Softie Parachute for Schleicher gliders with a seat back cutout

On Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 7:53:40 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
My Pioneer Thin Pack was 42 years old before someone refused to
inspect/repack it.Â* His complaint was about some minor fraying on
the crotch straps.Â* They would probably have only sustained a 20,000
pound shock before stretching a bit...Â* My previous rigger from
Colorado was always impressed with its condition and he did puncture
and rip tests.Â* I was always present when he inspected and repacked
it.



I now have a new Aviator
P-124 emergency parachute and am very happy with it.




On 6/10/2019 4:36 PM,
wrote:



I like the Softie line of chutes and fly with one now. And I agree the folks at Para-Phernalia are great to deal with.

But--the manufacturer is one of the few (only?) in the U.S. to set a 20-year life on their products (see below). It can be challenging to get any chute that's more than 20 years old packed--even when it's in superb condition--thanks to the efforts of Allen Silver. Do a search on this newsgroup for (much) more info. But I suspect it will be even more difficult to get a rigger to pack a 20+ year Softie. I wish I'd known this before I bought mine.

"Independent testing of aged nylon materials has proven that its strength degrades over time, therefore, Para-Phernalia, Inc. and Free Flight Enterprises have established a 20-year service life from the date of component manufacture for the Softie Pilot Emergency System and the Preserve line of emergency parachutes."

Chip Bearden





--

Dan, 5J

Para-Phernalia has a short list of approved square chutes.
The Aviator P-124 is on the list of chutes to consider when my Mini Softie with PD235 canopy is replaced. From experience the Mini Softie works in LS6, ASW27, ASG29, but was too large for Nimbus 3 (Dan M has my old National from that) and is a bit large for the Duo rear seat, a bad fit in the front seat.
Having jumped rounds and squares I will never buy another round chute.
But that P-124 photo in the link is hilarious! A pilot appearing to be getting in an Extra(?), with his chute leg straps off.
Jim

My wife uses the National 'chute.

On 6/11/2019 9:06 AM, JS wrote:
Para-Phernalia has a short list of approved square chutes.
The Aviator P-124 is on the list of chutes to consider when my Mini Softie with PD235 canopy is replaced. From experience the Mini Softie works in LS6, ASW27, ASG29, but was too large for Nimbus 3 (Dan M has my old National from that) and is a bit large for the Duo rear seat, a bad fit in the front seat.
Having jumped rounds and squares I will never buy another round chute.
But that P-124 photo in the link is hilarious! A pilot appearing to be getting in an Extra(?), with his chute leg straps off.
Jim

--
Dan, 5J

Pardon the thread drift but I was wondering if anyone else besides 5J was using the Aviator and in what gliders.

5J: have you flown gliders besides your Stemme with the Aviator? Impressions?

Feel free to contact me off-line: markgrubb at aol. Com

On Monday, June 10, 2019 at 5:36:32 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I like the Softie line of chutes and fly with one now. And I agree the folks at Para-Phernalia are great to deal with.

But--the manufacturer is one of the few (only?) in the U.S. to set a 20-year life on their products (see below). It can be challenging to get any chute that's more than 20 years old packed--even when it's in superb condition--thanks to the efforts of Allen Silver. Do a search on this newsgroup for (much) more info. But I suspect it will be even more difficult to get a rigger to pack a 20+ year Softie. I wish I'd known this before I bought mine.

"Independent testing of aged nylon materials has proven that its strength degrades over time, therefore, Para-Phernalia, Inc. and Free Flight Enterprises have established a 20-year service life from the date of component manufacture for the Softie Pilot Emergency System and the Preserve line of emergency parachutes."

Chip Bearden

Been flying with a Strong 305 for around 28 years. Got over 3000 hours wearing that chute in various gliders. Comfortable and I like the harness setup.. Best of all, Strong stands behind their product and doesn't try to churn sales by issuing an arbitrary "life limit". I send my chute to Strong every year for inspection and repack. They are fast and friendly with getting it done and back to me. If I had to buy another chute, I would definitely look at what's out there with respect to chute tech, comfort, and weight. However, it would take a pretty phenomenal improvement over my 305 to make me consider some manufacturer other than Strong.

+1 on Strong.

A 20 yr old Strong 305 chute came with my glider. It looked filthy and smelled worse. I called Strong to see if they could sell me a new container. Of course they could but suggested I send it to them for a laundering instead. I did, and boy was I glad. They inspected it, laundered it, repacked it, and sent it back to me in just a few days. It now looks and smells brand new. On top of that they said it was in beautiful condition and should last another 20 yrs as long as I continue to keep it cool and dry. No 20 yr limit BS at all. As WB said, it will take something extraordinary to convince me to purchase anything but a Strong in the future.

Robert

On Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 10:17:38 AM UTC-5, WB wrote:
On Monday, June 10, 2019 at 5:36:32 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I like the Softie line of chutes and fly with one now. And I agree the folks at Para-Phernalia are great to deal with.

But--the manufacturer is one of the few (only?) in the U.S. to set a 20-year life on their products (see below). It can be challenging to get any chute that's more than 20 years old packed--even when it's in superb condition--thanks to the efforts of Allen Silver. Do a search on this newsgroup for (much) more info. But I suspect it will be even more difficult to get a rigger to pack a 20+ year Softie. I wish I'd known this before I bought mine.

"Independent testing of aged nylon materials has proven that its strength degrades over time, therefore, Para-Phernalia, Inc. and Free Flight Enterprises have established a 20-year service life from the date of component manufacture for the Softie Pilot Emergency System and the Preserve line of emergency parachutes."

Chip Bearden

Been flying with a Strong 305 for around 28 years. Got over 3000 hours wearing that chute in various gliders. Comfortable and I like the harness setup. Best of all, Strong stands behind their product and doesn't try to churn sales by issuing an arbitrary "life limit". I send my chute to Strong every year for inspection and repack. They are fast and friendly with getting it done and back to me. If I had to buy another chute, I would definitely look at what's out there with respect to chute tech, comfort, and weight. However, it would take a pretty phenomenal improvement over my 305 to make me consider some manufacturer other than Strong.

I wish someone would do a new ad for them (Soaring mag.). The guy in their ad is riding the bomb all wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcW_Ygs6hm0

T8

Dr. Strangelove is a great movie, but at the height of the Cold War, I am sure Director Stanley Kubrick was not willing to show the approved USAF method of riding The Bomb, lest the Soviets glean Top Secret knowledge of proper implementation. Slim Pickens (Major Kong) rode The Bomb backwards as a form of disinformation. ;-)

Slim Pickens (Major Kong) rode The Bomb backwards as a form of disinformation. ;-)


That and he didn't want to experience the ground rush.

On 6/11/2019 8:01 AM, wrote:
I wish someone would do a new ad for them (Soaring mag.). The guy in their ad is riding the bomb all wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcW_Ygs6hm0

T8
Dr. Strangelove is a great movie, but at the height of the Cold War, I am sure Director Stanley Kubrick was not willing to show the approved USAF method of riding The Bomb, lest the Soviets glean Top Secret knowledge of proper implementation. Slim Pickens (Major Kong) rode The Bomb backwards as a form of disinformation. ;-)

--
Dan, 5J