Pilot chute malfunctions

[BeerRunner98 0]

New skydiver here venturing into packing for himself. I was wondering if the pilot chute is folded incorrectly or the bridle is sloppily folded in on itself if this will cause a pilot chute in tow? Or if the bridle will get caught on different parts of the container due to improper routing. I know about the closing pin pericing the bridle, but if the bridle is free and clear of the pin is that really all that matters?

[veazer 0]

From one newb to another:

Cock the pilot chute.

Don't tie the bridle in a knot while folding it up. (probably won't matter though)

Cock the pilot chute.

Fold or roll the pilot chute somehow, don't just shove all the bridle in and then shove the pilot chute in and hope that mess comes out nicely. (probably won't matter, but I wouldn't do this)

Cock the pilot chute.

Close the way the manufacturer says to (flap order, bridle routing, pin positioning).

Cock the pilot chute.

Replace your closing loop before it looks sketchy AF.

Cock the pilot chute.

But in all seriousness, cock your pilot chute and route your bridle correctly. Everything else is gravy for preventing PCIT. And even an uncocked pilot chute may still cause enough drag to open the container, but don't count on it and cock your pilot chute.

Also prevent horseshoes by maintaining your closing loop.

[RMURRAY 1]

it can be a nasty mal. i keep track of the jumps on a pc and replace it at a set number. retire it or give it away. do not wait until it stops working with good authority. do this because of a 2 out on a low hop n pop using borrowed gear. i also only jump my own gear.

[Westerly 61]

veazer

But in all seriousness, cock your pilot chute and route your bridle correctly. Everything else is gravy for preventing PCIT. And even an uncocked pilot chute may still cause enough drag to open the container, but don't count on it and cock your pilot chute.

An uncocked pilotchute at terminal will pull the pin. I have several videos of my own openings showing exactly that happening. However, it is not likely to extract and deploy the main.

side note-- A pilot chute is in essence always deflated until it reaches linestretch and has tension on the bridle. When you throw your PC, it does not inflate into the round shape you would expect. It stays flat and uninflated until it reaches the end of the bridle and has tension on it. In every film I have of my openings, the PC pulls the pin before it reaches linestretch and inflates.

With an uncocked PC you will have an open container with the bag still in the container. An uncocked pilot chute is not likely to extract the bag, especially if it's a larger canopy so you will have an open container with a PCIT, and when you deploy your reserve the main will likely dump out and you might get a two-out.

Anyway, the exact way you fold your bridle and PC is not super critical for skydiving (less so for BASE). I've literally rolled the entire thing into a burrito and just stuffed it in into the BOC (although I wouldent do that on a regular basis). As soon as the PC hits the air, the PC and bridle unfold into random-ness anyway. The most important thing is to cock your PC. If you dont cock it, you're likely to get a quite serious malfunction and firing your reserve out past a PCIT is risky.

Regarding the bridle getting tied into a knot, I dont think it would matter. At worst it would prevent the PC from colapsing, but you dont need a kill line for the PC to work. I had a knot in my bridle today actually. It wasent there when I packed it, but when I got down there was a figure eight in the bridle somehow.

Now, a knot around the handle or PC is another matter. If the bridle knots itself around the handle, you could get a PCIT because now the knot is keeping the PC inverted which wont allow it to inflate. That is a malfunction that has happened to people before requiring EPs. That mal seems to be more luck related. I am not sure if there is anything you can specifically do to prevent that other than dont do some weird bridle folding method that involves looping it around in a circle or something.

[mr2mk1g 10]

The primary things you're seeking to prevent in the way you fold the bridle and PC is a hard pull and provide impact mitigation in the event of an out of sequence deployment.

A PC that can easily self extract if the pin is pulled out of sequence for any reason could turn a highly dangerous horse-shoe malfunction into [I]merely[/I] a premature deployment. Still dangerous but significantly less so.

What you're looking for therefore is a nice even width along the length of the rolled up PC, with the bridle in the middle of the PC fabric and the slippery PC fabric facing outwards towards the BOC/base of the container. There are many ways to achieve that goal.

[riggerrob 558]

Random knots are caused by sloppy packing.
The key is packing bridle INSIDE the bundle of mesh and fabric. The goal is to get the most of the bridle out to arm’s length before it has a chance to entangle with container flaps.

[Westerly 61]

riggerrob

Random knots are caused by sloppy packing.
The key is packing bridle INSIDE the bundle of mesh and fabric. The goal is to get the most of the bridle out to arm’s length before it has a chance to entangle with container flaps.

