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vamospeligro

Riser cover lock-up

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This weekend I was doing my 36th skydive and my 3rd on a brand-new Wings Vision system I recently bought. After an uneventful freefall, I deployed at 4500', which felt like a normal opening until I found myself with my chin pinned against my chest, belly down, and unable to look up, as if the harness was on the back of my head instead of my back. My initial thoughts were that I was slipping out of my harness, or that my risers were twisted behind my head. In the first scenario, a cutaway wouldn't do me any favors, as I'd still be slipping from my harness. The second scenario would definitely warrant a cutaway and reserve deployment, if in fact my risers were twisted and I couldn't get them undone. I reached up to feel around and couldn't locate twists. The canopy was flying straight, and with a little tug on the left and right risers, I could feel that the canopy was controllable. At 3500' I decided I had a little time to sort out what was going on. As part of my canopy checks, I also do a condition check on my 3 rings and cutaway cable (I believe checking them in the air will keep me in the habit of always looking at them on the ground). In doing this, I couldn't see the 3 rings at all, and that's when I realized my riser covers were locked and that it was my slider that was keeping my head pinned down. With a little bit of effort, I got the left side open, and while counter steering with the left risers, I was able to get the right side open. Once the risers were free, everything got very comfortable again.

I realize this is a minor occurrence, and not very common considering most newbies fly well-used gear. I can, however, see this becoming a problem were someone to panic after having a lockup on their brand-new gear. I believe if I had cut my main away, it would not have cleanly released (if at all) due to how tightly closed the covers were. I also believe that had one cover released, and not the other, a gradual turn could have added to the confusion. I'm certain that many of you have heard this story a thousand times, and have possibly experienced it for yourselves. I now know that there are multiple forum posts on this same subject. It was however, completely new to me as it wasn't covered during my AFF training (most of the AFF gear has riser covers that just won't stay closed). I only bring it up because I believe it's worth reminding those who are buying new gear, as well as informing inexperienced folks such as myself about the symptoms and possibility of this type of mal. Over time I'm sure the covers will loosen up, otherwise I'll need to see a rigger.

Take good care,
Chris

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Good job on thinking through and dealing with the problem.

The main risers were packed on top of the lower set of riser covers? Just checking.

A hangup on a stiff new rig is of course more likely if one misses that.

I'm not familiar with the Vision but I see on Sunrise's web site they say it has redesigned riser covers. Although it isn't clear whether the shape is any different or it is just a change in the parts to have different panels and trim options.

Doing a 3-ring system check after opening might not be common (I guess) but is a habit I've sometimes done from having tandem instructor experience, where it was emphasized.

(As with many things, it is unneeded 99.9% of the time but can be useful if one screws up a rig assembly - like in a recent fatality - or something else goes badly wrong. It can be part of a general check of one's deployed main.)

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I don't know the Wings Vision container already but if the riser covers have tuck tabs, and provided the rig is tight at the shoulders, it is always possible to have one or both tuck tabs locked-up or get one tuck tab releasing before the other. In both cases, a problem can happen. This is to avoid that kind of problems tuck tabs with magnets have been invented. They always get released simultaneously at a specific force.
Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

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This is a more serious problem than you may think.

If the riser covers delay opening until the slider begins down the lines and then they suddenly release, you will essentially have a sudden drop causing 20" of slack in the lines (the length of the risers). If this happens the slider will come down the lines like an anvil causing an incredibly hard opening.

In the late 90s early 2000s this problem caused at least one broken neck, one broken femur and one severed aorta. Two of these were fatal.

Please do not take this problem lightly.
Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

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There are several rigs on the market today with riser cover designs that can lock up if the risers are if not packed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. As I understand it, these covers are much more secure than older designs and make the rigs more freefly friendly.

I don't know if failure to route the risers properly has ever proven fatal, but I have seen video of these hang ups and they are plenty nasty. In one case I reviewed, the hang up was only on one side and caused a pretty brisk spin of the main that probably would not have been survivable if landed but would have most likely kept the canopy from leaving the jumper had she chosen to perform a cutaway. She got lucky and the riser cover eventually released before she chopped it.

While I don't like the idea of a rig that can have a potentially deadly mal from a simple failure to place the risers in a specific way, it's not really new. Failure to route bridles properly, close flaps in the correct order, and any number of packing errors have historically created totals and partials.

Bottom line. It is imperative that we pack our rigs in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and insure that our packers do too.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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Attached is a photo of my gear. The label is plainly visible on both left and right sides of the container.

To be perfectly honest, I did not open my riser covers as part of my gear check, although I will do so from here forth. I don't think my packer misrouted the risers, as I used the same packer on my previous two uneventful jumps that day.

I will also be packing for myself from now on, with adult supervision of course. ;)

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If the riser covers delay opening until the slider begins down the lines and then they suddenly release, you will essentially have a sudden drop causing 20" of slack in the lines (the length of the risers). If this happens the slider will come down the lines like an anvil causing an incredibly hard opening.



That sounds entirely unpleasant and is something I'd like to avoid. Thanks for educating me about the severity of this problem.

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Do you have a video of this or something similar?

The force restraining the slider at the top is the air hitting it and the friction from the grommets on the lines. Shortening the distance (i.e. if your canopy comes out with an instant line twist) will decrease the air pressure and cause your slider to come down prematurely, as I've seen in my own deployments a few times. But the distance riser cover to riser cover is the same as the distance ring to ring, so purely hypothetically this shouldn't substantially influence opening shock. Please let me know if I have my physics ass backwards.

As far as the issue at hand, my wings container had a riser cover that on a couple of jumps stayed closed, but it was never more than a nuisance and the issue hasn't been an issue in almost 300 jumps after the container got broken in a bit. Make sure your main risers go on top of that flap that says "place main risers on top of this flap" under the riser covers. Wings are one of the containers where not doing so has caused fatalities before.

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A riser cover lock-up in an Icon almost get a friend of mine killed (before I met him, but that doesn't matter). The risers were placed on top of the reserve risers, under the secondary flap.

Check that, I'd bet that this was the problem. What I don't understand is how the slider pinned your head against your chest. That's really weird.

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Having riser covers not open completely might look like just a inconvenient problem, but it's much, much more than that. The industry have put an insane amount of effort in developing riser covers that stay closed when needed, and open/release when needed. A delayed release of riser covers can cause incredibly hard openings, to the point of injury/death, although very rare, not pleasant.

I've always found this video of John LeBlanc on hard openings very educative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVAoiLl2B6M


Also: You describing the harness being on the back of your head could indicate that your leg straps were too loose.

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Deimian

What I don't understand is how the slider pinned your head against your chest. That's really weird.


I'm not trying to speak for the OP, and I'm not terribly familiar with the Wings he is jumping or how it fits him, but it's entirely possible that it was actually the container itself that pinned his head down. If both riser covers were locked, the risers would be trying to suspend the rig from near the top of the reserve container, pulling it up and towards the front of the jumper's body since the load on the risers is trying to create a straight line between the 3-ring attachment point and the connector links on the ends of the risers.

I've had the same thing happen to me one a reserve deployment on an old rig that had velcro riser covers for the reserve risers. I suspect the velcro hadn't been unseated for quite some time:D

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Also: You describing the harness being on the back of your head could indicate that your leg straps were too loose.



Please let me clarify: I felt as if the container was on the back of my head, when it was actually my slider forcing my head forward. My leg straps were very snug during the entire jump, in fact, I loosened them only after departing the landing area.

As far as the fit goes, the container is tailored to my specs and fits beautifully. With leg straps snug and chest straps semi-snug, the container moves very little, and definitely not enough to get anywhere near the back of my head.

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