Malfunctions

[Blahr 0]

Ok, whats the deal with all the mals?

Through talking to folks and reading these forums I see people talking about malfunctions and chopping like it happens to them every Thursday.

Other folks can go 3 or 4000 jumps without a single cutaway.

You just cant convince me that this is pure chance.
What are the 2 groups doing differently?
I want to be in the latter group myself.

Is this just from shitty pack jobs? If thats the case, why wouldnt someone with 2 or 3 mals in 200 jumps get the idea before they get a mal they cant deal with?

Are there brands of equipment that malfunction more often?

Is this just a useless post?

[freakydiver 0]

IMHO - the more you pay attention to packing, body position on opening, and who you jump with, the more you will increase your odds of saftey.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[mirage62 0]

+1,400 jumps. Four mals. One around 500 that I packed. The rest were paid pack jobs.

Most of the time I pack for myself now.

But who knows maybe I'm just lucky :-)

Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little

[quade 3]

1580 something jumps and no cutaways.

I attribute it to;

packing
gear inspections
gear choices

Doing quick and dirty pack jobs on a highly loaded 9 cell canopy a person will have more cutaways than a person on a less heavily loaded 7 cell canopy with at least half-way good pack jobs.

But, um, highly loaded 9 cells are cool. Oh and just trash pack it . . . ya gotta be on that next load.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jeremyneas 0]

You can increase your chances of having a malfunction by doing:

1) Jumping a highly loaded, higher performing wing

2) Doing CReW

3) Pulling Low (Booth Law #1)

4) Packing like shit

5) Pulling Unstable (if someone else packed your rig this is ALWAYS the case according to them)

6) Right before you jump say to the guy next to you "This thing always opens like a dream!"

7) Jumping something with the letter 'X' before the serial number 0000.

I'm sure we can think of others!!!

J.Neas

[nightjumps 1]

1200+ jumps - no reserve rides.

In this order:

1. Line Order
1. Line tension
1. Clean pack job.
1. Symmetry of line stows.
1. Regular pre-operational maintenance.
1. Inspect your rig thoroughly once a month - when in doubt - ask a rigger (tip the rigger for helping).
1. Find a packer who will follow these rules.... Watch them pack other folks rigs before engaging them to pack yours. Be explicit with your packing-specific instructions. Tip in adavance and promise tip for no reserve rides at the end of the day.

Hope that helps.

[chuteless 1]

The altitude, whether low or high has no effect in contributing to a mal.If it opened at 2000. ft, that same chute will open at any altitude. The fact that you are close to the ground ( i.e.500 ft) doesnt in itself cause a malfunction, unless you are so freaked out you dont have control, but that is NOT the altitude, its the jumper

[BlueEyedMonster 0]

In some cases... Its dumb luck. I've had more mals than necessary, but only 2 cutaways. I have become very good at clearing them. The issues were actually how I was taught to pack and A modification that was made to my rig when it had a different canopy (it has been removed)

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

The altitude, whether low or high has no effect in contributing to a mal.If it opened at 2000. ft, that same chute will open at any altitude. The fact that you are close to the ground ( i.e.500 ft) doesnt in itself cause a malfunction, unless you are so freaked out you dont have control, but that is NOT the altitude, its the jumper

What about the amount of time you have to get out of line twists? Or work on that line over? Or get that pc into clean air? Or check a second time for your hackey?

[quade 3]

Quote

The altitude, whether low or high has no effect in contributing to a mal.

Well, I don't think that Bill Booth came up with that "Rule" as anything hard and fast, but rather as more of a joke. Kind of a Murphy's Law sort of thing. The one time you decide to really hum it, THAT'S when you'll also have to cutaway.

However, with today's AADs it's important that people do open high enough that the ADD doesn't deploy the reserve and thereby causing a "2 canopies out" situation.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[diablopilot 2]

It's just my opinion, but I don't think pack jobs are the reason many people end up with a mal they have to chop. From my own experience I have 2200 skydives and one chop way back on jump 26. Body position and not flying the opening was the reason, as well as an experience level not up to par with fixing the situation.

2200 and I use packers at least 75% of the time. When I pack it's usually a "trash" pack, shake it out and put it in the bag.....

I think it's all about flying the openings. Rarely do I get line twists. But what do I know..... do what works for you.

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

[chuteless 1]

If you have line twists, the altitude wasnt responsible for the twists...it was instability. Im not advocating opening low...do it if you want, but you'd better have a good pack job and a stable position when you dump it.

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

If you have line twists, the altitude wasnt responsible for the twists...it was instability.

Agreed, but the 500 extra feet before your hard deck can make a difference whether you chop or kick out of them.

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

it was instability

Sometimes. You can pack linetwists, though.

Not all mals are created equal, some are purely packing errors (line over, step throughs, etc), some are usually jumper errors (line twists, etc). Some are gear maintance issues/dumb luck (ripped cells, broken lines, etc).

The reason why the original poster thinks that it just happens everyday is due to the large amount of people on this site, from all over. There might be 5 people here a weekend that have a cutaway (here as in the forums), so it seems like a lot, where as when there's a cutaway on my DZ, its a fairly big deal. They don't happen a whole lot, we don't have 6-billion jumpers a weekend there, so statistically the chances are lower AND our packers are very good.

Overall, if you fly your openings and have good body position on openings, all that really leaves is the packjob, IMHO. This is just what I've experienced as a former packer and a skydiver.

(I've got nearly 600 jumps with no cutaways and I've got around 1,500 packjobs for others with no cutaways...*KNOCK ON WOOD*).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[chuteless 1]

You are correct...line twists can be packed into a rig. I've even packed a 16mm camera into a rig...and the first time, I had a mal and cutaway. Ive had about 9 or 10 reserves opened, mostly for mals, but in one case, because I didnt have enough altitude to open a main. There is a big diffenece in squares and rounds (PC etc)...and although I like the flying I get from a square, I like the openings I got from a Parac Commander and others. A square, I open at 2K, and round ??? I am more concerned about packing a square (and I hate packing) but with the PC you could flake it and sleeve it and the whole job was 5 minutes. No matter what you prepare your mind...it has to wrk as well as the canopy

[Blahr 0]

Quote

I think it's all about flying the openings.

Can you (or someone) explain what flying the opening means?

I feel like I should know this but its never been explained to me

[quade 3]

Basically, you want to make sure that what you're doing in freefall during the deployment sequence doesn't add any more variables to an already chaotic process.

You'd do this by keeping your shoulders level with the horizon so as to not asymmetrically load one riser over the other, thereby inducing a twist. You'll also want to make sure you're body stays on heading and that you generally allow the d-bag to come out of the container cleanly without causing any extra spin.

Just fly flat, on-heading and very stable until you feel the snatch forces extracting the d-bag. At that point you may wish to shift your gaze to the horizon in front of you and let your body rotate cleanly into an upright position all the while keeping the tension in the leg straps even.

There are other things you can do while the canopy is inflating as well such as bringing your hands up to the rear risers in preparation of a quick rear riser turn should you be faced with an imminent canopy collision on opening.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jeremyneas 0]

Well, I don't think that Bill Booth came up with that "Rule" as anything hard and fast, but rather as more of a joke. Kind of a Murphy's Law sort of thing

Thank you quade, i'm glad someone got it.

J.Neas