Injured skydiver saved in mid-air by fellow jumper

[pchapman 279]

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IIRC, there's a dz.com post someone successfully controlling and landing, flaring with one hand, so seems it has been done before.

That may or may not have been about a thread I started last year. Locally, someone with maybe 25 jumps fractured her left arm on exit. Photos show that under canopy she got both toggles from 'outside' the risers. She didn't stand up the landing on the big student canopy with her one armed flare but she said it was better than her worst student landings.

[livendive 8]

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If it ever happened to me, that would be what I would try, in the hope I could flare the landing.

In fact, perhaps the best strategy would be to see if you could reach the opposite toggle before releasing brakes.
If not, then maybe leave both brakes stowed in the interests of a slower landing, and just use one riser for turns.

I've been considering the same question: (a) leave the brakes stowed (thus keeping it set at roughly half brakes), use only risers and harness to turn, and then PLF, or (b) unstow the brakes and flare with one hand on both toggles.

I'm still undecided. Other people have used the one hand on both toggles method successfully. But I'm concerned that I might accidentally let go of one toggle at about 50 feet and wind up with my canopy and me hitting the ground at the same time.

This issue is a pet peeve of mine. Personally, I know that I cannot safely land my main one-handed, nor can several of the more experienced jumpers I know. The problem is you have to move that one hand in the opposite direction of any turns you want to make...if, during your flare, you start yawing right, the natural instinct is to move your hand left, which will exacerbate the problem. I have seen some other jumpers safely fly a canopy one-handed to a stand-up landing. It's unclear to me what makes the difference...could be muscle memory, could be their canopy of choice, or they could just be inherently better at adapting to the unfamiliar.

In any case, I recommend that all jumpers work out (in the air) what their best approach would be. Well clear of other jumpers, open your main and pretend that one arm doesn't work. Try to unstow both brakes, fly it around, and flare it...next jump switch arms. Personally, I'd be chopping my main and landing my reserve with the brakes stowed.

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[mdrejhon 8]

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She didn't stand up the landing on the big student canopy with her one armed flare but she said it was better than her worst student landings.

I believe it goes something, approximately along the lines of:

Light wingload -- Very strenous to flare, prepare to PLF, but much better than no-flare. That's your student. (Fortunately for students, one-handed asymmetric flare is probably difficult to do unintentionally, since it requires a much larger differential pull on the toggles, to cause a big student canopy to turn.)

Typical/medium wingload on square -- Easiest to do a standup landing with a one-hand flare. Canopy is quick-recovering, so unintentional asymmetric flare is not common (but can still happen). That's me.

High wingload on elliptical -- Very twitchy, more tricky with control inversion if you're not used to it. The reserve may be much safer for one-arm control, or still-stowed-brakes landing.

.... Either way, best to do practice up high to determine if this is something you can successfully do. At least when one is sufficiently experienced, to make their own decision about this situation. (rather unusual emergency, but still common enough to need to know what you'd do in this situation)

[DocPop 1]

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This issue is a pet peeve of mine. Personally, I know that I cannot safely land my main one-handed, nor can several of the more experienced jumpers I know. The problem is you have to move that one hand in the opposite direction of any turns you want to make...if, during your flare, you start yawing right, the natural instinct is to move your hand left, which will exacerbate the problem. I have seen some other jumpers safely fly a canopy one-handed to a stand-up landing. It's unclear to me what makes the difference...could be muscle memory, could be their canopy of choice, or they could just be inherently better at adapting to the unfamiliar.

I don't know what makes one person able to control a one-handed landing and another not, but I do know that I did have a nice soft landing with one hand on my 67th jump (dislocated left shoulder; Sabre2 150; WL 1.3).

I did flare asymmetrically but successfully countered the turn. I have no idea why my brain 'knew' to move the toggles to the outside of the turn as I had only practiced one handed flare on that jump (out of necessity).

I am sure that being relatively lightly loaded under a somewhat sluggish canopy helped enormously and I would not hesitate to do it again, should the need/desire arise.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

[mdrejhon 8]

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I did flare asymmetrically but successfully countered the turn. I have no idea why my brain 'knew' to move the toggles to the outside of the turn as I had only practiced one handed flare on that jump (out of necessity).

Don't you mean moving both toggles to the inside of a turn, to counter the asymmetric flare?

[DocPop 1]

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Don't you mean moving both toggles to the inside of a turn, to counter the asymmetric flare?

Hahaha - yes I do!

You have just proved that it was a totally unconscious action as I can't get it right when i think about it!

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA