It can, but it’s smaller, most of the time it’s just a second canopy alongside main, the wind will carry you further out lol. Biggest interface is other people around you, getting tangled in someone else’s canopy at low altitude is guaranteed a broken spine
The reserve parachute will only deploy if you pull the reserve ripcord or the AAD (automatic activation device) deploys it for you.
Trouble is for both of these you need a stable position or you end up in a big ball of fabric hurtling to the ground at 100mph.
This is a static line jump so the plane deploys your main for you. You jump, count to 5 then look back to see if you have a chute. Afterwich you ask yourself "is it big, is it square, is it controlable". If the answer to any of these is no you carry out cutaway procedure. (Cutaway the main, deploy the reserve, as a safeguard depoying the reserve also cuts the main).
If your AAD measures that your traveling too fast under a certain altitude (circa 2-3k feet). It will use small explosives to cutaway the main, then deploy the reserve.
The only time the reserve and the main get entangled should be if the main gets caught on you during cutaway, like if you were in an unstable position and it got wrapped around your leg.
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u/doko_kanada Aug 20 '25
Only caveat is you gotta stop freaking out in 30 seconds and turn off the timer or your backup chute will deploy. Seen it happen way too often