Survival skills to keep you skydiving safely till you’re old…
I probably count as ‘old’ after 35 years in the sport, and I’ve learned not to be too bold. I broke my ankle within months of starting, through an incident caused by ignorance about my gear and reluctance to admit I didn’t know something in case I looked stupid.
I looked pretty stupid when I broke my ankle! 😉
So, a big learning experience… I became a lot wiser and haven’t injured myself since. But, I’ve seen a lot of shit happen. Learning from the experiences of others can be less painful than going through the lessons yourself. I’ve summarized the most important survival skills I’ve learned, for the newer, bolder jumper to help you skydive safely while you’re getting older…
Ten Survival Tips
- Know your gear
- Check and maintain your gear
- Jump an AAD and a MARD
- Get to know each load
- Take your canopy progression slowly
- Invest in canopy skills
- Don’t fuck around with a malfunction
- Be vigilant under canopy
- Make smart decisions
- Educate yourself
1. Know your gear
Understanding your gear and how it works is crucial. The more you learn, the more confidence you will have, and you will make better decisions under pressure. Do you know, for example, how your MARD/RSL works and how it should be hooked up, the color of your reserve canopy and reserve pilot chute or how to change your main canopy?
2. Check and maintain your gear
Scrutinize your rig regularly and attend to issues before they become nightmares. Worn Velcro, loose BOCs, ineffective pilot chute, lines that need replacing – all small things that can lead to big problems. Breaking one small link in a chain can avert a fatality, and it could be as simple as a worn closing loop.
Do a gear check every jump.
3. Jump an AAD and a MARD
For the regular sport skydiver, there seems to be no viable argument for not wearing a MARD [MARD = Main Assisted Reserve Deployment – Skyhook, the Trap, the Mojo and similar]. The same is true of AADs. The only argument that is made against AADs and/or RSLs is, ‘don’t rely on a device to save your life’. Absolutely! But there is a big difference between relying on something or equipping yourself with the best back-up devices. There are a lot of dead skydivers who would probably still be here if they had used an AAD or RSL/MARD.
4. Get to know each load
Check out the others on your load so you can count the canopies and understand where everyone is in the pattern. Be aware of exit separation, and the groups either side of you. Look out the door before you go.
5. Take your canopy progression slowly
In this world we are constantly fed the idea of desiring the latest, coolest, highest performing version of whatever we are interested in. In skydiving that’s not always such a great idea. Buy a canopy that is right for your experience and skills right now. Get familiar with the full range of your canopy, and acquire excellent piloting skills before considering a change.
6. Invest in canopy skills
Invest in canopy skills by going on a series of courses. People pay huge amounts of money for tunnel and freefall coaching but many do not invest in canopy skills. Canopy school Flight-1 has set the worldwide standard and curricula for learning canopy skills in a structured progression.
- Fact – you are more likely to die under canopy than in freefall.
- Fact – being a better pilot can help prevent that.
7. Don’t f*ck around with a malfunction
Decide on your personal decision height and hard deck altitudes and be ready to honor them when the time comes. Practice your emergency procedures so they are second nature. The biggest single cause of US fatalities in 2017 was poor EPs (source, USPA fatality summary). Sometimes check your handles under canopy – they will be in a different place compared to freefall.
Don’t hesitate to use your reserve if you have a malfunction. If you have to think about whether your canopy’s good, it’s clearly NOT GOOD! There is no benefit to gain, and a lot to lose, by messing around trying to ‘fix’ the malfunction. For what? Get onto a good reserve canopy nice and high so you can figure out your landing options.
8. Be vigilant under canopy
Find the other canopies on the load immediately when open and enter the pattern. Don’t turn without looking around, spiral, or mess around taking off your booties (buy some shoe goo instead). Stay aware of the other canopies. Imagine it’s the Dodgems at the fair and everyone is out to get you – it’s your job to avoid trouble way before it happens. Fly a predictable pattern with three clear legs. Choose the landing area with the least traffic. Time your flight in the pattern so you land alone. Canopy collisions in the landing area are the one of the most frequent causes of death, and they can be avoided if you land alone.
9. Make smart decisions
Be a grown-up skydiver who thinks for yourself. Avoid the complacency trap. Understand, choose and manage the risks you take. Make your own decisions whether to jump, based on the conditions, the type of jump, and how you feel. Dog tired after a red-eye? Maybe save it for another day. Blocked sinuses? Don’t bother. New DZ with tricky landing area? Try a hop’n’pop.
Be alert. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. If you see someone flying unpredictably, for example, give them a wide berth. If a visiting jumper looks puzzled at the emplaning point, ask if you can help. If people land in opposite directions on the landing area, choose to land somewhere else.
10. Educate yourself
There is a wealth of information available on all aspects of the sport. Search out the information you need and desire. Read incident reports and imagine how you would/could have responded, so you are more prepared if something happens to you. Take responsibility for your own learning. Book canopy courses, progression weeks, good coaching. When you jump out of an aircraft, you are entirely responsible for saving your own life, so it makes sense to be best prepared.
- Protected: Onewing - 14th March 2024
- Wind Games 2024 - 1st March 2024
- Wind Games 2024 News - 30th January 2024
- European Skydiving Symposium News - 26th January 2024
- Catching up with… Ryo Shimizuguchi - 6th December 2023
- Catching up with… Olivier Longchamp - 31st October 2023
- Tobu or not Tobu - 11th September 2023
- Outrageous stunts: The Pentagram - 24th August 2023
- Protected: Onewing - 14th March 2024
- Wind Games 2024 - 1st March 2024
- Wind Games 2024 News - 30th January 2024
- European Skydiving Symposium News - 26th January 2024
- Catching up with… Ryo Shimizuguchi - 6th December 2023
- Catching up with… Olivier Longchamp - 31st October 2023
- Tobu or not Tobu - 11th September 2023
- Outrageous stunts: The Pentagram - 24th August 2023