How far inside the PC do you put the bridle? I typically stack it on top of the PC, then I put it into the first fold in the PC and roll it up. I have wondered if there is anyway to prevent the bridle from spilling out for a moment after pulling the handle. From the videos I have of my deployment, the answer is no. No matter what bridle/ PC config I used, the entire bridle spills out instantly after pulling the handle. The second the entire PC is exposed to the wind, the entire bridle is out behind me in about 1-2 frames at 60 FPS.

mr2mk1g

A PC that can easily self extract if the pin is pulled out of sequence for any reason could turn a highly dangerous horse-shoe malfunction into [I]merely[/I] a premature deployment. Still dangerous but significantly less so.

I've gone back and fourth as to whether I think using a PC packing method that allows this is a good idea or not. So far I use a method that does allow for self-extraction. However, there are many videos on YouTube of people in a sit or backfly position who get a horseshoe, and the lines end up between their legs or otherwise wrapped around them. In that case a premature would be quite bad. You'd be much better off activating the handle manually after you have cleared the lines.

Example: https://jointheteem.com/skydiving-videos/friday-freakout-nasty-horseshoe-malfunction-around-foot/

[pchapman 261]

Westerly

I have wondered if there is anyway to prevent the bridle from spilling out for a moment after pulling the handle.

Indeed it suggests that to be more sophisticated about it, one would need a method of staging the bridle.

Put our pilot chutes in little bags with stows for the bridle.
Just as with reserve parachutes, more complex staging increases the reliability by removing random or out-of-sequence effects.

The BASE community has certainly thought about this bridle staging issue, but I don't know what the range of thinking currently is.

[sundevil777 93]

I think it might be difficult to find the handle when the main tray is empty, with flaps flapping around. If the pc was on the legstrap like back in the day...

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[airnutt 8]

Some p/c hesitations might be caused by your kill line shrinking and being to short.when cocking your p/c not only check the window on the bridle for color, but, check the inside of p/c after it's cocked and your center line(s) should be showing no slack, but your kill line should show a little slack, or the same length as center line(s)

[BIGUN 1,042]

airnutt

Some p/c hesitations might be caused by your kill line shrinking and being to short.when cocking your p/c not only check the window on the bridle for color, but, check the inside of p/c after it's cocked and your center line(s) should be showing no slack, but your kill line should show a little slack, or the same length as center line(s)

And, never "milk" your bridle down to the color on the window. That is a false cock and means that your line has shrunk. Get it replaced.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Pat007 0]

This is the method I use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axCeYlY_6io&t=3s

My Dad used to ask me if someone jumped off a bridge would I do that too? No, but if they jumped out of an airplane, that's a different question...

[Westerly 61]

airnutt

Some p/c hesitations might be caused by your kill line shrinking and being to short.when cocking your p/c not only check the window on the bridle for color, but, check the inside of p/c after it's cocked and your center line(s) should be showing no slack, but your kill line should show a little slack, or the same length as center line(s)

Or worse if the the airspeed is too low (e.g. hop and pop or wingsuit), and the kill line is too short, you could end up with a bag lock. I have an unverified theory that many (maybe most?) bag locks probably occur because of partly cocked pilot chutes as a result of a kill line that is way too short or some other sort of major wear on the pilot chute, and NOT because you double wrapped your stows or whatever.

[tbrown 26]

RMURRAY

it can be a nasty mal. i keep track of the jumps on a pc and replace it at a set number. retire it or give it away. do not wait until it stops working with good authority. do this because of a 2 out on a low hop n pop using borrowed gear. i also only jump my own gear.

With reserves being on a 180 day repack cycle, I recommend paying your rigger to do a complete examination of your entire rig, including your main and main pilot chute. If your rigger recommends some work or replacements, get them done. Don't ever forget that your rig saves your life every time you use it. Whatever the work costs is just the price of having fun and staying alive.

But apart from caring for your rig, I have a basic disagreement with the deployment method being taught nowadays. This is the method of grabbing your pc by the handle and whipping it out of the pouch with an aggressive throw. It works most of the time, but can also fall victim to an accidently lazy throw. This can flip the p/c over your back, where it will collapse and crawl around your back like an evil jelly fish. It's happened to a number of friends and it's happened to me - once. It's a really dangerous situation and simply rolling on one's side doesn't always clear it, aside from wasting time and altitude.
Since my one malfunction with this problem, I reverted to the old school method of pulling my pc to full arm's length and letting it go. I am NOT advocating holding onto the pc for any length of time, this is one smooth pull and release, with no foolin' around. At arm's length, that sucker will not flip over your back. If you've maintained it properly and remembered to cock it, your release will get the job done.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !