pulling on rear risers during deployment to inflate cells?

[Newbie 0]

is this something that is normally done and if so at what stage should you grab and pull them, and in what direction should they be pulled?
The reason i ask is because some jumps back, my canopy opened only on the left hand side, and the right remained uninflated and somewhat collapsed. I was put into a fairly hard right turn and began pumping the toggles pretty furiously thinking i was going to give it a few tries before going to Plan B.
Anyhoo, this seemed to sort it out - the right side just sort of popped open almost all at once and it was fine, but i was a little shaken up.

Back on the ground one of the gear hire guys said if this happened again to grab the rear risers and pump them to help inflate the cells.....i instinctively reach up for the risers but usually i dont pull down/apart on them i just watch the canopy while i finish my count, then grab the toggles and give the old 1-2 pump action.
Do you guys pump rear risers to help inflate cells? Is this pretty standard? What is it actually doing? At what point should i reach up and pump them and do you pull them down (as in toward your shoulders) or laterally apart, or a combo of both? i know it sounds stupid, but if you pump the risers at too early a stage of canopy inflation, can you induce malfunctions of any kind?

Thanks for the advice all

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[PhreeZone 20]

I grab the rear risers every jump, its way easier to make an emergency turn with the rear risers then it is to pop the toggles then make the needed turn. Rear riser flares are useful for clearing closed endcells. just grab and slowly apply then release the pressure. Grabing and pulling while still in the snivel will cause the canopy to instantly inflate in my experience so it will cause hard, fast openings. This is'nt a bad thing, on Crew and low exits this is quite nice.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[tombuch 0]

Interesting question...your profile says you have 35ish jumps, but I'm betting you may have more since that was listed.

It is always a good idea to get your hands on the risers as the parachute is opening. It will put you in a great position to use the risers to avoid a collision if somebody else is opening near you, or you are off heading. BASE jumpers and CRW flyers are really big on this idea.

Likewise, rear risers can help you to prevent line twists or improve openings. CAUTION...pulling the risers while the parachute opens can also cause line twists and off heading openings. I suggest you continue building the habit of reaching for the risers and be prepared to use them to correct problems, but otherwise let the parachute open on its own. If you find you are always needing risers to correct opening problems your parachute may be out of trim, or you may need help with packing.

So, it sounds like you handled a minor problem well. Preparing to use the risers is standard, actually using them probably isn't.

Ideally, you should know how your parachute maneuvers with the risers while the breaks are stowed, and after the breaks are released. On a future skydive, open high and don't release your breaks. Make sure nobody is nearby, then try some turns and flares with the rear risers. Try pulling both risers down and feel the extra lift. Then, release the breaks and try some more rear riser flying. Keep your eyes open for traffic as you do this. Talk about your experiences with an instructor or respected senior jumper on your DZ and get his/her impressions too. Every parachute is different, and you should know how your specific canopy flies in all configurations. Be aware that elliptical and other high performance parachutes respond much more aggressively to riser input than standard student parachutes.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor (AFF, SL, IAD, Tandem)

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[TomAiello 26]

Rear riser turns during the deployment sequence can be very useful (as already noted).

One word of warning: If you yard on both rear risers (or even on one hard enough) with deeply set brakes, you can stall the canopy entirely, and deflate it.

I have personally done this on opening (resulting in downward object strike). I have also seen a life flight ride resulting from overly aggressive (single) riser input.

The bottom line is that you should learn where the stall point is for your gear on rear riser input (how far down you can pull a riser before it stalls), in clear air, before you have to make a rear riser turn or stall to avoid a wrap (or strike).

I have never heard of using rear riser input to promote faster cell inflation. Rear riser input could pull the slider down faster, which (at a certain point in the inflation sequence) could theoretically reduce overall opening time. However, especially with deeply set brakes, I would tend to thing that rear riser input during inflation would actually inhibit cell inflation.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[weid14 0]

rear risers do help with closed end cells to get them open, even with brakes set. be careful doing turns on opening with a highly loaded canopy, also, that could really make your day interesting.

• Quote

[PhillyKev 0]

I often have closed end cells. My typical opening procedure is:
- Grab rear risers, and watch inflation
- If necessary, flare with risers to open end cells
- turn towards the dz using rear risers
- collapse slider and pull down over toggles
- release brakes and have fun
- repeat if desired (always is )

[PhreeZone 20]

Rear risers during snivel on most skydiving canopies (ie those with moderate brake settings not deep like base canopies) will act to put the canopy into deep brakes and will accelerate the slider motion that will lead to a faster opening.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[GrumpySmurf 0]

I've had a similar situation develop recently (with consistent results) with my Sabre2 - odds are due to changes in how I am packing - one end cell deflated, spiraling dive. The trick I found, as many will suggest with flying any canopy, is smooth input is the key. I use the rear risers by reaching as high as I can and SMOOTHLY flare the canopy till the 'wind noise' goes away and it becomes almost silent, the end cell then pops open. Like many have said, if you are too agressive with the flare - you can stall the canopy, and life can get real interesting, real quick.

[cobaltdan 0]

hey newbie,

it is best not to use your rear risers: one it can make many canopies open faster and consequently harder and two you can deflect one more than the other inducing a turn or twist.

best procedure is simply to let your canopy finish deploying, to inflate closed endcells simply unstow brake lines, allow canopy a few seconds of foward flight to gain speed and perform a slow flare. pumping toggles is usually ineffective. a slow flare is much better. take several seconds to flare and you will feel your self go from pendulmed slightly behing the canopy (full flight) to pendulmed just under (level flight, swoop), to pendulmed slightly infront of the canopy, it is at this point that your end cells will inflate.

sincerely,

dan <><>

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[goose491 0]

I've heard good things about flaring with rear-risers to help inflate faster or making quick turns before your brake lines are available to you.

Also I have corrected a bag-lock situation by giving my rear-risers one good tug! It's a good thing I already had my hands on them

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[skymedic 0]

My rigger did that to his bag locked reserve.....twice....thing is...he didn't pack them...

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....