Originally posted by SD67
think of how it's going to affect Joe Citizen, flying on the edge of inclement weather simply because he feels safe in the knowledge that his BRS will save him "if" something goes wrong.
Device dependency. This is a very hot topic in the skydiving community with good cases on both sides.
We have an Automatic Activation Device. If your vertical speed is higher than 78mph at an altitude of 750, it'll a small pyrotechnic charge that pushes a razor forward, which cuts off the loop holding your reserve in. It essentially gives you a last chance of extending your life beyond the next three seconds.
The same arguments are being made:many new jumpers who didn't jump in the pre-AAD time have developed Device Dependency. The loose definition of this concept is: if you are not willing to do something without the device that you are willing to do with it, you are device dependent.
In flying device dependency could be going up in unfavourable weather or doing advanced maneuvers. The concept is the same.
These devices will save lives. They will also cause deaths. Either by functioning according to their specifications (we lost a very well known skydiver after he made a series of diving spirals under canopy to build speed and unknowingly exceeded 78mph vertical, had his AAD fire, then a two-out in a downplane configuration) or because the users increase the risks due to having them.
The principle behind this is known in psychology and well described by Brian Germain in his book "
The Canopy And Its Pilot". I can highly recommend it to pilots as well, as there are many similarities between canopy flight and powered flight.
Risk homeostatis in essence; you balance the
perceived risk against your
perceived skills. Add more stuff that you think are working in your favour and your perceived "skills" go up, and you're thus willing to take more risk. In essence, ya get used to a certain level of danger and to get the same arousal ya used to, you increase the perceived risks.
Key here being perceived risk vs actual risk, and perceived skills vs actual skills. A mismatch in the wrong direction is very dangerous indeed. Device dependency has a tendency to increase perceived skill and decrease perceived risk.
A simple equation such as if(saved > killed) then GOOD doesn't model the myriad of variables out there. But it's a start.
I turn on my AAD and forget about it. Sometimes, I forget to turn it on. I'll jump knowing it's turned off. There are, after all, two fundamental rules.
1) Don't f*ck up.
2) Don't f*cking die.
Devices may save you if you mess up. Best not to try it, though.
