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blakepilot

Got to get some reserve deployment work on my 12th jump (2nd solo) ever

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So just yesterday, I completed my AFF levels and moved onto solo. This morning was my first solo jump ever. The first solo jump and the second coach jump went virtually flawlessly, but the third jump, second ever solo jump, didn't quite go as well as the subsequent jumps. So we're at 13,500 and the green light pops on, gear checks done, normal exit, great set of maneuvers, and pulled between 4,500-4,000 AGL. I instantly felt something was wrong right away. I look up and I had a line over malfunction occurring on my second ever solo jump! I tried a couple corrective toggle pulls and gave the riser a good yank, but nothing responded and I preceded to enter a pretty quick flat spin. Cut away the main and deployed the reserve. Boy am I glad the reserve was there!

Call me crazy, but if it wasn't for the lack of time left before I had to head for home, I would have gone right back up on the next load. It was definitely a good "oh fuck" moment, but it's just made me want to go more. I was more pissed off about getting jolted by the harness twice more than anything. I'm a big guy and I've already got some pretty gnarly bruises going on the inside of my thighs.

Anyway, props to all my instructors out at Zhills for pounding the proper procedures into my thick skull. They've definitely taught me how to save my ass and I got to practice it pretty early on. I've heard some war stories around there of guys with 1000+ jumps without a cut away yet. And big props due to the riggers. It was really them that ultimately saved my ass. I've got a 2 week break before I can get back out there, but I can't wait to go again! Beers for all

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And big props due to the riggers.


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Beers for all




Best to find that rigger and give him a bottle of what he wants. ;)
"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

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I've got a young gun at my home DZ who's 20 and has over 1000+ jumps with zero cutaways. He's even got videos of blindfolded pack jobs that's he's jumped. It's just the way the game is played I suppose.
Some of the greatest accomplishments were done by people too stupid to know they were impossible.

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we have statistics on this from my home DZ, and we have 1 cutaway for every 1000 jump last season. And that includes that jumper who came and tossed his PD Velocity all over the place TWICE. The gear is good, and with proper packing, it opens well nearly all of the time.

Good job getting rid of that lineover, OP!

B|

Actually, I saw a video of someone cutting away a lineover. It was rigged and filmed for educational purposes, but they had some problems getting it right, because try as they might, they couldn't pack a lineover on that old PD 9-cell. In the end they sowed the line on top of it (it was an old worn out canopy that they didn't intend to land anyway). The parachutes want to open.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

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