About "Cutting away"

[mjosparky 4]

Here are some thoughts I PM'd to a fellow DC.comer when asked about cutting way a conopy they were not sure of. I hope it is of some help to others.

Sparky

The first thing I would like to say I am sure you have heard before. When you have a canopy problem of any kind, you are the only one there to handle it. You and you alone must decide what action to take. No one, NO ONE, is in a position to second guess your decision. You may decide to chop something I would attempt to land but that does not make you wrong. If you do not have a canopy you feel you can land by your decision altitude, get rid of it. I make a decision very quickly about a canopy, if I can land it I do. If I don’t think I can land it, its history. I do not attempt to do rigging in the air.
I know you mentioned it your PM to me, but I want to say it again. Never let the possibility of peer pressure after the fact influence you decision to get rid of a canopy in the future.

On the 2 schools of thought. I do not believe in “shit happens”. While the deployment of a ram air canopy is a chaotic event at the onset, it does straighten itself out and become orderly by the time the slider starts down the lines. But there is always a reason that something happens. To say “shit happens” tells me they either don’t know or have not taken the time to find out. There are times when a person who has the ability to find out what happen does not see the gear before needed clues are disturbed. For me to sit here in “sunny California” and tell you I know why you had your last cutaway would be pretty arrogant on my part.
Malfunctions can be cause by body position, packing, mixing of incompatible components, the way a harness fits and airspeed at time of deployment. Some canopies just by their design are prone to certain types of problems.
In most cases it more important for you to be able to recognize that there is a problem then it is for you know exactly what caused the problem. If you think there might be a body position problem, go do a 2 way and have someone film it. Have them film you through deployment. The reason I say do a 2 way, hopefully it will take your mind off the camera and you not alter your normal deployment sequence. Maybe do this 2 or 3 times and review the film carefully. Just make sure the video person can hold their position.

If you are getting slammed by others for your decision, f*#k’em. They can blow it out their ass. On the other hand if they are just ribbing you in fun, well that goes with the territory. The fact that you cutaway makes other jumpers nervous and this is how some of them will handle it. They will huff and puff and pick on you, all the while trying to convince them selves they are not scared and they could have handled it.

It is a good thing to have thick skin in skydiving. Don’t let people bother you. Most are just little boys running around dressed up as skydivers. None of us are nearly as good as we would like to think we are. And it’s just a matter of time until we do something to prove it.

On charging you for the repack, while I don’t agree with it, it is a business decision and it is his business.

Remember, there are no friends under 2,000 feet or when you have a malfunction. You are on you own, handle it.

I hope this helps, and welcome to the wonderful world of SKYDIVING!

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[LuvToFly 0]

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Here are some thoughts I PM'd to a fellow DC.comer when asked about cutting way a conopy they were not sure of. I hope it is of some help to others.

Sparky

The first thing I would like to say I am sure you have heard before. When you have a canopy problem of any kind, you are the only one there to handle it. You and you alone must decide what action to take. No one, NO ONE, is in a position to second guess your decision. You may decide to chop something I would attempt to land but that does not make you wrong. If you do not have a canopy you feel you can land by your decision altitude, get rid of it. I make a decision very quickly about a canopy, if I can land it I do. If I don’t think I can land it, its history. I do not attempt to do rigging in the air.
I know you mentioned it your PM to me, but I want to say it again. Never let the possibility of peer pressure after the fact influence you decision to get rid of a canopy in the future.

Think that's a great piece of advice. In the final analysis, it's the jumper's decision; and since there was no back seat, no one else can make that judgement on the ground afterwards. Better to be living and pay for a repack -

"The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment
of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

[Icon134 0]

I got a lot of grief when I had my Chop... people saying things like "That wasn't a Mal", etc...

I always tell people that What I had was an unlandable canopy at my decision altitude... and I don't regret the decision to chop it. (I had a 2 week old reserve pack job...) People usually accept my decision after that.

BTW: Great Information...

Scott

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Rdy2skydive 0]

Thanks Sparky. This was a great post.

I had my first mal a month ago on jump 199. My right toggle released on opening and I was in a violent spin with the G-force pinning my arms. This was one time I knew couldn't just grab the toggles to stop the turn. Since I pulled at 3,500 feet I was pretty sure that I was at my decision altitude so I cut away and had an uneventful reserve ride.

As soon as I landed a "friend" asked what happened and then immediately began to lecture me on how I "should have" tried to fix it and that I didn't "have to cut away."

I told him that a funeral will always cost more than a canopy and that it was my canopy to do whatever I wanted with. He ended up apologizing and spent the next three hours helping me look for my main.
The peer pressure in skydiving is unbearable at times and I've had to learn to do what's right for me. My rigger and DZO were pleased with my decision - it's always the 200 jump wonders that have something to say. When in doubt I will cut away in a heartbeat and learn any lessons when I'm safely back on the ground.

[wmw999 2,447]

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three hours helping me look for my main.

Kudos to the Perris folks -- I had a cutaway while I was there last month, and while my main AND FREEBAG
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kevinwhelan 0]

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I "should have" tried to fix it and that I didn't "have to cut away."

