Tandem reserve rides

[NSEMN8R 0]

Had my first 2 tandem reserve rides this weekend.

The first one was a total malfunction. I'll probably never know what caused it. I always do a good gear check and everything looked the same to me on this one as they always do. Student pulled at 5500. Nothing happened so I pulled the secondary. Still nothing so I pulled the cutaway and then the reserve like I was taught. The reserve came out and all was good for about 10 seconds. I just got the reserve toggles down when I felt the main come off my back. I looked back and saw it already out of the bag and starting to inflate. That scared the crap out of me. I couldn't figure out how I could have 2 out when I was sure I cut away first. I dragged it behind us for at least 5 seconds before it released. I still don't understand how the 3 rings could hang up enough that all the rubberbands and bungees came loose and the canopy came out of the bag. I guess in the end we're lucky it did because we probably would never have found it if it was still in the bag.

On the second one the main came out and snivelled for a really long time like it sometimes does. So I got the toggles down and it popped right open as usual, but it opened with a big forward surge that I never noticed before when doing this. At first glance the canopy just looked like it had some closed end cells on the right. I went to pump the toggles to clear it, but at about half brakes it rocked backwards and stalled really fast. I tried it again and held it and let it snivel for a couple seconds to see if it would clear, but it didn't. The slider was about 2 feet up above the risers blocking my view of alot of the canopy so I'm still not sure what was going on up there. It almost seemed like tension knots in the A/B lines. Anybody had anything like that before?

Anyways, it just seemed like a lot of weird shit so I thought I'd post it. It all cost me 2 fifths of tequilla a case of beer and a couple pairs of underwear.

[AggieDave 6]

What system and what was the main canopy on the 2nd one?

Was the main canopy damaged? If not it sounds a lot like a tension knot It can hang your slider and make your opening a bit slower. Then the canopy will respond strangly. The last tension knot main I had that I couldn't get to clear did something similar. It stalled HARD when I tried to flare and pump it out, then it spun to the left really fast. Tossing us on our backs and spinning FAST.

If you're wondering why your main drug behind you for a while before releasing, its probably due to the 3-rings getting flexed about never. Tandem risers tend to take a VERY hard set in a short amount of time.


Good job, its something else to have a ride with someone infront of you, huh?

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

[NSEMN8R 0]

They were both on Strong rigs with SET400 mains. It never spun on me. The fast stall sounds familiar, but it flew pretty much straight the whole time.

Knowing the rigger/dzo that takes care of this gear, I'm sure they get flexed at least every repack cycle. Do they need it more often than that? I'm wondering if it didn't have something to do with the way the main risers had to go around the outside of the reserve risers. Maybe it was not pulling straight on the 3 rings?

Having someone else there does add something to the situation. I think I almost gave the student on the first one a heart attack. When I saw the main out I let out a big "OH F&#$K". I know the dude shit himself. Having dealt with it the day before, I was able to keep up a little more professionalism on the second one. Both of the students did great.

What's funny is while I was getting geared up I was talking to a guy who recently had his first tandem reserve ride and I said "I'm glad I haven't had to deal with that yet..." , so I get one. Then at the fire that night I was telling someone else "it was a total so I still haven't had a cut away.." Then the next day I get that

[AggieDave 6]

Do something this coming weekend. Before your students get there, take a tandem rig and pull the 3-rings apart and see what sort of set the risers have taken. Think about the load that the risers take on every single jump. Think about how many jumps a day those things go through. Now, that is only flexed once every 120 days?

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

[updownrepeat 0]

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I'm sure they get flexed at least every repack cycle. Do they need it more often than that?

I am shocked that with your jump numbers and ratings that you are not aware of the answer to that question.

Maybe it is not called monthly maintainance where you come from so i could be being unfair.

We do our Tandem 3-rings every 25 jumps. That includes cleaning cables and flexing webbing.

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[NSEMN8R 0]

Quote

Maybe it is not called monthly maintainance where you come from so i could be being unfair.

No, you're probably right. I should know better. Actually, I've jumped at a handful of dropzones and as far as I'm aware, none of them regularly flex the risers or do anything with the 3 rings between reserve repacks.

I'm glad I posted this. I'll do as AggieDave suggested this weekend.

thanks














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[mattaman 0]

Great job, thats tought stuff, especially two in one day! You did your best, learn from it, I'm concerned that you have not put together what happened on the first one, that only means its still out there to happen again, tandem totals need scrutiny, bad. Do you have the long pin bridle on the main pin, I worked down at eloy back in 2000 and we suspected that it may have caused a total by getting somehow bound up in the three ring, we just couldn't come up with anything else. Good luck, we were using strongs there.
PS. whenever I start getting hard openings, of streaming long ones that I have to pump open, I go right to line trim. I've found that when they get out of trim, the nose comes either over the slider cause the slack in the lines and gets so much air at that high speed that it forces the slider down just about like line dump, it fucken hurts. Or the nose stays back behind the slider cause of the slack and will not come out to catch air to inflate unless you start working it to open manually, welcome to the world of tandems. Scary shit, I usually open about five hundred feet higher when this is going on, Good luck, matt

Those stuck in maya, seek to be seen.

[riggerrob 561]

Yes, Strong Enterprises recommends re-lining SET 400s every 300 jumps.
If you let them go significantly long between re-lines, the outer A lines shrink so badly that they can get sucked down through the slider grommets. This can cause A line attachment tape so badly frayed that they have to be replaced.
In the worst scenario, so much of the leading edge gets sucked through the slider grommets that the slider never comes down.

The other side of old lines is that the steering lines shrink so much that they hold 1/4 brakes on final and flare like bag-locks.