On February 11, United Parachute Technologies announced that it had identified problems affecting the reserve deployment on some of its Vector SE student containers and has offered a field fix, as well as a permanent fix. Read the full statement here:
“It has recently come to our attention that a range of Vector SE student containers built between May 2013 and January 2021 are facing potential problems with reserve deployment. At this time, UPT engineers have reviewed and tested the reserve deployment and have found that the following sizes are affected: SE 360-1 SE 360-2, SE 360-3, SE 361, SE 364 and SE 364-1. We have determined the problem and are carrying out the solution as quickly as possible.
Customers who purchased the affected sizes of Vector SE containers during that time period have been contacted directly. We are in the process of building new reserve flaps which we will be shipping out to these customers for installation over the next 2 weeks. The containers can also be returned to UPT for installation of the new reserve pin cover flap.
In the short term we can offer a temporary field fix for the affected range of containers, please see the attached work instructions for this fix. If you wish to use these SE’s in the interim before the new reserve pin covers can be installed, it is mandatory that you perform this temporary field fix. The fix must also be performed by a master rigger.
In addition to addressing the reserve pin cover, we also ask that our customers ensure that reserve closing loop lengths are within the recommended range outlined in the Vector Manual. Please refer to the Vector 3 manual under the Reserve Packing Manual section, page 33 (the SE manual is an addendum to this) where it states ‘NOTE: The pre‐stretched reserve closing loop will measure 4 ½ inch +/‐ ½ inch.’ A correct reserve closing loop length is needed to ensure the proper operation of this system.
We apologize for this situation and are doing everything possible for a fast but correct resolution.”
Instructions for field fix here: https://uptvector.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/INSTRUCT.-V3SE-Reserve-Pin-Cover-Field-Modification-REV-1.pdf