Direct Deploy

[tbrown 26]

This ought to prove to the younger generation that we really were stark raving nuts. anybody here remember "direct deploy" ? This was a method whereby no pilot chute was used at all, it was a glorified pullout deployment of an entire square canopy. A POP handle was stitched directly onto the nose of the center cell, so that when the handle was pulled, first the pin would come out of the closing loop, then the nose of the center cell was presented into the wind and - wham ! - deployment. As far as I know, this was only ever attempted with Strato Flyer canopies. I do remember seeing Nick Lucas's Flyer at the 1978 Nationals, there was no trailing pilot chute and you could see the handle dangling down from the ceter cell.

This method vanished as quickly as it started, after 2 or 3 jumpers got cocooned in their canopies and went in. But I was wondering if anyone here ever tried this method or had friends who tried it, or saw the rigging work up close.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[mark 102]

I remember a little bit different:

A freepacked (no deployment device) Unit as the direct-deployed canopy. And I heard from a FOAF that Jump Shack's "at 2000 feet the last thing you need is pretty gear" ad photo depicts the beginning of a direct-deploy sequence.

I don't recall jumpers being cocooned in canopies, and I don't see why that would be any more likely for direct-deploy than for pilot chute methods. I vaguely recall complaints of squirelly openings.

I think it's an idea whose time has come again, but I'd recommend at least a frap strap to control the canopy and hold the slider up until line stretch.

Mark

[wmw999 2,121]

Quote

A freepacked (no deployment device) Unit as the direct-deployed canopy.
...
I vaguely recall complaints of squirelly openings.

Units were squirrely-opening anyway. I remember them, but don't think anyone local to me was doing it.

I'd imagine some sort of side pack (which was what we all did anyway) would be the way to go, since a propack covers all that crap up.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[airtwardo 6]

There was a guy jumping at Sparta, Illinois back in the late 70's early 80's that did 'Direct Deploy' with a Strato Star in a 1st generation Wonderhog.

After he landed, he'd drop the rig where he stood.
(if the canopy was straight, which I guess it always was)

He would then split the riser groups left & right walking from the container to the canopy, pushing the slider as he went. Hands on the lines at the attachment points, give a shake, and a little left-right move that would 1/3rd the canopy in his hands.

Then just coil the suspension lines in a circle in the main pack tray, "S" fold the canopy on top with the direct deploy tab coming out the bottom right.

The whole thing took two minutes and he'd walk in PACKED!

It did look like it opened quick, but he was a smaller guy and never complained...never saw him chop it either.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[efs4ever 3]

Not excactly direct deploy, but I have hundreds of jumps on a square with a Chaffin "diaper" Basically it was a 3 flap device that was sewn to the side of the canopy. The rig was flat packed on top of the diaper that closed around the canopy. The lines were stowed on the diaper. The first bight held it closed.

Round reserves had diapers also.

J Schrimsher knows about them, because he was packing them up as a ten year old.

Really makes me feel like an old fart talking about THAT stuff since the ten year old is pushing forty.

I remember Forest McBride jumping a diapered square out of a B-4 container with a front mount reserve.

____________________

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[wmw999 2,121]

I made a diaper for my Firefly that I sewed to the side of the canopy. It worked really well. I didn't like freestowing all my lines, though, so I put some room for rubber bands to stow most of them

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[mjosparky 3]

I put about 500 jumps on a "free pack" or trash pack. Walk up the lines pushing the slider ahead of you. Grab the nose and shake it, lay the canopy down and wrap it with the tail. "S" fold the lines in the pack tray and then fold the canopy on top of that. Close the container and stow the P/C. After about 300 jumps I had a line group half hitch one of the main flaps. At about 1000 feet I had run out of ideas and fired the reserve into it. A diapered round, and it worked. After that I went to a tail pocket to stow the lines in. A couple hundred more jumps like that and then I saw the light. Oh yea, the canopy was a Paraflite CruisAir.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[councilman24 36]

We had at least one guy doing free packing direct deploy where I started. Hmmm, seems like it was a Strato star. Also assorted variations of diapers. One or two guys trash packed by throwing the canopy down nose down and raking the lines with their fingers. Cocoon, coil lines in container, s fold into container and close. As above.
Actually very much like a propack. This guy used a throw out pilot chute. But it was stowed between the back pad and main container through an opening in the seam. Early version of "BOC.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[BlueSBDeath 2]

Long ago in place far far away (Germany) I had a first generation Unit in a SST Racer that had a single "Frap Strap" that closed the main at the stabilizers with a single stow, then I would S-fold the lines into the container, S-fold the main in the pack tray (right to left) close 1-2-3, S-fold pilot chute on that mess, and close with a Pud.

I recall some VERY fast openings!!!

I was young, dumb, and full of BEER!!!!!!!

Thank God I lived through all those OLD days!!

Arvel

BSBD...........Its all about Respect,

USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499

[riggermick 6]

Quote

We had at least one guy doing free packing direct deploy where I started. Hmmm, seems like it was a Strato star. Also assorted variations of diapers. One or two guys trash packed by throwing the canopy down nose down and raking the lines with their fingers. Cocoon, coil lines in container, s fold into container and close. As above.
Actually very much like a propack. This guy used a throw out pilot chute. But it was stowed between the back pad and main container through an opening in the seam. Early version of "BOC.

Sounds like a Handbury rig. RIP Jim.

Mick.

[councilman24 36]

Actually it was an early Northern Lite. Probably the only one like it.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[jaymundo 0]

Had one of those handbury rigs.Kevlar reserve ripcord! Red soft reserve handle! cool looking....never had to use it though.i believe it had R3 cutaway releases........

