Who remembers "Frap Wraps"

[Rainbo 0]

I was reading some of the posts and got to thinking about this. My first piggyback rig was a Classifier that had the frap wraps for the main canopy release system. I had the only rig in the area with them and scared the piss out of everyone who ever examined them when they realized I did not have three ring release on my rig. Oh yeah my main was a CriuseAire with more duct tape than fabric holding it together, but it was my rig.

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi rainbo,

I don't remember calling what they had 'frap wraps' but the single-point release that they had was a multi-lever system. Security eventually licensed this from them for their (Security) rigs.

Their lever system was just the reverse of the Y.E.S. system, designed about the same time by Steve Yanta. Almost everything on the 'frap wrap' system went away with the riser, whereas lots of parts stayed on the harness with the Y.E.S. system.

As I remember it (??????),

Jerry

[councilman24 36]

I remember them but never saw any.

I had Sport Life wells on my crossbow rig. Like R-3 but no pivot hard ware on the capewell female. The slide was sewn to the webbing with type 2a and the whole thing held in place with velcro. When you pulled them the whole piece of webbing came out in your hand.

But I still liked the chrysalis release in the 80's. Nothing going through anything. The only missing part was the grommet on the end of the housing for the locking loop. I expect that it was a patent thing but pulling the housings pulled the release cables out.

Hmm, I need to find a chrysalis rig and take some pictures of it.

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

[monkycndo 0]

Quote

Hmm, I need to find a chrysalis rig and take some pictures of it.

A jumper up at Mt. Vernon Wa has one. Amazon could tell you who he is.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[BlueSBDeath 2]

Yea man I had this silver Classiflier with Cruseair, it also had a "Safety Flier" 5 cell reserve. That was the "first" complete new rig I every bought!!!

Good Times!!

Arvel

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

USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499

[usedtajump 1]

The first new rig I had was a Classiflyer with a heavyweight Cloud and a 7 cell Comet reserve. Looked so nice and modern back then but to look at it now. Nice plastic reserve handle.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[zoobrothertom 5]

Remember them? My first malfunction was on a student rig with a SOS setup using frapwraps. THE DAMN THING DID NOT RELEASE THE RISERS!!

I was actually an up jumper transitioning to squares when this happened. I was jumping a shortlined Stato Cloud that used a diaper instead of a bag. The lines hitched at the diaper and streamered. However, the wind resistance was so little that it did not stand me up. I was face to earth with a streamer above me. When I pulled the SOS/Reserve handle, the risers did not separate but the reserve fired as it should. My Phantom 26 climbed up beside it and managed to clear the main and open anyway. Everyone on the ground thought that my FXC had fired because I pulled my reserve around 1200'. Nope, I beat the "AOD." It was SCARY!! Happened in '83.

(edited for spelling )

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[Rainbo 0]

Yeah, That was about the time I had my first reserve ride and it was on this rig. We were up at the Seven Hills Skydivers outside Madison WI. for
thier annual picnic. We were doing a two plane shot (woo-hoo,can you say 8 way) and while dirt diving the jump Pete Squire and I started wrestling on the ground at the end of the dirt dive. Anyway on the system there was about three inches of exposed cable between the cable housing and the loop and somehow we snagged the cable and pulled it out of the loop. So we go and do the load and guess what happened after I tracked off and pulled. Yep, one riser releases and I have a really nice streamer. And most people who know me know I never dumped really high to begin with.

Well I pull my cut away handle and nothing happens as there is too much tension on the now heavily angled webbing trying go through the square rings and I am tugging like hell to clear it. It finally clears and I get my 26' Lopo out in the air and look down to see Iam over about 100 acres of heavy WOODS. I see the closest edge over towards the big pig farm and turn to try and get as close as possible. I then notice that there is a road along the edge and think tha I am going to be lucky enough to maybe just clear the woods, of course I then see the big power lines right there also. I crank a turn and get caught in the top of a huge Oak tree, I mean huge. Also nobody on the load sees this but a couple of buddies at the DZ do.

So I am hanging about 80 feet up in this tree when they come pulling up in a pick up, they climb out and start looking over in the pig farm for me. Not seeing me they turn and look towards the woods and then slowly look up to see me hanging there. So they hop backlk in the truck and race back to the DZ to tell everyone and look for a ladder or something. They come back with a ladder they tore of the side of the t-hangers and race up to the tree and put the ladder up. Now it is about ten feet taall and as they proudly step back they realize that they are about seventy feet to short. You should have seen the look on thier faces at that point.

Now more jumpers start showing up and everyone is trying to figure out how to get me down. My feet are barely touching the only bgranch between me and the ground and I am not even thinking about climbing out of my rig. Then the pig farmed pulls up and says that he has a cherry picker that might get to me. "How high ya figure he" (spat,tabbacy). "Oh bout 80 feet huh" (spat tabbacy). "Well the picker is only 65'" (spat tabbacy). Sorry folks have ya tried callin' the fire department they got a new big ladder truck. Also at this time the rest of the DZ starts showing up after hearing all this, with kegs, grills, food, and assorted cameras. The only good part about this was the contest to see who could actually throw a can of beers high enough for me to catch, three made it by the way.

