First Cut Away Question

[DoubleDogDareMe 0]

Just had my first cut-away on Saturday. Right now, I am fine with going back and continuing to jump - im going to jump again, that's a no brainer. My question is more of a personal one: Beyond everyone asking you what happened, expecting you to jump in your car and go buy bear, the superstition behind the bottle for the guy/gal who packed your reserve - beyond all that, what did it mean to you? This is a personal question now, I understand the concept of "getting back on the horse" and im not looking for a pep talk, I want to hear what happened to you through your eyes.. So what did your first mean to you and how did you deal with it? When your next move was that cut-away handle and you realized what was about to happen.. the thought that "after this one, im out of parachutes." Help me understand here. I need to figure this one out.

Im fine if you would rather PM me.

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live... I wanted to live deliberately and suck all the marrow out of life... And not, when I came to die, discovered I had not lived." - Thoreau

[rehmwa 2]

It was nice (tangled steering line - slow speed mal) - like getting that first scratch on the new car so I didn't have to worry about it, anymore. My first thought was, "crap, where can I find a rigger at this boogie". 2nd thought - "crap, it's kinda windy and this round isn't getting much penetration"

2nd CrW wrap "Dammit Karl, you don't dock sideways" this one was funny - once we cleared the wrap, I cut away and rolled to my back to watch the mess recede (still up high), then to my stomach and pull - right during the pull I thought "crap, now I'm at terminal instead of slower" WHAP

3rd (high speed container lock) "who's rigging today? Hope he didn't go home yet"

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[millertime24 8]

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beyond all that, what did it mean to you?

It meant less gear fear for me. After it happened I KNEW I could handle it without any question. As for thinking about having "no more parachutes after this", didnt even cross my mind. I was thinking "holy shit this thing is going to kill me or worse cripple me and it has to go".

Muff #5048

[mrubin 0]

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beyond all that, what did it mean to you?

It meant less gear fear for me. After it happened I KNEW I could handle it without any question. As for thinking about having "no more parachutes after this", didnt even cross my mind. I was thinking "holy shit this thing is going to kill me or worse cripple me and it has to go".

+1

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[brucet7 0]

For me, it was a matter of added heart rate and a bit of cotton mouth. I found that it actually helped once I made that first one as I knew that I knew what to do when I needed to. The first one after the cut away was a lot like the first one.

POPS #10623; SOS #1672

[DoubleDogDareMe 0]

What I seem to be hearing the most is, "It gets easier. Now that you've done it, you know you can do it. Now there's no question you can't". Any thoughts?

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live... I wanted to live deliberately and suck all the marrow out of life... And not, when I came to die, discovered I had not lived." - Thoreau

[ridestrong 1]

My first was a few months ago. Fast spinning mal, cutaway with Skyhook. I remember putting both my hands on my cutaway handle taking a breath and thinking here it goes. Skyhook was unreal fast and I had a great reserve ride. I rented gear the rest of the day and did 3 more jumps. The experience didn't change a lot for me other than make me feel more comfortable with the idea of a future cutaway if need be.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[evilivan 0]

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What I seem to be hearing the most is, "It gets easier. Now that you've done it, you know you can do it. Now there's no question you can't". Any thoughts?

That was definitely my feeling afterwards - almost 500 jumps before I had my first and 'it was starting to itch'... wanted to know I would deal with it right.

As per somebody above, during it (slow speed line over - lots of time to think) there was no question I was going to cut away because there was no way I was landing what was above me.

"If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation."
David Brent

[wmw999 2,116]

It was a long time ago; my primary response after cutting away and pulling my reserve (in the days of R2's and no RSL) was "shit -- I'm supposed to throw everything away, and now I have both my main and reserve ripcords, and the hand-held camera I was going to take freefall pictures with -- I'm supposed to throw it all away "

So I just stuffed them down my jumpsuit, steered, and landed.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[beowulf 1]

I had a spinning malfunction for my first and only cut away so far and I remember thinking at first that I could fix this ..... then OK I running out of time and altitude damn I am going to have to cut this away. As I was thinking cut away I pulled my my handle then started to go for my reserve and was already feeling the reserve opening as touched my reserve handle.( Skyhooks are fast ) Wasn't really any time to get scared. Once I landed I could really feel the adrenaline. My main didn't go very far. I was able to walk over and pick it up. Someone else picked up my pilot chute and bridle. Dropped it all off with the local rigger and then borrowed a rig and kept on jumping with my team!

