It is OKAY to throw your handles!!!

[weegegirl 2]

Geesh.

So... you are plummeting towards the earth in a high speed malfunction with a pile of shit over your head. Are you really going to stop and think to yourself... "SHIT!! I better not throw my handles... that wouldn't be the COOL thing to do!!"???

I hear this asked all the time and I'm totally guilty myself. The first question usually asked to the new "cutaway kid" is... "Did you keep your handles???"

This just seams retarded to me.... hmmm, save yourself or save your handles?? I hope everyone is smart enough to just do what they have to do. If you keep your handles... bonus. If not.... f*ck it. I didn't keep mine. I threw them motherf*ckers to the handle gods!!!

[/rant]

[Ron 7]

First question I ask is if they are OK.

Second question is "That was fun huh?"

Then I ask if they kept the handles.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Brian425 0]

I usually ask them what beer they are buying.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[BillyVance 34]

I try to keep my handles if it's a relatively simple situation, but I'm not going to care if it's an all hell breaks loose deal. The last true malfunction I had - tension knot and line twists to the rafters made me spin sooo hard and fast it took both hands to pull the cutaway handle, then I find myself under a reserve with 3 line twists on it. Oh (bleep)! Kicked out of them and had just enough altitude to rear riser my way back to the DZ from over the freaking forest! Lost my cutaway handle, silver handle and freebag somewhere deep in the woods. Hell, they can be replaced.

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[JohnMitchell 14]

Yes, I agree with you, and I also say it's okay to keep your handles. Some people think you have to throw them away for safety, and train themselvs that way. I can see there are situations where you might need to, but I haven't personally been in one.

[weegegirl 2]

Hey shit... if things are going just fine and you are under control, keep the puppies. Save yourself time, money and hassle in the long run. Either way, just do what's safe rather than thinking there is only one way to do things.

[okalb 78]

I have kept my handles on every mal I have had up to this point. I will also honestly tell you that it was never a conscious effort. Actually quite the contrary, on my first mal I reached up to grab my reserve toggles and it took me a second to figure out what was in my hands.
On the other hand I know a person who disposed of their handles twice on the lowest speed mal you can have. They were under a perfectly good main that had been hooked up backwards. This happened to this person twice and both times they threw handles. Seems to me that on that kind of mal you have enough time to think about what you are doing and hang on to the handles.

Time flies like an arrow....fruit flies like a banana

[Ron 7]

Quote

On the other hand I know a person who disposed of their handles twice on the lowest speed mal you can have. They were under a perfectly good main that had been hooked up backwards. This happened to this person twice and both times they threw handles.

I think this person needs to learn to hook up a canopy

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[weegegirl 2]

Quote

Quote

On the other hand I know a person who disposed of their handles twice on the lowest speed mal you can have. They were under a perfectly good main that had been hooked up backwards. This happened to this person twice and both times they threw handles.

I think this person needs to learn to hook up a canopy

Actually, I know a case where there was a very experienced jumper whose RIGGER hooked their canopy up backwards after repacking his reserve. He made a jump and the shit was backwards. It was pretty funny and made for great video.

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

know a case where there was a very experienced jumper whose RIGGER hooked their canopy up backwards after repacking his reserve.

It would make me wonder what else the rigger fucked up.

If a rigger can't take the time to verify that the main is hooked up the right way, what does that really say about the rigger? Although I do understand that everyone makes mistakes, it just bothers me.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Kris 0]

Yup, it certainly is okay to dispose of your handles, and I tell my students that.

That having been said, I've had 3 cutaways...1 slow speed and 2 spinners and kept my handles all 3 times. Yeah, sometimes I amaze myself.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[okalb 78]

Quote

I think this person needs to learn to hook up a canopy

I couldn't agree more. I just thought it was funny that not only did she make the same stupid mistake twice but threw her handles both times.

Time flies like an arrow....fruit flies like a banana

[elfanie 0]

ya know...when I had my first reserve ride...I couldn't get my handles away from my fast enough. My thought was "look red, grab red, look silver, pull red -ALL THE WAY *toss*, pull silver - ALL THE WAY *throws D-ring as far away from my body as I could get it*"..

later that day, my DZO razzed me a little by talking to another rigger about D-rings...and looked at me as he said, "We need to get some more in stock...people keep THROWING THEM.." and he grinned.

I looked him square in the eye and said, "my EPs consisted of look red, grab red, look silver, pull red, pull silver...at no time was I taught pull red - KEEP THE HANDLE- pull silver - KEEP THE HANDLE..."
he got VERY serious and said, "absolutely...you did exactly what you were supposed to...good for you..."

That was the last 'crap' I ever got for it. I like to think that I'm indespensable, though...

--------------------------------------------
Elfanie
My Skydiving Page
Fly Safe - Soft Landings

[JohnMitchell 14]

We actually train our students to huck the main handle if they need to pull the reserve, but then to hang onto the reserve handle after they pull it.

[riddler 0]

I have been told about one case of a jumper that threw away the cutaway handle and it went upwards toward the already opening reserve. The yellow cables from the cutaway handle went into one slider grommet of the opening reserve, preventing the slider from coming down fully. This jumper still landed the reserve canopy fine, but could have been more seriously injured. This is a very unlikely instance, and of course, there's probably about an equal chance that keeping the handles could cause some odd-ball malfunction as well. Just something to be aware of.

