hackish

The easiest way I can describe how the are... do a tight daisy chain of your lines then pull them out hard in the packing tent. Oops - the chain gets tight and stops coming out. That's sort of what a tension knot is - since things are under tension the tangle stays in there. If you keep the tension out of your daisy chain it will come unknotted too... If you look up and see a tangled ball of shit in your lines you probably have a tension knot. You might be able to fly with a toggle pulled down. I had this happen on a student rig. I was able to counter with a toggle but then the canopy started fluttering and collapsing (stall) at that point I knew it was time to use plan B. -Michael

Quick note: Didn't mean to repeat what billvon said - he just submitted quicker than me typing up and fact checking before hitting submit :) -Michael

1) A collins lanyard named after kyle collins (the inventor) is a means of ensuring that both risers successfully disconnect during a cutaway. It does not deploy your reserve per se. I don't think it's in Poynter because it was probably invented after my revision was printed. You can look at the details if you search up patent number 6056242. It is included in a skyhook so to answer your question yes it can be found on sport rigs. 2) The skyhook system is an implementation of what they call a MARD system. Main Assisted Reserve Deployment. There have been a few attempts at this over the years but UPT's implementation has been the first to be well tested, successful and marketed. Others are following with their own implementation of that concept. It can be added with relative ease to a vector 3. When you chop your skyhook equipped rig and there is some main nylon out it attempts to use any drag from the main to deploy the main. Basically it turns your tangled up malfunctioning main into a giant pilot chute. With the skyhook you also have a springloaded pilot chute so if you experience a mal where nothing is out the pilot chute will pull your reserve out like it would on a non-skyhook equipped rig. Whichever one wins the race will be the on that pulls the freebag off. So at worst you have a normal reserve deployment on your rig and it opens in around 300'. At best the main pulls out the reserve and it opens in something like 75' 3) With any major modification it takes time to properly engineer and test the system. I'd like to think such a change would require the gear to pass the TSO testing again but there are lots of complicated rules and details that I've read and forgotten - someone else can answer that. So basically they're coming you will just have to wait for them. 4) My instructor always told me never sacrifice altitude for stability. I believe it can help because it has the potential to put a lot more drag on the reserve. In a spin you tend to be experiencing some centrifugal force. When you chop it you end up being thrown to the outside. If during this throw your reserve is pulled out to linestretch I think your chance of a more orderly reserve deployment is more likely. There are lots of videos of this sort of thing floating around. -Michael

Wind tunnel helped me a lot. I got 15 minutes and then followed it by 3 pins in a 2-way. Previous to that i'd be lucky to make a single dock. Was nice to see the feedback of each body position adjustment. -Michael

Very good point and no better time to do it than when you go visit your rigger for that regular repack cycle. To be honest I don't like it that much when people pull the silver before a repack because it means I've got this spring loaded pilot chute and a couple of feet of bridle in the way until I get to doing the repack. However, also understanding the benefit gained from it I do encourage people to pop the reserve when they bring me a rig. I am surprised by some people who don't want to see what's under those magical reserve flaps. -Michael

I had 2 mals in almost 100 jumps so I'm no better off. First one dual brake fire on a student rig and second lineover that I packed - never really figured out why - soon as I saw it I said eff this not fixable let's see how good my reserve packjob is... -Michael

Just wanted to give a quick update. I asked a few people to watch what I had been doing on landing. Feedback - that's not toggle whipping! I guess they consider toggle whipping actually burying a toggle close to the ground whereas I'm maybe pulling 8" or so. In any event I've discontinued using the toggles to make turns close to the ground. Tried front risering a few in and letting the risers up a few seconds before the flare. The resulting increase in speed is similar to toggle turns. tI tried adding 1/2" to the toggle length but it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I only had 1 jump on the longer toggles so I'll have to jump it some more to see. -Michael

My last 60 jumps have been on a sabre2 170 loaded at about 1.25. I find the openings are sensitive to how you pack and whether you follow PD's instructions. I wouldn't call a sabre2 a hard opener but it's not hard to tell if I packed it or if someone else did. As to whether it's an apropriate choice for you, nobody on the interweb can tell you that - rely on your local instructors. They know how well you fly. I'm happy with my choice and it works for me. In 60 jumps I've only started to scratch the surface of what it can do. -Michael

Pretty much the effect of any RSL. Skyhook, as well as soon to be released alternative MARD's (main assisted reserve deployment) may be of benefit in certain situations but add complexity. Until Bill had a marketing advantage he was anti RSL. I used to give his white paper to new customers as the 'anti' side of the RSL argument. I datalogged each of my 2 cutaways. One on student gear took 330' to open because of a brake fire/tension knot. The second took 300' to open and it was because of a lineover. Any MARD system whether a skyhook or a DRX or whatever other system is out there is likely to deploy the reserve faster. In fact I believe UPT said about 75'. I'll take the extra 225' of oh shit out of the equation if I can. As for Booth changing his mind, I don't speak for the guy and I've never met him however I do think opinions can become outdated just like gear designs. I've certainly said some things in my industry were a crappy idea until one day they were refined to the point that they worked very well. Last time I checked into the DRX there wasn't even mention of it on their website so what other well tested MARD system can you recommend that is availble? -Michael

