Atair Canopies DRAGON User manual

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Disclaimer:Thefollowinginformationmustbereadandunderstoodbeforeanyuseofthisequipment.Theuserknowstherisksofskydivingandacceptsthat:Skydivingcausesdeathsandseriousinjuries.Manyofthesedeathsandinjuriescanbeattributedtoequipmentmalfunctions.Skydivingequipmentcanfail,eveniftheusertakesallpossibleprecautions.Failuretoopenthemainorreserveparachute(ortofollowemergencyprocedures)atasafealtitude,and/orequipmentfailurescanresultinsevereinjuryordeath.Itistheuser‘sresponsibilityto:•Receivepropertrainingbeforeanyuseofallskydivingequipment.•Beextremelycarefulandcautious.•Readandunderstandallowner’sandoperationsmanualsforallskydivingequipment.•Checkallskydivingequipmentandreplaceanydefectiveorworncomponentpriortouse.•Reviewemergencyproceduresbeforeeachuseofthisandallskydivingequipment.•Checkequipmentwarnings-donotexceedequipmentlimitations.•Neverviolatethetrainingandexperiencerequirementsforthespecificequipmentinuse.Becauseoftheunavoidabledangersinvolvedintheuseofthisandallparachuteequipment,Atair(including,butnotlimitedto,allowners,officers,staffandemployees)makesnowarrantiesofanykind,expressedorimplied.Itissoldwithallfaultsandwithoutanywarrantyoffitnessforanypurpose.Byusingthisequipmentorallowingittobeusedbyothers,owner/buyerwaivesanyliabilityofAtairforpersonalinjuries,deathordamagesfromsuchuse.Anypromisesorrepresentationsinconsistentwith,orinadditionto,thisstatementofwarrantyarenotauthorizedbyAtairandshallbenotbinding.Skydivingisahigh-riskactivity,whichmaycauseorresultinseriousinjuryordeath.

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Sections:Pages:1.Howtousethismanual62.IntroducingAtair73.FeaturesofyourDragoncanopy84.RecommendedSizing&Wingloading94.1:Pickingtherightcanopy9-115.Atair2-StageOpeningTechnology11-126.SettingUpYourDragonCanopy13-186.1:ToggleAssembly177.Recommendeddrillsforfirstflight19-208.PackingyourDragonCanopy21-438.1:Pre-Packing21-258.1:PackingtheDragon25-439.HighPerformanceLandings44–4510.InspectingandMaintainingyourEquipment46-4710.1:Cleaningyourcanopy4710.2:Storage48AppendixA:ContactInfoAppendixB:Recommendedreading

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DearValuedCustomer,We’dliketothankyouforpurchasinganewAtairCanopy.We’reconfidentyou’llbepleasedwithitineverywayandthatyou’llenjoyhowitopens,fliesandlands.Weaskyouandyourriggertocarefullyinspectyournewcanopytocompletelyfamiliariseyourselfwithitsfeaturesandthequalityworkmanship.Shouldyoufindanythingthatdoesnotseemrightorifyouhaveanyquestionspleasedon’thesitatetocontactus.ThankyouagainforselectinganAtaircanopy.Withpropercareitshouldlastmanyyearsandhundredsofjumps.BlueSkies!StaneKrajncTheAtairCanopiesTeamCAUTION!:Pleasereadthismanualregardlessofyourskydivingexperienceorhowmanyjumpsyouhave.

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ReadBeforeAssemblyorUseSinceparachutesaremanufacturedandinspectedbypeople,thereisalwaysthepossibilitythisparachutecontainsdefectsasaresultofhumanerror.Therefore,theentireparachutesystem–mainandreservecanopies,harness,container,andothercomponents–mustbethoroughlyinspectedbeforetheiruseandbeforeeachsubsequentuse.Parachutesgetweakerovertimeforanumberofreasons.Theyreceivewearduringpacking,deploymentandlanding.Exposuretomanyagents,includingsunlight,heatandhouseholdchemicals,significantlyweakenparachutes.Thedamagemayormaynotbeobvious.Tohelpminimizetheriskofparachutefailureandpossibleseriousinjuryordeath,theentireparachutesystemshouldbethoroughlyinspectedatleastevery120daysor50jumps,whichevercomesfirst.Itshouldbeimmediatelyinspectedifatanytimeitisexposedtoadegradingelement,unusuallyhardopening,oratanytimedamagemaybesuspected.Rememberthatsomechemicalswillcontinuetodegradetheparachutelongaftertheirinitialexposure.Regularandthoroughinspectionsarenecessarytoinsurestructuralintegrity,reliability,andflightcharacteristicsofthesystemaremaintained.Alwaysknowtheentirelifehistoryofeverypartofyourparachutesystem.Thatwayyou’llknownoparthasbeenexposedtoanelementthatmayseriouslyweakenordamageit.

