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It seems there is some type of campaign by experienced jumpers to rid the skydiving world of the “evil” reserve static line, commonly known as the RSL. The RSL is a lanyard that attaches between your reserve ripcord cable and a main riser. It is designed to pull the reserve pin immediately after a deployed main is cut away. Just recently I have noticed an increase in jumpers purchasing their first container sans RSL. There has also been an increase in low-time jumpers asking to have their RSL removed. When questioning the jumper, they have no reason for wanting it removed other than “another jumper said I didn’t need it.” But every year, the USPA fatality report proves that several jumpers did need it, and that doesn’t include the countless jumpers who had an RSL-deployed reserve. Longtime tandem instructor Fast Eddie Grantland is an outspoken supporter of the RSL and recently left an article in my loft on the “Top 5 RSL Myths.” Originally posted on Dropzone.com by Bill von Novak, the article attempts to set the record straight on the value of an RSL. Some of the “myths” he talks about include the inability to get stable for reserve deployment with an RSL. But Bill comments that one of the big advantages of having an RSL is that it may save your life if you make a bad decision to cutaway at 500 feet and you don’t have time to get stable first. He also points out that “RSL's are not for normal cutaways. They are for madly spinning mals where you can barely see one of your handles. They are for mals while wearing a wingsuit, where you have fabric flying in your face and you can barely see. They are for cutaways at 600 feet when someone sets up a hook right into your canopy and destroys it. These are the situations where RSL's save lives.” So please make an informed decision about your RSL. While there are circumstances where an RSL is better left off, there is no reason for your first container to not have an RSL.

Thanks to a heads-up rigger, a former police officer turned skydiver and a lot of background work by a DZ manager, all of the gear stolen from Alabama Skydiving in December was recovered last week. The value on this stolen gear was well over $50,000 as it included 7 complete skydiving systems: two Strong tandem rigs; one Mirage rental rig; one Javelin student rig; one Dolphin student rig; one experienced jumper Javelin and one experienced jumper Infinity. The gear is being fully-inspected this week, but only minor damage has been found so far. The recovery started with a call from Eric Fleming of Blue Skies Rigging in Jacksonville, Fla. Eric purchased a Mirage system off of E-Bay in early February from a seller in Birmingham, Ala. When the gear finally arrived at the end of the month, red flags immediately went up as one of the ring cover flaps was cut off and the advertised serial numbers and dates of manufacture did not match up. He was also sent a different main than promised. After looking on the Dropzone.com stolen gear database, he discovered the gear was definitely stolen and contacted Chuting Star Rigging Loft and Alabama Skydiving. The gear was picked up and the Pell City police were notified. The authorities were able to track down and confirm the seller’s address and home, but had no success making contact. Alabama Skydiving drop zone manager Rob Morris along with staff member and former police officer Chris Sears were able to make contact with the seller a few days later. After a few conversations, the seller gave directions to the whereabouts of the remainder of the gear. Most of the gear was in still in a storage facility while a few other items were also sold on E-Bay. A few phone calls later, that gear was found as well as it had been sold to another gear dealer, Cousin Dave. The criminal portion of the case is ongoing, but at least we have all of our gear back. Woohoo!