Hard cutaway strong tandem

[juggalo 1]

hey all
Any input on problems cutting away strong tandem systems?
We had a T/I with two out and could not release the main. The reserve was twisted around the I's face. He tried to chop and then had the student assist and they could not cut away.
The rigs have had the 25 jump service done to them.

After the incident we did suspended testing on all of our rigs and 3 of them were almost impossible to chop. some were over 70 pounds of pull force to release and some took both pilot and passenger to pull to effect the cutaway.

thanks
brew

waving off is to tell people to get out of my landing area

[tkhayes 348]

never seen or heard of it. I have 16 or so tandem cutaways, most on Strong, and never had a problem
TK

[linestretch 0]

I've heard the same, some have had very hard pulls, and some not. My one so far was easy.

my pics & stuff!

[JohnMitchell 16]

Holy sh#$! I'm vector, not strong, but get the factory involved on this one. It might be a quality control problem on the risers. A little off on the three rings can make a huge difference in cutaway forces. That's just one guess. Let us know what you find out. My 4 vector cutaways have all been very easy pulls.

[riggerrob 643]

I have 14 reserve rides on Strong tandems, so maybe I can offer some advice.
Hard pulls on cutaway handles are a two-fold problem.
The first solution is to throw away the instructor's drogue release. This will reduce pull force by 5 pounds.
The second solution is to be very gentle with cutaway cables. Always keep them straight and never bend them when re-assembling 3-rings. If they develop a permanent kink, that can vastly increase pull forces.

[bclark 0]

I have had 4 cutaways on Strong Tandem rigs and they were nearly as effortless as cutting away my sport rig. I DID pull my secondary drogue release prior to cutting away in all four cases. I think that the downward pull required to pull the secondary drogue release and the upward and out motion required to break / peel the cutaway handle velcro are different so trying to do both at the same time is going to be much harder.

I have also seen a Tandem I ride a main / reserve entanglement in on a Dual Hawk because he said that he could not complete the cutaway. Only one main riser was released and he fired the reserve into it. Both he and his student were very lucky and survived with relatively minor injuries. This was a Tandem I who I am sure is stronger than me.

I think the problem is probably due more to instructor technique than a problem with the gear. Just my opinion though.

[quade 4]

Are you talking about THIS?

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0725parachute.html

Quote

Parachute malfunctions during tandem jump
Student injured, but instructor not

RICHMOND, Ind | A parachute malfunction during a Saturday tandem jump in Indiana injured an Oxford man but spared his instructor, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.

Steve Steinmetz was a student in a tandem jump with instructor Jeff McGinnis

The pair jumped from a Cessna 208-B at 13,000 feet shortly before 6:30 p.m. Central Time, Sheriff Matt Strittmatter said. When McGinnis tried to deploy the drone chute, Strittmatter said McGinnis' hand became entangled in the chute. When the pair hit 3,000 feet, Strittmatter said McGinnis freed his hand to deploy the main chute.

The pair crashed into a cornfield about a half-mile from the airport at Wolfe Road and Neiwornher Road in Indiana. Steinmetz was taken by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital with a back injury. His condition was not immediately available.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[juggalo 1]

yes that would be the one.

waving off is to tell people to get out of my landing area