Question on historic bridle attachment comet from the 80s

[E-Rach 0]

Hello,
I just got a hot deal on an comet 280, as I am relatively new last 20 years of sky gear I don't really understand the old stuff.

fist do they have a label on the parachute I haven't found one, and the bridle attachment uses 2 points on ether side of the center cell looks like Dacron to the bag; and has relatively low amounts of reinforcement... (no CRW alteration, or collapsible PC)

1# why did they stop using this looks like there is a minimal chance for something to go wrong, but more complicated then the single large reinforcement patch in the centre.

other then that looks like a fun excrement to fly this piece of history its got a hand deployed PC as well, so cool stuff, in the day I imagine.

[Gene03 0]

There was a device called a split bridle.

Picture a pilot huge sitting on top of a forked bridle with each leg going down to each ring.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[JerryBaumchen 1,263]

Hi E-Rach,

Quote

why did they stop using this

The collapsible pilot chute is one reason. IMO cost might be another.

Jerry Baumchen

[johnmatrix 21]

E-Rach

looks like a fun excrement to fly

Flies fine, lands like shit though.

[riggerrob 598]

Inverted "Y" bridles were fashionable during the early 1980s, then faded from the skydiving scene as canopy manufacturers learned how to reinforce Center bridle attachments.

BASE jumpers revived multi-legged bridles during the 1990s. The most prolific has 4 legs: middle of center-cell, cell immediately to the left, cell immediately to the right and a fourth leg to lift the line-stow pocket. BASE jumpers' primary goal is on-heading openings. The extra leg to the line-stow pocket helps keep the tail even, controlling tail inflation.

[E-Rach 0]

so if i where to modify it for BASE, i guess i could keep the old Y ... but as with the (was it apex's) milti-point bridle attachment more complicated bridles are not friendly; (not that this canapy would be anything more then a water rig)

[riggerrob 598]

Multi-point bridles are most valuable for controlling openings at low speeds like BASE.
By the time you accelerate to the 80 knots typical of airplane jumps, other factors dominate and a multi-point bridle has less effect on openings.
If I was going to hop-and-popyour old Comet, I would keep the two-point bridle, while adding a deployment bag and regular throw-out pilot-chute.

[E-Rach 0]

not what I was saying, but I do have PC,and bag, just need some risers and a reserve-harness and ill be good to go for planes..

[obelixtim 141]

Most canopies of that era were multi use, RW, Accuracy, CRW. Comets were pretty average as far as canopies went, there were quite a few designs that came out with fanfare but proved to be dogs in the long run...the Unit for example.

A lot of FF jumps were followed by canopy hook ups, and the V bridle was a hazard for CRW jumps. When CRW became popular most canopies came out with single point attachments, collapsible and retractable pilot chutes.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[JerryBaumchen 1,263]

Hi Tim,

Quote

dogs in the long run...the Unit for example.

During that timeframe I was doing some business with Chuck Embury. He was one of the guys involved in bringing the Comet to market.

He told me that the Comet was basically a Unit with four line attachment points; the Unit only had three.

Jerry Baumchen