bergh 0 #1 February 2, 2004 Hi peeps I am looking for some advise regarding length and diameter of a tube for a newbie to jump with. I would like to make up one of these tubes to jump with the only problem is I am not 100% sure of the logistics. Do I release the tube before dumping or do I keep a hold of it ? Please help_______________________________________ You are unique, just like everybody else ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #2 February 2, 2004 Find some one at your DZ thats got experience jumping one and talk to them. You should hold on to it when you deploy. The tube length should be longer then your canopy lines to minimize the chances of the end of the tube fouling in your lines on deployment. Search out Tube on here and there is a lot of info posted.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydrew 0 #3 February 2, 2004 QuoteThe tube length should be longer then your canopy lines to minimize the chances of the end of the tube fouling in your lines on deployment. I don't think the tube length increases or decreases your chance of a malfunction. It's important to understand that when you deploy with a tube, there is so much drag from it that you will have to compensate for it to avoid an unstable deployment. Flying a tube is weird at first... you tend to move around the sky a lot more than you would if you weren't flying the tube. Definitely a little different. If ANYTHING goes wrong, drop the tube. Maybe go on some tube jumps with other people... After a couple of jumps, ask them to pass the tube to you, see what it's like to fly it, and then pass it back to them so they can deploy with it. At least this way you'll know if it's something you're into before you spend all the time trying to make one that's airworthy. (I have one if you have any specific questions.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #4 February 2, 2004 Me and TheMonkey made a tube, so can offer some advice,etc. depending on what you are looking for. Rule number one: Make sure you are using durable grommets. :) Our first attempt - the grommet deformed and the tube released. DOH! Very funny to watch on video. I think I have a handful of pics at home of our construction process if you are really interested. j Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #5 February 2, 2004 With all due respect, my friend, do ya really think it'd be a good idea to plan on having him grab the tube and then pass it back on his first tube dive? The reason I ask this is think of all the things that could (and WILL) go wrong with that. First, let's say he grabs the tube and the other person lets go. He's probably gonna be spinning under it, maybe not fast enough to be dangerous to himself, but certainly to someone else coming in and trying to take the tube back from him. Not only that, but he has roughly 130 jumps or so, right? Now I could be wrong, as I've never jumped with him, but I remember when I was on 100 jumps, that'd be a pretty tasking dive to me. If the deployment sequence is discussed VERY thoroughly, IMHO, it would actually be safer and easier to let him fly the tube the whole dive. BUT, you (the dude wanting to jump it), at that number of jumps, should consult someone at your dropzone about it. Like I said, I've never jumped with you, and you may be ready for it if you've had mad coaching, are a child prodigy, whatever. But you NEED to go to your local freefly coach and ask him/her to honestly tell you whether they think you have the skills to fly it or not. If they say "wait a couple hundred jumps" then take their advice and wait for it. Don't endanger yourself and everyone around you just because you wanted to be your own judge of your skills. Drew, just wanna let you know I'm not slamming on you or your idea, as I'm sure you're an excellent ff'er, actually I think that that dive plan would be great for someone that had a couple hundred sitfly dives, who was VERY stable and controlled in their sit. Still, IMHO, I just feel that at his skill level, it wouldn't be the best approach. Just my $.99 Super Value Meal, no more, no less. Safe skydives to everybody here. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydrew 0 #6 February 2, 2004 QuoteWith all due respect, my friend, do ya really think it'd be a good idea to plan on having him grab the tube and then pass it back on his first tube dive? Re read the post, my friend... "After you've made a few jumps..." Otherwise, we're all thinking the same things, just not writing them all down. Blue Skies, -drew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #7 February 2, 2004 QuoteQuoteWith all due respect, my friend, do ya really think it'd be a good idea to plan on having him grab the tube and then pass it back on his first tube dive? Re read the post, my friend... "After you've made a few jumps..." Otherwise, we're all thinking the same things, just not writing them all down. Blue Skies, -drew Aha!! There am I with the lack of attention to detail. My apologies. Yup, you're right, all thinking the same things. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #8 February 2, 2004 But at least you are still friends, my friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydrew 0 #9 February 3, 2004 C'mon wil, tell me about the swedish freefly festival, my friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #10 February 3, 2004 I'm sorry friend, but the Swedish Freefly Festival won't be held this year, my friend. Friend, friend friendly, friendliest friend of friends, with friends. I have no friends. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grega 0 #11 February 3, 2004 QuoteI'm sorry friend, but the Swedish Freefly Festival won't be held this year, my friend. Please stop with the torture "George just lucky i guess!