Vector 3's reserve flap design

[alan 1]

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The CYPRES cutter location seems to be the issue here not the top flap design.

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Not if the Cypres cutter location works fine if the reserve flap tucks back under itself (like the Vector III/Mircron) and doesn't tuck into the bottom flap (like the Mirage, Javelin, and Talon/VooDoo).
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The CYPRES cutter location is only relevant if you don't pull the reserve handle. If the CYPRES/cutter location presents a problem, then move or remove it. The reserve top flap will open just fine if you pull the ripcord handle, as evidenced by years of field and bench tests. I guess if you want to mince words and argue that if the cutter is located on the flap or off, as the case may be, then it is part of the design. My position is that the flap has a basic design and the addition of the CYPRES is an add on. It would seem that in adding it on and integrating it into his newer models, Bill Booth did his homework the best. I feel the Mirage incident that revived this thread was not due to poor top flap design on the reserve container, but rather a poor design for the cutter location or perhaps a combination of things that included some sloppy rigging. The reserves in question did after all activate when the handles were pulled, correct? My original question in this thread, a year or more ago I might add, asked something to the effect of if there had been any documented reserve totals as a result of poor top flap design over the last 12 or 13 years. I can recall a small variety of reserve failures, but none described as a total being attributed to poor top flap design. Maybe I missed something. Help me out.

alan

[PVinfo 0]

I did not read all the postings. But I am wondering about some post I saw here.
Why does everybody think about changing rigs in that way he would like to avoid a problem what maybe exist or not? Nobody is thinking about training the jumper to avoid canopy collisions or malfunktion by worse packjobs. It is always the manufacture, he should solve the problem or mistake the jumper did. Al the rigs on the market are ok. If you read the manual and listen to your instructors or ask for help by a rigger.
By the way, we had problems with poptop reservecontainers also in the past. Jumper pulled of the Pilotchute by exiting the aircraft.
And on the other hand you can tuck a line under a reserve flap, yes. But what is more possible? What is with the rest of your equipment, Helmet, arms, legs, alti etc there you can also tuck a line.

[KellyF 16]

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The CYPRES cutter location seems to be the issue here not the top flap design.

Not if the Cypres cutter location works fine if the reserve flap tucks back under itself (like the Vector III/Mircron) and doesn't tuck into the bottom flap (like the Mirage, Javelin, and Talon/VooDoo).

There are many design factors to take into consideration when it comes to the cutter location. Things like pilot chute cap diameter, spring force, flap flexability, container shape and closing sequence. To say that one particular feature equals a "bad design" is misleading, IMO. If you want "proof", RWS was at least considering changing the cutter location on future V-3's, meaning that there may be more to it than just the design of the pin cover flap

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[mmclaughlin84 0]

I thought i would dig up this old thread as i have searched and can't find another that covers it.

After my last reserve repack, 9 times out of ten i land to find the bottom flap of the reserve flap has popped out. I occasionally had this before, maybe once every dozen jumps, but now it's happening almost every jump without exception. The only thing i can see that is different, is that the reserve pack job is very neat and there doesn't appear to be as much pressure on the reserve flap as there was before.

I make sure that the flap is securely tucked under and not half tucked. Then i put the rig on and when i'm being checked people are having to push it back in the full way as it's wiggled it's way partially out. Once i was getting up in the plane and actually HEARD it pop out (and before anyone says, i didn't bump it off anything). So it's not a case that it opens as it's partially out and the wind catches it, the movement of my shoulders in the rig is able to pull the bottom flap out.

Never had this problem until the last reserve repack, was wondering if there was a remedy to it?

[hackish 8]

I found that my riser covers pop out less on my last reserve pack than the one before it. Definitely bulk distribution and closing loop length have an impact. I would suggest taking it back to your rigger to see if they could fix the problem for you.

-Michael

[ericfradet 0]

***The CYPRES cutter location seems to be the issue here not the top flap design.

Because of my job, I have been experimenting rigs with the top reserve flap tucked down into a pouch on the reserve bottom flap like it is common on most of the rigs nowadays, the top flap did not come out of the pouch so the container did not open because many reasons.
All I can say, I have had all these several rigs (from the same company) with tuck-down flaps total when bench tested with an AAD cutter located on top of reserve PC or even when the ripcord was pulled out.
It did not stay close for ever, but for several seconds, and when the PC finally went through, it did not have enough power to launch properly without causing a severe delay to the reserve deployment.