[Loud Mime]

I’m a former Instructor, Jumpmaster and Safety Officer for the United States Parachute Assn. I would be classified as “Expert” if I had one water jump.

Parachuting now is very safe if you stick to the safety procedures. If you have a malfunctioning main, the release system and reserve deployment is now quite fast, especially when compared to the old system that the round chutes used.

The danger is when one problem is followed by another. If you initiate opening lower than usual, then something else goes wrong, you have little time to correct the problems. If you don’t have enough time you eat high speed dirt.

The “squares” are VERY reliable if packed properly. I have only known one jumper who didn’t take his pack job seriously. The reserve chutes must be packed by a licensed rigger.

I’ll look for more information, but this was just to answer your question.

[doorgunner69]

Good stuff, but my 71 yr old bones are not into jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. The landing and my back are of concern or I might try it.

Wife will not let me even try a modern sportbike, though I used to road race the darn things decades ago. Something about slower bone healing, she says.

[The Westerner]

Thank you for an informative post.

[ThunderSleeps]

Thanks for the info. Didn’t realize reserves had to be packed by a pro, but it makes sense.