Lessons I Learned from My First Chop

[JENNR8R 0]

Weather hold... sky cleared... plane took off... clouds came in on the way to altitude... 13,000'... no holes... start down... arousal level up... will we exit our 4-way?... will we exit solo?... will we ride the plane down?... 6,800' we exit our 4-way... 3 points in 17 seconds... break off early because we are too far from DZ... track away and pull... look up...

Lesson 1 - All malfunctions are not taught in the student program.

What is that?... canopy flying great... slider down... risers are twisted inside out... no toggles to be seen... they are inside the twist!!!...

Lesson 2 - That's a packing error called a stepthrough. The deployment bag must have rotated 360 degrees before I put it in the container, and I didn't notice the twist in the risers.

Is it there (yes)... is it square(yes)... is it steerable/ landable(no!!!)

Lesson 3 - Sometimes you can pull the twist down far enough to free the toggles and land the main.

I have to cutaway... I don't want to!!!... oh well, it's due for a repack in two days... 2,080'... right hand on cutaway handle... left hand on reserve handle... pull right... nothing!!!...

Lesson 4 - It would have pulled fine if I had peeled the velcro off from the bottom to the top first. Cables interfere if you try to peel it top to bottom. Practice this the next time it is due for a repack.

Two hands on the cutaway handle... look at the reserve handle... pull/arch... the reserve handle disappears from sight... I'm falling!!!... oh well, I have a RSL... I'm falling for an eternity... if that RSL doesn't work soon, I'll have to find the reserve handle myself...

Lesson 5 - Never depend on the RSL no matter what - even if you are not used to the feeling of falling.

The reserve opens... what do you know, I have a bright orange reserve, and it looks small... grab toggles... it doesn't flare or steer much... the lines are too long!!!...

Lesson 6 - You can wrap the lines around your hand to shorten them. If they are uncomfortable, let them go between maneuvers. Be sure to wrap them right before landing so you will get a good flare.

The DZ is far away...

Lesson 7 - Winds can change 180 degrees when you are on your way to altitude. When that happens, you have not exited in a good spot.

I don't have time to worry about the long steering lines... push out on the rear risers to extend the glide... the DZ is getting farther away... I'm flying backwards!!!...

Lesson 8 - Pushing on your rear risers when facing upwind makes you go backwards faster. Does it extend your glide only when you are going downwind? What about crosswind?

I'll land in that field in front of me... it's going away from me... I'll land in that field to my right... it's going away from me too... If I turn downwind I might be heading for a lake!... There is nothing but trees under me now... oh #&*@, how was I taught to land in a tree?... it's 500'... I don't want to land backwards... let go of the rear risers... pull down on the left toggle as far as I can... turned 90 degrees... crosswind is better than downwind and landing backwards in a tree...

Lesson 9 - If I didn't already believe in a benevolent god, I would start... I'm heading straight for a horse pasture... It is the last open area before a large forest... I would have landed in a tree if I had turned right or 180 degrees.

There is a row of white posts going down the pasture... I bet it's an electric fence... I want to land beyond it and away from the horses... nope, there is no controlling the reserve... I'm landing in the middle of the horse pasture... Flare!!!... nothing happens... I don't slow down at all... HARD butt landing... pain!!!

Lesson 10 - A PLF would have been a good choice.

The cutaway handle was on the ground beside me when I landed... a wuffo stopped to look for the skydivers who were landing off and drove me the two miles back to the DZ...

Lesson 11 - Your friends first reaction is to make sure you are OK before the fact that you owe beer.

The canopy and deployment bag were found 24 hours later by a bunch of DZ friends who thought of it as an adventure to search all day... the only thing I lost was the reserve handle...

Lesson 12 - Your friends won't let you pay them for finding your stuff.

Question: Have I learned my lessons correctly? Are there more lessons to be learned that I haven't thought about?

[Witelli 0]

Wow!!! What an experience. I'm so glad you're OK though.

[Samurai136 0]

Good Job saving your ass! Where's my beer?

According to your profile you load your reserve at 0.84:1.

Rear risers will flatten your glide path. But it won't change the fact that at your lighter wing loading (which is good) you don't have much penetration into the wind. Any strong uppers, headwind, will tend to prevent you from getting back to the DZ.

This problem exists at every wingloading, it just takes a stronger headwind as you increase your wingloading. I opt to stay on the ground on windy days.


