mals and reactions...

[skydivercowboy 0]

hey everyone im Hal, sorry i didn't post this with my first post, i just didn't think about it at the time. But anyways,i i was wondering what was yall's first mal, what was it like, and what was your reaction. I'm just wondering this because, as some of yall know i am a beginner and i hope im not the only beginner that thinks this. like i dont know if i will freak out, freeze up, or what i will do. so thanks for all the great advise on my first post. please keep them coming.

love that rush!

[AggieDave 6]

Take a deep breath. You will be trained in your First Jump Course (FJC, similar to a transition course if using the tandem method) how to deal with malfunctions as a beginner. Something that would be considered a malfunction for you that would necessitate a certain reaction, may be considered something that is more of a annoyance for a highly experienced jumper. The reactions may be different.

So please do yourself a huge favor and take everything you read here as suspect until you can talk to YOUR instructor at YOUR DZ.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[skydivercowboy 0]

yeah i figured they would teach me... at least i hope they would. i just wanted people's opinions and experiences. because i just figured that there was always more room for learning in this sport if you know what i mean. i dont know that just might be me. and yeah i take everyones replies with respect, cuz im the newb at this.

love that rush!

[gearless_chris 1]

My first was a tension knot on a student rig, jump #52. I recognized it, cutaway and pulled the reserve. It wasn't even a little scary at the time. A week later, after I had time to think about stuff that could've went wrong, I got a little nervous, then my jump went okay and I was over it.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[skydivercowboy 0]

well first off kudo's on the safe landing. and thats awesome you could keep your head staight. i just hope my first mal i can do the same. just think staight and get done whats need to be done.

love that rush!

[wayneflorida 0]

Under stress a person will perform as he/she has trained/practiced.

Poor training/practice equals poor performance under stress.

Proper training/practice will keep you from freaking out or freezing up.

Blue Skies

[NealFitz 0]

my first mal which last week funnily enough- my cutaway dislodged and my canopy got disconnected so when i deployed it came right off my back. i didnt know that the cutaway coming out was the cause until i looked down to do my drills. was calm and pulled silver. the adrenaline pumping round your body will make you far more aware about danger so reaction time should be pretty fast.

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[popsjumper 2]

I was pissed off. Re-pack was $50 at the time.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[skydivercowboy 0]

so would you consider that a minor or major mal? haha i no its probably a stupid question....

love that rush!

[NovaTTT 2]

Do yourself a favour and buy Poynter's "The Skydiver's Handbook".

There's plenty of good, relevent information in there and it's from one of the most respected men in the business.

"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

[skydivercowboy 0]

thank.... i will get right on that.

love that rush!

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Quote

...But anyways,i i was wondering what was yall's first mal, what was it like, and what was your reaction. I'm just wondering this because, as some of yall know i am a beginner and i hope im not the only beginner that thinks this. like i dont know if i will freak out, freeze up, or what i will do...

Let me come at this from a different angle.

How do you react under stress?

For example:
If you are driving down the road and a large animal (or a person) jumps out in front of you, how do you react?

Jam on the brakes?
Swerve and nearly flip the car?
Stare and do nothing?

As others have said: You will react as trained. And as well as you do under severe stress otherwise.

Think about it.

Personally I haven't had a cutaway, but I've had a couple brake-fires (one into spinning line twists).
When they happened, my training kicked in. I very quickly evaluated the situation, took corrective action and dealt with it. I maintained situational awareness and was ready to chop if necessary.
I was really thrilled that I did so well under the circumstances.

Don't worry too much about it. I think it's a really normal thought process for a beginner. It means (to me at least) that you are taking the risk seriously.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[skydivercowboy 0]

well im glad you put it like that cuz i understand now. cuz in that kind of situation, i lay on the horn and jam breaks... hope that was the right answer haha. but when i tandemed my first time my adrenaline was pumping and everything slowed down and seem like it was in slow motion if you know what i mean? but i figured since the statistics show that more people die in a car each year than people do skydiving, i hope my trainings right

love that rush!

[InfiniteSky 0]

Noob here, take with large grain of salt.

My first mal was a tension knot. Had it sometime between 25 and 50 jumps. I unstowed the breaks and knew right away what the problem was. Checked my altimeter and had the time to work the knot out before my cutaway altitude. All I thought about was fixing what was wrong and keeping an eye on my altitude. If it had happened while I was a student there's a good chance I would have chopped when I saw the mal.

I've had a cutaway since then due to a knot in the steering line. Tried to fix that one too, but decision altitude came and I cut. I'll admit as I cut I was pissed that I was out $70, then I was more concerned with making sure the reserve was good and landing safely. After I made the decision to cut and reached for red, I actually thought cutting and the reserve ride was pretty fun. Not something I'd do on purpose, but kinda fun all the same.

[NealFitz 0]

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so would you consider that a minor or major mal? haha i no its probably a stupid question....

not a mal at all id no parachute to malfunction

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[skydivercowboy 0]

haha so true... sorry didnt even think about that haha

love that rush!

[NealFitz 0]

Quote

haha so true... sorry didnt even think about that haha

i was being sarcastic lol. major problem if you dont ahve a parachute over yer head

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[Tolgak 0]

First mal was a bag lock. Jump #41 if I remember correctly.

I didn't really think about it as it happened. I recognized the problem, cut away, and pulled reserve without hesitation.

I credit my survival to the handle check that we are all trained to do multiple times before we jump out. The AAD wasn't on (I didn't know the rig had one and didn't bother to check), and the thought crossed my mind as it all happened.

While I'm not a very experienced skydiver, I can tell you as a pilot that rehearsing emergency procedures at a reasonable frequency will be what saves your life in a dangerous situation. The same holds true for many other activities and professions.

If you rehearse your procedures often enough to the point that you can do all the motions and recite all the solutions without pausing in thought, I can almost guarantee that you will be calm and collected during your first mal.

Dropzones are terrible places for inspiration. What does one think when one looks up for a sign only to see a bunch of people falling?

[strop45 0]

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The AAD wasn't on (I didn't know the rig had one and didn't bother to check), and the thought crossed my mind as it all happened.

While I'm not a very experienced skydiver, I can tell you as a pilot that rehearsing emergency procedures at a reasonable frequency will be what saves your life in a dangerous situation.

While I'm neither an experienced pilot nor an experienced skydiver, IMO knowing and checking your equipment is the first step in staying safe.

Look after your gear and it will look after you.
Good job on staying alive....

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

[Tolgak 0]

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While I'm neither an experienced pilot nor an experienced skydiver, IMO knowing and checking your equipment is the first step in staying safe.

Incorrect. Yes, it is a huge part of being safe. However, your first concern should be yourself and the environment. You should know what you're getting into before you even consider touching your gear. The reason behind this is that you will be more inclined to go in adverse conditions if you have your rig on before you look at the environment. At that point, you're in jump mode, and for most people, you are more tolerant of threats to safety.

But none of that helps you react to a malfunction, it just ensures that your solutions will work as designed. You could run through the most thorough checklist ever created before a jump and still freeze up during a mal. Working on those procedures is the only way to minimize the risk of a brain freeze when the situation goes bad..

Dropzones are terrible places for inspiration. What does one think when one looks up for a sign only to see a bunch of people falling?

[NealFitz 0]

you will notice quite a lot of people in the planes doing gear checks on the ride to altitude. before every jump i locate my handles, do a dummy reserve drill and check my BOC. on our RAPs course our reserve drills were literally repeated to us for an hour so we got it. my mate who did the course and never jumped (4 years ago!) still remembers the procedure.

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[Tolgak 0]

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you will notice quite a lot of people in the planes doing gear checks on the ride to altitude. before every jump i locate my handles, do a dummy reserve drill and check my BOC. on our RAPs course our reserve drills were literally repeated to us for an hour so we got it. my mate who did the course and never jumped (4 years ago!) still remembers the procedure.

That's what I mean by a procedure. You're not checking to see if the gear will work at that point, you're rehearsing an emergency procedure.

I'm saying that it is the procedure of touching your handles (as you described) that will save your life. You could make sure your AAD is on, your pin is smiling, PC is cocked, everything else is well set up. But that checklist isn't going to do squat for you if you don't practice touching your handles.

I guess I'm just arguing semantics, as none of what you said is wrong. But I think it's important to differentiate the idea of a gear check from the idea of an emergency procedure. Doing gear checks ensures that your gear will work. Practicing emergency procedures (as you call, checking your handles) ensures that YOU will work.

Dropzones are terrible places for inspiration. What does one think when one looks up for a sign only to see a bunch of people falling?