swift reserve 175

[dorel 0]

i have a question:
if swift resereve 175 dom 1986 (5 cell) it is still air worthy or if is stiill in use in skydiving activity.

Regards
Dorel

[gowlerk 1,910]

It might be, of course depending on condition. I still have two customers I pack them for. Many riggers won't pack them, and some won't understand the partially fly away brake lines.

I've landed one 3 times. All I'll say about that is don't overload it.

The bottom line is that they are not generally worth more than $50 on the market today. If you can only afford a $50 reserve maybe you should find another sport.

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

[medic0079 0]

Para Flite, the manufacturer of the Swift reserve, can do an airworthiness and porosity inspection Id start there before I used it. I don't know if you can find a rigger to pack it for you or not. I'm sure one of the older ones have seen/dealt with them and they certainly will be a better resource than me. You can use the search function I'm sure there is more information somewhere on this board. Is there a reason you want to use it? you can pick up a used nice reserve for not that much & seems to me the reserve is not the place to skimp on money if that is the reason.

[medic0079 0]

gowlerk

some won't understand the partially fly away brake lines.

What is a partially fly away brake line?

[gowlerk 1,910]

Quote

What is a partially fly away brake line?

A little hard to explain. But of the three brake lines that go each side only two of them attach to the toggle, One ends in a cat eye only is held by the toggle tip. That is only for deployment. When the brakes are released that line just trails behind you. (This is from memory and some details are probably wrong).

I believe this was done to make the canopy very difficult to stall.

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

[dorel 0]

i put together a rig for accuracy and
this reserve was a gift from a friend.
I have no reason to jump this in particular but it is free.
The stiring lines i understand from the manual how to fold.
The canopie look great. but I have not seen that type of lines.

Bottom Line , i search for anoteher reserve?
I have an Options with MicroRaven.

P.S. my equipped weight 220lbs

Quote

• Quote

[Unstable 8]

Quote

I believe this was done to make the canopy very difficult to stall.

I have 1 customer that I still pack a Swift 175 for, and IIRC, the partially flyaway break lines were relatively standard before fingertrapping became the norm. I don't believe there is a single fingertrap on the canopy, but is uses a 308-pattern zigzag

=========Shaun ==========

[gowlerk 1,910]

Quote

i put together a rig for accuracy and
this reserve was a gift from a friend.
I have no reason to jump this in particular but it is free.
The stiring lines i understand from the manual how to fold.
The canopie look great. but I have not seen that type of lines.

Bottom Line , i search for anoteher reserve?
I have an Options with MicroRaven.

P.S. my equipped weight 220lbs

I've landed mine that heavy, but I don't recommend it. The largest Micro Raven is a 150. The Swift would be better than one of those. (At your weight)

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

[hackish 8]

I think for 220lbs plus gear it is probably not safe. I turned away someone with one of the old 5 cell swifts for that exact reason. As I recall the max weight was around 190 lbs.

Something to think about is when those things were designed they did not anticipate people going above 1:1 wingloading.

-Michael

[muff528 3]

gowlerk

...

I believe this was done to make the canopy very difficult to stall.

...and to scare the bejebuz out of someone who's looking up at his "last chance" for the first time. Learn what there is to know about your equipment before you jump it.

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi gowlerk,

Quote

I believe this was done to make the canopy very difficult to stall.

I owned two of them 'back in the day.' Used one in an emergency situation, worked great and was very easy to land ( I weighed about 175 lbs then ). I do not think it had anything to do with stalling characteristics. I think it was just the design at that time.

I consider it still a good design idea; but then I'm an old guy.

IMO the only real 'problem' with these canopies is that the world decided that they wanted a 7-cell reserve. Time passes and things change; c'est la vie.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) See attached photos of a drop test with a 5-Cell 175 Swift.

[likestojump 3]

A pic of the Swift being kited. Should give you a better idea of the breakaway steering lines.

[medic0079 0]

HAHAHAHA its like half a parachute :)

[skez 0]

my brother ground launched a 1983 swift 160 reserve few weeks ago he landed it fine... he has never skydived etc so im guessing ppl that say u will break your legs if u land one and all that shit are either way overloading it or maybe just fucktards that blame the canopy for there mistakes lol i dunno,,,,,,, also note this was a 65kg person that landed it fine

FTMC

[accumack 13]

The steering line setup was to make the canopy more docile. Back then there were no high performance canopies. So we worked hard to make it easy to handle. The lines that go slack when you release the brakes were required to have the canopy open quickly.

