How the ?

[JohnnyMarko 1]

Came across this video today...yea, no doubt his freefall sucked but how the hell did he fly that canopy backwards?? The info on the video says he hooked it on backwards, but I doubt this person is rigging his own container...anyone have any insight to how the hell his canopy was flipped around?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxBwM5rH7sc

[BrianM 1]

Cutaway the canopy and hook it back up with the right riser on the left side, and the left riser on the right side. Easy to do unintentionally if you are not paying attention.

"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

[linebckr83 3]

Unless you use an rsl, then you'll have to take the lines off the risers and do it all over again.....the right way.

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[jimmytavino 16]

3 distinct video squences....
Nothing to say that the jumper(s) in freefall and the jumper under canopy.. are the same....
for sure they all 3 need MORE lessons!!!

If you decide that you'll LAND a ram air canopy ... that is hooked up backwards,,,
either intentionally,,, or Not.....
ONE important rule....
You have to FLARE it.....

If it's something one would like to consider... ( for edumacational reasons.. )
Might be best to pick a day with a bit of breeze ,, and to make sure,, that you're going Upwind.... @ Landing.....
Or rather,, that your canopy is going upwind,, even though you're facing downwind,,,,,
and you better believe !!! THAT visual can mess you UP>>>>>watching where you came from,,, instead of where you're going!!!! ( That would be like riding in the Back seat of the old 9 passenger station wagon, where you faced backwards.....) though i bet most here.. NEVER heard of such things....!!!
anyway... When someone tries it... i'll hope to have the video camera handy...

let's be careful out there
jmy

jt

[danielcroft 2]

Some risers have the RSL ring on both sides, so the RSL ring isn't the best way to tell. The best way is to know which way your canopy and risers should be facing when attached. Failing that, get help from someone who knows what they're doing - a rigger for example.

[Glitch 0]

Back in '84... I managed to hook my main up backwards. It was the weekend before I left to join the Army. I was doing Mr. Bill dives w/my dads canopy (375' Goliath) all day... Fun. For the last load of the day, the DZO asked me if I wanted to jump again. Naturally, I told him yeah, but I had no more funds. He said he'd buy me a jump, but I gotta get my shit together cause the sun was going down. Well... instead of packing that monster up, I swapped it out for my main, which I had ever so carefully took out of the container earlier and placed to the side (not far enough to the side though, cause it was moved from where I put it). All I had to do was hook up the risers, close to container, and the pilot chute in its pouch (which I managed to do in record time btw...). Anyway... the dive went off as planned, and I found myself saddled out at about 2K under a perfectly functional canopy, with the exception of facing backwards. Since I had already had to postpone my service for 3 months to heal from a dislocated shoulder, I elected to chop it. Stood up the landing on a 26' Phantom btw... Anyway, the dzo didn't quite believe me (my story, or my reasoning), or maybe he did... either way, he banned me from the dz for 3 months. No biggie... I was leaving that week for Basic... then jump school... then AIT at Ft. Lee. I often thought he only banned me so that the other hot heads that witnessed it wouldn't get the idea that it was cool to do... even though it kinda was at the time.

Randomly f'n thingies up since before I was born...

[fasted3 0]

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When someone tries it... i'll hope to have the video camera handy...

Nekkid guy reported that he did this on purpose for his 1,000th jump (I think it was,) Thankfully, no video.

But what do I know?

[skyjumpenfool 2]

I did it once back in the 70's.... wouldn't want to do it again, however, I had a real nice stand up landing.

I have L & R for left and right on all my risers. When I'm switching canapies (usualy for CRW) it helps just as a visual check.

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[linebckr83 3]

True some do. But most are designated one way or another. I've jumped an older Talon with the rsl ring on the wrong side before, but only a couple jumps.

One thing is for certain, ALWAYS perform at least one good continuity check on any main that's been modified. I've done my own 6 or 7 times already and have managed to put a twist in one or both risers on one side. The twist is pushed down to the bottom of the risers, but the thing had to be disassembled and fixed. The best way to check is by hanging the canopy up. Hell, hanging it up takes more time than the actual check once it's up there.

"Are you coming to the party?
Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!"
Flying Hellfish #828
Dudist #52

[danielcroft 2]

Yeah, agreed.

I think the area where people really get into trouble is when attaching or re-attaching a canopy which is already in a dbag as Glitch mentioned. If you (not talking to anyone in particular here) can't do a continuity check then you'd better have another way to tell which side each riser is for.

[DSE 3]

Watch the video again closely. I suspect it's a ruse. The "bad" skydiver actually is pretty good in that he's not flailing his body, just using small moves to get a lot of spin/twist/flip.

There are a few stories of people landing their canopies backwards, but that particular landing looks like a "hold my beer and watch this" without a flare. If it was an unintentional connection to the harness, I'd wager most would cut it away.

[Cueb 0]

How can you miss this at packing?

[DSE 3]

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How can you miss this at packing?

How can someone miss their legstraps being on?
How can someone miss their cheststrap and exit?

And...maybe (and in this video, entirely likely) it is done intentionally as a spoof. There are some great shots of Curtis from Arsenal flying backwards, and it was an intentional setup.
Maybe they didn't do a continuity check, maybe they are dyslexic, maybe a lot of things

[BrianM 1]

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How can you miss this at packing?

In my experience, this is usually a result of hooking up a canopy that is already packed in the deployment bag, such as when swapping canopies between rigs, or hooking a main back up after a reserve repack. Taking the extra few minutes for a complete repack should prevent this.

"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

[JohnnyMarko 1]

thanks for all the input...Im still new to rigging (just starting to pack) and I figured it was misconnecting the risers somehow, intentional or not...thanks guys

[koppel 3]

My first rig was a brown Talon with BCRW-1 embroidered on the mud flap....

I am sure there are some people here that will know what that means ;)

Gary Cobb was the original owner..... the rig did many many jumps with the main hooked up backwards, as did a number of people who got their BCRW #number

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[wmw999 2,123]

I did it in the early 80's too, on a cross-country no less. Since it was a 230, and I weighed about 120, it was an easy standup in front of the hangar.

But I'd chop these days most likely. Of course, I'm not in too much of a hurry to repack when reconnecting a canopy nowadays, too

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Skydivesg 6]

In the late 70s I gave my rig to my rigger completely packed he repacked my reserve and gave it back to me completely packed.

I went to a DC3 (Skytrain) boogie and on the first jump (a 25 way attempt) ended up having to land my Strato-star backwards.

Now that was fun!!!

He became my "use to be my" rigger.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[Andy9o8 0]

You guys are all such wussies. I made my first 100 jumps landing backwards.

[phoenixlpr 0]

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You guys are all such wussies. I made my first 100 jumps landing backwards.

I guess on round mains because of the wind and not misrigging.

[kkeenan 13]

In CRW, we often change canopies and sometimes they are already packed in a D-bag. For that reason, most people have an "R" and "L" marked on the risers or brake handles. I have that on my freefall rig, as well. It's not a bad idea if you change out mains very often.

Avoiding one backward ride makes it worthwhile.

Kevin K.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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You guys are all such wussies. I made my first 100 jumps landing backwards.

He'd still be jumping it backwards if we didn't tell him after his 100th!

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[firstime 0]

ditto.... a ruse

[mjosparky 3]

Post # 35.

Sparky

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2324792;search_string=bluesbdeath;guest=65074515

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[popsjumper 2]

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You guys are all such wussies. I made my first 100 jumps landing backwards.

...and/or sideways.


My 2.5 hrs of PLF training came in mighty handy under T-10s.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239