Evolution of Safety in Skydiving

[mnskydiver688 0]

I am looking at giving a speech about the evolution of safety in sport skydiving. I am looking for some advice on pieces of equipment and other things that have improved safety. The ones that came to mind are Booth's 3 ring, Cypres, and training methods. I have read Chris Needels capital commentary in the latest Parachutist and that was very informative. Any veterans out there who can think of other major developments please give some tips. Thanks for any info.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[Tink1717 2]

The free bag reserve. The hand deploy pilot chute, The BOC. The RSL and its evolution, the sky-hook. The hard helmet and full-face helmet. The advancement of Dytters.

Just to name a few.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[efs4ever 3]

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The free bag reserve. The hand deploy pilot chute, The BOC. The RSL and its evolution, the sky-hook. The hard helmet and full-face helmet. The advancement of Dytters.

Elevation of AAD from Sentinal to Cypres

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[steve1 5]

Bill Booth made some comments earlier that are quite interesting. His inventions have truly revolutionized our sport, and when he speaks I stand up and listen.

According to Mr. Booth, not only is our gear safer in many respects it has also evolved to the point that some of it may be more dangerous than in the past. If my memory is right, he mentioned mini risers, small diameter lines, and the smaller three ring releases. Some of these may be borderline in strength. With the fad of going smaller and smaller to the point that some of todays gear may be on the edge of being unsafe.

Then there is the possibility of falling out of todays harnesses. I don't recall that ever happening in the old days. I wonder too about the thread through chest strap. Is this really safer than the old type you buckled. I don't recall anyone forgetting a chest strap, back in the 70's. Yet today it is quite common to find jumpers without this fastened.

I love the modern ram air canopies. You can land really soft if you do everything right. Then there is the fact that you can also kill yourself if you make a turn too low. A para-commander may have let you down like a ton of bricks at times, but even if you hooked it in, it wasn't going to kill you.

So, maybe your report should include these aspects of modern equipment. Maybe it isn't as safe as people think....Steve1

[mnskydiver688 0]

Thank you for the posts so far. I have began to look at the speech in a different light. Even if the equipment has gotten safer you can never eliminate the element of stupidity. I enjoy other sports that have the potential to injure you or even kill you. I put a lot of faith in my equipment, but no more than what is deserved. I believe fear is a crucial factor in safety. If there is no fear then there is no drive to consider safety or practice safe actions. Thank you for the alternative perspectives. Keep them coming.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[jbrasher 0]

A paracommander or any other canopy can certainly kill you if you handle it incorrectly.

Don't think that just because it was slower than a sqaure that it couldn't do you in.

Red, White and Blue Skies,

John T. Brasher D-5166

[drjump 0]

If you look back to the 60's everyone was wearing a HARD helmet--They were called Bell motorcycle helmets. The legs straps were connected--they were called SOLID SADDLES! Today jumpers are tying their leg straps together with pull up cords or shock cords. Seems like we have gone full circle.

[steve1 5]

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A paracommander or any other canopy can certainly kill you if you handle it incorrectly.

Don't think that just because it was slower than a sqaure that it couldn't do you in.

.........................................

You could certainly land a PC in the wrong place and kill yourself, but I don't think a low turn would do it.

I always hated doing rear PLF's. I used to deliberately hook my PC into a stiff wind, sometimes too low, and walked away from it every time. My French jump boots helped a lot. Yes, you will slam in a lot harder that way, but it was nothing like making a low turn under a square.

When, I was attempting accuracy, with a para-commander, back in the old days, I'd sometimes make a radical turn too close to the ground and slam into the hard packed dirt, completely missing the peas. It was no fun hitting that hard, but I walked away with nothing broken. So, I suppose it would be possible to die from a low turn under a para-commander, but I've walked away from several, with nothing more than minor bruises.

So far I've only made one low turn under a ram-air canopy, and I'll tell you it's nothing I want to repeat. I've never slammed into the ground that hard ever. And that includes all the wrecks I've ever taken rodeoing.....Steve1

[lekstrom10k 0]

OLd B-4 type rigs had solid saddles . If you bought a Style-Master it had a semi split saddle. You could hot knife the cross connector webbing off. Most people did as a split saddle was more comfortable. As far as the RSL My 1964 Cross-Bow rig had one with One-Shots. The best thing ever was the slider over ropes and rings. You could actuallu get 20 jumps in a row without a cutaway.

[steve1 5]

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If you bought a Style-Master it had a semi split saddle. You could hot knife the cross connector webbing off. Most people did as a split saddle was more comfortable. reply]
..........................
If I remember right, that was called a split solid saddle. My Super Pro harness had one too. I never did cut the connector strap off, but as far as comfort goes it was sure better than the old B-12 solid saddle. I really loved that rig. Don't know why I ever sold it....Steve1

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[pchapman 261]

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According to Mr. Booth, not only is our gear safer in many respects it has also evolved to the point that some of it may be more dangerous than in the past.[...] With the fad of going smaller and smaller to the point that some of todays gear may be on the edge of being unsafe.

To expand on that, it's not always a one way road towards smaller and less safe.

The pendulum may swing back and forth on issues, due to some ever changing combination of fashion, safety, convenience, cost, common practice, technology, group mentality, etc. Sometimes the desire for some good attribute gets taken a little too far.

Hard helmets gave way to lighter frappe hats and later often to the freedom to jump with no helmet at all. But then the hard helmet came back, even adding on face shields -- not simply due to some supposed rational logic about safety, but also newer lighter technology, and things like faster 4-way.

Another example is the quest for lightness, as the sport evolved from the heavy 1960s military equipment. Some containers could be purchased that were just thin parapack, to shave weight compared to cordura. Some reserve canopy designs (rounds) got so light weight that they were later looked on with distrust. One example of the pendulum swinging back on this issue was when the popular lightweight Phantom round reserves had to have extra Kevlar bands sewn to them. Soon it didn't matter much, as jumpers went to square reserves with different issues. Jumpers now don't mind the weight of a solidly constructed rig, or having extra reinforcement tapes adding bulk to their reserves, yet there is pressure to have as small a reserve as one can get away with.

[airtwardo 6]

...other things that have improved safety.

***

In Illinois, when they raised the drinking age to 21!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~