Finger Pocket on a cutaway/reserve pillow?

[skydiverek 63]

Attached is, what I think, a clever way of producing cutaway handles. Same concept could be used on reserve pillows. Looks like a good compromise/happy medium between snag resistant classic pillow and easy to grab loop (soft or metal) handle. Do you like this concept?? What do you think?

Bart

[judedre 0]

i like it where do i get them?

[skydiverek 63]

Quote

i like it where do i get them?

www.strongparachutes.com manufacturers Quasar 2, so probably there. Although I am not sure if they could be used on other manufacturers' systems.

One more thing: such a handle is much easier to grab with the opposite hand (e.g. grabbing cutaway handle with left hand or reserve handle with right hand - sometimes you have to do that (entalglements, dislocated arm, etc.)).

[Albatross 0]

Yes I like the concept but don't you think that it is backwards. I mean the finger pocket is faced so that the fingers of the left hand will catch and fit but you are cutting away with the right. Just a thought.

Chris

[skydiverek 63]

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Yes I like the concept but don't you think that it is backwards. I mean the finger pocket is faced so that the fingers of the left hand will catch and fit but you are cutting away with the right. Just a thought.

If you are cutting away with left hand you will put your four fingers into the pocket. If you are cutting away with your right hand, your THUMB will fit nicely in the pocket. In both case you will get more positive grip and more "pull force" to get the pillow out of velcro.

[fasterfaller 0]

It looks like there could be a snag potential . I would think that the pocket would be better inside . Just my opinion .

[rgoper 0]

i like the concept, but i wouldn't apply it. i think design needs a bit of refining. it appears to be a snag hazard, and "could" potentially catch air in free fly activity and deploy unintentionally, just from what i observed in the jpeg image. but heck of a good idea.

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[riggerrob 643]

We have been using that style of pocketed release handle for many years on Strong tandems. I have never heard of one coming loose accidentally.
On the other hand, I have pulled them a dozen times on skydives gone bad. When they are mounted outboard on the right main lift web, your fingers naturally slip into the pocket.

[petur 0]

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...and "could" potentially catch air in free fly activity

Jup, if it's an actual pocket, open in one end and closed in the other, I guess it might catch air and deploy during FF activities. But hey, why a pocket? What if it's open on both ends (similar to a handle split in two halves), that way it would be less likely to catch air and it wouldn't matter which hand you used when grabbing it...

On the other hand, I think the grip on the standard pad-design is quite sufficient to pull the cutaway cables out of their housings.

---
P.
"It Hurts to Admit When You Make Mistakes -
But When They're Big Enough, the Pain Only Lasts a Second."

[rgoper 0]

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We have been using that style of pocketed release handle for many years on Strong tandems. I have never heard of one coming loose accidentally

i was referring to "freeflying" not "tandems" k?

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[riggerrob 643]

He! He!
Some days tandems look like freeflying.
Since it is impossible to predict what the student will do with their legs once they clear the doorway, all bets are off for the first 5 seconds after exit.
Trust me. I have made more than 2200 tandem jumps, but every once in a while a student shows me a move that I have never seen before!
Life is never boring in the tandem business! Some days tandems resemble freeflying.

[crazydiver 0]

I"m not seeing that handle being any more of a hazard than a standard pillow. THe pocket is flush with the pillow and the only way to get your fingers in is to depress the padding in the pillow...150 mile per hour wind won't do that. Riggerrob says they do it on strongs, Some Sigmas have them that I have seen. Its a great way to add more leverage to a pillow handle...i've seen this design many times before.

Cheers,
Travis

[mazevedo 0]

I like the way Aerodyne built the pillow on the ICON. They put some PVC or similar hard tube inside the pillow and it is easyer to grab. What do you think? I will try to post one picture later.

[koz2000 1]

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I like the way Aerodyne built the pillow on the ICON. They put some PVC or similar hard tube inside the pillow and it is easyer to grab.

RWS and Infinity have been building their pillows like that for a while. I like that design.

I don't thing Strong's pocket would be a snag hazard, and if your velcro is good, it won't come off even at FF speeds.

______________________________________________
- Does this small canopy make my balls look big? - J. Hayes -

[crazydiver 0]

Exactly.

Cheers,
Travis

[upndownshop 0]

If you are cutting away with left hand you will put your four fingers into the pocket. If you are cutting away with your right hand, your THUMB will fit nicely in the pocket. In both case you will get more positive grip and more "pull force" to get the pillow out of velcro.