Viking 0 #1 August 21, 2003 Whats the best way to deal with one of these things if you do get cought? I did yesterday. I just let it fly itself until it calmed down. But lets say it collapses your main, what do you do to get it reinflated as quickly as possible?I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet - chicagoskydiver My God has a bigger dick than your god -George Carlin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #2 August 21, 2003 Do all you can to keep the wing flying AND level. Do not go to brakes when it starts to feel rocky, but if you have a collapse, you can pump the brakes to try to clear it. much like you would for closed end cells. There is no real answer, it's a very dynamic and changing situation. Keep flying, and be ready to PLF.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #3 August 21, 2003 Anyone know if the conditions are such that there might be dust devils in Eloy in December?She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #4 August 21, 2003 Dust devils can happen anywhere anytime. I have not witnessed a large amount in Eloy in December though.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydrew 0 #5 August 21, 2003 I've been there for the last 3 years for the holiday boogie and I don't think I've seen dust devuils during that time... I've definitely seen them during march though... You'll definitely see them from the ground, if they are around, and usually people are talking about them. People can get f*cked up from dust devils... -drew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bwilling 0 #6 August 21, 2003 Educate yourself here... "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy2 0 #7 August 21, 2003 the probability of dust devils increases when you are near large objects that create turbulence (buildings, trees, etc?) I know they can be found in wide open spaces too. I used to spot some on my campus when I was walking to and fro classes in winter, etc so I dont think weather has a WHOLE lot to do with it (even though it probably does have something to do...) --------------------------------------------- let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tattoojeff 0 #8 August 21, 2003 dust devils kick up alot as the ground heats up. this is why youll find less of them in the morning and early evening when the ground is cooler. generly the hotter months are really bad dust devil times and the cooler ones are better. they can and do pop up whenever though. i stop jumping around noon in eloy till 5pm ish. this past may i got pretty fucked by a dustdevil at eloy. after that accident im not so willing to skydive during the peek hours. be careful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,120 #9 August 22, 2003 Moderate dust devils: Keep the wing level, fly away from the dust devil, get ready to flare to reinflate the wing if needed. Severe dust devils (i.e. your canopy is collasping) Go to 1/4 brakes, get ready to PLF. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #10 August 22, 2003 Great advice, (as usual) Bill. Don't forget this one though: Keep your head on a swivel - if you see a dust devil, get out of its way - they always move downwind.7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bbarnhouse 0 #11 August 22, 2003 QuoteModerate dust devils: Keep the wing level, fly away from the dust devil, get ready to flare to reinflate the wing if needed. The dust devils here tend to travel with the wind. Turn 180 away. I havent seen any in the December months. From the air the lil devils can be seen best with amber colored goggles. BB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HRHSkyPrincess 0 #12 August 22, 2003 Great tip on the downwind movement! Thanks. We sometimes see them swirling over the corn tops in the fields near the dz...***************** Attitude is everything! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Designer 0 #13 August 23, 2003 Not be there in the first place! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cuchulinn 0 #14 August 24, 2003 QuoteEducate yourself here... Great Link!!! Thanks! SMA#18 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #15 August 24, 2003 Great tip on the goggles! It makes sense . . . I grew up in Vermont, and my Dad used to keep a pair of amber shooting glasses in the car. He would use them when it was snowing really hard, making it easier to see. I always thought he was nuts, until I started driving and used them myself . . . it almost eliminated all of the glare coming off the white snow and improved my vision immensely!Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bclark 0 #16 September 2, 2003 Don't get caught in a dust devil. Nice thing about them is that you can usually see and avoid. If per chance you do get caught in one, for instance if one forms directly beneath you at low altitude, FLY YOUR CANOPY. I jumped for 6 years at a drop zone where dust devils were very common and BIG. I have never flown into one but have seen it several times. The first thing you usually get is lots of lift. Then, if you are flying into the upwind side of the vortex, it will usually bounce you around quite alot, collapse a few cells, then spit you out at which point you usually drop out of the sky like a ton of shit. If you get caught in the downwind side of the dust devil it will lift you and accelerate you like crazy. Once again, when you get spit out you start to fall out of the sky, but are hauling a lot of ass. Here are two examples: A C-182 Hop n' Pop load. Jumper w/200 jumps on a Monarch 135. Gets into the downwind side of a dust devil which accelerates him and slams him legs first into the side of a trailer. He bounces off of the trailer and reimpacts a window on the same trailer. His legs go through the window and he ends up severely lacerated with 2 broken ankles. Example 2: A very Mormon skydiver falling off the side of the bandwagon making a topless jump on SUNDAY off all things. God reaches down and smites her with a dust devil at about 20 feet. The dust devil takes her back up to about 40-50 feet and collapses her entire canopy (spectre 150). She completely quits flying her parachute, but it miraculously reinflates prior to her impact in the LZ. She pancakes out on her tits in the grass uninjured. The dust devil is still present so we are all yelling at her to cut away so that it does not pick her back up. She responds by immediately pulling her reserve handle. Thank god she has never had a malfunction. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
