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gemini
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 3300
: D 24349
: 9 years
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Oct 4, 2004, 7:52 AM
Post #1 of 15
(776 views)
Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Posts: 2316
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Cutaway Cable Length
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If someone tosses their cutaway handle and takes a reserve ride, the cutaway handle is often lost and replaced. Experienced jumpers and riggers know that cutaway cable lengths vary between containers and container sizes and trim the cables as necessary to insure simultaneous riser release.
In a recent incident a jumper cutaway and upon feeling the riser release deployed the reserve into the main that was trailing from an unreleased riser (one released, one didn't).
Upon examination it was found that one of the cables was to long and had not fully extracted even though the other cable was completely disengaged. The cutaway handle was still hanging from the harness when examined even though the jumper was sure it fell away.
Please, if you lose a cutaway make sure the cables on the new one are the correct length for your container. Talk to your rigger. Next time you need a repack, test your cutaway and the riser release sequence.
Remember in a cutaway, pull the cables all the way out of the cable housings to insure riser release.
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councilman24
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 2600
: D 8631
: 31 years
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Oct 4, 2004, 8:08 AM
Post #2 of 15
(770 views)
Registered: Jan 23, 2002
Posts: 3929
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Re: [gemini] Cutaway Cable Length
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Just so there is no confusion.... For most rigs the risers WILL NOT release at the same time by design. The RSL side is cut with more cable through the loop (usually about an inch) to insure the other side is gone before the riser with the RSL leaves and deploys the reserve.
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gemini
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 3300
: D 24349
: 9 years
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Oct 4, 2004, 8:14 AM
Post #3 of 15
(760 views)
Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Posts: 2316
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Re: [councilman24] Cutaway Cable Length
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Thanks Terry my {oversight} bad. The key is that they be the proper lengths.
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cvfd1399
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 88
: B 27544
: 1 years
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Oct 4, 2004, 11:00 AM
Post #4 of 15
(719 views)
Registered: Oct 16, 2003
Posts: 2092
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Re: [gemini] Cutaway Cable Length
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The KEY is to pull it all out. No matter what length it is it does you no good if you never pull it through the loop.
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nacmacfeegle
United Kingdom
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 1100
: D 11004
: 11 years
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Oct 5, 2004, 4:36 AM
Post #6 of 15
(649 views)
Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Posts: 7363
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Re: [gemini] Cutaway Cable Length
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How's about this Jim...
Next time you have the 3 rings dismantled (every couple of months or more right?), slap a tape measure on the cables (assuming they are currently the correct length), and write the correct lengths down in your log book somewhere....That way there's no guesswork involved in any replacement scenario. Be sure to measure them with the cables pulled tight.
Its also a good idea to do a 'dummy cutaway' during the 3 ring and cable cleaning, at least you know that at full arm extension you are likely to have a successful cutaway, or otherwise.
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billvon
Moderator
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 5500
: D 16479
: 16 years
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Oct 5, 2004, 9:17 AM
Post #7 of 15
(609 views)
Registered: Apr 5, 2001
Posts: 48126
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Re: [nacmacfeegle] Cutaway Cable Length
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>Be sure to measure them with the cables pulled tight.
There's the rub. If you measure them with everything slack you will get one measurement. If you pull on them you will compress the housings slightly (depending on how you do it) and get a second measurement. If you measure them with "normal loads" on the rig (i.e. no cable tension but the rig suspending your weight) you will get a third measurement. The key is to always measure under the same conditions; no load is a pretty good one because it's easy to replicate.
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nacmacfeegle
United Kingdom
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 1100
: D 11004
: 11 years
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Oct 6, 2004, 12:35 AM
Post #9 of 15
(561 views)
Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Posts: 7363
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Re: [goose491] Cutaway Cable Length
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"Hold 'em taught and measure 'em that way so there's no confusion."
That is indeed what I meant.
