checking lines

[borgy 0]

Hey guys,
I have recently aquired a new canopy and am unsure if the canopy has had a reline. The guy I bought it off said the previous owner said he had one done. I have no reason to doubt the seller he is a friend of mine but after speaking to a few people they said it would be unlikely that a canopy with 600 jumps would have had a reline. I have compared each line to its opposite and they seem the same give or take a couple of mms. is it possible that a line set could have 600 jumps on it and still be that symetrical???
Any advice is appreciated.

Borgy

I only trust two people in this world, one of them is me and the other one aint you.
Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe in "Con Air"

[bob.dino 1]

Quote

I have compared each line to its opposite and they seem the same give or take a couple of mms. is it possible that a line set could have 600 jumps on it and still be that symetrical???

Not if it's Spectra. However, it's a Vengeance 135 we're talking about, isn't it? I'm fairly sure Vengeances come with Vectran rather than Spectra lines. Vectran doesn't really go out of trim. It does wear and break though...

...and for the record, I reline around the 450-500 jump mark.


Others with more experience than I can tell you exactly how to check if Vectran lines are new or not, but personally I'd look at the lower brake lines, where they will be rubbing through the riser ring. It should be pretty obvious if the lines have 6 or 600 jumps on them.

[borgy 0]

Based on the brake lines I'd say it hasn't had a reline.

Thanks Dave

I only trust two people in this world, one of them is me and the other one aint you.
Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe in "Con Air"

[everymansaved 0]

To echo what Bob said, 400-450 jumps on a vectran lineset is about right for replacement. They don't shrink and go out of trim like spectra, but they do snap when they get old.

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[popsjumper 2]

Borgy, there's more going on than side-to-side comparison.

Get the line trim specs from the manufacturer and compare lengths to the chart.

IMHO, it should have a new line set at those jump numbers regardless of line type.
(Spectra, shrinkage. Vectran, wear., etc, etc.)

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

Hey guys,
I have no reason to doubt the seller he is a friend of mine but after speaking to a few people they said it would be unlikely that a canopy with 600 jumps would have had a reline.

After 600 jumps the outer D-lines on my Stiletto 120 have shrunk 6" versus under 1.5" for the inner lines and I added 6" total when I last replaced the lower steering and brake lines.

Quote

I have compared each line to its opposite and they seem the same give or take a couple of mms. is it possible that a line set could have 600 jumps on it and still be that symetrical???

Since the canopy opens mostly symetrically, pulls mostly symetrically on the slider during opening, and shrinkage comes from heat due to slider friction you'd expect symetry.

The outer lines will have shrunk a lot more than the inner ones if it hasn't been relined; although you need the line trim sheet to verify this since the outer lines may have started out longer.

[riggerrob 643]

600 jumps sounds about right for replacing any type of line.
Sure, sport jumpers may wait until 800 or 900 jumps before re-lining, but their canopies fly like c@#$%! by 900 jumps.
Only the latest versions of HMA suspension line will still fly well after 1,000 jumps.

[riggerrob 643]

...after speaking to a few people they said it would be unlikely that a canopy with 600 jumps would have had a reline.

Borgy

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

After 600 jumps the outer D-lines on my Stiletto 120 have shrunk 6" versus under 1.5" for the inner lines and I added 6" total when I last replaced the lower steering and brake lines.

For a St120 A1 (112-3/4") and A5 (113"-1/8") specs show only a 3/8" difference when in trim. So a "difference" of over 4" (6" - 1.5" +/- 3/8") means a TON of shrinkage. If you know the spec difference, it's really easy to check the diff between A1 and A5 by just pulling them taught and eyeballing the delta and correcting for the spec'd offset.

My rigger recommends that if the dif gets over 3", then a reline is due. If over 2", then consider it getting close. He knows his stuff.

The thumbrule is good (thanks, Mark). My wife was having trouble with wonky openings and was dinking with packing and body position. It only took me a few seconds to figure out that she needs a reline. It only took one jump on he rig to realize her steering line were grossly shrunk.

I watch my steering lines now too. If they run out of a "good amount" of slack, then adding length is easy enough.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants