Parachute Pracrice

[Bill Greenwood]

Most of us are not going to do an actual parachute jump just for fun or practice. There are busy jump operations at Longmont and Boulder where I often fly and most of those folks look like they are a different breed than most pilots.
Those sport jump operations use different chutes, the rectangular type that can do more, but take more input than our round emergency ones.

So how can you prepare as a pilot?
Expert chute packer and longtime sport jumper Alan Silver gives seminars at many EAA and warbird events and I'd make a point to see it. He does not say you have to be experienced to save your life with a chute in an emergency, just get yourself out however it takes and pull the ripcord.
He does emphasize mental practice and even real rehersal before flying. I know I have put a mattress pad on the ground and set in the cockpit and practiced all the way to jumping onto the pad.
Silver says time may be short if you have to get out at low altitude and practice can cut your exit time in half.
Alan mostly says, Canopy (open or off) Belts (off) Butt (out the door) and Pull ( the ripcord). At this point if the canopy opens as it almost always will you have saved your life, and should buy your chute packer a bottle of champagne and none of that screw top cheap stuff. Try to land into the wind with your feet together and knees slightly bent.

[rwanttaja]

During WWII, the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) used to include several training jumps when teaching agents who would parachute into enemy territory. They found it just increased the potential for injury, so they changed the training so that the agent's first actual jump was covertly into enemy-held territory!

However, they DID continue extensive ground training...which is exactly what Bill is talking about. Practice getting out of the airplane; the 'chute landing is going to be more survivable than riding it it.

Years ago, I told my wife I'd like to wear a 'chute in my Fly Baby, but there just wasn't enough room. "If anything happens," I said, "I'll just have to kiss my rear goodbye."

"If you've got enough room for that," she said, "You've got room for a parachute...."

Ron Wanttaja

[WLIU]

Alan's hair is greyer than mine but after 1680 intentional jumps and a few flying hours perhaps I can offer some advice.

First, under pressure we can not count on rising to the occaision, but rather falling to our level of training. So how to work with this.

I suggest to my pilot peers that if they wear a parachute, they adopt some habits.

1. Always put the parachute on before getting into the airplane. And most importantly, always take the parachute off after climbing out and standing on the ramp. We have lost at least one pilot who pulled the ripcord after leaving their airplane and fell away from an open parachute because their harness was not snapped together.

2. On some regular interval, sit in your airplane and close your eyes, then touch each control or handle that must be operated in order to leave the airplane in flight. First any comm cord that must be released. Second the canopy release, Third, grab something solid that you can use to pull yourself out of the airplane, the canopy rail or edge of the windscreen is good. This grip will anchor you if the airplane is tumbling. Last, look at your seatbelt latches/buckles and with your free hand undo them. You release the belts last so that you are not bouncing around inside the cockpit trying to find the canopy release. Having done the above, you are ready to leave the airplane.

3. When you climb out of your airplane after a flight, before you take it off, look at the ripcord. Put your left hand on it with your thumb through it. This is what you will do after you leave a broken airplane. In free fall, flight suits and the harness move around. I will always remember the parachute malfunction where I released the bad canopy, looked down at my reserve ripcord, and my jumpsuit had flopped over it, mostly hiding it. I remember thinking that Murphy was trying to kill me. If this happens, you look at where the ripcord should be and dig your thumbs in and get the ripcord.

I will also suggest that you should not wear your parachute harness loose. A friend was run down while doing aerobatics in waivered airspace. When he opened his parachute, the chest strap contacted and broke his throat. Spend a month in the hospital and required multiple surgeries in order to be able to speak again.

Beyond the above, you need to mentally decide, before flying, under what circumstances you will give the airplane to the insurance company and leave it. I would like to say that fire in flight is an obvious situation, but we have had a few pilots think that from pattern altitude they could land before the fire got them. Nope. They wound up crispy critters. So unless you have internalized the belief that skydiving is less scary than burning to death, your parachute is just an expensive seat cushion. I find it surprising how many pilots have not figured that out.

So like many activities, bailing out is more about the software than the hardware. Build up muscle memory through repetition. A tandem jump is fun, and it will help take away the fear of the unknown that makes many folks fear falling through the sky. Not too expensive, and on a warm summer day, very refreshing.

All of that said, it is actually very unlikely that you ever get into a jam where you have to use your parachute. But then, I have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen.....

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Floatsflyer]

Beyond the above, you need to mentally decide, before flying, under what circumstances you will give the airplane to the insurance company and leave it. I would like to say that fire in flight is an obvious situation, but we have had a few pilots think that from pattern altitude they could land before the fire got them. Nope. They wound up crispy critters. So unless you have internalized the belief that skydiving is less scary than burning to death, your parachute is just an expensive seat cushion. I find it surprising how many pilots have not figured that out.