Soon the FD shows up (volunteers, bless them anyway) with their new truck that they have never used before, including the really long ladder on the motorized swivel base. Well it takes them awhile to figure everything out and start to send the gyrating, swinging, bouncing ladder my way. This is the most scary time of the whole evening by the way.

Well long story short they finally get me down and while we are having after rescue drinks and food with them (as the entire picnic was now being held on the side of the road) I ask what it is going to cost me for their services. The chief takes a drink of beer and says what they would really like is maybe to get a picture from one of us of them using their truck for the first time. Well thats cheap thinks city boy me and we arrainge to get them a nice 16 x 20 of them getting me out of the tree, and it still hangs in the firehouse from what I hear.

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[lekstrom10k 0]

I had a Classiflier with Frap- Wraps and Unit #26 with a Strong 26 ft LoPo.Guess how many times we parted company Did you say 20+ please pick lottery numbers for me OK. It never failed me or even scared me. I had a spool of line and relined it packed both canopies and was ready to go again. I had back to back cutaways 4 times but never three in a row pissed me off.I finally modified the unit steering lines and never cut it away again in the 600+ I put on it. Sold the rig to a Crew Dog that had no trouble either.Can you remember the name of the system that had cloth covered aluminum plates on the harness and one plate sewed to the riser bottom, All had a hole drilled inline with grommets to protect the gutted 550 loop that the cutaway cable passed through. Dont remember exactly how it worked. Some Indiana guys had them . Gear was very territorial back then. It was unusual to see anything from out west or even east coast stuff like Jerry Birds rigs.You werent as classy as me. Nothing but the best I used Rip-Aire sailtape to hold my baby plane together, in colors that almost matched.I went through the joy of ropes and rings. and bless the day sliders came out.

[councilman24 36]

We had probably the highest concentration here, at least outside Washington, because Dan T. was from here. There should be lots of rigs with chrysalys in closests around here. Just have to call around.

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

[AeroPark 0]

Golly Rainbo - I remember most of that! You were really, really up there! I also remember the whole DZ moving the cookout and keg to the side of the road. We didn't want you to feel left out and miss the party! I also remember Animal almost losing control of his car and trying to kill us while passing some other jumper's car using the shoulder of the road. Oh wait, that was another time!

Jeanne

[Rainbo 0]

HEY, how ya doing. Iwas just thinking of you the other night. Hope life is treating you well and that we can all get together before to long. I know we talk about it occasionally but we need to make it happen. Take care and enjoy life. Oh yeah, I just spent a long weekend with Pete and LB last month when we did the airshow down at NAS Oceana, they are still a blast.

Rainbo
TheSpeedTriple - Speed is everything
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

[bch7773 0]

great story rainbo. that belongs in scary stories from the old days

MB 3528, RB 1182

[zoobrothertom 5]

B-12s everywhere! (?) That cheesy chest hook knife; just like mine. Aren't they still available today? Never had to use one, I just gave up on them after losing 4 or 5. I keep a Jack in my thigh pocket.

Your cheesy grin looks like some old fart that posts here all the time! His avatar??

(edited to add: upon a closer review - Dems not B12s)

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

[warpedskydiver 0]

Quote

I was reading some of the posts and got to thinking about this. My first piggyback rig was a Classifier that had the frap wraps for the main canopy release system. I had the only rig in the area with them and scared the piss out of everyone who ever examined them when they realized I did not have three ring release on my rig. Oh yeah my main was a CriuseAire with more duct tape than fabric holding it together, but it was my rig.

Wasn't that the canopy made of Wooly Mammoth skin?

[warpedskydiver 0]

Quote

great story rainbo. that belongs in scary stories from the old days

Not as scary as an ape man standing in a trailer eating a banana in one hand and a brownie in the other!!!

[tbrown 26]

I remember a whole bunch of different rigs that used the Yanta type releases, where stiffened levers would flip flop and release. But there was also a true wraparound type of release and I think Strong Enterprises made it in '77 or '78 - it was called the Strong Eagle. Never actually saw one, but there were some full page age ads with color pics in Parachutist. When you pulled the cutaway ripcord, these wraps would unravel around each other. They weren't around for very long either. Lever types were around through '78 and were on Hanbury, Classiflier, Green Star, and Security rigs. I guess at the time some manufacturers were still hoping they might compete with the 3-Ring system, but once Bill Booth started licensing the 3-Ring system to other rigs the marketplace sorta voted and it's been 3-Rings ever since.

Bill Booth ran an add once (late seventies ?) comparing 3-Rings to lever types and stated he'd considered lever releases, but rejected the idea after too many test failures. The ad had a drawing of each type system side by side. It would be interesting to hear Bill's recollection of those days and how the 3-Ring won the day.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi tbrown,

IMO (and Bill Booth may disagree), but I feel that the 'lever system' is what made him license the 3-ring. Until the levers started showing up (I had them on the first rig of mine that I built for myself) you could not get a 3-ring system w/o buying the whole rig; or cutting it off of a well-worn rig.

Jerry

[fallfast69 2]

Yep, I always thought the "frap wrap" was the system on the Strong Eagle. I still have the rig somewhere, but I believe I had it converted to 3 rings in the early '80s.