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Tigerfly

Pull at...whaaat?

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This may be the stupidest question asked so far but here goes. When someone asks what altitude you are pulling at, does it mean:
1.) when you start the wave off
2.) when your hand is on the hackey or maybe even
3.) when you should be under a fully inflated canopy.
I've always gone with #1...but i want to hear from the masses/stir the f***king pot/make myself sound even more stupid :D and i have heard different answers to this...I know it takes me about 2 seconds from starting wave off to hand on hackey so that could make a difference of a few hundred feet. I feel safer knowing exactly what "pull" means. Now that I think of it though maybe it's option 2. :S

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The purpose of the question is to get an idea of where your parachute is going to be deployed. Because they want to know what to expect so that they can avoid you.

So the most accurate estimate of that is when you throw out your pilot chute.

From wave off to pull could be several seconds, which is 350 feet off.

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The "what are you pulling at" question annoys me to no end... unless its a high pull it doesnt mean two fucking shits what youre planning on pulling at... vertical separation doesnt mean shit when you lost altitute awarness and pull 1000 ft low, or have a cutaway, or have a premature opening or you have a 1300ft snivel and someone else has a hard opening.... horizontal separation is everything... you wait in the fucking door till your absolutely sure you have enough... and dont fucking track up jump run....know what people are moving and what people are doing on the load. again, vertical stacking is fucking retarded "because well hes pulling at 3.5 and im pulling at 5 so its all good i can go right after them.... rant over
I was that kid jumping out if his tree house with a bed sheet. My dad wouldn't let me use the ladder to try the roof...

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It's just a ballpark number, between 1 and 2 is right, and it is only a problem if you pull higher.

From a Wingsuit perspective it matters more than for most others, we often pull at different altitudes even within the same group. We also fly in really really bad places relative to each other for someone to deploy. In the group it amounts to "give them some space at x altitude" or "if so and so starts drifting off it is because he is going to pull." Outside of our group we are looking for obstacles. If someone is pulling at 3k or lower we don't care, but pulling higher means some of us might be below you in freefall while you are under canopy, we don't want to hit you :P and it helps if we are expecting canopies above our pull altitude. Also, horizontal group separation/exit order means nothing in a wingsuit, we often are making our final (in freefall) headed on a path that will intersect with jump run. Flying over canopies (because they have had time to deviate from jump run too) is common.

For hop and pops and most other jumps Alex is right, it doesn't matter. But if you have 2 similar groups and one is pulling higher than the other, a little vertical separation is a good thing too.

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>horizontal separation is everything

Both are important. Horizontal separation is (and should be) primary, but vertical separation can mean the difference between a foolish mistake and a fatality.

And, of course, in some cases (large formations for example) it can be the only way to guarantee enough separation to get everyone open safely.

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Tigerfly

This may be the stupidest question asked so far but here goes. When someone asks what altitude you are pulling at, does it mean...



Not the stupidest question by a very large margin.

Sandy Grillet once said:

Quote

There's no need to apologize for your ignorance, unless you do nothing to correct it.



This fits that to a "tee."
(I told you I was gonna steal that one, Sandy ;))

USPA calls it "Pack opening altitude", which means PC out and at bridle stretch, pin pulled.

A fraction of a second after PC toss. So I would go with "When you toss the PC." After all, putting your hand on it or even pulling it doesn't necessarily mean you've thrown it.

As always, not an instructor, no warranty express or implied, consult your physician if you are up for over 4 hours, close cover before striking, contains flammable gas under pressure.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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Alexg3265

The "what are you pulling at" question annoys me to no end...


I agree with the safety aspect. Skydivers should NOT use vertical separation.

However, I often ask that question when jumping with newer skydivers. Many of these AFF trained people want to deploy at crazy high altitudes. I'm trying to find a compromise altitude.

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Alexg3265

The "what are you pulling at" question annoys me to no end... unless its a high pull it doesnt mean two fucking shits what youre planning on pulling at... vertical separation doesnt mean shit when you lost altitute awarness and pull 1000 ft low, or have a cutaway, or have a premature opening or you have a 1300ft snivel and someone else has a hard opening.... horizontal separation is everything... you wait in the fucking door till your absolutely sure you have enough... and dont fucking track up jump run....know what people are moving and what people are doing on the load. again, vertical stacking is fucking retarded "because well hes pulling at 3.5 and im pulling at 5 so its all good i can go right after them.... rant over



When I am planning to fly my WS below 3K before I pitch, I like to know how many open canopies might be on my level or above me.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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Somewhere between 1 & 2. For breakoff planning it's pretty important to know and to check that everyone has a normal plan to stop the skydive, track away, stop tracking, and wave, reach, pull. I've heard some wacky stuff here and there that makes me sure to ask with every new group I jump with.

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Alexg3265

The "what are you pulling at" question annoys me to no end... rant over



I always ask this, and NO it does not change my intent on horizontal sep.
I ask for two reasons...
1. I ASSUME that at some point, SOMEONE is going to f-up on the horizontal and/or track the wrong way. If we know the intended pull alt, we can ADD the safety of vertical sep with horizontal sep.