Hmmmmm....nice image.

Before I read this thread, I have to honestly say that I have never ever thought about putting on a chute before flying and I've been flying for 39 years. The mere idea of it has never entered my mindset. I'm reminded of the scene between Redford and Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch and Sundance are running from the law and they find themselves peering over a cliff with a 300 foot drop into water. They can't go back, their only way out is to jump. Redford says he can't do it and refuses to jump. Newman says, we gotta jump, it's our only way out, why can't ya jump? Meekly, Redford responds, cause I can't swim. Newman breaks out into uncontrollable laughter and then says, ya can't swim, who gives a sh*t, the fall will probably kill ya!!

[WLIU]

Well, the truth is that a fraction of the pilot population needs to wear a parachute, acro pilots, some warbird pilots, skydiver drivers, flight test staff, etc. And only a small fraction of that population will ever need to use their parachute. And we hope that the folks who do wear parachutes when they fly actually put some thought into their expensive seat cushion. That said, as noted elsewhere, parachutes have been refined into pretty simple to operate equipment that does not require much thought or training to successfully get them to do the most important part of their function - open.

Best of luck,

Wes

[Bob Dingley]

[QUOTE=WLIU;39411]

2. On some regular interval, sit in your airplane and close your eyes, then touch each control or handle that must be operated in order to leave the airplane in flight. First any comm cord that must be released. Second the canopy release, Third, grab something solid that you can use to pull yourself out of the airplane, the canopy rail or edge of the windscreen is good. This grip will anchor you if the airplane is tumbling. Last, look at your seatbelt latches/buckles and with your free hand undo them. You release the belts last so that you are not bouncing around inside the cockpit trying to find the canopy release. Having done the above, you are ready to leave the airplane.

Right on Wes. BTW, also word for word from ditching/dunker training.

[Bill Greenwood]

From an article in March 2006 issue of the IAC mag SPORT AEROBATICS: a lady acro pilot is asked to take kids for a flight, inlcuding some acro. So how young is old enough for this to be safe? obviously you are going to try to fly extra safe, good weather. plenty of altitude extra and gentle manuevers, but still this is an acro ride,and although rare could have an emergency calling for a bailout.
I don't want to get into a heated debate about this, but really pass on these details.
Diana Richard has 2 10 year old niece and nephew who are avid about flying and see her fly often, the little girl even wrote a poem about it.
So they did emergency exit practice with the kids, and guess what the kids eventually could get belt off, out of the backseat and out the door and pull the ripcord , (ALL SIMULATE) faster than the adults. Big folks took longer to get out, the Dad was 14sec longest and 8 sec after practice, the Mom's best was 6 sec. The kids longest was 10 sec and they got it down to 4sec. which was a sec faster than the lady acro pilot.
This was SIMULATED, with the pilot pulling the pins and jettisoning the Decathlon door and then telling the kids to jump from the back seat.
These were very bright and focused 10 year olds, but it looks like around 12 is a good basic age to have some confidence that the kid can do it if necessary in a real situation. The kids were even handicapped by having adult sized chute which you would not use in a real flight, and still they were quick to move. Make us feel old.

[WLIU]

I love taking kids up. That said, a typical 10 year old will have real trouble getting a parachute harness to fit right. I am very cautious about that as I would hate to have to explain how a young person got out of the aircraft, pulled their ripcord, and then fell out of the harness.

In addition, I have personal experience with parachutes that do not have enough weight under them. A 90lb kid under a 26' parachute will have a different ride than a 180lb adult. Parachutes are designed for a range of load weights and too low a load is problematical.

Be cautious.

Wes
N78PS
40 years of wearing and using parachutes.....

[Saville]

When I was a kid I knew I'd be flying and I also knew I'd be flying acro. So like lot of us I'd read aviation magazines and I began to notice that a lot of pilots who wrote articles about mishaps they had, and who had to leave the airplane *all* said that they hesitated before jumping because it was a scary proposition. When I was in college, I had the opportunity to do a little skydiving at a local skydiving school. I decided I would do enough jumping such that there would be no hesitation due to this being my first jump, if I had to leave the plane. So my skydiving logbook has 29 jumps. Enough to get me into 15 second free falls, My first jump...I was petrified until it was my turn to jump and then I was too busy following the commands to be afraid. By my 8th or 9th jump I was able to sit in the open door with my feet dangling out in the airstream, in total comfort. After all - if we hit a rough patch and I was thrown out of the airplane...I'd just hit a hard arch and pull the ripcord. So nowadays I am perfectly comfortable and psychologically ready to leave the plane if that's the move to make. I recommend a few jumps to anyone who want's to be just that much more prepared.

