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SEREJumper

What is this canopy?

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I picked up a canopy the other day, 9-cell, yellow and black with USA on the bottom skin. I presume it was an old Golden Knights canopy. retractible Spider slider (early slider made with "D" links and not grommets).

I could not find an maker marks or tags on it. Any ideas?

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/Gearpics/GNCanopy/
We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

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While it is a 9 cell with A thru D lines, the heavy construction is very similar to the Jalbert designed Para-Sled. That would make me guess that it is an early Para-Flite Jalbert-designed Para-Foil of a similar era.

But I didn't think they had pilot chute controlled reefing using a spider slider at the time; that came later when NAA was making newer styles of Para-Foils. The photos perhaps suggest that the reefing system was added later?

So I'll stick to my GUESS that it is a Para-Flite built Para-Foil, back when there was just one Para-Foil and not a choice of sizes and cells.

The Knights certainly experimented with different early canopies -- eg, in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jydpjt0L4k, they've got rounds, early squares (long lined Para-Plane?), and Rogallos (Delta II I think).

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3 things to look at that would help identify this canopy.
1) is it made of a heavier (i.e. 1.5 oz) stiffer fabric or is more soft and lighter like f111?
2) is each cell constructed of 1 piece of fabric on each top/botton or is each cell made of 2 pieces of fabric on each top/bottom?
3) are the lines dacron or nylon?
it appears t may be some sort of prototype as the lines do not appear to be sewn(i.e. zigg zag) but just tied and wrapped with tape.

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Hi Peter,

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a Para-Flite built Para-Foil



No such animal, unless Para-Flite did something as a 'one-off' just for experiment.

To get around the Jalbert patent, Snyder came up with his 'direct line attachment' and he patented that. This patent was for attaching the lines directly to the bottom of the canopy and using tapes on the rib for supporting the weight carried by the canopy. This eliminated the need for the flares on the bottom of the Para-Foil for supporting the weight carried by the canopy.

JerryBaumchen

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Hi Jerry,

It is true that "Flares" and "Para-Flite" are words not normally seen together!

I'm interested in this stuff but don't have any special sources of data, so I'm back to digging things out of Poynter's:

Poynter's actually has a 9 cell Para-Foil of 200 ft sq, shown under the Para-Flite section -- but stating "only a small number were made".

How does this make sense?

A simplified chronology:

1964 - Jalbert & his Jalbert Aerology Laboratory, Inc. develops the rectangular ram air wing, "Para-Foil"
1968 - his mesh nosed Aerial Sled
1972 - marketing rights sold to Aero Foil Systems, who made the Para-Sled. The company soon went under.
1974 - Rights were sold to North American Aerodynamics (who continue to make modern 'Foils)

Meanwhile for Steve Synder, as he got into things other than AAD's & altimeters:

1968 - worked with the Jalbert Para-Foil to invent the top skin rope based Pilot Chute controlled Reefing.
1969 or 1970, to 1973 - Produced the Para-Plane, with direct line attachment rather than flares.

So there was a time when other companies didn't have rights to the Para-Foil, where Synder worked with Jalbert before going to his own direct line attachment ideas. So a small run of Para-Flite Para-Foils in say the late 60s is plausible.

Getting back to the canopy in the original post, I figure it pretty much has to be a Jalbert design, particularly if the reefing was added later. I'm guessing it was one of those named a Para-Foil rather than some other specific name. While a 9 cell was built by Para-Flight, perhaps Jalbert made some at his own company too.

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ParaFlite DID indeed make some para foils in 1968/ 1969 . they had a license to build a VERY limited number of canopies(think well under 100). when nicolides(notre dame univ. et al as i understand it had the rights to jalberts patents) refused to issue another license to paraflite, snyder AND dick morgan decided that they could get around jalberts patents by eliminating the flares and attaching the lines rite to the lower surface.he then applied for the patents.the first para flite built canopies with direct line attach were made and jumped around february 1970.i know as i worked at snyders dz at the time(and was witness to MUCH of snyders development work) and later worked for paraflite for 10 years.

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This looks a LOT like the "Steve Snyder Parafoil". Back in 1970, we (Cleveland Sport Parachuting/Skydive Parkman) bought one. We flew to Steve's Ripcord Paracenter in NJ and took an all day class on how to pack. fly and land it. I was the third or fourth one there to jump it (Bill Cole was the one before me).
It had the PCR system (Pilot Chute Controlled Reefing). Damned thing opened like hitting a wall and turned like a truck without power steering. I had the misfortune of flaring at 25 feet, swinging backward into the ground and earning a steel plate in my left arm. After I healed, I went back to my 7 TU and PC.

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Finally got back to this project and got it flying in the wind to take a better pictures. Still hoping to identify it.

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e280/Gearpics/GNCanopy/

Quote

have you looked for markings on one of the ribs ?



Yes, I've looked all over for a stamp of some sorts, including inside the cells like the para-plane had it marked.

Quote

3 things to look at that would help identify this canopy.
1) is it made of a heavier (i.e. 1.5 oz) stiffer fabric or is more soft and lighter like f111?
2) is each cell constructed of 1 piece of fabric on each top/botton or is each cell made of 2 pieces of fabric on each top/bottom?
3) are the lines dacron or nylon?
it appears t may be some sort of prototype as the lines do not appear to be sewn(i.e. zigg zag) but just tied and wrapped with tape.



I would say that it is the heavier 1.5 oz fabric. Single fabric on the top and bottom. Lines are dacron type, not nylon.

Quote

Does it have stabilizers on the outside?



I would say yes, but not much to stabilize, they are basically only line attachment points.

Upon further inspection, the A lines are made out of a thicker/ different type of line and are continuous (not cascading) down to the front risers. The B, C, D lines all cascade into each other and are thinner braided nylon. The cascades are all zigzag stitched. I would think that having a small opening on the tail of each cell to allow air to escape would be a good identifier, but I'm not sure how popular this technique was.
We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

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