[fmmobley 0]

Interesting topic...

After over 750 jumps I finally had my first a few weeks ago. Slow speed mal. After a little analysis I decided I needed to cutaway, I did so, and before I could get the silver all the way out I had a reserve overhead (RSL's are fast too).

My biggest surprise was at how routine it seemed. I usually go through the EP motions on every jump, maybe that is why it seemed so normal. I landed normally and came back in and just worried about finding my stuff, but no big adrenalin charge. Just another jump.

I imagine a high speed mal would get the juices flowing a lot more.

... Marion

[Beachbum 0]

Lineover that I couldn't clear. My first thought after I was under the reserve was "well, the gear and I both worked as we were supposed to" ... followed closely by "dammit ... I JUST got that sucker repacked yesterday" (I had just picked it up from my rigger). As for a bit later, I agree with those saying thinga about getting it over with and knowing you did handle it ok ... a relief in a way. I don't remember having any 2nd thoughts about resuming jumping at all (maybe I AM crazy!!). I wonder how often a chop happens on the first jump after a repack?

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[jacketsdb23 45]

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Beyond everyone asking you what happened, expecting you to jump in your car and go buy bear, the superstition behind the bottle for the guy/gal who packed your reserve

Whatever you do, DO NOT go buy a bear. No matter how boring a Saturday afternoon weather hold can get, the entertainment presented by having a bear in the hanger is not worth the potential destruction it can cause.

Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen
God is Good
Beer is Great
Swoopers are crazy.

[DoubleDogDareMe 0]

Thanks for all the replies. I have heard a lot of responses - both here and over txt/facebook/ect.. and for most people, they have their own way of looking at it. I guess im getting wrapped up in not having another "safety net" after a cut. To date, I believe it is courage that will make me feel better, not logic. That I can do.

It did feel really good when a buddy of mine (ground school instructor and later "coach) patted me on the back and said with sincerity, "Now your a sky diver". I guess I felt it, just wasn't sure WHY I would want to feel it again.

I suppose in the end it's not all about myself but those I share it with. The experience shared in the air very well might be the derivative of the comradery between skydivers on the ground. I have spent the last decade chasing companionship - usually things with an exotic nature to them. I figured skydiving was not only fun but the comradeship was palpable - even to an outsider. Though, up until my last jump I have question the cost.

So, the week for me is my day job and I will be back out there this weekend. I think between all of you that have answered, not just on dz.com, I think I have found what I am looking for.

Thanks

OH.. and "jacketsdb23" - your right, that would be a problem! My error

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live... I wanted to live deliberately and suck all the marrow out of life... And not, when I came to die, discovered I had not lived." - Thoreau

[alp27 0]

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[Whatever you do, DO NOT go buy a bear. No matter how boring a Saturday afternoon weather hold can get, the entertainment presented by having a bear in the hanger is not worth the potential destruction it can cause.

Lmfao... I thought that but u beat me to it lol

Everyone dies.... not everyone lives!!

[Zlew 0]

I was happy to get mine out of the way (had over 700 jumps for my first). What I really liked about it, was how calm and automatic it was. There wasn't an "oh shit!" moment. It was very methodical, logical, and training kicked it.

I looked up, and it was clear I didn't have a landable wing (spinetto in a hard spin with lots-o-twists). It was like first jump course kicked in:
is it square stable and steerable? Nope
execute emergency procedures-
and the next thing I knew I had a pretty white 7 cell above my head. No fear, panic, high heart rate, or even time to think about it. Not trying to be macho at all, just saying that I thought it was cool that those thousands of times I had gone through that procedure in my head...on the ground... on the way up... paid off so well.

[airtwardo 6]

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Just had my first cut-away on Saturday. Right now, I am fine with going back and continuing to jump - im going to jump again, that's a no brainer. My question is more of a personal one: Beyond everyone asking you what happened, expecting you to jump in your car and go buy bear, the superstition behind the bottle for the guy/gal who packed your reserve - beyond all that, what did it mean to you? This is a personal question now, I understand the concept of "getting back on the horse" and im not looking for a pep talk, I want to hear what happened to you through your eyes.. So what did your first mean to you and how did you deal with it? When your next move was that cut-away handle and you realized what was about to happen.. the thought that "after this one, im out of parachutes." Help me understand here. I need to figure this one out.

Im fine if you would rather PM me.

My fisrt cutaway was on a rig most would shudder to look at these dayz...

