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skypuppy 1
I think part of the hard-opening thing was that you were wearing the reserve on your stomach, and you'd tend to bend backwards and touch your heels to your head on those openings. On Bill's jump he hooked both hands onto the canopy through risers going through the sleeves of his jumpsuit, so the opening forces were more normal....
If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone
Andy9o8 2
QuoteI think part of the hard-opening thing was that you were wearing the reserve on your stomach, and you'd tend to bend backwards and touch your heels to your head on those openings.
Oh, yeah...my first reserve ride was with a chest mounted 24' (a hard-pull total mal on a 4-pin ripcord). It was at terminal, and by the time the reserve container was open, I was head-down, too. Yeah, it hurt - but then, my spine was only 19 yrs old at the time, so it had a little more "give" to it...
I was sore for a good week...but at that moment (opening), I didn't really care much about whether it hurt.
jbrasher 1
My first reserve ride was on a 24' QAC and was because of a total I managed to pack on my B4 container. The open wasn't quit to terminal but not too far off and I did think that my heels touched my head. 
The scariest part however was the incredible oscillations, I thought I was going to slam into the ground at a 90 degree angle. I tried to dampen them but nothing seemed to work and I just left well enough alone.
Thankfully, I 'oscilled' just right and had one of the best round reserve landings I ever had.
I then got a 4-line release (Elsinore 4 Line release #1) and naturally never used it again.
Red, White and Blue Skies,
John T. Brasher D-5166
The scariest part however was the incredible oscillations, I thought I was going to slam into the ground at a 90 degree angle. I tried to dampen them but nothing seemed to work and I just left well enough alone.
Thankfully, I 'oscilled' just right and had one of the best round reserve landings I ever had.
I then got a 4-line release (Elsinore 4 Line release #1) and naturally never used it again.
Red, White and Blue Skies,
John T. Brasher D-5166
No ...I dont even know who packed the reserve for either jump.
Reserve openings were not as bad as some people make out ...they were more a back breaker when the reserve was connected to the "D" rings in the center of the harness front.
Later they were mounted higher, and with a "feet down / standing " position, they werent too bad.
I had about 9 or ten reserves open for a variety of reasons, none was a hurter.
Bill Cole D-41
Reserve openings were not as bad as some people make out ...they were more a back breaker when the reserve was connected to the "D" rings in the center of the harness front.
Later they were mounted higher, and with a "feet down / standing " position, they werent too bad.
I had about 9 or ten reserves open for a variety of reasons, none was a hurter.
Bill Cole D-41
skydiverek 63
Here is a video of this accident from deceased camera. Don't be afraid - nothing graphic, it was shown on National TV at 5 pm, back in 1988:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER0d4wcYfL0
dtamos 0
Ivan was filming a tandem student's first jump when tandem was in it's early day's. I am all too familiar with that day because I am the student he was filming on that jump. It is recorded in my log book as April 2, 1988 in Louisburg, NC. I have heard arguments for and against the suicide theory by people who knew him well, but I still haven't been able to come to a definite conclusion of my own. I can see either way is possible.
Ivan was very intelligent and well liked by everyone, and we still miss him 20 years later. We remember him in our conversations sometimes, and he will always be in our hearts. Blue Heaven, Ivan.
Ivan was very intelligent and well liked by everyone, and we still miss him 20 years later. We remember him in our conversations sometimes, and he will always be in our hearts. Blue Heaven, Ivan.
mdrejhon 8
You're the student of this 1988 jump where the videographer went in?QuoteIvan was filming a tandem student's first jump when tandem was in it's early day's. I am all too familiar with that day because I am the student he was filming on that jump. It is recorded in my log book as April 2, 1988 in Louisburg, NC. I have heard arguments for and against the suicide theory by people who knew him well, but I still haven't been able to come to a definite conclusion of my own. I can see either way is possible.
Ivan was very intelligent and well liked by everyone, and we still miss him 20 years later. We remember him in our conversations sometimes, and he will always be in our hearts. Blue Heaven, Ivan.
I'm impressed you stayed in skydiving -- especially if this was your first jump -- most first jump students would probably have decided not to come back if confronted by a situation such as this.
How many jumps do you have, as the jumps haven't been defined in your profile?
dtamos 0
Yes, I was the student being filmed by the videographer who went in in 1988, it was my first tandem jump.
Local law enforcement got the tape and turned it over to the local TV station because they had the ability to piece it together for analysis. But without permission they showed it on the evening news every night for a week or so. Bloodthirsty B@st@rds that they were.
I started jumping regularly and competing in the novice class, but at around 200 jumps I got married and pretty much quit jumping. I jump once in a great while when one of my neices or nephews turns 18 and makes a tandem jump. I just found this website last night, so here I am.
Local law enforcement got the tape and turned it over to the local TV station because they had the ability to piece it together for analysis. But without permission they showed it on the evening news every night for a week or so. Bloodthirsty B@st@rds that they were.
I started jumping regularly and competing in the novice class, but at around 200 jumps I got married and pretty much quit jumping. I jump once in a great while when one of my neices or nephews turns 18 and makes a tandem jump. I just found this website last night, so here I am.
A flat circular canopy is one that is with gores shaped like slices of a pie with a constant angle from the apex to the skirt. If you lay the canopy out on the floor it will lay “flat”.
A four line release is a method of releasing the inside 2 lines on each rear riser once the canopy is open. This allows air to vent to the rear stopping oscillation. A by product of this a small amount of forward speed.
Sparky
Opps, I forgot.
The crown lines referred to in the post were not actually “crown lines. 24’ flats had continuous lines. They would run from one riser up to the canopy, through a channel in the canopy seem, up over the top and down the other side to another riser. When they would do is zigzag the line up from the skirt about 6/8 inches and strip out the rest of the line. This was old 550 line and amounted to a hell of a lot of pack volume. When they were open, if you looked at them from the top, they looked like a jelly fish. Scary.
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