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Chopping Is Just The Beginning

By BrianSGermainon - Read 11045 times

A reserve ride is an exciting adventure no matter how many jumps you have under your belt. Preparatory training is obviously the best way to ensure that you walk away unscathed, but it is my experience that the simulations we create are not as realistic as they could be. In many cases, many of us will argue, they are not as good as they need to be.

The purpose of this article is to suggest possible improvements to the state of the art in emergency procedure training. If we envision beyond what we have done in the past, improvement is assured, and the safe conclusion of parachute malfunctions will increase in frequency. If we can simulate cutaway jumps more realistically, skydivers will be calmer in emergency situations, and more skillful. Elaborate simulation, in my experience, will also result in greater awareness and recall, more efficient actions, and less emotional trauma once the event is over.

The first issue to be addressed by our sport as a whole is our simulation equipment. Although a vest with handles may be very helpful for establishing the general flow of handle-pulling, it is a far cry from what the event will actually feel like. Many jumpers have reported, upon landing from their first cutaway, that things did not feel or look remotely the way they expected. Handles were not where the jumper expected them to be, pull forces were not what they anticipated, nor was the feeling of the experience similar to the training process that was supposed to prepare them for this event. It is my experience, however, that when we take thoughtful steps to improve our training methods and equipment, the gap between expectation and reality can be closed significantly.

The most important piece of equipment in any simulation is the mind. Creating a clear visualization of the scenario is essential, no matter how silly it may look to bystanders. The job of the Instructor in these situations is to provide insightful clarification, ideally based on their own experience. Set the emotional stage for the student in every possible way, describing the details as clearly as possible, leaving nothing out. Allow yourself to get wrapped up in the excitement that is inevitable in such experiences. This will not only make the simulation feel more real, it will help illuminate the natural mental reaction of the student to intense stress. If over-reaction or under-reaction is apparent, further training is necessary. If the student failed to perform, the instructor simply has more work to do.

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It continues to be my strong opinion that a suspended harness is absolutely essential for the best possible training. Given the vast amount of money we now spend on aircraft and student gear, skimping on this key element of teaching equipment is shortsighted, and most often a product of laziness and compromise. If building a hanging harness cost thousands of dollars, the financial argument might hold more merit, but this is most decidedly not the case. There are many possible methods that cost very little, and can be created in just an hour or two. I know, I build a new hanging harness at almost every dropzone I travel to in the process of running my canopy skills and safety courses. I do this because I want to offer my course participants the best possible training, and because an alarming percentage of skydiving schools have done away with this vital piece of training equipment. This needs to change if we are to improve the safety of our sport.

Let's start with the actual harness. When I find suspended harnesses in use, most often the actual rig is an uncomfortable, dilapidated old rig from the early 1980's, hung from the ceiling by attachment points that are way too close together to simulate a realistic experience. In the best cases, there is a three-ring setup that allows the jumper to cut away and drop a few inches. This is a great training aid, but what if the rig was a more modern adjustable harness that could accurately reflect the fit and handle placement of the rig they will actually be jumping? For that matter, what if we hung them in the rig they were actually going to jump? What if the suspension apparatus was long enough to practice kicking out of line-twists? What if the toggles simulated the resistance of an actual parachute using bungees or weights? What if you pulled on straps attached to the bottom of the harness each time they flared, to simulate the pitch change? What if, as crazy as it sounds, you went to the local hardware store and picked up a high-powered carpet blower, a.k.a. “snail fan”, and angled it up at the harness to reflect the feeling of the relative wind? This is the kind of outside-the-box thinking that creates better simulations, and better training. Further, this is how we prepare our students for an actual malfunction and reduce the risk of pilot error.

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For experienced jumpers, I highly recommend hanging up in your own rig. This will clarify handle placement under load, allow you to explore strap tightness possibilities, and give you the opportunity to experience actual pull forces when your repack cycle is up. If you do not have stainless steel hardware on your rings, please use fabric connection points rather than the carabiner attachment displayed in these photos.

Another key element of malfunction simulation is to follow through with the complete jump, rather than stopping after the handles are pulled. In reality, the adequate performance of emergency procedures is just the first in a long list of steps that lead to a safe landing. For instance, what if the cutaway harness had Velcro reserve toggles that needed to be first peeled upward and then pulled downward? Many people, myself included, have tried simply pulling the reserve toggles downward to find that they would not release. Missing details like this can lead to a student feeling more angst than is necessary, and can result in further stress-induced mistakes with major consequences. Additionally, proper exploration of the reserve canopy is important for a good flight pattern, accuracy and landing flare following a malfunction. How much slack is in the brake lines? Where is the stall point? What is the flare response on this brand new canopy? A good cutaway followed by a broken ankle on landing is still a bad day. Simulate the whole jump, and there will be fewer surprises.