Ken

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[JENNR8R 0]

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Good Job saving your ass! Where's my beer?

At Skydive Orange in Virginia after a day of coaching me. When can I expect you?

[mjosparky 3]

Even with all the things going against you, you pulled you pulled it off.

Just a couple of things.

As you said in Lesson #5, never give up trying to locate and pull your reserve yourself. What would happen if by some chance you RSL were not hooked up?

You say you broke off early because the DZ was “too” far away. Why did you get out if the DZ was “too” far away? If you can’t exit with a spot that allows you to reach the DZ, maybe you should consider not exiting at all. Remember Murphy’s Law.

As soon as you get a good canopy above your head locate a suitable landing area and steer toward it. Remember that a 7 cell, F-111 canopy will not give you the same penetration or flare that a 9 cell will.

But all things considered I would say you did a pretty good job, you are still alive, and you learned from the experience. When any of us stop learning in this sport we are tempting fate.

Sparky

Spend some time in a training harness pulling handles. I try to get in one at least once a month.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[JENNR8R 0]

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You say you broke off early because the DZ was “too” far away. Why did you get out if the DZ was “too” far away? If you can’t exit with a spot that allows you to reach the DZ, maybe you should consider not exiting at all. Remember Murphy’s Law.

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I was in the Point position inside the airplane upon exit. I depended upon the coach who was Outside Center (with over 18,000 skydives) to spot. He was the one who signaled to break off early in the skydive. The spot would have been perfect if the winds had not changed direction 180 degrees on the ride up to altitude.

The winds were so freaky that of the ten people who got out of the airplane, only two made it back to the DZ. Others, who were flying their mains, were having trouble steering their canopies so it wasn't just my reserve that wouldn't handle properly. One woman even landed in power lines.

The airplane did a 'go around' after we left. About the time we were deploying our canopies, a gust of wind hit the airplane and turned it on its side. They decided to ride the airplane down. And when we took off, the winds were under 14 mph and steady. This was just the skydive from hell.

Spend some time in a training harness pulling handles. I try to get in one at least once a month.

The velcro in our training harness is worn out, and no instructor ever mentioned having to peel the handle off. In fact, they always taught us to use two hands to pull the cutaway handle and keep an eye on the the reserve handle because it moves after pulling the cutaway. I wanted to pull with one hand on each handle because my full-face helmet limits my vision.

Thanks for commenting...you always give good 'food for thought' on safety issues.

[nate_1979 9]

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Lesson 4 - It would have pulled fine if I had peeled the velcro off from the bottom to the top first. Cables interfere if you try to peel it top to bottom. Practice this the next time it is due for a repack.

Just wanna mention that you should not have to wait for a reserve repack to practice pulling your cutaway handle.. maintenance should be done on your cutaway system every month, this does not require a rigger and does require you to pull the cutaway cable. (clearly if you do not know how this should be done consult your local instructor or rigger about this)

In my two cutaways, I have never peeled the handle, and I have had no issues getting the handle out (first time 2 handed, second time one handed) .. I just pulled. .. but that's just me.


But: Nice job

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[darkwing 4]

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...The reserve opens... what do you know, I have a bright orange reserve, and it looks small... grab toggles... it doesn't flare or steer much... the lines are too long!!!...

Lesson 6 - You can wrap the lines around your hand to shorten them. If they are uncomfortable, let them go between maneuvers. Be sure to wrap them right before landing so you will get a good flare.

...

This is interesting. What kind of reserve do you have? Did you really have to take a wrap to take up slack in the steering lines? This should not be the case. Do you have short arms?

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[dragon2 0]

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...The reserve opens... what do you know, I have a bright orange reserve, and it looks small... grab toggles... it doesn't flare or steer much... the lines are too long!!!...

Lesson 6 - You can wrap the lines around your hand to shorten them. If they are uncomfortable, let them go between maneuvers. Be sure to wrap them right before landing so you will get a good flare.

...

This is interesting. What kind of reserve do you have? Did you really have to take a wrap to take up slack in the steering lines? This should not be the case. Do you have short arms?

