catch and release....

[avenfoto 0]

i was thinking after watching some video about "catch and release" jumps... jumper a throws pilot chute to jumper b, repeat x number of times and then everone waterfalls from top down..etc...

what if someone breaks that chain, by missing thier "catch"... the pc inflates like it should and anyjumpers on top of said chain frrefall into deploying canopy(ies)?...

just something to think about, before you attempt a simalar jump...
or maybe im totaly wrong and missing something..

[TomAiello 26]

To create a safety factor on catch and release jumps:

If a jumper misses his catch, he must freefall to the bottom of the line, and open lowest.

This means that if you have multiple throw/catch combinations (as far as I know, no one has attempted this yet), you need to allow enough room for the subsequent "catchers" (who aren't actually catching anything now) to go lower than the guy who missed his catch.

It also means that everyone has to pack with the same slider configuration (i.e. everyone has to be either up or down, to match everyone else in the jump). That way, you can rearrange the opening order in freefall, after a catch is missed and the catch and release is aborted. (Be aware that with 2 slider down jumpers, the second guy gets a fairly decent delay, and consequently brisk opening--I doubt that a third jumper could be added into a slider down arrangement, as his delay before opening would likely end up being out of the slider down range.)

Basically, this means you have to have at least twice as much altitude as you hope to use. For example, had I missed catching Russel's PC at Bridge Day, I would have had to hold off pitching until after I saw Mark opening. That would have put me pretty low, but survivably so.

(As a consolation, if you have all that room, you can hold for a while after catching--at the GoFast! Games, Mark R. and I took about 3.5 seconds after the catch, before initiating the deployment.)

If you don't follow some sort of timing guidelines like this, you're looking at a potential wrap (or worse) if you miss the catch.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[skypuppy 1]

You don't worry about any slack in the bridle getting caught on something, or drab from the bridle popping the pin(s) before the subsequent toss by the catcher?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[TomAiello 26]

Quote

You don't worry about any slack in the bridle getting caught on something

Of course I do. That's one of my primary concerns. You should have seen me the first time we did it. I removed everything I could think of that might be a snag point, tied my cutaway handle down so that it couldn't snag (and potentially get yanked out--now that would be a nightmare), took off my kneepads, heck I even considered going barefoot.

I think that a bridle snag would be bad, but probably not life threatening (at least not immediately). I've seen a PC torn in half just above the bridle attachment when it snagged on a jumpers boots as he deployed, and both jumpers landed safely.