Jumped my reserve yesterday

[riddler 0]

Yep. I jumped my reserve as a main. PD has a great program that allows you to get your reserve canopy as a main. The canopy is the same, except it has "main colors" (i.e. not white or other typical reserve color) and it has a three-ring release that lets you hook up it up on your rig as a main.

Mile-Hi Skydiving sponsored the program as part of Safety Day, and they just happened to get the same reserve I have (PD 143). I normally like my reserve to be a bit bigger than my main so I have a more docile reserve in an emergency. The downside of that philosophy is that you have two different sized canopies in a two-canopy-out situation. But in this case, my reserve is actually a bit smaller than my main, and it's always given me concern that I might have a challenge landing my reserve in an emergency.

I had to take off my current main (Lotus 150), then put my own D-bag on it, and pay the PD packer $5 to pack it and hook it up to my container. After that, I signed up for a 4K hop-n-pop and jumped it. Since it has the reserve slider with a hole in it, it opens quite a bit faster than my main, so I didn't want to take it to terminal. Still, it opened pretty briskly at sub-terminal, considering I pulled as soon as I saw the tail of the plane. But it also opened on-heading, which I didn't expect, since the packer gave it a standard pro-pack.

After I opened, it was play-time. The thing handles pretty darn good for a reserve. It would actually make a decent low-end main for someone that wants stable flight and fair handling. Turns were nice and didn't oversteer at all. The most important thing I learned is that the stall point is much higher than on my main, so I practice-flared several times up high. I could have easily stalled it on landing, so that's a good thing to know if/when I have a real reserve ride.

I failed to take into account the steeper glide angle of the seven cell canopy, and landed well short of my target. I didn't stand up either, since I didn't get the normal "surf" that I get with my main. But it was still a reasonably soft landing, and it made me much more comfortable about using my reserve in an emergency.

Thanks to PD for the demo program and thanks to Mile Hi Skydiving for sponsoring the program. A good experience I would recommend for every jumper.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[crzjp20 0]

i rode mine for a different reason yesterday!!!

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Fear is not a confession of weakness, it is an oportunity for courage.

[rigging65 0]

Jumping your reserve is a great idea. It lets you get a feel for the canopy (or at least the same type and size) in a controlled scenario... before you might need it in an uncontrolled one!

PD's program is great that way, but most any mfg. will get you a canopy to try out if you just ask!

"...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.
For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

[JohnMitchell 14]

It takes a bit of work, but you can take your brand new reserve, pack it in a main container, and make a dive on it before sticking it in a rig and trusting your life to it. I've done that a number of times, especially if the reserve had been in the shop for repairs. Although quality control is very, very good in our industry, it's nice to know your reserve is in trim and very well stitched before you have to use it.

[DBCOOPER 1]

How did yo get it out?

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[DBCOOPER 1]

Got to do it a Lake Wales last week.Didn't have to pay any packer either.Got a shirt,bottle opener,pull up cord,a pen and an interesting ride.Pilot forgot Hop and pop at five and we were at nine before we were back over the Dz.Didn't slow down to much so I dumped about 8100.A little brisk.Then I started thinking how fast that lightly loaded Casa was going to be at altitude.Made myself dizzy.

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Post: How did yo get it out?

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Just packed it in the bag for the main container, complete with pilot chute. The old Raven reserves used to have a bridle attatchment point in case they were to be used as a main. Otherwise, it's just a free bag set up, so you better spot really carefully. It takes a bit of wrk to set up, a spre pair of risers are nice to use so you don't have to take your main off your current risers.

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