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so there is the B that is a little over 190'. i know its on the low end of the spectrum but if it is static lined or hopefully PCA do you think someone could do it? the LZ is a nice sand pit that is nice and open and would just be a straight shot in. what are your thoughts?

Freefall it.

What happens if I get a 90 left/right? A 180? Will there be rotors from nearby B's?

These and a lot of other "What If"s are what you should ask yourself. If you are not able to judge the level of risk involved by yourself or accept it, I'd say "Don't do it"

I have one B jump btw.

nope. the lz is right of the corner of the B, so its pretty much clear of other B's. plus the surrounding B's are all relatively low comparatively. as for a 180, shit happens, but pack it right and i should be good. also i've never seen a 180 with a PCA

That's a very false sense of security.

But hey, it's better than no sense of security at all.


I've seen 180's with PCA's. And with good pack jobs. And with absolutely nothing noticeably wrong--calm winds, good pack job,stable body position, stable PC.

Unfortunately, opening heading is not an event that is ever completely under our control.

How was the person giving the PCA positioned? Directly behind the jumper or more to the side of the jumper?

As a follow-up question, how many 180s (or nearly so) have you seen with SL/PCA under the conditions above? And how many SL/PCA jumps would you estimate you've you seen total? Nothing is certain, but a great many things are nearly certain. I feel like heading on a SL/PCA in good conditions (and, as has already been pointed out, with the jumper in line with the spot the PC is being held) is one of those.

... All of that said, if you leave an object doing SL or PCA and have no plan for a severe off-heading, well, that's just complacent.

Directly behind.

In my opinion, the PC holder (or static line attachment) should always be directly centered between the jumper's shoulders, to load the risers symmetrically, for best opening heading.

Three.



I'm kind of guessing, by multiplying the number of students I've had out by the number of PCA jumps, then adding some for other situations. But I'd guess somewhere around 3500, give or take 500?

Every FJC student does at least two PCA's and one static line and I use a lot of PCA deployments during object avoidance courses (at least 5 per student, but sometimes a lot more) because they give us more altitude to execute drills.



I agree that a good PCA has much more reliable opening heading than any freefall jump.

PC mechanics during extraction play a very large role in off headings, and eliminating them improves our heading percentages quite substantially.

I agree. That´s why I asked. The only real offheading (90 right) that I have seen on PCA´s was caused (or at least highly affected) by the fact that the person giving the PCA was standing 1.5m to the side of the jumper.

I've seen various offheaders on a PCA numerous times, and come to a conclusion that a "hard PCA" technique is the best bet to maintain on heading opening. How it works for me:
1. Use the bridle for the assist, not the PC. Hold it with one hand directly between the shoulders (you can shift it to compensate for sidewind, but if heading performance is critical then there should not be any. Hold the packed PC in your other hand for backup purposes.
2. Let go of the bridle the moment jumper reaches full linestrech, a good checkpoint is when the lines leave the rubber band in your tailpocket.
3. Release the PC a split second later when you fell reasonable tension.

I have seen 1 perfect 180 from a PCA jump
where the holder, the jumper, and the winds were
all absolutely ideal. It was so shocking I thought
the guy had packed it backwards by accident...


As for the OP's B, have you been to the roof yet?
If so tell us about the anchor point you plan to use.
Ideally I would want you to open it/share it with a
more experienced jumper if possible.

You Freefalling it would be dumb, if it was my local
B and access were cake I might do it once or twice
but I personally would not make a habit of it.

If you have to ask your mentor, you are probably not ready for the jump.



If you have to ask on the internet, you are definitely not ready!


Later

Julian

If you pack the PC into your hand, you are increasing it's hesitation rate. You're better off to lightly hold the cap of the PC, letting it hang in an "already inflated" position to minimize the chance of a hesitation, because if you need the PC (i.e. you've dropped the bridle) to act as a backup, you don't want it to hesitate at all.

What jools said sums it up perfect!!!

but jools they wont listen mate

hahaah

i have not been onto the roof yet. still working out the logistics to that. i know who has a key and i'm trying to find out how much beer it will take. as of now i've just looked out the top window to see how it looks. also i have no intention of free falling it. maybe after a PCA and a good landing ill consider it for another night.

Not that kind of backup
What I meant was to keep a packed "second grip" with your other arm, so you can continue to safely assist if you let go of the bridle for whatever reason(see attached) And even if that fails then the PC itself still has a good chance to work. But to be honest, if your friend drops both the bridle and PC, you're better off static lining
Besides, If you
then you have some of your bridle without any tension, which IMHO can potentially lead to bridle chocking the PC, since you are likely do drop the PC as soon as you lose the bridle.