0
riddler

How not to do a raft dive

Recommended Posts

Some video taken by my friend Peter (the slurry bomber guy):

Raft move (1 meg, Quicktime)

Yes, those are my feet at the end. Here are a few still shots for people with low bandwidth:

Started OK
Exit wasn't bad
Things starting to go to shit
Flygurl holding on for dear life
Gone at 12,500
Three guys get ditched
Riddler's feet
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting - I think there's a DNS propagation issue with my hosting company, as I tried it from some remote machines in different parts of the country, and it only seems to work from the mid-west.

OK - I hate wasting drive space on DZ.com, but I've attached the pics only. And I'll have to have a chat with my hosting company >:(

*Note* - I've been having some frank discussions with DNS servers around the world - the original links should work a little better now. It's easier for me to talk to computers than people.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

raft_exit.jpg

Randy_Brian_Ryan.jpg

phils_feet.jpg

raft_start.jpg

ryan_flying.jpg

kara_hanging.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The worst raft dives I saw were at the keys boogie about 2 or 3 years ago. The first raft popped in the plane due to too much air. Loud as hell. And the second one no one told the pilot so the two front floaters got to do a 2 way while a raft with 3 girls in it was left in the plane when they tried to pull the raft out.
Ray


Ray
Small and fast what every girl dreams of!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Be careful of hanging. If you go low, let go and pop back up. We had a guy hang like that, it caused the back two people to roll out. Then, he flips up over the raft and the raft spanks him. Smashed goggles, blood, very nasty. Stunned him for a sec. The raft wrapped him.
Also, keep the fingers out of the oarlocks or handles. Use a short length of rope with a knot on the end. If the raft flips with fingers in the handle, ouch. Have a friend who lost half a finger nail in one.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Let it go then go pick it up later... sometimes some one follows it down.

I heard this year at WFFC someone tried to deploy FROM the raft and the pc bounched all about the at burble before they were able to grab the PC and exit to deploy cleanly.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


What do you do with the raft at break off? Do you hold it when you deploy? Do you let it go and hope you find it?



Rule 1 - no one ever gets over the top. Camera is usually in front and above a little.
All the lurkers leave at 4500ft. At 4000, the people in the raft lean out one side and roll (determine which side in the dirt dive) and track apart.
Do not hold the raft. At Quincy 2001, we had a dufus hold onto the front of an alligator after the girl rolled off. She went down to 2500 and dumped. You guessed it, he came right passed her. >:( (We discussed not doing this in the dirt dive.) Damn near killed her and said it her fault for not tracking. (She wasn't supposed to, he was.)
Usually, the raft is only half inflated on the ride up and about 10,000ft, you have to let out more air. On the way down, at 4000ft, it is almost folding up. A lot of them are findable. At Quincy, we got the bonus of finding other peoples rafts. B|
Don't put your name and phone number on them, in case it lands on somebody's new car. :o

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Don't put your name and phone number on them, in case it lands on somebody's new car.



We put the name and phone number of our DZO and posted a $10,000 reward on the bottom of ours if found at Rantoul. Never did see the raft again ;)

We found some big boobie'd girl in a bikini top to go in the raft for us so the video would be fun (we tried to get naked chicks and even had Mary announce over the loudspeaker that we needed naked chicks for a raft dive, but noone showed up >:(). Anyway, the cool thing was that we could watch the raft get bigger on the way to altitude in direct proportion to the girls big, fake boobies :o

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
These are good tips - should also add do not make loops with the tie-ons - we used pull-up cords that were not tied in a loop. Don't want your hand to get caught. Also, we inflated half-way and were letting air out for a lot of the ride up - the air will expand in the raft as you climb to altitude. Fortunately, we had WFFC there to give us tips. But I wish he was holding on with us, instead of just shooting video. We needed a few more holders, methinks.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


Quote


Don't put your name and phone number on them, in case it lands on somebody's new car.


We put the name and phone number of our DZO and posted a $10,000 reward on the bottom of ours if found at Rantoul. Never did see the raft again ;)
We found some big boobie'd girl in a bikini top to go in the raft for us so the video would be fun (we tried to get naked chicks and even had Mary announce over the loudspeaker that we needed naked chicks for a raft dive, but noone showed up >:(). Anyway, the cool thing was that we could watch the raft get bigger on the way to altitude in direct proportion to the girls big, fake boobies :o


Don't worry, if it falls in the middle of a road and causes a car wreck, they'll call ya.
"we needed naked chicks for a raft dive, but noone showed up " There's kind of a rule here: Nekkid chicks ride free. (Perhaps you didn't stress that part enough.) "Topless=Free jump in raft" usually gets a good response.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"These are good tips - should also add do not make loops with the tie-ons - we used pull-up cords that were not tied in a loop. Don't want your hand to get caught. "
I hear ya. I say that every time. I use the Sevylor raft from Sports Authority. It's $39. It comes with a rope. I hook knife the rope (cuts easy) into 9-inch lengths. A knot on each end. You can hold a knot effectively without worrying about wrapping. There was a guy who got BOTH hands wrapped by a rope and almost went in, but fortunately the rope broke.
Four guys can launch two people in the raft by pulling/lifting with knotted ropes. The CASA pilots from CSS know what a good zero-g is. No weight, it almost floats out.
Once the raft is in the air, it can be floaty, so be aware. Swoop cords if you've got em.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

gotta love when the neighbors bang on the wall cause of all the noise.




Hehehehee....I had a neighbor in Florida that knocked on the door one day. We lived in an apatrment on Santa Rosa Island. Of course it was concrete block walls. Not much sound insulation. I had a Brass bed that would bang against the wall during play time. This guy, a captain in the Air Force, sheepishly asked me to slide the bed out from the wall a little. I started laughing my ass off!!! "Sure, no problem.."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


Some video taken by my friend Peter (the slurry bomber guy):
Raft move (1 meg, Quicktime)
Yes, those are my feet at the end. Here are a few still shots for people with low bandwidth:
Started OK
Exit wasn't bad
Things starting to go to shit
Flygurl holding on for dear life
Gone at 12,500
Three guys get ditched
Riddler's feet




Heh, thats funny .

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0