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JeanLauzier

Writer with a couple questions

Question

Hi, 

I'm working on a story in which my main character must jump from a small plane...she has never done so before but it's either jump or crash. My general idea right now is that she ends up stuck in tree about 15 feet from the ground with the canopy and lines all tangled. She is going to be battered, bruised, and bloody but okay for the most part. My secondary character finds her and tells her to just unfasten the straps, fall, and he will catch her.

So...how hard will it be for her to release buckles? Is that even feasible? Anyone ever been stuck in a tree and have a story to tell? Also, as one who has never jumped before, how much trouble will she have trying to steer the chute...I know that will probably depend on what type chute but I'm just needing an in  general type answer.

 

Thanks so much! Appreciate all your input.

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Toss in a scene about Hockey and Lisa (Skybytch) might read it ;P.

Seriously, it wouldn't be terribly unrealistic for your woman to be a jump pilot (even just a part timer). 
As noted above, the idea that a jump plane would have the pilot rig in it, and for the seat to be such that it's more comfortable for the pilot to wear the rig, even when nobody's jumping is plausible. 
That would allow the woman to have a bit of experience in donning the rig, and to trust that the parachute would be an option. Few pilots, other than jump pilots & acrobatic guys have any experience with a parachute. For most light aircraft pilots, bailing out isn't an option. They'll try an emergency landing (because it's their only choice). 

That would also allow the plane to be a jump plane. These days, there are very few planes other than dedicated jump planes that get jumped out of. 
There are exceptions, but few and far between. 
Besides, dedicated jump planes (typically a C-182 or C-206) are set up so that the door can be opened in flight. Opening a typical (hinge at the front) door while flying is very difficult. Doing without the assistance of the pilot (he or she stomps on the right rudder and puts the plane in a skid to reduce the airflow along the right side of the plane) is nearly impossible. 

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1 hour ago, JeanLauzier said:

Hi, 

I'm working on a story in which my main character . . . ends up stuck in tree about 15 feet from the ground with the canopy and lines all tangled. . . . My secondary character finds her and tells her to just unfasten the straps, fall, and he will catch her.

Is your secondary character a nice guy?  Does he actually intend to catch her, or is he going to just step out of the way?  One way they both get badly hurt; the other way only she gets badly hurt.  The second story window in your house is about 15 feet above the ground.  Imagine jumping out and being caught by someone standing on the ground.  

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First off, most emergency 'bail out' rigs are round canopies (parachutes).
Not unlike what the old style paratroopers used. 
Those are not terribly maneuverable, so a tree landing is totally realistic.

However, getting out of the rig while up in the tree is less so. 
It can be done, but the way the leg straps are set up, they need to be 'unweighted' to unhook. If her body weight is on them, it's hard to unhook the connectors. Doable, but difficult. Most bailout rigs don't have the ability to release the canopy the way sport mains do. 

And Mark's comment above about the danger of someone falling from that height is correct. 

Something to understand - Tree landings aren't common for sport jumpers, but they do happen. Students are taught to sit tight and let someone come rescue them. The risk of getting hurt from falling out of the rig and out of the tree trying to get down is a lot higher than just sitting and waiting for help. 

If you want a somewhat more plausible rescue scenario, have the girl swinging from the tree, with the canopy snagged up higher. The secondary character could climb up the trunk of the tree, snag her somehow, pull her into the trunk where she could get a good grip, get out of the harness and climb down. 

Hope this helps. So many authors try & fail to write this sort of stuff. The details aren't all that hard to get right, but it's really easy to get them wrong. 

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1 hour ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Hope this helps. So many authors try & fail to write this sort of stuff. The details aren't all that hard to get right, but it's really easy to get them wrong. 

That's why I'm here asking. :-) I really dislike when authors are too lazy to do the research...

It's not so much a bail out chute...the guy who's plane they are in had taken up a couple of jumpers the week before and a chute got left in his plane...

Thanks so much for all your input...definitely helps a bunch.

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A sport rig being left in a plane by a jumper is highly unlikely. The bailout rig being left by the pilot less so.

I can't get my head around a jumper "forgetting" their rig, especially for a week - even second hand gear is worth easily $2000 in total and that's discounting the sentimental value. As for student gear, I'd expect the people in charge to take equal care of at least accounting for all the dropzone's assets.

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The way to get around the rig being left in the plane (I agree, unlikely) is that the pilot runs a gypsy skydiving operation from his plane, onto someone's farm or something like that. It happened in the 60's and 70's, less so now because of more congested airspace. This is his student rig, stored in the airplane (must be hangared) because that keeps it more under the radar.

Imagine the skydiving lesson scene in "Fandango." Very broad humor -- we're not talking realistic, but fun. It doesn't have to be that broad, but it's within the realm of possibility.

And as far as the tree landing, yeah, what they all said. He can tell her which way to swing and then he'll talk her down the tree, and give her a hand to step on for the last branch. Note that swinging when you're in a tree risks the parachute coming untangled, and dropping her anyway, but you can leave that to luck, and accept that some skydivers will roll their eyes, but not too hard...

Good luck, and thanks for doing research. No matter what you do, someone who reads it will nod knowingly and roll their eyes. The heck with them...

