--- JaxInCalifornia@aol.com wrote:
> I know we have a lot of expertise out here and I was
> hoping it might extend to papachutes. Would anyone
> with that expertise care to offer up some help
> on how to repair the shroud lines to a tactical ram
> air parachute canopy?
I jump out of aircraft using ram-air parachutes...need
one more reserve repack to be able to take the FAA
Parachute Rigger exams..maybe I can offer advice...
> This is for a little scientific ground operations
> for the kids, not for jumping out of a aircraft.
Ok, be careful...in winds around 15MPH depending on
the size of the kids and the parachute, the canopy
will likely lift them off the ground and carry them a
bit (and drop them back on the ground...)
Bored skydivers in high-winds stuck on the ground are
dangerous. :-)
> 1. My question, is there a way to safely tie in new
> line without compromising the strength of the line
> as a whole?
If you want it done safely, you should probably seek
the advice of an FAA-certificated parachute rigger.
Failing that, there is a book called the Poynter
Manual that is a wealth of information on all
different types of parachutes. There is a volume on
round parachutes and one on square (ram-air)
parachutes. Your local library may have a copy...it
is written by Dan Poynter.
> 2. How long is the cascade line to the connector
> link? ( this would be the suspension line that
> joins another line (usually in the same set) below
> the canopy surface but above the connector link.
Poynter manual can explain this much better in
pictures than I can with only words. :-) It depends
on the parachute manufacturer to a great extent also.
> 3. How long are the control lines before they
> converge into a single control line?
This also depends on the parachute manufacturer, the
specific model by the parachute manufactuere, and the
parachute's size (in square feet).
> 4. Is there anywhere to purchase the flat type
> parachute chord? Plenty of the old style round 550
> available, but hoping to repair one with original
> cord.
If you get a rigger to repair this, he/she will have
the material to do this. Typically, the military used
Dacron lines...modern sport parachutes use what's
known as Spectra lines.
www.paragear.com has this material available for
sale...http://www.paragear.com/webbing/indexline.htm
I'd need to see the stuff that's on there to be able
to better advise you of which stuff you need.
> 5. Does anyone have a diagram of how the lines are
> configured and ultimately connected? Maybe a web
> site I could visit?
No websites for diagrams that I know of...check out
that Poynter manual -- it will likely have everything
you ever wanted to know about these parachutes and
probably a lot more than you'd ever care to know. :-)
Good luck. I know you said you weren't going to use
these for jumping. That's great...if you are to use
them for anything other than flying it from the ground
as a parafoil kite I would definitely get a rigger to
do the work. Might not be a bad idea anyway...it
probably won't be very strong if you try to reattach
them yourself. If you inflate it in a strong wind,
the lines might break pretty fast. I've been jumping
about 8 years and have seen some interesting things.
Please don't take this as a lecture (not intended that
way), but remember that this parachute is not a toy
and if you don't take precautions to keep those kids
safe, they can be dragged across
fields/pavement/wherever you're playing with the
parachutes. I've had some nasty bruises and scrapes
from landing these in high winds and being dragged in
my earlier skydiving days. Whatever you do, DO NOT
tether or otherwise attach yourself or anyone else to
this parachute when inflating in high winds. The lift
produced by these parachutes (the military generally
used really large ones about 282 square feet or
larger) is deceptive and can lift one (or several)
into the air easily only to be dropped several yards
from their origin. Repeat until the winds either die
down or the person gets separates himself from the
parachute.
Have fun...be safe!
T. Bloxom
USPA 105269, D-20171
p.s. There are some other dangerous things not to do,
but in order not to give other folks any
Darwin-award-winning ideas, I'll only tell
JaxInCalifornia@aol.com in e-mail if he would like to
know.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Aug 07 2001 - 09:34:14 PDT