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Section1:HowtousethismanualWeknowyouareexcitedtoreceiveyournewcanopyandwillmostlikelybepackingitnowasyoureadthismanual.Butpleasetaketimetoreadthismanualcompletely,regardlessofyourexperiencelevel!Youwilllearnabout:Howtoassemble,packandsafelyuseyour:Thegreatnewfeaturesofyour:Howtogetthemostoutofyour:Howtotakecareofyour:WARNINGATAIRDRAGONCANOPY-USERMANUALThismanualisnotacourseofinstructiononhowtomakeaparachutejump,nordoesitcontainregulationsthatgovernsportparachutingandrelatedactivities.

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Section2:IntroducingAtairwww.AtairCanopies.comorwww.BaseTroll.comAtairwasfoundedin1992byStaneKrajncandhiswifeMagdalenainSlovenia.Withastrongbackgroundinparaglidingdesign,Atairwasformedtosupplytheparaglidingindustrywithreservecanopies.Withastrongpassionforbothparaglidingandskydiving,AtairnaturallydedicatedtheirresourcestodevelopingnewtechnologicaladvancesinSkydivingandBASEcanopies.TodateAtairhasmanufacturedover12,000roundsandseveralthousandskydivingandBASEcanopies.Inthepast,Ataircanopieshavebeensoldthroughprivatelabelling(Alpha,Ace,Viper,Impulse,Space,etc.).NowalloftheAtairproductsareavailabledirectlyfromAtair.StaneKrajnc,theownerofAtairhasbeeninvolvedinairsportsforthepast30years.In1973Stanedesigned,constructedandflewhisownhangglider.Hehasnowaccumulatedthousandsofhoursonhanggliders&paragliders,700skydivesandover300BASEjumps.AtairdoesnotonlymakecanopiesforskydivingandBASEjumping,recentspecialprojectshaveincluded:•Specialisedlargecanopies,forcargoapplications•Dragchuteforaspeedskiingworldrecord•SpeciallowglideratiocanopyforacaveBASEjump

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Section3:FeaturesofyourDragonCanopyAtairisproudtointroducetheDragoncanopy.TheDragonisastateofthearttapered7-cellcanopythathasbeendesignedforarangeofexperiencelevels.WithalightwingloadingtheDragonmakesagreatfirstcanopy,withahigherwingloadingtheDragonwillsatisfyexperiencedjumpers,especiallyprofessionalskydiversandvideomen.TheDragoniseasytofly&pack,withsoftopenings,goodspeedrange,lowfrontriserpressureandlongpowerfulflare.TheDragoncanbeflownconservativelyandlandseasilyevenonstraightinapproachesbutitcanalsobeflownaggressivelyandoffersniceswoops.Highgradezeroporosityfabricandtopclassmanufacturingguaranteeacanopythatperformsexcellentlyandwillkeepdoingsoformanyhundredsofflights.MissionoftheDragonCanopyA7cellTaperedCanopythathas:•Atair2-stagedeploymenttechnology-consistentsoftonheadingopenings•Excellentflarepower•Lowfrontriserpressure•ResponsivetoggleturnsFeaturesoftheDragon•OptimiseddesigncreatedusingspecialisedCADsoftware•HighqualitylonglastingZPmaterial•SpectreorVectranlines•Firstclassproductionquality•Specialsliderdesigntofurtherimproveopeningconsistency•Taperedtrailingedge

