What happens if you're knocked unconscious?
- Thread starter Jessi
- Start date
teamrose
New Member
This AAD equipment is awesome. Makes everything so ultra safe.
Automatic activation devices (AAD) have for many years been part of sport parachuting. Almost exclusively however, they have been seen as a student requirement, and have been shunned by the experienced skydiver. The reasons for this are many and varied but predominately stem from the fear that they are not totally reliable and might fire inadvertently in free fall. The dangers of premature canopy deployment during Relative Work are obvious to all and indeed, many skydivers will not participate in RW with someone wearing a conventional mechanical AAD.
The fact remains however, that far too many skydivers die each year when they shouldn't. Free fall collisions, faulty or unfamiliar equipment, disorientation, improper or incomplete emergency drills - the reasons are many. The cause of death is always the same, ground impact! And in the vast majority of cases the skydiver impacts with an unopened reserve or one that has been activated far too late.
The concept of Cypres, which is the acronym of "Cybernetic Parachute Release System," started in 1986. The design philosophy was to produce an AAD which was totally reliable, would not and could not fire until the pre-programmed parameters were met, and could therefore be used in all the advanced skydiving disciplines with total confidence. The only possible way to achieve this was to make use of advanced electronics, which is what Cypres does. Four years of development, a large investment sum and the granting of worldwide patents made the realization of Cypres possible.
The Cypres processing unit, or brain, has the calculating power of a personal computer and is programmed to take account of all eventualities. It can tell if you are falling in a stable position, if you are upside down, or even if you are doing a backloop - and it constantly makes adjustments to correct for the consequent pressure changes around the body.
If you pass 750ft above ground level at a speed of 78 mph (115ft per second) or more, Cypres recognizes the fact and an electronic impulse activates the release unit. This cuts the reserve closing loop cleanly to allow for instant reserve deployment, irrespective of ripcord pins, handles or cutaway systems. And let's face it, if you are still in free fall at 750ft, conscious or unconscious, you need a reserve.
Automatic activation devices (AAD) have for many years been part of sport parachuting. Almost exclusively however, they have been seen as a student requirement, and have been shunned by the experienced skydiver. The reasons for this are many and varied but predominately stem from the fear that they are not totally reliable and might fire inadvertently in free fall. The dangers of premature canopy deployment during Relative Work are obvious to all and indeed, many skydivers will not participate in RW with someone wearing a conventional mechanical AAD.
The fact remains however, that far too many skydivers die each year when they shouldn't. Free fall collisions, faulty or unfamiliar equipment, disorientation, improper or incomplete emergency drills - the reasons are many. The cause of death is always the same, ground impact! And in the vast majority of cases the skydiver impacts with an unopened reserve or one that has been activated far too late.
The concept of Cypres, which is the acronym of "Cybernetic Parachute Release System," started in 1986. The design philosophy was to produce an AAD which was totally reliable, would not and could not fire until the pre-programmed parameters were met, and could therefore be used in all the advanced skydiving disciplines with total confidence. The only possible way to achieve this was to make use of advanced electronics, which is what Cypres does. Four years of development, a large investment sum and the granting of worldwide patents made the realization of Cypres possible.
The Cypres processing unit, or brain, has the calculating power of a personal computer and is programmed to take account of all eventualities. It can tell if you are falling in a stable position, if you are upside down, or even if you are doing a backloop - and it constantly makes adjustments to correct for the consequent pressure changes around the body.
If you pass 750ft above ground level at a speed of 78 mph (115ft per second) or more, Cypres recognizes the fact and an electronic impulse activates the release unit. This cuts the reserve closing loop cleanly to allow for instant reserve deployment, irrespective of ripcord pins, handles or cutaway systems. And let's face it, if you are still in free fall at 750ft, conscious or unconscious, you need a reserve.
wander_n_wonder
New Member
Accidents can definitely happen anytime and these are some of the things that you would need to anticipate. Of course, making sure you are in the right condition before a jump would help to prevent accidents like these.