Canopy opens, what do you do next?

[yeyo 1]

Im seeing a trend in the replys that worries me...
And that is loosening the chest strap before releasing the breaks. What if theres something wrong when you pop the brakes? Your handles are not gonna be were you think they are, maybe even unreachable. Makes sense? Think about that. I changed my routine after thinking about it. My sequence is:

01. Unzip arms if Im on a wingsuit.
1. Riser turn to where I wanna be heading.
2. Collapse slider.
3. Pop the brakes
4. Control check
5. Loosen chest strap
6. Unzip legs if Im on a wingsuit

All this while checking for traffic. I turn my camera off after everyones landed, in case something interesting happens. I know heavy loaded canopies are gona haul ass when you pop the breaks, and youll have less time for the rest, but I can loosen my chest strap with hands on toggles flaring a little.

HISPA #93
DS #419.5

[jsaxton 0]

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Who ever said they have their hands on the rears during opening, STOP THAT! When you start jumping seriously loaded canopies that will give you some "great" (aka wild) openings.

And potentially a broken knuckle or two

[RB_Hammer 0]

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Immediately after YOU have a "good" opening and are under a land-able canopy, what do YOU do?

---

After watching some videos shot by medium-young-low-timers, I started to think about what their post-opening routines had in common. No right or wrong answers. I'm just curious about what YOU actually do.

Thanks for the info.

- David

PS - Even though you may have opinions different from people who respond to this thread, try not to gang up on them quickly. Doing so will just keep others from responding. It would be good to see a realistic cross-section.

As soon as I know that I have a good canopy, I will make harness turn, if needed then unzip my arm wings. Have not had any line twists in my last 3 dozen or so jumps, but dealing with those is my next action, followed by slider colapse and control check.
I deploy at 4000 ft. and am under a 1:1 Spectre 190.

"I'm not lost. I don't know where I'm going, but there's no sense in being late."
Mathew Quigley

[AggieDave 6]

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Honest question - if you're not making any inputs but just have your hands on them, ready to do a riser turn for avoidance, how will it give you a "wild" opening?

Even without conciously giving input, you're still adding input to the rear by having your hands on them. You may not notice on a Sabre2 230, but if you build up that habit when/if you load a canopy over about 1.9 you'll find that even slight input on the rears can get funky on opening.

I've found that its better to relax in the harness and look at the horizon. It helps keep your body even in the harness. You can grab your rears if you really *need* to, but it usually makes things a little more motivating.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[jimmytavino 16]

I scan as wide a view as possible, as i deploy, soas to anticipate and respond if i'm on any sort of intersecting path,, with another jumper...

then...
I do a visual Inspection of each of my 3 ring locking loops and cables to assure that they are solid, and the cables are well seated...

then mostly the same as others...assess my location relative to the dz...
un clip wings, take the toggles in hand,
release brakes,
stow slider..
almost never loosen my chest strap...

i get plenty of performance outta my canopy, thank you very much...
slow and careful suits me just fine...
don't HAVE to go ramming around the sky, and get to the ground, as fast and as speedy as possible....i leave that to others.....
i try to be the one doing a stand-up In the pea gravel,,, as long as traffic conditions allow for it,,, Otherwise, I always yield the right-of-way...
jmy

[denete 2]

So here's what prompted the question.

I was watching a video shot recently by a medium-low-timer. On deployment there were about 2-1/2 revolutions of line twists. The camera shows the jumper watching the line twists while getting out of them, then watching slider while collapsing it, then watching hands go into toggles, popping toggles, then a glance toward the altimeter, then a look forward, a look to the left, then a left turn.

I started thinking about this and realized that the jumper probably didn't keep track of the other two jumpers in their group while dealing with the line twists. It seemed like the post-opening routine must have been habit formed over time.

Thanks for the information on what you guys actually do after opening. I feel as confident as ever about my own routine.

SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

[danielcroft 2]

Depends on the canopy, I seem to have a nice 720 down on the Lotus, my Sabre 2 only usually does 90s. Lets me check the area for other canopies automatically. For the record, I'm having other people jump my gear to rule that out but it's probably me. I've had several other people pack for me to rule that out too. Odd thing is that the Lotus was fine for the first couple of jumps. The Sabre 2 has always had shitty openings. The Spectre has always been on heading & nice - no surprises there.

1. Check traffic
2. Locate DZ
3. Slider
4. Steerability
5. Chest strap
6. Play
7. Pattern
8. Land

Check traffic the whole time.

[JohnMitchell 14]

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I DO NOT fly straight back to the DZ, since is is usually also up or down jump run. I fly diagonally back to towards the DZs direction.

Good idea. I train folks short of the DZ to fly perpendicular to the jump run line until the following group opens up, then head to the DZ. Better to maybe land short some day than have a jumper sized hole in your canopy (or helmet).

[JohnMitchell 14]

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loosen my chest strap, look at toggles to avoid grabbing any brake line that might have escaped from the keepers, unstow toggles.

If you should encounter a problem after releasing the brakes that necessitates chopping, could the loosened chest strap be a problem?

Do you look-grab-look-grab-punch-punch? I feel that's the safest cutaway method.

[aardvarkeater 0]

1. Check for traffic.
2. Grab rears and steer clear of traffic if necessary
3. Check altitude
4. Collapse slider
5. Pop toggles
6. Control check
7. Locate DZ and head into pattern

Muff Brother #4026
Loco Zapatos Rodriguez
SCR #14793

[Baksteen 84]

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3. Check altitude

Nice catch!

"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

[sparkie 0]

1. open my eyes
2. spend an eternity fiddling with the slider while never looking around
3. still not looking around and loosening my chest strap, no idea what that does but all the cracks do it so I do it too
4. adjusting my fallus, if its off center my canopy keeps wanting to turn
5. make a hard turn towards the dz, before looking for traffic

o boy... did i mess up your "holier than thou", "kicking in the open door" questions?

Ill make a new poll: do you turn on your headlights while driving in the dead of night?

[humanflite 0]

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Im seeing a trend in the replys that worries me...
And that is loosening the chest strap before releasing the breaks. What if theres something wrong when you pop the brakes? Your handles are not gonna be were you think they are, maybe even unreachable. Makes sense? Think about that. I changed my routine after thinking about it. My sequence is:

01. Unzip arms if Im on a wingsuit.
1. Riser turn to where I wanna be heading.
2. Collapse slider.
3. Pop the brakes
4. Control check
5. Loosen chest strap
6. Unzip legs if Im on a wingsuit

All this while checking for traffic. I turn my camera off after everyones landed, in case something interesting happens. I know heavy loaded canopies are gona haul ass when you pop the breaks, and youll have less time for the rest, but I can loosen my chest strap with hands on toggles flaring a little.

True, wasnt it ascertained that this is what most likely caused the death of the AFFi 'Shindig' at Elsinore not so long ago?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3246379;

Ive made a mental note never to loosen the chest strap b4 control check, and also not loosen it too much in the event of an unplanned low emergency

[AMax 0]

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1. Use rear risers to dodge traffic and get pointed in whatever direction is appropriate
2. Turn off camera
3. Collapse and pull down slider
4. Loosen chest strap
5. Unclip camera wings and take off booties if traffic permits
6. Release brakes

Consider swaping #4 and #6 ... here is why

http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/347.shtml

[DON321 0]

After the violent 90 hook to left on every opening i get from my sabre 190 (if im not in line twists after)

1. rears to pop end cells
2. altitude check
3. scan for traffic adjusting with risers if needed
4. pop toggles
5. controllability
6. check 3 rings and risers making sure 100%
7. head toward DZ

slider dosent really bother me i just leave it alone, have never loosened chest strap no need

every now and then when i pull higher than normal and do all my opening steps, while heading back to the DZ I will look down and practice my EP's look and touch the handles "NOT PULL THEM" I know they may be in a different place in certain mals but in the habbit of looking for them and at them helps to use them when needed.....

