hard deck

[caspar 0]

after reading the incident forum about loss of altitude awareness during a mal i am interested in:

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

[labrys 0]

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

3000 and 1800 feet

2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

Higher. I knew I couldn't fix it so there was no need to wait.

3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

I regularly include remembering my decision altitude when I review my EPs.

Owned by Remi #?

[slotperfect 7]

1) 3000 FT = normal deployment altitude; 1800 FT is my personal cutaway altitude. That's what it was according to USPA years and years ago, and I never changed it for myself.

2) I have had two cutaways. on the first I cutaway lower (1500 FT) because I foolishly tried to clear the mal (what I thought was a tension knot) for too long. On the second I cutaway higher - right after opening because I blew thre nose lines side by side.

3) I think about mals all the time and review my procedures mentally quite often - especially for tandems.

Arrive Safely

John

[aber_aos 0]

3000ft opening and 1800ft decision altitude/hard deck, as the other posters also seem to be using.

However, that is my decision altitude for problems I already have. If I develop a problem lower than that (e.g. canopy collision, or manage to wind my canopy up with twists from turning too aggressively) I'd chop down to 800 ft with the skyhook connected.

[Spatula 0]

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1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

Pull between 3500-3000, and hard-deck is 2000.

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2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

One mal, and chopped it quickly after opening. Was above my hard-deck.

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3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens

Always review in my head prior to each jump when practicing EP's, and even more since my chop.

[TheDonMan 0]

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after reading the incident forum about loss of altitude awareness during a mal i am interested in:

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

3000 ft

2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

I've had 7 cutaways and every one was different. Some i tried to fix and others were unfixable.
Once i lost alt awareness and chopped at 800 ft. (no rsl or skyhook) ended up with a 3 sec. canopy ride. Don't ever want to do that again

3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

It depends on the mal. if there is no use chop high. if there is potential clearing then try try try... If you were to ask my rigger, he would say i should even deal with the inconvenience and just chop, chop chop...

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

[TheDonMan 0]

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after reading the incident forum about loss of altitude awareness during a mal i am interested in:

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

[ladyskydiver 0]

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after reading the incident forum about loss of altitude awareness during a mal i am interested in:

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

Normal pull - 3000, hard deck - 2000

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2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

1st mal - Lower by 200 ft. Did not raise my decision altitude as I was altitude aware and was in process of cutting away.

2nd mal - Was trying at 2000 but due to excessively hard pull, I pulled my reserve handle at 1000 - despite not having my main cut-a-way (needed material over my head). My main (luckily) went bye-bye when the reserve was pulled. Did not change decision altitude as I was trying to cut-a-way the whole time.

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3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

I'm always thinking about it.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[billvon 2,998]

Depends on the jump and gear.

Normal RW w/Pilot 117 - 2200-2500 foot pull, 1600 foot decision, no cut away below 1000

RW w/Nitro - 2500 foot pull minimum

Wingsuit - 3000 foot pull, 2000 foot decision

Big RW - whatever is assigned; as low as 2000 feet

[caspar 0]

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no cut away below 1000

think im going to have to talk to an instructor about this one. i thought that at 1000ft with an RSl youd be fine. i was told that a reserve opens in 400 ft (at terminal). is this right?

so if you passed the 1000ft mark with your main pretty fucked would you just dump your reserve and hope for the best?

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

[grue 1]

3000 pull, 1800 hard deck.

On my cutaway, I had spinning line twists that I worked with until I saw the alti go past 2,000, then I took a deep breath and did the deed. I was comfortable with how it went, and I am comfortable keeping it that way.

cavete terrae.

[azureriders 0]

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so if you passed the 1000ft mark with your main pretty fucked would you just dump your reserve and hope for the best?

That is exactly what my instructors taught me to do

[tso-d_chris 0]

I think my lowest cutaway was around 1200 ft. I was under a flying reserve by 800ft. I don't think there was an RSL, but I don't remember for sure. It's been awhile.

