Having trouble reaching my pilot chute

[Sam618 3]

Since I decided to downsize to a smaller container i'm having trouble reaching my pilot chute...I have a pretty muscular physique and i'm not very flexible. It really scare me and I don't know what to do except trying to be more flexible... Anyone ever seen that and know a solution? Sorry for my poor english

[boyfalldown 0]

Not that it helps much after the fact, but wings makes the ext. Its a taller thinner container that gets the pud lower on your body for tall guys jumping smaller rigs.

[pilot-one 0]

I have the same problem. I have to put both hands back in order to reach. if I reach one arm back and the other over my head in the classic pull position I cannot reach. This is because as i reach my left arm above my head my trap muscle pulls the rig up higher. The harder i reach the farther away the hacky is.
If I put both hands back then I have no problem. I do have to be careful not to get head low when doing this so I start out kind of head high and then reach. Since my level 4 AFF i have not missed it yet doing it this way in 1500 skydives.

[airtwardo 7]

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Since I decided to downsize to a smaller container i'm having trouble reaching my pilot chute...I have a pretty muscular physique and i'm not very flexible. It really scare me and I don't know what to do except trying to be more flexible... Anyone ever seen that and know a solution? Sorry for my poor english

You answered your own question...get flexible!

That or get a parachute that you CAN deploy, or modify yours by moving the pilot-chute within reach...of course that may raise some different types of issues for you.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[nigel99 288]

We had a reserve ride for exactly this reason not long ago. The guy wasn't flexible enough to reach the hackey.

Using an improvised belly band to pull the bottom of the rig snug against you helps reduce the problem.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[ouch 0]

A couple of years ago, I saw a muscle bound bloke struggle with his handle.

His rig was older so it was easy enough to just move the boc pilot chute back to the old leg strap throwaway. Worked a treat!

No good for free flying, but a good option for a flatty who's starting out.

[billeisele 130]

at least 3 options: ripcord and a spring, belly band, back of leg

what new novel ideas , nothing exactly wrong with any of these and I guess they are better options than a BOC that you can't reach

try not to hit the ground

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[DivingWombat 0]

Hey, I'm having exactly the same problem! At around 93kg and 1.80m, working out since 10 years.

Had little to none problems on student and rental gear. But my brandnew rig is a whole different story.
When I practice on the ground, I have no problem to reach the handle. Even when a friend tries to move the rig in any direction it still works pretty easy. When falling through the air I hardly can reach the handle. I'm looking for a solution too...try to get more flexible or...?
If it won't get better it's just a question of time till I have to pull the reserve.

[BillyVance 34]

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Hey, I'm having exactly the same problem! At around 93kg and 1.80m, working out since 10 years.

Had little to none problems on student and rental gear. But my brandnew rig is a whole different story.
When I practice on the ground, I have no problem to reach the handle. Even when a friend tries to move the rig in any direction it still works pretty easy. When falling through the air I hardly can reach the handle. I'm looking for a solution too...try to get more flexible or...?
If it won't get better it's just a question of time till I have to pull the reserve.

That's a good example of parts of your rig not being where they normally are when you're on the ground. Its a good idea to spend a couple of jumps doing practice pulls during freefall, until you're comfortable. Don't wait until pull time.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[ChrisD 0]

A number of good, common sense reply's mentioned already,...

An excellent reply would include the advance reccomondation that this was something to consideer before "downsizing."

Lets see, by playing this out a little...

"cant reach hacky, becuse mussles are in the way."

Do I have this little picture correct???

Then you need to stop using this equipment...

RIGHT NOW!

Cause yo ant going to make it to the point where your ever going to be flexible enough!!!!

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[ShotterMG 0]

The answer here is too focus on your arch. When you're not flexible and reaching back the tendency is to dearch while you struggle with it, which of course makes the hackey go further away. Before you pull think "arch" and push those hips down. The handle will be much more accessible. I am a big guy too and had the same issue until I figured it out. Good luck.

[DivingWombat 0]

Chris, I always like your posts to cheer me up!

[DivingWombat 0]

I will spend my next jumps to do practice pulls and maybe take somebody with me for video.
The rig is built for my frame. There is a long yoke, the BOC sits just above my butt and I am not that unflexible as many might think. e.g. I clean my ass by myself
On the ground supereasy to reach and in the air very difficult. I still don't understand why...

There is always room to get more flexible.

[BillyVance 34]

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I will spend my next jumps to do practice pulls and maybe take somebody with me for video.
The rig is built for my frame. There is a long yoke, the BOC sits just above my butt and I am not that unflexible as many might think. e.g. I clean my ass by myself
On the ground supereasy to reach and in the air very difficult. I still don't understand why...

There is always room to get more flexible.

I remember there was one tiny rig with sub 100 sq ft main and reserve, not sure exactly what size reserve though but I thought it was a fake. They told me no its for real. They let me try it on. Fuck, I could barely reach the BOC and I'm not a big guy.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[demon4o7 0]

I used to feel the stretch w student rigs. Not anymore. I also questioned why it was easy on the ground and not in the air. I think it's the arch, put your rig on lay on the ground arch reach and pull and you'll be able to replicate. I do shoulder stretches now. Everything is all good. Then again ymmv

[rifleman 61]

I had problems reaching the BOC on my student rig (cuurently doing PRCP's) and always felt like I was fighting the rig when moving around in the a/c (kept trying to drag me backwards) until I figured out I have a very short back. Now I have the MLW's adjusted right up against the stops and the rig fits a hell of a lot better. I actually feel like the rig is part of me now and not an appendage.