I have had one cutaway, and I'm pretty sure I threw both handles at least two states away

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[koz2000 1]

On one of my cutaways, I was over the ocean under a bad spinner. Didn't mean to drop a handle, but oops, somehow fell out of my hand..... At least I had my soft reserve handle.

Anyways I was kinda bummed since I had my name embroidered on it, but as luck was to have it, while looking for my freebag, and main, a golfer found my handle and returned it to me.

The cutaway gods were looking down on me that day.

______________________________________________
- Does this small canopy make my balls look big? - J. Hayes -

[BillyVance 34]

Quote

Quote

Quote

On the other hand I know a person who disposed of their handles twice on the lowest speed mal you can have. They were under a perfectly good main that had been hooked up backwards. This happened to this person twice and both times they threw handles.

I think this person needs to learn to hook up a canopy

Actually, I know a case where there was a very experienced jumper whose RIGGER hooked their canopy up backwards after repacking his reserve. He made a jump and the shit was backwards. It was pretty funny and made for great video.

A friend of mine had a rigger hook up a brand new canopy to new risers.... SIDEWAYS!!! It opened fine, then my friend looked up, did a double-take... what the fuck?!? Did a couple of control inputs, everything worked fine, just 90 degrees off! He decided to chop anyhow, having only 100 jumps... His rigger repacked the reserve for free.

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[napalmboy 0]

Quote

I have been told about one case of a jumper that threw away the cutaway handle and it went upwards toward the already opening reserve.

Haven't had my first cutaway yet, but I was taught to hold onto my handles until I've got a nice reserve over my head for exactly this reason. Afterwards, drop the handles if you want, but don't let anything get in the way of your last parachute delploying cleanly.

-Michael

Well, the door was open...

[Brains 2]

Quote

I threw them motherf*ckers to the handle gods!!!

Fireflytx had her first chop a month or so ago and that is exactly what she did. I saw her cutaway handle falling and retrieved it for her while someone else landed with her main and freebag to recover that. One week later someone landed right next to her reserve handle in the main landing area.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[Jeth 0]

I was wondering about this, too. I was taught to "GET RID OF 'EM!!" (My instructor was very adament about it, as if she didn't want us even considering keeping them.)
And thats how I practice my EP's -- Look-grab-look-grab-peel-pull-throw-peel-pull-throw. So I'm sure when the time comes, I will do it just like that.

But I hope that if and when I do have my first cutaway, I won't get any shit when I do what my instructor told me to do.

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

[goose491 0]

Hey Weege!

Ah, ... strange to see someone rant about the "Did you keep your handles?" being asked. I seriously doubt this question is truly ever asked before "Are you alright?" and "What happened?" or "What was it?" (malfuction)

I had my pre-second chop this year and you know what? It wasn't until the DZO shouted (in front of ALL to boot) "Hey Nick! Did you keep your handles?" that I realised I hadn't. lol... I was like: ".... uh, OH!... D'oh! Look Ma! No handles!"

It was good for a laugh... but it made me realise what the cutaway had done to me mentally. I really hadn't even thought about those handles until after he asked... And I had already discussed the malfunction and cutaway with over a half dozen people on my way to get my gear off.

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[SkydiveNFlorida 0]

I kept my handles on my first mal. I was not in the worst situation in the world, I had altitude and I kept my cool. It was only minor effort to hang on to the handles.

That was not the first question asked of me by anyone. I don't think it's unacceptable to toss your handles in that situation at all, though. If everyone kept them, no one would ask you if you still had them.

Quote

"SHIT!! I better not throw my handles... that wouldn't be the COOL thing to do!!"???

Who cares if it's cool? It's much less expensive to keep them, and you don't have to wait on new ones. I'd always planned to keep mine for this reason, not because it was "cool".

:)
Angela.

[obelixtim 100]

Throwing away handles is no big deal....the handles are unimportant in the big scheme of things....however, after opening.....look straight down and pick up a reference point on the ground directly below you.....and use that as a starting point for a ground search...most times you will find the handles again....

Of more concern are the stories of the riggers who cocked up here.....verifying a canopy is correctly hooked up is no more than a 5 second job....and particularly important when assembling gear....in fact if the rigger hasn't done this very simple and basic check then he should not have a riggers rating.....

Sheer laziness or incompetance is clearly evident here.....and the issue should be taken further and definitly NOT ignored.

These individuals are responsible for peoples lives, and they obviously do not take their responsibilities seriously.

DO something about it......

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[dubbayab 0]

>>So I'm sure when the time comes, I will do it just like that.

I still practice cutaway procedures with both hands on the cutaway handle and look at the reserve handle before pulling the cutaway etc....
I have had 1 cutaway at AOTMB last year, I couldn't get linetwist out,I was at 1800 so I chopped I didn't second guess it, just did it,grabbed each handle with each hand, peeled and started my EP's. This is not what I practiced, but it is what I did. I think we are trained a certain way, worst case scenario would require both hands, but in my situation everything worked out even though I did not respond to how I train. I kept both handles .02 $ worth

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I threw away my handles last year during my malfunction in Eloy. Then on the ground I was talking to Bryan Burke about the incident and I told him that I did exactly what I had been rehearsing for the last couple of years, and that I was happy with everything except that I threw away my handles. And his response to me (which I thought was brilliant) was:

"Next time rehearse holding on to your handles".

So it remains to be seen what I will do the next time I need to cutaway, but thanks to Bryan Burke, I am now rehearsing holding on to my handles every time I do my practice EPs.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over