The February CIVL plenary decision to require 2 rescues in Cat1 competitions met with divided responses. Some enthusiastic others were totally against. However, the failure over the last year of a few female pilots to deploy their rescues during an incident has raised the question of size/weight/strength in the actual ability to extract and deploy when and if it is needed.
The French federation proposed a test day to see what happens using various harness and rescue combinations and I was 'lucky' to be invited by the French team girls to practice on the G-force trainer.

Anyone who knows me, knows that G's are not my friend and that since I naturally have a very low blood pressure I react quickly to being spun/spiralled/thrown about at high velocity ... the story goes something like this:

1. It all started well with a nice breakfast  :)
2. Elisa, Laurie & I hang in our harness' to make a practice rescue deployment before using the G-force trainer.
3. We all try to throw the rescue - we ALL FAIL (I can't throw even with Seiko pulling the pocket open :( )
4. Seiko makes adjustments to all our harness' (on mine she shortens the elastic loops holding the rescue pins to make them under more tension and therefore thinner and easier to pull through the eyelets)
5. We all try to throw the rescue  - it works :)
6. Next into the trainer with 4G planned ... before 4G is reached I black-out but manage to throw the rescue in semi-consciousness
7. Next session we agree on 3G and I survive the spiral :) but when I reach down for the rescue my neck snaps back and I can't find the handle. A bit of flapping and I have it & can deploy ...
8. The G-trainer stops. I am totally dizzy and uncoordinated. I can't open the harness, I can barely stand up and then ... hello again breakfast!! :(

... the day passes with lots of falling over, power naps, extreme cold shivers and then finally a nice evening flight once my balance returns.

Day2:
Seiko arrives with a large plastic bag in preparation for my training! :D
One of the problems for me was finding a point to focus on while in the spiral so that I could concentrate and maintain consciousness. The feet of the trainer were whizzing past at higher & higher speed and making me more and moredizzy. Seiko came up with a cunning plan and fixed a 3 colour panel on the inside of the 'spiral' close to the victims head. Having something to focus on worked - after 2 2G maintained spirals I was still awake, one time the colours had started to fade to grey but with strong breathing I could come back from the edge of blackness :))))))
Sure, my legs were wobbly and the cold shivers returned but I was still standing up and no recycled breakfast!

The red/yellow/blue 'target' made all the difference between sleeping and spiralling! :)

So all in all it was a fantastic learning experience. It was scary to find out that I haven't in reality been flying with a rescue the last 6 months, just extra ballast in my harness. But now I have confidence that 1. I can throw in a semi-high-G situation 2. I have a new understanding of the limits of tolerance of my body and ways to counter blacking-out and 3. I have a training programme to make sure that I accustom myself to spiralling during each flight.
Ok they will for sure be feeble girly spirals :D but thats still better than no spiral and the recurring fear of not being able to land if I need to!