After a day of flying, putting the parachute back in the storage bag systematically will greatly speed your set up time the time you go out flying.  You will come up with your own procedures and technique that works best for you.

We recommend that when you are finished flying that you lay out the parachute with the ends stretched out and the parachute folded in half, lengthwise with the nose folded over to meet the tail.  Neatness adds to the life of the parachute.  Fold the parachute from the end towards the middle.  Do the same on the other side.  Smooth out the fabric as much as possible to avoid unnecessary folds in the material.  Fold again from the end towards the middle.  The parachute will be puffed up and difficult to fold because the trapped air inside at some point in the process.  Smooth the parachute by pushing the air from the rear towards the front.  Continue folding towards the center and pushing the air out until the two halves are about a foot wide.  Fold the two halves together and roll up the parachute towards the front.  When you are finished the parachute should be smaller than a rolled up sleeping bag. Put the parachute in the carrying bag.  Practice will make this job easier so that the finished bundle will be smaller and easier to handle.

Is the wind blowing?  Forget everything you have just read and stuff the parachute in the bag any way you can manage.  The wind will make it impossible to do anything else.  Daisy chain the lines as usual.

It is important that the parachute be removed and refolded as soon as the wind allows.  The extreme folds that result from stuffing the parachute in the bag will reduce the life of the parachute.

Make sure you check all your lines the next time out.  Twists can occur very easily when placing the canopy and lines in your storage bag.  When you take the bag out of the seat the next time you may take it out the other way and put a complete twist in the lines.  The parachute will look completely normal on the ground, however the steering lines will be wrapped completely around the suspension lines, so always check that first.  The next time you want to go flying its as simple as unloading the craft, taking the parachute out of the seat, doing your pre-flight and within 15 minutes you’re flying.  That’s the idea, isn’t it?

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