Service bulletin: Defective Reserve Ripcord

Inspect the reserve ripcord assembly to ensure that the pin has been swaged properly. A ripcord that has NOT been swaged properly will allow the cable to be removed from the pin VERY easily. The shank of the pin will be perfectly round with no swage markings. A properly swaged pin will be oval shaped at the shank beginning approximately 1/8" from where the cable enters the pin and the swaged area will be approximately 1/2" long. The pin currently being used on the TALON is the 55A6480 Terminal Pin. Page 358 of Volume 3 of the Parachute Manual identifies this pin and shows a properly swaged example. If any further example of a non-swaged pin is found, it must be removed from the assembly, replaced with a proper ripcord and the defective sample returned to Rigging Innovations Inc. immediately. It is NOT necessary to remove the ripcord from a packed reserve to check for proper swaging. The marks are readily visible and a pull of 5-10 lbs. on the cable while holding the pin in place will remove the cable from the pin. 

After inspection of any of the subject TALONS, Rigging Innovations should be notified with the Serial Number of the TALON, date inspected, and the name of the rigger who performed the inspection. Any further questions can be addressed to Rigging Innovations.

See the service bulletin file for more information.