Hang Gliding
- Articles - Hang Gliding Parachute Safety Check List
by Betty Pfeiffer
1995 Jan
| Parachute Canopy Item | Okay if… | Not Okay |
| Vent Line Restriction at apex | Vent lines are taught | Vent Lines are Loose and there is no vent reinforcement webbing or the vent is reinforced by weak webbing. |
| Vent lines are loose but the vent has reinforcement equal to 1500 lb i.e. ½" tubular webbing, Kevlar reinforcement, 1" webbing | Vent Lines are Loose and there is no vent reinforcement webbing or the vent is reinforced by weak webbing. | |
| Skirt (check while parachute is under tension pulling from the apex to the bridle) | Skirt lengths are approximately equal | There is a difference of 6" or more on skirt length. |
| Line attachments at the skirt | There are V-Tabs or line attachment loops sandwiching the skirt and double throw zigzag stitched at least 3.5" | No V-Tabs or line loops. The line loops are secured with one bar. |
| Line is attached with a single bar tack at the skirt. | ||
| One line runs from the skirt of 1 gore (panel) loops around the bridle, has 1 bar tack holding the line in place and continues up to the next gore. | ||
| Inspect suspension line | It is minimum of 350 lbs. | It is weaker than 350 lbs. |
| Each line finger trapped and bar tacked. | Each line is folded and bar tacked to form the loop attaching it to the bridle. | |
| Count number of lines on the canopy | There is 1 line from each radial seam to the bridle. | There are only half as many lines as there are radial seams |
| Inspect the bridle | It is 1" flat webbing (type 18 or stronger) | It is 1" tubular webbing |
| It is at least 25’ long. | It is shorter than 25’ long | |
| Inspect the canopy | It is a continous solid construction the full length of the radial seam. | It has slots and vents built into one side of the canopy only. |
| It has slots or vents with one in each quadrant of the canopy. | It has slots or vents in only one quadrant of the canopy | |
| It has reinforcement tape along the full length of the radial seam. | No reinforcement tape along the radial seams. This is especially important if there is solid gore construction. |
This check list does not cover stains or material defects that may be present.
Back High Energy Sports
Inc. • 1081 Shepard Street
Unit A • Anaheim , CA 92806 • phone:
714-632-3323 • Fax: 714-632-6622