Atheism is a Non-Prophet Organisation

[CReW 0]

I'm a diver and the motion of raising your arms and locking your hands together over your head in preparation to enter the water is easy when standing on the ground. Take the ground out of the equation by putting your body in freefall and you've got something entirely different. By removing your body from the earth you've lost mechanical advantage and the muscles that helped you when you were connected to the ground are now working against you or at least in your way. That's why divers work on shoulder flexibility.

Whenever you remove your body from the ground you've lost mechanical advantage. You won't be able to reach as far as easy, you won't have as much strength at your disposal and you will not be able to push or pull as hard. As a diver I realized this early on. Why is it so much harder to get my hands over my head in the air than it is standing on the ground? As a jumper the older I get the more painfully obvious it becomes. What I'm going to do about it is keep working on my flexibility by stretching slowly and patiently every day. Every other day won't get it. If my main handle becomes too hard to reach I'll have to change it or move it to a more convenient location.

[DivingWombat 0]

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I'm a diver and the motion of raising your arms and locking your hands together over your head in preparation to enter the water is easy when standing on the ground. Take the ground out of the equation by putting your body in freefall and you've got something entirely different. By removing your body from the earth you've lost mechanical advantage and the muscles that helped you when you were connected to the ground are now working against you or at least in your way. That's why divers work on shoulder flexibility.

Whenever you remove your body from the ground you've lost mechanical advantage. You won't be able to reach as far as easy, you won't have as much strength at your disposal and you will not be able to push or pull as hard. As a diver I realized this early on. Why is it so much harder to get my hands over my head in the air than it is standing on the ground? As a jumper the older I get the more painfully obvious it becomes. What I'm going to do about it is keep working on my flexibility by stretching slowly and patiently every day. Every other day won't get it. If my main handle becomes too hard to reach I'll have to change it or move it to a more convenient location.

I tried to reach while laying belly on the floor. It is much harder to reach!

TY very much for your post!

[airtwardo 7]

Quote

I'm a diver and the motion of raising your arms and locking your hands together over your head in preparation to enter the water is easy when standing on the ground. Take the ground out of the equation by putting your body in freefall and you've got something entirely different. By removing your body from the earth you've lost mechanical advantage and the muscles that helped you when you were connected to the ground are now working against you or at least in your way. That's why divers work on shoulder flexibility.

Whenever you remove your body from the ground you've lost mechanical advantage. You won't be able to reach as far as easy, you won't have as much strength at your disposal and you will not be able to push or pull as hard. As a diver I realized this early on. Why is it so much harder to get my hands over my head in the air than it is standing on the ground? As a jumper the older I get the more painfully obvious it becomes. What I'm going to do about it is keep working on my flexibility by stretching slowly and patiently every day. Every other day won't get it. If my main handle becomes too hard to reach I'll have to change it or move it to a more convenient location.

Don't forget the 'olden daze' trick of hooking the MLW with the left hand and pushing 'out & down'...it brings the rig back within reach on many peeps.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Shyamarose 0]

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We had a reserve ride for exactly this reason not long ago. The guy wasn't flexible enough to reach the hackey.

Using an improvised belly band to pull the bottom of the rig snug against you helps reduce the problem.

I had a reserve ride on my AFF L4 because I couldn't find my pilot chute. I am 5'2", 98 lbs and the pack is so huge it was flying me. I look like a ninja turtle in my rig. More than two tries and too much altitude later I went to EPs. Not a flexibility problem, just short arms. Fixed it by arching hard on a crawler to make sure I could touch the pull, and practiced the touch over and over until it was in muscle memory. But it's still tough and I almost always lose stability at pull time trying to reach. We also used the belly band to pull the rig up higher. But it can only be pulled up so high because we ran out of slack. Can't wait to get something smaller...Good luck!

[koppel 4]

Hey Sam

I met you at the factory and at Z-hills last week.. Have you been getting on ok with the blue loan rig or is it proving to be difficult as well?

Many people want to have the smallest rig possible for the possible canopies that they jump. When you consider your build you may need compromise and accept that you have two passions and continue to jump a slightly larger rig.

At the end of the day a rig that is 3-4 cm longer and 3-4 cm wider is not really that much bigger is it?

Good luck with it all and interested to hear how you go on. Your rig when it is rebuilt

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[shorehambeach 9]

Ninja !

[nigel99 288]

Quote

Quote

We had a reserve ride for exactly this reason not long ago. The guy wasn't flexible enough to reach the hackey.

Using an improvised belly band to pull the bottom of the rig snug against you helps reduce the problem.

I had a reserve ride on my AFF L4 because I couldn't find my pilot chute. I am 5'2", 98 lbs and the pack is so huge it was flying me. I look like a ninja turtle in my rig. More than two tries and too much altitude later I went to EPs. Not a flexibility problem, just short arms. Fixed it by arching hard on a crawler to make sure I could touch the pull, and practiced the touch over and over until it was in muscle memory. But it's still tough and I almost always lose stability at pull time trying to reach. We also used the belly band to pull the rig up higher. But it can only be pulled up so high because we ran out of slack. Can't wait to get something smaller...Good luck!

Not sure how your dz did it, but we thread a piece of webbing that is about an inch wide through the hip rings and have a plastic snap to close the improvised belly band.

By the way who knew cute tiny skydiving girls had the same problems as chunky guys. Lovely pic of you.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[airtwardo 7]

I look like a ninja turtle in my rig.

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...ya kinda DO!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[popsjumper 2]

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An excellent reply would include the advance recommendation that this was something to consider before "downsizing."


Then you need to stop using this equipment...

RIGHT NOW!

Cause yo ain't going to make it to the point where your ever going to be flexible enough!!!!

+10
You beat me to it.
Funny it took 10 posts to tag the root of the problem.

This is a valuable lesson for those youngsters who want to downsize containers.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS REACHABLE BEFORE YOU BUY!

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