A normal RSL does one thing. It automatically pulls the reserve ripcord
pin following a breakaway. The new Relative Workshop Skyhook RSL goes two
steps further.
1. It
automatically releases the non-RSL riser in case the RSL riser was
released by itself, prematurely. (You wouldn’t want your reserve
deploying with half your main still attached, would you?)
2. It
then uses your departing malfunctioned main canopy as a super pilot
chute to deploy your reserve canopy faster than was ever before
possible.
How
fast?
How about ½ second from breakaway to line stretch (reserve canopy out of
the bag). This is 3 to 4 times faster than a pilot chute can do it alone.
This means that the average sport reserve will be open in 75 to 80 feet
after breakaway. The Skyhook puts the argument about which rig has the
fastest reserve deployments to bed forever.
But if
the skyhook gets my reserve to line stretch so quickly, won’t my reserve
open harder?
Not at all. All the Skyhook does is get your reserve canopy out of the bag
faster after a breakaway. Once the canopy is out of the bag, it will open
normally.
But
what if I have a spinning malfunction? Isn’t there some danger that I will
go unstable during reserve deployment and entangle with my reserve?
If you were using a standard RSL this might be true, but the Skyhook does
its job so quickly, that you never have a chance to get unstable after
breaking away. So if your plan is to “get stable” again before pulling
your reserve after breaking away from a spinner, the Skyhook system will
actually get you under your reserve in 6 or 7 times less distance, because
of the 400 to 500 feet you are going to fall getting stable before you
even pull your reserve ripcord. A picture of a breakaway from a spinning
malfunction is available
below.
But
what about a main total malfunction?
If your main is still in its container when you pull your reserve ripcord
(or the Cypres fires), the Skyhook automatically releases, allowing your
reserve pilot chute to deploy your reserve canopy normally.
But
what about when I cut away from a main horse shoe malfunction?
The broken away main risers would start to deploy my reserve, but couldn’t
finish the job because the main pilot chute is wrapped around my foot.
This is a bad situation, but the Skyhook does not make it worse. It’s
basically a race between your reserve pilot chute and your broken away
malfunction. Whichever is pulling harder wins the race. When your main
risers stop pulling, the reserve pilot chute wins the race and deploys
your reserve. The Skyhook may even help you in this situation, by
assisting the reserve pilot chute out of the burble before it lets it go.
What
does the Skyhook look like?
It has just two parts.
1. A
six-inch lanyard with a loop at one end, branching off the RSL lanyard.
2. A
specially designed metal “cam” to receive the loop, attached to your
reserve freebag bridle, about 5 feet below the pilot chute. It’s very
simple and “rigger friendly”.
Pictures
are available at the
end of this article.
So who
needs it?
You do! In the last 10 years, 24 jumpers have died in the US alone, after
breaking away and not pulling their reserves. Another 4 died after
entangling with their deploying reserve. The Skyhook gets rid of all those
arguments for not using an RSL, and actually gives you some very good
reasons to use one. And remember, because the Skyhook is a part of your
RSL system, it can be released at any time, before or during the jump, by
simply pulling the little yellow tab.
Is the
Skyhook like the device used on the Sorcerer BASE rig?
Yes and no. The Sorcerer system is designed for an externally mounted
RESERVE hand deployed system, and lacks the automatic release features of
the Skyhook. It is therefore is not suitable for use with internal spring
loaded pilot chute rigs.
The
Skyhook system will be available on all Vectors, Microns, and Sigma Tandem
systems in about a month.
