Couple of lessons learned about deployment separation

[tnscorcoran 0]

I had 2 situations in the last few days at deployment time that definitely weren't safe.
1) On opening my canopy it sometimes does a pretty wild swing and goes way off heading. The other day this happened and my canopy started heading UP the jump run as I was stowing my slider. Meanwhile another canopy sniveled past me less then 100ft away. 2 lessons here, first after canopy opens turn it immediately in the opposite direction to jump run and secondly leave adequate separation before exiting the plane.
2) On a tracking dive that I failed to keep up with, I turned away from the group and tracked away. Just as I was about to pitch, I noticed a canopy opening directly below me. It was one of the jumpers in my group. I tracked away another direction and then pitched and everything was fine. Had I not seen him, I would likely have collided with his opening canopy. Lessons learned - a) if you can't stay with a tracking dive, get FAR away from it at pull time. b) before pitching on a such a dive, do a barrel roll to make sure no one is above or below you (especially above - it's a lot easier to see a body against blue sky than it is against the ground).
I'm pretty safety conscious and these are the closest things I have experienced in 180 jumps. I'd welcome some constructive input on any other ways the liklihood of these situations can be reduced.

[DJL 235]

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after canopy opens turn it immediately in the opposite direction to jump run

You mean 90 degrees from the line of flight? I've opened before the group in from of me many times. It's better to get an idea of who is ahead of you and behind you. Then when you see people opening you know that it was the four way just ahead of you or the two-way behind you.

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if you can't stay with a tracking dive, get FAR away from it at pull time.

Better yet, the tracking dive needs to be well thought through and you need to know why the plan is what it is. If you just track off it a random direction then you could be heading towards another group from the same load. Someone on the tracking dive needs to think it through. If the plan dictates that you need to stay on course and then track in a certain direction at a certain alititude then you need to follow the flight plan. People need to be able to depend on you to follow the plan so that when THEY follow the plan they're not all of a sudden running into you. Tracking dives sometime run in arcs. If you track away right at the beginning because you can't catch the jump, then you might end up intersecting the arc. I've never been the primary brain in putting together a tracking dive. I'm interested in hearing from someone who can rattle off the concepts and dangers involved.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[ChrisL 2]

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I had 2 situations in the last few days at deployment time that definitely weren't safe.
1) On opening my canopy it sometimes does a pretty wild swing and goes way off heading. The other day this happened and my canopy started heading UP the jump run as I was stowing my slider.

Why were you stowing your slider before getting control of your canopy and situation?

__

My mighty steed

[tnscorcoran 0]

The mistake was not heading in a direction away from jump run. As I took it at the time, nothing was wrong, it's only after thinking about it, I realise I should have changed direction.
Thanks for the posts.

[apley 0]

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I had 2 situations in the last few days at deployment time that definitely weren't safe.
1) On opening my canopy it sometimes does a pretty wild swing and goes way off heading. The other day this happened and my canopy started heading UP the jump run as I was stowing my slider. Meanwhile another canopy sniveled past me less then 100ft away.

2 lessons here, first after canopy opens turn it immediately in the opposite direction to jump run and secondly leave adequate separation before exiting the plane."

2) On a tracking dive that I failed to keep up with, I turned away from the group and tracked away. Just as I was about to pitch, I noticed a canopy opening directly below me. It was one of the jumpers in my group. I tracked away another direction and then pitched and everything was fine. Had I not seen him, I would likely have collided with his opening canopy. Lessons learned - a) if you can't stay with a tracking dive, get FAR away from it at pull time. b) before pitching on a such a dive, do a barrel roll to make sure no one is above or below you (especially above - it's a lot easier to see a body against blue sky than it is against the ground).
I'm pretty safety conscious and these are the closest things I have experienced in 180 jumps. I'd welcome some constructive input on any other ways the liklihood of these situations can be reduced.

the SIM suggests that you should get a 360 view to avoid other traffic BEFORE you mess with slider or even unstow the brakes. this means HANDS ON REAR RISERS once the canopy inflates, and start your turn away from jump run and get a good view, preparing to turn to avoid a collision. you should end up perpendicular to jump run before doing post-opening stuff like stowing the slider, loosening chest strap, etc.

i have avoided many collisions this way. it is startling what can happen when 2 canopies experience off-heading openings at the same time and they close the separation gap in just a second or 2.

if you are a freeflyer and you turn in the opposite direction of jump run after opening, you stand a good chance of being in the airspace of the opening BJs (bellyjumpers). turn PERPENDICULAR to the jump run.

in a tracking dive where you cannot stay with the group, it is a good idea to open early, timing dependent on your position, ie, ahead of or behind the formation, and PULL HIGH. use some logic when positioning your pull location. if you are in the line of flight of the tracking dive, you are likely in the safest position to avoid other groups. if you track back toward jump run, you are asking for conflicts with other groups.

the group stands a better chance seeing an open canopy than a body. by HIGH, i mean 1,000 feet before the agreed upon opening altitude.

if you find yourself constantly outside the intended position in a track dive, get some practice in a SMALLER GROUP before you join a larger one. the best would probably be 1 on 1, then work your way up. this rule applies to all jumps. don't get into a dive that places you at risk of collision, or one that you have a poor chance of staying with. if it turns into more than one skydive, perhaps it should have been in the first place!