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I’m always surprised by how some skydivers treat their canopy, be it main or reserve, after landing. I know that the utmost care is not taken by the number of times I’ve had to patch a canopy after a jumper snags their parachute while dragging it through the landing area, through the hangar door or around the packing area. The time between landing and packing is also where line damage can occur with dragging or Velcro, twisted steering lines from not stowing brakes and lost gear by dropping a handle, altimeter, goggles or the like on the way into the hangar. Most of us were taught during our respective student programs on how to daisy chain lines upon landing, but that is soon disregarded. While coiling lines works just as well if you will be repacking it soon, daisy chaining lines will help keep your canopy and lines contained if you plan on packing it at a later date or dropping off your rig with your rigger for repairs, modifications or a reserve repack. Stowing your toggles immediately after landing not only eliminates twisted steering lines (which can alter the line length and/or cause tension knot malfunctions) but also reduces the chance for Velcro damage. While many jumpers have velcroless main riser systems, most reserve risers/toggles still employ Velcro. You should also know that some reserve manufacturers (such as Performance Designs and Para-Flite) use untreated lines that can be damaged with the slightest touch to Velcro. With all that being said, here is what I recommend upon landing your main or reserve canopy. First, set and stow your toggles. If you have Velcro toggles, make sure the toggle and keeper Velcro is mated to prevent line damage. Second, coil your lines up to the slider and grab the tail, D-bag, bridle and pilot chute to keep everything off the ground. If you’ve just landed a reserve, or don’t plan on packing for awhile, daisy chain the lines instead of coiling them and lock the daisy chain with the slider or tail.

Dropzone.com is for the “newbie” skydiver as well as the veteran skydiving junkie who just can’t get enough skydiving info from the monthly issues of Parachutist and Skydiving magazines. The most intriguing part of the Dropzone.com web site are the discussion forums, which can be found on the lower right section of the opening page or at this link. More than 15 forum topics cover the majority of skydiving interests. Some of the more informative and helpful forum subjects for jumpers include rigging, incidents, safety, history, relative work, canopy control, freeflying, photography, BASE, canopy relative work and wing suit flying. Most of these forum groups are well attended by professionals within the industry. Regular posts are made by riggers, instructors and manufacturers. I’ve seen quick answers to gear questions from Bill Booth of Relative Workshop as well as Bill Hallett of Mirage and Dan Preston of Atair Aerodynamics. And of course numerous other jumpers are quick to chime in on any subject under the sun. You are sure to get many different opinions and advice on any subject you ask about or follow within the forums, and advice or suggestions way off base are usually identifiable by factual rebuttals. Many posts are backed up with web links, prior articles or links to topics covered in the forum at an earlier date. In addition to the forums, Dropzone.com has shown itself to be a complete resource for skydiving web links, gear reviews, drop zone reviews, current calendar events and also posts a variety of full-length articles on a periodic basis. The web site has recently launched a stolen gear database that will be searchable by serial number and consolidates the most current additions in one list. The web site host hopes to eventually allow all jumpers to enter gear they currently own to create a permanent online record. Other valuable sections of Dropzone.com include classified ads, online auctions and a safety section. Check it out...