Static Line twists / First freefall

[koppel 3]

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Line twist on any canopy is a malfunction, but its quite easily solved if its flying stable and strait

I was taught on my FJC to pull the risers apart whilst kicking to get out of line twists.

Recently I have had the pleasure of working with a highly experienced jumper (21,000+ jumps) who taught me to push the risers together so the twist come down the lines and then twist the risers to release the twists (though I have found they come out all by themselves mostly when you push the risers together).

If the twists are by the risers this allows the canopy to open further than if they are half way up the lines.

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Back when I did my first static line jump line twists were part of malfunction training and we were told how to fix them etc. They were a malfunction which could be fixed, just as you argue.

Fast forward to when I did my static line instructors course a few years later and the BPA had had a major re-thing on their definitions.

Now as an instructor I am forbidden from referring to line twists during malfunction training. I don't refer to them as malfunctions, ever. I make a big deal about them being a "nuisance factor" (along with slider-high and end cell closure). Even my lesson about nuisance factors is a whole different lesson to the malfunctions lesson to make sure there's no overlap in the students mind between the two scenarios. The full package of responses to line twists is still covered, including cutting away – the only thing that changed was the name given to them and their complete temporal disassociation with malfunction lessons. (All this is mandated from above).

Guess what happened after the BPA mandated a different way of training students on line twists. First jump student cutaways massively decreased across the country pretty much over night.

The BPA found that one of the big reasons why students were cutting away was because we used to teach them that line twists were a mal which could be fixed. The student would get line twists, think "malfunction" and cutaway without simply dealing with them as they had been trained to do on the ground.

Now they see line twists and think "nuisance factor – I now have to do X,Y,Z". The idea that they're a mal has never been put into their head so they don't simply revert to their cutaway drills for something that is easily fixed.

The end result was that safety was increased simply by changing the names we used for different types of scenarios, nothing more.

Experienced jumpers can debate the proper definition of a mal all we like – we know the score and it's nothing more than an academic issue to us. Students and the very inexperienced however should be given definitions which will potentially save their life... even if we know at the end of the day there's potentially another way to look at the definition.

[Andy9o8 0]

My initial reaction to the "are line twists a malfuntion?" question was to dismiss it as just another debate over semantics. But you've made a good case for why these particular semantics are important to student jumpers.

I still don't have a problem calling an unstowed toggle on opening a "brake fire", though.
(Think: upon opening, the tension causes the brake to "fire" out of its keeper. )

But I digress. Thanks for the good points.

[damion75 0]

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Using your binary logic its not a malfunction, because you don't have to cut-away....

Easy with the personal comments about my logic!

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I do not consider line twists on a student canopy to be a malfunction. Because no, on looking up and seeing line twists after exiting at 3500ft on a static line, I would not be expecting to chop that canopy.

Maybe you would, and that would be your call since you were clearly trained differently to me. Nuff said.

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.

[AFFI 0]

I have seen a student land line twists thinking it was not much to be concerned about since it was not a "malfunction" - I understand that helicopter is not so pretty from the inside...

Saying a situation is not a malfunction until you reach the hard deck can apply toward anything eh? Seeing that person get busted up illustrates the confusion that can be created.
Exactly what that person was thinking – “Oh, it’s not a malfunction, I’ll be okay”…

If it not safe to land, it is a malfunction unless it is made safe to land by the time you reach your hard deck.

High Speed situation: Immediate action

Low Speed situation: Establish your priorities based on your altitude above the hard deck. (first step in dealing with Line twists? Check Alti)...
-

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

[pchapman 262]

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Now as an instructor I am forbidden from referring to line twists during malfunction training. I don't refer to them as malfunctions, ever. [...]
Experienced jumpers can debate the proper definition of a mal all we like – we know the score

Perfect, thank you!! That's the point I was thinking of making for phoenixlpr.

Try running a static line first jump class and advertising, "Our main parachutes malfunction at least one third of the time!" :)

Edit to add:

Actually I do deal with line twists and end cell closures in the course section dealing with "issues", but I still don't call them "malfunctions".

AFFI just mentioned the case of a student landing with line twists. Valid point there. Presumably that wasn't on the first static line jumps? It does sometimes get tricky to teach students who are are past the first jump, added subtleties about parachute problems, that one doesn't address fully in the first jump course.

And even in the first jump course, students need to realize that if they can't properly control the parachute, and are still up high, they need to use emergency procedures -- even if they can't quite match their problem to something specific they remember from the course.

[Broke 0]

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Line twist on any canopy is a malfunction, but its quite easily solved if its flying stable and strait.

Malfunctions for safety section

malfunction

Main Entry:
mal·func·tion Listen to the pronunciation of malfunction
Pronunciation:
\ˌmal-ˈfəŋ(k)-shən\
Function:
intransitive verb
Date:
1958

: to function imperfectly or badly : fail to operate normally
— malfunction noun


I would tend to agree. You have a malfunctioning canopy until you either fix it or chop it

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[diablopilot 2]

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You can not steer or land a canopy in line twist.

Yes you can. On both counts.

Is it advisable for skydivers? No.

It's survival training in BASE however.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[JohnMitchell 14]

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Line twist on any canopy is a malfunction, but its quite easily solved if its flying stable and strait.

Malfunctions for safety section

So did ya read that book? Dan Poynter is one sharp dude, especially when he wrote

"Some partials are so minor, most instructors do not even classify them as malfunctions; they call them "nuisances." Some of these things that just happen are line twists, end cell closures and a slider that has not fully descended. These are correctable problems which you will be trained to handle."

Exactly.

[lekstrom10k 0]

' After being in the sport a few weeks now I read a lot of responses. No one ever mentioned what plane was used. I got my jumpmaster rating in 1968 and noticed a few things. In a C182 ,C180 with a step and a P206 All the static -lines are at the jumpers 9o'clock position at least sometimes 8 or7 . When they drop off if it swings to 11 for opening its a miracle. Watch the canopy following the dope rope.. If your exuberent pilot kicks a left rudder for go- around or closing the door it only intensifies the problem.Good body position always help. Packing and nose position on the canopy helps too. Does the canopy still do the same thing went packed for free-fall on delays ? Its always easy to blame the student but there can be contributing factors