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billbooth
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 6100
: D 3546
: 36 years
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Oct 6, 2004, 8:10 AM
Post #10 of 15
(536 views)
Registered: Mar 1, 2002
Posts: 920
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Re: [nacmacfeegle] Cutaway Cable Length
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At Relative Workshop, we first insert the yellow cutaway cables in their housings, Velcro the handle to the rig, and then cut both cables at 6 1/2" past the housing endings. If there is an RSL on the rig, we cut at 5 1/2" on the non-RSL side, and 7 1/2" on the RSL side, just to make sure the non-RSL side goes first.
In truth, the 2" differential really doesn't matter. If we assume you are pulling your cutaway handle at just 5 feet (60 inches) per second (most people pull a lot faster), then the 2" differential represents only 1/30 th of a second between riser releases.
The only real mistakes you can make with cutaway cables, is to use the wrong type of cable, cut them too short, or fail to finish the ends correctly. Hint: Look at the channels on the back of your main risers, and cut your cables to almost "fill" those channels.
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riggerrob
Canada
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 6200
: D 14840
: 32 years
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Oct 6, 2004, 8:14 AM
Post #11 of 15
(536 views)
Registered: Mar 1, 2001
Posts: 11149
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Re: [gemini] Cutaway Cable Length
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In a recent incident a jumper cutaway and upon feeling the riser release deployed the reserve into the main that was trailing from an unreleased riser (one released, one didn't).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Just goes to show you that "feeling" may not give you an accurate picture of what is happening during a malfunction.
Also shows you that deciding to deviate from standard practice (i.e. full-pull) is a bad practice during malfunctions.
Reminds me of a first jump student 20 years ago. Our DZ had recently purchased Para-Commanders and Piggy-Backs with SOS handles. Some of our packers were still learning the finer points of packing PCs.
Hee!
Hee!
Buddy left the airplane in a lazy arch and promptly found himself hanging under a PC with one stabilizer all knotted up!
He proceeded to pull the SOS handle "until he felt resistance" then let go and resumed a "frog" position until his AAD fired!
Scared the shorts off of our pilot, the second student and me!
The moral of the story is: full-pull on any handle.
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jumper03
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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:
: C
: 13 years
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Oct 6, 2004, 2:21 PM
Post #12 of 15
(517 views)
Registered: Jun 15, 2003
Posts: 4632
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Re: [riggerrob] Cutaway Cable Length
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What about full pull and clear? I know some people do one hand on each handle. I was taught the two hand on one handle method - pull, then clear the cables with your other hand. Pull the silver, then clear the cable.
Could that type of Emergency procedure have prevented this situation??
Jump
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faulknerwn
Moderator
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 6000
: D 17441
: 16 years
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Oct 7, 2004, 3:23 PM
Post #13 of 15
(483 views)
Registered: Jan 26, 2002
Posts: 1605
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Re: [billbooth] Cutaway Cable Length
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I had an interesting cutaway about a year ago. (I don't have an RSL). I was spinning on my back with mega-line-twists and went to cutaway. (This was something like cutaway # 14 or so). I pulled the cutaway handle and one side released and I ended up dangling by one side - I then did a second pull and the other riser quickly released - I think there maybe was an inch of difference or less.between the cables.
I think I must have just stopped during the brief length-difference between the 2 cables. The good thing was - instead of going back into freefall spinning widely on my back, the slight time delay had me falling head high and then instantly belly-to-earth stable which made for a nice reserve deployment.
W
(I owe beer now for cutaway #16 in Empuriabrava last week - gotta love a nice CRW wrap on my birthday :-)
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gemini
United States
Jumps
License
In sport
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: 3300
: D 24349
: 9 years
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Oct 11, 2004, 7:23 AM
Post #14 of 15
(435 views)
Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Posts: 2316
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Re: [gemini] Cutaway Cable Length
[In reply to]
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Spoke to the rigger who examined the equipment and there is more to the story than just the cable length.
Apparently the container originally had soft cable housings. At some point hard cable housings were installed. They are not Sunpath housings and are approximately 4-6 inches longer than spec. The surprising thing is the housing material used will stretch a lot more than the Sunpath housing.
It looks like a pull on the cutaway does not even begin cable extraction until the pillow is pulled 6 or more inches, then at least another 6 inches after normal pull length were needed to fully extract.
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