new big-way jumper suggestion

[happythoughts 0]

A lot of jumpers experience off-heading openings. They happen to everyone. It could happen to someone in your group. Once you start jumping with more people, this becomes more important.

Here is a good idea to practice. When you first open, don't reach up and stow your slider, etc. Instead, grab your rear risers and steer straight ahead for about 4-5 seconds. Look around and check for traffic. If you need to avoid it, steer with your risers.

After 5 seconds, then do the busy work of sliders, booties, whatever.

It's a good habit to develop.

[jlmiracle 7]

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A lot of jumpers experience off-heading openings. They happen to everyone. It could happen to someone in your group. Once you start jumping with more people, this becomes more important.

Here is a good idea to practice. When you first open, don't reach up and stow your slider, etc. Instead, grab your rear risers and steer straight ahead for about 4-5 seconds. Look around and check for traffic. If you need to avoid it, steer with your risers.

After 5 seconds, then do the busy work of sliders, booties, whatever.

It's a good habit to develop.

I teach that to my students. It applies to every skydive done. Other people can open up right in your face at anytime (do to tracking or not waiting the correct time between groups).

Grabbing rear risers and looking for traffic should be a MUST on every skydive you are on, not just big ways.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[piisfish 136]

of what I heard on may big ways it is FORBIDDEN to touch the slider... flying your canopy safely is the MAIN attention

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[skr 1]

Good idea.

Besides looking around for close neighbors
I tell people to look at the ground and rear
riser to a good direction too before collapsing
slider and releasing brakes.

Skr

[skymiles 3]

Of course – get on your rear risers right away, but don’t start steering before the canopy is fully inflated. A couple months back, I was in the middle of an off-heading opening and tried to steer the canopy back to on-heading with the rear risers before the canopy was fully inflated. As a result, the entire right side folded under the left side of the canopy. Fortunately, it re-inflated when I dropped the risers.

Phil

[billvon 2,467]

Also, with smaller canopies, get used to body steering on opening. You can turn quite a bit with your body alone. And in the case of a severe off-heading opening (like a 270) remember that it's often easier to complete the 360 than to turn all the way back around.

[Hazarrd 1]

I had a malfunction (tension knot) that was only discovered after releasing the breaks. My practice is to still grab the rear risers right after opening, but does anyone disagree with doing that?

.-.

[jlmiracle 7]

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I had a malfunction (tension knot) that was only discovered after releasing the breaks. My practice is to still grab the rear risers right after opening, but does anyone disagree with doing that?

I personally wouldn't be flying with rear risers without unstowing my breaks below my cutaway altitude. You never know when one of those brakes might not unstow. I use the rear risers on opening to steer clear of any traffic and make sure I'm not flying either down the flight line or on high wind days, away from the dropzone.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[billvon 2,467]

>My practice is to still grab the rear risers right after opening, but does
>anyone disagree with doing that?

No, that's a good idea. Just make sure you release your brakes before you get below an altitude where you don't want to cut away, in case there's an unrecoverable problem with the brakes. Amy broke her foot due to such a problem (left her brakes stowed, didn't realize she had a stuck brake until 200 feet or so.)

[flyangel2 2]

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of what I heard on may big ways it is FORBIDDEN to touch the slider... flying your canopy safely is the MAIN attention

You are so right. And it is also forbidden to play around with your booties. But, I still see it being done Nothing like having 140 plus canopies in the air at the same time, and some "skygod " feels the need to get his booties off while flying right at me

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[obelixtim 103]

Its easy to pack your canopy to open on a consistent heading....competitive CRW is all about saving time....so canopies are packed to open on the heading you want, to enable that first formation to happen fast....talk to a CRW dog about it.....its all to do with the nose......

Of course, its a waste of time doing that if your body position is skew whiff during deployment or opening........shoulders level, facing the right direction......pretty impossible to avoid facing someone in heavy traffic I know .....but everyone at least should be able to open on heading fairly consistently....

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

[happythoughts 0]

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......pretty impossible to avoid facing someone in heavy traffic I know .....but everyone at least should be able to open on heading fairly consistently....

I was discussing RW big-ways, not CRW. A PD Lightning used for CRW opens a lot differently than my elliptical. (I wasn't even necessarily talking about me, but it could be me opening off.) You are right though, people need to learn about their canopy.

When doing a 20-way, you can't guarantee that the guy next to you is going to have an on-heading opening. I am talking about being pro-actively safe. "Defensive Driving" in its canopy sense. Looking around for traffic that is having a bad day.

In a perfect world, a good pack job opens straight every time and every jumper on the load knows how to make it do that. I just want people to be aware that it won't happen every time, but it will happen sometime. This is just an idea to help people be prepared and save maybe two lives.

[skyyhi 0]

This was very helpful information people and a good reminder for me. I did my first 8-way this weekend and had an off-heading opening. I automatically grabbed for my risers and was thankful that I did because the group after us was right there. . .no issues but I know that if I was not aware it could have potentially been an issue.

Thanks for the reminder. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[happythoughts 0]

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Thanks for the reminder

You have no idea how good it feels to know that.
btw, first 8-way... beer.

[obelixtim 103]

"...discussing RW...not CRW....."

Yeah...I was aware of that....I was discussing pack jobs.....and principles remain the same...whatever discipline we partake in........

I think we agree on the principles of self preservation.....looking out for the other guy who might take you out has always been a basic survival skill.....and always will be.....

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