I had to do the same (well 2 or 3 wraps actually) on my Micron 175 (copy of a Tempo or something, WL 0.8). Don't think it's a bad thing really, less chance of stalling it as I've seen some people do. But I prefer a reserve that FLARES (which this one did NOT, with or without wraps) so I traded it in anyways.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[AFFI 0]

Luck was on your side for this one. Biggest lesson I see here? The importance of continued training. At 500’ is not the greatest time to ask yourself “how was I taught to land in a tree?” Practicing your PLF’s may have saved you from the sore ass (tail bone injuries can be quite debilitating) and I do not even want to think of what may have happened had you been presented with the need to take evasive maneuvers low to the ground to avoid an obstacle.
How many skydivers really prepare themselves for worst case scenarios or were even properly trained in the first place? So maybe you want to ask yourself this: Could you have better prepared yourself for such circumstances by continuing to better train after student status? There is a LOT more to making a good skydiver than being able to do cool things in freefall. I see mishaps by “experienced” skydivers all the time because they did not better prepare themselves. Some skydivers are hard to approach because they think time in the sport and jump numbers makes them “experienced” - so try to keep an open mind.
Another big lesson I hope you gained from this experience is judgment, just because the pilot gives the green light does not mean the conditions are right for everyone. On poor condition days, the experienced skydivers typically will sit on the ground and watch the inexperienced skydivers get experienced. I am sure you have heard the old cliché “Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air” – sounds like you had such an experience.

Glad things worked out for you, hope you are better prepared next time…

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[JENNR8R 0]

L A T E B R E A K I N G N E W S ! ! !

This just in from my rigger:

I asked him to shorten the brake lines which he didn't want to do. He called the manufacturer and this is what he said:

"I spoke at length with Precision Aerodynamics and got the line trim specs for all their canopies. I spot-checked a number of lines and, particularly, the brake lines; They were not only within their tolerances, but right on. I cannot change this.

"I spoke with George Galloway (President) and his response to my inquiry was:

"1.) The Raven III is indeed 249 square feet

"2.) The recommended minimum wing loading for this canopy is 0.7 (therefore a minimum suspended weight of 174 lbs.)

"3.) Since the canopy is not being loaded heavily enough and the fact that you are not very tall (i.e. shorter arms), his opinion was that the canopy is simply too big for you."

Lesson No. 13: Know what you are buying when you buy used gear. Make sure it is designed for you. I thought the reserve was a 230.

Question: Is it safe for me to jump if I wrap the brake lines around my hand to shorten them? I have a new rig on order, and it should arrive within a few weeks, but my next jump could be a reserve ride.

[goose491 0]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm glad you made it out unharmed.

The following quote made me uneasy though:

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Two hands on the cutaway handle... look at the reserve handle... pull/arch... the reserve handle disappears from sight... I'm falling!!!... oh well, I have a RSL... I'm falling for an eternity... if that RSL doesn't work soon, I'll have to find the reserve handle myself...

Whoa Nelly! That's a virtual {{SLAP!}} on the wrist for ya. If that RSL doesn't work soon, you'll have to find the reserve handle? Truly, it should already have been pulled, the cable flying free of the housing, as you were thinking this. And the words: "Oh well" should almost never be used in skydiving IMHO.

Your EP includes pulling both handles wether you practice two-handed or one or whether you are RSL equipped or not. You really should complete them. You really should try to beat your RSL... Food for thought for 'next' time.
Again, I'm happy things turned out for ya and thanks for sharing your -chop with us

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[justinb138 0]

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L A T E B R E A K I N G N E W S ! ! !

This just in from my rigger:

I asked him to shorten the brake lines which he didn't want to do. He called the manufacturer and this is what he said:

"I spoke at length with Precision Aerodynamics and got the line trim specs for all their canopies. I spot-checked a number of lines and, particularly, the brake lines; They were not only within their tolerances, but right on. I cannot change this.

"I spoke with George Galloway (President) and his response to my inquiry was:

"1.) The Raven III is indeed 249 square feet

"2.) The recommended minimum wing loading for this canopy is 0.7 (therefore a minimum suspended weight of 174 lbs.)

"3.) Since the canopy is not being loaded heavily enough and the fact that you are not very tall (i.e. shorter arms), his opinion was that the canopy is simply too big for you."

Lesson No. 13: Know what you are buying when you buy used gear. Make sure it is designed for you. I thought the reserve was a 230.

Question: Is it safe for me to jump if I wrap the brake lines around my hand to shorten them? I have a new rig on order, and it should arrive within a few weeks, but my next jump could be a reserve ride.

