Icarus Canopies has issued a Service Bulletin to address hard openings of its unique NEOS canopy. The NEOS is a high-performance canopy that is partially cross-braced in the center of the parachute.
Reports of hard openings were verified by Icarus, and after a test program, the company found adjusting the line trim on the C1 lines solved the issue.
The service bulletin is applicable to all NEOS parachutes P/N 317524-XXX for Serial Numbers prior to 24112612 in all canopy sizes. The modification applies to all NEOS canopies with serial numbers prior to xxx12612. The first 3 digits may vary. So if your NEOS was manufactured prior to August 2011, the modification applies to you.
Past posts on rigging forums at one time focused on one manufacturer's solution to keeping a collapsed slider at the base of the risers after opening without anchoring the slider to the container. Many jumpers have concerns about a number of slider holders that connect the slider to the top of the reserve container, which could potentially cause a cutaway delay.
When Team Method (Steve-O Utter, T.J. Landgren and Nate Gilbert) arrived at Atlanta Skydiving Center in 2001, the freefly team showed-off a new slider block design. Over the next few years, ChutingStar riggers tweaked and modified the design for strength, durability and aesthetics.