Quagmirian

Drew up a new stabiliser for this build which keeps all the slider stops the same linear distance from the risers, I hope that'll keep the slider in the right position.

Yes I know, I am so stupid for doing that. I actually designed the stabiliser like that on the computer just so I'd know where to put the line attachments, and I can't believe I didn't think it through. Now when the canopy sits in the deployment bag, a bloody great piece of fabric hangs out with the lines. Not good. It was open before I turned around, it obviously closed again due to my shitty stabilisers.

Alright Buzz! Of course I know I could have asked you stuff, but you know once I start asking questions I don't stop! What does this do? What's the breaking strength of this? What are the advantages of this type of tape over type 3? Why have they used that seam? What's the importance of this angle? How do they do this... There aren't enough hours in the day.

I value your opinion, but I can't help but be amused by being told by an American to wear a helmet. To address the whole tension issue, I am aware of it, and that's why I looped the tow rope round my chest strap; it'll break easily. I am aware of the inherent dangers of static line towing but it doesn't stop me doing it. Why not try to convince everybody out there who's on too small a canopy that what they're doing is dangerous. How about jumping without AAD's and helmets for that matter?

Right here's the footage. http://youtu.be/Hfz34gy15tw From my observations, it's all good, but I think I've shortened the B lines by an inch or two too much. Someone on the ground observed that my right hand stabiliser was flapping like mad, although from watching the video I can now see that it was one of my end cells.

Thanks for all the information. Please keep it coming. I'm sure you understand that I'm using rectangular top skins and tapered bottom skins to simplify design and construction. Another thing I have to consider is my ribs. For this design, both the non-loaded and loaded ribs use the same template, again, to simplify construction. At my level of competence, I can't see the extra difficulty of designing, fabricating and sewing curved top skins being matched by any appreciable increase in performance. Of course, I understand its significance on higher performance canopies and I might try it on my next build.

Here are a few pictures from my hemming and I beam work. I found some orange fabric, so that'll be the centre cell. [inline HPIM4242small.jpg ] [inline HPIM4243small.jpg ] [inline HPIM4244small.jpg ] [inline HPIM4245small.jpg ] [inline HPIM4246small.jpg ]

It is very much a warning label.

Woah woah woah, I didn't jump it. It's just got nylon cord for lines at the moment. The airfield owner towed me behind his truck (I know, I know). As far as flight characteristics go, it's pretty shit, and lacks flare power. I took off on the rears and landed on the toggles and it just seems pretty docile. There's only so much I can do with limited knowledge of canopy design and military cargo fabric.

I took my 7 cell for a spin today and I didn't get killed. I might be able to post some footage of it later. [inline HPIM4234small.jpg]

Thanks for putting the time to give me advice guys, I really appreciate it.

Thanks for reminding me of a few things I should have put in my first post. This picture should explain a bit. I have looked at past designs, that's where I've got most of the information for making this thing. I have also noticed that information is locked away and I have had to second-guess a lot of stuff. That's where I thought this thread might be handy. Copying an old canopy is on my list of things to do, and it's essentially what I'm doing here. I have built something a bit like this before, and no I didn't jump it, but I did fly it behind a car. I feel like this is a good step forwards. Yes, the top panels are rectangular. Have I missed something? They certainly look like they should be. The fabric is where the fun begins. It's some kind of military cargo fabric, definitely not exactachute. I use it because it's very to cheap to practice on. Yes, the cloth is on the cock. The ripstop lines are not at right angles, which is something I've just been ignoring, what a fool I look now. I'll take on board the chevron idea though, thanks. My machine is a little home thing which struggles to go through lots of material and doesn't have anything useful on it. Thanks for the enthusiasm by the way.

In this thread I'll be posting progress pictures of my (hopefully jumpable) canopy. If I can't get it out of a plane it'll be towed behind a car something. So far I have completed most of the planning and cut out a few parts. I'm going to do a bit of sewing to make sure everything matches up correctly or whether I need to adjust the templates. I'm in two minds about adding a bridle attachment thingy and I welcome technical advice. Design Information 9 cells Clark Y(ish) airfoil section Span: 7.02m (23 feet) Chord: 2.74m (9 feet) Area: 210 square feet Full cell chordwise I-beam style construction, like a Skymaster Colour: babyshit brown [inline parts2.jpg]

I don't think OP wants jumping advice, I think he wants facts.

The best training I ever had was the wind tunnel. Second to that was to lie on top of a couple of rigs, so that the reserves face each other.

The 1.0-1.2 figure probably refers to your desired wing loading, and seems like a good value for the qualified jumper. As a student, you will probably be given a canopy with a wing loading lower than 0.85 lbs/sqft, feel free to ask your instructors about this.

Come to the UK and get yourself seen to by the NHS, we don't ask questions and we don't ask you to pay for your misfortune.

Folding them over is what I did when I wasn't allowed them on. They never came loose in freefall. Mine was a symbiosis suit for reference.

Would it be fair to say that this sort of fumbling is less common for people who learned via static line? The only reason I ask is because you have to do several stable exits (in a row) on static line before they let you do your first hop-n-pop, whereas on AFF unstable exits are more likely to be 'soaked up' by the instructors. -This post (and all my others, in fact) comes with a healthy disclaimer that I know nothing about instructing, or anything. Apologies in advance for any offence caused.

I love these threads. I love it when people use the word 'liberals' especially.

Ahh ok. I made this mistake and learned on my first jump course. When we were practicing with cutaway vests, without any foreknowledge I assumed that the handle went little side in.

I'm sure this has been posted before, I'm just not sure what I'm looking at here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcxegx8Z34 Forget the student, there seems to be something odd about the instructor's reserve handle. It can be seen most clearly by pausing at 1:15 in the video. Is this some style of handle that I haven't seen before?

That's funny, I had this on my first jump only. I looked down from my open canopy and was terrified to see the only thing holding me from certain death were two legstraps held in place with some thread. I think that was because the previous time I flew a canopy the harness did actually rip. This fear went away on my second jump and since then I've never doubted the clever people who make my gear.

I'm having a look at the line trim chart for the optimum reserve by PD and I can't figure out where the line cascades go for the A and D lines. The brake line cascades look pretty clear but I'm really stuck on this, and could do with a helping hand from someone who knows what they're looking at. Am I just being thick?

Some experienced jumpers were talking about this the other day. One guy said he got a definite falling sensation mid-dive and it really freaked him out, but it has only ever happened the once.