Jump 25, reserve ride!

[samhussey 0]

Thought Id put a bit about my first reserve ride on saturday. It was my second jump of the day, and I was using the same rig (club hire kit) as I had in the morning. I went to deploy at 3500, got the toggle, but the pilot chute was stuck firmly in the pocket. I gave it another go, but it wasn't moving, and I noticed I was passing the guys who were out before me so I cut away (unnecessary I know, as the main wasnt coming out, but it was more instinct than anything else) and pulled my reserve. I was under the reserve at 2000 feet. On the ground I tried the toggle again, and after a bit of wiggling it came out. Anyway, thats pretty much it. Just thought I'd share...

[Zoter 0]

Well done....probably not very nice seeing the group before you going 'upwards' whilst you are still fiddling around with your right hand...!!
What equipment were you using?
Did you pack it yourself?
Did you/do you check the PC to see if it moves in the Pocket when you were on the ground?
If you checked the PC on the ground afterwards.....what was the cause of the hard pull.....PC packing error or other?

[samhussey 0]

It was a 2-pin classic teardrop with a fury 220 in it. I didn't pack it (I dont really know how to pack yet). On the ground the PC seemed to move enough, and on the ground it looked like it had come an inch or so out before getting jammed. I dont usually check if it moves before I jump (but I will now!), I usually just make sure I can reach and grip the toggle ok. I still don't know why it didnt come out.

[funks 1]

Quote

got the toggle, but the pilot chute was stuck firmly in the pocket. .

Can you explain what you mean when you say you "got the toggle"?

are you referring to the hackey?

[skyhighkiy 0]

Those damn toggles, always getting stuck in the boc, you need to have some serious discussion with whoever packed that... is packing a toggle in to the boc beer worthy?

BE THE BUDDHA!

[Zoter 0]

Does not sound like a 'toggle' getting buried ....he got hold of that but couldnt extract the rest of the PC ( please correct me if I am wrong)

Sounds to me and my limited experience like a poorly packed PC.

Sam ...its a good idea if you dont alreday pack for yourself to .....get round to learning ....but when something like that happens (doesnt have to be a full on mal) getting an instructor / DZ Safety Officer / Rigger / Very experienced jumper to take a look over the equipment before altering anything ( like pulling out the PC yourself).......just so's they can see with a trained eye whats wrong.

If they could have inspected the PC 'in situ' they might have been able to determine if it was a PC packing error or something else........

[yoink 321]

Quote

Quote

got the toggle, but the pilot chute was stuck firmly in the pocket. .

Can you explain what you mean when you say you "got the toggle"?

are you referring to the hackey?

semantics - sometimes in the UK the hackey is referred to as the toggle, especially if it's one of those short lengths of pipe.

[skyhighkiy 0]

My apologies, I was attempting to make a joke regarding something that I thought was a mistake of terminology. Did not know that "toggle" was another word for the hackey/pvc handle on the pc in the UK.


Yoink,
Thanks for the clarification

BE THE BUDDHA!

[adamUK 3]

Hey it's all cool
Flippin bit's of plastic tubing... give me a hackey sack any time.

[samhussey 0]

Yeah, Im in the process of learning to pack at the mo. Probably would have been best to leave it as it was, but hindsight is 20/20!

[skyhighkiy 0]

ooh hey man, tell me about it, I"m a plastic flipper and it sucks!
one quick question, please, only one person respond, I don't want to hijack the thread,

in the UK, is "toggle" referring to just the pvc (plastic tube) handle? or does it referr to all handles on a pc? (i.e. monkey fist, hackey, etc)

BE THE BUDDHA!

[LivingLegend 0]

Yeah, in the UK a toggle usually refers to something...well kinda toggle shaped...like the hollow pipe handles.
It would not be used for a hackey

________________________________________

1.618 !

[apley 0]

Quote

...so I cut away (unnecessary I know, as the main wasnt coming out, but it was more instinct than anything else) and pulled my reserve. ...

not sure i would call it "unnecessary". there is a ton of discussion on this subject. read up as much as you can, buddy. the more you know about mals, the more prepared you are for that unusual situation that you can call your own.

my favorite resource: THE SKYDIVER'S HANDBOOK
great stuff in there on malfuctions. also, PD has an extensive article documenting their testing efforts on dual deployments. a real eye-opener, and definitely makes me more comfortable with the idea that they are 99.9% survivable.

for the record, i have 3 chops... ALL of them packing error.

buck fush

[EBSB52 0]

Way to be heads up. I had a cutaway on my 18th jump - it was a sniveler that I was too impatient for. I also had a real hard pull during my coach jumps as a student that the instructor said I was right for going 1 last time b4 chop.

I've had 1 chop as an experienced skydiver - I trash packed - it was a spinner. It's great you get in the habit of:

-Pulling >3k
-practicing emergency procedures where you don't skip steps thinking about whether it matters or not that you chop b4 you go for the reserve

Look at the bright side; if you want to be a tandem instructor, you already have your requisite chop done.... :)

[samhussey 0]

Hey never thought of it like that! One step closer to instructorness....

• Quote