I've had one ride on a Raven 282-M and it flew pretty much like what you described, and I was loading it around .88 or .89. I'm not sure how the standard ravens compare to the -Ms, but my experience landing it was not too fun.

I ended up buying a Smart Reserve from Aerodyne when I got my own gear.

[mjosparky 3]

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I ended up buying a Smart Reserve from Aerodyne when I got my own gear.

Did you demo the Smart Reserve before buying one? If not, how do you know it will fly and handle any different?

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[mjosparky 3]

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Luck was on your side for this one. Biggest lesson I see here? The importance of continued training. At 500’ is not the greatest time to ask yourself “how was I taught to land in a tree?” Practicing your PLF’s may have saved you from the sore ass (tail bone injuries can be quite debilitating) and I do not even want to think of what may have happened had you been presented with the need to take evasive maneuvers low to the ground to avoid an obstacle.
How many skydivers really prepare themselves for worst case scenarios or were even properly trained in the first place? So maybe you want to ask yourself this: Could you have better prepared yourself for such circumstances by continuing to better train after student status? There is a LOT more to making a good skydiver than being able to do cool things in freefall. I see mishaps by “experienced” skydivers all the time because they did not better prepare themselves. Some skydivers are hard to approach because they think time in the sport and jump numbers makes them “experienced” - so try to keep an open mind.
Another big lesson I hope you gained from this experience is judgment, just because the pilot gives the green light does not mean the conditions are right for everyone. On poor condition days, the experienced skydivers typically will sit on the ground and watch the inexperienced skydivers get experienced. I am sure you have heard the old cliché “Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air” – sounds like you had such an experience.

Glad things worked out for you, hope you are better prepared next time…

This is an excellent and well thought out post. I think it bears repeating.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

I'm glad you are here and safe. When I see you, I plan to give you a "Non-Virtual" slap on the wrist.

I'm very proud of you for sharing your story here. Hopefully, sharing will benefit others.

I've jumped so many different rigs and not all of them have had RSLs. My safety procedure has two parts.

Pull the red and then pull the silver. That's it.

I know you will never make the same mistake again Jennifer.

See you soon!

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[AFFI 0]

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Pull the red and then pull the silver. That's it.

In the past year there has been a rash of skydivers not fully releasing the main canopy before deploying the main resulting in serious injuries and death. An out of sequence does not necessarily mean that the handles were pulled in the wrong order; it can also mean that the jumper did not fully release the main before deploying the reserve. I have personally witnessed two of these landings and was off the DZ when a very good friend had the same experience. This has been happening to skydivers of varying experience levels and there are a lot of underlying circumstances that introduce ambiguity to the circumstances that can occur to a high level. I am not certain that it is as simple as “Pull Red Pull Silver” to work in every instance. Continued training, practical exercises in a hanging harness and through preparedness in every conceivable scenario might be a better course of action.

Just to play devils advocate concerning semantics:
We are not “Pulling” the handles, we are pushing them straight down toward the groin in order the keep the cables in line with the hard housings. If we push out perpendicular to the body there is the potential that the 90 degree bend in the housing might create a difficult extraction. The way we teach at my DZ is more like “Peel Red Push Red (to full arm extension better ensuring full release) Push Silver”. Personally in a cutaway situation I will not deploy my reserve until one of two thing happen, I am fully released from the main canopy or I run out of altitude and deploy my reserve in an act of desperation.

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[Mike111 0]

Thanks for sharing, thats very useful information
am veyr glad you are ok and unharmed.

[JENNR8R 0]

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Thanks for sharing, thats very useful information
am veyr glad you are ok and unharmed.

You're welcome.
I'm very embarrassed about some of the mistakes that I made because I knew better. Doing what you know is the right thing in a high-stress situation is not always automatic.

My purpose in posting my experience honestly is to let others know the lessons that I learned and to get more insight from others about things I had not thought of. I certainly have gained more knowledge from the replies, and I am very grateful. My hope is that someone else will not repeat my mistakes by reading this post.

Someone said I should have reviewed the "Landing in Trees" emergency procedures before 500 feet off of the ground. I could have practiced them on the ground right before getting in the airplane, and I still would have asked myself "How do I Land in a Tree?" at 500 feet. It's always a good idea to practice your emergency procedures frequently. This advice can never be given often enough.

