11/08/2009

Now THAT Was Fun!

A parachute does not always open the way that you plan. Freefall is a dynamic environment, after all. A certain number of nuisance problems are simply going to occur. We're trained to deal with them and they're not a big deal.

Some nuisances are more entertaining than others, though.

Yesterday I had a line twist. The nose cells of my canopy weren't pointing in the same direction my body was when the parachute came out of the bag. As a result the lines twist up in much the same manner as the chains of a swing set when a child spins. Normally this is no big deal. You reach up, tug on the risers and kick your leg in the opposite direction and you spin out of it.

Yesterday, though, I had an asymmetrical line twist. The lines coming off the right risers folded into the lines on the left risers unevenly. This led one side of the canopy to be the tiniest bit warped when it inflated and it made the whole apparatus want to slowly turn and dive with me dangling under it, spun up like a rubber band and unable to steer.

I pulled out of the twist and landed safely directly on target. No biggie. My heart rate didn't even go up.

One of the best things about skydiving is that it really puts life's obstacles into perspective.



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4 comments:

nursemyra said...

you're a braver man than me... oh wait... I'm not even a man...

Tom Harper said...

That's more courage than I've got. I used to ski, but that's my bravery limit.

Good point about skydiving putting life's problems into perspective. I remember reading somebody's first-hand account of being 100 miles offshore in a small boat when a storm rolled in. He was talking about how this separates the real problems from the everyday irritations.

peony said...

STOP!! STOP NOW!!!
Your Mum's heart just can't take three loved ones in peril at the same time.

(PS: Proud you are skilled enough to have gotten out of this safely, still....)

STOP!! STOP NOW!!!

waldo said...

Interesting perspecive...potential paraplegia promotes a sanguine disposition.