Tuesday, April 27, 2021 | Service Bulletins
Product Service Bulletin
ISSUE DATE: April 27th, 2021
BULLETIN NUMBER: SB #35
SUBJECT: Tandem Drogue Bridle 3-Ring Attachment Inspection
STATUS: Mandatory
IDENTIFICATION: Strong Enterprises 6-Gore Tandem Drogue (PN 480026) manufactured between June 22, 2020 and February 2, 2021 which can also be identified by the last 3 digits of serial number being between xxx625-xxx714
BACKGROUND: Affected Drogues included an engineering change to the stitching junction at the 3-Ring end of the Drogue Bridle using one continuous piece of webbing. While the new configuration performed well during initial testing, End-Users in the field reported accelerated and excessive wear in this location.
SERVICE BULLETIN: All affected Drogues must be grounded until the 3-Ring attachment end of the Drogue Bridle is carefully inspected for accelerated excessive wear. The photos below show a Drogue that was removed from service after approximately 200 jumps and shows excessive wear. While these are not objective parameters, they may be used to guide the Inspector’s subjective decision to continue use with subsequent inspection after each jump or remove the Drogue from service. If there is any doubt, remove the Drogue from service.
Drogues removed from service must be returned to Strong Enterprises for rework.
COMPLIANCE DATE: Immediate – before the next jump.
AUTHORITY: Mike Rinaldi, Vice President
DISTRIBUTION: PIA, USPA, Blue Skies Mag, StrongParachutes.com, Customer Direct, Strong Tandem Examiners, Strong Recertification Centers
CONTACT EMAIL: tandem@paradigmparachute.com