Step Through Cutaway

[EOCS 0]

JohnnyMarko

******Hi, to me the mistake was the insistence of being on the first load. Generally I like to avoid short calls but thought I had got around that rule by having a friend pack while I ate instead of eating, missing the first load, and then just packing myself.

As mentioned a step through should be damned easy to spot during a line check and I think I would have caught it. on the chance that I did not then it would not be another person who packed my mal but myself.

TLDR; my mistake was being in a rush

Your mistake was not packing your own gear.

Thank you

Caused by me being in a rush to get on the first load ;)

[EOCS 0]

JohnMitchell

***

TLDR; my mistake was being in a rush

Been there, done that. I packed a "flip thru" once. I was halfway thru my pack job when some friends wanted to see the video I had shot. When I came back my stuff had been kicked around but it looked okay(ish), so I finished it up. Next jump. . . cutaway from step thru.

Hey, a couple of tips on cutaways.

1- Put your feet on your butt and ARCH as you're reaching for the handles. Much better to fall away stable, belly to earth, as your reserve deploys than to fall back to earth with your feet out in front.

2- Wearing a camera? Consider tipping your head way forward as you cutaway to give as much room as possible between your deploying reserve and that snaggy little GoPro.

3- For many years we used ripcords on our main parachutes to deploy them, and we held onto the handles every jump. I've never heard a GOOD reason to automatically throw away either handle when you cutaway. Why not hang onto them?

1. was first thing I noticed when watching the video. That my legs were way out and I just kinda rag dolled when I chopped. If I were to pull my legs in would it not increase my rotation speed? Do you think I would have enough air speed to be able to make a difference with an arch before the reserve deployed?

2. Yea. again in retrospect seeing the reserve bridle go right next to my head and thus camera the thought occurred. During the event I was trying to keep my face out of my risers, although I had a full face on. I do remember distinctly not wanting my main risers to snag the cam. With my particular setup the camera is mounted very very far back on a G3. Maybe its time to rethink that location.

3. Yea! I totally agree and in the hanging harness I hang on to them. However in both cutaways that I've had I've tossed them like they had the plague. Lucky for me on this ride they velcrod themselves onto my harness and I was able to keep them. Not sure why I do that......

Thanks for the tips. I will be relocating my camera at the very least.

[EOCS 0]

jimjumper

But then again, I also loved my SOS system. That also freaked out the newbies when they couldn't see my cutaway handle!

Being a newb... what is an SOS system?

[mathrick 2]

"Single Operation System", a combined cutaway/deployment system operated with just one handle. Some places reportedly have it on their student rigs, presumably in an effort to ensure their students fuck the EPs up when they transition to their own rigs (SOS on student equipment is banned in Denmark at least). My understanding is that some tandem systems have what is essentially SOS, where it makes way more sense.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[Baksteen 84]

JohnMitchell

3- For many years we used ripcords on our main parachutes to deploy them, and we held onto the handles every jump. I've never heard a GOOD reason to automatically throw away either handle when you cutaway. Why not hang onto them?

[hijack]
We still use ripcords for our students and we too teach to throw away the main ripcord before cutaway AND to throw away both handles. We teach a two-handed reserve procedure.

1) We do not want the student wasting time stowing away their main ripcord when they need to do their reserve procedure.

2) from personal experience: once the main is released, the cutaway cables can interfere with grabbing the silver handle.
I extrapolate that this also goes for the main ripcord cable.

We want to provide the student with as few choices as possible:
- after opening you check for malfunctions. If not --> cutaway and go for reserve.
- If ok check for the inconveniences
- at 2k an inconvenience becomes a malfunction -->cutaway and go for reserve.
- If you find you've been dicking around too long and you're already at 1k --> just pull your reserve ripcord.

The sensory overload and malfunction scenarios are complex enough (to the student) without adding secondary worries about if and when to throw away which handle. And then some folks would like to make it even more complex by adding stuff about not cutting away closed-container malfunctions or distinguishing between lineovers you can clear and lineovers you have to cut away from, brake line fires and spinning mals and what have you......

The KISS-principle is widely advocated in our sport - so why not apply it in the reserve procedure, when stress skyrockets (even more) and time is (even more) limited?
[/hijack]

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[JohnMitchell 14]

EOCS

1. was first thing I noticed when watching the video. That my legs were way out and I just kinda rag dolled when I chopped. If I were to pull my legs in would it not increase my rotation speed? Do you think I would have enough air speed to be able to make a difference with an arch before the reserve deployed?

Yes! Base jumpers start with even less airspeed and they are very careful with their presentation. It DOES make a difference. I'm 10-for-10 face to earth on cutaways using these techniques. A friend of mine with many more cutaways, many of them intentional test cutaways, gives the same advice on body position.
The increase in rotational velocity? I think that would be negligible.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Baksteen

***3- For many years we used ripcords on our main parachutes to deploy them, and we held onto the handles every jump. I've never heard a GOOD reason to automatically throw away either handle when you cutaway. Why not hang onto them?

[hijack]
We still use ripcords for our students and we too teach to throw away the main ripcord before cutaway AND to throw away both handles.
When we had ripcords for mains, we taught to throw away the main handle before cutaways. Pretty standard stuff there.

Quote

2) from personal experience: once the main is released, the cutaway cables can interfere with grabbing the silver handle.

We teach one hand per handle, grab each before cutting away. We feel at that point it's not hard to teach "ARCH and hang onto the handles."

Quote

The sensory overload and malfunction scenarios are complex enough (to the student) without adding secondary worries about if and when to throw away which handle. And then some folks would like to make it even more complex by adding stuff about not cutting away closed-container malfunctions or distinguishing between lineovers you can clear and lineovers you have to cut away from, brake line fires and spinning mals and what have you......

The KISS-principle is widely advocated in our sport - so why not apply it in the reserve procedure, when stress skyrockets (even more) and time is (even more) limited?
[/hijack]

Well, we use the "pump toggles twice" to clear low speed partials, then cutaway if it doesn't clear. That hasn't seemed too complicated.

Hang onto the handles, throw away the handles, either way you're teaching something. Why not make it the way YOU do it? Often they do, sometimes they don't, but I don't think it's too complicating.