piisfish 140 #1 September 9, 2005 Were round parachutes used as mains on tandems ?? Or was the tandem invented with ram-air ??scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #2 September 9, 2005 Some of the earliest tandems (Mike Barbour and Bob Favreau with their kids) were made with round reserves but the mains have always been squares. As a matter of fact, Bill Morrisey and a passenger had to ride in a Strong Lopo after experiencing a malfunction at the old Z=Hills DZ in the early 80's. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #3 September 9, 2005 The first Vector Tandem main was a Pioneer Hi-Lifter. I think the main in the Strong Tandem rig was originally a Mighty Mak. riggerrob will jump in with corrections/elaborations I'm sure.Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #4 September 9, 2005 and were they squares ??scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #5 September 9, 2005 Quoteand were they squares ?? yes. bozo bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #6 September 9, 2005 Vector Tandems were introduced (1983) with F-111, Pioneer High-Lifter, 370 square foot, 9-cell, ram-air, main and reserve canopies. When Pioneer got out of the sport market (circa 1984), Vectors switched to 9-cell, PD 360 main and reserve canopies made of F-111 fabric. PD 360s are still the most popular reserves in Vector I and Vector II tandems. I think the Sigma includes PD 360 canopies with a few minor updates. They also offer HR400 and 421 reserves to military customers. Strong may have done a few tandem test jumps with round, 26 foot LoPo reserves, but all their production tandems include square reserves. For as long as I can remember (1986 to 1995) Strongs came standard with F-111, 425 square foot, 9-cell, Mighty Mack Master main and reserve canopies. 425 reserves have Kevlar reinforcing tapes and suspension lines, while 425 mains have nylon reinforcing tapes and fat Dacron lines. After Strong reserves had 20 jumps, we used to re-line them with Dacron and put another 300 to 600 jumps on them. Strong also made an F-111, 520 square foot, 11-cell tandem main for a while but quit when they introduced the SET 400. I have jumped all the above-mentioned canopies. I thought that Pioneer's High-Lifter 370 was a passable first effort. I never enjoyed landing PD 360 mains with large students. I put about 1,000 jumps on Strong 425 and 520 mains, tearing up far more 520s than I care to remember! Hah! Hah! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,362 #7 September 9, 2005 In a conversation with Ted Strong at a committee meeting, he told me that the first test jumps on the prototype tandems had Strong 26 ft Lo-Po reserves. Looks like they got to use it at least once. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billbooth 10 #8 September 9, 2005 QuoteWere round parachutes used as mains on tandems ?? Or was the tandem invented with ram-air ?? I made my first tandem on a 44 foot cargo chute back the early 1970's. Paragear had a sale on them for only $44. Who could resist? We both wore Security piggybacks, faced each other, tied our chest straps together with tubular, and connected the cargo chute to the ties. The main was "direct bag" deployed, with another jumper holding onto it in the plane (no static line necessary). A couple of other pairs also did it. On one jump, the jumper in the door of the airplane dropped the bag as we jumped, and we found ourselves in freefall right along side the still closed bag. We "cutaway" using our hook knives, and deployed our own parachutes. Needless to say, that was my last tandem for a long time. Does that count? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #9 September 10, 2005 Quote Needless to say, that was my last tandem for a long time. Does that count?I'll say that counts, but just applies to you Hopefully the jump ended in a happy way and gave you ideas for the "modern" tandem Just imagin if nothing went wrong on that jump, maybe we would still be jumping tandems with big rounds facing each other scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scrublink 0 #10 September 10, 2005 Quoteust imagin if nothing went wrong on that jump, maybe we would still be jumping tandems with big rounds facing each other Since most of my passengers seem to be female, facing each other might be acceptable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bozo 0 #11 September 10, 2005 Since most of my passengers seem to be female, facing each other might be acceptable. maybe not for them. bozo bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #11 September 10, 2005 Since most of my passengers seem to be female, facing each other might be acceptable. maybe not for them. bozo bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 279 #12 September 13, 2005 QuoteWere round parachutes used as mains on tandems ?? Or was the tandem invented with ram-air ?? People played around with the idea quite early: A photo in a French parachuting book shows a tandem done under a large round canopy at Guyancourt, France, in 1937. (In "Le Parachute" by Borge and Viasnoff, 1977) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypuppy 1 #13 September 13, 2005 On Jimmy Tyler's first chuteless jump, he flew over to another jumper and hooked onto d-rings on the jumper's knees, then they both landed under a round. Maybe someone from Cali could fill in more details...If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 4 #14 September 13, 2005 QuoteOn Jimmy Tyler's first chuteless jump, he flew over to another jumper and hooked onto d-rings on the jumper's knees, then they both landed under a round. Maybe someone from Cali could fill in more details... Jimmy snapped on to d-rings on the end of long risers extending down legs and out the bottom of the jumpsuit. They were attached to a torso harness worn under the jumpsuit. They, Jimmy Tyler & Bill Parsons, landed under a Raven IV ram air canopy. On his second chuteless jump Jimmy landed under a modified Piglet, round, canopy. SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scrublink 0 #15 September 14, 2005 They pay their money, they take their chances. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
