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RSL and MARD in Wingsuiting: Safety and Risk Assessment
Discover how RSL and MARD systems interact with wingsuits during cutaways. Safety guide on rapid reserve deployment, entanglement risks, and gear setup.
For veterans of the sport, the evolution of parachute safety equipment looks nothing like it did thirty years ago. Back in the day, AADs (Automatic Activation Devices) were either non existent, primitive mechanical units restricted strictly to student gear, or luxury items reserved for specific applications. Everyone in the sport was trained with one core dogma: your survival depends entirely on your brain, your muscle memory, and your strict adherence to emergency procedures. You pulled your cutaway, you checked your altitude, and you deployed your reserve manually.
When I was flying heavily as a camera flyer, my configuration philosophy was simple: no RSL (Reserve Static Line).
In the camera world, the risk of line entanglements, camera wing snags, and heavy helmet induced restrictions was high. My rationale at the time was straightforward - an RSL took away my direct control over when the reserve should leave the container. If I had a trailing main entangled with camera gear or a wing wrap, an instantaneous RSL pull felt like a liability, forcing a reserve directly into a mess of debris before I could physically clear or assess the cutaway.
Experience demands a continuous reassessment of risk parameters. As wing surface areas grew and data shifted, the variables changed forcing a re-evaluation of how MARD systems interact with more advance flying. This article breaks down why.
Velocity MARD explained
1. Mechanics Breakdown: RSL vs. (MARD)
Therefore, understanding the distinct operational differences between an RSL and a MARD is crucial for any wingsuit pilot evaluating their rig setup.
Reserve Static Line (RSL)
An RSL is a lanyard connecting main riser directly to the reserve ripcord pin. When you chop a malfunctioning canopy, the departing main riser pulls the pin, initiating reserve deployment immediately after cutaway.
Main-Assisted Reserve Deployment (MARD)
A MARD system takes the RSL concept further. Instead of just pulling the reserve pin and relying on the reserve pilot chute spring, the MARD uses the force and drag of the cutaway main canopy to extract the reserve free bag directly. This results in an ultra-fast deployment sequence, often extracting the reserve bag in under 0.5 seconds.
2. RSL / MARD Real World Reality
When evaluating whether to jump an RSL or MARD in a wingsuit, ask yourself: How does your specific suit surface, container harness fit, and jump profile (e.g., performance vs flocking vs. camera flying) influence your risk profile? There is no universal safety plug-in, only a trade-off between human decision time and automated mechanical speed.
Malfunctions:
- Wingsuit flight issues, such as flat or other complex spins
- Line twists
- Violent spins under canopy
Effect:
- In a fast spin, spatial orientation degrades quickly.
- Centrifugal force creates difficulty reaching reserve handles.
- At high descent rates during a violent spin, manual reaction time combined with pilot chute extraction delays can consume critical altitude.
Manual reserve activation (no assistance device):
- More altitude loss before activating reserve canopy
- Activation occurs in an uncontrolled body position
Reserve activation with an RSL:
- An RSL ensures that the moment risers release, the reserve pin is pulled instantly, bypassing any delay in locating the reserve handle under centrifugal load.
- Possible dragging of the reserve pilot chute or snags due to an uncontrolled body position.
- Altitude loss during reserve canopy deployment.
Reserve activation with a MARD:
- A MARD ensures that the moment risers release, the reserve is pulled out instantly by the cutaway main, bypassing any delay in locating the reserve handle under entrifugal load.
- Ensures that all available drag force from the main canopy is used to extract the reserve canopy.
- Disengages from the system only when the reserve canopy is fully extracted with lines stretched
- Preserves altitude from initiation to full reserve activation
- Pulls like an anchor to keep the body upright and prevent additional body movement.
3. Addressing Common Considerations
- Line twist and spin transfer to reserve canopy: Many jumpers express concern that a violent spin under the main canopy can transfer to the reserve upon cutaway. While possible with high-performance or aggressively loaded canopies, this risk can be mitigated by selecting a larger, more forgiving main canopy tailored for wingsuit operations.
- Camera snag hazards: Helmets equipped with cameras present a potential snag hazard during deployment. This risk can be reduced by using anti-snag mounts and breakaway systems. Furthermore, if you recognize that you are spinning on your back during a malfunction sequence, tucking your chin and moving your head forward reduces the possibility of a strike or entanglement hazard from the deploying reserve system.
- Manual override options: In situations where altitude affords more time for reaction, a MARD system can be disconnected and the reserve procedure performed manually.
4. Manual / RSL / MARD - Risk Assessment
To evaluate whether to not use or use an RSL or MARD on a wingsuit rig, we must weigh two primary emergency failure modes:
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Failure Mode A (No MARD / Manual Only): Skydiver cuts away from a violent spin or low-altitude malfunction, hesitates or suffers spatial disorientation, and loses critical altitude prior to manual reserve activation. (High Severity; Moderate Probability).
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Failure Mode B (With MARD): Skydiver cuts away with an entangled main riser or camera gear, and the system pulls the reserve into trailing main debris. (Catastrophic Severity; Low Probability when proper equipment maintenance and clear cutaways are executed).
Risk Conclusion
Risk assessment in wingsuiting is never one-size-fits-all. A pilot flying performance faces a completely different problems than and risk profile than a bulky camera flyer. Evaluating whether the speed of a MARD outweighs the control of a manual sequence depends entirely on your specific discipline, gear configuration, and emergency mental readiness.
5. Key Takeaways for Wingsuit Pilots
Look, deciding whether to run a MARD or keep a clean, slick manual setup isn't something you outsource to a manufacturer's ad or dropzone chatter it's an engineering and safety call you own. Instead of swallowing industry dogma whole, look at your entire rig as a single interconnected system: harness fit, canopy loading, camera gear, and your emergency muscle memory. When things go sideways, every single one of those variables interacts, and you're the one sitting in the harness.
Sure, old-school camera flyers swore off RSLs because they were terrified of entanglements. But modern incident data tells a very clear story: when you're locked into a high-speed spin under a wingsuit, altitude vanishes instantly, and deployment delays will chew through your remaining seconds before you can even find your handle.
At the end of the day, picking your safety architecture is about balancing those competing mechanical trade-offs against the actual type of flying you do. Keep your gear meticulously inspected, stay current on your emergency drills, and understand exactly how your specific setup behaves when the air gets turbulent so you can build a system that matches the reality of your flying, not just a trend.
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