Patching holes in ripstop nylon?

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Tarasdad

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I had a couple of parachutes donated to me that are in need of a little TLC. Both have some holes from ejection charges, some pretty small, others a bit larger. One chute has a fairly big (3"x4" or so) hole right on the outside edge. I had thought to get some ripstop fabric to sew patches but wanted to make sure this was a good idea. My sewing skills are good enough to hem jeans and shirts and basics like that. I think I'd be able to do a decent job of patching. My wife is a good seamstress and her mom, grandma and aunt are downright awesome so I do have assistance if needed.

Before I commit I want to check with those more experienced and see what advice you might have. Thanks in advance!
 
I had a couple of parachutes donated to me that are in need of a little TLC. Both have some holes from ejection charges, some pretty small, others a bit larger. One chute has a fairly big (3"x4" or so) hole right on the outside edge. I had thought to get some ripstop fabric to sew patches but wanted to make sure this was a good idea. My sewing skills are good enough to hem jeans and shirts and basics like that. I think I'd be able to do a decent job of patching. My wife is a good seamstress and her mom, grandma and aunt are downright awesome so I do have assistance if needed.

Before I commit I want to check with those more experienced and see what advice you might have. Thanks in advance!

Sounds like your skills are up to the task. They make a 'ripstop repair tape' that is adhesive coated on one side that would work rather well -- but sewing is always better. However, I would probably cut a piece of tape for the smaller areas and still stitch it down. Larger areas are probably just as well patched with normal ripstop. (Hint: if you use the tape, back it up with a piece of normal just slightly larger than the hole, otherwise, the adhesive will be exposed on the opposite side of the patch).

Google "ripstop tape" and you'll find several sources - including some YouTube videos. Any kite place will have this - classic dealer is "Into The Wind".

-- john.
 
I patched a bunch of burn holes on a 5 foot chute with some super lightweight ripstop I found at the fabric store. It didn't bulk the chute up much at all, still packs nice. I have to dig it out here, it's blue with white patches all over :)
 
I have had great success with ripstop patching tape from Into The Wind. Just cut out a couple of pieces bigger than the hole and put one on each side. I do slightly round the corners too. I've never had these patches come off even on a 'chute that lived in the trees for 2 years.
 
Ripstop tape, use it on both sides of the hole, round off any corners and straight edges.

I've repaired many a skydiving parachute this way.

It is available in about any color ripstop is available in.


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Not sure I can do the French Fell but I can give it a go. Need to clean out the sewing room, first. We've been using it as overflow storage lol!
 
I made a number of chutes from umbrellas, non-ripstop. Most have a few burn holes in them. Since the edges are melted and prevent any unraveling of the material, I've never bothered patching them. The holes don't seem to have any noticeable effect on how the chute works. The melted edges keep things from getting worse. This will be the fourth season on a couple of the holes. A 1 inch hole in a 36" chute with 1000 square inches of material doesn't seem to warrant a lot of effort to repair. YMMV.
 
Is it a chute made of panels or a single piece chute?

If a panel chute my first stop would be to contact Gary Pletzer at Top Flight Recovery to see what he would chafe to fix it.


Mark Koelsch
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The primary one I want to repair is an x-form 42" chute. I'd thought about contacting someone but money is really tight. I have ripstop on hand and my wife has a really nice sewing machine so I'll probably be giving it a try to see if I can do it myself.
 
Here are photos of the holes in question with a 3"x5" index card for comparison.

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Forget my tape suggestion, those need patches or possibly replacement.



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I don't know anything about man rated parachute repair, but for a rocket, I would just patch it with some rip stop.

I would cut the burn holes into square shapes. Use a hot knife to melt the nylon instead of a scissors. I use a cheap 25 watt soldering iron with the tip flattened. Use the same hot knife to cut square patches about 1" larger then the holes. Fold over each edge of the patch 1/4" and stitch with ziz zag stitches around the hole. I would make sure I did one ziz zag that crossed the hole edge so that is held tight to the patch and another that crossed the patch edge to hold that edge to the parachute.
 
As the other guys said, I've used the adhesive patches (from Paragear) for the "real thing" as they call it........
Difference in the thickness will be obvious when you fold and pack it...but it works.

Maybe you can window real ripstop fabric inside a larger adhesive patch with an opening in it.

https://www.paragear.com/skydiving/10000051/W903/
 
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