EvilLurker

Most fatalities are. Often times an RSL interrupts that chain of events before the jumper has shown that they would have deployed their reserve at sufficient altitude to save their life. That doesn't show up in an incident report, so we've got no accurate data regarding how often it happens. Every so often, the RSL can't interrupt the chain, whether it's due to an unrealeased riser, horseshoe, canopy wrap, etc. (which will still have to be dealt with before manual reserve deployment) or by deploying the reserve while the jumper is unstable. The seriousness of that situation varies, depending on deployment altitude. Reserve line twists (IF they happen) at 3000 feet scares you and makes you cuss an RSL as "having almost killed you". At 500 feet, it just saved your life, if you were going to wait for stability or couldn't find a handle. That doesn't show up in an incident report, so we've got no accurate data regarding how often it happens. The data that does show up is "died following impact under a malfunctioning reserve", we should see quite a number of those, since RSLs are common and they deploy the reserve after a cutaway very close to 100% of the time. I'm not seeing many. The other big thing missing from this discussion is input from jumpers that cutaway from a malfunctioning main and never pulled a handle. There's plenty of speculation why they didn't, or what "we" would have done differently (all ending in a safe landing, of course), but no first-hand account of what went wrong or any suggestions. Dead men tell no tales, and a lot of them don't use an RSL, from the looks of the reports. That said, anyone that personally chooses to not use an RSL, for whatever personal reason, I have NO problems with. Presenting it as an option that increases your chances of death by impact, I do have a problem with, especially for jumpers that don't have previous experience(s) with malfunctions.

I'll get rid of my RSL when they pry it from my cold, dead.... no, wait a minute, bad example.

I think you missed my point: If I cutting away that low, I'm out of time to begin with, and if I try a one-handed cutaway and fail, I'm dead. If I use a two-handed cutaway, I'll at least give my RSL a chance of getting a reserve out. I'll try and beat it, but it would be a close call either way. Get it?

What it sounds like to me (and not having seen your main, it's speculation only), you were flying in partial brakes up to this point, and now you've got full drive and a faster and flatter-flying canopy. It's going to take some modification of your technique and practice to land it. That makes it sound like the brakes are not too long, so you're stuck learning to fly what you've got. It sounds like you're too agressive on the initial flare (you probably learned that by having to take the excess slack out of the stretched set of lines). Popping up is eating a lot of the energy you should be saving to bleed off sink rate/forward speed later in your flare. Just my 2 cents worth, I'm not any kind of "landing guru". You've got me on that one. Are you Pro packing? Any "slack" should be inside the pack job and all the lines the same length after they leave the slider grommet. Have someone watch you pack and explain that one to you, I've never seen such a thing. ???

The skydivers I respect the most are those that take the time to help out the newest jumpers at their DZ, the ones that pass up that last RW of the day and ask some 50 jump type if they would do a 2-way with them, or invite the new jumper on a 3 way. The ones that learn the new jumper's name and make them feel welcome the next time they show up at the DZ. The ones that offer the new jumpers a gear check, whether they know them or not. The ones that make it clear that if a newbie has a question, they can ask it without fear of being laughed at. The ones that take a look at everyone's gear around them on jump run, looking for problems, not just their own. There are enough people like that to make this sport great, and that's why I love it. Just a few people like that can offset every jerk you'll meet at a DZ.

I almost voted "they all suck", but it's because they're all gonna be pretty hot, like redram said. I figure you know what colors you want, so I went with #1. Sure you ain't gonna cook in that? Mine's dark (Royal Blue/Black) and it's a sauna, even in Oregon.

Is he asking you do an X second delay? When I was doing IADs, that's what the JM was telling me (i.e. count to 5 and show me a PRCP). He just wants to make sure you can count a delay before he moves you to free-fall, it sounds like. You need to talk to your JM and ask him why it was too fast and what he's looking for. We can't help you (unless your JM is reading this right now) Heh..heh

Glad you found it and that it hadn't been out in the sun for a week. It sucks when somebody loses their main and it grounds them, I've seen it happen. So you're back in the air again!

Evil shoots...and he scores! The crowd goes wild! okay, maybe not

Solo rigs don't have them.

A drogue. It's to slow a tandem pair down to normal freefall speeds, since you have 2 people's weight and the drag of a single person.

airricks: You need to research the difference between a PC in tow and a baglock malfunction. A baglock may or may not have enough drag to seperate your 3-ring system. A PC in tow won't, since the force is not being transmitted to the risers. Looking back over your shoulder and determining which one you have might be tricky, which is why it's so dangerous. A main-reserve entanglement is a definate possibility in either case.

What you're describing is possible, and it would be a VERY serious situation.

With that attitude, it won't be long.

Oh, I'm well aware that things can happen between hard deck and landing. It's one of the reasons I'm using an RSL. (and around we go again) Realistically, I might be able to peel and punch my cutaway faster 2 handed than I could one handed, and my RSL will have a reserve out quicker than I could have using a one-hand-on-each technique. In fact, I'm counting on it. Or I could die.

LOL, I can't wait. Hell, I had that happen to my old Altimaster after a year. They were under new ownership and wouldn't honor the previous companies warranty, so I trashed it.

I do it in case of a total, it gives me another 2 or 3 seconds to make up for the 2-on-each cutaway style. If I'm considering cutting away at 1k, I've really screwed the pooch. What am I cutting away from at that altitude? I don't quite get your meaning. ???

I don't have a problem with anyone using it, as long as they're aware of the fact it may (currently) have reliability problems. I wouldn't be in favor of using it where students are involved. That makes sense, with a known load on the battery you can determine the state of charge pretty accurately. I stand corrected, that CAN be considered a software upgrade.

Okay, I completely lost my mind, folks. I was looking at the red cutaway "handle", which in the picture looks like fabric to me. Thanks for catching that, Hooknswoop. sundevil, has that cutaway handle got a stiffener in it so it can't get folded under, or is it just webbing? Did you get that from Velocity Sports, too?

But my Sony camcorder uses one and it gives me a pretty accurate "time remaining" count? Plus, the unit either has an accurate way within the hardware to determine remaing power or it doesn't. If it doesn't, no kind of software upgrade is going to fix it. I hope there's not one that tests that theory.

Somehow, having an altimeter that has shown the need for "software updates" to work correctly doesn't leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. It seems like they're wide open for a lawsuit if somebody craters while using an older version.

Huh, it looked like a cutaway handle to me. Picture must be reversed.

Well, small world. I've got an Infinity (original one) so I'll give them a hollar. I like that a lot better than a pillow that can get folded under, and I'm betting it would be a huge advantage in the event of a hard pull. Thanks for the info.

sundevil: Yeah, I like that setup. That's a metal handle, right? (Hard to tell from the pic). Did you have to modify your rig any to go that route, or are you using the same velcro that a pad would use? (Sorry for all the questions, but I'm seriously thinking of going that route on my rig if it's not a huge rigging bill.) Thanks

I don't understand your reasoning behind that. I was trained to go "down and out" to full arm extension, then use one arm to "sweep" the free cable from the housing. Probably 300 feet if I'm cutting away from a high-speed mal. That's a reason a pull higher than 2500, I adapted my pull altitude to compensate for this factor. It beats finding out you can't manage it one-haded and having to use "Plan B". I've never had a cutaway yet, maybe I'll discover your technique is better after I've had a couple. I do find peeling the velcro, for me, goes a lot smoother with the 2-hand technique (on the ground). I use what I'm comfortable with and what I trained for. Figure that gives me the best odds of surviving.