Swing-n-fling

What is “Swing and Fling” ?

In a nutshell, Swing and Fling provides you with the opportunity to practice throwing your reserve parachute under a mildly stressful (but controlled) situation and then getting it repacked by commercial reserve parachute repackers.

Each Swing and Fling session starts at 08:00 AM sharp with a safety briefing and educational discussion.

Then we take it turns to “Swing and Fling”, which at a high level, consists of the following:

• Please refer to the waiver form. The “Swing and Fling” component carries risk with it and is an optional extra to just getting your reserve re-packed. You must sign the waiver form in order to be able to swing and fling.

• You strap into your harness (minus the wing) and helmet. NOTE: Helmets MUST be worn for safety and wearing of gloves is encouraged for realism. The gloves make it a bit more challenging to locate your reserve handle 😉

• You connect your harness carabiners onto a bridle that is secured to the end of a long Tarzan rope.

• You are pulled towards a high corner of the gymnasium hall.

• You are suddenly released from that position; you feel the acceleration (and possibly a bit of adrenaline) as you start swinging towards the other end like a human pendulum.

• You’re possibly feeling a little disoriented, you reach for your reserve and throw it at the apex of your swing out.

• If you nail the timing of the throw, then you should see your reserve satisfyingly inflate as you swing back towards where you were released from. If you could not get to your reserve in time, then you can still grab it and throw it on the apex of the next swing away from the corner.

• The pendulum effect starts to slow down and helpers on the gym floor will bring you to a stop to enable you to unclip from the bridle and step back down to the gym floor.

You will then take your harness and your deployed reserve to a commercial packer and assist them with repacking it. The Skyhigh PG Club Committee has created a checklist for you to use as you work with a packer to re-pack your reserve parachute (refer to the checklist). You need to read your reserve parachute manual and harness manual before the event and bring them with you on the day to ensure that the reserve has been repacked to your satisfaction (and in accordance with reserve and harness instructions).

When done, help yourself to a bit of BBQ and a chat with your PG mates.

Where, When and How do I book/pay for Swing and Fling?

Venue : Auburn high school (Burgess St, East Hawthorn VIC 3123)

Session 1: Sunday 18th September 2022. Starts 08:00 AM sharp and completed by 3:30 pm.

Session 2: Sunday 25th September 2022. Starts 08:00 AM sharp and completed by 3:30 pm.

Session 3: Sunday 2nd October 2022. Starts 08:00 AM sharp and completed by 3:30 pm.

Session 4: No 4th session in 2022.

Max capacity per session: 32 pilots per session (assistance provided by 4 commercial repackers)

Cost: $55 AUD per standard non-steerable round or square reserve.
You must be current financial member of Skyhigh to book.
You must book and pay for this service via the payment form: here

What about Beamer 2 / Rogallo and other steerable reserves?

You will generally NOT have the opportunity to swing, fling and repack this style of reserve parachute because the repack is more complex and time consuming. At least one of the packers (Darren Morgan) can perform a repack of Beamer 2 / Rogallo reserves off-site for a fee paid directly with him. This means that you will leave the harness / reserve with the packer and directly negotiate with them where and when you can pick it up. It is recommended to organise this in sessions 1, or 2 so that you can pick it up a week later from the school hall. Avoid bringing a Beamer 2 / Rogallo style reserve to session 3.

What if I have more than 1 harness and therefore more than one reserve parachute?

You will need to make a separate booking for each additional reserve that you intend to swing, fling and repack via the payment form above.

Check out Johann's excellent video below, and Anna's video of the dangers of Swing-n-Fling