2. Once open, knowing where people intended to open gives me a headsup as to where to start looking for people in the stack.

This is NOT a case (nor should it EVER be) of letting the horiz sep slip.

JW
Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

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Tigerfly

When someone asks what altitude you are pulling at, does it mean:
1.) when you start the wave off
2.) when your hand is on the hackey or maybe even
3.) when you should be under a fully inflated canopy.



When I ask, I mean #2+ (i.e. thrown)
But I go back to a time when "pulling at" usually meant 2k' for most all the jumpers on the DZ (2,5k and 3k for lower licenses). That means that the difference between 1,2 or 3 was important.

When you're getting good horiz sep and planning to pull at 4,500', its not quite as specific.

JW
Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

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and dont fucking track up jump run....



Sorry for the slight highjack but...absolutely do track up jump run if that is the direction you need to track to get away from your 16 way. No more and no less than is necessary to gain adequate opening separation from your group. Then fly your canopy off the line of flight until you see the next group open.

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LeeroyJenkins

According to the SIM when they say minimum pull altitude they mean that altitude the pin is out of the container. In general the way I see people using it, it mean the altitude they reach at.



You have control over the altitude at which you release the pilot chute.

The altitude at which the pack opens is subject to a number of additional variables that can be quite unpredictable.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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ixlr82

Quote

and dont fucking track up jump run....



Sorry for the slight highjack but...absolutely do track up jump run if that is the direction you need to track to get away from your 16 way. No more and no less than is necessary to gain adequate opening separation from your group. Then fly your canopy off the line of flight until you see the next group open.



There is no such thing as tracking "no more" than is necessary to gain adequate separation unless the breakoff is abnormally high. A typical group has 1,500 to 2,000 feet of altitude available to gain horizontal separation. Every inch of it should be used to track as hard and as far as possible.

Additionally, a group should never exit so close that the group before has to restrict tracking distance to avoid interaction with them. If adequate separation is given between groups it is perfectly safe to track up the jump run (and down the jump run for the following group).
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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chuckakers


Additionally, a group should never exit so close that the group before has to restrict tracking distance to avoid interaction with them. If adequate separation is given between groups it is perfectly safe to track up the jump run (and down the jump run for the following group).

You're right, but I still hedge my bets. I've seen "following groups" not give me quite the time they should have, or maybe have winds aloft greater than expected.

And besides, you should see me track!! Amazing! :D

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And besides, you should see me track!! Amazing!



I have a friend like that. Extreme tracker. Once I was on a two way behind an 8 way he was on. The video clearly shows a full 15 second exit separation, which was what the conditions called for. The 8 way did not go all that well and broke a little high. My friend tracked a little longer, maybe 3 or 4 seconds longer than normal. Shortly after opening my fisheye lens video shows him coming almost straight at me with a not quite fully open canopy. Close enough to fill about half of the frame. Only luck saved both of us.

It's not always the "following group's" fault. Large groups can sometimes have members that track into other groups if they do not maintain discipline. On the other hand, Brian Burke pointed out when he reviewed the video that as a two way group there was no need for me to track up the jumprun.
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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gowlerk

On the other hand, Brian Burke pointed out when he reviewed the video that as a two way group there was no need for me to track up the jumprun.

:D:D It's hard to get much past Brian, isn't it?

I do a lot of small way, from coaching and AFF to 4 way. On breakoff, I always try to track as perpendicular to jump run as safely possible.

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There is no such thing as tracking "no more" than is necessary to gain adequate separation unless the breakoff is abnormally high. A typical group has 1,500 to 2,000 feet of altitude available to gain horizontal separation. Every inch of it should be used to track as hard and as far as possible.



I disagree.

I track until I am clear of other jumpers and then deploy. No more, no less. I want to deploy as high as possible to deal with traffic, long spots, winds, malfunctions, etc. If I have to track longer than normal to get separation, I will. If I safely can track less and deploy higher, I will. I do not have a set pull altitude. It varies jump to jump depending on circumstances.

Derek V

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chuckakers

***

Quote

and dont fucking track up jump run....



Sorry for the slight highjack but...absolutely do track up jump run if that is the direction you need to track to get away from your 16 way. No more and no less than is necessary to gain adequate opening separation from your group. Then fly your canopy off the line of flight until you see the next group open.



There is no such thing as tracking "no more" than is necessary to gain adequate separation unless the breakoff is abnormally high. A typical group has 1,500 to 2,000 feet of altitude available to gain horizontal separation. Every inch of it should be used to track as hard and as far as possible.

Additionally, a group should never exit so close that the group before has to restrict tracking distance to avoid interaction with them. If adequate separation is given between groups it is perfectly safe to track up the jump run (and down the jump run for the following group).

Wasn't there a fatality / dual fatalities a couple of years ago attributed to a collision between jumpers from separate groups and one / both tracking hard and fast? I don't remember it involving people tracking up / down the jump run. My flawed memory suggests it may have been people tracking at an angle from the jump run, perhaps a little too far. I am sure someone on here will have a better recollection than I / will know how to find / link to the incident I have in mind.

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I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

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