I had a streamer folowing a low pass (2000') for an accuracy jump.

Few seconds into it I knew she wasn't gonna play nice...I opened the covers on my Shot & 1/2's and the little wire loops popped up...THEN it hit me I'd better do this right.

Going through 1200' I was strangely calm and precise with thought & action...I can see it now as clearly as I did then!

Snapped the cutaway loops down and went back into free-fall, I looped my right thumb through the big aluminum reserve handle and punched it out clearing the long cable from the housing with my left hand...then threw the handle.

Then with both hands on the Jesus string I yanked it out of the little pocket also to full extension, I felt the MA1 smack my bell helmet as it caught air.

The only thing that concerned me was the severe oscillations I was getting at 225 pounds under a 22' Tri-Con round reserve...hoping the landing was timed right in one of the swings.

It was.
The aftermath was a few pats on the back for a job well done, some beer poured on my head and getting to pack my 1st reserve so I could keep jumping that day.

The 'priceless' part was going from thinking I could handle a high speed parachute malfunction...to KNOWING that I could!



I was 18 and had about a hundred twenty jumps...you could call it a rite of passage.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[ridestrong 1]

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I wonder how often a chop happens on the first jump after a repack?

Did the rigger who did your reserve repack also pack your main for that jump??

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[blakepilot 0]

I'm pretty much still an FNG, but from my prospective, I wanted to get right back up in the plane if I didn't have to leave for home within that hour. I had my first cutaway a couple weeks ago on my 12th jump. The only thought that really went through my head after looking up was "oh fuck" when I started going into a hard flat spin. Had a line over mal. But the reserve saved my ass from splat and for that I'm grateful. I guess the worst part was the 2 week break before I jumped again...it was on my mind just a bit before I dove again. But I've jumped 13 times since then.

What did it mean to me? Gave me a lot of confidence in being able to get the job done when faced with an emergency. I did a couple riser tugs and checked out pretty quickly afterward just like I was trained. Didn't save my handle though.

[darthur2000 0]

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the superstition behind the bottle for the guy/gal who packed your reserve

That's not about superstition, it's about thanking someone for saving you from cratering. Hence the reason it's called a save for the rigger.

As for the cutaway, my first was a bag lock. Was in the base of a 9-way and pulled about 2.8k. Then there was that weird moment when you think, he where the hell is my canopy. Checked that I didn't miss the pull and that the container was empty. Looked over my shoulder and couldn't see anything so the muscle memory kicked in from all those practice EP's and "look peel look pull pull arch" and whap, I was sitting in at 1,400 under a good reserve. The most confusing thing was that I tried to collapse the slider on my reserve and it took me a second to realize that they don't collapse ;-) One of the best parts was it was a demo rig so after landing I brought it back to the rep gave him the gear back, got the riggers name so I could send her a bottle of vodka, then grabbed my rig and got on the next load.

[countzero 7]

on my 1st i didn't have much time to think. my cut away handle got dislodged during some combat RW. so when i deployed i felt a very asymetrical pull on my shoulders and ended up on my back to see my d-bag leaving. with no RSL i had nothing out and was burning altitude fast. all i really remember is my audible screaming (my hard deck is set @ 2K), turning belly to earth, looking at and yanking sliver. i look back on it as a confidence builder and a good learning expereince.

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[DoubleDogDareMe 0]

Thanks for this guys. I'm getting more and more excited about Saturday morning!!

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live... I wanted to live deliberately and suck all the marrow out of life... And not, when I came to die, discovered I had not lived." - Thoreau

[Reno1967 0]

I had my first cutaway on my 6th AFF jump. Tension knot, slow speed spinning mal. As I went for my cutaway handle the only thought going through my head was "If I burn in, I'm going to make my instructor look really bad". Still makes me laugh when I think about it....

No regrets.....

[stinkyho 0]

Line twists on opening turned into a high speed spin. Happened so quickly I didn't have much time to think.

Didn't think about NOT jumping again. Never crossed my mind, I think.

I do remember it being the HOTTEST day of the year, and some cool dude knew where the canopy landed (in the woods on top of a tall, lanky tree).

So I bought him a couple of jumps, then went back into the woods with a dude with climbing gear. Through the tick-infested muddy shit, he climbed up another tree next to it and lassooed with a rope.

Bought him a few jumps.

Couldn't find bag, dropped handle. Expensive day.

And fucking HOT!!!!!!!!!