Friday freakout: what HC is this?

[Maksimsf 0]

http://iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/friday-freakout-wingsuit-malfunction-cant-cutaway/

Any gear gurus can help me figuring out what H/C he jumping is in this video?

[Morrison79 0]

http://gopro.com/hd-hero3-cameras

[SStewart 13]

From the riser covers and the two pins on the reserve ripcord it appears to be a Racer.

Onward and Upward!

[demon4o7 0]

Helmet and camera? Or harness and container? Given the video, I'd assume harness and container

[alexey 6]

Racer

Lexa

[pchapman 279]

It does look like a Racer. An older one (velcro on the riser covers, yellow not red cutaway cable), 2 pin reserve handle, type 13 webbing, L side chest buckle, wide bridle, freebag is pretty clearly Racer as it briefly goes by.

Haha.
Even the Racer's reserve hesitated to deploy the freebag for good second. But the difference compared to the guy with the Wings rig in Quebec towing his reserve pilot chute (which was even republished on the web through Parachute Labs as an example of reserve extraction problems), is that in this case the guy was spinning around under line twists, main still attached, instead of after cutaway accelerating more in freefall!

(I haven't tried timing the exact duration of towing on the 2 videos.)

Still, dragging your freebag around your shoulder while on your back appears not to be the best way to do it for any rig -- it does add some drag to the system, even if one has a container that is relatively soft and flexible (Racer) and not boxy and stiff (Wings).

Wish we know what main the guy was spinning under.

The video is a good example of the risers getting offset during a mal. But given how twisted they are, I doubt that he could have tried to yank on one side to try to equalize risers to slow the spin.

As for the cutaway itself, the riser twists are pretty severe. It doesn't look that way from the 'lower' R riser in view much of the time, but the 'upper' L one is twisted right down to the confluence wrap. (See pics)

So it is a good example of where a lot of riser twists, some G force, and no hard housings contributed to an impossible cutaway. Of course we don't know how hard he tried but he was presumably motivated! John Sherman suggests that keeping cables well lubed is enough, rather than going to hard housings. There is still some confusion in our community about the results and meanings of tests for cutaway force (3-bloke tests etc) and what the numbers really are -- I think a lot of people would like to see more test results.

(I'm not sure about any influence of the 3-ring system being slightly distorted from the twisting. Doesn't actually look like much, since the bottom of mini risers are pretty stiff and resist twisting pretty well. Looks like there's still slack in the L riser locking loop, the worst twisted one. No incipient suck-through of the cutaway cable, so that's not an issue.)

Anyway, lots of food for thought no matter what rig you jump.

[Deci 0]

If it is a Racer, it doesn't have teflon-coated cutaway cables (which would be red or orange in color), which have been standard since 1997. Teflon would probably have saved him from the hard pull.

And if the main is not cutaway, and almost fully inflated, he doesn't have much wind speed for the pilot chute to catch wind with.

CSPA D-1046 TI Coach2 RiggerA JM SSI SSE GCI EJR Canadian 102-way record holder
bard.ca

[ctrph8 0]

I can see how teflon cables (or just keeping his non teflon cutaway oiled and in good shape) would have helped. Whether it would have prevented it can be debated but it definitely would have been a step in the right direction. In this case, would hard housings have done the trick? My gut says yes but I'd be interested in other opinions.

Quote

If it is a Racer, it doesn't have teflon-coated cutaway cables (which would be red or orange in color), which have been standard since 1997. Teflon would probably have saved him from the hard pull.

And if the main is not cutaway, and almost fully inflated, he doesn't have much wind speed for the pilot chute to catch wind with.

[strife 0]

its discussed here

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4459325;search_string=hard%20housing;#4459325

[pchapman 279]

To be clear... By 'it' one is referring not to the incident but a recent discussion of cutaway cable issues.

[BMFin 0]

Good analysis!

One thing I would do differently (other than jumping this equipment) would be to not open the brakes on the reserve. As long as it looks like Im going to have to land with two canopies, I definetly wouldnt want to open the brakes on either one.

[MArista 0]

He sure wasted a lot of time saving that $25 ripcord handle, instead of just throwing it away and using that time to deal with his malfunction to save his life.

[masterrigger1 2]

Quote

Even the Racer's reserve hesitated to deploy the freebag for good second. But the difference compared to the guy with the Wings rig in Quebec towing his reserve pilot chute

Peter,
If you will look at the pilot chute deployment a little closer, you will notice that there is one moment when the bridle goes slack.
It is due to the reserve PC being momentarily trapped in the main lines in my opinion.

MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[mr2mk1g 10]

Handled nice and calmly throughout. Decision to cutaway made at an appropriate stage. Fought wto cutaway for an appropriate period then proceeded to the rather unpalatable choice to deploy the reserve while still spinning on his back under a malfunction. Many others have fought the thing into the ground in the past/delayed too long for the reserve to work.

[piisfish 140]

the only things that bother me (despite all the "good actions"), is the time wasted on trying to save the reserve handle, and the apparent lack of trying to cutaway the main after the reserve was properly deployed.
Besides that yes he did look very calm given the very scary situation.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[pchapman 279]

Quote

one moment when the bridle goes slack.
It is due to the reserve PC being momentarily trapped in the main lines in my opinion.

Good catch. It is is little unclear to me how slack the bridle really was, rather than just 'bouncing around'.

Still, to make a simple statement for this thread:


The hesitation of the Racer reserve to deploy may well have been due to the reserve pilot chute catching briefly in the lines & canopy of the non yet jettisoned main.

[ChrisD 0]

These vids give me the creeps, I am so glad he was able to have a great ooutcome!

But ditto your obseervation about the handle. And the time spent stowing the thing is time spent away from any of his buds that might be in his flight path...

But again great job!

Quote

He sure wasted a lot of time saving that $25 ripcord handle, instead of just throwing it away and using that time to deal with his malfunction to save his life.

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[BMFin 0]

Is the racer handle only 25$?

[sundevil777 102]

Quote

the only things that bother me (despite all the "good actions"), is the time wasted on trying to save the reserve handle, and the apparent lack of trying to cutaway the main after the reserve was properly deployed.
Besides that yes he did look very calm given the very scary situation.

With a metal handle a person can just put their hand through the handle and grab the reserve toggle. It is easy to see if the ripcord cable is out of the way of the steering lines and such, so there isn't any need to stow it, just put your hand through it.

Some might say the cable can cause some problem, but I think not. With my loop cutaway handle and metal reserve handle, on my last chop I kept both handles in my hands. It might have looked strange to have them in my hands, but I could tell the cables had no opportunity to do harm, and I could concentrate on other things.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am