Scoop 0 #26 September 21, 2005 Quoteand somebody from the neighborhood brought my main back, said it came down in his backyard, which borders the forest. (whew!) I can just imagine them slowly walking out expecting to find someone lying in a heap under the main in there garden, then the big sigh of relief! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reginald 0 #27 September 21, 2005 A main canopy is pretty easy to find at most DZ’s as is a freebag. Handles, if tossed, are almost never found. So, I keep a spare set of handles in my gear bag. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #28 September 21, 2005 QuoteSo, what's the "normal" landing pattern after a chop, does the reserve PC/freebag drop faster or slower than the main? In my very limited experience, the reserve pilot-chute & freebag assembly falls significantly faster than the chopped main. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandanarama 0 #29 September 22, 2005 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1789829 "In hind sight, I feel I left too short of a distance between my last stow and the risers. I was also distracted by a new load request (conversation) to get on while placing my d-bag in the container. I hastily plopped it in the container and felt like the little but excess lines right past the risers should have been organized better before resting the d-bag on top and closing the container. I believe this caused my d-bag to spin as it went to full line stretch in the opening sequence. " If anyone has a cut-away and needs to go back and search for their canopy, I'd probably recommend getting back up in a plane ASAP and doing a hop n' pop from 5-6k with rental gear. Grab the largest canopy you can get your hands on and float in deep brakes as you search for your main. Eric ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandanarama 0 #30 September 22, 2005 I think it would depend on the state of the canopy when it was cutaway like how many twists and how much air the canopy was retaining as it headed towards the ground. The more of a mess it was, the faster it would fall. Additionally, the size and shape of the canopy would make a difference as well as the wind conditions. A really small elliptical HP canopy will fall faster than a big docile canopy. Eric ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EvilLurker 2 #31 September 22, 2005 Quotethe reserve pilot-chute & freebag assembly falls significantly faster than the chopped main. Thanks. He was a low-time jumper with a big canopy, and it drifted a long ways. The PC/freebag was probably on the ground before I got there, then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goose491 0 #32 September 23, 2005 QuoteI can just imagine them slowly walking out expecting to find someone lying in a heap under the main in there garden, then the big sigh of relief! Nevermind! I once chased my buddys cutaway main down. It landed in a field and I opted to land in one which suited me better but was kitti-corner to it. Anyway, I landed right behind a house and there were some teenagers BBQing in the yard. Of course, I was an instant cellebrity. Anyway, they kept telling me they saw my friend who's "chute didn't open" I just said "Yeah, he had to use his second parachute. I'm here to retreive his first one." I don't think they really grasped the concept... and I didn't really grasp what they were saying either as they kept saying "Come, You friend landed over here!" They led me to a clearing in the brush between the two fields so that I could get right to it. One of them had a four-wheeler and he rode it to the edge of the property and stopped. They all seemed to be leer and be stretchin' their necks to see... but very reluctant to continue. Basically, he was convinced that somebody had gone in. When I picked up the parachute, it became clear to me. They all thought there was a busted up skydiver under it! To this day, I think about it and wonder how long they would have sat there just looking at it. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike111 0 #33 September 25, 2005 When i get my own rig, cost don't matter about safety. Life is priceless, so might as well spend as much as necessary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,991 #34 September 27, 2005 >When i get my own rig, cost don't matter about safety. I think you will find that you will get to a point where you'll spend a _reasonable_ amount on safety. Few skydivers really replace their risers every few hundred jumps, for example, or replace their audible batteries once every two months even if they seem fine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dorbie 0 #35 September 27, 2005 How much is a coffin and a funeral service? If it's cheaper maybe I shouldn't execute my EPs, I'll need to ask my old AFFI about that one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #36 September 27, 2005 Indeed, but he can't count all his loses before bounce. What a pity, it so easy to become a piece of statistics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #37 September 28, 2005 Who spotted that load? A good spot really cuts down on the cost of a cutaway. Also, if your buddy chops, follow his stuff down, if you can do so safely. I've saved a lot of people a lot of money (but cost them a lot of beer). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tso-d_chris 0 #38 September 28, 2005 Quote. Also, if your buddy chops, follow his stuff down, if you can do so safely. I know you didn't advocate it, but it is worth mentioning that people have died after catching a cutaway main mid-air. Even if you have the skill to make the intercept, it is generally an unnecessarily dangerous proposition. Better to just follow it down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #39 September 28, 2005 QuoteWho spotted that load? A good spot really cuts down on the cost of a cutaway. Also, if your buddy chops, follow his stuff down, if you can do so safely. I've saved a lot of people a lot of money (but cost them a lot of beer). It was a high altitude hop & pop... Eric tends to take the spot pretty long on purpose though not out to true "cross-country" distances. His original post about the cutaway states that he chose to chop fairly high, thus giving his canopy plenty of time to float around the Snohomish valley."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #40 September 29, 2005 Ahhh, that's right.Hey, didja make it to Green Day Monday? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,026 #41 September 29, 2005 QuoteQuoteAfter landing I looked and there was my pillow still partially in the housing That is really scary. re: thread from earlier in the summer about jumpers not clearing their cables. The only thing I want to think about during a situation is cutaway, clear cables, and deploy reserve. I don't care about the handles at all. I will look for the main and freebag if there is enough altitude and a decent landing area. My goal is to walk away from the landing and jump another day. I will replace the gear someday anyway. During my two cutaways, at no time did I think about the handles until I reached up for the reserve toggles. Then, each time, the first thought I had was "what are those handles doing in my hands?"... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
