skyjames 2 #1 December 19, 2011 During my second jump today I was visited by a "White Christmas." My "White Christmas" arrived in the form of a seven cell Tempo. It was the first time I had seen my reserve in flight. Nice to see! I had thought about my first reserve ride before it actually happened. I think we all do. Sometimes after doing the "touch your handles" routine I gave it thought. Not much thought as to how I would feel, but more on the desire for it to work as advertised. I was sure I would be a little scared though. Surprise to me, being scared didn't enter the scenario. I had tracked off from a 5 way RW, we broke at 5, two wanted to pull at 4. I tossed about 2,500, I knew right away I had problems. Line twists, looked like 3 or 4 turns. I pulled the risers apart and tried kicking out but the twists were not going anywhere. I pulled the risers apart really hard and got 1 to 2 twists out, I released the risers and the twists spun themselves back to the starting point. By now it's 1800 or so and I just went into EP's, I wasn't going to fight it any lower. It's hard to tell what was holding the twists by looking at the ball of twisted up wet nylon. The left brake was still stowed though. I have had twists before and always kicked out or pulled the risers apart to unwind them, these didn't go anywhere. I watched my main and free bag drift away as I did a couple practice flares and then turned towards the LZ, I could see where they were going to land. I didn't want to watch or chase the main and free bag into the water. The winds weren't honking, but they were brisk, about 15~20, I wanted a familiar area to land my new ride in. I have listened to people describe their first chop-n-pop, they were not scared about their last chance to arrive alive, but how the hell did that happen? Cutting away seemed to be as natural as tossing the PC. All those routine practice touches built memory. So for those who haven't taken a ride on the reserve yet, keep touching those handles or puds in the correct order and when you need it maybe it will be automatic for you also. It wasn't a dream after all. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
