vamospeligro

Well done Deimian. I drew the same character and diagram in my logbook, only my body position was slightly more diagonal.

Please let me clarify: I felt as if the container was on the back of my head, when it was actually my slider forcing my head forward. My leg straps were very snug during the entire jump, in fact, I loosened them only after departing the landing area. As far as the fit goes, the container is tailored to my specs and fits beautifully. With leg straps snug and chest straps semi-snug, the container moves very little, and definitely not enough to get anywhere near the back of my head.

That sounds entirely unpleasant and is something I'd like to avoid. Thanks for educating me about the severity of this problem.

Attached is a photo of my gear. The label is plainly visible on both left and right sides of the container. To be perfectly honest, I did not open my riser covers as part of my gear check, although I will do so from here forth. I don't think my packer misrouted the risers, as I used the same packer on my previous two uneventful jumps that day. I will also be packing for myself from now on, with adult supervision of course.

This weekend I was doing my 36th skydive and my 3rd on a brand-new Wings Vision system I recently bought. After an uneventful freefall, I deployed at 4500', which felt like a normal opening until I found myself with my chin pinned against my chest, belly down, and unable to look up, as if the harness was on the back of my head instead of my back. My initial thoughts were that I was slipping out of my harness, or that my risers were twisted behind my head. In the first scenario, a cutaway wouldn't do me any favors, as I'd still be slipping from my harness. The second scenario would definitely warrant a cutaway and reserve deployment, if in fact my risers were twisted and I couldn't get them undone. I reached up to feel around and couldn't locate twists. The canopy was flying straight, and with a little tug on the left and right risers, I could feel that the canopy was controllable. At 3500' I decided I had a little time to sort out what was going on. As part of my canopy checks, I also do a condition check on my 3 rings and cutaway cable (I believe checking them in the air will keep me in the habit of always looking at them on the ground). In doing this, I couldn't see the 3 rings at all, and that's when I realized my riser covers were locked and that it was my slider that was keeping my head pinned down. With a little bit of effort, I got the left side open, and while counter steering with the left risers, I was able to get the right side open. Once the risers were free, everything got very comfortable again. I realize this is a minor occurrence, and not very common considering most newbies fly well-used gear. I can, however, see this becoming a problem were someone to panic after having a lockup on their brand-new gear. I believe if I had cut my main away, it would not have cleanly released (if at all) due to how tightly closed the covers were. I also believe that had one cover released, and not the other, a gradual turn could have added to the confusion. I'm certain that many of you have heard this story a thousand times, and have possibly experienced it for yourselves. I now know that there are multiple forum posts on this same subject. It was however, completely new to me as it wasn't covered during my AFF training (most of the AFF gear has riser covers that just won't stay closed). I only bring it up because I believe it's worth reminding those who are buying new gear, as well as informing inexperienced folks such as myself about the symptoms and possibility of this type of mal. Over time I'm sure the covers will loosen up, otherwise I'll need to see a rigger. Take good care, Chris

Careful there. As a former mechanic for Frontier and as someone who's flown them more than a few times, I would a. not recommend flying with them again b. would not recommend checking a bag if you do fly with them

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. It is much appreciated. I'm under no illusion that skydiving is 100% safe and typically err on the side of caution/conservatism with anything I get involved with. I can't placate my fears by lying to myself, I can only do all I can to mitigate the risk. I recently bought my first rig to avoid being able to downsize on rental gear. I figure I can't afford to by a new system regularly so I'm stuck with a lightly loaded canopy for a few years. That's fine, coming down slow gives me more time to enjoy the beautiful view :) I'm not in any rush to get into wingsuiting (although tracking suits do have some appeal), big ways, have zero interest in swooping (no offense to swoopers), and couldn't give a shit less about wearing a gopro or doing anything else that adds unnecessary complexity to a jump. I pull high, call it a day when the winds/Perris dust devils pick up, and practice my EPs incessantly. That said, despite my best efforts to focus and be safe, shit can happen and does. Arrangements have already been made should my wife, myself, or both pass. And yes, life insurance with a skydive rider is on deck. Despite the obvious risks, I think actively pursuing the activities that make life worth living is one of the best ways I can influence my son to get the most from his own life. I've know too many young people that died before they had a chance to really enjoy life, and too many old people that, despite having the opportunity, squandered it. Learning to fly airplanes taught me to be conservative. Learning to fly helicopters taught me to always look for a way out. Riding a motorcycle taught me to be endlessly defensive and hyper-aware. As long as I'm jumping, I'll likely be the high-pulling, obsessive gear checking, calculated risk taker. vp

Hey guys. As of three weeks ago, I'm a new parent to an awesome little boy. Long before my wife and I had a child, we talked about never giving up the things we enjoy doing the most (motorbikes, flying, snowboarding, skydiving, etc). She totally supports me skydiving, but now I'm getting a lot of shit from other family members. The age old argument, "it's not just about you" or "you have other responsibilities now...". Do any of you have the same issue, and if so, how do you help quell the discussion. many thanks.