meakins

I got an email stating that UPT has issued a fix for drogues that collapse too fast and have a trap door too long. The fix adds one main slink to the drogue kill line. The mod will lengthen the kill line. Which will not collapse the drogue completely, therefore increasing the drag of the drogue even when collapsed. The thought is that this should also fix the problem of risers not releasing when a bag lock is cut-away. I recommend all users of Sigma drogues verify this information then take appropriate measures. Don't delay. Two lives could be on the line. Mike PS I tried to upload the Word document from UPT. Says it's too big. You should get it from UPT anyway.

"Not casting doubts on your systems..." You're not? Sorry, that's hardly the case here. The Sigmas at SMB are all new! The oldest right around six months in use. The newest just a couple weeks in service. Maybe a couple have been through one reserve pack cycle. I'd like to put the question out there. Does this situation occur when there is a malfunction that doesn't have enough drag to open the riser covers? Mike

weavermc had a stand up landing in the DZ after having a near death experience last weekend. Having seen some of the photos to which weavermc refers, I can provide some input. In one photo you see an unsmiling weavermc looking over his shoulder. In another photo you see the bag lock. Zooming in to the bag shows a lot of pull on one of the locking rubberbands stretched out 8 - 10 inches. Sure I can't measure the force, but it is clear it's not just floating there. It's being pulled. In another photo the reserve bag is next to the main bag. Reserve lines are all over the place. The reserve pilot chute is fully inflated. The reserve is coming out of the bag. Indication here is that both bags are entangled. In the same photo you can see that the instructor has pulled both handles and the main is still in tow only by the risers. In another photo you see the reserve inflated and surging from the opening. The main appears to be still attached by the risers to the three rings. At the same moment the reserve bag is wrapped around an 'A' line and the drogue's entangled with reserve bridle just below the reserve pilot chute. The still photos I examined do not show the sequence in which the handles were pulled. Need to rely on the instructor and watch the video for that information. But the photos do verify that the main did not release when the cutaway handle was pulled. If I find out more factual information, I will post it here. Mike D-5870 Now some editorial comment... No one wants to think there might be a problem with the gear. It's calming to think the instructor did something wrong, especially if you're jumping similar equipment. Oh, ya... It's all the packers fault, anyway. Someone will ask me to post these photos. Don't bother. Still photos provide frozen moments during a period of time and can easily be doctored up. I know the photos, as I received them, are not changed in anyway. Why did someone give them to me? I've been in the sport 36.5 years, am a tandem examiner with 6,000 tandem jumps (yes, I still jump) and understand the importance of learning from the experience of others. I want all of you to die of old age. I've noticed over the years how intently we all examine the situations around fatalities. Yet, we seem to gloss over incidents which resulted in a stand up landing in the DZ, when in fact someone almost died. In the latter situation, we have the added benefit of a witness, the instructor! One note: I don't see "RELEASE THE RSL" or "CLEAR THE RISERS" in the flow chart for -main malfunction- in any tandem system. Every time I've pulled a cutaway handle on a tandem jump you feel the the release instantly, and the RSL beats me to the reserve pull. Every time! Even when it was a bag lock. One question: Who thinks additional procedures should be added and the flow chart(s) be changed?

A small correction here. Dave Sheldon was injured during the world meet and Mike Gennis, an alternate, took Dave's Slot. I'm surprised Roger can't remember his team members. But then again, I understand the age thing. Mike