Had my first "Mal"

[ScottyInAus 0]

Well sort of, Probably more of a lazy pull on my behalf.

H&P from 6,000 (playing around under smaller canopy)
Hanging exit, about 3 second delay, pulled PC and released, felt absolutely NO pull/jerk etc. felt BOC to check for PC and found still there, held in by probably less than an inch of material, grabbed and threw, all ok.

I was impressed with how I quickly I coped with it, JM in the plane also said it was quick.

Did another few jumps that day and needless to say, haven't had the prob again.

Cheers,
Jason.

[rsmn17 0]

Good job

[Jackpunx 0]

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Well sort of, Probably more of a lazy pull on my behalf.

H&P from 6,000 (playing around under smaller canopy)
Hanging exit, about 3 second delay, pulled PC and released, felt absolutely NO pull/jerk etc. felt BOC to check for PC and found still there, held in by probably less than an inch of material, grabbed and threw, all ok.

I was impressed with how I quickly I coped with it, JM in the plane also said it was quick.

Did another few jumps that day and needless to say, haven't had the prob again.

Can you re explain that to me.. Not sure about all the acronyms as I’m new
Thanks

[mattjw916 2]

glossary

H&P = hop and pop (deploying main right away on a short/no delay after exit)
PC = pilot 'chute
BOC = bottom of container (where the PC is stowed)
JM = jumpmaster (arcane term)

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[Jackpunx 0]

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glossary

H&P = hop and pop (deploying main right away on a short/no delay after exit)
PC = pilot 'chute
BOC = bottom of container (where the PC is stowed)
JM = jumpmaster (arcane term)

Now it makes sense to me.. thanks

[mdrejhon 8]

After reading about lazy pulls online and in a book, and wondering if I was doing that, on one of my planned 5000-feet pull jumps, I initiated pull at 5500 feet and intentionally held onto the pilot chute for 2-3 seconds at full arm extension (down to 5000 feet), to see how much force there was, how quickly it would "slip" out of my hand, how it affected my body position. Just my usual pull motion from slightly higher altitude but with an intentional 2-3 second pause. It helped me figure out that I seemed to be letting it go fine at full arm extension in the past, I found that the PC doesn't inflate that quickly and forcefully when held upsidedown handle-side-to-ground until you let it go and it automatically rights itself handle-side-to-sky (and inflates) with a real forceful pull.

It gave me some useful feedback on whether my pulls were getting lazy (I *might* have had one or two lazy-yet-uneventful pulls so that's why I did this PC exercise to be sure). It at least showed I can easily hold onto the pilot chute all the way to arm extension without it slipping out of my hand too early; not slipping out too close to my container (snag/burble dangers), and that I do not go unstable when I hold the pilot chute at arm's length to the side of my body for 2-3 seconds, and now I know how much force it takes to rip the PC out of my hands, which aids in how tight I need to grip the PC handle to avoid slipping before it's safely clear of my equipment.

As always, pass everything through your instructor before trying anything new...

[Orange1 0]

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JM = jumpmaster (arcane term)

Off topic, but we still have jumpmasters here ...(maybe they do in Australia too?)

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Malta_Dog 0]

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... I found that the PC doesn't inflate that quickly and forcefully when held upsidedown handle-side-to-ground until you let it go and it automatically rights itself handle-side-to-sky (and inflates) with a real forceful pull....

I really don't see the point of this "exercise": a PC held upside down has not a remote chance to inflate, and it won't learn you to perform a better pull.

OTOH the bridle dancing in the wind while you're holding the PC could snag it and cause a PC in tow...or even tangle with your arm.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that what you're describing is unnecessary and dangerous.

All your dropzone are belong to us!!!!111!

[mdrejhon 8]

Correct, the PC does not inflate until I let it go. Again, I did not do anything to my pull motion except intentionally delay letting go of the handle for 2-3 seconds. It was not dangerous at all in my opinion. I limited it to 2-3 seconds, since anything more is risky. In fact, some people are so slow pullers, they take a full 1-2 seconds to throw - I'm usually a very quick and fast puller with little time between waveoff and throw motion and had to learn to relax more in the student jumps. I also had many consecutive stable pulls before I decided to try this.

There is a lot of FUD about whether one can hold onto the PC handle after pulling out. Some say "impossible to hold on, it's ripped forcefully out of your hand", and all that. For the flying stuff I don't listen to information I read online, I clear it by looking up some good source (i.e. Brian Germain) and/or people I know (i.e. instructors and good experienced skydivers from my dropzone I trust).

I felt that the best thing for me to do was to experience it first hand. I did not do anything to my pull motion except a inserted minor delay, and I did it at a pretty healthy altitude of 5000 feet, not at 2500 feet.

If I felt any discomfort, instability, or extreme pressure I was prepared to let go immediately. Again, what I did was not dangerous at all for my current skill level. That is my judgement. I just did a standard pull motion with just a strategically inserted 2-3 second pause. It went uneventfully. I did it only once in a pre-planned manner. I did it at a higher altitude. I verified the safety of this operation and I knew about the bridle risk but that can happen in lazy pull anyway. It already helped me ensure that I am a non-lazy puller, and feel safer as a result. I am not doing this procedure again. That is it. It may not even be a good procedure. But it proved useful to me.

Of course, I am not recommending this procedure without talking to an instructor first.

[mdrejhon 8]

Just been informed by PM that there has been an incident related to this back in the 1990's (holding onto a PC too long), albiet this was with a student and not preplanned, and likely not intentional.

Now, it is not a recommendation to try these things. Trying new things are dangerous, sometimes in ways not anticipated. Even though I have done this uneventfully, I don't think it's a good exercise to do so, especially for a student in the light of this new knowledge. Goes without saying yet again, to consult your instructors.

[Tyrion 0]

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JM = jumpmaster (arcane term)

Off topic, but we still have jumpmasters here ...(maybe they do in Australia too?)

Indeed we do still have them in Aust.

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