The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing
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0:03 - 0:06Hey, I'm Brian Germain, and I wanted to share with everybody
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0:06 - 0:10a pilot-chute packing method that might actually
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0:10 - 0:13change the way you think about packing your pilot chute.
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0:13 - 0:15I know what you're thinking. What's the difference, right?
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0:15 - 0:19I wad it up. As long as it fits in there, and it extracts nicely enough
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0:19 - 0:22that I don't hurt my shoulder when I clear the pilot chute,
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0:22 - 0:25you know or get a hard pull. What's the difference?
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0:25 - 0:27Well, here's the difference.
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0:27 - 0:30We can on occasion, get an out-of-sequence deployment,
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0:30 - 0:33in which the deployment pin gets extracted
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0:33 - 0:35or the closing loop breaks during a freefall,
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0:35 - 0:38or maybe as we're climbing out of the airplane
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0:38 - 0:42and now we've got ourselves what's called a "horseshoe malfunction." Right?
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0:42 - 0:47The idea is that the parachute goes, but
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0:47 - 0:51we did not put the pilot chute out there, and so therefore
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0:51 - 0:53it may get stuck in the pouch,
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0:53 - 0:56in which case I would now cut away, dump my reserve,
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0:56 - 0:59and my stuff would still be attached to it
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0:59 - 1:03my main would still be attached to me and my pouch.
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1:03 - 1:06So there's a pretty good chance of actually having an entanglement,
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1:06 - 1:07a main-and-reserve entanglement.
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1:07 - 1:10So to help prevent that, we need to pack the pilot chute
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1:10 - 1:13in a manner that allows us to extract it by the handle,
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1:13 - 1:16and by the bridle itself,
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1:16 - 1:20in the event that things leave in an order that we didn't originally plan on.
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1:20 - 1:25So this particular method allows the bridle to extract very nicely
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1:25 - 1:29and then the bridle can pull the pilot chute out
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1:29 - 1:33So now I don't actually have to reach back and throw the pilot chute in those cases.
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1:33 - 1:36And if I do, it's still going to be extractable.
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1:36 - 1:41But there are many methods that actually prevent this from happening.
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1:41 - 1:49One method involves -- and I'm going to do kind of a very quick and rough job here to get the idea across--
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1:49 - 1:55The bridle exiting the bottom of the pilot chute.
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1:55 - 2:00If I put the bridle in this way, what happens then is
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2:00 - 2:05this will turn sideways in the event that the bridle tries to extract the pilot chute.
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2:05 - 2:07And it may jam up in there.
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2:07 - 2:11And especially if I've got a very strong spandex pouch,
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2:11 - 2:15or a Cordora pouch as some of the manufacturers use,
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2:15 - 2:17there's a pretty good chance of a lock in there indefinitely.
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2:17 - 2:21And by indefinitely I mean the rest of the way. All right?
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2:21 - 2:24So we have to make sure that first of all
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2:24 - 2:29this bridle extracts in a manner that allows it to all
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2:29 - 2:32leave without turning things sideways.
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2:32 - 2:36But we also have to make sure that the bridle reaches the end here
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2:36 - 2:40and does not bunch the pilot chute up.
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2:40 - 2:45So this particular method--and it's not the only method that accomplishes this goal--
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2:45 - 2:48it's the one I use because I know it works.
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2:48 - 2:50And I've been using it for over 20 years
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2:50 - 2:52and I've had numerous people come to me and say
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2:52 - 2:55"Brian, thank you. That's totally saved my life."
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2:55 - 2:58I love that feeling.
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2:58 - 3:00So here's the drill.
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3:00 - 3:03A little bit of space.
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3:03 - 3:06If I lay the pilot chute on its back
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3:06 - 3:11If I lift from the bridle attachment, and
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3:11 - 3:15then I bring the edge of the pilot chute down
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3:15 - 3:17to where the skirt meets the mesh
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3:17 - 3:20and then I cut it in half, so I've created a half-moon shape.
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3:20 - 3:24So let's do that one more time.
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3:24 - 3:27I going to lift the bridle, and I'm going to
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3:27 - 3:31close it up, and everything else can be pretty standard.
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3:31 - 3:36This is a very common method, to cut it in thirds first
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3:36 - 3:39and then bring the bottom up.
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3:39 - 3:43So from here, if I was to just roll this thing up,
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3:43 - 3:51just from here, what happens then is that this extracts
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3:51 - 3:54Freaky (?)
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3:54 - 3:58So let's do it again.
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3:58 - 4:01I'm going to lay it on its back.
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4:01 - 4:09And now I'm going to lift, close, cut it in thirds,
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4:09 - 4:13cut it in half by lifting the bottom up.
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4:13 - 4:16And you'll see why I bring the bottom up and not the top down.
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4:16 - 4:19Here's another wonderful trick.
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4:19 - 4:23If you place the pilot chute itself on the rig,
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4:23 - 4:25right where it's going to be ultimately,
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4:25 - 4:28that way when you pull the bridle,
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4:28 - 4:30and I like to do it inside
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4:30 - 4:31you can do this inside or outside.
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4:31 - 4:35Back and forth inside here.
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4:35 - 4:38And then I'll roll it up,
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4:38 - 4:43very neatly.
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4:43 - 4:49And then place this whole thing into here.
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4:49 - 4:52In the event that I've got an out-of-sequence deployment,
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4:52 - 4:58I remove that away
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4:58 - 5:07Very little effort. Give it a try, it's not that hard.
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5:07 - 5:09Here's the alternative.
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5:09 - 5:12If I was to have the bridle exiting the bottom of the pilot chute,
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5:12 - 5:22and then tuck it in, there's a high probability that there will not be --oh, look at that--
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5:22 - 5:24wadded up inside there.
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5:24 - 5:31You may not extract in the event of a horseshoe
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5:31 - 5:35And then I've got my main trailing behind me from here
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5:35 - 5:38even though I've cut away. I can grab this handle.
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5:38 - 5:40and maybe extract it.
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5:40 - 5:44It may be very difficult to get it out of there. Hopefully I will.
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5:44 - 5:49But if I use this pilot-chute packing method, I don't have to worry about that.
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5:50 - 5:57So I can if I choose to, put the bridle on the outside
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5:57 - 6:03of the pilot chute, roll it on up that way
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6:03 - 6:04instead of putting it inside the mesh.
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6:04 - 6:07Some people worry about the mesh wearing out or something.
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6:07 - 6:09I've been doing it that way for a long time.
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6:09 - 6:12Haven't had a problem, but it's up to you
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6:12 - 6:17And you tuck it in. And the beauty of packing the pilot chute the last phase of it
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6:17 - 6:20right here when you do the bridle on the rig
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6:20 - 6:23is that I don't have to deal with stuffing any
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6:23 - 6:26extra bridle inside after the pilot chute's in the pouch.
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6:26 - 6:29How cool is that?
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6:29 - 6:32So you don't necessarily have to change everything about the way you do it,
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6:32 - 6:36but if you switch to this method, there's a chance that
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6:36 - 6:39you will survive a horseshoe, and I'm in favor of that.
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6:39 - 6:44Well, I'm Brian Germain, and happy jumping! Thanks for joining us.
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6:44 - 6:48[Music playing]
- Title:
- The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing
- Description:
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Brian Germain shares a better way to pack your parachute's pilot chute.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Captions Requested
- Duration:
- 10:11
Alisa Velasco edited English subtitles for The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing | ||
Alisa Velasco edited English subtitles for The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for The Secret to Pilot Chute Packing |