Wendy P.

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A bail out rig would be far more plausible.

In the smaller Cessna jump planes, the pilot is required * to wear a rig (parachute). 

This rig is almost always an 'emergency bailout' rig, identical to what acrobatic pilots wear. 
For jump planes that are stored in a hangar, this rig is often left in the plane. 

The chances of a sport rig or student rig being left behind in a plane are very low. 
Every DZ I've jumped at requires all jumpers to be fully geared up before they get on the plane. 

 

* - My understanding is that the pilot is required to wear a rig. There has been 'more than a little' discussion about the reality of this requirement, where it comes from, how necessary it is, and on and on. 
However, every small Cessna (182, 206) I've jumped from had the pilot wearing a rig. 

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9 hours ago, JeanLauzier said:

It's not so much a bail out chute...the guy who's plane they are in had taken up a couple of jumpers the week before and a chute got left in his plane...

A couple things.  What type of aircraft is it? Putting on a rig in a Cessna 182 in flight is difficult at best, doing so in the same space during an aircraft emergency situation is a bit unlikely, especially if the main character has never worn one. 

If the aircraft is larger (like a Cessna Caravan for example) doing so is more realistic as there is more space inside the aircraft, but there is still the whole never put on one before in a high stress situation thing. 

If the rig was left in the aircraft, was it left by a sport jumper or by a pilot? Pilots have to wear emergency parachutes during jumping operations.  Those rigs are different from sport rigs.  

Highly recommend that you pick up a copy of "Parachuting The Skydivers Handbook " by Dan Poynter. You will likely find answers to most if not all of your questions there. 

Would love to read the scene when you are done! 

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(edited)

As a fiction writer you're entitled to take some license. But it's appreciable that you want to be as accurate as possible.

A sport or student rig left in the plane is highly unlikely. Much more plausible the bailout rig. In some smaller jump planes I've seen the pilot seat's backpad removed and the rig used as the backpad to be less cumbersome. She could already be leaning on it (if she's the pilot), and all she'd have to do is put her arms through the harness and attach the chest and leg straps. Also, the basic round canopy of the bailout rig would contribute to the tree landing.

Yeah, it would be difficult to unbuckle the leg straps while hanging in it, but it's not impossible, so no reason to not have her do it.

Climbing down the tree would be awkward. It sounds like you want her to 'romantically' land in his arms. Okay, so she's lower than fifteen feet. No problem.

Edited by dudeman17

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Y'all have helped so much. :-)

As far as the plane...my dad had a friend who had a field he used as an "airport" and they guys would hang around on the weekends and do some jumps...course this was back in the late 70s. The owner had a Piper Cub...my dad had an Aeronic Sedan that was a nice sized 4 place plane... 

And yeah, it's a romance so the chances are slim that a serious jumper might read it...it's a small part of the plot but I wanted to get it as close to right as possible. Thanks again...I really appreciate your help.

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some things folks will tell you can't be done can.  like the piper cub, most say it can't be jumped out of, but it can, by a small enough jumper.  it did happen though and it made me want to try it, but no matter how i tried, i could not get out the door very easily on the ground so we scrapped the idea.  we had a rigger on a water jump that got stuck in a tree one time (hard to do at a lake).  instead of waiting, he tried to climb down himself from about 20 feet and ended up with a broken back and a medical discharge.  granted that was a military jump and not civilian, but same thing applies.  and as far as not being able to get out of the plane, things get real serious real quick when you have no other choice.  i could see myself exiting most planes if the only other choice was ride it to the ground.  post a link to the scene when you get done please, i love reading good stories.  good luck on it.

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Dear Jean Lauzier,

Despite what other people said, it is easy to put on a parachute harness if you are the only passenger in a small (4-seater) Cessna. I have thousands of skydives from Cessna 172, 180, 182, 185, 205, 206, 207, 208 and 210.

A pilot emergency parachute is slightly easier to "dress" than a skydiving harness. It helps if the harness owner is close to the size of your heroine. Only 2 shoulder straps and 3 buckles. If it is a hard-core skydiving harness it probably has slip-on leg straps, that she only has to tighten. Then she only has to fasten the chest strap and tighten it.

Older pilot emergency parachutes might still have round, marginally-steerable parachutes, but many modern PEPs contain square parachutes, similar in size and handling to the big, docile, square parachutes jumped by students.

Some PEPs even have static-lines. If the pilot hooks the S/L to a seat-belt, then your heroine only has to dive out and the parachute will open automatically 3 or 4 seconds after she exits.

Some jump-plane insurance policies insist that everyone on board wear a parachute, so that is a convenient reason to carry an extra parachute on board.

Another story option is that she is going for an orientation flight in an aerobatic airplane or glider. PEPs are mandatory while doing aerobatics (Federal Air Regulations).

While others have mentioned difficulties in climbing out of a harness - suspended from a tree - it is not impossible for an athlete. Remind her to disconnect her chest strap first - or risk a whack in the chin!

Falling more than 15 feet risks spraining of breaking an ankle. Soft ground, slopes, piles of leave, shrubbery, blackberry bushes, snow drifts, etc. can cushion landing.

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