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Jimbo

The trees, the peas, or the pond?

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I don't know why I was thinking about this, but I was.

Suppose you're under a malfunctioning reserve that for whatever reason is not safe to land. Where do you go? The trees, the peas, or the pond?

I know what I'd do. What about you?

-
Jim
"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

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I don't know why I was thinking about this, but I was.

Suppose you're under a malfunctioning reserve that for whatever reason is not safe to land. Where do you go? The trees, the peas, or the pond?

I know what I'd do. What about you?

-
Jim



Interesting mal. The canopy is good enough to allow you to hit the peas, but unsafe to land. ?????
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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It mainly depends on what control, if any, you have of the canopy and if it's spinning. Since I have about 7 tree landings under rounds I would prefer a tree landing. You may not even get to the ground if you land in trees. A spinning mal into the trees could be as bad or worse than hitting the ground. Peas can make for a hard landing also depending on the mal. You can drown if the pond is deep enough or too big to get to shallow water.

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The canopy is good enough to allow you to hit the peas, but unsafe to land. ?????



I didn't say that it was. I just asked what people would do, or rather try to do. How would you spend what might be your last moments?

For what it's worth, I chose the trees because they're (a) a bigger target, and (b) I would hope that all that fabric would catch something on the way down and either prevent me from hitting the ground or at least substantially slow my fall. The peas and the pond, for me, are out of the question.

-
Jim
"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

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well, shit. My DZ has none of those. Guess I'm screwed!

Where's the "desert" option?

In all hnesty, I'd go wherever the malfunctioning reserve puts me, praying that it won't be a building or power lines.
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

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In any case you would have to steer your malfunctioning canopy to hit the "target" which seems a bit unrealistic because it is not responding well and you are already low. I would try to concentrate on putting as much input as possible to make is stable having the landing target as a second priority



.

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That is the type of situation which may allow u to maneuver it on top of another canopy, cut away (hook knife) your reserve, land on top of the other jumpers canopy grab his risers, then he cuts away and goes to his reserve, and you both make it back on good canopies! :ph34r:

ok in all seriousness :S if the trees ares a bunch and thick, yes the trees otherwise swoop the pond!

...

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Go with the option that gives the least chance of different ways to die:

Peas: Only one way to die - impact - and with a good PLF and deep peas you might survive. I actually saw a double mal dead center the peas and survive once.

Pond: Two ways to die - 1) impact with water at high speed or if water is shallow and bottom is hard; 2) Drowning. Given you probably landed fast and not well, you probably aren't set up for a water landing. It would suck to survive the impact only to drown afterwards.

Trees: Three ways to die: 1) Impact if you go all the way through to the ground; 2) impalement on a branch; 3) Decapitation or other blunt trauma from a trunk or branch hit at high speed. Had a student once panic and steer for the trees because "they looked fluffy." They aren't!

CDR

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For argument's sake, I say trees.
Really though, I don't think you have time to really go for anything. In my case, by the time I am under my reserve, it is 1500', and then it is malfunctioning? I am fighting it to get it as stable as possible. By the time it is somewhat stable (assuming that is possible), that may be 500', not very much altitude to get somewhere under a 7 cell F111 loaded at 1.6. I'm going down, not over.
A muddy ditch would also be a good choice if you had time and possibility of steering/flying.
Troy

I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

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It's great being a young jumper, plowing in, answering a poll like this, reading through the thread with complete virgin like interest...

And then have something like the reality of your answer hit.


Brought to you by DUH. Thanks Kallend, pretty obvious answer, if the damn thing is malfunctioning to that point, how the hell could we believe we could actually steer it...

Love it when that "epiphany" moment reaches my brain, thanks for being the catalyst.


I was so sucked in to that one. I picked the trees.


:)
It's a gas, gas, gas...

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The water is almost as hard as concrete if you hit it at high speed.



I realize that and know it can be worse than concrete if the angle is wrong. However, there have been survivers that struck the water. Trees just can rip you to shreds and can kill you the same. Ill take my chances. Alot has to do with the situation at hand.

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I would try to fix the mal all the way into whatever I happened to accidently hit.

Which'd be coolest if they were the peas.

Makes a better story for my friends that way.

And, after impact, I would haunt them. becoming the Ghost of The Pea Pit. -My translucent visage appearing during full moon night jumps and SCR ceremonies, shaking my risers and moaning advice... "Dooont pencil pack sooo muchhhh....:ph34r:
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

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The water is almost as hard as concrete if you hit it at high speed.

Let's say you have to jump out off a two story building. What do you want to land in, trees, water, or pea gravel? I'm going with water, or "dumpster full of packing peanuts." Now if it's a bag lock, I'm saying my rigger's new car.:ph34r:

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What are "the peas"?

Are you literaly talking about a field of peas? If so, why peas and not another crop? (I've seen it in several places, so I'm assuming its not just a crop that happens to be grown at one dz).

What about on a sheep? They have a bit of soft padding :)

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"What are "the peas"? "

Pea gravel, the American term for the wee pebbles that are used to fill what you may know as the 'pit'. They are really only soft in this country if they have been recently dug over, otherwise they are like concrete...B|

In your case I would probably recommend hitting a huge mud puddle that may or may not be in the tank training ground next door .:)
--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

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Now if it's a bag lock, I'm saying my rigger's new car.:ph34r:



Huh ...

I have heard a story from my first instructor and rigger about the guy surviving a bag lock on BASE jump in Canada. Apparently 3 ft of snow saved him. When people on the top of the exit point saw what happened got down to get his body, they found him talking with his wife on cell phone ... ;)

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Steerable enough to choose the landing zone but at too high a decent rate to survive the usual landing zone....Water for certain.. if it's deep enough. I've watched people pound into water at high rates of decent.

A bag lock is not survivable but a line over or busted lines would be.
My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

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