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Flying with Parachutes



 
 
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  #91  
Old September 1st 18, 12:26 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Posts: 22
Default Flying with Parachutes

Contact Don for a repack http://parachuteshop.com/
And this why he deserves support
http://parachuteshop.com/service_life_limits.htm


Thanks, Gregg. I will.

  #93  
Old September 1st 18, 03:22 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathan St. Cloud
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Posts: 1,463
Default Flying with Parachutes

On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 6:35:38 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 9:18:13 PM UTC-4, Dave Nadler wrote:
That's one thing I disagree with Don about....


Where I'm not personally expert,
I consult with multiple people who are,
and take their advice when it's consistent.

Are you as expert as Don, or the folks at Strong??


I have a few thousand jumps was a skydiving instructor(AFF and Tandem) and am a CFI(helicopters and gliders.) Started jumping when there were still some round reserves in use, I've seen enough to know I don't want to use a round. Perfectly fine with jumping a square. And I've taught enough people in both disciplines to believe glider pilots can manage a square parachute. Student skydivers, with all of the performance limitations imposed by fear, manage square parachutes after half a day of training. I'm not in the parachute business I promote squares because I believe they are safer for us. Next time you are at Pepperell walk over to the jumpschool and talk to some instructors, ask their opinion.


I have no jump experience, and would like to keep it that way! Allan Sliver explained to me that if you are not planning on doing the training and a few actual jumps then the square can get you in big trouble, this is why they use rounds for loads such as cargo. Dan Marotta went and got the training and even did a few jumps. A lot of the glider pilots I know have not had any training other than reading a few articles or hangar flying. It is a risk vs reward. I can use a round with verbal, or instructional video training. Or I can practice bleeding. Take the risk at my newly earned senior citizen status of actually jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft. This is all for the extremely small chance I might need a chute. Could this be akin to learning to suture yourself when you can buy Qwik Cot. At this point in life am inclined to leave the actual jumping to a real emergency.
  #95  
Old September 1st 18, 08:55 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Chris Rowland[_2_]
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Posts: 45
Default Flying with Parachutes

At 21:12 31 August 2018, Dave Nadler wrote:
On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 3:53:27 PM UTC-4, John Huthmaker wrote:
I'm hoping to find a softie with a square parachute.


From discussing this with both Don Mayer and the folks at Strong:
A square chute is much more sensitive in deployment (stable and
correct attitude). Both recommend a round emergency chute for
this reason. From discussing my recent bail-out with Don,
I'd probably be dead if I'd had a square chute.

FWIW, from a guy really happy to have had a Strong round emergency chute.

Hope that helps,
Best Regards, Dave

PS: I wish I'd had the larger diameter model, landing on rocks
at 11,000 density altitude my descent rate was a bit high...

AFAIK all the chutes for space probes and landing capsules are round.
Sometimes multiple round chutes. This is probably the application that
most needs reliability in adverse conditions above all.

Chris

  #96  
Old September 2nd 18, 02:00 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Mike Borgelt[_2_]
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Default Flying with Parachutes


My wife and I wear our National chutes in our BD-4, just like we used to in the Nimbus 3DM.
Doors are top hinged (not as originally designed). Easy to get out. Get rid of headsets, open doors, undo harness, roll off seats behind landing gear legs.
I figure there are a whole bunch of mishaps where we won't be around in the airplane.

Mike


  #97  
Old November 4th 18, 05:58 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Anthony McDermott
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Default Flying with Parachutes

At 00:22 11 August 2018, John Huthmaker wrote:
I'm just starting out with soaring. Simple question for you guys. How
man=
y of you fly with an emergency parachute? It looks like they cost around
$=
2000 online. Pretty steep price; although the cost is insignificant if

it
=
saves your life. Is this something I should be looking to purchase?


Absolutely wear a parachute. Skydivers carry a reserve because they
recognise that, occasionally, main parachutes fail. Our main parachute is
the glider and we all know that, occasionally they also fail
(mid-air/rigging failure/lightning strike etc). A few years ago, I came off
AT and climbed to 3k and switched to the XC frequency. I immediately heard
"Mayday, Mayday, two gliders collided and I see one parachute".
Subsequently, I found out both pilots survived, the second pilot managed to
land his glider.
Enough said I think!