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #12 February 3, 2004 QuoteQuoteI'm sorry friend, but the Swedish Freefly Festival won't be held this year, my friend. Please stop with the torture I know, I was gonna go, I almost cried when I saw that post. Will there be one next year??????? Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vincouze 0 #13 February 4, 2004 hi jm, can't send email to your adress. i'd like some infos about making tubes. please contact me. thanks. vince ([email protected]) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #14 February 4, 2004 Hey you might wanna hit up PhreeZone too, he has made a tube here and there, and the one of his that I flew was rocksolid, and pretty!! Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymedic 0 #15 February 4, 2004 pic's of my tube of fun... I made it all my self...french seam's on the verticle seams...and top and bottom seams. hoop is bike rim...swaged vinyl metal cable...gromits on the bottom set..then attached to rim.. learned alot about sewing on this project. plus it flies good too. mine is 16ft long.... Marc otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #16 February 5, 2004 >hoop is bike rim... Geee, wonder where you got that idea from I'm considering writing up an entire piece for the front page of here if there is interest, otherwise I'll write just a fourm post. Let me know what you guys would find more useful and what points you want covered in it.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #17 February 5, 2004 Write it for the Home Page, HH is always looking for new stuff to put up there and many people don't even read the forums.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dejavu 0 #18 February 5, 2004 QuoteFind some one at your DZ thats got experience jumping one and talk to them. There is nobody where Berg jumps, I last saw a Visiting jumper jump one there about 3 years ago..., and they Lost the tube. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites VectorBoy 0 #19 February 5, 2004 Quotepic's of my tube of fun... I made it all my self...french seam's on the verticle seams...and top and bottom seams. hoop is bike rim...swaged vinyl metal cable...gromits on the bottom set..then attached to rim.. learned alot about sewing on this project. plus it flies good too. mine is 16ft long.... I would avoid the use of a bike rim for the hoop and instead go for 1" schedule 40 electrical conduit. Less than schedule 40 will probably kink up. Reasons: I know you can probably get a rim for free some place but the conduit is 2 bucks for ten feet ( enough for two hoops, possibly 3 depending on the size you want) . Easily bent after heating over a BBQ or in an oven broiler maintaining no contact between the cooking surface and the plastic. I have used both methods with success, wear gloves. It becomes very flexible without going liquid on you. Or better yet if you have access to a heater designed to do just this, check with your electrician friends. Once soggy noodleness flexibility is achieved you just wrap it around something that is round and to the size of tube you want ( here is where that free bike rim would come in handy) I used some plywood scraps cut to size with a jig saw. With the hoop to size and still pliable I insert a little barbed plastic coupling that is used to splice garden hose lengths together ( .30 cents at garden centers). If the joint has cooled down I just reheat it and insert. Viola! I have even used this method to repair a tubes broken hoop without unstitching the ZP fabric. A bike rim has relatively sharp corners that will wear more into the fabric than the uniformly radiused conduit and if you loose the tube and god forbid it corks into someone the conduit will probably tranfser less energy.... even though it will still whack their salad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jmfreefly 0 #20 February 6, 2004 We used a child's bike rim, with flexible water hose tucked in the channel. There weren't any sharp edges, so I don't know what you are referring to. We also covered the rim with neoprene pipe wrap (self-stick stuff from home depot), JIC. We also didn't use zp, we used flag-weight solarmax. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites VectorBoy 0 #21 February 7, 2004 Quote We used a child's bike rim, with flexible water hose tucked in the channel. There weren't any sharp edges, so I don't know what you are referring to. We also covered the rim with neoprene pipe wrap (self-stick stuff from home depot), JIC. We also didn't use zp, we used flag-weight solarmax. Phree has a nice personal budget example made with a 20 something inch spokeless bike rim with no padding. In the archives you can read that it was very inexpensive to make including buying a sewing machine. Most bike rims have a sort of squarish cross section, like phree's, this is an example that I'm talking about. After examining a great many tubes that have been in play for many seasons and after having to repair the one I recently purchased because it was made with to thin a schedule abs plastic. I concluded that making a proper pvc HOOP ( just the hoop) that will last a very long time is also very inexpensive ( 11 eleven dollars ) and extremely easy and leaves you with a professional looking product for your effort. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites PhreeZone 15 #22 February 7, 2004 We've had 2 tubes made out of PVC break in the last 3 years that the DZ. Plus one made of copper tubing that bends in freefall every once and a while. Considering the the way I've got my tube built its got material that extends past the rim in all most all areas and since I've had it impact at terminal and it did'nt leave a mark on the dirt... I'll take the ease of using a prebuilt perfect circle. I've looked at using plastic kids bike rims also.