Posted on May 29, 2017
During a jump, have you ever had to deploy your reserve parachute?
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I'm a 5 jump chump and all my jumps went fine, thankfully. I was wondering who here on RP ever had to pull their reserve chute during a jump, and what that experience was like. Or, if you saw this happen to a friend, etc. Would enjoy some stories.
Airborne School
Parachute Rigger
Jumpmaster School
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 33
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I didn't have time. I reached up to pull my slip for landing...wound up holding my canopy silk. Bad juju, but a few seconds later I was on the ground, confused about why I couldn't stand up.
Lol, medic told me to stop moving, called a MEDEVAC, the chaplain came over and started praying. It turned out to be a great story, and after reconstructive surgery, I've still had several deployments and still run more than 90 points on my 2 mile run.
I did have a friend in Italy who had a Total Malfunction. Pulled his reserve, landed just fine with no injuries.
Lol, medic told me to stop moving, called a MEDEVAC, the chaplain came over and started praying. It turned out to be a great story, and after reconstructive surgery, I've still had several deployments and still run more than 90 points on my 2 mile run.
I did have a friend in Italy who had a Total Malfunction. Pulled his reserve, landed just fine with no injuries.
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2LT (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) - It's the PERFECT subject. Look at all the solid meat-eaters below that never used them! And me, sure, I had a bad jump, but I remembered my training, and drove on when I was able. FEET AND KNEES TOGETHER AIRBORNE!
Good luck SPC, keep at it.
Good luck SPC, keep at it.
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LTC Jeff Shearer
SPC (Join to see) - Dylan, I jumped for 20+ years, I was so scared the first couple of years they just kind of happened, the next bunch of years I did not like it all but did it so I could do the other stuff. Dylan I recommend as soon as you get a chance go to Jumpmaster course. You will learn so much
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Nope, never had to deploy my reserve, in a lot of jumps up to and then well past JM school and earning my senior wings, had only two jumps where I had interactions with other jumpers and never with the aircraft.
Now landings, ya, had a bunch of bad landings.
Now landings, ya, had a bunch of bad landings.
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SGM Erik Marquez
Sir that's absolutely what you say the next day with a beer in your hand at the barbecue but it certainly isn't the thought process as you're laying on the ground taking accountability of what may or may not be broken
In priority what hurts less
In priority what hurts less
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MAJ Tex Hall
SGM Erik Marquez - Valid point. But I rodeo'd a LOT as well. Didn't take time to assess what was broken when a bull was coming at me after those kinds of landings, just got up and moved out smartly! The newby I sponsored in Vicenza had a PERFECT day for his cherry jump - nice and warm, no wind, lots of uplifts. But he had a feet-ass-head landing and we confirmed the concussion at the hospital. So I bet George would accept your sage advice. :)
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CPT Aaron Kletzing, I NEVER had to dump my reserve, EVER, on a military jump. However, as a civilian skydiver, I did have a malfunction that required a breakaway from my main, return to free fall, and then I pulled my chest reserve. Unlike Army practice which is to retain the main canopy and deploy the reserve (at least when I jumped), generally civilian skydiving practice is to breakaway (cutaway) from the main, return to free fall and pull the reserve.
I had performed a routine 30 second delay from 7500', separated from the other jumpers, and then pulled. I checked my canopy and had a Mae West (see photo). They can be dangerous, because with a descending round canopy, much of the area designed to catch air is gone. Your rate of descent increases dramatically. It was totally my fault, as civilian jumpers pack their own main parachutes.
I cutaway from the main and went back into free fall. Since the canopy releases are on your front shoulders, you begin to fall backwards (inverted) and the reserve was on my chest. I pulled, and the pilot chute just lay there, as the spring was old (and not springy)! I screamed SXXT, pushed the pilot chute off my stomach and it caught air and the reserve deployed. I had an uneventful ride down, and landed on the DZ.
We retrieved the main canopy and it was not significantly damaged.
By then, I was already a USPA licensed advanced parachutist and a rated jump master and instructor, so I immediately chuted up again, took up three students, put them out and jumped again!
Was I scared? Yep. But the training takes over and you take care of business. I was also lucky, because some have not been so fortunate (thinking of the Navy SEAL this past weekend).
I was also licensed by the FAA to pack reserves and saw a jumper ride down a reserve I packed. That was immediately scary but ultimately most gratifying as the jumper enjoyed a nice ride down on the reserve that I packed! LTC Stephen F. 1SG(P) (Join to see) SSG Chris Erickson ENS (Join to see) CPT (Join to see) MAJ Javier Rivera
I had performed a routine 30 second delay from 7500', separated from the other jumpers, and then pulled. I checked my canopy and had a Mae West (see photo). They can be dangerous, because with a descending round canopy, much of the area designed to catch air is gone. Your rate of descent increases dramatically. It was totally my fault, as civilian jumpers pack their own main parachutes.
I cutaway from the main and went back into free fall. Since the canopy releases are on your front shoulders, you begin to fall backwards (inverted) and the reserve was on my chest. I pulled, and the pilot chute just lay there, as the spring was old (and not springy)! I screamed SXXT, pushed the pilot chute off my stomach and it caught air and the reserve deployed. I had an uneventful ride down, and landed on the DZ.
We retrieved the main canopy and it was not significantly damaged.
By then, I was already a USPA licensed advanced parachutist and a rated jump master and instructor, so I immediately chuted up again, took up three students, put them out and jumped again!
Was I scared? Yep. But the training takes over and you take care of business. I was also lucky, because some have not been so fortunate (thinking of the Navy SEAL this past weekend).
I was also licensed by the FAA to pack reserves and saw a jumper ride down a reserve I packed. That was immediately scary but ultimately most gratifying as the jumper enjoyed a nice ride down on the reserve that I packed! LTC Stephen F. 1SG(P) (Join to see) SSG Chris Erickson ENS (Join to see) CPT (Join to see) MAJ Javier Rivera
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LTC Stephen C.
Never seen anything like it in the military, MAJ (Join to see). Had I been that major's CO, we most certainly would have been discussing his thought process, and I'd really be wondering about what other irrational decisions I might expect from him in the future. He may have "brass ones" but I personally think it was a stupid thing to do. CPT (Join to see)
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SSG Donald O'Shei
Sounds like a "story". Its hard to imagine that the Jump School cadre wouldn't put a boot up that guys backside and send him down the road.
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