  #98  
Old November 4th 18, 09:14 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Martin Gregorie[_6_]
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Posts: 699
Default Flying with Parachutes

On Sun, 04 Nov 2018 16:58:07 +0000, Anthony McDermott wrote:

At 00:22 11 August 2018, John Huthmaker wrote:
I'm just starting out with soaring. Simple question for you guys. How
man=
y of you fly with an emergency parachute? It looks like they cost
around $=
2000 online. Pretty steep price; although the cost is insignificant if

it
=
saves your life. Is this something I should be looking to purchase?


Absolutely wear a parachute. Skydivers carry a reserve because they
recognise that, occasionally, main parachutes fail. Our main parachute
is the glider and we all know that, occasionally they also fail
(mid-air/rigging failure/lightning strike etc). A few years ago, I came
off AT and climbed to 3k and switched to the XC frequency. I immediately
heard "Mayday, Mayday, two gliders collided and I see one parachute".
Subsequently, I found out both pilots survived, the second pilot managed
to land his glider.
Enough said I think!


Fully agree. In my club nobody flies without one, be they trial flighters,
ab initios, instructors or just plain members.

I wasn't yet flying in 1999 when the Dunstable ASK-21 got destroyed by a
lightning strike at 2500 AGL, but both its pilots were wearing parachutes
and both survived. When I started learning in 2000 everybody in my club
was using parachutes for all flying[1] and fairly soon this was the norm
for all UK clubs.

[1] the exception was flying in our Slingsby T.21. I'm unsure of the
rationale for this: it seems to be some combination of: extreme
discomfort flying it in a 'chute and/or difficulty in getting out due the
the cockpit being under the wing leading edge.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org
  #99  
Old November 4th 18, 10:36 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Posts: 148
Default Flying with Parachutes

On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 1:44:22 PM UTC-7, WB wrote:
On Friday, August 31, 2018 at 3:18:42 PM UTC-5, John Foster wrote:
Is there any general consensus of which brand of parachute is better than others, or are they all about the same? Any thoughts regarding the MARS ATL-15 parachutes offered through wingsandwheels.com? They seem a little more affordable for a new chute.


You can't go wrong with a Strong! (yeah, corny, I know).

My Strong parachute is 25 years old. No problems getting it repacked, either by local riggers or by Strong. I alternate between taking my chute to the local guy and sending it to Strong for repack. Strong's customer service is first rate. They turn it around quick and have it back to me even faster than my local rigger. My next parachute will definitely be a Strong.

Oh, I also have a National that I picked up because it was a lighter then my Strong and cheap. I'm sure it's a good chute, but the harness system is kind of odd and uncomfortable and it lacks the padding of my Strong (that's why it's lighter).



There is no FAA regulation limiting parachute life. Even when my Strong was 30 years old, each time I got it repacked the packer told me (I asked) it was 'like new'. I also once had a flying layoff for a few years, then when I got it repacked, I asked the packer if it would have opened. He said 'of course'. I packed mine once each year, which meant I went slightly over the 6-month FAA rule. I dealt with that by sticking a piece of tape with 'inoperable/not available for emergency use' written on it on the chute.
  #100  
Old November 5th 18, 05:51 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
John Huthmaker
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Posts: 24
Default Flying with Parachutes

Figured I'd update everyone on this. I took the plunge maybe 2 months ago and purchased a used parachute. Its a Softie Mini. The gentleman saw this post and reached out to me directly. By pure coincidence he is a former member of the flying club I am flying with.

The day that it arrived (back home), I was over in the UK for work. I found a very cool glider club not too far from where I was staying. They let me join the club for the day (well month technically) and I got to do two winch launches. It was really good fun. But they all flew with parachutes, and let me use one they had at the club. They mentioned the lighting strike incident being the primary reason everyone in the UK uses them. Honestly I dont really get why you wouldnt. They're not really uncomfortable.

When I got the parachute the log showed it had only been repacked twice. The first at the factory and then one other time. Its about 16 years old or so, and hadnt had a repack in over a decade. But it looked/looks basically brand new. I flew with it the first chance I could figuring it was better as is than none at all. But at the end of that day I took it for its 3rd ever repack. I just picked it up today and went out with it again.

I'm very happy I made the purchase. In fact I plan to go back in to flying power planes, and eventually build myself an RV7. If/when that happens, I'll get an extra one for a passenger to use.
 




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