0
denete

Please don't run toward the landing area

Recommended Posts

This is just a personal request. If you happen to really, really want to see someone land, then get out there while they're on jump run. I had a mild fight-or-flight moment last weekend when a veteran skydiver broke into a sprint toward the landing area. I couldn't see the landing area, so I thought "oh $hit" and started to drop my lunch and run myself. Then he stopped running after about 50 yards and continued by just walking. Soon my pulse started to drop back into the normal range.

It was just instinct, but mine was telling me to do something. Maybe it would be good to think through the "what would I actually have done" before finding out that the next one is not a drill.

I guess I'm at that point where it feels like every weekend is a lottery...but not the good kind.

Be safe guys...please.
SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

This is just a personal request. If you happen to really, really want to see someone land, then get out there while they're on jump run. I had a mild fight-or-flight moment last weekend when a veteran skydiver broke into a sprint toward the landing area. I couldn't see the landing area, so I thought "oh $hit" and started to drop my lunch and run myself. Then he stopped running after about 50 yards and continued by just walking. Soon my pulse started to drop back into the normal range.

It was just instinct, but mine was telling me to do something. Maybe it would be good to think through the "what would I actually have done" before finding out that the next one is not a drill.

I guess I'm at that point where it feels like every weekend is a lottery...but not the good kind.

Be safe guys...please.



"don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things".

in other words don't be such a worrier, it's better for your nervous system :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Learn to deal with it. Tandems might need catchers, and it might be that no one is in the landing area...
Might be that someone needs to take/retrieve a radio or rig, maybe something got left in the landing area by a student and we don't want non-skydivers in the landing area...
People running in and towards the landing area are a fact of skydiving life, IMO.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Was that me? I run in the LZ all the time. My sweetheart doesn't flare as well in low winds as she used to and I try to run but sometimes she just doesn't want me to and I get faceplants instead.

Seriously, it's good to know that at least someone has the instinct to help. Good on you.

My only questions to everyone, like yours, is:
So what are you gonna do when you get there? What purpose does your being there serve? Got something positive? Good! Then run like hell! Otherwise, stay away.
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

My only questions to everyone, like yours, is:
So what are you gonna do when you get there? What purpose does your being there serve? Got something positive? Good! Then run like hell! Otherwise, stay away.




Very good question. I have found that most people have nothing to offer and simply want to go see. That part I can't figure out. I'm not a doctor,a first responder and I don't know CPR. Unless there is no one else there or I am asked to do something I will stay out of the way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Yeah I like to get close (but too close) in case I can be of assisstance! Getting there just to see is a bad idea, i'll keep my distance but stay within hear shot so I can hear the "get some ice" or "grab the rig"... Which is about all I am qualified to do!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Medically I am of little use.

But I can keep (and have kept) the two-legged cattle wandering about merely to watch out of the way of the ambulance. I can also gather the gear of everyone who has dropped it to tend to the person and put it in the van so noone makes off with it in the confusion. Lastly, I can pick up any stuff the ambulance personnel has dropped when tending to the victim once the ambulance has left so the four-legged cattle wont eat any plastic wrappers.
"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

...I had a mild fight-or-flight moment last weekend ...



Sounds like you need to mellow out and not be so twitchy.;) If you react blindly to occurrances in freefall, you may make a wrong move. Try to think about your moves, rather than knee-jerk reacting. You'll find that taking that extra time will still allow you to react quick enough, and you won't be wasting time doing the wrong thing.

Kevin K.
_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

...I had a mild fight-or-flight moment last weekend ...



Sounds like you need to mellow out and not be so twitchy.;) If you react blindly to occurrances in freefall, you may make a wrong move. Try to think about your moves, rather than knee-jerk reacting. You'll find that taking that extra time will still allow you to react quick enough, and you won't be wasting time doing the wrong thing.

Kevin K.


???

(I was eating lunch)
SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

So what are you gonna do when you get there? What purpose does your being there serve? Got something positive? Good! Then run like hell! Otherwise, stay away.



+1.

If you have no medical training or you are not the DZO or S&TA, there is NO reason for you to be out there. If you really want to help, the best thing you can do is assist in keeping others who have no reason to be out there away from the scene.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Along the same lines, please try to be aware that when you look up and say certain things, it may cause undue concern. For example, gazing skyward and saying, "Hey! That guy's got a streamer" when a jumper is merely practicing for a demo and trailing a streamer from his foot tends makes me worry for as long as it takes to figure out what's actually going on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Way, way more importantly...... I know a number of DZs where we have to walk from the peasants landing area and cross the Sky-Gods one to get back to the hanger

Keep your head on the swivel when crossing the X-pert landing area... Them swoppy folk come out of no where - FAST

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


If you have no medical training or you are not the DZO or S&TA, there is NO reason for you to be out there. If you really want to help, the best thing you can do is assist in keeping others who have no reason to be out there away from the scene.



Agreed, but I think that everyone who skydives should have first aid training. IMO, this is a good idea because:

1) You might be first on the scene of an accident and help could take some time to arrive e.g. off landing
2) If you have some basic training, it helps focus you on what you should be doing when you come across an accident - this prevents panic which only makes things worse for the person hurt.

So in the interests of your fellow jumpers, spent a few dollars and a few hours, attend a first aid course, learn something new, and maybe, just maybe they will return the favor.

Of course I live in a country where you are extremely unlikely to be sued because of something you do, or don't do at the scene of an accident, but if this is one of your personal considerations, I hope that you can rise above it as at best it seems a perverse outcome of the legal system.

Stay safe.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

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