a lot of the effect of how an AAD affects a sense of self-responsibility has to do with how people talk about it and how they explain the function and value of an AAD.
Some will have an issue with that but for example I was never told during my student training that there is a gadget like an AAD on my rig - I though for sure that a no-pull would do me in. Only towards the end of my progression I talked to others and found out. Sure some people will say "Oh have to know what's in your equipment to make proper decisions" - but, really, what complex chain of chain of decisions in a low-altitude-plus- AAD scenario will you be able to expect from a level IV AFF.
In that sense about the worst you can tell someone is "You'll be fine - you have a CYPES" - that's downright wrong, dangerous and irresponsible. The reality is that AAD's can help only in some very few emergency scenarios - self-responsibility still applies to the bulk of all dangeous situations in skydiing. For example:
- the majority of incidents are landing accidents - a CYPRES does nothing here. Others are canopy collisions in most of which an AAD wouldn't have helped either.
- a CYPRES arms only above some altitude (I think 1000ft or 1500 ft ??) , if you bail out at that altitude and don't pull - you're toast even with a CYPRES.
- if you don't cut-away from a malfunction above say 600 ft the CYPRES probably won't help much either.(It'll be a couple fo 100ft before you get to 78mph and then the reserve still needs to deploy).
- if you still have junk hung up on you after malfunction (like a horseshoe or a canopy collision or otherwise hung up lines) you may be either to slow for a CYPRES fire or have your reserve fire into the junk.
- in various freefall or fuselage collision incidents there are usually unending speculations whether the person was already killed during the collision itself or in the subsequent nopull due to unconsciousness.
- even if you are in the "perfect CYPRES" scenario (i.e. you jumped from 2000ft or higher, you are at 1000 ft at terminal with *nothing* out and no intention of pulling) you are still rolling the dices. At that altitude you have no time for picking a landing area or pattern - you thump in where you are, if you're lucky after you unstowed the brakes. Also there's no time to deal with minor reserve malfunctions (line-twists, line-overs, etc.).
... and this list could probably be continued much further, and all these are real incidents that happen(ed).
The point I want to make is that a lot of the bemoaned "CYPRES-complacency" may be more due to the way CYPRES-fans talk about that back-up-piece, rather than the unit itself. I believe much would be done if it were more stressed that an AAD can help you only in a very narrow and very specific set of circumstances, deemphasizing and downplaying the role of the AAD.
blues ones, Thomas *******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true
