Ever lost your cut-away equipment?

[thermosnight 0]

I am researching how often freebags and main chutes get lost each time someone has a cut-away. I want to know if this is an expensive part of the sport which is currently overlooked. I would be extremely grateful for any information about what got lost on a cut-away and how hard or easy it was to locate the items afterwards. Also, does anyone know of a site or place I can research to gather some dry statistics?

For anyone interested, I intend to share my research once it has been completed. Thank you for your help.

Dave.

My favourite saying is under construction...

[sundevil777 102]

4 reserve rides, 3 chops (only 2 with cutaway handles), only lost the ripcord on the first one. Never found

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[chuteless 1]

Ive had about 9 reserve openings, and only lost one Para Commander. Found it much later, after almost writing it off as lost.

On one reserve opening, I lost a good hunting knife and one of the snaps of the reserve came off the D Ring, leaving me hangin on 1 snap only. I sure was glad that tiebar between the snaps was strong, or I wouldnt have had anything above me.

never lost anything but a good knife.

Bill Cole D-41

[jseiverth 0]

It really depends on where you are jumping. If it's in the desert you will probably find you stuff pretty easily. Jumping near dense forest(such as where I normally jump) you will be more likely to lose your equiptment. I have lost a main and 2 freebags. Handles are easy, just hold onto them. By the way I got my main back about a year and a half later when a local pilot was talking to a hunter and skydiving came up. He said a have one of them parachutes hangin up in my gararge. It was in still in great shape.
Jeff

[frankiebrina 0]

I had only one witch was in a major city downtown area, fortunately some kids found it and returned it after I provided 20 bucks. #@%%^&*$%@@. Well its better then a new free-bag i guess.
Blackmailing little sons of...

[Chrisky 0]

I used to jump in a very foresty area as well (Spa/Belgium), when a jumper lost his pretty new canopy as it was too high to reach and not easily accessible. He got it back somehow after two weeks of summer sun and a rainy weekend. Was still jumpable, but the rigger told me the before-20-jump-like canopy was now more about a 800-jump-like...
Never chopped, so can't really tell.

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

[mwabd1 0]

Lost a free bag and pilot chute, tried to find it but I followed my main down. Besides I would much rather get the main back anyday, freebag's are cheap!

[bigG 0]

November 2003 at Sebastian, FL...on a very windy day..lost both main and reserve p/c & freebag on cutaway.

Looked for them for 3 weeks and then gave up and ordered replacements. Few weeks later some lady called that she found my canopy in her tree house.

The canopy was in good condition and is jumpable but never found the reserve p/c.

Cutaways can be painful..emotionally...

[chunkybunky 0]

3 cutaways. Only lost 1 freebag. Always held on to my handles. Alligators were around so after I found the main I quit looking.
It was a Javelin so counting the repack it still cost over $200.00. But thats OK, I lived to jump another day.

[iowa 0]

Six cutaways, never lost a thing. CRW has cost me a couple of shoes though.

Keith

''Always do sober what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.'' - Ernest Hemingway

[OzoneJunkie 0]

6 chops. Lost a brand new velocity on one of them. Went missing for over 1/2 a year (in a densly wooded area). Was found by chance by one of the dz instructors. The canopy was damaged - not by sunlight, but by bugs. I happy to report that after some major surgery by the fine folks at PD, "patches" is back in the air and doing just fine.

[Hazarrd 1]

1 reserve ride. lost freebag and both handles.

.-.

[slug 1]

Quote

1 reserve ride. lost freebag and both handles.

FWIW some folks write their phone # or DZ# on the freebag bridle followed by "reward".

Good news bad news if it lands in the wrong place "they" know where to find you if there's any damages. But that's what USPA insurance is for right?

R.I.P.

[Jimbo 0]

Two reserve rides. I lost the cutaway handle on my first, and the freebag/pilot chute on the second. In my limited experience, reserve rides are fun, but expensive.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[helldog 0]

1 Ride everything but the handle fell into the DZ landing area (thanks for the good spot roger) found the handle 15 minutes later about 10 meters from the the landing area behind a mesquite bush.
Blue ones
Jim

[lazyfrog 0]

Quote

Good news bad news if it lands in the wrong place "they" know where to find you if there's any damages.

in any case, if it's in the wrong place, "they" know where to find you

----------
Fumer tue, péter pue
-------------
ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

[GravityGirl 0]

8 reserve rides.

