andy2 0 #1 May 23, 2003 quick question about RSLs. Do people rely on RSLs to pull their reserve for them? I know you should never rely on anything besides yourself, but I mean, is there time between a cutaway on a RSL to pull your reserve yourself? Or will your RSL beat you to it? Is it suggested to cutaway and try for the reserve yourself even if you dont think you'll be able to get it in time? I've been taught, look right, grab right, look left, grab left, peel right, pull right, peel left, pull left. Is my RSL faster than me? I have heard mentioned once, allowing your RSL to do your work is bad on your reserve lines, or something to that effect? Can someone clarify that? Thanks! --------------------------------------------- let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #2 May 23, 2003 NEVER rely on anything, whatever they are, they are only BACKUPS.__________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThighMan 5 #3 May 23, 2003 Pull the Reserve Handle. I would hate to hear about someone who "Went In" because they thought the RSL would pull the reserve for them. Things break and shit happens.Airborne Blue Skies, No Wind Feet and Knees Together Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iowa 0 #4 May 23, 2003 If your RSL is hooked up and functions properly you won't beat it. But never count on it to do the job for you. On most containers the RSL will kink your reserve ripcord somewhat. It may still be fine but your rigger can tell you if it needs to be replaced. Keith ''Always do sober what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.'' - Ernest Hemingway Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 273 #5 May 23, 2003 QuoteIs it suggested to cutaway and try for the reserve yourself even if you dont think you'll be able to get it in time? Skydive as if you had no RSL and no AAD. Pull your handles. Don't rely on anything but you to save your ass. QuoteI have heard mentioned once, allowing your RSL to do your work is bad on your reserve lines, or something to that effect? On most container systems, allowing the RSL to pull the reserve pin is going to put a kink in the reserve ripcord cable. If the kink is bad enough the ripcord may need replacing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy2 0 #6 May 23, 2003 ok, thanks guys, I knew I would get the "NEVER RELY ON IT" answer the way I worded my question. Common sense taught me that long before I even went to my FJC. Thanks for giving me good information, peace out --------------------------------------------- let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thecap 0 #7 May 24, 2003 I'm very inexperienced, but would imagine it is good to always practice pulling both handles. Practicing the motion may save your life if you jump a rig without a connected RSL one unlucky day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #8 May 24, 2003 QuoteIs my RSL faster than me? I hope so. If you come down with proof that you beat your RSL it likely means you did something wrong. - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poohbeer 0 #9 May 24, 2003 QuoteI've been taught, look right, grab right, look left, grab left, peel right, pull right, peel left, pull left. don't know what peel is but shouldn't pull right be before you grab left? Otherwise you loose time going from right to left and back again, no? ------- SIGNATURE BELOW ------- Complete newbie at skydiving, so be critical about what I say!! "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tb62871 0 #10 May 24, 2003 He is using one hand on each handle. The peel is to seperate the velcro before you start to pull the handles. --TB Welcome my friends to the show that never ends. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poohbeer 0 #11 May 24, 2003 ok, understand now.. We are being thought to look at the "cutaway"-handle, grab that handle with both hands, look at the reserve handle, pull the cutaway handle, grap reserve, pull. Just a tad slower in executions but no peeling needed since you've got force from both arms.. witch should be enough I hope ------- SIGNATURE BELOW ------- Complete newbie at skydiving, so be critical about what I say!! "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #12 May 24, 2003 QuoteSkydive as if you had no RSL and no AAD. Pull your handles. Don't rely on anything but you to save your ass. I have an RSL, and a Cypres. I turn on the Cypres before I jump, and then forget about it. I ignore the RSL unless I know there are weird winds on the ground (but then, why am I jumping in weird winds), and only think about it at that point. Having had an RSL on student gear, and then none on rental gear, and then switching DZs and getting one on rental gear, and now having an RSL on my own stuff, it's simply another safety measure which is designed to back me up...not me back it up. Good question, and keep asking them. The more information you get, the better prepared you can be. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fudd 0 #13 May 26, 2003 Quote ... but no peeling needed since you've got force from both arms.. witch should be enough I hope You should peel even with both hands on one handle. The handles sits in a little pocket, so if you're not peeling/twisting first and pulling down the handle can be stuck at the bottom preventing you from pulling it. There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poohbeer 0 #14 May 26, 2003 Quote Quote ... but no peeling needed since you've got force from both arms.. witch should be enough I hope You should peel even with both hands on one handle. The handles sits in a little pocket, so if you're not peeling/twisting first and pulling down the handle can be stuck at the bottom preventing you from pulling it. Get stuck? is't velcro'ed ontop of our suits.. don't see how it can get stuck anywhere. And since my instructor didn't mention this peel thingie while discussien emergency procedure I guess it is no problem for me. When I finaly get to go for my first jump I will first double check this with the instructor ofcourse ------- SIGNATURE BELOW ------- Complete newbie at skydiving, so be critical about what I say!! "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fudd 0 #15 May 26, 2003 The cutaway pillow and the reserve handle is velcroed