I hate to hear this kind of "advice"
a few weeks ago I did my 100th jump because it had been 9 months since I had jumped I decided to do a static line jump from 4000ft. Another jumper who has no gear of his own wanted to jump so I loaned him my rig. Jump went fine. (First deliberate downwind landing because of things I learnt on dz.com."don't be afraid to land downwind rather than turn low) anywho back to the point. The other jumper packed my rig and that was the last jump for me that weekend due to weather.
This weekend I went to the DZ hoping to get a few jumps but alas the weather again kept us on the ground.
While hanging around I asked a new jumper if he would like to learn to pack, so we pulled out my rig and started showing him what to do, only to discover that it had been packed with the risers twisted, ie. as if you steped through the lines.
Overhearing my WTF etc. an instructor came over to see what was going on.
After sorting it out he asked me " would you have chopped it?"
"i said yea sure it would have been a mal"
He said "I wouldn't You could land that or even flip yourself through the risers to sort it"

My problem is I dont want someones opinions clouding my judgement when it comes time to make that decision.

BTW I have had 3 mals and when someone once said " that was'nt a real mal you could have landed that" I replied "no problem I'll pack you one and go up and show me how"

"be honest with yourself. Why do I want to go smaller? It is not going to make my penis longer." ~Brian Germain, on downsizing

[PaulProbuild 0]

I am new to skydiving (but not to other high risk Sports) & my Instructors tell me that if you have a Mal it is up to you to make the decision to "Cut away" or not as it is your ass on the line & fuck the people who say "I could have flown that" or "I would have done this or that" & that in a similar position they would probably shit themselves just as much as you did

More experinced Skydivers may have been able to fly the Mal but a newbie may have not been able to

I think I would rather come down on a fully open reserve than a half opened main canopy, not that my opinion counts for much

Paul

[Nickkk 0]

I am a newbie but i HATE people who are like the ones you mentioned.

At the end of the day i dont give a crap what you wouldve done, IM ALIVE so obviously my choice was a correct one...

What do you do when someone throws a big planet at you?
Throw your pilot chute in defense!

[mjosparky 4]

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not that my opinion counts for much

Paul,

When you are hanging under a main that looks like shit, your opinion is the only one that counts.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[txhoss 0]

Thanks for the post. I think that it is good for me to hear about this again. Sort of to keep it in the forefront of my mind for when it is time.

Have Rig will travel ...

[JoeyRamone 0]

Good info my friend...

[Ron 10]

Great info...If I may:

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Here are some thoughts I PM'd to a fellow DC.comer when asked about cutting way a conopy they were not sure of.

What the hell is a conopy?

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When you have a canopy problem of any kind, you are the only one there to handle it. You and you alone must decide what action to take. No one, NO ONE, is in a position to second guess your decision.

Agree, it is your ass on the line...Make the call and YOU, not them have to live/die by your choice.

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If you do not have a canopy you feel you can land by your decision altitude, get rid of it. I make a decision very quickly about a canopy, if I can land it I do. If I don’t think I can land it, its history. I do not attempt to do rigging in the air.

Nothing to add, just should be said again and again and again.

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For me to sit here in “sunny California” and tell you I know why you had your last cutaway would be pretty arrogant on my part.

Why change now?

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In most cases it more important for you to be able to recognize that there is a problem then it is for you know exactly what caused the problem

Yep when I land from a mal people ask, "What was it?". I answer with, "Unlandable". (Which is not really true, I *could* have landed it....But it would have been messy).

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If you are getting slammed by others for your decision, f*#k’em. They can blow it out their ass

YOU have to live or die buy your choices in this sport...I don't nitpick success...If you are there to tell me your story...Its a success story. Failures are found in the incident reports, and we tear those apart to try and prevent the next one.

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The fact that you cutaway makes other jumpers nervous and this is how some of them will handle it. They will huff and puff and pick on you, all the while trying to convince them selves they are not scared and they could have handled it.

Or they just get excited, and not know how to handle it....But the nature of this sport is to razz people....Evidenced by some of this post,a nd most of the threads on this website.

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It is a good thing to have thick skin in skydiving. Don’t let people bother you. Most are just little boys running around dressed up as skydivers. None of us are nearly as good as we would like to think we are. And it’s just a matter of time until we do something to prove it.

OK that seems aimed at me.

When a person cuts away it is THEIR choice. I was not in THAT situation.

Decide if you think you can land it...And do that QUICKLY. If not then get rid of it as fast as you can, time and altitude is running out faster than you think....If you were wrong? Who cares if you lived. Take the advice of the people you trust and learn....But NEVER LET ANYONE tell you you were wrong...If you are alive, you were not wrong.

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You are on you own, handle it.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[hemphog 0]

Fock em all. If you don't like it, chop it. If you think you can land it. do it. Whatever feels right. I've seen people land with blown out cells, broken lines, and *double* step throughs. I've also seen people chop from lines twists.

When decision time comes, you do what your gut tells you. If you mess up you're the one who pays.

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"Ya we'll rape the local objects, and maybe do some jumps too!"

[mjosparky 4]

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Here are some thoughts I PM'd to a fellow DC.comer when asked about cutting way a conopy they were not sure of.

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What the hell is a conopy?

Busted!

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Why change now?

You know better then that.

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Most are just little boys running around dressed up as skydivers. None of us are nearly as good as we would like to think we are. And it’s just a matter of time until we do something to prove it.

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OK that seems aimed at me.

You think we should both duck on that one?

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[mx757 4]

you did the right thing. YOU made your decesion, and didn't waste your time. you cutaway & pulled your reserve. Your friend was wrong. Your right you would have been wasting time turning stop the turn, then only to find your self below your hard deck for cutaway / reserve pull. If you ask me. YOU DID do the right thing. way to go.
Mike

[partyboy 0]

Nice job man. You trusted your gear, and it did what its supposed to. Keep your head up. It all good man.

Up High!!