[dpreguy 14]

Would you jump a 5 cell 175 sq ft parachute at 220 lbs? No you wouldn't. Bad idea. Why are you even considering this? 5 cell parachutes went out, what...30 years ago? Or longer? Not to mention no one will pack it. (OK almost no one).
What difference is it that it is free? None.
Make sleeping bags out of it. Yes, the cells on 5 cells were that big!

[Quagmirian 40]

skez

my brother ground launched a 1983 swift 160 reserve few weeks ago he landed it fine... he has never skydived etc so im guessing ppl that say u will break your legs if u land one and all that shit are either way overloading it or maybe just fucktards that blame the canopy for there mistakes lol i dunno,,,,,,, also note this was a 65kg person that landed it fine

I saw your video; it must have been a swift plus since it was a 7 cell.

[pms07 3]

I would recommend you pay attention to what dpreguy said. The Swift was a great reserve in its day...but that day is long since past. I have a bunch of jumps on a Swift reserve setup as a main at higher altitude DZs in Colorado during the '80s, when I probably weighed around 175. And at least one actual reserve ride. Worked fine. Would I jump one today? No. Would I pack one today, especially for someone that is unfamiliar with the technology and flying a low performance 5 cell? No.

[zoobrothertom 5]

accumack

The steering line setup was to make the canopy more docile. Back then there were no high performance canopies. So we worked hard to make it easy to handle. The lines that go slack when you release the brakes were required to have the canopy open quickly.

I was about to answer this one before I decided it might be wiser to read to the end of the thread. We have a winner with this answer!!
After my first swift ride in '84, I immediately cornered my rigger and asked about the steering lines. It flew great and landed great. I used it 3~4 times and as late as '99 on my last cutaway. I weighed around 180 back then.

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[betzilla 56]

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Para Flite, the manufacturer of the Swift reserve, can do an airworthiness and porosity inspection Id start there before I used it.

They could in theory, but they won't. They aren't supporting any of their sport products anymore.

[hackish 8]

Quagmirian

I saw your video; it must have been a swift plus since it was a 7 cell.

I used to jump a Diablo. I have many rides on a Swift plus. Completely different animal than a 5 cell swift.

I'm sure TK can tell a story about a diablo landing on the hood of his car pulling out of the parking lot... Just sayin...

-Michael

[ryoder 1,382]

BTW The orginal 5-cell Swift reserve was *not* crossported, so you needed to ensure the cells were all fully inflated before releasing the brakes.

Trust me, you don't want to land 4/5 of a Swift with a 200# exit weight.
Don't ask me how I know this.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[accumack 13]

ryoder

BTW The orginal 5-cell Swift reserve was *not* crossported, so you needed to ensure the cells were all fully inflated before releasing the brakes.

Trust me, you don't want to land 4/5 of a Swift with a 200# exit weight.
Don't ask me how I know this.

Not true all Swifts were crossported.

[ryoder 1,382]

accumack

***BTW The orginal 5-cell Swift reserve was *not* crossported, so you needed to ensure the cells were all fully inflated before releasing the brakes.

Trust me, you don't want to land 4/5 of a Swift with a 200# exit weight.
Don't ask me how I know this.

Not true all Swifts were crossported.

You are right;
I was thinking of the Safety-Flyer (160sf/1.25oz) that predated the Swift.
I later replaced it with a Swift, but I don't recall ever deploying the Swift.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[accumack 13]

ryoder

******BTW The orginal 5-cell Swift reserve was *not* crossported, so you needed to ensure the cells were all fully inflated before releasing the brakes.

Trust me, you don't want to land 4/5 of a Swift with a 200# exit weight.
Don't ask me how I know this.

Not true all Swifts were crossported.

You are right;
I was thinking of the Safety-Flyer (160sf/1.25oz) that predated the Swift.
I later replaced it with a Swift, but I don't recall ever deploying the Swift.

No Para-Flite canopies were crossposted at the time of the Safety Flyer due to Jalbert's patent which was over turned in the late 1970s or early 1980s after that all Para-Flite canopies were crossported. The Safety Flyer was out of production by then.