reserve slinks

[MrHixxx 0]

I received an e-mail stating the Chicago fatality was linked to incorrect reserve slink installation. Does anyone know anything about this and what the error was?
thanks, Jon

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Could you post the email text on here? And (I hate to say this) but which fatality?
Remi
Muff 914

[Aviatrr 0]

I had an email this morning stating that a problem had been found, but it did NOT state that a fatality occured because of it - just that it COULD have cause a problem during reserve deployment.. Below is the text of the message I recieved..
Mike

Quote

From: "Skydive Chicago, Inc."
To: "List Member"
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 3:33 PM
Subject: Rigging ALERT!!
This week a reserve was found to have incorrectly installed "SLinks", which could have possibly caused a reserve malfunction during deployment.
An independent Chicago area rigger who is not associated with Skydive Chicago or Active Wear, let this easily missed assembly error get by him. We have notified him and he is recalling all systems that he assembled with "SLinks" to inspect for faults.
We are MANDATING that all Skydive Chicago jumpers with reserve "SLinks", which were not assembled here, be checked by our riggers before their next jump!
All drop zones, especially in the Chicago area, should take notice of this alert. It is a bulletin of urgent safety even if no further inaccuracies are found other than this one. Please pass this information on to any it may concern.

[tigra 0]

The accident had NOTHING to do with reserve Slinks. It was a spinning mal and a low (extremely low) cutaway. It was very sad and unfortunate, but there was no reserve malfunction.
The bulletin refers to an error which an SDC rigger allegedly found during a routine repack. (The reserve had been previously packed by a local rigger who services many SDC jumpers. )
If you are concerned, by all means, have it checked out.

[in2falling 0]

I think slinks on reserves are a bad idea, just to much room for error and really get no benefit from having them on there in the first place. I came close to putting one on wrong on my main but caught my self, then went through and checked them all about three more times. :)

[lazerq3 0]

COuld someone explain what the slinks are and what they do or where to find info On them? thanxs
jason

[PhreeZone 15]

Slinks are soft links. The are used in place of the metal mini links that attach your lines to the risers. They eliminate the need for slider bumpers and allow the slider to be pulled behind your head very easly. On a reserve, they eliminate the possibility of rust from moisture getting into the container. There are other pluses to them too. Check out PD's website for more info since they are the company that makes the majority of them.
A rainy day at the DZ is better then a Sunny day at work

[Kris 0]

I'm just put on a new set of Slinks when I got my new Heatwave. For my main canopies, I love them (had em' on my Sabre). I also re-checked mine about 10 times before I went up the first time and as I looked at the unrecoverable spinning mal above my head (short last stow on an elliptical, I felt the bag bump the container when it left my back and hit the burble) I had two thoughts, "That's a pretty canopy!" and "Hey, at least the Slinks held!". :)
After that first jump, I don't even think about them anymore. As for my reserve, give me Rapide links any day.
Kris

[lazerq3 0]

Ok I have them on my main. But now the other question,,how are they diff on the reserve. I mean looking at them on the main they look pretty inocent. how do they get put on wrong on the reserve. Are you talking about puting the wrong slink (lineset)on the wrong riser?
jason
(still learning all this stuff)

[PhreeZone 15]

Actually, installing Slinks can be a tricky process. If you've never done it before, its easy to miss a step. There are like 10 steps that PD says to do to install slinks. If you don't get the loop pushed all the way over the tab the its really easy to have it pop off. Once the one loop pops, there is little holding the second loop there. Once that one pops, the lines release from the riser. On a main... its a small problem since its a cataway. On a reserve...... Lets not go there......
Slinks are the little thing that replace the Rapide links. If the rigger is putting the wrong lineset to the wrong riser, then missing it during the packing.... I'd never let that rigger be at the same DZ I'm at. Hell, a simple three line check would show thats a MAJOR problem.
Reserve Slinks are built to Tandem Main standerds.
A rainy day at the DZ is better then a Sunny day at work

[riggerrob 558]

First of all, I have installed Performance Designs "slinks" on a dozen mains and a couple of reserves and really cannot see what the fuss is all about.
Secondly, PD manufactures two different versions of "slinks." One version is clearly labelled for reserve use. Since I don't know enough to make a decision, I will stick with installing reserve slinks on reserves and main slinks only on mains.
As to whether there is any difference in installation procedures. No.
Installing PD slinks is a simple process. You don't even need to understand english, just look at the pretty pictures on the instruction sheet that comes with every set of slinks!
I suspect that the main objection to installing slinks on reserves is the inate conservativism of skydivers. Most skydivers want to see a new piece of hardware survive 4 or 5 years on mains before they will install it on their reserve.
Slinks slightly reduce weight and bulk inside a reserve container. Slightly being the oprative word here.
Also soft links result in a soft, soft, soft load path, eliminating a wear point.
Truth is, soft links have been around since the 1980s, with very few recorded failures. The one disadvantage with old-style soft links was they could only be used one time. Any time you took a canopy off risers, you had to cut the old soft links.
Reuseable soft links are a comparatively new concept.
Circa 1996, Parachutes de France introduced the first reuseable soft link with a small metal ring on the end. P. de F.'s soft links worked well, but they were still a bit bulky.
More recently, Performance Designs figured out that they could get by with a lump of Type 4 tape at the end. P.D. also added an extra step to the installation process that makes their "slinks" more secure.
I am wondering if the next step in soft link development is simply a large, ugly knot at the end. Hey, if you can't tie knots, tie lots! Ha! Ha!Ha!

[tigra 0]

Rigger Rob,
In my opinion, the "fuss" has very little to do with rigging or "slinks", and more to do with dz politics....