Spankings w/ Sabres

[jfields 0]

Quote

Upon deployment I got absolutely SPANKED!!! Sore back, risers grazed my face and gave me a gash over my eye, threw my goggles around so I couldn't even identify my canopy's condition...I mean SPANKED!!

Okay... I've read and heard about the notorious opening characteristics of Sabres. Of course, I didn't hear any of it before I bought my rig with a used Sabre 190.
One person I was talking to said that the "spanking" potential got progressively worse as the size of Sabre went down. He said it wouldn't really be an issue on my 190, where it would happen with noticeable regularity on something like a 150.
So far mine has been a dream, but that is only 14 jumps. The canopy is a good size for me and my rigger said it had a lot of life left in it, so I wasn't thinking of changing it. I'm still not, but I wonder if I'm in for some kind of back-breaking openings.
What contributes to these nasty openings? I've heard people talking about bumpers and slider stops, among other things. What rigging types of things minimize the bad openings?
Thanks!
Justin
"If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

[Pammi 0]

Well, I am jumping a Sabre 135 and haven't had any 'spankings' yet. I'm fairly certain it's not my 'packing skills' helping with that either Just things I've heard and seem to be working for me so far *shrug* I like my Sabre very much.
Pammi
Our webpage

[harro 0]

I have jumped a sabre 190 for about a year now and had one spanker. I talked to a few riggers about this and I found if I rolled my slider into the tail it slowed the openings up which will reduce spankings on the sabre!
Freemind, freesky, freebeer, freefly, freesex

[Bluehair 0]

I got a enormous spanking on a jump in Skydive Arizona a couple of years back. Was in such agony i had to spiral down to get the weight on my feet and *off* the inside of my thighs. Bruising was quite bad but other than that i was fine.
Landed *way* off the dz but the bus driver had spotted me and drove out to pick me up within a minute or two of landing.
Talk about learning the hard way to *really* roll that nose!

[spectre230 0]

[pyke 0]

I have no doubt it was totally user error (a fact I was promptly reminded of by my dzo, who is a frank,harsh lad).
I didn't roll the nose (as I was used to packing Icarus canopies), I did everything else though and man...did it hurt.
I didn't mention line twists, but I had some of those too!
anyway, point of caution to anyone planning on buying a sabre...get a packing lesson during your first pack job. At least some information on how to avoid this dilemma is better than none, TRUST ME!! anyway, i am sure I will go against the grain of some die hard sabre flyers out there, but if you are used to certain canopies and you pack a sabre for the first time...seek hints.
enough said - good night.
Kahurangi e Mahearangi,
Pyke
NZPF A - 2584

[PalmettoTiger 1]

Justin, you may want to browse through the Gear section. Lots of people have posted tips in the 2 or 3 Sabre threads there. Most of those tips are also in this thread, but there were a few others about slider positioning and tracking attitude just before deployment. I didn't really understand them, so I had no idea what they were talking about.
Blues, Squares,
PTiger
*insert sub-100 character sig here*

[Geoff 0]

Sabres will occasionally open hard, especially at higher DZ altitudes - even 1500 feet (e.g. at Eloy) makes a difference. People say that this can be avoided by packing perfectly every time. I'm not convinced, and anyway I don't think a canopy should be that fussy. Do you want to be nervous every time you pack in a hurry, or use a hired packer?
However, there is a simple, inexpensive solution! Hard openings can be eliminated by using a larger slider (larger front-to-back, not side-to-side) or a 'pocket' slider. Talk to your rigger or PD for details.
Soft openings!
Geoff

[Dutchboy 0]

I love those soft openning canopies that only open softly if you know the appropriate ritual. If some poor uninformed packer attempts the "normal" PRO pack then you get slammed.
The Dutchboy
http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

[jfields 0]

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!
I haven't had any bad openings so far, and with the advice given, I'll try to avoid them completely. I'll also look back through the gear forum for other info.
Justin
"If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

[Cacophony 0]

After a year and 200 jumps on my Sabre 170 I haven't had any hard openings. I can assure you that this is not because of my packing seeing as how I am not the neatest packer on the DZ. Older Sabres open hard because the slider is too small. I believe that they changed the slider size sometime in the early 90s. If thats not the case then perhaps its just a really bad pack job or a lemon canopy.
Safe landings,
Alex D-23912

[Geoff 0]

PD did start putting bigger sliders on Sabres at some point in th 90s, but not big enough IMHO.
I bought a brand new Sabre 135 in Jan 2000, and it often opened hard, and really beat the shit out of my neck on one jump. Can't swear about the quality of the pack job, but it was packed by a DZ packer who seemed to be very careful and was very defensive of Sabres - "They open fine if you know how to pack em properly" he told me proudly before the jump.
Anyway, after borrowing a Spectre so I could continue jumping without excessive neck pain, I complained to PD, and surprise...... they sent me a larger slider. - it really helped a lot, and I really can't understand why they don't supply them as standard. The only downside seemed to be that more openings had end-cell closure.
Personally, I wouldn't own another Sabre of any age without getting the slider changed.
Geoff

[flyingferret 0]

I jump a Sabre 190 and love it. I bought this canopy when I was still a student on jump no. 11. Ironically, during my student career when it was packed by a packer...the openings SUCKED. Believe it or not, since I started packing it at jump 15, I have not had a really hard opening since. I now have 65 jumps on it, and packing is definitely a factor. I pack it just like spectre230 said and it performs well. Sloppy pack jumps do not do as well, but my normal packs give me about 500-1000 snivel with some end cell closure. Personally I love openings like that. I also pack it without rolling and stuffing if I plan to do a sub terminal jump.
A few notes: as has been said PD did change the size of the slider in the 90s because of hard openings. Canopy at 190 and/or above (I cannot remember if 190 is included or not) have an extra brake line. I stow these with a small rubber band near the canopy, by looping them and banding them to the next closest brake line. (That is hard to explain in words...ask a rigger before you attempt it) I have been told that stowing this line makes a difference...I am not certain as I have always stowed them.
Malachi