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites VectorBoy 0 #23 February 8, 2004 Yes the thin ABS on mine was kinked within five jumps so I rebuilt it based on what the flyboyz have been flying for seasons. They get loaned out a lot and many of the LOs have part of the main collection in their personal possesion. Those tubes have so many flights on them that their trailing edges are in taters. All of those tubes hoops have thick enough schedule 40 PVC hoops. I doubt the bike rim as a hoop will bend or brake I only put out what I had done as another option. One that has been in service with many of the tubes that I have had the chance to examine. Since most of the tubes retail for about 200 bucks around here, anyone wanting to DIY should have more options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
VectorBoy 0 #19 February 5, 2004 Quotepic's of my tube of fun... I made it all my self...french seam's on the verticle seams...and top and bottom seams. hoop is bike rim...swaged vinyl metal cable...gromits on the bottom set..then attached to rim.. learned alot about sewing on this project. plus it flies good too. mine is 16ft long.... I would avoid the use of a bike rim for the hoop and instead go for 1" schedule 40 electrical conduit. Less than schedule 40 will probably kink up. Reasons: I know you can probably get a rim for free some place but the conduit is 2 bucks for ten feet ( enough for two hoops, possibly 3 depending on the size you want) . Easily bent after heating over a BBQ or in an oven broiler maintaining no contact between the cooking surface and the plastic. I have used both methods with success, wear gloves. It becomes very flexible without going liquid on you. Or better yet if you have access to a heater designed to do just this, check with your electrician friends. Once soggy noodleness flexibility is achieved you just wrap it around something that is round and to the size of tube you want ( here is where that free bike rim would come in handy) I used some plywood scraps cut to size with a jig saw. With the hoop to size and still pliable I insert a little barbed plastic coupling that is used to splice garden hose lengths together ( .30 cents at garden centers). If the joint has cooled down I just reheat it and insert. Viola! I have even used this method to repair a tubes broken hoop without unstitching the ZP fabric. A bike rim has relatively sharp corners that will wear more into the fabric than the uniformly radiused conduit and if you loose the tube and god forbid it corks into someone the conduit will probably tranfser less energy.... even though it will still whack their salad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #20 February 6, 2004 We used a child's bike rim, with flexible water hose tucked in the channel. There weren't any sharp edges, so I don't know what you are referring to. We also covered the rim with neoprene pipe wrap (self-stick stuff from home depot), JIC. We also didn't use zp, we used flag-weight solarmax. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorBoy 0 #21 February 7, 2004 Quote We used a child's bike rim, with flexible water hose tucked in the channel. There weren't any sharp edges, so I don't know what you are referring to. We also covered the rim with neoprene pipe wrap (self-stick stuff from home depot), JIC. We also didn't use zp, we used flag-weight solarmax. Phree has a nice personal budget example made with a 20 something inch spokeless bike rim with no padding. In the archives you can read that it was very inexpensive to make including buying a sewing machine. Most bike rims have a sort of squarish cross section, like phree's, this is an example that I'm talking about. After examining a great many tubes that have been in play for many seasons and after having to repair the one I recently purchased because it was made with to thin a schedule abs plastic. I concluded that making a proper pvc HOOP ( just the hoop) that will last a very long time is also very inexpensive ( 11 eleven dollars ) and extremely easy and leaves you with a professional looking product for your effort. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #22 February 7, 2004 We've had 2 tubes made out of PVC break in the last 3 years that the DZ. Plus one made of copper tubing that bends in freefall every once and a while. Considering the the way I've got my tube built its got material that extends past the rim in all most all areas and since I've had it impact at terminal and it did'nt leave a mark on the dirt... I'll take the ease of using a prebuilt perfect circle. I've looked at using plastic kids bike rims also.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorBoy 0 #23 February 8, 2004 Yes the thin ABS on mine was kinked within five jumps so I rebuilt it based on what the flyboyz have been flying for seasons. They get loaned out a lot and many of the LOs have part of the main collection in their personal possesion. Those tubes have so many flights on them that their trailing edges are in taters. All of those tubes hoops have thick enough schedule 40 PVC hoops. I doubt the bike rim as a hoop will bend or brake I only put out what I had done as another option. One that has been in service with many of the tubes that I have had the chance to examine. Since most of the tubes retail for about 200 bucks around here, anyone wanting to DIY should have more options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
