Based on
http://www.dhv.de/typo/fileadmin/user_upload/monatsordner/2004-06/Ausbildung/Bericht_Rettungsschirm.pdf
or also located at
http://www.flyforfun.com/sicherheitsinfos/rettungsschirmwerfen.php
Rough translation ...
Please throw your reserve
2003 stats, out of 17 pilots who got into trouble below 100m, only 2 deployed their reserves
Those who survived, afterwards responded that they did not consider using the reserve.
They report that they experienced everything in slow motion, what is know in psychological terms as acute stress syndrom.
You reckon you got plenty of time, and try out all sorts of stuff.
Another possibility under extreme stress, is that the body goes into automatic mode. And the brain switches off. Instinct kicks in. And if you have not trained the correct default reaction, you mess it up.
Anything taught in theory, will not be applied, since the brain is not in charge. ( Soldiers get drilled over and over again to do the correct actions when under fire = under lots of stress...)
In an assymetric , pilots pump the brakes, instead of focusing of stopping the spin. You watch your wingtip and try to reinflate it, while missing out that you are going into a spiral dive,... and forget completely that there is a reserve handle that you should pull. ( Also because you have never trained to pull your reserve, because that requires the brain to make a decision , and the memory is switched off when you are under stress, and you now have to remember where that handle is and pull it.
And this has not been trained as a drill over and over....)
To recover from a massive assymetric you need at least 50 meters. This is for an experienced pilot, who gets everything right.
Most pilots will not manage to recover a wing that is completely out of control within 5 to 10 seconds. And in 5 -10 seconds one can also have successfully deployed a reserve.
IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN AN UNCONTROLLED EXTREME FLYING SITUATION LOW TO THE GROUND, DEPLOY THE RESERVE IMMEDIATELY
One lucky assymetric low to the ground example
So what is uncontrolled and extreme ???
uncontrolled = wing does his own thing. You are not in charge anymore of direction and speed. Sink rate and speed increases.
Assymetric , over half the wing gone = extreme.
If you do some interaction and the spiral accellerates = you are not in control
If your fix manages to have the canopy fall behind you and stall the wing = you are not in control
.... and if this happens below 100m, get that reserve out now
Example of a pilot who is out of control as wpl
or in mpg or in avi
No matter if you got an assymetric, cravatte, frontal, spin, stall, spiral,... if your FIRST attempts to control that canopy does not work, give up and throw your reserve
Example of a pilot throwing his reserve
" I was too low to throw my reserve" = Wrong response in your accident report.
too low = when you hit the deck
Even 20m can be enough to have a partial deployment with some drag to slow you down.
Make sure you can deploy that reserve fast.
There are tube containers on the market, where you first have to pull the handle, then you still have to pull the reserve out of the tube container,... and then you can finally throw it.... means 5 seconds are gone by the time the reserve is out.
Or you get reserve handles, which you can not pull out. ( Happens everytime on our reserve deployment days, that we get about 1 out of 4 where the pilot struggles to deploy or does not get it out at all )
And some pilots reported that in a spiral they did not have the power to pull out that reserve anymore.
A reserve should be able to be thrown with one single hand movement.
And the best place is a front mounted reserve.
Trust using your reserve ... using a correct sized and mounted reserve you got a 10:1 chance to walk away.
Do a regular anual reserve deployment test. And whenever you change your harness and the position of your reserve , throw it while suspended to check if you can really get it out.
Do some mental dry run training, while airborne, and you got a moment, find that reserve handle, without having to look for it. This simple training will come handy when you are twisted, hanging upside down, and falling out of the sky.
Go for an SIV and throw it.
Become humble,.. nine out of ten pilots overestimated their test pilot skills and wasted too much time trying to recover a wing which was out of control.
Get rid of...
- reserve handles that you can not reach
- reserve handles which you can not pull out
- containers which do not want to open
- nappies which do not want to come out of the container
- too long connections between handle and nappy, which does not allow you to throw the nappy
Important ... if it works for a big guy , does not mean the same will work for a small woman.
Pilot weight should be 25% below the specified max weight for the reserve.
( This is for Europe, here in SA we are higher and got thinner air, the bigger the better )
Repack regular , a fresh repacked reserve is 2-3 faster compared to one which has been packed away for 2 years.
In 2003 2 female pilot could not deploy their reserve because the nappy was not compatible with the reserve container. At every reserve deployment evening we see reserve combinations which will not have worked.
As a pilot check, while suspended in your harness, with the full kit on,helmet, gloves,.. if you can get to that reserve handle and manage to pull it out.
And then check how this reserve lines will support you. You might be coming down head first,... or that bridal is going to cut into some of your body parts...
2003 accident stats
17 accidents with reserve deployments
0 fatalities 0%
2 serious injuries 12%
5 minor injuries 29%
10 walk aways 59%
20 accident without reserve deployments
3 fatalities 15%
12 serious injuries 60%
3 minor injuries 15%
2 walk aways 10%
Have a look at
http://www.dhv.de/typo/fileadmin/user_upload/monatsordner/2004-06/Ausbildung/Bericht_Rettungsschirm.pdf
or
http://www.flyforfun.com/sicherheitsinfos/rettungsschirmwerfen.php
The colorful rows are the ones where the pilot deployed a reserve.
Column Verletzung = injuries sustained , 0 = none ,... 3 = dead
Seitlicher Einklapper = assymetric
The left picture shows a recommended reserve, where the inner container can be thrown immediately.
The right picture shows a not recommended reserve container. There , after opening, one still has to pull out the reserve to get it out.