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The final issue I want to cover on the topic of better emergency procedures training is the inclusion of deliberate adrenaline management efforts following the deployment of the reserve canopy. Carrying the emotional momentum of a malfunction all the way to the ground definitely increases the chances of a lousy landing. High levels of stress takes time to sluff-off, but a skilled operator also knows how and when to slow down. Once you have pulled all the handles you need to pull, taking three long, slow, deep breaths while gazing at the horizon with a smile of relief on your face can change your mood, and your fate. Get your composure back, and your optimism will follow. From there, skill is just a short step away. This process can and should be included in every emergency procedure simulation to create a habit that is likely to be carried out in the sky. Following such quiescent procedures allows the mind to more easily let go of the recent past and focus on the present moment and the near future:

1) Check altitude and location

2) Find a safe landing area

3) Explore the reserve

4) Fly a good pattern

5) Flare beautifully

6) Walk away with a smile on your face

7) Thank your rigger

A malfunction does not need to be viewed as an emergency, especially if you are truly prepared; it is just a change of plans. A complete simulation can be the difference between a horrifying emergency and a well-executed contingency plan. If we handle it well, a main parachute malfunction can actually be fun. I have found few experiences more rewarding than a complicated situation that I figured out on the fly, and despite my fear, I kept my head and did the right thing. In short, a parachute malfunction is an opportunity to prove to yourself and the world that you can handle yourself in a crisis, and with realistic training, your success can be an inevitable conclusion.

About the Author: Brian Germain is a parachute designer, author, teacher, radio personality, keynote speaker with over 15,000 jumps, and has been an active skydiver for 30 years. He is the creator of the famed instructional video "No Sweat: Parachute Packing Made Easy", as well as the critically acclaimed book The Parachute and its Pilot. You can get more of Brian’s teaching at Adventure Wisdom, Big Air Sportz, Transcending Fear, and on his vast YouTube Channel

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mortcj
Thanks for the article. Good information.
Have manufacturers cleared hanging from caribeaners of any material? I would not recommend attaching like this. A small abbraision on the ring could be catastrophic in the air.

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dorbie
The pull force is affected significantly by the loading of the 3-ring and G-forces. I know one jumper who jumps 3rd party risers on his rig now because of a hard chop in a spin. He tried reproducing a hard pull on the ground and the only way he could do it was to have two friends help load the harness. With the added G-force the pull force became impossible for him to accomplish with one hand. Hanging from carabiners and not the risers your cable is routed through can never reproduce that. You don't need a repack cycle to chop with your real risers, but any loaded riser would be better than a carabiner.

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ChrisD
If you wanted to stress repetition over "more realistic simulation," you might actually be able to increase survivability in these situations. Unfortunately what your doing is trading what we actually know, which is trading Neural Plasticity, aka Muscle Memory for a cognitive process, aka thinking. Thinking in skydiving is not a good thing, during these infrequent events, thankfully, we should be "doing" as compared with thinking. Research and practical experience have shown again and again that those that train more often, survive more often. If your efforts get more people to train more often, then IMO,..that's a good thing. But switching a yearly hanging harness practice for a yearly hang in a more realistic harness is just going to cost more for the more expensive equipment. A word about cognitive processes compared with behaviors that are learned to the point where our brains actually change its hardwiring so to speak, as compared with behaviors that we only read about or practice infrequently. The key is to have the information present when we need it. Learning theory has consistently shown that practiced behaviors like walking, and running, riding a bicycle, etc,...actually change brain real-estate, these behaviors and their associated neural stimulation, millions of inputs for a very short period of time, actually hardwire our responses, like riding a bike there is great truth that returning to riding a bike after a great absence of time, and lo and behold it's actually like riding a bike! That's because those changes to enable the behavior have actually changed the wiring in our brains. Skydiving emergency procedures,...with those same procedures neural wise amounting to no changes in our brains, no practice, no muscle memory,...when we are now faced with an emergency,...we are unable to access the information when it's needed most! We can "recall the information" but we can't use it when it's actually needed. This is the great trap in skydiving safety and thinking. The only thing that really , demonstrably works is repetitious training, boring, repetitious training, did I mention: repetitious training,....it will never be the same as neural plasticity or muscle memory but it will be current, more current than the current state of affairs. Perhaps if we had a more interesting simulation system that would increase this kind of training and , perhaps then it would be more current? But otherwise for the vast majority of experienced skydivers,...the further in time we are from our initial training, the larger the risk for this type of thing we are all trying to prevent. The skydiving incident statistics practically make this a non-debatable issue. Worth repeating, as time increases, as you all get more experienced, your risk to perform poorly increases. We are never as safe as when we are skydiving students. This is because our emergency procedures are current and practiced again and again. For the vast majority of skydivers this is the only time in their lives that they will ever be this current with this kind of learned response. Air skills, flying ability, landing skills, all improve, unfortunately emergency procedures are not created nor retained the same way. Thanks to all who endeavor to raise the safety bar!!! Chris Robert may be reached at: [email protected] Thanks everyone!!!

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nicsoew
My first cutaway resulted in not so nice landing with reserve.

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JVXReBornFU

Good to listen to your words you continue to show enthusiasm for jumping.

I and you both know after 1:1 loading we are going to cut away more than others. This is the choice we make.

Thus following this I jump ready to "Cut Away" without exception. I am ready at an instant and always ready. I am thinking in my brain  "MALFUNCTION" so that each and every jump I am ready. 

 

So many I know do not think like this. They wait to see, they wait to think, they wait to late. They are complacent, I visit their graves.

JVX

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