andyturner 0 #1 June 12, 2009 Hi, I’m trying to sort out my first CRW canopy. Most people in the UK jump Lightnings and my exit weight (I wore everything and got on the scales) is 244lbs. I therefore believe I need a 176 Lightning. The only snag is I can’t find a used one! That said I have acquired a 193. On my first jump I was a little floaty in relation to my Instructor. On my second jump I donned about 7lb of lead which seemed to help. What I really need to do is jump more, get more feedback and fiddle more. What I was wandering was, should I also be playing with the link lengths between the rear risers and the lines? I was thinking of swapping the Stainless steel links for some cord, tying a tape knot and backing that up with reef knots either side of the tape knot. The cord is for climbing and used to rig protection, i.e. making slings or attaching a hex to a karabiner. This would give an infinite level of adjustment! 1. Is this an accepted practice for tuning canopies? 2. If so, does anyone have a gut feel/calculated guess about how much extra line length would be needed at the rear? As always, many thanks & best regards, Andy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 14 #2 June 12, 2009 Usual practice is to add a connector link to the rear to increase drive / sink rate of the canopy. I would suggest that you use this method, as the links are a standard size and known strength. If you are going to use something else, try to make it about the same length as a standard connector link. Make sure that you are adding the same length to each side. I would suggest that you be very careful if you exceed the length of a standard link, as the rate of descent may give you trouble with landings. NOTE: Please have a CRW-knowledgable person - preferably a rigger - check over what you have done prior to jumping it. It is possible to add too much and produce an uncontrollable canopy or possibly an unsurvivable landing. Kevin K._____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andyturner 0 #3 June 12, 2009 Hi Kevin, My intension was to start by making make a link length 1.5 times longer in length than a standard link, test and conservatively adjust from there in increments of 0.25, e.g. 1.75 if not enough or 1.25 if too much etc. This means the effect will be less than adding a complete link to start with. Wrt adding additional links, I totally understand what you say about known structural strengths but … a. Does this not create an awkward angel between the risers and the lines? If you lay a riser flat on the floor, add a link & connect the lines then everything is flat. If you add another link then the assembly is not perfectly flat. b. There is a risk that the new link may rotate during deployment causing a sideways loading across the link, which its not designed for i.e. they are stronger lengthways than sideways. That said the risk could be minimised by using tape across the new link in the same way a safety belay for a karabiner works for climbing. c. Using complete links means that you can only increment by 1 complete link at a time. Speaking practically for CRW, does this give you enough adjustability in terms of precision? Thanks & very best regards, Andy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G.G 0 #4 June 12, 2009 Hi Andy, Might be worth waiting until you get to the uk before messing with your kit. There are several options you can try to deal with your wing loading. In the past I have worn 26lbs of lead, added links and a combination of both. Experience in flying your canopy is another big factor that will help. Maria Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voyagers47 0 #5 June 12, 2009 I don't remember the exact # I was told but I believe one standard link on the rears is approx. equal to adding 10 lbs of weight. If you're concerned about the link turning and loading it sideways you could always run a small piece of gaffers tape through the center of the links to keep them in place. Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andyturner 0 #6 June 13, 2009 QuoteI believe one standard link on the rears is approx. equal to adding 10 lbs of weight. Excellent, this is exactly the kind of practical info I was after. Is there anyway you could double check or can someone else back this up? Cheers, Andy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G.G 0 #7 June 14, 2009 Its a rough rule that a link is about 10lbs. As I said, when you get to the UK we can try different things out. Maria Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
