Has anyone seen this before

[bobsoutar 0]

Quick tip to add to all the aaaarrrrcccchhhh advice. Practice the drills in full kit while lying face down on the ground (can't de-arch doing that), make sure that the legs and upper body stay in position and that only the hands and arms move. Tell him good luck!

[freefallin14 0]

As a static line instructor I always had my students try to see what I was doing when they left the plane to keep their heads up. I would either peace them out, or wave, or thumbs up or do any number or dumb thngs. Then when they got to the ground I would ask them what I did. The ones with big arches and heads up always knew. It serves a double purpose by keeping them relaxed if they see a big smile on your face and a peace sign or something.

Bret

[riggerrob 643]

Casch,
You have encountered a common problem with BOC and practice pulls.
Half the time the main container is empty by the time you get your hand near the BOC. Now that the main container is empty, it is slack. With the main container slack, it is more difficult to locate and grab the practice handle. This problem has killed a couple of tandem-masters during out-of-sequence deployments.
Only two solutions come to mind: rushing or a major sewing project.
Rushing will create more problems than it solves: de-arching, ripcord fixation, etc.

The other solution is to sew plastic stiffener(s) into the main container. We did that at Rigging Innovations when we built the second batch of Telesis student rigs for the British Joint Services Parachute Centers. Like many British solutions, it was a complex solution to a simple problem. Sewing stiffeners into a main container should not be undertaken lightly. Every stiffener changes the opening characteristics. Fortunately, you have a highly experienced Master Rigger at Kapowsin who may be able to help you with the container question.
I know that $40 per practice pull sounds like a lot of money now, but may still be the simplest solution in the long run. Perhaps you should devote more ground time to practicing locating the lower corner of the container - where the side strap meets the backpad - then sliding your hand up to the mouth of the BOC. The handle will not be in the same place on every rig. The handle may only be an inch or two higher, but that is far enough to make you miss the handle if you are just blindly groping for it. Furthermore, any rig will shift around on your back. Often the best technique is to deliberately reach too high or too low, then slide your hand towards the handle. So in the long run, a systematic searching method will train you how to pull on a variety of different rigs. And you will jump more different rigs over your first hundred jumps than you will at any other point in your skydiving carreer.