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Hello everyone,

This post is to ask if anyone else is using the UltraLite canopies for slider off jumps. I have been using the FLiK UltraLite 280 for all my base jumps including Static Line and free fall with no slider. And now have logged all four objects of base with this material, I wonder if thats a first too???

The manufacture states ""Our Ultralite fabric meets or exceeds traditional 0-3 (F-111) standards in all strength test.""

Im interested to hear how you jumpers respond to this post, but please keep the bashing to a minimum unless you actually know what your talking about.

Cheers,
Sparky

not bashing and dont actually know from experience but I doubt you are the first to use it for everything
most use the stuff for slider up just to reduce pack volume specific containers

also heard the stuff wears out faster and does not do well in water and shrubs and rocks although the material is just as strong its easier to damage if that makes sense and does not do as well if it gets wet its makes the material wear out faster that is why most dont use it for low slider off jumps

Hey Sparky

just curious about the lines used for the jumps as it is offered with both spectra and dacron and website does state that is suitable for sd as well as su but obviously most people would use dacron for sd and (i would like to think ) has been thoroughly tested however if you used a spectra lineset you may well be the first and how did they hold up after x amount of jumps?

Graeme

Hey Graeme, the lines on this canopy are 400 lbs. dacron. I have not used a sprecta line set so I cannot make an informed answer to your question.

But I will say the canopy attachment tapes on both F-111 (Black Jack, Flik's etc...) and UltraLite canopie are 400 lbs. tapes.

So another question is,, what's the purpose of having 600 lbs. lines (Black Jacks, FLiK's) on a canopy when the attachment tapes are only 400lbs.???? Food for thought....

There is a 2007 thread where “Outrager” commented as per:

outrager , May 22, 2007, 5:03 AM

Another quick update on Trango fabric for your peace of mind. I wanted to see how water landings would affect the canopy, so while we were at Stane's place we got a new piece of the light-weight fabric wet, abused and then sun-dried 3 times in a row and then tested for permeability. It increased, naturally, but still remained much lower than that of a couple of regular used base canopies laying around, including my own Troll.

It's far more likely that the lines will be exposed to abrasion during an incident than that the attachment tabs will be. The tape is also longer lasting, so that over time the strength of the line will decrease more than the strength of the tape.

i looked into this a bit last year and to date if looks like Atair are still steering customers away from slider down openings for their lightweight line of canopies.

dacron is definatly the consensus if you plan on slider offs at all since its more forgiving with the instant jolt of quick inflation.

personally i dont think a catastrophic blowout is a concern unless you weaken the integrity of the fabric with improper handling and fail to inspect properly during packjobs.

more likely would be the canopy coming out of trim more easily which could increase the likelyhood of offheadings?

great excuse to learn more about your rig and bust out the measuring tape once and a while to make sure everything stays in spec while you blaze the trail doing slider down.

thanks for the info sparky, have you checked the trim of your wing lately?

have you been using the rig exclusively for slider down? how much have you jumped the rig in what scenarios? can you give a chronological depiction of the canopies life so far?

Hey Smak, the canopy is still fairly new with 61 slider up terminal jumps overseas, and 14 slider off jumps here at home in Canada.

No I have not measured the canopies trim with a measuring tape. However I have inspected inside every cell, top skin and bottom skin, 400 pound dacron lines, finding no visual signs of stress to the material.

My plans for this canopy now that Im home in no slider territory is to jump it how I normally would jump my other F-111 canopies... 300 - 400 ft. antennas landing is nice farm fields with light snag potentials such as shrubbery etc.. Also building jumps landing on concrete with stone's, pebbles and grease etc.. And on my Base road trips there is a static line bridge with wide open landing with grass and shrubs.

But basically I would like input from other jumpers who also jump these canopies slider down which was and still is taboo. If I can find information showing me that this lightweight material should only be used for slider up then thats what I will do for my own saftey and not jump it slider off.

Cheers

I think it's a wear issue--not a safety one. You just have to keep an eye on the wear, and then you can tell us all how many jumps the real lifespan of the ultralight canopy is. The manufacturers are just making (conservative) recommendations, based on the least common denominator (least experienced jumper), which is definitely not you.

Hey Sparky-

I made 10 slider down jumps on my Feather (perrine and an A), and 82 slider up jumps last year.

I'd probably consider doing do some more jumps with my ultra-lite slider down, but not on any serious stuff. I was flaking it and tore a cross-port a little with my finger, whoops! I think it is easy tearing fabric.

My luck is I'd drag it across something bad.

I need to make it out that way and visit you and Joman.

_justin

did you guys do the majority of your slider down early in the life of the canopy?

Justin how you like that feather for lower stuff? did she open and fly true for you?

well one solution for the tearing issue might be to buy a canopy made and designed by actual basejumping companies in the usa/europe...not an outsourced "product " made by some chink contractor.
just sayin'