[alge 0]

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every now and then when i pull higher than normal and do all my opening steps, while heading back to the DZ I will look down and practice my EP's look and touch the handles "NOT PULL THEM" I know they may be in a different place in certain mals but in the habbit of looking for them and at them helps to use them when needed.....

Here's a clicky for you: http://willwm.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/quotationmarks-thumb.jpg - see also http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

To stay on topic:
* Find two squares (if not: EP)
* Yank on back risers to get slider down
* Collapse slider, pull over toggles
* Pop toggles
* Loosen breast strap
* Relax a few seconds in deep brakes

[fred 0]

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Immediately after YOU have a "good" opening and are under a land-able canopy, what do YOU do?

(warning: low jumper here)

I was taught to first make sure that I have a good canopy over my head. To me, that means making sure that it's there and square. I'm pretty sure I was taught steerable, but that would involve releasing the brakes.

I open, and watch it open and make sure everything looks okay. And then immediately look around for traffic. Assuming everything looks clear, I'll release the brakes, do minor controllability tests, and then try to find everybody else who was on the load (I'm at a Cessna DZ, so I try to find 3 other canopies). I'll then do practice flares and the remaining controllability tests.

My new (beer) rig has a collapsible slider. I expect I'll collapse it before I do practice flares. I'm not really sure if I should bother collapsing it.

(Edit: This inspired me to do a search on collapsible sliders, and I'm now convinced that I should collapse it, even if I don't care about the performance)

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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Im seeing a trend in the replys that worries me...
And that is loosening the chest strap before releasing the breaks. What if theres something wrong when you pop the brakes?

I usually loosen my chest strap before I release the brakes. Since the Elsinore fatality last June I have made the decision to change my procedure but old habits die hard. I usually remember as I am loosening my chest strap.

[padu 0]

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Consider swaping #4 and #6 ... here is why

http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/347.shtml

So do you release the brakes to loosen the chest strap or you keep'em in your hands? I was thinking that depending on the canopy (high wing load) and time you spend loosening the chest strap, you could stall the canopy right?

Una volta che avrete imparato a Volare, camminerete sulla terra guardando il cielo perchè è là che siete stati ed è là che vorrete tornare.

[mnealtx 0]

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Quote

Consider swaping #4 and #6 ... here is why

http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/347.shtml

So do you release the brakes to loosen the chest strap or you keep'em in your hands? I was thinking that depending on the canopy (high wing load) and time you spend loosening the chest strap, you could stall the canopy right?

I wouldn't THINK that a canopy would stall with your hands at armpit level, unless the brake lines were WAY too short.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[padu 0]

Humnn... thinking about that, that's right. When I fly half brakes I guess it's even deeper than hands on chest...

Una volta che avrete imparato a Volare, camminerete sulla terra guardando il cielo perchè è là che siete stati ed è là che vorrete tornare.

[tbrown 26]

I grab my rears and make sure I'm opening on heading. I'm also taking a quick look around for other people, but there's not much I can do about them until I'm fully inflated. As soon as I am inflated I steer anywhere I need to on rears to be safe with other canopies. Then I collapse my slider, pop my brakes and do a quick controllability chack (SMALL left/right turns and one full flare). Then I fall into line with the pattern and head for the DZ.

I find my slider is difficult to collapse after releasing my brakes, so I do that first (and easily) before taking the brakes off.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[lethargic8 0]

Is there some reason why you can't/shouldn't hold both brakes in one hand and loosen the chest strap with the other?

[fasted3 0]

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Is there some reason why you can't/shouldn't hold both brakes in one hand and loosen the chest strap with the other?

Don't see why not.
Here is one I thought of: Usually I push up my goggles after I open. Wanting to look like a cool kid I get some gatorz and can't take them off. I land off in a cotton field. Here is the thing, if I had been wearing my regular goggles, I bet they would have been up on my helmet and I'd have had cotton branches poking my eyes. Lesson: If you're landing off, consider keeping the goggles on.
Happy landings

But what do I know?

[jakee 1,254]

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Is there some reason why you can't/shouldn't hold both brakes in one hand and loosen the chest strap with the other?

Don't see why not.

But more to the point, why would you?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?