"PD does NOT recommend stuffing the rolled nose into the center cells."

You're absolutely correct! However, this is how I was taught to pack my sabre by several other sabre owners. It does give me the occasional "weird" opening as you said, but when I try to roll the nose & nestle it into the middle of the canopy (instead of stuffing) the rolls come out & I end up with a mess.... any ideas?
Also, what do you do different with your line stows, and aside from getting a bigger slider or adding a pocket, what's something else I could do to help as far as "slider handling" is concerned?
Sorry, I sort of turned this into a gear & rigging thread.
"Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!"
Merrick
Edited by Merrick on 5/24/01 10:15 AM.

[weid14 0]

if you're going to roll the nose: I used to roll one side, hold it between my legs, the roll the other side, grab them both and hold them between my knees. Make sure the slider is against the stops, and is quartered. Pull out the front part to in front of the nose, and then push the rolled nose into the middle (be careful with steering lines) - may have to pull out the slider again. Roll the tail tight to hold everything. don't forget to flake out the stabalizer. Make sure the line stows are looped 2-2.5" and they are tight (should take 12lbs pull force to pull them out). by stuffing the rolls into the center cells, you're putting some abnormal stresses on the various seams and ribs involved. (I actually got away from rolling anything by quarting and pulling the slider out, rolling the crap out of the tail and making the line stows tight). A trick I learned to keep the tail from unrolling was to hold it at the slider with one hand and roll with one hand, when complete, give it a downward tug, that kind of locks the roll in place.
dave

[Merrick 0]

Cool Weid, thanks! I'll try the rolling & pushing the nose into the middle technique this weekend.... Hell, I may just not roll it at all! Everything else you described sounds pretty much identical to how I do things now.
Thanks again!
"Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!"
Merrick

[Kris 0]

Heh, I've tried not stuffing the nose in the center cell, and regretted it. The PD guy I talked to at Quincy said if it works, use it. :)
Ooohhh, I can't wait for my elliptical...!
Kris

[harro 0]

I own a sabre 190 and I have been rolling the slider into the tail rolls. Man love those 800 to 900 ft openings. My packer has packed me a 1500 snivel. I was ready to chop when it fell open
Freemind, freesky, freebeer, freefly