John Galloway wrote:
See this link to an article that includes the Strong
company's view that there need be no specific limit
to the life of a properly maintained and stored Strong
canopy:

http://www.strongparachutes.com/Pages/Articles.html

Very interesting read. It jibes with the practice and beliefs of many
glider pilots, including myself (I own a Strong parachute that is about
25 years old). It jibes with my knowledge of synthetic fabrics, which I
don't believe are harmed by temperatures in the -20 to 120 deg F range,
which they experience while my parachute is happily nestled in the
cockpit, in the trailer, in my driveway.

I was unable to find any reference to a 15 year service life (or any
life limitation) on the National or Softie websites, using a Google
search for "life". Can someone point me to where this information is?

The only reference I could find to "40" on the Performance Designs site
was a requirement in the "PD Series Ram-Air Reserve Parachute Owners
Manual" to check the permeability of the fabric after 40 repacks (other
factors could also trigger this), with the recommendation (not
requirement) to return it to the factory for testing. This does not
sound like a life limitation in any way.

In fact, returning the parachute to the manufacturer every 10 years or
so seems like a good idea. I did that with my Strong when it was 15
years old. They did some minor upgrades, which were included in the
repacking fee.
--
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA