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| Ramp |
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Some aircraft have ramps which open at the back of the plane, allowing a large amount of skydivers to exit at once in formation.
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| Relative Wind |
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The direction from which the supporting column of air is coming. When you exit an aircraft that is traveling forward, the relative wind direction comes from an angle, down and from the direction of the aircraft's flight.
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| Reserve |
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The reserve canopy used in an emergency and re-packed only by a certified expert. It's really your last chance, so you want to be pretty sure it works.
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| Reserve Parachute |
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The backup parachute you use if your Main Mals. Reserve parachutes must be tested to very strict standards and must be inspected and repacked by a specially licenced packer every six months, whether they have been used or not.
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| Rig |
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Complete system consisting of a Harness, Container, Main Parachute, Reserve Parachute and the means of deploying each parachute.
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| Rigger |
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A certified expert who modifies, repairs or re-packs reserves. Not the kind of guy whose wife you'd want to be dating.
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| Ring Sight |
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A transparent sighting device used to aim the camera(s) mounted on a camera flyer's helmet. Usually located in front of one of the camera flyer's eyes.
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| Ripcord |
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The deployment system on all reserves and most student parachutes. The ripcord is a piece of cable with a handle at one end and a pin at the other. When pulled, the pin comes out of the closing loop holding the container shut, and the spring-loaded pilote chute is released.
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| Riser Turn |
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A rapid turn initiated by pulling down on a group of lines, not just the rear steering line. A front riser turn is commonly used by experts to deform the normal canopy flight characteristic during a turn in order to build up more forward speed than normal, allowing the pilot to perform a turf-surf.
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| Risers |
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The webbing that connects the harness to the suspension lines. At the bottom of the risers will be a mechanism for attaching and releasing the risers and harness, usually in the form of a three-ring release. On the rear risers are the brakes/steering lines. The suspension lines attach to the top of the risers with connector links, also known as rapid links.
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| Round Parachute |
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The classic parachute. Cannot really be flared and give fairly hard landings. Works by providing drag to slow the descent of the Skydiver.
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| Rsl |
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Reserve Static Line. A line from the main cutaway handle to automatically deploy the reserve.
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| Running |
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When a canopy is flying with the ambient wind it is said to be running. This produces the greatest possible ground speed. Landing while running is not advised because of the high ground speed.
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| Rw |
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Relative Work - where skydivers in freefall link up to create formations. This can be done in any numbers from 2-person (called a 2Way Skydive) and up. Competition RW are mainly done in 4 person teams (4Way Teams) and in 8Ways & 16Ways.
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