Just can't get the canopy packed..

[eightate8at8 0]

Here's the deal,
I've got an I33 which recommends to hold a 135-150.
I have a chute shop 155.

Now I haven't packed much, and I've only tried packing this a few times after getting the canopy hooked up but I just simply can't get the canopy in the dbag. I've tried different packing techniques, and I must say that I've done them very well; which leads me to think it simply won't work.

Any ideas or suggestions? Would the next size larger dbag work and still fit into the container?

Thanks guys

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

1. Bring beer and cash to the DZ.
2. Throw yourself on the mercy of an experienced packer or rigger (with promises of copious cold beer or cold hard cash if necessary).
3. Only after they fail to get it packed should you consider it un-packable.
4. Watch and learn..... practice... practice... practice... (swearing is optional).
5. Pay your beer/cash debt.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[eightate8at8 0]

That's my plan, see if someone else can pack it :(

[phoenixlpr 0]

Search here?

[virgin-burner 1]

do not make the last fold but let the top of the cocoon hang over (the lines), bag it, then roll the remainder into the dbag..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[councilman24 37]

Realize it may not fit at all. 155 is GREATER THAN 150.

Granted, usually you could squeeze it in. But any canopy my be 10% larger or smaller than average. And any container can vary some also. So, if you have a larger than normal canopy and a smaller than normal container you may NEVER get it in there. That's why riggers HATE (okay maybe not hate) customers that buy canopies at or ABOVE the maximum size and expect that they will fit.

All that being said get someone who is experienced to give it a try.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[liftedtitan 0]

Quote

Here's the deal,
I've got an I33 which recommends to hold a 135-150.
I have a chute shop 155.

Seems to be a pretty concise answer right there. Why dont you just buy the next size up bag?

Moriuntur omnes, sed non omnes vixerunt.

[madhatter 0]

Psychopack. DZ.com results. Friend of mine has a Vortex 1 135 container and he's been packing his ZP155 into it for 10 years.

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
D.S # 125

[councilman24 37]

Quote

Quote

Here's the deal,
I've got an I33 which recommends to hold a 135-150.
I have a chute shop 155.

Seems to be a pretty concise answer right there. Why dont you just buy the next size up bag container?

Fixed it for you.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[mjosparky 4]

Quote

Any ideas or suggestions?

Ask the DZO that is looking out for your interests for your money back.

Quote

My DZO has always looked out for me, he isn't the type to not care..

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[amstalder 0]

FWIW, my Spectre 150 is pretty tight in my I33... So maybe that extra few square feet really is just too much... Let us know how it turns out with the packer

[JerryBaumchen 1,363]

Hi eight,

If that is an older South African canopy it is very possible that the 155 is ~ the volume of a modern 170.

I do remember people having some SA canopies back in the early 90's that were built of some rather heavy material.

Have someone else try packing it into your rig & see what they have to say.

Good luck,

JerryBaumchen

[DougH 270]

Quote

Hi eight,

If that is an older South African canopy it is very possible that the 155 is ~ the volume of a modern 170.

I do remember people having some SA canopies back in the early 90's that were built of some rather heavy material.

Have someone else try packing it into your rig & see what they have to say.

Good luck,

JerryBaumchen

I recently ran into this myself.

I was dancing for joy when a SA manuf. found some of the old ZP, gelvanor, left in a closet. Yay! Gimmie gimmie, I love that stuff.

Unfortunately I forgot to account for the extra size in my main packjob. It fits into my Icon I2, but a new dbag is in order.

The 104 packs way thicker, than a similar sized ZP canopy. That being said I will take this fabric any day over the new stuff. It wears like Iron, packs like F111, and the colors kick ass too.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[eightate8at8 0]

Where the hell did south africa come into this? Haha, I'll grab some serial numbers tonight, is there anyway to tell..? Like I said it's a chute shop, don't know where they were produced..

[downtoearth 0]

Chute Shop manufactured in South Africa

[eightate8at8 0]

Well, psycho helped me get it in the bag. The second fight was closing the container.. My hands still hurt from pulling on the pullup cord trying to get the bitch shut.

I'm going to try and look at it this way.. hopefully it's just tough because (besides the size issues) I'm just a new packer, haven't packed much at all, and in turn over time and more and more packing it'll become easier? Just a though..

[cube 0]

http://skydiving.pl/img/packboy_.jpg

this rocks. Especially with student gear that have spring pilot chutes.

And yes you will learn some new tricks to improve your closing technique. It's not all about how hard you can pull the cord. :)

[virgin-burner 1]

i love my packboy!

most probably one of the most useless invention in skydiving, yet i love it!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[cube 0]

Yea it's pretty much useless unless the container is very tight. :) I don't use mine in packing my own rig, but sometimes use it in case I'm helping a student with a hurry pack(someone else needs the rig for the next load.. we don't have too many student rigs)

[Beatnik 2]

Start packing 50+ rigs a day, then tell me how useless it is. The thing saves your hands.

[Ronaldo 0]

As already mentioned try to get a power tool (or packboy). It will help you a lot specially if you like to keep the closing loop slightly tight (which is my preference). Another tip is to kneel on the bag while closing the bottom flap to remove as much air as possible.

Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted

[wmw999 2,447]

When you get a packer to test whether the canopy fits into the bag reasonably at all, watch them close the container as well. They'll be able to show you all kinds of ways they stuff the canopy into the bag (using their whole hand, rather than fingers), and the bag into the container.

There are corners, nooks, and crannies in most containers. How you place the bag in, and how you close the container (pull the flap over the bag with your hand as you go, rather than just using the pull-up cord to close the container).

Just muscling it with a pull-up cord is about the hardest way to close the container. Even with a power tool.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[riggerrob 643]

Quote

Where the hell did South Africa come into this? Haha..? Like I said it's a chute shop, don't know where they were produced..

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

Chute Shop is a South African company that is run by a guy (Chris Dales?) who used to work for Parachute Industries of South Africa.

Chute Shop, PISA and Aerodyne buy much of their fabric from Gelvenor Textile Mills, also in South Africa.
Many of Aerodyne's canopies were manufactured (under sub-contract) by PISA.
Gelvenor's first few batches of ZP fabric varied widely in bulk compared with American, British or French-made ZP fabric. Part of the variation was caused by Gelvenor's different manufacturing methods (eg. depending more on calendarization than silicone coatings) and part was just using thicker yarn. The end result was Triathlons that varied widely in pack volume. This drove container manufactures to drink in the mid-1990s.
The plus side of Gelvenor's ZP fabric is that it is less slippery, ergo easier to pack and wears like iron!

[eightate8at8 0]

Trust me, I was shoving my fists and feet everywhere I could to get this thing closed.

Here is my next question, is this unsafe? Obviously all rigs needs to have tension from the closing loop on the pin, but with it being as tight as this situation is, is that unsafe? Will the pin still extract?

[dresherr 0]

Jump it and find out!



Take the pilot chute and pull on it... can you pick the rig up off the floor without the container opening?