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Moe brought this topic to attention at the gear check table at BD this year. He made mention that after pitching the pilot chute the zp could entangle itself through the double support tapes going from the bridle attachment point to the apex of the pc....inhibiting proper inflation. I pulled my other 42'' out of my closet last week, and noticed that it did have the double tapes.

My questions are: How can I take care of this issue? Could I cut the other tape? Could I sew them together ever couple inches or the whole length?

Anyone who has any advice or experience with this issue please chime in.

Thanks,
~Jake

just sew them together (wide zigzag) in a few spots and problem solved.

he brought that issue up in 2003 as well :)

Be careful sewing them together. Why you ask? Well, you could seriously alter the performance of the PC in a very bad way(depending on how long the center lines are to begin with).
The legnth of a PC's center line is a critical component of the PC's proper function. It needs to be not too long and not too short. Either could lead to disaster. Too long, and the PC's inflation becomes "less positive" leading to delayed canopy extraction speed. This causes all kinds of other issues I don't have time to go into. Trust me when I say its not a good thing.
Too short and the PC could fail to inflate.

When sewing any material, one must take into account the amount of shrinkage that will take place during sewing. The amount of shrinkage is determined by a few factors.
1) the material being sewn.
2) the number of stitches per inch used when sewing.
3) the skill of the operator performing the work.

If you have concerns about your center line I would recommend that you have it changed it out completely by some who knows what they are doing rather than sewing them together. Lets not forget that if the PC fails to function properly, nothing else matters.
-K

there are some adhesives out there that bind fabric remarkably strong without much shrinkage. to the length of the material. Have never tested this in a nylon/parachute situation I'm just speculating. but what if you lost .05% of overall length of center line? what are the tolerances of center line length vs. PC size?
_nic

First of all forget about those compounds that claim to bond material. By using them, you are placing a HUGE unknown factor into a very unforgiving situation.
quick fixes in BASE are almost never a good thing. As far as I am aware, there has not been any testing of those compounds to show their affects on nylon. Do they break nylon down? if so how long does it take before the integrity of the material has been compromised to the point of failure? 1 month? 1 week? 1 minuet? Personally speaking, thats way too much uncontrolled risk for me.
I'm reluctant to give hard and fast measurements online about equipment in the field because A, I haven't seen the PC in question to determine its airworthyness and B,I don't have authority to speak for all the various manufactures with regards to how they build their equipment. However, that being said try this.
hang the PC upside down by its bridle attachment point. Look through the PC's mesh at where the apex of the PC is in relation to the seam joining the mesh and top skin material. The Apex should hang below that seam roughly 2-4 inches. Keep in mind that these are ball park measurements. For exact measurements call the manufacture.
-K

If you do not know Kevin already I can give you this advice: listen to what he has to say. He is a very experienced rigger who has built all this modern day BASEhopping equ. himself.

When I met him, he was very open to giving advice and helping people out.

Just a thought,
Good luck

Nic, I'll show you what Kevin is talking about if you don't know already. Kevin taught me a thing or 2 a bunch of years ago by the way.

 trying to fix those 180's???

Hahaha, preventative measures! It was my old mojo I swear!

You can hand tack in a couple of spots.