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Section4:RecommendedSizing&WingloadingTheDragonisavailableinfivepreciselyscaledsizes:(Note–Atairmeasuressurfaceareabymeasuringthespanxchordofthebottomskin.StaneKrajnc,thedesigneroftheDragonfeelsthatthismeasurementbestrepresentsaflyingcanopy)*135ft.2=PIAspec145ft.2*150ft.2=PIAspec160ft.2*170ft.2=PIAspec180ft.2*190ft.2=PIAspec200ft.2*210ft.2=PIAspec220ft.2DragonCanopySpecifications:Model135150170190210NumberofCells77777MinSuspendweightkg5060707886MaxSuspendweightkg8090100105110PackVolumein3370410465495520ProjectedSurfaceaream212,013,615,216,818,8InflatedSurfaceaream213,014,616,318,120,3Section4.1:PickingtheRightCanopyItisimportantforyoursafetyandenjoymentthatyoumatchyourcanopywithyourabilityandweight.Ourcanopiesarebuiltinseveralmodelsthatspanawiderangeofcanopysurfacearea.Anycanopy’sdecentrateandforwardspeedincreasesastheweightitiscarrying-theso-calledsuspendedweight–increases.Thecanopyalsobecomesmoreresponsiveasforwardspeedincreases.ItalsoreactsmoreDragonlywhenitisstalledorturned.Becauseoftheseaerodynamicfacts,itisunsafetoputtoomuchweightunderanyparticularcanopy.Safeandcomfortablelandingswillbedifficulttoobtain,evenforexperiencedjumpersunderidealconditions.Lessexperiencedjumperswillhaveanevenhardertimeandbeatgreaterrisk.Determiningthe“wingloading”oftheparachuteyouintendtojumporbuyisagoodguidetomatchingyourweighttoaparticularcanopy.Wingloadingiseasilycalculatedbydividingthetotalsuspendedweightinpoundsbythesurfaceareaofthecanopyinsquarefeet.Totalsuspendedweightistheweightofthejumperplusallhisclothingandgear–includingthemainparachuteitself.

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Thesurfaceareaofourcanopiesisprintedonthedatapanel,onthecentrerib,oronthecentrecelltopsurfacenearthetail.(Besuretoactuallycheckthedatapanel–canopiesofdifferentsizesmaybethesame.)Atypicalskydivingrigweighs20–30lb.Addthis,plustheweightofyourjumpsuit,clothingandaccessoriestoyourbodyweighttogetthetotalsuspendedweight.Forexample,ajumperwhoweighs165lbwithhisjumpsuitonandwhojumpsapackedrigthatweighs25lbwouldhaveasuspendedweightof190lb.Here’sanexampleofhowtocalculatewingloadingofa210sq.ft.canopyandthejumperusedintheexampleabove:190lb/210sq.ft=0.9lb/sq.ft.Calculatethewingloadingnowforthecanopyyouintendtojump.Ifthisfigureisbelow0.9theparachutewillberelativelydocileandeasytoland.Itwillalsohavereducedpenetrationintothewind.Ifthisfigureisbetween0.9and1.2thecanopywillturnfastandhavehighforwardspeed.Itwillrequireskilltolandwellinmanyweatherconditionsorathighaltitudes.Besureyourskilllevelisuptothedemandsofthiswingloading.Ifthewingloadingisgreaterthan1.2lb/sq.ft.youareexposingyourselftoadangeroussituation.Turnrates,forwardspeedandrateofdescentwillallbeveryhigh.Controlrangemaybeveryshortwithstallshappeningveryabruptlywithlittlewarning.Normallandingtechniquesmaynotwork.Extraspeedonapproachtolandingmayberequiredtogetenoughflaretostopyourrateofdescent.Therefore,adoublefrontriserapproach,orfrontriserturnmayberequired,eitherofwhichareverydangerous.Wedonotrecommendthatanyonejumpacanopythatwillresultinthewingloadingexceeding1.2lb./sq.ft.Italsoisusefultocomparethewingloadingofacanopyyouintendtojumpwiththewingloadingvaluesofparachutesyou’vebeenjumping.Ifthedifferenceisgreat,youshouldexpectthenewcanopytoperformverydifferentlythantheonesyou’vejumpedbefore.