chest strap rant

[happythoughts 0]

Yes, another gear check rant.

Yesterday I was on a 9-way. Experience people load. At 11K, I was looking around. Checking chest strap routing and cutaway pillow seating on everyone within sight. If I can't see it, I wait until I can. I check everyone, I don't care who you are.

One of the guys had his suit unzipped and someone else was teasing him about his sexy chest hair and put their hand in his suit.

I noticed that his strap was in the keeper, but very loose. It kind of bowed out, looked a little roundish, not tight and flat. I said, "That doesn't look right." At that same moment, he noticed that he had misrouted it.

I was glad that he caught it before I told him.

Here is my rant, NOBODY ELSE noticed.

- visuals from anywhere in the plane -
Chest strap routings.
Cutaway pillows should not be tucked under webbing.
Webbing that is twisted.

- people nearby -
Bottom pin checks.
Bridle routing.
PC.

These people are your friends. They may grow to be your best friends in the world. Take care of them.

[Brains 2]

couldn't agree more. Thanks for looking out for your fellow jumpers, some of us appreciate it.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[happythoughts 0]

We all need to be that person. Do your gear checks, then we all need to be looking around. Even at 200 jumps, people know what "right" looks like.

I have caught people on teams with stuff that was wrong. What were their teammates thinking?

I want everyone to start doing that. I want them to tell their friends to do that.

[JohnMitchell 16]

I can't help but think "What in the hell are these people thinking about when they are puting on their F#$%ing rig?" I've caught 2 friends on jumprun with their chest straps not done up right. When you throw your rig on and pick up the chest strap with your hand, pay attention and put it thru the buckle correctly, now. If you have a routine where you just loop it thru and do it up right later, CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE! It may get you killed someday. I've got a hundred dollar bill for the first person that catches me on the plane with my chest strap not threaded thru. I don't think anyone will ever collect, but maybe this will keep some eyes moving around. Anyone caught with their chest strap done wrong owes, at the very least, beer (green bottles prefered.)

[freeflir29 0]

Yep.....I do the same thing. On the way up, between napping, bullshitting, and screwing with the tandem students, I tend to look around for straps, handles, and anything else that might be out of place. It CAN save a life. Maybe even your own.

[diablopilot 2]

Yep. Keep your eyes moving. Spotted a dude on the plane yesterday, who had tied his reserve handle in place with a pullup cord for transport. Forgot to take it off prior to puting on his gear. Do gear checks and check other's gear out.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Eurisko 0]

[happythoughts 0]

Quote

Yep. Keep your eyes moving. Spotted a dude on the plane yesterday, who had tied his reserve handle in place with a pullup cord for transport. Forgot to take it off prior to puting on his gear. Do gear checks and check other's gear out.

If people want to do that, they should use their chest strap to tie it.

[diablopilot 2]

Yeah, told him about that one.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[themitchyone 0]

On my check-out dive this weekend, the instructor had me give him a gear check, and he purposefully did a couple of things wrong, including misrouting the chest strap. I'm glad he did this. Made me extra-conscious about checking the gear.

"If the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girl's sports such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing." - Homer Simpson

[skybill 22]

Hi there,
Yup, chest straps, pillows, in-d-old-daze-twisted bellybands(remember thoze!) the list goez on!! Good job and don't stop! Where the H-E-(2xL) do you think "Blue Skys, Black Death" came from!! I have this skull-n-bones Jolly Roger flag that I tow when I'm under canopy and people that don't know wonder why?? "Constant Vigilance is Everybodys' job!!" The reaper lurks. Keep your eyes open! Oh yes another good one is mis-routed pilot chute bridles!! I know of a few that killed people and a couple that tried like hell!!! If you close your last flap "over" your bridle from the pin to the P.C., boy are you in for a surprise!!!

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[Guest]

Yes, chest straps are a critical thing, especially when people are in the (abominable) habit of routing their chest strap prematurely as a means of getting it "out of the way" while they are on the ground.

A couple of years ago, I had the great fortune to spot a misrouted chest strap, during jump run, on an individual who was about to climb out of the plane....<*whew!*>

During a skydiving instructor training session I attended some years ago (honest!), the trainer set up a scenario in which he was acting as a lackadaisical instructor, and a volunteer was acting as the student. The "instructor" just sort of threw the rig on the student, gave him a pep talk, and walked away. There were some procedural things done incorrectly, etc., but these were an effort by the trainer to mislead the trainees...

When the scenario was over, the trainer went around the room and asked people what they saw wrong.

Since I was also a trainer, I saw the purpose of the exercise better than my fellow trainees: I was the only one who remarked that "The biggest mistake I saw was not that this or that wasn't done correctly. The fact is that the student was being conditioned for improper behavior. For example, the rig wasn't put all the way on. This could encourage the student to develop bad habits. The rig should be all the way on, or all the way off (emphasis added)."

That's why I'm often the last to gear-up when the call comes. It's not just because I'm slow - it's partly because I don't want to get habituated to having my rig on for long periods of time WHILE I'M ON THE GROUND. It's too easy for the brain to become accustomed to a particular way of doing things, to the point where the critical, life-support-issue stuff gets ignored...

edit to add last paragraph

mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[happythoughts 0]

Quote

It's too easy for the brain to become accustomed to a particular way of doing things, to the point where the critical, life-support-issue stuff gets ignored

Complacency is a killer. We lose our respect for the sport and get too comfortable.