Aircraft Safety Tips of the Week

[diverdriver 7]

Wear your seat belt or restraining device on every take off up to 1,000 AGL. If you can't find one....don't let the pilot take off until you do. Wear it close and short. Don't have a long, looping restraint. What good is that to you in a crash? If you sit tobagon style facing the aft of the aircraft then make sure your seat belt is right next to you or in front of you. If it's behind you then you have to travel that far first before it will stop you. And then maybe your buddy behind you is the one that will take the brunt of your impact. Don't let that happen.
Always wear your helmet on take off. Make sure it is CLIPPED before take off. What use is it do you sitting on your head and not clipped in a crash? It's a placebo.
Make sure you are not holding any loose items like altimeters cuz you were too cool to put them on before getting in the aircraft. ANYTHING loose will become a projectile in a crash. Altimeters can kill.
Make sure all camera flyers/videographers fasten their helmets to their head or a belt for take off. If they don't and refuse to do it then you don't need to jump there.
Don't remove your helmet at 1,000 AGL like all the other sheep. You just got to the point where you would first consider jumping out of a troubled aircraft. Why degear yourself from being able to go RIGHT NOW out the door? Remember, the helmet is for exit too....and it may not be the most stable platform if you are HAVING to get out at 1,000 AGL.
Food for thought. Be safe.
Chris Schindler
ATP
D-19012
www.DiverDriver.com

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Amen Chris.....
I would like to add....be aware of any centre of gravity issues with your chosen jumpship. This is very important for us Euros who jump LET 410s a lot.
Tell the pilot if you intend to dump very high.
Try not to distract the pilot at critical stages of the flight...eg takeoff.....
Be careful on climbout, a reserve round the tail really pisses on everyone's parade.
And be wary of anything that goes round and round, or up and down (props and doors, they bite your fingies and anything else that gets in the way)....watch out for whuffoes in the loading area.
And buy your pilot a beer every now and then Cya
D
GR# 37
"I don't believe that kindness is a weakness"

[AggieDave 6]

And wear a condem! Oh, right *aircraft* safety tips BEFORE the beer light comes on...
Good tips, like most jumpers I don't think about aircraft safety very often.
Aerials
So up high
When you free your lives (the) eternal prize

[Dutchboy 0]

Quote

Don't remove your helmet at 1,000 AGL like all the other sheep. You just got to the point where you would first consider jumping out of a troubled aircraft. Why degear yourself from being able to go RIGHT NOW out the door? Remember, the helmet is for exit too....and it may not be the most stable platform if you are HAVING to get out at 1,000 AGL.

I normally do this, and some times get funny looks. To be honest, the biggest reason I leave my helmet on is noise. The safety aspect is also a reason.
The Dutchboy
Phil's Flying Enterprises, Inc.

[Donna 0]

I take my helmet off because I wear my goggles under it. I have my goggles tight for freefall so I can't put them up on your helmet and if you leave them on they fog up.
Blue Skies,
D

[nws01 0]

But, but, but, SkymonkeyOne says to go fast, take chances, and for god sakes don't wear a helmet. Who should we listen too? Blue Dreams,
Nathan

[freeflir29 0]

Do not throw bolts in Otter intakes!!! "Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Don't fly with pilots who have a habit of saying, "Hey, watch this!"

[Sebazz1 2]

Keep your beer hidden until exit.........
You might end up having to share it, and well Homie don't share his beer.........
Sebazz........

[bbarnhouse 0]

Do not flash boobies at the pilot on take off! You may end up as taxiway rubbish! Oh and as always thanks PileDriverLife is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but rather by the moments that take our breath away.

[MrHixxx 0]

I always run the safety belt through the main lift web or a legstrap. You may slide out of your belt, but you won't likely slide out of your harness...
-Hixxx
"Woman... Wu -mon... Whoa - man! She stole my heart and my cat"

[Lindsey 0]

Oooooohhhhh......I always flash the jumpers without really considering the pilot's feelings.....guess that's rude.....
Peas~
Lindsey
Ya' know Smack-water Jack he bought a shotgun
'cause he was in the mood for a little con-fron-ta-tion

[GroundZero 0]

Be sure to check with the pilot before flashing...
All too often, a pilot may become distracted by "flesh" in the cabin. I've always found it desirable to talk with the pilot before... display the breasts ahead of takeoff time, and ask openly... "Will these present a problem during the flight?" Allow the pilot to fully inspect the sample. Be sure to allow complete inspection, as we do not want to take the pilot's mind off of the assigned duty.
As a pilot myself, I prefer to fly undistracted. Please allow me the chance to experience the distraction before the departure.
Your safety is my primary concern and responsibility.
If other pilots express a negative attitude to visual exposures, please expose them to me, I am well qualified to view and then brief the other fellow pilots without causing any undue stress on them.
I'm here to help.
Chris

[Lindsey 0]

I was joking....heh....didn't mean to ruffle feathers....
Ya' know Smack-water Jack he bought a shotgun
'cause he was in the mood for a little con-fron-ta-tion

[GroundZero 0]

"ruffling feathers" is what skydiving is all about!
Chris

[Lindsey 0]

:)
Ya' know Smack-water Jack he bought a shotgun
'cause he was in the mood for a little con-fron-ta-tion

[MarkF 0]

And if for whatever reason you find yourself riding the aircraft down make good and sure that your AAD is turned off.
I once rode a doorless aircraft down (wind picked up too much for a 5 jump wonder) and the instructors both assured me that the CYPRESS (student) wouldn't fire on the way down despite my protestations. Because I'm positively paranoid[1] about gear operation in any activity I HAD read the CYPRESS manual and thought it _might_ fire on the way down so I sat with rig FIRMLY against the wall. After landing when I got up my reserve fell out of the container. I wouldn't go near that DZ again in a fit. Nor will I fly with that pilot again. He should have insisted.
Any Aussies who want to know where it was e-mail me at forsythm@optushome.com.au
[1] A RISK management career will do that for you.
Ooroo
Mark F...

[freeflir29 0]

Those two dumbass instructors should have owed beer for that. Damn good on ya for knowing your equipment!!!
"Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[diverdriver 7]

Bahahahahahhaha........LOL........ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!

[MarkF 0]

Those two dumbass instructors should have owed beer for that.
===================
Nope. In my view, they owed their ratings.
===================
Damn good on ya for knowing your equipment!!!
===================
It comes from doing far too much RISK analysis for far too long.
Anyone here ever worked on an off shore oil rig or in heavy industry ? I'd bet that if you substituted instructors for plant foremen and the for the pilot a plant manager and for the CYPRESS some piece of safety equipment which when used incorrectly would endager lives you'd have 3 people on the unemployed list. Same should apply here.
The people concerned were left in absolutely no doubt as to my feelings. In a way they were damn lucky it happened to someone who makes a living from understanding RISKS and effect. Imagine if it had been someone with no knowledge of how the AAD worked and they were rubbernecking out the window opposite the door while firmly attached to the aircraft by a seat belt. In this case the reserve PC would have fired straight out the door probably killing all on board when the whole mess impacted.
I'm reluctant to identify the A/C type as that would identify the DZ concerned and since the owners are a litiginous(sp?) bunch I'm not doing that in a public forum.
Al lot of people, sadly, fail to use the bit of safety equipment between their ears.
Ooroo
Mark F...

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

And if for whatever reason you find yourself riding the aircraft down make good and sure that your AAD is turned off.

This is only true for STUDENT Cypres's. You know it's a student cypres if it has a yellow button on the control piece. The student Cypres will fire at a descent rate of 29 mph (13 m/sec)
The Expert Cypress will fire at a descent rate of 78 MPH (35 m/sec). Expert cypres's have been placed in Mike Mullins King Air (the fastest jumpship there is), and have not fired in his most aggresive descents. If the plane is exceeding a vertical descent rate of 78 MPH at 750 feet, you will have MUCH bigger problems then a reserve popping open.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
AIM: andrewdmetcalfe
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

[Derekbox 0]

How do you turn them off? I thought once they were on they stayed on like 14 hours....
"Its one thing to tempt death, its another to bitch slap him"
Daytona Beach Fl
DZ: Deland
AIM: Derekbox

[Spy38W 0]

Quote

How do you turn them off? I thought once they were on they stayed on like 14 hours....

Same way you turn them on. Press the button, wait for the red light, press the button, and repeat two more times.
--
Come to the dark side

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

How do you turn them off?

Exactly the same procedure as turning them on. Hit the button when the light comes on.

Quote

Expert cypres's have been placed in Mike Mullins King Air (the fastest jumpship there is), and have not fired in his most aggresive descents.

If Charlie is flying you might want to turn it off....
"Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[diverdriver 7]

Yes, it IS possible to pop Expert Cypres's. Yes, it has been done in a Porter I believe. The descent rate is about 7,000 FPM (Feet Per Minute) +/-. The otter can do 6,000 FPM and level off at 400' AGL with no problem (I do it all the time). So, the margin of error is getting pretty slim. I'd say it's probably best to inform the pilot to ease the descent rate through 2,000 AGL just in case if you are landing with the plane. Makes for good habit.
Chris Schindler