please help me with my sabre!

[adrenalinejunki 0]

I have an older Sabre 190 and have put about 40 jumps on it since I bought it with only around 60 jumps on it. This canopy flies great and gives me good landings but the openings sometimes can seriously hurt. I slow down as much as I can before throwing the PC but nothing seems to help. Sometimes it opens great and sometimes it knocks a lung loose. . I already roll the crap out of the nose and stuff it inside the center cell and have tried various other ways of packing it and nothing seems to give me consistant openings that are nice and soft. It's getting so bad that when it comes time to open I get scared. The only way I know how to pack is flat packing. I have had a couple PRO packing classes but still can't PRO pack yet. When I have used a packer and they PRO pack it it seems to always be a hard opening. But the one I had this past weekend had me seeing stars for about a minute. I honestly thought it exploded.

Blues

[TALONSKY 0]

The simplest solution that I have heard of is to have a rigger put a pocket on the slider. I hear that this works great and is pretty cheap to have done.
Kirk

[Clarkey 0]

I used to have similar experiences on an older Sabre 170 - tried the usual rolling nose/tail etc and the results were fairly variable... most the time it was still a 'firm' opening, with the occasional slammer! The most consistent method I found to slow things down a little whilst PRO packing was after flaking and arranging the canopy, rather than quartering the slider, I would pull it all the way through towards me and then smooth it around the pack job. Then make double sure that the slider is all the way up the lines at all four corners before sorting out the tail.

Worked for me anyway (most the time), but it still like to remind me it was a Sabre 1 every now and then!!

If this doesn't help, it might also be worth asking a rigger to check your lines are at the correct lengths whilst he's putting that Slider Pocket on that Talonsky suggests!

[LawnDart21 0]

I agree with the pocket slider, it will make a difference. Also, as mentioned roll the tail like a Bob Marley sized joint. I put 400 jumps on a Sabre 150, and the tight tail roll does help. You can also roll the nose in a propack, but (to me) it was too much effort and time. Good luck!

"I was 6'3" before I jumped my Sabre, now I'm only 5'11" "

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[fundgh 0]

If you had hard openings, I would think that you would be taller!

Search this topic, there has been a lot of advice posted on this forum.

...FUN FOR ALL!

[thermite 0]

Quote

If you had hard openings, I would think that you would be taller!

Search this topic, there has been a lot of advice posted on this forum.

Nope! Shorter torso and neck, definitely, longer legs, maybe!

[bkdice 0]

my old sabre1 gave me mostly good openings. i rolled the nose, 4 and 4, and the tail. after a canopy seminar, that included packing techniques, i started making sure that the slider was ALL the way up against the bumpers, and didn't shift when i put it in the bag. that really helped my openings become consistently soft.

as someone else said, a larger, or modified slider will also help a great deal.

[Kolla 0]

Hey there!

Contact Robin at PD (robin@performancedesigns.com - 386 738 2224)!
She works in the maintenance department there, and might be able to help you tame the openings on your Sabre. One option is to send you a larger slider, and in many cases that makes a dramatic difference.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with her - she's a great chick and very helpful. The staff at PD really wants you to be happy with your PD canopy, regardless of weather you bought it used or new!

Blue ones,
Kolla Kolbeinsdottir,
Performance Designs, Inc

Blue Skies Magazine

[fundgh 0]

That's True, but my harness attaches to my head, so I would be taller!

...FUN FOR ALL!

[RMURRAY 1]

I would leave PD out of it - call MEL (Skyworks Parachute Service) for a dome slider. I will send you his phone number.

rm

[lifewithoutanet 0]

I have a Sabre 150 and you and I are relatively close on our wingloading (which only shows that we're not polar opposites on the scale). I pro-pack and like others have said here, roll the nose. I'm not sure what difference flat vs. pro will make on openings, but maybe someone else could shed some light on that. I do get the occasional spanking, but they're few and far between and when they happen, I typically know why.

Does your DZ employ packers? Or do you have someone who can pro-pack for you? Give that a go and see what kind of opening you have. If it softens up (and I have no experience or info that says that it will have an effect), well, you'll have learned something... That it's time to learn how to pro-pack.

This thread might be of some info to you, as well. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1083862#1083862 In skimming it, I found at least one person who said a pro-pack seemed to tame their openings.

If you've taken some classes on pro packing and are comfortable that you're doing it right, but don't want to fumble through it on the DZ, my recommendation is to camp out in your living room for an evening or two and pack, unpack, repeat... You'll have it down in no time. Just be sure to have someone watch you pro-pack at the DZ before you jump it.

Good luck!
-C.

