How do you close your container?

[JeffGordon 0]

A friend of mine has a new Mirage and the instructions call for closing the right flap last. I was taught this could allow the bridle to catch under the flap causing a container lock. Any thoughts?

[AggieDave 6]

I would follow what the manufacture recommends, they usually have a fairly good idea on whats going on. As a packer I generally close right left, but then again, a LOT of rigs on the market close that way, I close the otherway when I'm packing a rig that is "supposed" to be closed the other way.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[quade 3]

When in doubt, follow the manufacturer's directions.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 2,380]

For my Racer:

Bottom left right top, as per manufacturer's recommendation.

[TheMonkey 0]

Javelin, bottom top left right per manufacturer's direction

Javelin Rigging Manual:
http://www.sunpath.com/downloads/Jav%20Manual%20Rev%2001%20Iss%2001.pdf

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Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

[freeflir29 0]

I have always closed Bottom, Top, Left, Right unless the manufacturer specifically says otherwise. I wouldn't worry about the bridal getting caught. Uuummm...I put mine under the right flap to protect it....

[kopelen 0]

It's easy, follow manufacturers directions. You should have a copy when you bought your gear. If not then get one from the manufacturer or your local rigger.

[Jessica 0]

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I put mine under the right flap to protect it....

So you have container lock on every jump? Doesn't that get expensive?

Skydiving is for cool people only

[freeflir29 0]

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So you have container lock on every jump?

Sweety...that would be a P/C in tow. Not to nit pick though...... Nope...no problems yet....

[PhreeZone 14]

Freefall... Bottom, top right left. Doing the right first makes for a cleaner and tighter bridal routing imo. CRW Bottom only.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Sonic 0]

I always close right - left when packing, unless asked otherwise.

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It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[Kris 0]

I pack my Mirage just like the directions say, with the right flap last.

The key to preventing any possible problems is to be cautious with your bridle routing. You don't have to stuff it all the way up under the flap, just enough so that it isn't showing. If you have a properly sized main for your container, the pack tension will hold the bridle there until you throw the PC, no matter what.

The danger in stuffing the bridle too far is that's when it can get hung up on something.

Kris

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[Shark 0]

Big Titted Rich Lady

[psw097 0]

The Infinity has numbers on the flaps. It keeps lazy people like me from having to think.

[TheMonkey 0]

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The Infinity has numbers on the flaps

then it's a good thing you finally learned how to read!

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Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

[smooth 0]

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How do you close your container?

pull up cord.... insert closing pin.

I have a Mirage. I use the manufacturer's recommendations., plus the flaps are numbered.

[JYorkster 0]

Many of the replies to this post are scaring me! Close the container the way the manufacturer says to close it. That should be the only reply. Seeing that so many people pack however they want regardless of the type of container makes me glad that I pack my own.

Bottom Top Left Right as per manufacturer instructions for Mirage.

Rock

[Hooknswoop 19]

Bottom-Top-Right-Left. Both my Javelin and my Micron

Two reasons.

1. Right flap first prevents the possibility of the PC bridle hanging up on the right-hand flap (not an issue on my Micron).

2. Right flap first puts the flap against the bottom flap from the closing loop to the corner of the rig, holding the PC bridle more secure. Closing the left flap first creates a gap between the right flap and the bottom flap, where the PC bridle is routed.

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Many of the replies to this post are scaring me! Close the container the way the manufacturer says to close it. That should be the only reply.

If the manufacturers are always correct, then why aren't all rigs the same? Why do they make improvements to their containers? Why are there AD's?

Hook

[RTB 0]

No need to be scared. Sunpath (Javelin) manual says close left-right, but if you ask them they say you can close right-left also. A lot of people do that, I have too, it works fine.

[rendezvous 0]

I have a TALON and that closes right to left.

[sducoach 0]

[:

J.E>]

James 4:8

[riggerrob 558]

I used method A to close my 1985 vintage Mirage and method B to close my 1997 Talon 2.

When in doubt, pack according to the manufacturers' instructions.

Frequently those instructions are the result of some obscure idiot er. BASE jumper, er head-downer, er CReW competitor, etc. (He! He!) inventing a new way to hurt himself. For example: pin covers on Vector I and II as well as Talon Mark I tend to blow open when you sit fly. This is because they were designed long before sit flying became fashionable.
It is a credit to manufacturers that most rigs can be closed out of sequence and will still open when asked. But don't expect any rig to save you when you pack in a manner that differs from the manual!
Most of those ADs, Service Bulletins and updates are the result of someone packing or using a rig in a manner that never crossed the designer's mind in his worst drunken nightmare!

PhreeZone, please post a picture of your CReW rig with only the bottom flap closed. If it is like most CReW rigs, it has riser blocks and toggles and fabric squirting out of every corner. What special precautions do you take when not closing all the flaps?

[PhreeZone 14]

>If it is like most CReW rigs, it has riser blocks and toggles and fabric squirting out of every corner. What special precautions do you take when not closing all the flaps?

Actully I don't have the canopy anymore but I could jam all the material in the bag while still looking neat and with the top and bottom flaps thats the best the pack tray would hold it. It was a Lightning 193 and a large bag going in my poor J2 with a long closing loop. It took 3 people to close it and that poor closing pin had to be under some terrible stress. I don't think anyone took a picture of it with the riser flaps open, the flaps hanging out and the PC most the way out of the BOC so I could reach it. Shame too since that was a soft, slow on heading opening.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[billvon 2,380]

>Any rigger, instructor, coach, DZO, or other expert who informs you otherwise
> is assuming they are more knowledgable than the designers of the equipment.

Or they are assuming they know better than the manufacturer in terms of how the jumper is using their gear. For example, when giving a CRW camp, a coach may advise a jumper to keep the riser covers open and/or not close the main pin protector flap, even though no such advice exists in the user's manual. In that case, the coach simply has a better idea how the gear is being used than the manufacturer does.

>If they truly have a better idea they should provide that information to
>the manufacturer.

This happens quite often. As an example, Derek came up with a brake line mod for the Safire, and I had it done to my canopy to improve the flare. Six months later Icarus made it standard. A while later I became concerned by excessive wear on my brake lines; I replaced the lower lines with Dacron line, even though that's not recommended by the manufacturer (although Beezy said it didn't matter.)

>As far as changes are concerned, they are usually "advancements" in design o
>procedures . . . .

Or are lifesavers, in which case it's important to do it as soon as possible.

The manufacturer is generally the best source of information for any gear-related question, and you disregard their advice at your own peril. However, it's also important to remember that it is the user, not the manufacturer, who is risking his life jumping the thing, and the final responsibility for gear maintenance/operation/packing/repair lies on his shoulders, not the manufacturer's. He must do what he needs to do to jump the gear safely, even if this means additional education, changes in usage, unusual maintenance or modification of the gear.

[DivaSkyChick 0]

Shark wrote: "Big Titted Rich Lady "

LOL me too! Did you get that from little Eddie?

M

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