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Silk, Strings, and Other Things
By Jennifer Beach, RMHGA President
How do you know when to throw your emergency parachute reserve? How do you know it's going to deploy in the correct stages? What do you do if your parachute gets tangled with your paraglider or caught in the wreckage of your hang glider? How do you avoid getting dragged into cactus once you've landed? Do you know how to repack your own parachute? Are you certain your parachute is the right size for you? Are you certain that it is constructed to withstand the forces inflicted upon it when it inflates? When you're coming in under canopy, what is the equivalent height of your platform jump? 4 feet? 6 feet? 12 feet? 22 feet? I kid you not, there are those flying with parachutes right here in our state that will land them with the same impact as if they had jumped from a twenty-foot platform. Ouch.
All of these questions and concerns were addressed at RMHGPA's 28th Annual Parachute Safety Clinic held on April 26th and 27th.
For the past two clinics, we have been flying Betty Pfieffer into town from her home in California. Also known as the Queen of Silk, she has been teaming up with Boulder local Bill Gargano, parachute designer extraordinnaire, for many years doing safety clinics around the country. We are extremely fortunate to have Mark Windsheimer, USHGA's 2002 Instructor of the Year, right in our neighborhood. He has been doing clinics and repacks for the club for far more years than I've been around. The three of these experts come with impressive credentials. Combined they have nearly 100 years of parachute safety experience. Their energy made for a thrilling parachute safety clinic.
This year, the clinic was split into two sessions; Full and Partial.
The Full Clinic was more than a deployment and repack session. 42 pilots from Wyoming, New Mexico, and all over Colorado attended a classroom seminar led by Betty and Bill. The morning was spent hearing about the history of parachutes, emergency systems, watching videos, and seeing what happened to some not-so-lucky parachutes. There was also a "what-if" breakout session where pilots discussed different deployment scenarios specific to their wing and gear.
The pilots then spent the afternoon inspecting their gear, being turbulated through at least 4 deployment scenarios including launching unhooked, or not strapped into the harness, spins, rough and tumble air, and water landings. There was a (Continued on page 6)
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