Collapsible Slider

[matt1215 0]

I made my 6th or 7th jump yesterday with a collapsible slider, it was the first jump where I remembered it with enough altitude to matter. The silence of not having a slider flapping was pretty sweet.

I looked up at my collapsed slider and thought about pulling it down the risers to stow it. I couldn't mentally get past pulling it down over my still-stowed toggles.

I'd appreciate tips on proper slider stowage.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

"Slida-flappida" is a disease only YOU can cure.

[matt1215 0]

Seriously tho, does one pull the collapsed slider down OVER still stowed brake lines, then unstow the toggles?

I do feel silly asking this, but I'd rather ask than do it wrong.

[twnsnd 1]

Yes

-We are the Swoophaters. We have travelled back in time to hate on your swoops.-

[spoogela 0]

yes means to stow the slider while the brakes are still stowed.

[davelepka 4]

OK, check to see how the slider grommets fit over your stowed toggles and brake line on the ground. Some riser and toggle set-ups are fatter than others, and it makes it tough to get the grommets over them. Once you have a handle on how they fit, and what it takes to get the grommets over your stuff, try it in the sky.

Be sure to check for traffic, and then start with the rears, and do them one at a time. Take care not to unstow a toggle or brake line in the process. Also, watch for getting fingers stuck in a toggle or a loop of line as you pull the grommets down.

Once the rears are both down, do the fronts, and seat all the grommets down in the vee of the riser.

Don't get lost in the job. Watch for traffic, and watch your spot. Don't spend too much time working on this. If it's not going well, abort the mission, and leave the slider up.

A word of caution - a toggle coming unstowed halfway through the process, or getting only one grommet over, and not the other will severly complicate matters. It may interfere with your normal usage of toggles. Be careful up there.

[kaerodyne 0]

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"Slida-flappida" is a disease only YOU can cure.

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With the correct ointment, some good counseling and TLC .... it sure can be cured. OR just RDS it and it it over with

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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OR just RDS it and it it over with

Taking one's slider off is a beautify thing. I've got an RDS for my JVX. Now I just need to shell out the dough for one for my Velo.

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

[Peej 0]

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"Slida-flappida" is a disease only YOU can cure.

You know i still stand on the dz, look up and say that whenever i hear slider flap. Just one of your memorbale phrases from the WFFC

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[golowjoe 0]

The guy has les than 100 jumps and you are telling him to RDS it . What the hell are people thinking . Let's just kill some more and get it over with . Joe

[jheadley 0]

Just leave the slider at the top of the risers for now. Collapsing it is good, and very quick and easy, but pulling it down over the risers takes time and it takes your focus away from what's important, looking for other canopies, and where you are relative to the ground, making sure your canopy is controllable, etc.. It doesn't help much with parachute performance until you get to higher wing loadings, anyway.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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The guy has les than 100 jumps and you are telling him to RDS it . What the hell are people thinking . Let's just kill some more and get it over with . Joe

Sorry Joe my comments about an RDS weren't directed at the originator of this thread. It was to the person I was replying to. My bad. But you know what? I'd be willing to bet that within a few years from now, removable sliders will be a lot more common amoung you're average skydiver. And why not? The systems are getting better and it takes less time to take one's slider off than it does collapsing and stowing it. Plus we know the benefits to the canopy of flying with no slider.

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

[AndyMan 7]

If it's true that you have roughly 50 jumps... I would not concern yourself with pulling down the slider in the least. Focus on being aware of other jumpers around you, setting up for a pattern and being safe.

Stowing the slider does not have any effect on the performance of the canopy you're flying right now. It has a small effect that's only noticable at higher wingloadings.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[Guest 1010]

Matt, newbie here myself, and I gotta go with AndyMan. I'll just add, that whatever you decide to do with your slider, take care of it soon after opening. Don't be messing with pulling it around brakes and such close to the ground.

blues

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[matt1215 0]

Thanks fellas, I'm gonna stick collapsing my slider and leaving it in place.

I'm amazed at the silence and enhanced field of vision.

[bofh 0]

I would imaging that learning the skill to quickly collapse and stow the slider would take as long if one have 50 jumps or 500. If one wants to learn it, one has got to practice and better to learn it on a large, slow canopy than under a small, fast one since one will not cover so much distance flying "blindly" with the large canopy.



After opening:

Look around for other canopies, steer away with rears if needed.

Look down and see where you are. Don't fly in the line of flight, so steer out 45 degrees from it with rears (unless you are 100% sure no more people will open up in front of you) and once more look around for other canopies, steer away with rears if needed.

Look up and grab the slider's collapse line(s).

Look around for other canopies while pulling the lines, be prepared to stop what you are doing and steer away with the rears.

Look up and grab around the back grommets on the slider.

Look around for other canopies while pulling them back and down. Always both sides at the same time.
If you accidently unbreak a steering line, quit what you are doing and unbreak the other line quickly and forget about the slider for this jump.

Look up and grab around the front grommets on the slider.

Look around for other canopies while pulling it down, be prepared to abort and steer away with the rears if you need.

Unbreak the lines and fly to the LZ while looking out for other canopies...

The important part is to look out for other canopies all the time and don't look at the slider more than 1 second at a time (its easy to focus too much on it and too little at the other people that try to kill you). Even though the forward speed isn't so high with the breaks in place, the other canopies might come towards you at full speed.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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Seriously tho, does one pull the collapsed slider down OVER still stowed brake lines, then unstow the toggles?

I do feel silly asking this, but I'd rather ask than do it wrong.

Yes, you pull your slider over your stowed toggles. You never release your brakes until everything else is done: slider stowed or removed, chest strap loosened, arms and legs unzipped fully out of wingsuit, etc. You don't want to be rocketing around the sky in full flight with your attention focused above and behind you. You want to open, steer with rear risers (or harness) in a safe, uncrowded direction, then deal with your slider, etc.

Chuck