The RSL Makes a Positive Difference

Posted Friday, January 27, 1995

By Ray Ferrell

As the owner of Action Air Parachutes, a sales and service company,A DZ operator, Master Parachute Rigger, AFF Instructor, and former safety and training advisor, I fully endorse the use of RSLs. I also championed a successful campaign to have the RSL endorsed by the Parachute Industry Association. Following is some information and statistics to consider when you consider the use of the RSL.

Reserve static line lanyard (RSL) - a simple, passive device to help ensure reserve activation after breakaway of a main canopy.

The use of an RSL should not change normal emergency procedures of cutting away and pulling the reserve ripcord.No reputable school would teach a student to breakaway and wait for the RSL to pull the reserve.

There are circumstances which may require a change of procedures, with an RSL installed. The modern RSL has a quick-release, giving the jumper all of the options. During an intentional CRW jump, for example, you might want to disconnect the RSL. Other cases for disconnecting the RSL might be high winds or when doing freefall camera work. These are special circumstances in which each individual must weigh the options and make their own decision.

Another situation that is often debated is unintentional canopy entanglements after opening. This is most likely to occur after a relative work load and at low altitudes. If this happens, you must examine the situation. First try tocommunicate with the other jumper. If you cut away with the RSL attached there are two possible scenarios: First, you fall free of the entanglement and the reserve deploys. Second, you do not fall away due to the severity of the entanglement, therefore your reserve will most likely not bedeployed by the RSL. If you cannot fall free due to the severity of the entanglement, your only option is to pull your reserve and hope for the best (this is where the freebag theory might come into play). If you find yourself in this worst-case scenario, the more stuff out the better. Do not be fooled into thinking that you are better off cutting away, clawing your way free, getting stable, then pulling your reserve ripcord. You will probably run out of altitude and time.

Everyone will agree that it is better to be stable when you deploy a canopy. Proper training and constant review of emergency procedures are very important. However, the reality is, for most jumpers, good body position is not the main consideration in a high stress malfunction situation. By comparison, if everyone drove their cars safely, seat belts wouldn't be needed to save lives. So which is better, a relatively low-speed reserve deployment initiated by the RSL (this virtually ensures a clear pilot chute launch away from the body), or a high-speed unstable deployment?

The sport has no shortage of opinions, and you have just endured some of mine. Now let's take a look at some statistics over the past few years. This information is from Paul Sitter's 1991 fatality summaries for the USPA andthe FAI/IPC Safety Survey, and only concerns fatalities that may have been prevented using a RSL:

1989 1 student, 2 novices (less than 200 jumps), and 6 experienced skydivers (with 200, 300. 315, 1450, 1800, and 3500 jumps each).
1990 1 student, 2 novices, and 1 experienced skydiver (306)
1991 1 student, 2 novices, and 2 experienced skydivers (1000+ and 2044 jumps)

Based on the trend in the US from 1989 to 1991, one might conclude that the number of experienced jumpers in the above category has gone down with the concurrent rise in popularity of the RSL.

Also, based on the 1989 FAI/IPC Safety Survey, there were 107 fatalities. Of those, 22 were "cutaway, no reserve pull," and 26 were "cutwaway, low reserve pull." That's 46 people (45% of all fatalities) that may be saved by a simple RSL.

It is obvious that the RSL makes a positive difference in our sport. It affects individuals, DZ operators (who have to deal with fatalities personally, in business and politics), the USPA, and PIA.

The Parachute Industry Association listened to the RSL argument in 1989 and, without dissension, endorsed the proposal that the RSL should be encouraged and at a minimum be offered as an option on all harness and container order forms. Today, for most major manufacturers, the RSL is standard equipment.

If your rig does not have an RSL, it can easily be retrofitted by the manufacturer or a rigger with FAA authorization. Remember, the next time you skydive, there is a planet out there and it's pointed right at you.

Ray Ferrell

Source
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: The RSL Makes a Positive Difference
Date: 27 Jan 1995 02:36:08 GMT

The RSL Makes a Positive Difference

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