crotalus01 0 #1 July 17, 2009 I recently bought a new (to me) SaFire 190 after my Sabre 190 blew up on me. I have about 15 jumps on the SaFire, and every opening has been a nasty, off heading spinner. I thought maybe I was doing something wrong while flying the opening so I got a friend to jump it - same result. When we reviewed his video, it showed the left side of the canopy completely inflated well before the right side, causing it to dive hard and try and spin up until the other side opened. He told me he threw out at 4,500' and finally had it flying in control at 2,300'. The lines have been examined by my rigger and appear to be okay, the canopy has about 150 jumps on it and was owned by a CReW dog, so I am pretty sure it was not a squirrely opening canopy. My question is, could I be causing this problem with the way I am packing it? All my previous jumps (besides AFF) have been on a hard opening Sabre 190, and I have been packing this canopy the same way I packed my Sabre - roll the hell out of the nose and tail. Any suggestions? As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronaldo 0 #2 July 17, 2009 You should not roll the nose on a Safire. Rolling the tail shouldn't be an issue (unless you roll to the point of getting a line over). Leave the center cell in the front and just fold in (don't roll) the outer cells, this will give heading to the canopy. If it doesn't work I suggest you have someone else to pack and jump it again, this will eliminate one variable. Also, how does it behave once opened? Does it turn in full flight? Is the lineset microline or vectran? How many jumps on it?Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crotalus01 0 #3 July 18, 2009 Vectran lineset, less than 200 jumps on lineset (was told around 150 maybe 200 max). Once it opens it flies great, flares great. No turns in full flight unless I give harness or toggle input. So you think rolling the nose may be the contributing factor for the openings I have had? I will get a buddy to pack for me tomorrow, stress to him to leave the nose alone, jump it and see what happens... Thanks for the advice As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kimemerson 7 #4 July 18, 2009 I don't know about the Safire but as I recall the Sabre was designed differently than F-111 and in particular, besides the advent of ZeroP-3, the nose (airfoil) design was new. A result was that the standard F-111 procedure of rolling the nose was no longer necessary and was actively discouraged by PD. Still, the practice lingered and not all openings were as nice as they could have been had people learned to pack for the newer design. So, I will second the advice you were just given and suggest leaving that nose alone. And I'd be curious to learn how this goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronaldo 0 #5 July 18, 2009 Maybe it is, especially if you’re not rolling both sides equally. What you want with the packing is to allow the center cell to inflate first which will help the canopy to stay on heading. What I usually do is to pull the center cell slightly to the front and fold the outer cells in (I have an H-moded Cobalt that opens like butter 100% of the time). Modern canopies usually open soft and should not require rolling the nose or other tricks. Honestly, I never felt like rolling the nose made much difference (at least for the Sabre 150 I had) This is what works for me Have some nice jumps tomorrow! Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crotalus01 0 #6 July 18, 2009 Thanks for the ideas, guys. I will post tomorrow after I jump and let youse know how it went.... As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedude325 0 #7 July 18, 2009 When skydivingmovies.com comes back up (It's offline temporarily) check out PDpacking.wmv Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skron 0 #8 July 20, 2009 Is it a Safire or Safire2? I too went from a Sabre to a Safire2. I made the mistake when I first got it of packing it like I packed my Sabre, rolling the hell out of the nose, and on those jumps I ended up with off heading openings and line twists. If it is a Safire2 you should not need to roll the nose at all. Just push the nose in slightly then roll your tail. It may not even make a difference but I always make sure the seams of the tail match up before rolling. Also make sure you are not rolling any of the nose into the tail...that can slam you. One other tip, when you roll the tail pull it out and roll it straight in towards the center of the canopy not off on one hip.Well behaved women don't often make history. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
erdnarob 1 #9 July 20, 2009 You roll the nose on a Sabre 1 but not on the Sabre 2. You don't roll the nose on Safire 1 or Safire 2. Try to put the packed canopy more symmetrical into the POD. Safire are known for slow opening especially the Safire 2. After pulling, resume your box position and look at the horizon that can help. Don't worry too much about the first 2 seconds after the opening. Most of the 9 cell canopies do the same kind of turns (half a turn to one and half) at least as far as I am concerned. But after that they should be quiet. If you see that your canopy starts turning left for instance, lift your left leg to put more weight on the right leg strap and counterbalance the left turn and stop it. Trying my best.Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
