Bob_Church

It it's really cold there are some tips that can help. One, don't wear your gloves in the plane. Wiggle your fingers a lot for blood flow then put your gloves on just before exit so your hands don't get warm and sweaty in the plane then freeze on exit. Do lots of practice pulls, between gloves and cold things feel different. Under canopy can by the worst. By far. When your hands are on your toggles the blood has a hard time getting to them and the wind is blowing through your fingers. I like to get set up on a good direction then lower my hands and hold them behind my back and move my fingers around for circulation. Every winter it's the same for me. My blood starts boiling and I need a jump. The first one hurts, but now I'm acclimated so I do a second. It hurts just as bad so then I go home to a very hot bath. I edited to add this. See how good a grip you can get on your throwout with the gloves and know that it will be worse in the cold cold sky. In the summer I tend to just wrap my hand around it and pull it out but in the winter I'll insert my thumb into one side and a finger into the other of the opening that goes through it. This gives me a grip where slipping isn't a problem. The best part is the hot bath afterwards. It's reminds you that it's good to be alive.

When I look at the frequency of required reserve repacks I save more each year on those, plus the nuisance of it, than I pay on membership. And I personally don't think the FAA would have changed the i/r requirements without USPA's pushing. So I renew even though most of the pilots who take me up don't know what a USPA, or a reserve, for that matter, are.