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After chatting with fairly experienced jumpers recently, I found that there are many PCA methods in use today (some good, some bad). There seems to be little talk on this forum about the most acceptable method and I feel this subject has been ignored for quite some time.

I'm not saying my method is the best, but it was taught to me by some of the old schoolers in the early 90's and it has never let me down. All you have to do is S-fold the bridle in your hand so that the bridle goes in, and out, of the bottom of your hand. By squeezing the S-folds as tight as possible and not letting go, the jumper will have peeled his/her velcro and achieved line stretch before the S-folds are pulled out of your hand. The PC is held very softly in your left hand (using two fingers). In some cases, a glove for your right hand (bridle) is advised, but not required.

Many of you probably hold the PC in order to extract the shrivel flap and canopy on a PCA. This is dangerous for the jumper, as it can damage the PC and possibly promote early PC release and subsequent low-altitude freefalls.

I'm interested in what methods other jumpers are using, and if there is a method that should be singled out as the most acceptable.

Pics are attached.

I have PCA'd several people and have used the latter method on each (Hookitt, being the most recent). Each have had very positive remarks on their recall of the jump. I certainly had the same on Hookitt's PCA of myself (I believe he used the same method as I on him).

The feeling of a 9' bridle "freefall" can only be exceeded by a non-PCA. My lowest PCA is now 210'...

I did not know there was any other way to PCA a person than
Bridal in lead hand and Pilot Chute in your other hand held a
little higher, so not to drag off edge or catch anything.
tell me more....

I am no expert on PCA's but I do it like you show on the pictures. I have seen some, at least for me, strange ways to PC assist ...

I rarely do assisted jumps but when I do I make sure to tell the person holding my bridle and PC to do it as you describe.

PerFlare

One of the reasons I posted this is because my experienced jumper friend was holding the PC at the handle while peforming PCA's. I told him his method is, in my opinion, dangerous because the forces are transmitted through the small center cord in the PC. I've also seen several jumpers with torn/missing handles because the person doing the PCA held onto the handle too long and it ripped.

PCA's should only utilize the bridle for extraction, not the pilot chute.

DOes it make any difference if the bridle come in and out on the upper side of the hand, except the bridle might hit you if you hold it to high?!

i have seen PCA's where a thumb / hand could be ripped off from the way the PC is held..........

be careful people.............

The important thing is that the bridle comes in and out of the same end, so it shouldn't make a difference if you tilt your hand slightly and the bridle comes out of the top.

I was taught to lightly hold the s-folds in the left hand and to firmly hold the pc, folded in half, in the right hand. I haven't actually tried it yet but the person in question told me they'd developed/converted to this method after having their forearm broken when it was pulled down on to railing using a different method. I can see the logic in the method you're suggesting though.

Gus

how small PC´s do you use for PCA?
i wont recomend smaller than 45´ just as on SL jumps..Reasson,just in case it might be the diff between broken bones and the loss of a life...in case somthing went wrong(saying this as i never saw a 45-46´whith a handel)

By the way Jason,on the pic theres used 3 fingers

Peter you forgot the pics(im not home so i cant reach you sorry)

Jason,

Can you comment on the technique explained in this thread, and described:


It seems like this experienced instructor is saying exactly the opposite of what you are--that he believes you ought to hold the PC has tightly as possible.

I have just posted some photos of a PC damaged during a PCA style jump. We are guessing that the damage resulted from overtight grip (I was the PC holder). Note, however, that the freefall prior to PC extraction was very long (approximately 100 feet) which would have greatly increased the force on the PC.

Also note, please don't use a PC repaired in this fashion for any jump where heading is important. The top of the PC is obviously assymetric after the repairs.

Photos of the PC can be found here. Unfortunately, TM repaired it before I had a chance to take pictures of the damage. I'll have to try to damage it again so we can get some more photos.

Perhaps I didn't explain my method in enough detail.

I hold the S-folded bridle as tight as possible until the canopy is extracted and line stretch essentially pulls the S-folds out of your hand. The person doing a PCA would not even really have to know when the jumper actually left the object, as all he has to do is hold onto the S-folded bridle as tight as possible until it's yanked from his hand. This method also prevents PCA'ers from accidentally releasing the bridle and/or PC too early and sending the jumper into freefall.

I not sure what Johnny holds onto during a PCA, but if the PC is taking the brunt of the force, then that's dangerous and it can damage your equipment. Why hold onto a bunch of F111, ZP, or mesh when you can hold onto the bridle and let it take the impact force? Do you think the cord running from the apex (top) to bottom of a PC is stronger than a bridle? What if the PC rips or the inner cord breaks prematurely?

You may want to ask Johnny, but I believe his thread is trying to explain how to get an open canopy a little faster by holding onto the PC harder (in my case, holding onto the bridle).

If Johnny holds onto the PC, then as an experienced jumper of 12 years myself, I'd say he's endangering the jumper.

PS. Johnny is one of my best friends, by the way!

Not advocating one system over the other, since I've never PCA'd anyone, but one other thing that riggersam told me was that he held the PC with the arm straight and outstretched. This allowed him to maintain a fairly firm grip on the PC without over-doing it... since you can't hold a tremendous amount of weight with that little leverage.

Hi Jason

Hope all is well. Leg is healing well since Norway but still not jumping yet. Maybe another few weeks.

Interesting thread. Incidentally, when you static line, where do you tie the breakcord to, the bridle attachment loop of the PC or the bridle itself, as the issues you raise regarding loading forces during PCA apply here too.

ian

That's funny as hell quite frankly - I would never let anyone pca me if they were using a methodology where their thumbs or hands could be ripped off. PCAing is nothing to sneeze at.

Another option which my mentors seem to use (if I'm not mistaken -- which I certainly have been before) might be to firmly hold a bight of the end of the bridle right next to the pilot chute, allowing the pilot chute to hang from the bridle attachment below your dominant hand. Then, you can hold several s-folds of the bridle loosely in the other hand (or rubber-band them loosely with an ordinary thin rubber band) so they can play out without entanglement.
This, it would seem to me, could have pros and cons.
The main thing is that, since you're getting full bridle extension, your deployment is a little lower. For really low objects this might be a negative. Barring this consideration, however, getting full bridle extension prior to deployment seems like a good thing on anything not significantly and sharply overhung, since (a) you'll be that much further from the object, (b) your canopy will be that much further from the object, and (c) your lines will be that much closer to vertical on deployment, reducing the amount of possible correction/ocillation that might happen after deployment.
Does this make sense?

here is a post from march of 2003http://dropzone.com/...?post=410723;#410723 I pretty much use the same method as jason. At the end of my discription I mention that I let the pc get jerked out of my hand. Maybe I should have said pulled instead of jerked. I don't hold on to it with near the force as I do with the bridle.

The break cord is tied to the loop of the bridal.

I disagree with holding the cap or apex, lightly or otherwise. The s-folded-under-exiting-bridle is spot on. The reason why is that the assister can have a redundant system if one holds the meshed similar to the first step of a "Mushroom pack" and then folds the mesh over whereby both parts are under exiting the hand.
This is the part that is reinforced to take the load and one can finish opening the sequence in case of unexpected snatch force (which it always is for first time assisters). In the fotos, If one gets the bridle jerked out of the hand before container opening. things are not so recoverable with a flismy 2 finger grip or a good grip on the PC apex.
Think redundantcy.
2 chances for the assister to do the job instead of one.
Take care,
space

im whith Space here. sfold the bridal in one hand,which should be hold untill it gets pulled out,the PC in the other hand,grabbed in the top,in case the bridal goes too soon.,oh and min. a 45´PC

Ian,always breakcord to the bridal,if you do it to the PC you could ruin your PC and Breakcord,which basickly would give you a bad day,the rest of the day

What lovely hands you have Jason.

I've been soaking them in Palmolive. Thanks for noticing

nice ring aswell however it looks like you have shorte legs than i thourght

I don't think my future as a finger model will ever materialize.

I completely agree with Jason and on those rare occasions where it comes to PCA i use the same exact method. It puts all the force on the bridle while controlling the slack and backs it up with PC that remains unloaded in another hand. Can't really get any better

bsbd!

Yuri.

personally I think holding the s/fold is right also,except after lifting the shrivel flap and canopy out of the container, i let the bridle go to full stretch, transfering that hand over to the pc(which is already gripped tight ) I keep a hold on the mushroomed Pc till the weight of the jumpers pulls it from my hand. The Pc is mushroomed in a way to take the stress off the center line and transfered on to the mesh. Basically it just gets sucked away. It keeps anything from entangling me, and or getting burned or cut from the bridle. Just my opinion


Mike

I'm having trouble visualizing that, but...

