ekezick 0 #1 January 4, 2002 I have few money for a main at the present moment. (I’m not living in USA; I’m from East Europe). At the same time I have very big desire to jump. I have hardly more than 150 jumps; my weight is about 210... My once injured back requires soft opening also. And I consider an opportunity to use a Raven - 2 as the main. The canopy is with no jumps and has 1987 release date and it is very cheap accordingly… F-111 and dacron lines, of course… But I do not know, whether a fabric has lost or not the quality during fifteen years of standing in the container? And I need any experience from skydivers who has jumps on the Raven. Any opinions?ThanksEric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemiAndKaren 0 #2 January 4, 2002 Hi Eric,my understanding is that ravens have a reputation to open "quikly". It may not be ideal for you if you have a bad back. RemiMuff 914 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #3 January 4, 2002 If your Raven has been stored in a cool, dry, dark closet, away from strange chemicals, it should be in "like new" condition.Careful packing will eliminate most of the hard openings, but you may want to ask your rigger to sew extra "lips" on your slider, or install an extra large slider to make it more forgiving of sloppy packing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #4 January 4, 2002 Call up the manufacturer, ask them how much it'd cost to have you shipped it to them and inspect it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #5 January 4, 2002 If the canopy was a former reserve, then you might need to have it altered and have a bridle attachment point installed.I want to touch the sky, I want to fly so high ~ Sonique Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,406 #6 January 5, 2002 >If the canopy was a former reserve, then you might need to have it altered and have a bridle attachment point installed.Hmmm . . . All the older Raven reserves I've seen have the bridle attach included, just unused. One of the reasons they were popular as BASE canopies.-bill von Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,406 #7 January 5, 2002 >My once injured back requires soft opening also. In that case, an unmodified Raven may not be for you. They are not soft opening canopies.>And I consider an opportunity to use a Raven - 2 as the main. The canopy is with >no jumps and has 1987 release date and it is very cheap accordingly… F-111>and dacron lines, of course… But I do not know, whether a fabric has lost or not>the quality during fifteen years of standing in the container? It is not number of jumps but number of reserve repacks that determine its porosity. In any case, it's quite likely that a Raven used as a reserve doesn't have more than, say, 100 repacks on it, so it's likely to be in decent shape.-bill von Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #8 January 5, 2002 QuoteIt is not number of jumps but number of reserve repacks that determine its porosity. Huh? Please explain.-JimHelp with cancer research here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,406 #9 January 5, 2002 >Huh? Please explain.I first noted this about four years ago. I have never used my PD143R; but when I examined the canopy closely, I noted many "light areas" that looked like the fabric wasn't as thick or something. These seemed to correspond to areas near folds. I didn't think much of it at the time. Later, I was talking to George Galloway, and I mentioned this. He said that was normal; the action of handling and packing the canopy generates as much if not more wear than deployment, and was thus the leading cause of reserve canopy wear. He told me of a talk he once gave, where he porosity-tested a brand new piece of F111 and then let everyone in the audience handle it. After they did, he retested it and saw a significant loss of porosity - just from normal handling. This suprised many of the people in the audience.-bill von Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ekezick 0 #10 January 7, 2002 Many thanks for helpful hints. However I would like to hear opinions from those jumpers, who use (or have used) the Raven as main actually.And still. One my familiar had a similar Raven as main. And it had very soft openings, as he said. We jumped together and I saw, how the slider of its canopy slipped downwards only after a tension of steering lines. Most likely, that I should accumulate some more money for a used Triathlon or the Spectre… Thanks,Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ooohhhno 0 #11 January 10, 2002 Eric,I also recently bought a 1987 Raven II main with only 13 jumps on it. It has been packed in it's container since 1988. I sent it in for a complete inspection and the rigger said it was in great condition. There is a bulletin out saying that the slider needed to be changed to a bikini slider which was done for free. As far as openings, I have an exit weight of 210 and as long as the nose is rolled really good, the opening for me have been nice. (unlike my PD 218 seven cell main which can spank a guy real good if one is careful in his packing!)Good luck,ooohhhno :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ekezick 0 #12 January 10, 2002 Thanks, ooohhhno!!! Yes - yes, I have recollected. We then have still laughed, that the slider is similar to female underwear more ;))But where it is possible to get one such bikini slider? I have checked out some web sites and haven’t found anything similar… Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #13 January 10, 2002 You now, I have an old raven reserve. I have been thinking about putting together a demo rig. Maybe I should try the raven. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