Never lost a Freebag or Main (Thanks to some very good friends)

Hucked a few handles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[councilman24 37]

Inks can weaken fabric and run. I made several customers replace freebags after they had written their name and address in 2 inch letters with a roller ball or felt tip. This may be overly cautious but this ink had run all over. I have customers write with a ball point on the line cover piece of fabric.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[VectorBoy 0]

I looked for hours for free bag & PC, Nothing. Then Hired an ultra light to take me up looking for it. He is very experienced in doing just that as he also runs a rigging loft. After 10 minutes we found it landed within 60 feet of it an had to start a sweeping pattern to find it again. I was standing within 15 feet of it and it was invisible. Couple more steps a Viola! This was all in brush no higher than 3 feet.

I watched the main coming down but saw someone stop their car to grab it only to give up as they saw me coming to get it. I know of two individuals who watched people drive off with their pretty new mains. Nothing they could do, just like a bad dream.

[SkydiverRick 0]

Quote

I am researching how often freebags and main chutes get lost each time someone has a cut-away. I want to know if this is an expensive part of the sport which is currently overlooked. I would be extremely grateful for any information about what got lost on a cut-away and how hard or easy it was to locate the items afterwards. Also, does anyone know of a site or place I can research to gather some dry statistics?

I've had a few cut-aways over the years and haven't lost anything. I had one on a night jump and the main landed about 75' from my car. Pretty good spot.

For anyone interested, I intend to share my research once it has been completed. Thank you for your help.

Dave.

never pull low......unless you are

[slug 1]

Thanks terry

I stand corrected. Always listen to your rigger. Effects of chemicals on your gear is one of the things their required to know. They have to sign your packing card a big responsiabilty that can come back to bite them.

IMO a conservative rigger is better than a good old boy. My technique was based on monkey see monkey do, and I don't know the qualifications of the first monkey.

R.I.P.

[FrogNog 1]

My friend lost his freebag and reserve handle this evening. He got the main without a problem. He says he wouldn't have dropped the handle except the risers slapped him due to a back-to-earth deployment. (I think he was screaming like a little girl and just dropped it. Then he gave himself those forehead welts to look like a victim. )

Perhaps the freebag will show up tomorrow. The handle was disposable; I believe he lost his pillow reserve handle a ways back and this was a temp D-ring replacement in the mean time.

He blames my spot. I blame his farting in the 182 right before we turned onto jump run.* Take that!

* Technical review will reveal that the spot was long, which doesn't seem to make sense due to his farting - I should have been in a hurry to exit. However, the spot went long because I was so dazed by the gas that I was having trouble climbing out.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[dragon2 2]

4 cutaways thus far. One on student gear, 3 on my own gear of which 1 intentional. Held on to all of my handles (can't even lose the reserve ripcord on my Atom because of the shape of the pin, have to remember to LET GO of THAT handle to reach my toggles ). Payed the jump for a guy to chase my stuff after my intentional cutaway, good thing too because the wind had shifted about 180', bad spot, my bad). All the other times the freebags and mains landed close enough for the DZ to spot 'm. Most stuff made it back to the hangar before I did! Never lost/damaged anything but reserve loop thingies thus far (knock on wood).

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[NeedToJump 0]

I'veh ad two cutaways and both times I've lost the reserve freebag and pilot chute.

First one was at Skydive New England - completely surrounded by forest. Cutaway around 5000 feet after a CRW entanglement in really strong winds. Only reason I got the main back is because the other guy pulled it out from his lines and landed it for me after I cut away.

Second one was at DeLand and I know where the freebag is, it's just too deep in dense forest that it's not worth going in there to get it.

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[jumperconway 0]

Lost my reserve pillow on jump #489, kept everything on my second, the yesterday I lost my cutaway pillow on sunset load cutaway #1668.