what42 0 #1 May 21, 2001 I had a very interesting weekend. I posted some about my canopy ride on Sunday under another thread but wanted to make my own. I had a good time this weekend. My dropzone (Skydive Monroe) had a boogie this weekend with a CASA. That CASA is an awesome plane to jump out of. I decided that I wanted to be off student status for the boogie so I came out to the dropzone Thursday and did my AFF 5 and 6 out of the cessna182. Then Friday I did my level 7 out of the CASA. The diving exit out of the CASA was amazing. Level 7 was the funnest AFF level I had. I finally had my first standup landing on that level. I decided to wait to do my first solo jump until Saturday. My first solo jump was a great experience. I ran a few steps and dove out the back of the CASA then when I got stable I did a 180 turn and watched the guy after me dive out of the plane a few seconds later. I did a few flips but mostly just enjoyed the scenery until pulltime. Then I had another standup landing! (I'm finally getting the hang of the landings) Because of bad weather I was only able to get the one jump in on Saturday.My first jump on Sunday was a very interesting experience. The ride up was uneventful and the freefall portion of my second solo dive was great. Punching through a puffy white 'industrial haze' at 6500' was an amazing experience. I was planning on pulling a little high so I could have time to play under canopy. I had checked my rig on the ground and had an experienced skydiver give me a pincheck in the plane and everything was normal. When I deployed at 4500' I looked up and first saw the blue of my reserve then looked to the left and saw the green of my main. My first thought at seeing the blue was that some idiot put the wrong canopy in the rig but then I saw the main beside it. My first reaction at this occurance was to repeat the phrase "Oh Shit" at least 10 times. Luckily the main drifted over in front of the reserve into a biplane. I knew this was a much more stable situation than the side-by-side it was in at first. I was very careful with it and steered with VERY gentle main rear risers. I knew that if I cut the main away there was a very big chance it would entangle with my reserve leaving me with no good canopies over my head so I stuck with the two of them. I would've cutaway if it moved into a downplane though. Luckily once it was in the biplane formation it remained stable. Drifting down from 4000' with two canopies out takes forever. I'm pretty sure the tandoms that exited after me had landed before I did. At about 1500' I turned slowly into the wind aimed parallel to the runway. I was directly above some trees and wasn't moving forward at all and so I decided to unstow the brakes of the main to try to give myself a little more forward speed. I didn't flare at all and had a nice soft landing. I could've stood it up but of course I plf'd not knowing what to expect from my 2 canopies.I waited out one load but decided that I had to go ahead and get back into the air otherwise I'd be a nervous wreck the next time I'd be able to jump. So, I put on another rig (exactly identical to the one I had previously except in color). I didn't do much during freefall except hang around and practice forward movement. I deployed and the one canopy over my head was a relief when it deployed. I then flew it in and had a standup landing.That CASA was a blast to jump out of this weekend. Unfortunately because of the weather I only got 4 jumps out of it but they were all fun. (Until my two-out experience)We aren't sure why the reserve deployed.The cypress hadn't fired and my reserve handle was still in place. I talked to a rigger and to Bill (the DZO) and the only thing we can think of is that the RSL got snagged by something. They just described it as a 'freak occurance.' Everyone on the ground was very supportive after I landed and congratulated me. All in all it was a great weekend. A lot of new experiences. Did I meet any of you dz.com'ers this weekend unknowingly at the Monroe boogie? Wow, this post ended up being a lot longer than I intended.Wesley--I want to fly! Edited by what42 on 5/21/01 03:11 PM. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Donna 0 #2 May 21, 2001 Sounds like you are doing great, Wesley! Congratulations on handling the two out so well! Way to go! Glad it worked out. Good for you for going back up. The Casa is great, huh? I wish we could jump out of them all the time! It's nice to hear you are having so much fun!Blue 1111,D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyberskydive 0 #3 May 21, 2001 WOW dude I missed that - was it the black rig or the orange -n-gray one? You know I've been jumping those as well till my new one arrives.(could have been me under that :)) Great Job W.D.Chisolm C-28534webmaster@sunraydesigns.comhttp://www.sunraydesigns.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
