Dacron line condition advice

[mxk 1]

Looking for advice from more experienced riggers. I was inspecting my main today and was a bit concerned by the line wear I noticed on the center A-B lines a few inches up from the risers.

The canopy (Spectre 230) and this line set (Dacron 525) have 218 jumps on them. The rest of the lines look much better, but this area probably sees extra wear from the slider grommets. This is approximately where the slider tends to stop before I pull it down further and collapse it. I noticed a similar pattern on the C-D lines, only not as bad.

I'm inclined to call this medium wear, according to this PD blog post, but I would appreciate your opinions on the time frame for a reline. Photos are attached.

[linestretch 0]

My guess is that's where the slider sits after opening and buffets against the lines during the whole flight. Do you know if that's the case? Do you collapse the slider?

my pics & stuff!

[mxk 1]

This is where the slider tends to stop initially. I always collapse it and it spends the reset of the flight just past the slinks (I have Type-8 risers). Regardless of how or why it happens, I haven't seen enough examples of lines that are nearing the end of their useful life to accurately judge the extent of wear, so I could use some help with this.

[linestretch 0]

From my experience, dacron will show that burned/frayed look and it's not really that bad. You should be able to get 1000 jumps out of that lineset. Trim might be pretty bad but the lines should last a long ass time.

I'm sure someone else with a lot more experience on this subject will chime in.

Another thought, what do the grommets look like on your slider?...ie the inside where they're sliding on the lines.

my pics & stuff!

[hillson 0]

I had a similar problem (on Vectran). Looked exactly the same. Started around the slinkish area like this and then gradually worked its way up the lines. There were "hotspots" (not necessarily burrs) on the slider grommets. After replacing 3 of 4 grommets on the slider (over a series of months) and 1/2 to 2/3 of the lineset (paired suspension lines at a time etc etc....) I got rid of the fucking thing. There was zero visual indication on the grommets, too.

The canopy probably had 1000-1200 jumps on it. Zero jump lineset on it when I bought it. Pissed me off. There was *just enough* deformation over repeated use that it started causing problems

[mjosparky 4]

First of all my hats off to you for keep up on the condition of your equipment.

As for the line, I jumped Dacron almost exclusively and your line look fine. Just for your piece of mind have a rigger at your DZ check them.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[mxk 1]

linestretch

Another thought, what do the grommets look like on your slider?...ie the inside where they're sliding on the lines.

The grommets are in good condition. No damage or rough areas that I can see.

[councilman24 37]

Doesn't matter. A vibrating slider would still do damage. If rough spots on the sliders the lines would be broken.

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