For Great Deals on Gear

[ladyskydiver 0]

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so if you passed the 1000ft mark with your main pretty fucked would you just dump your reserve and hope for the best?

That's what I was taught and did for my 2nd reserve ride. I was having an exceptionally hard pull (risers twisted to my neck, head pinned down, etc.), so I dumped the reserve. I needed material over my head to live through that experience. Luckily for me, when I deployed my reserve, it released enough pressure to get rid of the main.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[jsaxton 0]

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after reading the incident forum about loss of altitude awareness during a mal i am interested in:

1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

3500 fro fun jumps,
RW whatever is assigned

Decision 1800

2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

Both times I was under my reserve by 1800


3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

Honestly, after being off for 4 months it was nice to be reminded to think about it.

[billvon 2,998]

>i was told that a reserve opens in 400 ft (at terminal). is this right?

Probably, if everything goes right. But if you decide at 1000 feet to cut away, and 1) your altimeter is off, 2) it takes you a second to find the handle, 3) you have a slight reserve PC hesitation and 4) you're over a hill you could be out of luck.

Like I said before, my decision height is 1600 feet for most mals. (USPA says decide by 1800, act by 1600; I just lump them both together.) If I get a mostly open canopy, I generally won't cut away below 1000 feet. Example:

My canopy opens fine, and I get ready to land. At 500 feet someone runs into me and damages my canopy. I might try to land it, or I might dump my reserve as well - but I wouldn't cut away. (A canopy transfer is another possibility, but the chances of it being needed are so remote that I don't generally consider it in my planning.)

[packing_jarrett 0]

I think it depends on the mal. if its spinning lind twists from hell and your on your back I'd cut away no lower than 2000ft. but if its something like broken lines I'd probably do a control check and if it doesn't work out I might get rid of it at around 1500ft.
P.S. I pull at 3000ft.

Na' Cho' Cheese

[WeakMindedFool 0]

3500 pull alti
2000 hard deck
and I think about it every day on every jump.
Fought one for too long and ended up in the saddle at 900 feet...with my second malfunction of the skydive (slider hung up...high) got that bad boy cleared by 400 feet so it was all good...except for the new stain in my jumpsuit.

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
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[mjosparky 4]

When I deploy I make a decision on the canopy really quick. If I can land it safely I do, if I don’t think I can land it safely it is gone. My decision altitude is at the same altitude I look up and as “ah shit”.

I do not do rigging in the air. As a rule ram air canopy malfunctions will do nothing but get worse. Very little you do in the air is going to change that. You score no points for riding a function an extra 1000 feet and you may trash the canopy by doing so.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[gdmusumeci 0]

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1) what altitude do you normally pull at and what your personal hard deck is (decision altitude at cutting away)

3500-3000 feet and 1800 feet respectively.

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2) when you had a mal(s) did you cut away higher, lower or at this decision altitude. if lower, did you actively raise your decision altitude

Decided at 1800, chopped about 1600, in the saddle at 1400.

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3)how many of you honestly havent thought about decision altitudes for a while and just think i'll deal with the mal when it happens- im sure there must be some.

At least once a jump day, usually when checking my reserve pin as part of my initial gear check. But I think about them throughout the day as well.

[caspar 0]

honestly, i have no memory of being taught a hard deck whilst doing my AFF. if i was i dont think it was really drilled into me. i paid attention through AFF and people generally think of me being anal / excessive with worrying about safety issues. i have been jumping for one year, AFF trip to states last year (march), 15 odd jumps in england and i just got back from a trip to perris. i have only recently actuvely decided on a decision altitude after reading DZ.com a few months ago. before i just thought id cut away when i needed to, i knew the risk of altit awareness with mals.

thought id answer my own Qs.

i pull at 3500, decision 2000.


housemate just came in, she did AFF with me. she also has no memory of being taught a hard deck on our AFF.

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."