Why are Mains BIGGER than RES ????

[champu 1]

Quote

My main is a 109 and my reserve is a 143. There are only a few manufacturers out there that support a sizing differential like that; Mirage is one of them (I have a G4.)

I don't know of anyone who has ever looked up at their reserve and thought "damn, I wish that thing were smaller."

Same story here: G4 / Velo-90 / Optimum-126.

I think there's been a big push in the last couple years by both canopy and rig manufacturers in general to allow people with smaller mains to have larger reserves, which is a good thing. Cutting away and landing under my reserve actually takes longer to get to the ground than just landing my main.

[kmills0705 0]

Main: Triathlon 135
Reserve: Firelite 176 (yeah I know!)

Kim Mills
USPA D21696
Tandem I, AFF I and Static Line I

[sebcat 0]

Main: 135 or 143
Reserve: 143

If the difference in size between the two are big (e.g. a sub 100 velo and a PD-R 160), how will they behave in a two-out situation?

[billvon 2,990]

>If the difference in size between the two are big (e.g. a sub 100 velo and
>a PD-R 160), how will they behave in a two-out situation?

Depends on the configuration. Per a PIA report from a while back, biplanes are remarkably stable, and even with differences in size up to ~100 sq ft, biplanes were "stable and easy to control." This is the most common result of two canopies deploying.

Side by sides are more challenging, and are less stable with two different sized canopies.

Downplanes can be even worse, but the recommendation there is to cut away the main anyway, so nothing much changes depending on canopy size. (This is true even if you can return it to a side by side, because line twists on one canopy are likely.)

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.performancedesigns.com%2Fdocs%2Fdualsq.pdf&ei=fyR8TJ-yEYf0swPdnpSDBw&usg=AFQjCNFueT2SCOnnXHvp7G960-yaYgXsbw