To RSl or not to RSL...skyhook maybe?!

[humanflite 0]

ok, so all the debate about 'I love RSLs' Vs 'I hate RSLs' has got me thinking As I have to jump an RSL on rented gear (currently..)

For someone 'pretty new' to this sport can some riggers or experienced folk please answer the following:

1/ Collins Lanyard - I understand the principle with which this operates on some tandem rigs (I think!). Could it be implemented on student rigs?/sport rigs though (or has it been?!)
If not why not please?

2/ Skyhook - I have looked high and low for detailed information on how this works and can only find the basics (and videos). How does it work...? + can it be added to any modern sport rig and what is the cost roughly? and where can you buy one?!

3/ If Skyhook is considered by many to be => RSL,
should manufacturers start producing all rigs with a skyhook on?


If an unstable reserve deplyment is on the cards... (for example if your waaaay too low and theres no time to stabilise) would a skyhook give a better chance of a clean reserve deployment and if so why please?

thanks

[billvon 2,996]

>I understand the principle with which this operates on some tandem rigs
>(I think!). Could it be implemented on student rigs?/sport rigs though (or
>has it been?!)

Yes, it can be and it has been.

>How does it work...?

Reserve PC is temporarily attached to the departing main canopy.

> can it be added to any modern sport rig . . .

No, not as an aftermarket item. Some manufacturers offer them as an option.

>3/ If Skyhook is considered by many to be => RSL,
>should manufacturers start producing all rigs with a skyhook on?

It's a nice option, but I hope that it remains an option.

>would a skyhook give a better chance of a clean reserve deployment
>and if so why please?

It is similar to an RSL, and has many of the advantages and disadvantages of an RSL. Some advantages of a skyhook over an RSL:

-Less altitude loss after cutaway in some situations (high drag partial mals.)
-Reduction of body position issues due to faster deployment.

Some disadvantages of skyhook over RSL:

-Added complexity increases the odds of misrigging.
-Potential impetus to cut away lower than is safe.

[hackish 8]

1) A collins lanyard named after kyle collins (the inventor) is a means of ensuring that both risers successfully disconnect during a cutaway. It does not deploy your reserve per se. I don't think it's in Poynter because it was probably invented after my revision was printed. You can look at the details if you search up patent number 6056242. It is included in a skyhook so to answer your question yes it can be found on sport rigs.

2) The skyhook system is an implementation of what they call a MARD system. Main Assisted Reserve Deployment. There have been a few attempts at this over the years but UPT's implementation has been the first to be well tested, successful and marketed. Others are following with their own implementation of that concept. It can be added with relative ease to a vector 3.

When you chop your skyhook equipped rig and there is some main nylon out it attempts to use any drag from the main to deploy the main. Basically it turns your tangled up malfunctioning main into a giant pilot chute.

With the skyhook you also have a springloaded pilot chute so if you experience a mal where nothing is out the pilot chute will pull your reserve out like it would on a non-skyhook equipped rig. Whichever one wins the race will be the on that pulls the freebag off.

So at worst you have a normal reserve deployment on your rig and it opens in around 300'. At best the main pulls out the reserve and it opens in something like 75'

3) With any major modification it takes time to properly engineer and test the system. I'd like to think such a change would require the gear to pass the TSO testing again but there are lots of complicated rules and details that I've read and forgotten - someone else can answer that. So basically they're coming you will just have to wait for them.

4) My instructor always told me never sacrifice altitude for stability. I believe it can help because it has the potential to put a lot more drag on the reserve. In a spin you tend to be experiencing some centrifugal force. When you chop it you end up being thrown to the outside. If during this throw your reserve is pulled out to linestretch I think your chance of a more orderly reserve deployment is more likely. There are lots of videos of this sort of thing floating around.

-Michael

[hackish 8]

Quick note: Didn't mean to repeat what billvon said - he just submitted quicker than me typing up and fact checking before hitting submit :)

-Michael

[humanflite 0]

Quote

>I understand the principle with which this operates on some tandem rigs
>(I think!). Could it be implemented on student rigs?/sport rigs though (or
>has it been?!)

Yes, it can be and it has been.

>How does it work...?

Reserve PC is temporarily attached to the departing main canopy.

> can it be added to any modern sport rig . . .

No, not as an aftermarket item. Some manufacturers offer them as an option.

>3/ If Skyhook is considered by many to be => RSL,
>should manufacturers start producing all rigs with a skyhook on?

It's a nice option, but I hope that it remains an option.

>would a skyhook give a better chance of a clean reserve deployment
>and if so why please?

It is similar to an RSL, and has many of the advantages and disadvantages of an RSL. Some advantages of a skyhook over an RSL:

-Less altitude loss after cutaway in some situations (high drag partial mals.)
-Reduction of body position issues due to faster deployment.

Some disadvantages of skyhook over RSL:

-Added complexity increases the odds of misrigging.
-Potential impetus to cut away lower than is safe.

Thanks Billvon, and Hackish
Really useful info that guys
much appreciated...

[VerticalRush 0]

How difficult is it to add a skyhook to an older vector or sigma tandem rig? Can a senior rigger perform this task?

[Gawain 0]

Quote

How difficult is it to add a skyhook to an older vector or sigma tandem rig? Can a senior rigger perform this task?

A senior rigger cannot perform this task. My understanding is that older Javelins or Vectors have to be sent to the manufacturer for the modification. Also, not every older generation container can be modified.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[pilotdave 0]

Only retrofittable on older vector 3s and sigmas, not on javelins or anything else. It can be done by the factory or a specifically approved rigger, and there aren't many of those. It is an easy retrofit though... stick the rig in a box and ship it. What could be easier than that?
Dave

[RIGGER 0]

It can be done only by a Master Rigger that was approved by RWS / UPT after factory training. Not all who were trained are approved for the Vector 3 Sport h/c - some were approved only for the Sigma h/c.

Not all Vector 3 can be retrofited.

The h/c should have some "ready to move on" points.

All old Sigma tandem h/c can be retrofited by a RWS / UPT approved Master Rigger with the right sewing machines & tools.

All skyhook parts for UPT h/c must be ordered from UPT only.

Old Javelins can not be retrofited. The new Javelins which are Skyhook ready can be retrofited (Free bag bridle) by a Sun Path approved Master Rigger. (We did the training at PIA 08 in Barcelona with Dave Singer) All parts must be ordered from Sun Path only.

The retrofit process should be done accurate & all should be done by tight spec.

The approved Master Rigger can done the work for the system he / she are approved for. UPT approval does NOT cover Sun Path & Sun Path approval does NOT cover UPT.

The work on the Vector 3 / sigma is NOT like the Javelin retrofit.

I hope that helps.

Be Safe !!!