Hi Alan:
OK. So there is a hard-learned trick to tying down-wing parachutes. Mount the hackle stem. Tie on the down wing. Wind the hackle around the wing's tie-down point. Couldn't get any simpler????
But if you tie the wing down tightly there is no room for hackle windings. So when you do wind it the hackle forces the down wing to stand upright as you wind it. And an upright wing was not the original design goal.
========Here's what I do==========
Mount the hackle stem.
Make one 360 degree thread loop completely around the wing clump WITHOUT going under the shank. Now make one more loose wind that does go under the shank. Pull down gently on the thread. Jiggle it a little, in order to pull the wing LOOSELY down into position. Now make a half a dozen LOOSE wraps around wing and shank. Now make close to a dozen tight horizontal wraps between wing and shank. This builds up a tiny vertical thread post below the wing. Tightens everything up a bit too. Now you can wind the horizontal parachute without forcing the wing to stand upright. The finished fly still has down wing. And a horizontal parachute.
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