Padding in Main tray

[freeflyfree 0]

Hi, is it ok to install padding into your main tray so you can fit a smaller canopy?...Does anybody have experience with this?.
I have a mirage built for a main 150, and I may be getting a crossfire119, so I was wondering if I could have my rigger install some padding onto the walls and/or flaps of my main tray?
Thanks
Felipe
Blue Skies
Felipe
freeflyfree@icqmail.com

[Geoff 0]

You may not need it. I have a Mirage built for a 135 (even a tight 150 apparently) and I currently have a Cobalt 105 in it. No problem.
Geoff

[kingbunky 3]

actually, i was wondering the same thing, although not for the same canopy/container combination mentioned here. as a general rule, can a container be padded out to resize it for a smaller canopy? this would be great for someone starting out with a new container, knowing they were going to downsize in 100 jumps or so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bunky
get crazy, before it gets you.

[RTB 0]

I would think it is possible but you have to consider how it is done. If the opening main can rip the padding out it might be a problem. The manufacturer might not approve, but I would still check with them first.
René

[PhreeZone 20]

One of my friends had this done to his J5 Javelin. He had enough padding inserted he put a 150 main in it. It works, just make sure there are no snag point on the padding.

[rapper4mpi 0]

My friend had a pad sewn into his main container. It looked like a small squarish pillow (yet firm) placed in the back of the main container. It worked well. However, I have no knowledge of what safety issues exist with this set-up.
-Rap

[riggerrob 643]

This question about padding came up several times when I worked at Rigging Innovations. The boss instructed me on how to build a pillow, wrap it in Cordura and sew it into the main container. So pillows are an approved factory fix.
Thankfully, we were always able to talk the customer into buying a correctly-sized container.
The other option to consider is closing loop configuration. If you have a Vector, Javelin, Racer or early Mirage, it is a simple matter to shorten the closing loop.

[LawnDart21 0]

I had a similar problem last year, and called Bill at Mirage to ask his opinion. he said that yes it could be done in theory, but that he highly recommended against doing that. he said all rigs in general are designed in a way to gove the dbag the best chance of leaving the container cleanly and hence safely. By inserting a pillow you are altering the way the bag leaves the container and it could also affect the geometry of the rig. I would recommend against it. "It's not always whether we could do it, rather whether we "should" do it."
"I live to EFS"
Tom

[TALONSKY 0]

What about adding a sewn in pad to the D-bag. That way the geometry of the rig is not changing. Awhile back, I was talking to Icarus abou pack volumes and they suggested doing that for the application I was talking about. I ended up not needing to add anything but Icarus made it sound like a standard change.
Kirk

[SniperCJ 0]

Prior to getting my Mirage I jumped my Dolphin for over 200 jumps with padding sewn into the bottom of the pack tray. The pad was a 1/2" foam pad covered in cordura and tacked into the pack tray. The pad was tacked in such a way that no line could possibly get caught under the pad without peeling right off. I never had any hint of a problem with the pad.
I had downsized from a 190 to a 150 canopy.
JC

[riggerrob 643]

A pad tacked into the pack tray has a much lower risk of interferring with deployment than one sewn to the d-bag.
Granted, it is much easier to sew pads to d-bags, but the whole concept of more moving parts makes me nervous.

[wingnut 0]

i have a racer that had a pd210 in it that i now have a sabre 150 in... al i had to do was shorten the closing loop...the loop is tiht and safe and the rig didn't distort and looks good still...even though it was made in 1983!!!

it only took a little pixie dust to change this mispelling

[smiles 0]

Rigger Rob,
My main packing tray and deployment bag was built for a 220 sq. ft. I now pack a 150 sq. ft. in it. As canopy is still under 50 jumps it fills in the tray o.k. with tightened closing loop.
My concern is with the deployment bag and stowing lines that are tinier and shorter than my 220. When stowing across width of bag with excess of 1 1/2- I am making less stows with my lines.
As a rigger would you consider changing the stows on my deployment bag so they are closer together????
thanx
Smiles.

[riggerrob 643]

The most important thing is keeping your stow bands tight. The first two or three locking stows are the most important. How you stow the rest of your lines is less important. The main issue is lifting them clear of the container, to prevent them from entangling with side flaps, etc. For many years, I jumped my Cruislite with 3 locking stows and the rest of the lines in a pocket. The pocket was similar to the line stow pockets found on 95% of reserve free bags.
How tightly the canopy fits in the d-bag is a minor point.
At one of the PIA Symposiums, John LeBlanc (Performance Designs) and Brian Gemain (Big Ais) publiclly agreed that you should have a minimum of 18" of lines loose between your connector links and the last stow. This is to discourage lines from catching on the corners of the reserve container ( another scary malfunction).
To that end, it was fashionable to quit stowing your extra lines the full width of the d-bag. Several manufacturers offered d-bags with stows 1/4 of the way in from the edges of the d-bag. That seems to work better in reducing line dump (the most painful of all malfunctions) and line twists.
The other point to remember when stwoing lines on any d-bag is to make the bights hang 2" or 3" inches (roughly the length of your little finger) outboard of the rubber bands. This changes dynamics as the bag is snatched out of the container and reduces the chance of line dump.

[smiles 0]

I feel certainly more informed than I was-
and also more comfortable about my next jump!!
Thanx.
You wouldn't happen to be in Pitt Meadows? We need our
reserves packed in the next few weeks--will give you a call.
Smiles.

[riggerrob 643]

Yes Mr. Smiles,
riggerrob works in Pitt Meadows.
You can call Pacific Skydivers manifest at (604) 465-7311.