I'm glad you have found this helpful.

Stay safe in those clear blue skies,

Jennifer

[ntrprnr 0]

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Thanks for sharing this. I'm glad you made it out unharmed.

The following quote made me uneasy though:

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Two hands on the cutaway handle... look at the reserve handle... pull/arch... the reserve handle disappears from sight... I'm falling!!!... oh well, I have a RSL... I'm falling for an eternity... if that RSL doesn't work soon, I'll have to find the reserve handle myself...

Whoa Nelly! That's a virtual {{SLAP!}} on the wrist for ya. If that RSL doesn't work soon, you'll have to find the reserve handle?]

Man, oh man, I couldn't agree more. My logic has always been, if I ever have to chop, that chop is the firing gun to the race between my hands and the RSL to see which one can deploy my reserve first.

Makes sense, no?

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[Jeth 0]

Sounds like you learned alot from your chop. I had mine just a few weeks ago, and I definitely had some good lessons learned as well. My reserve ride was very similiar to yours in that I was very lightly loaded under my reserve (Tempo 170) and I got blown off the dz as well. I had to bury the toggles just to get turned around, and it took forever. Everyone on the ground was wondering why I was "flying away" from the dz, but they didn't realize I was doing my damndest to get back and just couldn't!! When I have the money I'm going to be investing in a smaller reserve so that next time I can actually steer that thing.

I would just like to add about the waiting for RSL -- like many others said -- please don't do that next time. That was interesting, though, that you said it took forever to work. In my chop, I did a 2-handed pull on red, and as I was pulling silver, I was already under my reserve thanks to my RSL. It was very fast. I did pull silver, though, cuz that handle was gone along with everything else. (Unfortunately, unlike you, I never found any of my stuff. )

Anyway, thanks for sharing and I'm glad it all worked out okay.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[JENNR8R 0]

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What is that?... canopy flying great... slider down... risers are twisted inside out... no toggles to be seen... they are inside the twist!!!...

Lesson 2 - That's a packing error called a stepthrough. The deployment bag must have rotated 360 degrees before I put it in the container, and I didn't notice the twist in the risers.

Apparently I have not learned Lesson 2 - I got my rig back on Saturday and tried to recreate the stepthrough packing error to make sure I would know how to avoid it in the future. Rotating the bag 360 degrees didn't make the risers twist inside out. I know it didn't happen when I landed because that was the sweetest landing I had all day....and I didn't have any concerns about my pack job on that one.

Any wisdom out there about how I could have done it? It freaks me out not knowing because I might inadvertently repeat it.

[sundevil777 94]

If you pick up your canopy in a sloppy manner it can easily get flipped through. Pick it up by first bringing the lines together near the canopy and you will tend to avoid this.

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

[bob.dino 0]

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Lesson 2 - That's a packing error called a stepthrough. The deployment bag must have rotated 360 degrees before I put it in the container, and I didn't notice the twist in the risers.

Rotating the dbag 360 degrees will give you linetwists, not a stepthrough.


I believe the following method will give you a stepthrough (my reserve is being repacked, so I can't make sure):

• Lay the unpacked canopy out as normal.


• Pick it up by the lines and place it over your shoulder as if you were going to pro-pack it.


• Pick up the pilot-chute. Loop it over the canopy, just below the slider, and between the left & right groups of lines.


• Pull the bridle, dbag, and entire canopy though after the pilot chute. You may need someone else's assistance to accomplish this.


• Don't jump it.

[mattjw916 2]

Another way to do it is walk up the lines as usual and lay the canopy on the ground... walk back to the rig, stand between the lines facing the rig, grab the bottom of the rig and flip it toward you onto the reserve and then over onto the backpad again. Walk up the lines again and now you have a step through.

One way you can check if for sure that you don't have one is walk up the lines, drop canopy on ground. Pick up tail at the label (center) and follow the edge to the control lines. Grab them all (one side at a time) in one hand and follow the lines to the cascade through the rear slider grommet and down to the ring and toggle. There should be no lines wrapped over or around them. Repeat on other side. While you do that, you might as well take the twists out of the control lines if they have any, it will help prevent tension knots.

If that's not clear, ask someone to demonstrate. There are other line-checks that can be done, but I'm afraid I'd butcher the explanation and it'd take forever to type.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080