in a little pocket on the harness. It's hard to pull unless you get the bottom edge out of that little pocket first. A bit hard to explain, but you probably understand what I mean if you take a look at a rigg. Do whatever your instructors tell you. Before your first jump you should hopefully have done enough emergency drills so that the whole procedure sits in muscle memory. There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MuffDiver 0 #16 May 26, 2003 This weekend, I unpacked my gear and did a gear check turning my Cypress on and checking all the usual stuff, I did check my RSL and it was hooked up. I was called for my load so I geared up and did a visual inspection and my handles check, before getting on the plane I asked a more experienced jumper to give me a gear check. He noticed that my RSL was not hooked up, I don't know when or how it became disconnected but it did happen and if I had to wait for that RSL to pull my reserve I would have been waiting way too long and hopefully my cypress would have gotten angry and fired(but it is also just a back-up). I always practice pulling both handles because you just never know. __________________________________________________ Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #17 May 26, 2003 QuoteI always practice pulling both handles because you just never know. Don’t get this the wrong way… I’m not giving you a hard time, but when I read something like this, it makes my skin crawl, and here’s why… You shouldn’t pull both handles because you “just never know”, you should pull them because THAT’S what you have to do in that situation. Having a “just never know” attitude is not the worse one to have, but its not a good one either: it still implies your reliance on the RSL. Maybe its not what you meant when you type your post, but that’s the way it came across to me….Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MuffDiver 0 #18 May 26, 2003 After reading my post again I can see how you misunderstood what I meant to get across. I didn't mean to say that I practice pulling both handles because you just never know if your rsl will work, it should have come out something like this... I practice pulling both handles because that is the sequence that I want to initiate if (when) I have the need to cutaway and deploy my reserve. I guess the 'never know' comment was more about never knowing when your going to be in a situation that requires a cutaway. __________________________________________________ Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeremyneas 0 #19 May 27, 2003 Actually there are a couple of situations where you may want to rely on your RSL. 1) You can't find your reserve ripcord (for whatever reason) during a partial malfunction. 2) You can't find your reserve ripcord during a total malfunction. Jeremy Neas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeatherB 0 #20 May 27, 2003 QuoteGet stuck? is't velcro'ed ontop of our suits.. don't see how it can get stuck anywhere. Some rigs have a kind of pocket built into the main lift web and it surrounds the velcro section of the cutaway handle (front and back), but some rigs do not have a pocket. Maybe that's where your confusion is? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy2 0 #21 May 27, 2003 [QUOTE]2) You can't find your reserve ripcord during a total malfunction[/QUOTE] Don't mind my ignorance, but if it was a total malfunction cutting away wouldn't trigger the reserve. How I understand it is the main has to actually detach from the container and pull out the reserve lanyard. Isn't this correct? --------------------------------------------- let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #22 May 27, 2003 Quote[QUOTE]2) You can't find your reserve ripcord during a total malfunction[/QUOTE] Don't mind my ignorance, but if it was a total malfunction cutting away wouldn't trigger the reserve. How I understand it is the main has to actually detach from the container and pull out the reserve lanyard. Isn't this correct? Yes, you're correct. You should always pull both handles...you never know if the RSL has gotten disconnected.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rigging65 0 #23 May 27, 2003 Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) You can't find your reserve ripcord during a total malfunction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't mind my ignorance, but if it was a total malfunction cutting away wouldn't trigger the reserve. How I understand it is the main has to actually detach from the container and pull out the reserve lanyard. Isn't this correct? --------------------- Andy That's true, but you could reach up with your hand and manually deploy the reserve using the RSL as it's own handle (in the event you simply "couldn't" find the res. ripcord). This is the "6th" handle on Tandem systems, and there is no reason why you couldn't use it on a sport rig. In fact, many RSL systems are set up such that the shackle is on the right riser, so that if you can't use/get to your left side to pull the reserve, you could get to your right side RSL shackle and still put the reserve out. You think someone might have thought this whole RSL thing out, eh? "...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you long to return..." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #24 May 27, 2003 >>2) You can't find your reserve ripcord during a total malfunction. A total means that the main container is still closed. Your RSL won't do sh!t for you here. All an RSL does is pull on the cable as your risers leave. In a total, your RSL will be flapping in the breeze just like it does in freefall. In this situation, you will actually need to rely on your ability to find the fvcking handle. Find it. Pull it. Don't hurry too much, though; you'll have the rest of your life (minus six to eight seconds) to pull it. BMcD... ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #25 May 27, 2003 >>That's true, but you could reach up with your hand and manually deploy the reserve using the RSL as it's own handle (in the event you simply "couldn't" find the res. ripcord). << I had not thought about that, and it's a great thing to have in the bak of your mind if you ever need it. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
