Faster Openings?!?

[bwilling 0]

So you see, I have this big Sabre, and the previous owner installed a pocketed slider on it, and it does slow the openings down on it... a little too much!

I don't roll the nose at all, and roll the tail just enough to control the pack job, and it still snivels for what seems like forever (and it's not my imagination, a videographer on a 4 way jump once told me he was sure he was going to see a cutaway, I told him, nah, it always opens like that!)...

So, short of replacing the pocketed slider (and subsequently having to worry about it spanking me!), is there any way to speed up the openings just a little bit???

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[Sonic 0]

could you reduce the opening on the pocket by sewing it?

-----------------------------------
It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[AggieDave 6]

Replacing the slider would actually be the best bet. You could go with a larger slider then what originally came with the canopy, so to help keep away from spank openings. Other then that you could probably go with a larger PC to speed up the opening, you could shorten the line bites on the pack job to speed up the snatch force and subsequently the deployment speed.

You know, you could always pack with the slider down...

(note: newbie's that was a joke, do NOT pack with your slider down, that would ultimately suck).

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

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Dave you bring up some interesting points which I would like to address. I recently picked up a brand spanking new PD 190 Sabre II canopy with it's own risers, dbag and PC. Now I have yet to jump this canopy as I've been still working with my current canopy but I plan on jumping my new canopy for the first (oops beer) time at Eloy next week once I get over 100 jumps under my belt.

Ok I've blabbered on enough. Now I'm not the only one who has noticed this (when Hooknswoop rigged everything together he made the same comments). But the PC I got from the Wings people is huge (even bigger than the one hooked up to my Triathlon canopy) and the slider is also bigger than my current slider on the Tri. Now both canopies are known for their sniveling openings, but it's kind of bizzare that the PC and slider on my new setup are bigger than what I'm currently using. Time will tell as to whether or not I will notice anything or if I will get slammed, but I just thought it was different.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[AggieDave 6]

Heather (she works for Sunrise Rigging, aka the Wings), noted in another thread somewhere that they (Wings) provide a PC that is listed on their chart provided by the canopy manufacture for the canopy that you're going to be using. Generally speaking, for a 190 you'll have a 28" or larger PC. If you're really worried about it, e-mail PD or call up Kolla and ask her what the recommended size of PC is for your canopy. Sometimes you can go smaller then recommended, but you may end up having serious hesitation problems (I've heard of more then one person having to use their reserve due to this).

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

[bwilling 0]

Quote

could you reduce the opening on the pocket by sewing it?

I wondered that too... I'm going to talk to my longtime friend and rigger about this, but I thought I'd throw a quick post up and see what people thought... I know there's been lots of discussion regarding ways to slow openings down, but I've never seen any regarding speeding openings up...

I also wonder if just pulling the slider away from the nose while packing would help... I just quarter it now...

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Hey if the Wings people recommend a certain sized PC for a specific sized/type of canopy, then that's a good enough answer for me. And until I actually jump this new canopy, I won't really know if there is an issue with it.

Hook was jump commenting that the PC was as big (or maybe even bigger) than the PCs he's used for some base jumps. But then I weigh more than Hook and he flies much much smaller gear than I do.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[AggieDave 6]

If your openings are less then what you want, we can work on it while you're in Eloy.

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

[wmw999 2,126]

You could experiment (how I love that word when applied to skydiving gear) with putting some mesh into some of the pocket.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[ernokaikkonen 0]

Quote

I also wonder if just pulling the slider away from the nose while packing would help... I just quarter it now...

Bad idea. That would probably cause very inconsistent openings.

Which raises a question: Are the openings consistent now? If it snivels a lot, but just about the same amount every time, is it really a problem? You know it takes it's time to open, so maybe open a bit higher? If you have a canopy that gives you consistently soft openings, don't fix what ain't broken!

If the openings have slowed down from what they have been earlier, checking the line trim might be a good idea.

[bwilling 0]

Quote

Which raises a question: Are the openings consistent now? If it snivels a lot, but just about the same amount every time, is it really a problem? You know it takes it's time to open, so maybe open a bit higher? If you have a canopy that gives you consistently soft openings, don't fix what ain't broken!

If the openings have slowed down from what they have been earlier, checking the line trim might be a good idea.

Very good points Erno! I've only made about 50 jumps on the canopy, but the openings have been pretty consistent, in that they all took a long time! (actually, inflation is not that slow, it just snivels for a long time before it starts really inflating...)

I have debated the merits of doing nothing to the canopy, and just living with it (as I have been), but I'd like the openings better if I could speed them up just a little... if the only options were worrying about getting spanked with a regular slider, or living with the snivel with my pocketed slider, I'd stay with the current setup.

I checked the trim when I first bought the canopy, and it was well within the specs PD gave me... I'll have them recheck it while they put new control lines on it (it's got about 300 jumps total) next month.

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[sdctlc 0]

Quote

So, short of replacing the pocketed slider (and subsequently having to worry about it spanking me!), is there any way to speed up the openings just a little bit???

Keep the same slider and when your ready for the canopy to open tug the rear risers. I have a canopy that was consistent with its snivel, soft openings though. I would look up and everything looked great the canopy just sat there with the slider and everything looking perfect. If I wanted it to open faster I just pulled down on the rears evenly and the canopy opened.... I tried to switch sliders but the openings became inconsistent and I switched back to the old slider. I knew what to expect and how to deal with it if I wanted it to open faster....

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[hookitt 0]

You're long time rigger friend would probably be willing to reduce the size of the pocket.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[DJL 232]

I too, have problems with slow openings. As in I've gotten a lot of practice paying attention to my altimeter while watching the snivel. For CRW I'll even pull the slider down the lines a bit (but inside the D-bag), unroll the tail and go with extra small stows. I wouldn't do this for terminal, it still wouldn't cause a hard opening on this particular canopy (Paraflite Turbo ZX 185, good first canopy), it just wouldn't be on heading.

It's very consistent in how long it takes, so I'm not worried about it as a safety issue, I know I have to pull a little higher. The first thing I do when I get upright is to grab the risers and shake it around and that really doesn't seem to affect how long it takes.

-Doug

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Ducky 0]

[reply
Keep the same slider and when your ready for the canopy to open tug the rear risers. I have a canopy that was consistent with its snivel, soft openings though. I would look up and everything looked great the canopy just sat there with the slider and everything looking perfect. If I wanted it to open faster I just pulled down on the rears evenly and the canopy opened.... I tried to switch sliders but the openings became inconsistent and I switched back to the old slider. I knew what to expect and how to deal with it if I wanted it to open faster....

Scott C.