pinkyfloyd

um, am I the only person that's a bit scared by this post...?

I am going by memory, not sure exactly what the make/model of the canopy was, I just know for sure that it was a 290. I had to sell my own rig about 60 jumps ago, and have been using our student gear since then, until I can afford to buy a new rig. This was one of the only two rigs I jump regularly. I am not confident the reserve was a 230, it was either a 230 or 260. Regardless, it was the same reserve that I landed semi-successfully on my prior cutaway. My understanding of the reserves that are paired with our student canopies is that they are appropriately sized for the recommended jump weights for each rig. However, being made of different fabric adds to the increased speed after flaring, along with being a bit smaller than the mains. From what I understand it was textbook, not necessarily perfect. I ended up with a grass stain on my left shoulderblade, and the cracked rib was on my upper left side, my best bet is the rib was due more to my left upper body rolling forward in a manner it's not generally intended to move in...plus I'm not a small guy, so that didn't help things. I guess it was the best I could manage not having had to do one in probably over a year. I suppose some PLF practice in the hangar might just be in order as well.

Andy, I think this is the main reason I brought this up in the first place...I'm not satisfied with the logic that just because I didn't get injured or killed, that I made the right decision. It would appear as the best decision, in retrospect, and based on input from both here and my dz, is to have had more experience landing the reserve type/size in this rig, flying the canopy down to a lower altitude (6,000) then cutting it at that point. thanks for all the input everyone -Q

I have to say, I think the biggest influencing thought on the decision to not cutaway was "OK, as it stands now, I have a "good" canopy over my head, and I still have a spare in the container. Even after having two uneventful, textbook cutaways where the reserves performed just fine, I think it was the thought of having a reserve mal.

Just for additional information, the incident in question was my second jump of this rig in the same day, the canopy was just fine on the previous jump, no tearing at all. Same with the previous incident, I am confident that both tears occured during each jump, that they were not pre-existing conditions. -Q

First I will outline some of my pertinent facts: ~130 jumps over 2+ years in sport 2 cutaways to date rig: Aerohio student (rental) gear, Vector 290, 230 reserve (I think...?) Scenario: Approximately two months ago, I initiated my second cutaway. After an uneventful skydive, I opened at 5,000 feet and experienced a very hard opening (my second in one week with this rig). Upon checking my canopy I saw a hole of approximately two feet along one of the seams in the 6th cell (bottom layer only, I couldn't see any sky through the canopy). A quick controlability check showed that the canopy was performing just fine, however I had previously learned that "a hole in the canopy larger than a basketball should be chopped". Thus, I cut it away, reserve opened just fine, and on landing the reserve I did a textbook PLF (due to coming in much faster than normal, under the reserve) as witnessed by several instructors. However, I did crack one rib on the PLF, minimizing my jumps for the next four weeks or so. Fast forward to two days ago. I did a hop and pop at altitude, had a very nice soft opening, was under canopy by about 12,500, and when I looked up, there was a very large tear in the middle seam of the seventh cell, approximately 2/3 of the length of the 290 I had over me. A controlability check and several practice flares showed no apparent change in normal flight characteristics. My exit weight is about 235, so my wing loading on this particular canopy was a very conservative .8/1 (pre-tear, anyway). Suddenly I discovered that having plenty of time to think about cutting away can be a very bad thing. All sorts of thoughts started going through my head: * The canopy is just fine, why chop it? * Many people chimed in after my last cutaway and stated that I probably could have landed it just fine * I'm over 12,000 feet, will we ever find the main and freebag? * Should I wait until about 7,000 then chop it? * If I have to land under this reserve again, will it be any worse than just a cracked rib? * I'm not wearing a jumpsuit, just shorts and a T-shirt, what if I have a very fast landing and get all banged up? So I did a bunch more practice flares and kept a very close eye on the tear, and it was not getting any bigger at all. Canopy still performing just fine. 8,000 feet now. At that point I made the decision that if I got to 4,000 and the tear had not gotten any larger, that I would ride it all the way in. I spent the rest of my time under canopy doing only conservative turns, practice flares, and looking up at the tear. I landed it uneventfully. After the incident, I discussed what happened with several instructors/veteran jumpers, and got mixed opinions. Everything from "You are standing here talking to me, so you made the right decision" to "I would have chopped it, PERIOD." (each of these comments came from skydivers with 7000+ jumps each). I'm not sure exactly what I am looking for as far as advice, maybe just anything of relevance. Thoughts? Anyone? Buehler? -Q