Making a Talon freefly friendly?

[scotts 0]

Wondering if there are any Freeflying improvements that can be made to my Talon dom 11/95. My biggest concern is main pin protection. The pin covering flap has two small walrus teeth. I'd also prefer wider leg pads.

Thoughts/suggestions?

[riggerrob 643]

Wider leg pads can be ordered from Rigging Innovations and installed by any Master Rigger.

Why you want wider leg pads is a mystery to me. The narrow, floating leg pads standard on Talon 2 (1997) fit my skinny buttocks better than any other leg pad pattern.

It is possible to install wider and thicker Walrus teeth, just make sure the rigger has already done it a few times before.

[Grumpy 9]

My Talon is DOM '97 and is pre-Talon2 so I expect the same as yours. The mods I've done to mine are
bigger walrus teeth put on the main flap
side tuck tabs on the reserve flap
a bridle cover added (at the mouth of the BOC)
a low profile reserve handle.
The rig may not be the newest thing on the dz but it's bullet-proof. Nothing has ever opened or come lose in the last ~700 freefly jumps. PM me if you want more detail on anything. I might even be able to get pictures if you ask nicely

[scotts 0]

I'm thinking (bad thing to do) that since most container mfrs offer double wide leg pads, that there must be a good reason for them. Comfort is my guess. Since I don't have skinny buttocks, it's all about comfort.

I'll be looking into the larger walrus teeth as well as a bungee strap.

[fstz28 0]

newbie question, what the bungee strap for? i also have a talon dom 95.

[Grumpy 9]

The bungee ties the two leg-straps together to prevent then sliding down toward your knees when you're in a sit. Later rigs have tabs sewn to the legstraps (check out any newish rig on your DZ) to put the bungee through but yours may not have these. They can be added easily and cheaply.

[PhreeZone 20]

Actually a proper fitting rig won't go anywhere on you and you don't need the bungees. Bungees are a band aid solution to a improperly fitting harness.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Grumpy 9]

Are you sure about that? If you put on your rig, lie on your back, pull your legs up into the sit position (90 degrees to your torso, pointing at the ceiling) and see if you can move the straps towards your knees. If you can, you need a bungee. If you can't, please educate meEveryone who freeflys on our DZ uses a bungee (or clip) regardless of whether or not the rig has been custom built for them.

[Kris 0]

I'm sure of it. In 130-ish+ sit-fly jumps on my custom Mirage G3 UNISYN I've never had my leg-straps loosen on me. Even through transitions, etc...

My second-hand Talon and a Javelin I borrowed for a while required a bungee, but not my Mirage.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[rainar 0]

So this was in 2002, any news since then? I'm looking at a 99 talon 2..its cheap and I'm frugal. I want to make it free fly friendly

[riggerrob 643]

rainar

So this was in 2002, any news since then? I'm looking at a 99 talon 2..its cheap and I'm frugal. I want to make it free fly friendly

....................................................................................

Depending upon its size (smaller being better) that 1999 Talon 2 probably has only a tiny amount of exposed main bridle, but that main pin cover was ... er ... designed before sit-flying became fashionable.
I have sit-flown a few times in my Talon 2 (size T5) and never had any problems, but better rigs have been designed since then.
Start by looking for a main pin cover that closes upwards.

[airgord 1]

rainar, contact RI at info@rigginginnovations.com.
We can make it freefly friendly.