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RSL on high performance canopies

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Great poll! I'm going to have to chip in with my thoughts as this one is such a dilemma for me.

The statistics tell me that having the RSL is a good idea. I think it's much more likely to save my life than kill me. After chopping a violent spinning main, deploying the reserve ASAP is the smart move even if it means some line twists.

However I can't bring myself to connect my RSL. Some dumb part of me doesn't want to give up the illusion of control.

Oh well I guess if I was smart I wouldn't be skydiving in the first place:)

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If the canopy is the only deciding factor, then I say 'yes'.

I think that more often than not, once people get to the point where they're flying a small HP canopy, ego plays a bigger role in this decision than it should.

_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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I'd be inclined to agree with you on this one. My point though would be that most of the people who are jumping high performance canopies have probably got cameras on their heads most of the time anyway - i know i have.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

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I recently had my rsl put back on.. Because...I switched from a sabre 107... non elliptical to a velocity 96 and had a pretty nasty spinning malfunction. And I reached in with both hands, one on cutaway one on reserve, went to pull cutaway and had to take my hand of the reserve handle to pull cutaway. I highly doubt I would of had trouble finding that reserve handle but I don't want to take any chance on that happening again and me not being able to find that handle, or hoping my cypress works.
Yeah, everyone has there own opinion to things... and thats mine ;)
If God wanted man to stay on the ground.
He would of put roots on them instead of feet.
loving life
GO-N-UP

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I think its because some RSL's are on the right riser while the camera is on the left side. If the left riser gets hung up on your helmet while the right riser with rsl on it doesn't, it will deploy your reserve into your main. *maybe*

Nope. Try again. Assumptions, wild guesses, don't have their place in this kind of topic.
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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It's not about what side things are on or what can catch on what... if ANYTHING catches on any part of your helmet, the RSL can cause the reserve to fire into a main that's still entangled with your helmet. The idea is to make sure your main is clear before your reserve comes out.

But for the record, I choose to continue to use a Skyhook RSL while jumping with a camera. I believe the benefits outweigh the risks... But I know that if I might possibly have an entanglement, I NEED to cut away the helmet before cutting away my main. I could be wrong, but I personally think I'm better off with the clean reserve deployments from the skyhook even though there's an increased risk in the case of an entanglement. The skyhook may also be helpful when I get a camera suit, due to the larger burble caused by the camera wings.

A regular RSL would be a different story for me though.

Dave

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RSL's are _more_ necessary on small canopies than on larger ones. The time you need an RSL is when time gets away from you, you cut away at 800 feet, and you then realize your reserve handle is tucked under your armpit from the violence of the spin. Small canopies are both more likely to get you low fast during a mal and more likely to spin violently.

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I think its because some RSL's are on the right riser while the camera is on the left side.



Besides your guess being wrong, not all rsl's are on the right side, some are on the left and some are on both. Not all camera's are on the left side, some are on the right side, some are on top and some guys just jump way too many stuff so it sticks out at both sides ;)

ciel bleu,
Saskia

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RSL's are _more_ necessary on small canopies than on larger ones. The time you need an RSL is when time gets away from you, you cut away at 800 feet, and you then realize your reserve handle is tucked under your armpit from the violence of the spin. Small canopies are both more likely to get you low fast during a mal and more likely to spin violently.



From RICK HORN:

"I got saved by a backup device (RSL) on Thursday, August 28th. I
thought I'd relay the information.

My background:
5000+ jumps
107 cutaways (No, i don't need to learn how to pack, a lot of test
jumps and films.)
About 20 unplanned cutaways.
21 years jumping, AFF I/E, Static Line I/E, Full time instructor at Perris, AFF Course Director for USPA.

Equipment Background
Rig- Javelin, Articulated harness (Rings top and bottom), RSL and Cypres equipped.
Soft Reserve pillow
Main, Stiletto 135
Reserve- PD143R
I wear my leg straps and chest strap quite tight.

The jump:
A great AFF Level 4, the student did well, I watched deployment on the
student's canopy, and hung around to give a thumbs up for the camera. This put everything happening a little lower than usual, so I threw the main out at about 2100, as opposed to the usual 2500 since I've gotten older and hopefully wiser.

The main opened into a severe spin. There were no line twists, but I
don't know what caused the spin, as I could not see the left side of
the canopy. After the usual playing around with it, I decided to get
rid of it. My procedures are grab cutaway, grab reserve, pull cutaway,
pull reserve. I went for the cutaway handle, and to my surprise, it was
on the LEFT side of my chest.

I grabbed it, and reached for the reserve handle. It was somewhere under my left armpit. I could only touch it with my thumb, and not grab it. My theory is that a combination of the severe spin and the articulated harness allowed the handles to move so far. I had also practiced hooking my thumb between the reserve pillow and
the housing. I was unable to do it. I then pulled the cutaway handle, as I was not accomplishing anything in my attempt to find the reserve handle.

After pulling the cutaway, I continued to search for the reserve
pillow. I was unable to find it. I theorize that it tucked under the
main lift web as the harness slid back into position. That theory took
a couple of days to figure out. Being honest, I have my sincere doubts that I would have found the handle within the 6 seconds of working time that I had left. My RSL prevented me from knowing the answer.
I have since modified my rig to include a standard ripcord on the
reserve. This should also serve as a reminder that backup devices,
whether they be RSL or AAD can save your life, no matter what your
experience.

Please don't make this into a debate thread, there have been enough. I just wanted to share the experience, so people could make informed decisions.

Rick Horn
D-6277 AFFI/E
USPA AFF Course Director
"

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i would say yes my rig it isnt on there at all but i jump camera and i would use it when im not doing camera which is very little but i know i would forget to unhook it after a non camera jump just my luck however they are good no doubt about it jus depends on your jumping situation
don't try your bullshit with me!!!

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