[tbrown 26]

Quote

Had one of those handbury rigs.Kevlar reserve ripcord! Red soft reserve handle! cool looking....never had to use it though.i believe it had R3 cutaway releases........

Sounds just like the Hanbury rig I had, a 1978 model. I actually used the reserve more than once, the ripcord also functioned as a "Jesus string" when it stopped against the grommet on the soft housing (you couldn't actually pull the ripcord OUT, it was designed so the pins would hit the grommet and pull the upper container flap open).

HOWEVER, returning to the main subject, I'm not really refering to the many free pack and free line stows that were quite common in the late seventies and early eighties. The great majority of them still used a pilot chute to get the show started, whether a throwaway or a pullout. I'm specifically asking about the method where a few brave (or crazy) souls did away with the pilot chute altogether and used a pullout method to pull the center cell of the canopy itself into the airstream to initiate deployment.

And yeah, I also remember that Racer ad, "The last thing you need at 2 grand is pretty gear", and hearing somewhere that it was a shot of Nick Lucas direct deploying his Flyer canopy. A real pity that it was just a black & white shot, it would've been amazing in color.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[norman8791 0]

Hey Sparky, I had the same thing happen to me, jumping Jimmy Tylers unit in a Hank rig, but I pulled out the trusty ole hook knife and cut all four lines from the right front riser, with one smooth stroke, and was then able to cut away, to find myself under a 21' piglet, I was then wondering if I had made the right choice. I thought the spinning unit might have landed softer, lol. Norm

[peckerhead 0]

I knew a guy back in Oregon in the early 80's that packed his rig just like you describe. No pilot chute at all, the pud was sewn directly to the nose near the center cell with a short piece of line and a straight pin holding the container closed. You could actually see fabric from the nose sticking out between the closing flaps.

When he pulled the pud the container opened and then he would pull the nose of the canopy out to full arm extension and let it fly. The lines were also free stowed in the bottom of the container.

I remember I was at a boogie at Scravel hill in Albany Oregon and me and my buddies watched him pack it and jump it all weekend. It was probably the scariest packjob I have ever seen and the openings about as ugly as you could possibly get on a ram-air. But, it did open every time and he could pack in about 5 minutes which was un-heard of back then. We thought he was nuts!

I think the container was a Handbury but I can't say for sure. It had been modified by the owner who was also a master rigger. The canopy was a Strato Cloud Delta.

[jbrasher 0]

I heard of a master rigger i AZ in the early eighties? who hand a hand deploy reserve. The pilot chute pub was just over his left? shoulder. If he needed it he just reached back and let fly.
Don't remember ever hearing if he had to use it.

Red, White and Blue Skies,

John T. Brasher D-5166

[bob.dino 0]

The Aussie-made Woomera container had a similar system. Search dz.com for more if you're interested.

[peckerhead 0]

Jerry Baumchen maybe?

My memory is fuzzy but I think he was the "No springs" guy.

Great idea but a cypress would probably not work with that.

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi Peckerhead,

Nope, not me. However, there was a young go-getter at Sheridan who made his own rig with a h/d reserve. He made about 3 jumps on it to test it and then figured that he was good to go.

As you may remember, one good thing about Sheridan for us up-jumpers was a 'no rules' attitude. We did what we wanted to do.

[peckerhead 0]

Yeah, I remember.

Whatever happened to ol Teddy?

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi Peckerhead,

You do realize how much of an open-ended a question like that about Ted really is don't you?

Well, last year he got married again and elected to the Sheridan City Council.

That enough to get you laughing out loud?

[peckerhead 0]

Good for him!

I knew he would finally make a name for himself.

[freeflywink 0]

(HOWEVER, returning to the main subject, I'm not really refering to the many free pack and free line stows that were quite common in the late seventies and early eighties. The great majority of them still used a pilot chute to get the show started, whether a throwaway or a pullout. I'm specifically asking about the method where a few brave (or crazy) souls did away with the pilot chute altogether and used a pullout method to pull the center cell of the canopy itself into the airstream to initiate deployment.)

In the mid thru late 70s at the Akron Skydivers Club (Akron Oh) free packing was the rule not the exception and a few of us played with direct deploy for quite a while. Squirrely openings but usually quick. HOWEVER, I do have some 8mm movie footage somewhere in the archives of Ward Peterson's Stratoflyer laying on his back like a blanket not cathing any air. It finally took off when he sat up after about 4 to 6 seconds.

We started using frap straps with line stow bands after hearing the horror stories of lines half hitching around container flaps then free stowing had to be abandoned when ZP fabric hit the scene. It only took one jump on my free packed brand new Sabre to convince me to start using a D-bag.

Wink.
I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

[nitrochute 2]

i lost a good freind to this type of deployment(1978)he had been having problems with the deployments w/o a pc ultimately augered in under a streamer and loss of altitude awareness.fired his reserve off at 2-300 feet(no cutaway)aparently had enough time to realize his reserve entangled as they found him with 1 of his R3s released. R.I.P. Ray
and as i recall all this was in an effort to reduce weight and bulk.

[tbrown 26]

Quote

i lost a good freind to this type of deployment(1978)he had been having problems with the deployments w/o a pc ultimately augered in under a streamer and loss of altitude awareness.fired his reserve off at 2-300 feet(no cutaway)aparently had enough time to realize his reserve entangled as they found him with 1 of his R3s released. R.I.P. Ray
and as i recall all this was in an effort to reduce weight and bulk.

Was this Ray Kirst ? Never knew Ray, but I do remember his name, He'd written an article or two in Parachutist and sounded like a guy on his way up in our sport, then I heard he'd gone in from a direct deploy malfunction.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !