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Fly with a reserve!!!! Yes or no


touch107fm

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I have a friend who has just completed his training...

When I did my training everyone had reserves..

He said that during his training he saw lots of pilots not flying with a reserve.. making him think its the norm.

Out of interest (honest answer needed)

How many of you fly with or without a reserve.

If you answer is a no... Why!!!

Thanks

D

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Yes it is your last option if any thing did go wrong.

you pay for insurance of different sorts just in case so do the same now, just think of it as insurance.

hopefully you will never need it but if you do you will be Sooooooo glad you got it.

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No, never have.

I only fly in benign conditions and don't do radical manoeuvers.

Cheers,

Alan

So do I Alan, still think you need your head sorted for not carrying one, I fell out of the sky in 2mph conditions a couple of weeks ago, sure a reserve wouldn't have made a jot of difference at that height but who knows what can go wrong.

What about if someone like me was falling to earth and my prop did some origami practice on your wing on the way down?

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I didn't fly with a reserve for the first few flights, but now always do.

The mental workload is so high for the first few flights. There is so much to think about just getting off the ground and landing safely that the additional complexity, weight and bulk of a reserve and the chance of it deploying in error makes the risk of carrying it more than the risk of not.

During the last of the flights without a reserve I had a horrible gnawing feeling, knowing that should I need the reserve that it was safely tucked away in the understairs cupboard was not pleasant!

It would make me nervous to fly without a reserve, and nerves themselves can cause errors and accidents. In any case I have promised my nearest and dearest that I will now never fly without a reserve. I feel that it is the last roll of the dice if the worst were to happen.

Different strokes for different folks though. Without regulation or local flying orders to the contrary, everyone is entitled to act on their own opinion..... and long may this last!!!

Ian.

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Yes, there's still the chance of midair collision or equipment failure irrespective of conditions.

People who have been killed through deploying a reserve 0

People who could have been saved had they had a reserve 1

Fly safe

Cheers

Steve

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I fell out of the sky in 2mph conditions a couple of weeks ago, sure a reserve wouldn't have made a jot of difference at that height but who knows what can go wrong.

Do you know why :?:

Please elaborate :) I have never felt any anxiety when flying with my wing.

Cheers,

Alan

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I fell out of the sky in 2mph conditions a couple of weeks ago, sure a reserve wouldn't have made a jot of difference at that height but who knows what can go wrong.

Do you know why :?:

Please elaborate :) I have never felt any anxiety when flying with my wing.

Cheers,

Alan

spending too much time on the telly :lol:

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My opinion is......

Better to have a well packed, safely attached reserve (check the handle and pins are attached correctly before each flight) and not use it, than not have one.

Who knows what can happen up there, not clipped into carabineer correctly, carabineer snaps (not going to happen but you might have damaged it on the ground). Helicopter flys too close, collision, swing arm failure. Stuck in a spiral. Prop spins off and rips wing or lines. Brake handle wraps into prop.

Does'nt matter how nice the conditions are!

Yes many of the above are very unlikely but still possible.

Who knows when you might need a reserve?

Mike

:lol:

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I'm sure that between all of us who read this, a few hundred or even thousand hours PPG flying have been clocked up over the past couple of years.

Just out of interest, does anyone know of any reserve deployments in this time? If so, how many?

The reason I ask is that, in conversation with a world famous paramotor manufacturer the last month I asked his advice about purchasing a reserve along with my my motor and wing. He told me don't bother. In all the years that he has been involved with the sport ie right from the start in the 80's, he has never needed a reserve and he has never seen one deployed.

I try not to buy into the 'what happens if' hysteria. If I did, I would end up freaking out about everything I do that has an element of danger. Instead I would limit myself to walking to the local newsagent to buy a lottery ticket (which I have never done in my life, for the same reason)

Que sera sera :wink:

Dan

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this is one of those questions that will only be answered by yourself, do YOU think you need a reserve?

yes there are plenty of pilots who fly all year round and only out of them maybe one or two will ever get into a situation that requires a reserve, but if you are one of the unlucky ones, satistics mean nothing.

its all down to personal choice, I do have a reserve and am going to start flying with it fitted once it has been inspected and repacked.

Dave

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Personally I don't fly with one yet.... And I say yet, as I felt it was just too much to deal with as a newbie, extra weight, reduced mobility on the ground etc..if it was under seat or above head mounted then I prob would have... But I fly Parajet and I believe lap is the only option...

That said....I do have one...and once I send it off for repack and inspection il be taking it along..

However....i was once told that below 1500 ft it would be useless anyway from a deployment time point of view..

Does anyone have thoughts on this?.??....as most of my flying to date has been at 1500 ft i wonder if it's worth it.....although a slim chance is better than no chance I suppose!!!!

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There are some reports of a reserve helping at 100ft.

Even if it slows you down 5 mph thats better than no slow down.

Who said 1500ft? That seems very high. Maybe a parachute, which is a slow open. But a reserve is a fast open.

I was told ideally 500 feet but they can help much lower than that.

Could the experts out there expand on this?

Cheers

Mike

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When my reserve was due to be repacked i deployed it in a field with winds around 10mph and it opened in about five seconds,

If you needed to throw it in a situation im sure the wind speed would be greater than that reducing the inflation time.

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I always fly with one. For the same reasons as everyone else and some more I cant think of. Why wouldn't you want to give yourself another safety option? Hopefully its the biggest waste of money ever, as I never want to be in a situation where i need it, but if I am...

I have seen quite a few deployed in anger in the alps when free-flying and they definitely save lives.

I just think its nice to know I have another option to come down a bit slower if it does somehow go wrong up there.

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