Parachute repair

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
Hello :)

My parachute needs repairing, and the patches that were on it when I bought it are a touch vivid.
Does anyone have some green coloured partachute fabric available for sale or swap?

atb,
Toddy
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
you must have one of the french infantry ones then they are all green - I've got two aircraft chutes which are green white and orange - might have some kicking about - how much do you need and i'll see if I still have some or whether the explorers pinched it all. :)
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
That's good of you, thank you :D
The parachute is made of rings of three colours of green but the patching has been done with yellow :rolleyes:
A couple of metres would do.

cheers,
Toddy
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
Where's the best place to buy paracord ?
The lines on my parachute have been cut and need to be lengthened; also........what's the best way to do this ? Knot, sew or bind ?

cheers,
Toddy
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
sorry - I have green pertex left in there from an old buffalo bag but I think the kids have ransacked the stores after i taught them to sew hammocks. even the white silk has disappeared

most chutes have their lines cut but dont get the same strain when used as a shelter - just above where they cut the lines there should be a long line of bar tacking where they stitch the cord to the chute. you can cut into the stitching and tie new cord into the slot which will keep the integrity of the fabric intact or burn a small hole and tie through that way :)

the original cord threads right through the chute to the top, it is possible to trim the cord near the vent and pull it back through - provided of course they make them all the same way.
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
for stringing a shelter then you dont need expensive paracord or even paracord for that matter as purlon will do - get a 100m roll off ebay for a tenner.

if you are keen you can stitch some D rings to the chute and get some bungee ropes from poundland.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
No worries Dave, it was a kind thought :beerchug:

Thank you for the information too, I'd never have thought of replacing the whole length or of making a neater job of things by joining on higher up the seamings.

Much appreciated,
atb,
M
 

Tadpole

Full Member
Nov 12, 2005
2,842
21
60
Bristol
Bump :D

Anyone know ?

cheers,
Toddy
Pm Rapidboy, last year he had a contact for proper paracord. I bought some seven strand 550 from midwayuk but they worked out to be quite pricey as the min postage was £8 I bought 300feet, for 25 quid. Does it have to be paracord. I managed to get hold of some 6mm blue poly' rope 220 meters for £13 delivered. and its static load strength is three time that of paracord.
How much do you need? If you can wait till the moot, I'm sure I'll have some spare.
 

fishy1

Banned
Nov 29, 2007
792
0
sneck
I managed to get hold of some 6mm blue poly' rope 220 meters for £13 delivered. and its static load strength is three time that of paracord.
How much do you need? If you can wait till the moot, I'm sure I'll have some spare.

The blue poly split film is cheap as chips, I pay about £7 per 220m coils in 6mm, but 4mm is strong enough. Pretty much all boating suppliers/general shops sell it.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
Thank you kindly, folks :D

I was kind of intending to use something that blended in with the greens of the fabric.

I think I need to go and measure up and have a better idea of what length I actually need. I had thought I could just buy a roll but it seems to be sold in 50ft (why? we're metricised ??) hanks.

cheers,
M
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
simplest way for guy lines is make some webbing tape loops I reckon as they should be easy with a standard sewing machine if you sew them in an A. that way any string will do and you can move guys around as needed or use the loops as pegging points if you are making a teepee or windbreak

I'm in the same boat sort of as I've got 2 to sort out but I have got 200m of 3mm purlon to string them with :)
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,804
S. Lanarkshire
There's enough left of all of the cords to fold back and stitch to the seams to make loops........might have a try at that.
What do they do with all the lines they cut off ? I've never seen bundles of them for sale :dunno:

cheers,
M
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
occasionally you might find 8 foot lengths for sale at surplus shops but most of the time its scrapped. of you are lucky and you know a survival equipment fitter then you might get one complete. but once they've been used so many times they chop the strings and harnesses off. the two I've got came from fast jets so are green

same with ropes I watched in horror as they cut brand new abseil ropes iinto 6 foot lengths after our session. I did manage to get a load of climbing ropes of catterick mountain rescue as they normally throw them away after every call out :)
 
Toddy

I got a number of lengths of paracord (cut from 'chutes) from UK Kit Monster some time ago (all 4 - 6 metres in length).

An alternative could be to try Jasper at Strikeforce Supplies as he told me a while back that he had acquired bin bags full of the off-cut lengths when sourcing some old 'chutes.

Hope that helps.
 

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