Mike and All, Very nicely put. I have never before seen so many elements of the topic covered in so few words.
DMcD, seemed to cover most of the other practical elements, in his earlier post, with useful additional comment in his 2nd post. In my experience, I have yet to meet a competition glider pilot who does not take his parachute condition and use very seriously. Statistics quite undeniably show that a pilot from this group will most often need to use his/her parachute. [There is nothing quite like incentive, is there?} However your comment on the general situation Yes, probably parachutes arent taken seriously enough by glider pilots. seems to me to be quite valid. DMcD, I have seen (on YouTube), parachutists in Fords, Chevs, and all sorts of other autos, being dropped into space, but never with a Harley. What does this mean? Cheers, Gary From: Aus-soaring [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Borgelt Sent: Wednesday, 25 October 2017 7:15 PM To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Parachute Here's the story on the National Parachutes we've sold for the last 28 years. They are lightweight and comfortable and while some details have changed they are the same basic design/size/weight in all that time The factory considers a life of 20 years is reasonable and won't repack them after that but your rigger can inspect the parachute and can return it to service if it is in his/her opinion revealed to be in airworthy condition as THERE IS NO LIFE LIMITING AD ON NATIONAL PARACHUTES. National parachutes also come in 4 canopy sizes to suit all weights of pilots. The N360 is suitable for up to 75 Kg pilots, the N425 up to 95Kg, the National Flat to 100Kg and the N490 to 110Kg. While National chute packs are available in Navy, Black and Red we recommend the Black or Navy as the colours seem more durable. The condition of the parachute depends on use and care. In a 7 day commercial operation it is doubtful if a parachute will last 20 years. In private operation where the thing is unlikely to do more than 2000 hours in actual use and you keep it in a bag until ready to wear and put it back in the bag after wearing it will likely be fine. Consider also that the parachute may be stored in a dry cupboard for some years of that time and is probably flown for only half the year or a bit more. Hard calender life limits are stupid. Yes, probably parachutes aren't taken seriously enough by glider pilots. Is there any proper training done, like before the first lesson in a glider? We've seen people wearing National chutes where the leg straps weren't tightened and the chest strap was a "chin" strap. Too bad about your head when you pull the ripcord but your headless body should make it to the ground just fine. Also asked competition pilots what they will do if they hear a bang and the glider pitches down and doesn't respond to the elevator. The first went and bought a new parachute and rehearsed the bailout procedure and admitted he hadn't paid any attention to that before. The second was a real smartarse and laughed it off by making a joke of it to cover up his lack of forethought and preparation. Do remember that bailing out of a damaged glider is "attempted suicide to avoid certain death". The US military reckoned the ejection seat in the F-15 saved the pilot's life 75% of the time it was used. The outstanding Russian K36D seat was better at 93%. I'm pretty sure gliding is somewhere between those numbers. Mike At 05:41 PM 10/25/2017, you wrote: Point taken. I have the highest regard for Nigel Brennan. If he says the chute is ok I am happy to wear it. On Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 6:28 PM, Ron Sanders <[email protected]> wrote: Do you mind if i forward your comments to Mr Nigel Brennan who re packed and inspected the chute?? Ron On 25 October 2017 at 13:52, DMcD <[email protected]> wrote: >>Hi guys, do not bother sold in 6 minutes!! Lets hope the buyer does not have to use it! Hang glider parachutes have a slightly harder time than glider parachutes, partially because the pack is less dense and lets in more UV, though many parachute manufacturers wrap the parachute inside a foil folder to help protect it. The fabric is also degraded by sweat and other factors. Some fabric and some colours degrade much faster than others too. What colour is your chute? Is it nice and bright so it can be spotted easily in the air or on the ground or have you ever looked? I don't think most of us take parachutes particularly seriously enough. For example, your parachute size should be related to several factors, including your age and weight. Most parachute sizes are for young people weighing an ISO standard 75 kgs who can jump off a 4 metre wall and not suffer any injury. And you? The older you are and the heavier you are, the larger the area of your canopy needs to be. Of course, there's a trade off in that larger canopies open more slowly, so the older you are, the higher you need to be to safely deploy your canopy. I guess it is like Harley riders. They wear poor quality open face helmets to protect poor quality brains. "I'm a licensed rigger. In my experience, the life will be limited primarily by how much direct sunlight, dust, and grit the parachute sees. If you take good care of the canopy and container, and keep the system out of the direct sunlight, it'll last quite a while. Other responders have suggested a practical life span of 15-20 years, and that's not too bad a range, IMHO. However, if the system has been abused, it could be unusable after just a few years. Pay attention to the harness too, as it tends to suffer from abrasion and from the pilot's sweat. It's not that unusual to see harnesses and containers that become unusable before the canopy." "In the UK the parachute manufacturers and riggers are not allowed to re-pack parachutes over 25 years old. ie once over 25 years, you have to throw it away...... in any event most parachutes that age that I have seen are big, heavy, and very uncomfortable to wear. " _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring Borgelt Instruments - design & manufacture of quality soaring instrumentation since 1978 www.borgeltinstruments.com <http://www.borgeltinstruments.com/> tel: 07 4635 5784 overseas: int+61-7-4635 5784 mob: 042835 5784 : int+61-42835 5784 P O Box 4607, Toowoomba East, QLD 4350, Australia _____ <http://www.avg.com/internet-security> Image removed by sender. 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