Regarding the safety aspect of doing a “static-line” type jump from the side of a small helicopter with the D-bag attached to the helicopter – YES, I agree with all above, an outright stupid idea.
Re the paraglider canopy/lineset itself; once clear of the helicopter, that’s not a problem. You are not at terminal speed and the shock force is much less. They use the same type of lines as many high-performance competition canopies (which oddly are used for “hop & pops” and themselves not really meant for terminal openings). Re kicking out of line twists, this is student canopy stuff and once on higher wing-loaded performance canopies you won’t be kicking out of anything – you’re cutting away. You’d be surprised at how fast a performance canopy can “spin-up” and the forces involved.
I’m a helicopter pilot / skydiver / wingsuit flyer and have made many helicopter jumps. However, being a helicopter pilot, I’ve been amazed at some of the dangerous/stupid acts I’ve seen on heli jumps due to skydivers not having any real understanding of helicopters (compounded by the heli pilots themselves not knowing much about skydiving gear).
Coincidentally, I’ve written a safety article for a skydiving magazine which will be published in their September issue. I’ll share it here if possible.
Last edited by RMK; 21st Jul 2012 at 14:22.