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freeflyin84

first cutaway, jump #34

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:o:o great exit with fellow jumper, docked twice, approached a layer of that which shall not be named , broke away, chilled until 4000, waved and pulled. another jump in paradise. until the chute began to open. it felt weird from the get go, and right before i pulled i felt something slapping the back of my legs. the chute opened but was throwing me from side to side, then after opening, threw me into a wild left hand spin. my left toggle was there, but my right toggle was above the slider somehow and wrapped around the lines. i tried to reach up and grab the toggle 3 or 4 times, but checked and saw i was at 2000'. CUT AWAY. everything went great. no fear, just training. opened great, landed great. after review, it was determined that the packer (student rig, still haven't bought), didn't stow the break properly and left it loose, and we presume loose line wrapped over the chute or allowed the toggle to release and wrap the lines. not sure as i was kind of preoccupied, but based on other experiences, what do you think??? sound like a line over, wrapped brake line, something else? anything different i could have done? oh ya, i did another jump a few loads later and it was sick!! first sit fly attempt. nothing like jumping back on the horse after falling off B|

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i'm gonna throw it out there and guess the bridle. the pilot chute was there when i reached back to pull. can't really guess anything else. don't know if it contributed to the malfunction or not, but it was just one more thing to add to the list of f**K ups on that jump.....

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the chute opened but was throwing me from side to side, then after opening, threw me into a wild left hand spin. my left toggle was there, but my right toggle was above the slider somehow and wrapped around the lines. i tried to reach up and grab the toggle 3 or 4 times, but checked and saw i was at 2000'. CUT AWAY.



I agree with pops, great job.

The only thing I would suggest is an earlier check of your altitude.

Example:
"the chute opened but was throwing me from side to side, then after opening," I checked my altitude and monitored it while dealing with this situation...

You did a great job in handling your situation, but it is easy to get a little preoccupied and loose track of altitude, what if when you made your first altitude check you are 1,000' lower, then the outcome may have gone from landing off to having your corpse carried away.

I do not think I became really altitude aware under canopy until I had - jeez, maybe 1,000 jumps. It is important and overlooked by many, then perhaps over emphasized by guys like me after seeing a couple people die and even experiencing a close call myself.

Again, good job...

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

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A simple brake firing is easily fixed by pulling down on both toggles.

But that's not what you had. If one of the toggles had migrated above the slider and wrapped around some lines, the jig was up.

You absolutely did the right thing and good for you ! Now you won't have to go through the endless "first cutaway anxiety" that bugs so many of us for hundreds - or even thousands - of jumps waiting for it to happen. You know the system works and you have a sense of confidence that can only be earned through experience.

The only thing I'd add is that you also learned how damn fast you were going down. You tossed it out at 4 grand, tried to fix a bad situation for just a little bit and found yourself at 2 grand before chopping. That's a bit low for a hard deck for someone with only 34 jumps. If you'd tossed at a legal 3 grand, you'd have been chopping at a grand - which still works, but is getting truly scary.

Have you bought your own helmet yet ? If/when you do, I would urge you to also invest in an audible altimeter. You can get a simple Pro-Dytter for just a bit over $100. Of course you should never depend on an audible, or anything else but yourself. But having a little alarm clock shrieking in your ear (wear earplugs, by the way...) as a reminder is definitely a good thing.

But again, congrats and welcome to the club ! Ain't it great to be alive ? Especially because you earned it !

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

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congrats. On jump 36 i had what I think may have been a simple brake fire, but I started panicking in my spin, and I cut away. I took jump 37 1 week later, and after I pulled at 4000, my canopy opened into a ball of shit, and the line twists were so bad that I was being strangled! This time, the cut away was imperative, and I had no fear doing it.2 in a row for me. Hey, 2 free skydives, and since then, Ive been back on the horse, and shes been great to me. I guess we all have to go through this eventually. We just have to slap on some smiles, and keep stomping through this shit-storm of jumping out of planes. A few near death experiances is certainly worth it, dont you agree?

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Good job on staying alive. :)
I agree with someone who said it's good that now you know. I had my first chop on jump #57. Welcome to the club. ;)

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

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