When in doubt whip it out
ri...@uokvax.uucp
I had two spinning malfunctions on a 28 ft. 7-tu back when I
learned to jump in the mid seventies. On both occasions I did not
cutaway and hand deployed the reserve.
The first malfundtion was on jump #11, a spinning mae west.
Even though I threw the reserve in the wrong direction (not into
the direction of spin but away), it opened rather quickly. I then
landed under two canopies which limited my ability to steer.
On jump number 21 I had the same type of malfunction and again
hand deployed the reserve, this time in the correct direction.
Once again the reserve opened quickly. This time I pulled the
reserve in after the mae west cleared on the main. It was easy.
Before you discuss your options of cutaway or not cutaway
you better ensure the reserve is rigged with a pilot chute.
The reserves we used did not have pilot chutes and were intended
only for hand deploy malfunctions. On a high speed the proper
procedure was to pull reserve ripcord and "punch" the side of the
chest mounted reserve, I never have tried this myself.
Rick D 6448
Brent P. Callaghan
>you better ensure the reserve is rigged with a pilot chute.
>The reserves we used did not have pilot chutes and were intended
>only for hand deploy malfunctions. On a high speed the proper
>procedure was to pull reserve ripcord and "punch" the side of the
>chest mounted reserve, I never have tried this myself.
>
> Rick D 6448
I've heard that deployment without pilot chute tension
greatly increases the risk of a blown periphery or
"line over" malfunction. It seems that pilot chute
tension keeps the periphery even and presented
correctly to the relative airflow.
There is a good photo of the deployment of a front
mounted reserve without pilot chute in Dan Poynter's
"Parachute Manual". It shows several stages in the
deployment. At one stage the jumper seems to be
almost completely enveloped in canopy. Yuk!
I've done a cutaway on to a 24' ripstop without pilot
chute. I remember looking at it sitting in the container
for several seconds before I nudged it out into the
airflow where it realised it's resposibilities !
--
Made in New Zealand --> Brent Callaghan
AT&T Information Systems, Lincroft, NJ
{ihnp4|mtuxo|pegasus}!poseidon!brent
(201) 576-3475