Originally Posted by
exrivofrigido
Anyway, about paratroopers and ramps...
Hi,
There are guys with a lot more knowledge than myself here, but I'll start with this.
The goal of static line mass jumps is to put a lot of paratroopers into the boundaries of the DZ. A lot of paratroopers are getting out as fast as possible. That means there is a risk of collisions and being a bit too close the others. If another guy with a deployed 'chute slips below you, you need to walk off his chute ASAP, because his parachute will take all the air and yours will collapse.
It's not uncommon for the guy on top to walk off, drop quite a bit while his 'chute fills wih air again and ends up exactly below the other guy who then loses the air. You really want to end that type of cascade before you get close to the ground.
So, the bit of extra separation from getting out the side doors is welcome.
A friend of mine did a static line jump from the ramp. He said that they provided him with a special extended static line. He was the only one to jump off the ramp on that occasion.
I've seen footage of Special Forces doing static line jumps off the ramp, but these were smaller numbers of jumpers on a single row.
Best regards, T.