I'm unhappy about the Skyhook ad in the October Parachutist

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Bill Booth DOES jump a Skyhook. I also use a hand deploy pilot chute, a 3-ring release, and a Vigil AAD. I need all the help I can get!

I guess I might have misinterpreted this then:

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I, (CAUTION: This is my personal opinion, and should not be taken as instruction by anyone) would never (depending on altitude) have my hand on a reserve ripcord handle, or even be looking at it, when I cutaway. Two reasons: 1. I want to be sure that both risers leave before I pull the reserve ripcord. 2. I want to be "stable" enough (especially if I was just spinning on my back) to safely deploy my last canopy...and to get stable as quickly as possible I will need my eyes on the horizon to determine "which way is up", and I will need both arms outstreched to position my body.

-Bill Booth

...Particularily part 2... with the skyhook the reserve is coming as soon as the main risers leave. That is -as per the advertisement- immediately after the cutaway is pulled.

You seem to have clearly indicated that between cutaway and reserve deployment, you have time to get stable. You do not wish to be holding or even looking at the reserve handle as you want to make sure you are stable enough to deploy you reserve. The quote reads, at least to me, as though you have the time to determine "which way is up" between cutaway and reserve deployment whereas the advert for the skyhook would indicate otherwise.

My Bad

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2)Devices like the skyhook allow retarded people to "excel"survive in a sport which just isn't for them.

Fixed it for you bro.

Well here's the thing okay... "survive" is a good word, however, you don't have to die to quit skydiving. Some leave when they realise it's just not for them.

I am willing to bet the chances are much slimmer today that someone make that mature decision, then before AAD, RSLs, videos where people cutaway at 100ft and make it or ads which tell you you need only pull one handle in an emergency situation.

More people decide to take the course over simply a tandem ride because they see the sport as "Safe". They then finish the course because hey, falling is easy... You'll note I used quotation marks each time I used the word "excel".

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Those devices DO have a genuinely positive influence on the sport as a whole, but idirectly have had what I consider to be a negative effect occasionaly.

Agreed, but not as indirectly as you think. People chose to continue skydiving today who would never even consider it if such devices were not available. That's a direct contribution to the sport, of jumpers who are very much dependant on these devices.

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Bill Booth DOES jump a Skyhook. I also use a hand deploy pilot chute, a 3-ring release, and a Vigil AAD. I need all the help I can get!

I guess I might have misinterpreted this then:

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I, (CAUTION: This is my personal opinion, and should not be taken as instruction by anyone) would never (depending on altitude) have my hand on a reserve ripcord handle, or even be looking at it, when I cutaway. Two reasons: 1. I want to be sure that both risers leave before I pull the reserve ripcord. 2. I want to be "stable" enough (especially if I was just spinning on my back) to safely deploy my last canopy...and to get stable as quickly as possible I will need my eyes on the horizon to determine "which way is up", and I will need both arms outstreched to position my body.

-Bill Booth

...Particularily part 2... with the skyhook the reserve is coming as soon as the main risers leave. That is -as per the advertisement- immediately after the cutaway is pulled.

You seem to have clearly indicated that between cutaway and reserve deployment, you have time to get stable. You do not wish to be holding or even looking at the reserve handle as you want to make sure you are stable enough to deploy you reserve. The quote reads, at least to me, as though you have the time to determine "which way is up" between cutaway and reserve deployment whereas the advert for the skyhook would indicate otherwise.

My Bad

I understand your confusion. I was speaking about what my emergency procedures would be, IF I did not have a Skyhook. Sorry my post was not more clear.

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I am willing to bet the chances are much slimmer today that someone make that mature decision, then before AAD, RSLs, videos where people cutaway at 100ft and make it or ads which tell you you need only pull one handle in an emergency situation.

More people decide to take the course over simply a tandem ride because they see the sport as "Safe". They then finish the course because hey, falling is easy... You'll note I used quotation marks each time I used the word "excel".

Honestly, do you think more people enter the sport because they think it's safer if they only have to pull one handle in an emergency situation? I don't. A newcomer wouldn't even understand the difference. You have 2 hands, you might as well grab 2 things, it's the same thing. I'm saying this as far as a newcomer is concerned as they wouldn't understand the intricacies of handling mals. By the time they entered training, they would learn and understand the EP's, or at least they should. If at this point, they decide to follow something they've seen in an advertisement over the EP's they were just taught. Well, then they are "retarded".

Interesting thread to read to say the least...for a number of reasons. But, this is what I will take away from here:

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...From what I hear, the ad I approved, which was full of text, was cut way down by my marketing people. ...

You've really just have to love Marketing.

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I understand your confusion. I was speaking about what my emergency procedures would be, IF I did not have a Skyhook. Sorry my post was not more clear.

No worries! Trust me I'm not hard to confuse.

And just for the record, though my posts may come off as such to some, I am not against these advents in safety gear. I just wish they could come along at no cost. I truly believe that todays jumper, just off student status, feels less responsibility for him/herself then ever before.

I am the first person to roll his eyes at fine print disclaimers which are there solely to protect the manufacturer from either cunning attacks, or just plain stupidity and misunderstanding.

I just wish there was a way for us to have these safety devices, without increasing the complacency of newer jumpers. Just off student status is a strange place to be these days. So much to consider, so many innovations every day... and the same level of autonomy.

Some post that an add should not take precedence over the manual a student has read but do not pause to consider that the ad is obviously for gear which was created AFTER the manual. Is it impossible to think that this Brand New Gadget does indeed change the way we skydive?

Agreed the 100ft cutaway was done with BASE gear but do all jumpers just off student status know the difference? Do they know what questions to ask? Or do they just see the video displaying the use of a new piece of skydiving equipment and think they can chop at 100ft now? Are they retarded or just naiive? Does it matter?

It's a bit of a catch 22 I suppose. Saving lives, at the cost of having others rely on you to do the same.

Nick

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Honestly, do you think more people enter the sport because they think it's safer if they only have to pull one handle in an emergency situation?

No, that is not at all what I am saying.

See my most recent post to BillBooth. Gear IS safer these days. With all the progress made in each discipline, skydiving itself IS safer these days. I do belive more people are skydiving then ever before because of it.

But I think a jumper just off student status is a lot more likely to misunderstand things today as they are just as responsible for themselves as ever before, but have so much more to consider. I think of when I bought my gear. I didn't know a whole lot. I did my homework and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I do not doubt, for a second however, that it is easy for some to become confused about why they should consider products such as AADs and RSL's.

I do not doubt for a second that there are a good number of jumpers out there who read the add and believed that they would no longer need to pull for themselves. Just as I know for fact that there are jumpers who have cutaway and waited for their RSLs to do the trick or their AADs to fire.

The original poster was concerned about the ad why? Is it because he himself became confused and thought the EPs are to be modified? I don't think so. He is concerned as he knows there are some out there who would take it to mean just that.

This isn't really directly related to my original post but I wanted to share this experience for what it's worth.

I did a hop-n-pop tonight with a friend. We exited at about 5000 feet. I only took about a 5 second delay because I wanted to have some fun with my canopy. I opened with 4-5 line twists and wondered right away what had caused them because I was on line of flight and dead stable when I opened.

Just as I reached up to my risers to start the process of kicking them out, my canopy disappeared behind me and I started spinning on my back. I was still holding my risers when I realized there was no way I was going to kick out of those twists. It happened very quickly and caught me very much by surprise.

I decided I had to cutaway and looked at my cutaway handle, grabbed it, pulled...and nothing. Couldn't get it out of the pocket. I realized right away that I needed to peel it off first and started twisting it out of the pocket and lost my grip on it. At that point I was still looking at my reserve handle. Oddly enough at that instant I also tried to remember if I had fed my dog supper before I went to the dz...

Then I decided that my priority had to be cutting away the main. My feet were starting to tingle and throb from the blood rushing into them and I was afraid. I looked back at my cutaway handle, grabbed it, twisted it, and pulled. Away went the main...

I looked back for the reserve handle and couldn't find it. I dropped my left hand as far as I could on my MLW and traced up to the handle and just as I found it about half way between my shoulder and my chin I saw my reserve already deploying.

I grabbed the handle anyway and pulled it as hard and fast as I could.

I'm happy to be living. Thanks, Wink :-)

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I decided I had to cutaway and looked at my cutaway handle, grabbed it, pulled...and nothing. Couldn't get it out of the pocket. I realized right away that I needed to peel it off first and started twisting it out of the pocket and lost my grip on it.

LOOK, LOCATE, PEEL, PUNCH... PULL.

Glad you're alive, but no matter what, follow your emergency drills with no deviation.

Liz

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Glad you're alive, but no matter what, follow your emergency drills with no deviation

Hope you're prepared to deal with your emergency drills not going exactly as you've planned.