[adrenalinejunki 0]

Accually flat packing seems to give me more consistent openings than I get when I use a packer and they PRO pack it for me. I always watch and ask them to roll the hell out of everything. The openings are almost always good and firm. Only a few have been good soft openings.

Blues

__________________________________________________

What's the worst that can happen?

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Hmmm. Perhaps you seriously wronged a Sabre in another life. Sorry your openings are so damn rough. Sounds like it's time to get PD involved.
Hope you get it figured out.
-C.

[kingbunky 3]

Quote

I already roll the crap out of the nose and stuff it inside the center cell

don't do this! you can (i have read and heard) cause serious damage to the canopy.

i just bought an older sabre 190 as well, and just learned to propack it. it has about 650 jumps on it, 50 or so on new lines. i don't do anything special while packing, just make sure the slider is against the stops, after quartering it, i pull most of it through to the front of the canopy, stuff the nose back into the packjob and then roll the tail 6 or 7 times. pretty consistent and soft openings. it is fully open in anywhere form 500 to 800 feet, so i know i still have to learn some consistency.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[masterrig 1]

As kingbunky mentioned, DON'T shove the cells into the center cell. This is mentioned in the owner's manual for the Sabre. I have done as he mentioned after having a few 'whackers' on my older Sabre - 190. I have found, folding the four cells on either side of the center cell, in-ward (as part of pro-packing) and next to the center cell. I ease all that back and in. I roll the tail, 3 - 4 times. When I four-way the slider, I get a good portion of the slider out toward the nose, to get a good 'scoop'. The slider will catch the air first and help slow the opening. I have had real good results with this method. The last hard opening I had, tore the line-attachment point off where the steering line attaches to the right, tail corner of the canopy. After repairing it, I went to my present method of packing with no problem. Hope, this helps.

Chuck

[riggerrob 643]

5 key points to every pack job:
- lines straight
- brakes set
- slider ALL the way up
- rubber bands tight
- bridle routing

Back when I jumped Sabre Mark One (135, 150 and 170) I tried a variety of popular packing methods and concluded that rolling the nose helped a little - in softening openings - but rolling the tail helped a lot.
My personal theory is that rolling the tail has little affect on how the tail inflates, however, it helps hold the slider hard up against the bottom of the canopy, which is a major point.
Stuffing the nose inside the center cell is silly.
I have also sewed a variety of pockets on Sabre sliders. The slowest openings came when I sewed Weird Wayne's pockets on all four sides of my slider. That Sabre 170 opened so slowly that hop-and-pops got scary!
Hee!
Hee!

So yes, it is possible to fine tune Sabre Mark One openings by sewing on pocket(s), but start by measuring line trim.

[cybervagrant 0]

In the PD manual it says you can try a smaller PC to help with hard openings.

Cheers,

Cyber

Whoops, is my ignorance showing again?

[tkhayes 348]

sell it and buy a Spectre and leanr to love the very soft and slow openings.

Or continue to jump a canopy that opens hard and suffer the spinal consequences later in your life.

TK

[mr2mk1g 10]

I had a sabre 190 and never had a hard opening on it.... sorry.

I now have an EXE (sabre copy) which slams me to the chiropracter and back again. No conventional solution worked and it already has pockets on the slider.

I take the whole nose and role it all tightly one way. I role the tail very tightly round the whole pack job. This has solved the hard openings completely. So much so actually that I have tamed down how hard I roll the nose as I actually feel myself speed up again after the pilot chute colapses! (so I figure I've slowed my opening down too much... I tell you, my hands went for the handles the first time that happened!).

I've not found this causes any form of off heading opening, but I would be hesitant to try it with anything twitchy.

And don't do this without oking it with an exp packer, rigger or instructor. It works for me but that could be luck.

[Martini 0]

Pay attention to masterrig and riggerrob. Fold/roll the outer 4 cells along the center cell (never into the cell itself) and push the center cell in so it's not exposed, Pull the slider out in front after flaking. Way out like 5-6 inches and fold it open. The slider is the key to Sabre openings. If you still can't get acceptable openings then slider pockets or a larger slider will help a lot. The Sabre is an excellent canopy, get the openings tamed and you can do a lot with it. I use a Sabre for my wingsuit canopy with a larger slider and am very happy with my choice.

Sometimes you eat the bear..............

[BASE813 0]

I used to jump a sabre 135 and did about 300 jumps on it. I found that to get nice openings I would:

1) Not roll the nose and only push deep inside
2) ensure the slider was properly quatered and focus on the slider all through the pack job making sure it was nicely positioned.

I also found that other sabre owners all had their own ways of packing to get the openings they wanted - some worked for some and not for others............ you just gotta experiment.

just my 2 worthless sheckles