We had a similar problem with a tandem canopy that needed a reline. It was only out of trim by 3/4 of an inch. New lines and all the TM's were complimenting me on how well they were flying. Of course I told them it was my packing-awesomeness. -Michael

I would also be concerned about the flex cable not pulling itself out quite as easily if it's being pulled 180 degrees of the direction it was inserted. I suspect a drogue probably puts a lot more force on the pin than your PC. If you're having problems with your pin not staying in then try having the closing loop shortened. -Michael

Fortunately I do have years of aikido and have done an aweful lot of breakfalls but it's just not the same when you're semi-suspended by something. Maybe I'll just have to saran wrap my nice clean rig before doing any PLFs :)

A lot of people are of the opinion that a seatbelt isn't going to make a lick of difference in a plane crash. I just never gave it a lot of thought. -Michael

If you don't stop that you'll be walking home. -Michael

The point I was trying to make above is that cutting it away under these circumstances may increase the chances of mal'ing your reserve. I leave this for open discussion but here is what I think. With a PCIT the bridle may be hung up before pulling the pin or it may have pulled the pin and be unable to pull the bag free from the container. The main risers should be happily tucked in the rig and out of the way from fouling anything. When the reserve tray opens and the freebag leaves then there is a lot of pressure relieved from the main. This could cause the PCIT to clear. The reserve is engineered and packed to open faster than a main. So if it leaves at the same instant as your main bag then it should still win the race. If you chop the main then pull the reserve and the PCIT clears then you've got an inflating reserve with 2 now cutaway risers and some length of line whipping around. It is possible that they could choke off your reserve by catching the slider or entangle the lines in some undesirable fashion. Alternatively if you did not cutaway the PCIT and it does clear the reserve should still beat it in deployment. I would hedge my bets on an orderly main deployment after the reserve and at worse fly a 2-out. While it is still possible that the main will deploy into your reserve and ruin your day, I believe the chances are smaller. Of course the above could be completely wrong but I'm interested to see any discussion/opinions about it. -Michael

The whole thread made me question my practise of not putting on the belt in a 182. Very few jumpers at my DZ use the belts. -Michael

'cause they're wuffos and wouldn't understand the cozy nature of our sport. -Michael

As for the rig itself it belongs to a rigger who has been rigging since the year I was born. It's a jumbo PC with a baby cobra reserve. I am not type rated to pack a round but he is so we'll pack it together. Despite the fact I've stood up every landing so far this year I'll be forcing myself to PLF everything I can as practice. Also considering buying a roll of WDI material so I can practice that too. Last year crazy Larry at my DZ decided to jump an old PC but we rigged it up in a tandem rig so he had a 3 ring and a square reserve in case he decided to chop it. While this isn't out of the question for me I do feel that if the complete antique gear was safe enough for them it's probably safe enough for me. BTW I'll definitely stay away from wind blast handles and the like. I wish I was closer to Jim Wilson or something but unfortunately there are only a small handful of members who are old enough to have jumped the old gear let alone be able to give instruction on it. -Michael

This is the response I get from a lot of people when I speak of jumping some older gear. I understand how capewells work and I do recognize that it's quite possible to catch lines in them from your reserve (belly mount). I wonder from the old-timers how dangerous they really feel the old gear is given a proper briefing and familiarity with the old EPs? It seems to me that the stuff worked properly 40 years ago and still has a very reasonable chance of working today. In fact it seems to me that a PC Mk2 probably has as good or better chance of working than today's squares. Opinions? -Michael

Both of the handles are fairly easy to distinguish from the main lift web. The new UPT cutaway handles are even fatter. Try spending some time groping your own handles while not looking so if you have to do it you're familiar with the feel. I think that the time spent calmly doing the look, grab, peel, pull is better than madly grabbing at anything and everything trying to get the cutaway off, but who knows I'm not an instructor. -Michael

I think after you've got that first 50-100 jumps you have enough awareness of your altitude so you have a good idea of how much time remains. I had a PCIT because it was poorly cocked. Just reached behind me and unpinned it for a normal deployment without even thinking about it. With a horseshoe I could see reaching back and pulling the PC. At least if that results in a baglock you've got something to chop away. I think chopping a PCIT is plain dangerous. Since the bag is still in the rig and the risers should have remained undisturbed you may be setting up for your risers entangling the reserve if it decides to begin deploying at the wrong time. This is quite possible as the freebag leaves because the pressure on the main container will be reduced. Pulling the cutaway will do nothing unless the PCIT clears itself. -Michael

Reading the responses here you can pretty much tell who is at a cessna DZ and who is not. Even when I felt like I was crushing the person behind me they said no it's fine. So if you really are being squished then where exactly are they sitting? On your legs? On your balls? I know there are assholes in every sport but I can't imagine someone not trying to adjust if you ask them nicely. -Michael

This is probably correct but they may have other significant reasons such as lack of temp correction. Let's face it hiking up a mountainside the ambient temp probably doesn't change that fast. At 10K to ground level my altitrack probably goes through a fast 20C change. Although electronics in general are relatively stable who knows about something not designed or tested for those conditions? -Michael

I know some people have had success with them. Last year I contacted the manufacturer but they strongly recommended against using them for skydiving because they are not certified to be accurate at all. -Michael

I would rather debug and test 10,000 lines of code than 50,000 lines of code. Sometimes the KISS principle is better. -Michael