Malfunctions

[denaga 0]

Last Summer, when i was jumping student rig, i had round reserve deployment right aftre i did flightcheck on the main
When tried to cut off the main, the right side entangled with reserve, and got me in a bad spin. I finally cut away main at less than 100 feet off the ground. So i had really nasty landing.
Does anyone know any good websites that discuss
DOUBLE DEPLOYMENT ISSUE? HOW TO FLY TWO CANOPIES AT ONCE, etc ?
I know there is article in Parachutist, but can't find that issue

[Floater 0]

Try PDs' website. They have a PDF article on flying dual squares.
www.performancedesigns.com/articles.html

[SkySlut 0]

Its in the February 2001 issue.
"I'll jump anything!"

[wolli 0]

you might want to see the video "break away!" by pier video. it's available from all major para-gear vendors and should cost around $20. there's a good bit of information about dual squares situation, but unfortunately nothing about square-and-round dual deployments.
our club is using round reserves in our student gear. as some jumpers have gone too low, their fxc-s have fired right after the main canopies have been deployed. some of them have cut away the main while some others decided to land under two canopies. no major injuries were taken in either case, although some bruises and/or sprained ankles have been seen following either decision.
based on the subsequent analysis, here are some general recommendations for handling square-and-round dual deployment situations.
normally, the round reserve would stay behind the main, and start acting as a "drift anchor", slowing down the horizontal speed until there will be not enough of it left to generate significant aerodynamic lift. most of the jumper's weight will then be suspended by the reserve. in such situations, the main will probably still try to fly forward, effectively pivoting around the jumper until it starts to bank towards the ground, pulling the jumper forward and downward a little.
should you decide to break away the main in this situation, the risers and lines of the main could entangle with the reserve, which could result in the situation getting actually worse.
a thing that you could try (provided you've got enough altitude) is to steer the main to either side, and break it away when you're reasonably sure that it won't entangle with the reserve.
if the dual configuration is stable and steerable, however, i would recommend using gentle toggle inputs on the main, turning into wind and landing with a good plf.
if the main is trailing behind the reserve, and the lines of either canopy are clear from each other, it should be reasonably safe to break away the main and land under the round reserve only.
in case the main is spinning and you have no directional control, but the main lines are clear from the reserve, it might be best to break away the main.
in any case, if you're low and/or the lines of your two canopies are already entangled, breaking away would probably make the situation worse. as round reserves are nowadays used mainly with large student canopies, you should probably have enough nylon above you to land safely under two canopies -- but don't expect to land without a good plf.
in any case, most of the dual canopy situations are perfectly avoidable as they're a result of the aad firing because you deployed your main too low. you just have to pull a bit higher (~200 m / ~600 ft). pulling 200 meters too high is not a big problem. pulling 2 meters too low is.
blue skies, safe landings,
wolli {>o-<
Peeter P. Mõtsküla -- tel +372 51 22551
Skydive Estonia http://www.skydive.ee