procedures taught in the classroom?

[froggie 0]

the question has come up before: in the classroom students are taught to cut away/ deploy reserve. but in time we come to decide for ourselves what procedures we will use based on the malfunction.
my question is for those of you who experienced malfunctions shortly off student status. what type of mal was it? what did you do?
im asking because it just occured to me, almost 2 weeks later: throughout AFP i was taught to cutaway/deploy reserve no matter what. but when i had what i refer to as the 'impossible pull' 2 weeks ago i didnt even consider cutting away. i recognized it as a possible total mal and went right for the silver (still trying to get the hacky out). luckily, the 'one last attempt' worked and i didnt have to ride the reserve in. but with that being my 16th jump, and only my 4th out of AFP im surprised now that i wasnt thinking 'cutaway/reserve' but instead i was thinking how i was. I didnt realize that i had made that transition towards deciding for myself, and not only consider doing what my instructors had taught me.
so what did you do? how many jumps did you have when you did it?
kelly

[dove 0]

Hey Kell. My first jump off student status (jump #8) I had a pilot chute in tow. It was completely inflated behind me and I tried to knock the bag out of the container, but nothing. So I cutaway and pulled my reserve. The reserve knocked the main out so I am glad I cutaway. When I think back now though, depending on altitude, I might reach around and try to pull the bridle - then proceed with emergency procedures. I think the more jumps you have the more you have your wits about you. On all of my student jumps, I had no idea where the dz was until under canopy. Don't even remember if there were clouds. I was so preoccupied with the skydive. And just falling is enough to keep you totally preoccupied at first. But now I notice my whereabouts, other skydivers (a safe distance away, of course - but fun to watch!) the plane, even the taste, feel and smell of the air. As it all becomes more natural, it frees up your mind to comprehend the situation and make a decision based on what you are experiencing. As a student - you can only go by what you were taught. That's my opinion anyhow. Sounds like you are comfortable enough up there to make your own decision. Good job!
Elisa

[lazerq3 0]

I havnt had a mal yet but I can tell you what I have drill inot my head. IF I pull the pilot chute out of the BOC into the air stream I know to cutaway any MAL. If I have a hard pull and the pilot chute never leaves the pouch I go right for silver. However if I have a hard pull and deploy my reserve as soon as its out I'm reaching for the main pilot to make sure it aint coming out(stuff it back in if it is like half way out). Any way this is just whats drilled in to my head but saying is one thing and doing is another. OF coarse some mal are subject to change depending aon stituation!
jason
A-38658

[Michele 1]

3rd Aff jump (no tandems or any other jump), line over, unstowed brake, or something like that (we will never be sure - I was too inexperienced to know exactly, and anything now is colored by more education). Whatever it was, I was spinning. Hard. Cut away.
I have asked in recent harness rooms if I am to cut away if there is nothing behind me - total mal - nothing comes out. They say "absolutely". For two reasons.
1) The reserve may jog the main loose, and if I haven't cut away, then there is entanglement, which is not so good.
and
2) you will do as you drill. The less thought, the better. The more automatic the action, the faster you can get a good canopy over your head. It's the same drill every time, and therefore no decision is necessary - just react.
That is what I have been taught and taught and taught. They teased me because of the way I remembered the drill - "red red silver red silver silver"....but they don't tease me any more....
ciel bleu-
Michele

[froggie 0]

michele,
youre exactly right~ in the classroom they taught me "you cutaway, then deploy reserve. no questions asked. no special curcumstances warrant a different reaction. It just really surprised me that I was so (for lack of a better word) Logical up there. But what suprised me more, and makes me feel good, is the fact that I didnt get freaked out until i was on the ground, and even then it was just a little freaky to me. At the time I was a matter of action (pulling the hacky) and cursing (cause the damned thing wouldnt come out!). I made too many attempts, everything about that jump should have had me riding my reserve. But like all skydives i learned a lesson, and being open at 2,200 feet isnt something that i want right now. I messed up once, and gave it too many attempts. It wasnt until i was on the ground that I realized "hell, I was just experiencing a high speed malfunction. I shouldnt have kept attempting to clear it. i should have gone for the silver." Im lucky that it cleared. Because In a few seconds i would have been at Cypres alti, if i hadnt pulled the silver yet. That silver handle was the 2nd best thing Ive ever felt, next to the pilot chute releasing from my grip.
This was a test.. If i hadnt thought of my reserve, and the cypres had fired, then i probably wouldnt be skydiving still, I wouldnt let myself. But this was my chance to show myself that the chances of me handling the next problem correctly are high. There was a problem, i recognized and went for the solution to it. Next time, its 2 yanks and a pull (of the silver handle that is!, then a reserve ride from my normal altitude.
thanks guys for the imput.
kel

[riggerrob 558]

Froggie,
You responded correctly and logically.
Students are given a much simplified version of reserve procedures. Most students are in "sensory overload" from the they walk on the DZ until days after they return home safely. That is why many schools teach them to cutaway from all problems.
This reduces the number of decisions they have to make in the air and reduces the chances of them pulling handles out of sequence.
For example, for many years USPA doctrine was to tell jumpers that if they had a hard pull or could not find the main handle, they should not waste any more time and immediately pull the reserve ripcord. The problem with this logic is that it requires a freaked out student to choose between two different reserve procedures. That is more than some of them can handle.
About the time you graduate from student status, you should review reserve procedures with an instructor. This second lesson on reserve procedures should cover things like collapsible pilotchutes, collapsible sliders, front riser dive loops and other features not found on student gear. The second review should also go into more detail as to the whys and hows of reserve procedures.
As an aside, even vastly simplified equipment is not enough to prevent freaked out students from making mistakes with reserve procedures. For example, some schools use student rigs that have the cutaway and reserve ripcord handles combined (SOS). In theory, only having one handle simplifies the decision-making process, but I have seen a student screw up even an SOS system!