Originally Posted by
roscoe1
if you are ripcord deploying your parachute with a spring loaded pilot chute .
I’ve been skydiving for 20 years and have only ever seen “ripcords” or spring-loaded main pilot chutes in old photographs – this doesn’t exist in civilian jumping.
I don’t know about the military; I assume they can do as they please. But for civilian jumping, most countries have a minimum legal opening height of 2500 AGL for C or D licence holders (1500ft for display jumps with authorisation of BPA/USPA). Round parachutes have been illegal to jump for decades.
The main safety item for helicopter pilots taking jumpers is to stress the importance of the jumpers doing their pre-jump checks – reserve pins & handles and pilot chute handles. Pilot chute handles (leather hackeys or formed soft handles) are on the bottom left side of rigs, so could get caught/pulled for jumpers existing on left side of helicopter causing pre-mature openings and/or entanglement with helicopter.