Re: [inzite] Handheld jumps video please?
If you look at the direction of pitch, you are essentially pitching the PC skirt first. This means that when the PC hits the airstream it is upside down.
Also, if you throw hard enough, you ought, theoretically, to be able to create a full inversion (i.e. total malfunction) of the PC, although I have never seen this in practice.
Regardless, this method has, in my experience watching several hundred hand held deployments, a noticeably higher hesitation rate. I theorize that this is because of the extra time taken for the PC to "right" itself prior to inflation, and in some cases for the PC to "untangle" itself from some kind of inversion.
In my opinion, this is bad practice.
Also in my opinion, PC's ought to be thrown out in as close an approximation to their inflation position as possible. Throwing them with the apex in the lead is obviously superior, from this standpoint, to throwing them with the skirt in the lead.
Your mileage may vary, and opinions of many experienced jumpers are certain to be different.
Note that the PC held in this orientation can be used (and has been used by very experienced jumpers successfully on ultra low freefalls) in conjunction with an underhanded PC toss (opposite of the direction of the toss in Katzurki's video) to achieve very good results in reaching bridle extension and early PC inflation.
For more general comments, see the following threads:
Throwing Up PC Low Freefall PC Throwing Throwing Up! Especially read the comments by Roland "Slim" Simpson, Dwain Weston, and Spencer Bisley, as they are, or were, in my opinion, among the world's top experts in low freefall deployments.
I've reproduced some relevant portions below, but I strongly recommend reading the entire threads to get the real flow of the conversation.
Slim:
In reply to:
The idea is to project the PC directly up and above your head. Similar to how you might throw a tennis ball if you were trying to throw it as high in the air as possible. This works well with a more head high body angle of course.
The idea is to get bridle stretch as quickly as possible and to minimise the amount of oscillation and movement of the PC before extraction.
Pretty simple idea really but with a primed velcro rig and this technique I have free fallen 159ft over solid ground with a Mojo 280 in a Vision. I would not recommend this but it is possible. A Vtec'd smaller canopy would be far more appropriate.
...
I vividly remember when Dwain started to do low FF's well before many others. He would trot up to the exit and as he jumped up and forward he threw the pilot chute high and above his head with a very head high body attitude.
The pilot chute not only inflated above his head but also above the exit point before he fell downward.
Spence:
In reply to:
I had the same issues myself. For low FF's I would try to throw the pilot chute up much like you say and it would often distort my launch.
You won't believe how easy the solution is.
BACKHAND PC toss!
There is nothing you have to do different with regards to s-folding the PC or managing the bridle.
The toss follows the natural arc of your arms with the launch. You can actually improve the quality of your launch because you are using the inertia of your arms in the upswing. Also your arms remain completely symmetrical with each other so no inadvertent twisting after you pitch.
Steve Scott from BC, Canada used this technique back in 1991 for a go n'throw from a cliff.
It allowed me to drop my freefalls from 210' into the sub-180 ft range (vtec) comfortably. (4-5 sec canopy flights).
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