How the hell does one inadvertently pack their rig such that the steering lines are crossed?! I heard that someone did this recently.
How the hell does one inadvertently pack their rig such that the steering lines are crossed?! I heard that someone did this recently.
I know kidbase did this once. Maybe he'll read this and tell his story?
>How the hell does one inadvertently pack their
>rig such that the steering lines are crossed?! I
>heard that someone did this recently.
I was probably that one!!
Hope this helps...:)
FYI - Directly after landing on any jump I always put the brakes on the risers then before packing run the lines from the canopy to the risers to make sure they are right on right etc. I tie my risers together then walk the lines before pro-packing then redressing as normal.
I have gone over and over this in my head and on this day (a slider off jump) I am sure I did all the usual things (we are creatures of habit after all). I wasn't distracted or doing anything out of the ordinary. I can only say that I must have crossed the brake lines right down at the risers and just not noticed. Duh!!
Hard to do you would think - well I thought that too until deployment and oh sh#t!!
The moral of this story - it's easier than you may think to f@%k up!! Don't make my mistake - luckily for me I get another chance to do it right next time!
What were the consequences of cross-setting the brakes? Due to the increased distance I would guess that the tail would be pulled down even more. If you are on Deep Brake Settings already you could be heading for a stall. That's probably the best case scenario. Did you have a tailgate installed?
I have found sometimes that I reseat the brakes the wrong way round after landing if the risers twist if the canopy collapses behind me but I redo the brakes when I pack anyway.
It takes a big man to respond to a post like this when he risks looking stupid. Nice attitude. Everyone take note. All malfuntion info is invaluable to all jumpers.
Thanks dude.:D
Unfortunately, I can say "been there, done that" on this issue. A friend and I were slam packing at Twin Falls and what can I say, sh*t happens. On the jump in question I did a two second delay, dumped, on heading opening, but it felt mushy. Looked up and the steering lines were making a big X over my head. I grabed them, swaped the toggles (just grabbing them - I didn't have time to get my hands thru the toggles), and landed fine on the shore.
My setup was slider down, w/ tailgate and deep brake setting. The canopy was right on the stall point. It may have actually gone into a full blown stall but I unstowed them pretty fast, so I'm not sure. At Twin Falls it wasn't a big deal, but it could be interesting on a cliff or bldg, but obviously I pack a little more carefully for those types of jumps.
Don't rail on me too hard...this is my first post.:P
Been there, done that as well.
The mistake originated in a flat pack like Tracy was talkng about; in about my first 50 jumps - before I had really nailed down a procedure that eliminates all possible packing mals. After this incident, I definately changed my packing procedure to eliminate this problem.
When my canopy opened after an uneventful 174 foot static line jump, I looked up and saw that the steering lines were crossed. The canopy did not stall because I almost always use shallow brake settings for all jumps. After immediately recognizing the problem I grabbed the toggles and switched them from one hand to the other in about 1 second or less. The switch seemed to be instinct - like I had to do it or face the posible consequence of injury.
Whenever I have had problems with my canopy on a BASE jump, wether it be a 180 off heading, line twists, cliff strike, downwind landing, etc., the reaction becomes instinct - as if I have been preparing for the problem to happen. It pays to go over your reactions to possible malfunctions in your head again and again...
Hope my learning experience helps someone in the future.
Jim
** At Twin Falls it wasn't a big deal, but it could be interesting on a cliff or bldg, but obviously I pack a little more carefully for those types of jumps. **
Okay, this seems to be an extremely dangerous attitude toward this subject. There shouldn't ever be a difference in the amount of detail put into a packjob. You should always pack like your life depends on it. Because it DOES!!!!
For example, you reconfigure from slider-up to slider down (or off) for a "safe" bridge jump. How many of us do a continuity check everytime? Don't pay attention to detail on a relatively safe jump and you will die. Maybe not this time, but it'll catch up to you in one form or another.
Don't half-ass any packjob. Ever. Personally, if one of my rigs had been chillin without action for even a whole month, I repack it before I'll jump it. Call me a #####, call me paranoid, whatever. Call me ALIVE. How many stories have you heard about someone finding themselves under a different setup than they remember packing? "Whoa, I could have sworn I was packed slider off. Oops."
Don't mean to flame you bro, I've just noticed a trend of complacency involving "safe" jumpsites.
Fall fast, pull low. ---Dex
:7
:*
That was directed at Dano...not dexter. Just a freindly welcome to the Base Board from his home town.:D ... I think.
If you subsequently hit a tree then yes, you're the one I heard about :)
Thanks for the info and for having the courage to talk about it. Whenever possible, I much prefer to learn from the mistakes of others rather than my own!
>If you subsequently hit a tree then yes, you're
>the one I heard about :)
Yeah - that would be me then!! Gotta go back and have words with that tree..:)
>Thanks for the info and for having the courage
>to talk about it. Whenever possible, I much
>prefer to learn from the mistakes of others
>rather than my own!
I wasn't sure if I would get bagged mercilessly for owning up to making such a fundamental error but I guess thats life! No-one is perfect! Luckily I lived and learnt.
Be safe........
Well, one must be carful while packing at lake powell in the sand while it's dark with a GOOD buzzzz on. I was flat packing or "side packing" and didn't notice what I had done.Standing and packing will prevent you from missing the mistake so easily. The thing is I checked them like three times and didn't notice anything. It almost put me into a gnarly cliff side. If you do cross em up, YOUR RIGHT REAR RISER WILL TURN YOU LEFT!!!!!! Let be carefull out there. There are a handful of crossed steering line stories out there, let's learn from others and not make that mistake again! Jeff Gladish
Don't worry "Dumb ass", your not the only one. I had a friend do the same thing two years ago.
-TODD
P.S.- He's a "DUMB ASS" too!!!!!!!!!!!
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