timbarrett 0 #1 September 18, 2006 This one got me thinking a bit afterwards about how it could have gone wrong...this wasn't how I imagined by my first chop-or-not decision would unfold.. ..Opened and quickly into multiple line twists (Alti-2 shows me deployed at 2500 after a lovely soft Spectre snivel). It stopped getting worse and I started to kick out of them..but it was taking time and effort. I had always promised and mentally drilled myself to keep looking at my wrist alti while I was kicking out but the effort and hard breathing totally fogged up the full face (Mamba). Now I am thinking "This is coming out, I don't want to chop for this silly thing" but also I could hear the not-so-still voice of Ron shouting 'Time is passing. Stop the skydive!"..I paused, opened my visor (duh!), hands on handles, and looked at my alti. As it happened I could see 2100 and only two twists left..so I went back to kicking and it came out in 10 seconds.. Pretty dull really but I had always imagined that my first possible mal would be something blindingly obvious that screamed "Chop me!" in neon lights across the sky and where I could impress myself with my picture perfect EPs...not something that crept up on me and made me think while time passed..enough time that the rest of the 4-way around me were looking and wondering "Hmm..wonder what he is going to do?" I guess it is never goes the way you think it will. I almost got to my hard deck without making a decision. I would have felt pretty stupid hitting the ground like that...I am reviewing my procedures and reminding myself that there are people on this forum worth listening to because you will hear them later."Work hard, play hard and don't whinge" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #2 September 18, 2006 I think the "smaller" mals are the more dangerous. People have gone in thinking "I can fix this" like stuck brakes, linetwists etc. I know a guy who broke his back landing a crew canopy with a knotted bridle. Not an obvious mal, from below at least as the canopy was square, but the canopy dropped him on his back when he tried to flare. I have had both a stuck brake and a stuck slider on crew canopies (hmmm), fixed both with plenty of altitude to spare but kept thinking "nah what a wussy first chop!" and after a few chops, I was reluctant to chop my spectre when BOTH brakes were stuck and the wind was blowing hard, so the canopy would've ended up miles away. Got the breakes released in time, again.I DIDN'T chop when I got my wrist tangled in my steeringline and triple risers, during the 960 jumpers demo jump (still no clue how i managed THAT but I landed the spectre just fine). But this time the decision WAS informed. I think with those smaller mals, you may take too much time fixing it ("almost there!") and you have too much time to think ("my canopy will end up in the trees!"). An obvious spinning mal or a pilot chute that wasn't coming out, I had no trouble with at all. Anyway, good for you, for staying altitude aware! ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyinseivLP2 0 #3 September 18, 2006 QuoteI think the "smaller" mals are the more dangerous. People have gone in thinking "I can fix this" like stuck brakes, linetwists etc. I think Dragon is right on here. The hardest ones to deal with are the smaller problems that MAYBE you can fix or MAYBE you can land. The reason being you have to make a decision. If you open with a hard spinning line over there isn't much choice to make, you just go ahead and chop it. The indecision is what gets people in trouble. Then you also have to monitor altitude while you are tring to fix the problem and some people seem to forget about that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites labrys 0 #4 September 18, 2006 QuoteI guess it is never goes the way you think it will. I almost got to my hard deck without making a decision. You were altitude aware and know that you didn't get to your hard deck without making a decision. Isn't that the best possible scenario given a mal like that? You cleared the problem and you did it at a safe altitude. The key isn't whether or not you have some dramatic problem that obviously needs to be handled regardless of altitude, it's that you remained altitude aware, in my opinion. Something as simple as line twists can kill you just as dead as a no pull. At your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. It's all relative. Again, just my opinion.Owned by Remi #? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kelpdiver 2 #5 September 18, 2006 QuoteI think the "smaller" mals are the more dangerous. People have gone in thinking "I can fix this" like stuck brakes, linetwists etc. I know a guy who broke his back landing a crew canopy with a knotted bridle. Not an obvious mal, from below at least as the canopy was square, but the canopy dropped him on his back when he tried to flare. yeah, I had something like that. The bridle looped over a d line and I couldn't decide if it was behaving alright or not - Elsinore wind sheer is entertaning all the time - and I ended up below the hard deck without making a decision so I landed it. Either I flared poorly or the issue really did effect flight and I landed a bit hard, but injury free. Unfortunately, once over there was no great way to tell afterwards. Definitely clouding my judgement was it was the first jump of a long weekend. No passing marks for me on that one. It also pointed out the issues with lowering the deploy alt - it opened at 2300 and there wasn't a lot of time to dally on the call. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BIGUN 1,073 #6 September 19, 2006 QuoteAt your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. Well said. The reason for a hard deck is to keep it neon.Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NWFlyer 2 #7 September 19, 2006 QuoteQuoteAt your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. Well said. The reason for a hard deck is to keep it neon. I totally agree - I had a recent mal that I chopped at my hard deck. On the ground I had a lot of people saying "Did you try [X]?" or "Did you try [Y]?" My response was "I hit my hard deck. I was done trying to fix it." The armchair quarterbacking was great for adding options to my "bag of tricks" should I see a similar mal again, but at no point was I interested in busting through my hard deck to figure out if something in the bag of tricks was going to work or not. It's sooooo easy to get so far into that bag that you forget that the ground continues to be down there just waiting."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Martini 0 #8 September 20, 2006 Getting low on an "easy" mal sneaks right up on you. I saw a guy spend a while kicking out of line twists on a small canopy thrown low, nice and stable, just twisted. Looked at the alti as he straightened out at 700 feet. Very very stupid. Avoiding this trap is a good move.Sometimes you eat the bear.............. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites AFFI 0 #9 September 20, 2006 QuoteI almost got to my hard deck without making a decision. Question: What is the hard deck for an A license holder in the UK? Great altitude awareness while you were dealing with your problem. When the time comes to chop (not if but when), don’t hesitate to trust your reserve. Good Job!Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
labrys 0 #4 September 18, 2006 QuoteI guess it is never goes the way you think it will. I almost got to my hard deck without making a decision. You were altitude aware and know that you didn't get to your hard deck without making a decision. Isn't that the best possible scenario given a mal like that? You cleared the problem and you did it at a safe altitude. The key isn't whether or not you have some dramatic problem that obviously needs to be handled regardless of altitude, it's that you remained altitude aware, in my opinion. Something as simple as line twists can kill you just as dead as a no pull. At your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. It's all relative. Again, just my opinion.Owned by Remi #? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #5 September 18, 2006 QuoteI think the "smaller" mals are the more dangerous. People have gone in thinking "I can fix this" like stuck brakes, linetwists etc. I know a guy who broke his back landing a crew canopy with a knotted bridle. Not an obvious mal, from below at least as the canopy was square, but the canopy dropped him on his back when he tried to flare. yeah, I had something like that. The bridle looped over a d line and I couldn't decide if it was behaving alright or not - Elsinore wind sheer is entertaning all the time - and I ended up below the hard deck without making a decision so I landed it. Either I flared poorly or the issue really did effect flight and I landed a bit hard, but injury free. Unfortunately, once over there was no great way to tell afterwards. Definitely clouding my judgement was it was the first jump of a long weekend. No passing marks for me on that one. It also pointed out the issues with lowering the deploy alt - it opened at 2300 and there wasn't a lot of time to dally on the call. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,073 #6 September 19, 2006 QuoteAt your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. Well said. The reason for a hard deck is to keep it neon.Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #7 September 19, 2006 QuoteQuoteAt your hard deck, line twists should start shouting "chop me" in neon lights too. Well said. The reason for a hard deck is to keep it neon. I totally agree - I had a recent mal that I chopped at my hard deck. On the ground I had a lot of people saying "Did you try [X]?" or "Did you try [Y]?" My response was "I hit my hard deck. I was done trying to fix it." The armchair quarterbacking was great for adding options to my "bag of tricks" should I see a similar mal again, but at no point was I interested in busting through my hard deck to figure out if something in the bag of tricks was going to work or not. It's sooooo easy to get so far into that bag that you forget that the ground continues to be down there just waiting."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Martini 0 #8 September 20, 2006 Getting low on an "easy" mal sneaks right up on you. I saw a guy spend a while kicking out of line twists on a small canopy thrown low, nice and stable, just twisted. Looked at the alti as he straightened out at 700 feet. Very very stupid. Avoiding this trap is a good move.Sometimes you eat the bear.............. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #9 September 20, 2006 QuoteI almost got to my hard deck without making a decision. Question: What is the hard deck for an A license holder in the UK? Great altitude awareness while you were dealing with your problem. When the time comes to chop (not if but when), don’t hesitate to trust your reserve. Good Job!Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
