What's the deal with 20 year life span on chutes?

I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2

It's about riggers wanting to sell you a new parachute rather than packing a
perfectly serviceable item.

I posted a similar question almost a year ago and was met with a barage of
questions about what my life is worth, etc. Totally useless replies.

In the US there is no life limit on your parachute if it will pass all
required tests and inspections. The trick is to find a rigger who will
accept the work. I was fortunate in this regard and my 37 year old Pioneer
Thin Pack is still in service. It will remain in service as long as it is
serviceable.


"Gary" wrote in message
...
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2

Hi,

I recently had a conversation with Dan at Para-Phernalia. They have
recently put a note in their manual stating that the life limit is 20 years.
They do that for liability reasons. I can't say I blame them - after seeing
how some pilot take care (not) of their parachutes.

I sell the Para-Phernalia Softie parachutes. They are great products.

Paul Remde

"Dan Marotta" wrote in message
...
It's about riggers wanting to sell you a new parachute rather than packing
a perfectly serviceable item.

I posted a similar question almost a year ago and was met with a barage of
questions about what my life is worth, etc. Totally useless replies.

In the US there is no life limit on your parachute if it will pass all
required tests and inspections. The trick is to find a rigger who will
accept the work. I was fortunate in this regard and my 37 year old
Pioneer Thin Pack is still in service. It will remain in service as long
as it is serviceable.


"Gary" wrote in message
...
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2

On 6/07/2011 03:17, Paul Remde wrote:
Hi,

They have
recently put a note in their manual stating that the life limit is 20
years. They do that for liability reasons. I can't say I blame them -
after seeing how some pilot take care (not) of their parachutes.

Rubbish!

This is simply an attempt to sell more parachutes based on the usual
process of thickly spreading FUD. When was the last case of a parachute
which had been packed on schedule and certified by a qualified rigger
failing when needed? Or even failing when pulled on the ground and tested?

Where is the industry research which shows that 20 years is the maximum
safe life? Is this research on the pack?, the canopy?, the harness? the
metal components? Or are they reducing the quality of the components
they use everywhere so that a proper inspection schedule of all
components no longer guarantees safety? Or is this a solid vote of no
confidence in the parachute rigging profession?

What do they mean by liability reasons? Do they now warrant their
chutes for 20 years unqualified by inspection? Or do they say no matter
how well they're treated, they won't last more than 20 years? Even in
very low UV environments such as Scandinavia? If the reason really is
liability, why isn't the life limited only by inspection when used in
jurisdictions other than the USA?

They're certainly not a great product if they now last less than half
the life regularly attained by many earlier chutes.

Rubbish!

GC



Paul Remde

"Dan Marotta" wrote in message
...
It's about riggers wanting to sell you a new parachute rather than
packing a perfectly serviceable item.

I posted a similar question almost a year ago and was met with a
barage of questions about what my life is worth, etc. Totally useless
replies.

In the US there is no life limit on your parachute if it will pass all
required tests and inspections. The trick is to find a rigger who will
accept the work. I was fortunate in this regard and my 37 year old
Pioneer Thin Pack is still in service. It will remain in service as
long as it is serviceable.


"Gary" wrote in message
...
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2

On Jul 6, 9:15*am, GC wrote:
On 6/07/2011 03:17, Paul Remde wrote:

Hi,

They have
recently put a note in their manual stating that the life limit is 20
years. They do that for liability reasons. I can't say I blame them -
after seeing how some pilot take care (not) of their parachutes.

Rubbish!

This is simply an attempt to sell more parachutes based on the usual
process of thickly spreading FUD. *When was the last case of a parachute
which had been packed on schedule and certified by a qualified rigger
failing when needed? *Or even failing when pulled on the ground and tested?

Where is the industry research which shows that 20 years is the maximum
safe life? *Is this research on the pack?, the canopy?, the harness? the
metal components? *Or are they reducing the quality of the components
they use everywhere so that a proper inspection schedule of all
components no longer guarantees safety? *Or is this a solid vote of no
confidence in the parachute rigging profession?

What do they mean by liability reasons? *Do they now warrant their
chutes for 20 years unqualified by inspection? *Or do they say no matter
how well they're treated, they won't last more than 20 years? *Even in
very low UV environments such as Scandinavia? *If the reason really is
liability, why isn't the life limited only by inspection when used in
jurisdictions other than the USA?

They're certainly not a great product if they now last less than half
the life regularly attained by many earlier chutes.

Rubbish!

GC



Paul Remde

"Dan Marotta" wrote in message
...
It's about riggers wanting to sell you a new parachute rather than
packing a perfectly serviceable item.

I posted a similar question almost a year ago and was met with a
barage of questions about what my life is worth, etc. Totally useless
replies.

