From: John McNamara
johnskydives@hotmail.com
To: ravensave@precision.net
Subject: RAVEN RESERVE RIDE !!
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 22:12:43 PDT

Dear Mr. Galloway,

Hello, my name is John McNamara. I am sixteen and an A-license holder #27112. On the 23rd of March 1997, I had my first reserve ride. I just thought that I would drop a few lines to tell you about it. The day was going well. I was still a student, but I had been cleared for up-jump status. I had already made two jumps that turned out to be good skydives. Before I got my gear on I was talking to a couple of guys telling them how I was planning to land in the pea gravel pit.

On the third jump of the day I approached the UH-60 (Black-Hawk) I was thinking about my dive. I went out solo from 3,500 feet (AGL) and I preformed back loops and front loops with a couple of barrel rolls and I practiced my 360 degree turns. Every thing went as planned. At 4,000 feet (AGL) I practiced my track, then went back to an arch, I did a quick altitude check. At 3,500 feet (AGL) I waved off then did a stable pull. I felt the parachute slow down my fall rate as I looked up expecting to see a perfectly good parachute. At first it seemed to be just a hung slider. I un-stowed my brakes and pulled them down to full brakes. The slider was still hung up. I checked my altimeter and I still had time to try and get my chute to completely inflate. I repeatedly pumped my brakes until I noticed that one of the slider grommets was stuck in the left stabilizer. I checked my altimeter and I was right about at 1,800 feet (AGL). At that time I made the decision to cut it away and pull my reserve.

Alot of things ran through my mind at that time and all the emergency procedures training came back to me. I looked at and grabbed my cutaway pillow then looked at and located my reserve ripcord. I pulled the cutaway pillow and grabbed and pulled my reserve ripcord handle. My heart was pounding at about 30 beats a second. I looked up and immediately there was a bright pink Raven III reserve parachute fully inflated above my head, I still landed in the pea gravel pit. To top it all off, it was my dad that had packed the reserve. I am grateful for the time and dedication that my instructors spent teaching me about these malfunctions and how to deal with them. I am also grateful for the time and dedication that you all spend making such a good reserve.

I now am no longer a student and have my own gear, but I still jump with a Raven III and a CYPRES on my back. Thank-You.

Sincerely, John McNamara, A-27112

Ft. Campbell KY 42223

P.S. Please try to publish this in an issue of Parachutist to inform others of the good reliability and the good reputation of Precision Aerodynamics and the Raven reserve. If you send a T-shirt please send a size large and again, Thank You.