RIGGERS 9th Feb 12
4. STRONG DUAL HAWK TANDEM EQUIPMENT CHANGE PROPOSAL
A Student Parachutist Equipment Change Proposal application had been received from Andy Page, a copy of which had been circulated with the agenda, together with the relevant paperwork and drawings.
At the previous meeting, Andy Page had reported that following a cutaway on a Strong Dual Hawk Tandem system where the RSL was suspected of causing a hang-up of the cutaway main and near main and reserve entanglement. On inspection it was found that the RSL tuck tab had broken stitches at the point of strain where it should pull free. This may have been exacerbated by the Tandem pair dropping away back to earth, which causes the tuck tab to be pulled at the wrong angle to release easily.
Andy Page had made a change to the stitch pattern on the RSL, which allowed extra flexibility and easier release of the RSL in the back to earth position. Andy had informed the manufacturers of this and they had approved this modification. The manufacturers had also stated that they would conduct further tests to check out the possible problem. The Committee had accepted the modification for use by Andy Page only on the basis that the modification had been approved by the manufacturer.
The Committee had asked that Andy Page submit the appropriate paperwork and drawings to enable the modification to be considered by the Committee for inclusion on the list of BPA approved Tandem modifications.
It was proposed by Andy Page and seconded by Dave Major that the above modification be accepted for general use.