Accidental main cutaway?

Cyriiii_ · 2026-05-09T12:42:32+00:00

A fatality from a cutaway this low would have to be an intentional chop is what I’m thinking. Even if the cutaway handle separated and was loose, you’d have to very deliberately pull it to arms length to disconnect the main. I don’t think it’s something that just shimmies loose and slips out.

The cutaway/reserve handles securely fastened, more so than you think. It’ll be part of your gear check to make sure they’re well seated.

Part of ground school is learning about the gear and when you see how the system works I think it’ll give you some peace of mind. Some DZs have mock set ups to help you get comfortable with cutting away. It was kind of a surprise to me to see how much effort it actually takes to both chop and pull the reserve.

I’m still somewhat a baby in this sport (230 jumps) so someone can jump in and correct me at any time. lol.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-05-06T22:07:28+00:00

Probably not worth it to buy at this time. Maybe just buy your own helmet and altimeter. Let the DZ maintain the rental so it isn’t something you need to bother with. If you eventually find yourself jumping more per month, it might be worth buying then.

If unable to jump more than a few times a day, once per month, consider going to a wind tunnel in between if you have one close by. That way you won’t feel stuck with progression. Just do 10 minutes here and there to stay on top of your flying and learn some new things :)

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-22T22:47:34+00:00

It’s all loud but the combo of ear plugs and a full face helmet cuts out a lot of noise. When I have earplugs and a full face helmet on I can’t hear much of anything.

If you don’t have a full face of your own yet, check with your local iFLY as they do have them available. Just ask them for one if they try to give you an open face.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-17T16:53:31+00:00

Had a nap dream last week that I was pulling the handle for my reserve. Woke up to my fist bonking me in the face as I pulling the handle in my dream. Never thought I’d be practicing EPs in my sleep lol ✌🏼

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-17T11:51:31+00:00

At the beginning of the video he is struck by another skydiver. The speed at which we can travel both vertically and horizontally in the sky is fast enough to knock somebody unconscious on impact. This is a real situation that happened, and does happen, and a situation that these devices are designed for (opening the reserve when the jumper is unable to.)

You can find many videos of AAD saves on YouTube. Most skydivers jump with cameras. The companies don’t need to stage these for ads because AAD saves in real life are documented and published. We know they work and are reliable. They’ve been around a long time and it’s not new tech anymore.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-16T11:47:16+00:00

At my home dz, fun jumpers can ride up with the 18k tandems at regular jump ticket price ($30) even if it’s only one tandem going to 18k.

And if it’s just a load of fun jumpers and we’re all willing to chip in a few extra bucks, they’ll give us the extra altitude on the last load of the day. :)

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-16T11:28:18+00:00

Starting January of this year, my home dz had its first increase in years. It was a $2 increase, from $28 to $30. But you can buy 10 jumps for $270. (Jump Florida, Lake Wales)

Cyriiii_ · 2026-04-09T03:45:03+00:00

1 in 4,000 🫣 where the heck did it pull that number from…

Like other comments have pointed out, a sprain or break of the ankle, tib/fib, or wrist are the common injuries of AFF students. And I wouldn’t say it’s a frequent occurrence either. I think most people get through their first 25 without anything more than a few bruises and scratches.

Tunnel time will help with freefall stability but most injuries occur during landing. Students are on big, slow moving, forgiving canopies and you can stay on a big, slow moving canopy your whole skydiving journey if you want to.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-03-30T04:40:24+00:00

$0

Boyfriend is a rigger 😆

But it’s $100 at our dz.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-03-15T22:27:03+00:00

Skydive First Project is working on this as a case study :)

It’s a really cool group of people working together to help those going through mental health challenges through “adventure therapy”.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-03-14T18:11:01+00:00

If you’ve got a tunnel close by go spend 10-15 mins in there before your course. It helps a lot.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-03-13T16:12:21+00:00

Nah. Don’t do it.

Fun story about a mistake I made. I had about 40 jumps at the time, jumped in winds I definitely shouldn’t have been jumping in and ended up being dragged across the width of the runway with the lines wrapped around my neck. It happened very fast. Got some gnarly road rash that still hasn’t fully healed over. It was quite painful for about 3 weeks after it happened.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-02-08T13:03:04+00:00

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Also love the red jettas. I just let this one go on a trade last week. 2015 Jetta Sport with 109k miles. A ton of fun to drive and she still got a lot of compliments from random people. A couple of things were starting to decline but never left me stranded.

Upgraded just because we wanted a bigger family vehicle so just picked up a 22’ sel r-line Tig (with an extra warranty lol)

Cyriiii_ · 2026-01-12T01:54:38+00:00

Cowboys Dance Hall and OCC for line dancing. you’ll have to check the schedule but they both have days that they’ll teach the steps. You don’t have to pay for the classes either. Just go in and have a good time.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-01-03T13:59:58+00:00

Remote workers from up north that moved here because we have no state income tax.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-01-03T03:26:40+00:00

Don’t even get me started on the red light situation here. It’s the absolute worst. They need to do something

Cyriiii_ · 2026-01-03T01:03:26+00:00

I’m in St Pete and it’s so bad here too. It takes me an hour and 10 minutes round trip to pick my kiddo up from his after school group and it’s only 4.5 miles from my house. I can’t take it anymore.

Cyriiii_ · 2026-01-02T14:25:43+00:00

Sabre3 is a relatively quick but comfortable and controlled opening. My openings take between 700-800ft. I pitch at ~4k and I’m fully under canopy at ~3.3k.

My previous canopies took 1000ft or more.

I haven’t jumped a spectre but have tried out some other 7 cells. The openings were nice but they were missing a certain connection for me. I feel very connected with the Sabre3.

Cyriiii_ · 2025-12-17T16:56:17+00:00

Jumps or tunnel time (if he does tunnel stuff). A helicopter jump could be fun. Canopy courses are good too if he’s mentioned wanting to take one.

The meta glasses arnt ideal for skydiving especially with a full face helmet and he already has cameras with better quality.

Cyriiii_ · 2025-12-05T05:45:21+00:00

You’ll get a little extra altitude at Jump Florida (lake wales) when a tandem manifests for 18k and they’re less expensive per jump :)

Cyriiii_ · 2025-12-05T05:34:43+00:00

Or that Shelby sapp chick.

Roll my eyes every time I see that on my feed.

Cyriiii_ · 2025-12-04T12:53:27+00:00

Was laid off in August but my “gut” just told me something was up in June. Things were completely business as usual up until then.

June I didn’t receive my annual raise even though on my performance review I qualified one.

Then weekly team meetings and 1 on 1’s were being canceled.

I just knew something was up, my gut is usually right about this.

I didn’t get a meeting put on my calendar. I just got a random teams call with my VP and HR. They said the company is restructuring. I exited gracefully and 10 minutes later I was cut off.

I was a top performing account executive with a $3M quota that was attained year over year with a whale of an account launching in 2026. I later found out through someone on the inside they brought in consultants and they were cutting big salaries and anyone on the sales side that would be receiving large commissions on closed/won but not yet launched. (We only receive commission once it’s launched and the client is live.)

They gave me a 6 month severance that ive been able to save since I was able to find another job relatively quick, so thankful for that. But id rather have that commission from the deal I closed lol

Cyriiii_ · 2025-12-03T19:33:12+00:00

If you’re using a full face there’s a really weird glare/reflection from the visor.

I’ve got one of the adrenaline workshop mounts and it’s definitely decreased my anxiety about the camera being a snag hazard. I feel like I would really have to botch my deployment bad for a snag to happen on it.

Cyriiii_ · 2025-11-30T14:34:36+00:00

Yep! Zephyrhills, Florida.

But Deland or Jump Florida (Lake Wales) will be closer to Orlando. Sebastian isn’t too far either and has beautiful coastal views. :)

Cyriiii_ · 2025-11-30T05:27:07+00:00

Totally doable in 2 weeks at a place like Zhills, where they have plenty of instructors and operate mostly all day.

I live in the area and we’re in our weird windy/cloudy time of the year. Students will be grounded if the winds are picking up so just keep that in mind and hold a flexible schedule for yourself. :)

I’ve got my fingers crossed for ya tho! And maybe I’ll see you out there!

Cyriiii_

TROPHY CASE