In the US there is no life limit on your parachute if it will pass all
required tests and inspections. The trick is to find a rigger who will
accept the work. I was fortunate in this regard and my 37 year old
Pioneer Thin Pack is still in service. It will remain in service as
long as it is serviceable.

"Gary" wrote in message
....
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wow, All good info. Thanks all for the replys. The rigger I plan on
using (TA) is a fellow clubmember of mine at CCSC and someone I trust.
I like the idea that the life span is 180......
GA2

If I was a parachute maker - which, thank the Lord, I'm not sir - I would
probably want to put a life on my products (a) to try to protect myself
from product liability litigation, particularly in the USA and (b) to try
to generate repeat sales. This would have to be balanced against what
life - if any - my competitors put on their products.

If somebody jumps from an aircraft in the USA, wearing a parachute, and
hits the ground without the parachute having been sucessfuly deployed, I
think it is a near certainty that there would be a claim made against the
parachute manufacturer and/or the last packer. I also think it highly
likely that the claim would result in a large sum being awarded, almost
regardless of the actual cause of the failure to deploy.

At 13:52 06 July 2011, Gary wrote:
On Jul 6, 9:15=A0am, GC wrote:
On 6/07/2011 03:17, Paul Remde wrote:

Hi,

They have
recently put a note in their manual stating that the life limit is
20
years. They do that for liability reasons. I can't say I blame them
-
after seeing how some pilot take care (not) of their parachutes.

Rubbish!

This is simply an attempt to sell more parachutes based on the usual
process of thickly spreading FUD. =A0When was the last case of a
parachut=
e
which had been packed on schedule and certified by a qualified rigger
failing when needed? =A0Or even failing when pulled on the ground and
tes=
ted?

Where is the industry research which shows that 20 years is the
maximum
safe life? =A0Is this research on the pack?, the canopy?, the harness?
th=
e
metal components? =A0Or are they reducing the quality of the
components
they use everywhere so that a proper inspection schedule of all
components no longer guarantees safety? =A0Or is this a solid vote of
no
confidence in the parachute rigging profession?

What do they mean by liability reasons? =A0Do they now warrant their
chutes for 20 years unqualified by inspection? =A0Or do they say no
matte=
r
how well they're treated, they won't last more than 20 years? =A0Even
in
very low UV environments such as Scandinavia? =A0If the reason really
is
liability, why isn't the life limited only by inspection when used in
jurisdictions other than the USA?

They're certainly not a great product if they now last less than half
the life regularly attained by many earlier chutes.

Rubbish!

GC



Paul Remde

"Dan Marotta" wrote in message
...
It's about riggers wanting to sell you a new parachute rather than
packing a perfectly serviceable item.

I posted a similar question almost a year ago and was met with a
barage of questions about what my life is worth, etc. Totally
useless
replies.

In the US there is no life limit on your parachute if it will pass
all
required tests and inspections. The trick is to find a rigger who
will
accept the work. I was fortunate in this regard and my 37 year old
Pioneer Thin Pack is still in service. It will remain in service as
long as it is serviceable.

"Gary" wrote in message

.=
...
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a
use=
d
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for
parachutes.
I=
s
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Wow, All good info. Thanks all for the replys. The rigger I plan on
using (TA) is a fellow clubmember of mine at CCSC and someone I trust.
I like the idea that the life span is 180......
GA2

Pilot rigs haven't evolved much in the last 50 years without forced
obsolescence a tiny market would be even smaller. I wonder how the
defenders of the 20 year policy would feel if someone bought the type
certificate for their glider then grounded all of them over 20 years
old for safety?

On 7/6/2011 8:04 AM, wrote:
Pilot rigs haven't evolved much in the last 50 years without forced
obsolescence a tiny market would be even smaller. I wonder how the
defenders of the 20 year policy would feel if someone bought the type
certificate for their glider then grounded all of them over 20 years
old for safety?

I don't think they need to do to avoid liability, at least in the US.
Isn't the limitation on manufacturer's liability only 18 years?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:14:58 -0700, Gary wrote:

I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2

20 would be good. The manufacturer of my chute lifed it at 15 years.

Frank Whiteley

At 14:14 05 July 2011, Gary wrote:
I apoligize of this has been discussed in the past. Looking for a used
chute I keep running into talk of 20 year life span for parachutes. Is
it solely up to the rigger to pack or refuse a chute that age?

Still looking for a used chute that will not break the bank after
recently buying an ASW-20.

Thanks, Gary Adams GA2


Neither I, nor to the best of my knowledge my rigger, have a concern that
my chute is over 20 years old.

I've owned it since new and know how it has been taken care of. However
I would not consider buying a chute that was over 20 years old.

Andy