[Diana]

From an article in March 2006 issue of the IAC mag SPORT AEROBATICS: a lady acro pilot is asked to take kids for a flight, inlcuding some acro. So how young is old enough for this to be safe? obviously you are going to try to fly extra safe, good weather. plenty of altitude extra and gentle manuevers, but still this is an acro ride,and although rare could have an emergency calling for a bailout.
I don't want to get into a heated debate about this, but really pass on these details.
Diana Richard has 2 10 year old niece and nephew who are avid about flying and see her fly often, the little girl even wrote a poem about it.
So they did emergency exit practice with the kids, and guess what the kids eventually could get belt off, out of the backseat and out the door and pull the ripcord , (ALL SIMULATE) faster than the adults. Big folks took longer to get out, the Dad was 14sec longest and 8 sec after practice, the Mom's best was 6 sec. The kids longest was 10 sec and they got it down to 4sec. which was a sec faster than the lady acro pilot.
This was SIMULATED, with the pilot pulling the pins and jettisoning the Decathlon door and then telling the kids to jump from the back seat.
These were very bright and focused 10 year olds, but it looks like around 12 is a good basic age to have some confidence that the kid can do it if necessary in a real situation. The kids were even handicapped by having adult sized chute which you would not use in a real flight, and still they were quick to move. Make us feel old.

Bill, I'm glad to hear that you found the article interesting. :)

When the kids were almost 14, I took them for their first aerobatic ride and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Logan actually filmed it and made a special video for a school (of 800 kids) competition and won first prize in the film/video production category with his video.

Here is the video he made:

https://vimeo.com/9303790

They will both be graduating from high school next month. That makes me feel old, as well. :)

[ssmdive]

I am a skydiving instructor (Static Line, Accelerated Freefall, and Tandem).

I'll tell you that while mental games and walk thorough exercises will help dramatically, even skydiving students that have jumped before get 'door fear'. This can cause them to hesitate instead of jumping.

Short story: So I am in a Porter climbing at about 5,000 feet and the pilot turns to us and says, "Get out! I have an emergency!!" (If I recall correctly, there was a problem with the trim on the elevator or rudder and it was running wild). Anyway this was a top notch pilot and since I had a rig on... If the pilot says get out, I go. So I open the door and there is a jumper with 70ish jumps is in front of me and just FREEZES in the door. Will not go, will not clear the door - Just sits there. I try my sweet voice, I try my firm voice, I try my drill instructor voice... Nada. The pilot turns to me and says, "Get the hell out of my plane!" So I tackle the jumper and push them out. Once out I help flip them over and make sure they deploy.

So here is a situation with a jumper that just freaked out when it got real. Added to the fear was a low exit (no, 5K is not low), but the jumper had learned AFF which is full freefalls from at least 9,500.

There is very little real work practice you can do to prepare you for the situation. The BEST course of action is to have a plan of when the insurance company owns the plane (for me things like fire and I just lost a wing). Then 'dry run' the exit as many times as you feel comfortable and then do it that many times again. Before EVERY flight recap both your bail out situations AND process. If you are the adventurous type, go make a tandem jump. Making a jump will give you massive confidence in the equipment.

[WLIU]

The interview with Allen Silver here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCWAUZ-oQtE

is very good.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Bill Greenwood]

Diana, I am glad the kids got to do their flights. Maybe they would be good candidates for the 2 week kids summer camp at Oshkosh.

And by the way there are some chutes that would fit a small teenager. Softie for one, makes a mini, 20 in long, 15 in wide, and 2 inch thick and a micro which is 20 long by 13 wide and 2 thick. They were about $1100 some years back, and Alan Silver is or was a dealer.
There at least 4 or 5 manufacturers of quality chutes, the point is to get a good one, have it packed by a reliable person, and wear it when doing acro or similar exposure.

[pittsdriver3]

Great thread. I used to fly the jump plane here every once in awhile but never had the desire to jump. And you give the rigger a bottle of GOOD scotch if the chute saves your butt. Don

[WLIU]

One of my neighbors used his parachute today. They do work.

http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/plane-crash-closes-large-portion-of-interstate/25551208

Fly safe,

Wes
N78PS

[Greg Wilson]

The post describing an emergency with the aircraft carrying skydivers reminded me of one an uncle of mine told. He was 82nd Airborne WW2 and this happened state side on a training flight. They were I think in Alabama, it was a night flight and shortly after take-off the C-47 lost an engine. My Uncle George said that the jump master hit the lights and they stood-up, hooked-up and out the door. They had combat loads and he said you could feel the plane lurch as each trooper went out. They were over a river and I remember he told me that he looked up to check rigging and then his feet hit the water!, they had gone out the door at around 600 ft. Another uncle was with the 17th and like many combat vets said very little about the war. He was however very proud of "jumping the Rhine" in operation varsity.