Line set insp

[Hooknswoop 19]

Checking the condition and trim of your canopy’s line set is simple. Run up your lines from the container to the canopy the same as the beginning of a normal “PRO” pack. Inspect the lines as you go, looking for areas of wear indicated by fraying or damage. Check the length of your steering lines with the brakes set. They should be exactly even. If they are not even, check to see if they are twisted. A twisted steering line will be shorter than a line that is not twisted and can cause a tension knot. It is best to remove any twists from your steering lines each time you pack. A high wear area is near the loop for setting the breaks. As you fly the canopy, this area of lines is being pulled back and forth through the guide ring on the rear riser, causing wear. Stainless steel guide rings on the rear risers will reduce this wear because they are smoother than the zinc plated rings. When your canopy opens in brakes, the steering lines are under tension. Every time you release your brakes, you pull the tab (the stiff part of the toggle for setting the brakes) out of the loop. This “sawing” action results in tremendous wear on the loop, eventually causing it to break. Another high wear area is where the lines attach to the links. If the slider is allowed to flap as you fly your canopy, the grommets beat on the lines, causing wear. A simple solution is a collapsible (kill line) slider. Vectran is more susceptible to these types of wear than Spectra or Dacron. Your rigger can replace a single line that is fraying or damaged. Some riggers will replace entire line sets, but the manufacturer can replace a line set easier and in less than half the time it would take most riggers.
Stainless steel slider grommets and soft links will also increase the life span of your lines. A brass slider grommet impacting a stainless steel Rapide link will cause the grommet to dent and burr. Instead of having a smooth grommet sliding down your lines, the grommet will have a rough surface, wearing out your lines at a faster rate.
After inspecting your lines, gather up the nose cells as in a normal “PRO” pack, and making sure that your risers are even and your lines are taunt, compare the length of the “A” lines (the lines that attach to the nose of the canopy). Compare the difference in length of your outer “A” lines (the lines that attach to the nose of the end cells of the canopy) to your center “A” lines (the lines that attach to the center cell of the canopy). When the line set is new, the “A” lines are all the same length, except for a few canopies, (check your owner’s manual). If your canopy has a "Drooptip" trim set up, compare outer "A" lines, then move inward, making sure they are even. As the canopy is jumped the outside lines will shrink (spectra/microline shrinks from the heat of friction from the slider grommets) faster than the inner lines (except with Vectran lines) because they are in contact with the slider grommets more than the inner lines. This uneven shrinkage affects the openings and performance of the canopy. If your outer “A” lines are shorter than the inner “A” lines, measure the difference with a ruler. Then check your owner’s manual or call the manufacturer of your canopy to find out how much the line set is allowed to shrink. If the line set is out of tolerances, send the canopy back and have the manufacturer replace the line set. I have had a line set replacement take as little as one week and as much as four weeks.
When you inspect the sections of line with line “finger trapped” inside it, be careful. When the outer line frays, it can look as if the line is not in bad condition because the inner line makes the line thicker. But if the outer line breaks the inner line can slip out and the line will come apart.
Replacing the line set of your canopy is a part of the regular maintenance of your rig and will bring new life back into your canopy. A line breaking on opening can result in a cutaway (know ahead of time if you can and how to flare with rear risers) and a line breaking at low altitude could be fatal.
Hook

[skymedic 0]

Hey Derek, I just wanted to say thank you for your post's of late...I am learning more and more everyday....most excellent
marc
BSBD

[Beachbum 0]

Ditto those thanks! ... I gotta get a printer to print some of these out for future use ...

[TEB6363 0]

Great Post. This should go out to the Home page as a good reminder to all of us.
Thanks
:::OK, Canopy is Open, No Traffic Around, .. Why are these "Extra" Lines Draping Down??, Damn!