Wouldn't that give some chance (especially if done poorly) to let slack into the system after extraction?

It reads the same way to me.

 I believe he means the bridle is yanked from his hand at line stretch and doesn't let go of the pilot chute until it too is pulled. Just like most posts here.
If I'm wrong, then in my opinion, he is wrong.
S folded bridal in the left hand-90degree bent arm and pilot chute held snugly on the cap in the right hand. When your strong left arm gets pulled down by force, let the bridal free and let the pilot chute be pulled out of your right hand. Hold the bridal very strongly, it makes for higher openings.

I love reading these posts with a nice buzz. Gets me into it enough to actually post.

It somewhat depends on how high or low you want to stage the opening. If you want a higher opening, then pull everything out while the bridle is s-folded all the way to line stretch. For a longer delay and increased distance from the object, feed out the entire bridle to the PC. Me personally, don't like having a hanging Pc and or bridle folded in my hand when it is snatched. I'll hold the s-fold together, just past the tug of velcro and canopy lift, then let the bridle deploy out and switch the hand over as the last fold is taken. Snatching the canopy out with the left hand first is somewhat of a extra safety.

 Ok then, I don't use your technique or advise anyone holding my bridal to do so. I guess it all depends on how low we are talking here.
Today's 141 footer with 3 second canopy ride just adds to the data base for me.
I do think you know what the fuck you are doing, I'm just doing something different. Skinning cats takes many forms.
Anyone doing low PCA's knows what they want done behind them. If they don't, they should call someone who knows everything, or maybe PM them.
Ha ha ha ha. Skin, where are ya?

I would be more than happy to be a test jumper useing your method, please PM me with details of the object.

blue skies

short delays

jerry

personally, When i'm jumping less then 150ft, it's a d-bag or static line. I don't trust many to hold just my PC

I don't introduce any slack into the system. I S-fold the bridle into my right hand and hold a similar S-folded length of bridle next to the pilot chute in my left hand. I hold the bridle pretty firmly and don't release it until it's pulled from my hand.

This way I have redundancy if the first grip (right hand) slips early, but I will never subject the PC to any force. I hold the left hand less tight than the right one.

One thing I pay attention to is where on my palm I S-fold the bridle. I try to fold it very neatly on my palm away from my fingers and then hold it against my palm with my fingertip pads. I try to keep the bridle away from the joints in my fingers because the bridle moves fast when it gets pulled from your hand. If the bridle cuts your fingers, which it is completely capable of doing, your instincive reaction will be to open your hand and release the bridle. The result could be a dropped PC or worse.

Gee 515, we all have to learn somehow...

so while we're talking... how about mentioning the tendancy to induce off-headings if the PCA-er is vertically misaligned with the PCA-ee? Even a slightly off-center alignment will induce a heading change to the side opposite the misalignment. e.g. if the PCA-er is 6 inches left of the vertical centerline of the jumper, it could induce a right-headed opening and vice versa. just fodder for those who might be reading. bad heading performance can ruin someone's day just as quickly as a dropped PC.

gardner

This is a very interesting post and since I've had some limited experience with this I wanted to offer my 2 cents as well. I've only been on the receiving end of PCAs, but one thing that is possibly worth discussing is what type of piot chute is being used for the different methods described here. (Personally, I think Jason's method makes the most sense and is the only way I've ever seen it done first hand.) The reason I bring this up is that I was using my brand new AV pilot chute from CR when a friend of mine PCAed me off a 163'S. He was using Jason's method, but due to his excitement he had a deathgrip on both the bridle and the vented apex of my pc. When I landed I was so juiced up as well that I didn't notice anything odd until he walked up after the jump and handed me a big (around 8"x5") chunk of my pilot chute! (I'll try to post a picture this weekend.)

The point I'm getting at is that with some pilot chutes, like the vented ones or types with internal handles, there are other factors to consider. This is why I like Jason's method. Less variables. No matter how low or what type of pc you're using, it always works.

DexterBase has a really good point about just using your fingertips and palm to. I've seen a bridle cut right through a thin lether glove since the edge was right against the inside of the holder's fingers.