First Tandem, equipment malfunction??

[ferfermkc 0]

Not sure what happend to me! I was on my first tandem jump and when I called to make the reservation I told them I weighed 220. Five minutes before my jump the guy who was going to jump with me began to pay any attention to me. At this time he said oh by the way how much do you weight. I told him and he was obviously frustrated. He kept saying were going to go fast, were going to go fast. At that moment he switched packs with the lady who was jumping with my boyfriend. Fastfoward to our jump...
All seemed fine untill we pulled the shoot and my harnes yanked up and I fell way down into my harness. So much so the chest strap was at my chin and the leg straps were cutting into me. He began letting me know that something was not right and off course I'm freaking out So my question is, is this normal and was it my fault. I made a joke after he said everything was fine about how I was bottom heavy (my weight is all located in hips) at that point he pipped up and said "YA, did not want to say anything but, YA!!" Well of course this has made me feel this is my fault, but I have come to believe that if my harnes was on tight enought or correctly I should not have fell so far into the harnes (about 6in) OK so I hope someone can let me know if it was me, him or a combo! Oh ya one more thing would the harnes being how it was stop me from being able to lift my knees? He was getting very frustrated with me because I could not bring my knees up and my feet out (only a tiny bit) I think because the straps were cutting into my legs so much it was very hard and painful to lift my kness. Needless to say he said do it or get hurt, but we landed ok even though my legs could not move. I hope I explained this well enought, let me know if more info is needed.
Thanks so much!

[freeflir29 0]

Tandem passenger harnesses don't fit very well. They were made to fit everyone which means they don't fit anyone well. Sorry...but thats just the way it is. About your feet....The TM was frustrated and was trying to motivate you because as he said, Either pick your feet up or get hurt. If you let your feet dig in he will have no choice whatsoever but to land on top of you and grind you into the dirt. If you want to do another I might suggest going to the gym and working your abs and leg muscles. Also....if you plan on learning to jump by yourself it would be a good idea to get your arms nice and strong as well. Skydiving can be pretty physically demanding.

[pilotdave 0]

I don't really know, but it sounds to me like the harness just wansnt tight enough. If it's on right, you shouldnt be able to move down all that much. Those tandem harnesses are "one size fits none" as I've heard one tandem instructor say before he puts it on each student. Maybe it just didn't fit your body type well. I've never done a tandem but I've heard a lot of people say the harnesses are very uncomfortable. I'm sure you'd be fine doing AFF and wearing a regular rig. 220 is definitely not too much or anything. Also, it mighta been uncomfortable, but I doubt there was any real danger. The harnesses are designed so it's impossible to fall out.

Dave

[skybytch 273]

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Five minutes before my jump the guy who was going to jump with me began to pay any attention to me.

Likely because he had landed from his last tandem a few minutes earlier...

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At this time he said oh by the way how much do you weight. I told him and he was obviously frustrated. He kept saying were going to go fast, were going to go fast.

If he was a big guy, he was probably thinking about the speed of the canopy on landing - the more weight under it, the more forward speed it develops. Forward speed on landing is a good thing, but on a tandem it means that the passenger really, really needs to get their feet up and let the instructor's feet land first. He was probably worried about that, because generally it is the larger passengers that have problems lifing their legs for landing.

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I have come to believe that if my harnes was on tight enought or correctly I should not have fell so far into the harnes (about 6in)

Like others have said, tandem passenger harnesses are designed to be adjusted to a variety of body shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, they aren't real comfortable for any of those shapes/sizes. If the passenger is at all outside the range of "average" (thick thighs, really tall, really short, and/or "bowling ball" shaped would be examples of outside the "average" range) tandem harnesses can be extremely uncomfortable. As long as you were in no danger of falling out of the harness (sounds to me like there was no worry about that), your experience falls into the range of normal considering your body type ("bottom heavy (my weight is all located in hips)" ).

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I think because the straps were cutting into my legs so much it was very hard and painful to lift my kness.

If you have big thighs (and especially if they are primarily fat instead of muscle), it's pretty common for legstraps to "dig in".

If you plan to continue jumping, I'd recommend working on losing weight - trimming down will improve your comfort level in any skydiving harness (tandem, student or sport).

[Scoby 0]

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I don't really know, but it sounds to me like the harness just wansnt tight enough. If it's on right, you shouldnt be able to move down all that much. Those tandem harnesses are "one size fits none" as I've heard one tandem instructor say before he puts it on each student. Maybe it just didn't fit your body type well. I've never done a tandem but I've heard a lot of people say the harnesses are very uncomfortable. I'm sure you'd be fine doing AFF and wearing a regular rig. 220 is definitely not too much or anything. Also, it mighta been uncomfortable, but I doubt there was any real danger. The harnesses are designed so it's impossible to fall out.

I did two tandems before actually deciding to become a skydiver. The harnesses are spectacularly ill-fitting. I'm a rather average-sized guy (5'11", 160lbs) and I had a similar experience. My legs straps were cutting off my circulation (my vision slowly went greyish under canopy) and I felt like I was too far down in the harness. I think that's normal, even if it isn't pleasant. Tandem rigs are just not designed for comfort. I was pretty thrilled by how comfortable the rig was when I took my AFF1 (now I'd find that same student rig terribly bulky and ill-fitting!). It's not a huge deal, anyway, as tandems are a once (or twice) in a lifetime experience. I'd say to this tandem that if she wants to skydive, forget about how unpleasant the rig felt, because the sport rigs are much, much better.

[riggerrob 643]

I have seen this scenario hundreds of times with "bottom heavy students."
How do we put this diplomaticaly (?) soft tissue is far more compressible than muscle. Despite my best efforts, plump students always sag in the harness.Since the harnesses are "one size fits all" they are marginally comfortable on everyone, including 185 pound, 6 foot tall me. (Note, I occaisionally jump strapped to the front of tandem-masters in training.)
The only short term solution is to see if manufacturers' promises about the latest generation of tandem student harnesses are true. They have promised that the latest generation have wider leg pads and are more comfortable.

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Yep, the newest Sigma passenger harnesses keep you in a more "seated" position under canopy, especially after the side straps are undone/loosened. It's sort of like sitting in a playground swing. If it's still tight on them, I have them scoot the straps farther under their thighs. Some "heavier" people, though, will still have their circulation cut off by the legstraps; others will sag pretty far under you in the harness making it hard to get your feet under theirs.

Chuck
"just a monkey on the back of big passengers"

[Scoby 0]

Well, what's weird is that I'm hardly bottom heavy. In fact, I'm not all, I'm quite thin. However, I still had my circulation cut off by the tandem harness. I was a little worried on my first AFF jump that I would get woozy like I did on the second tandem, but the student rigs and the rental rigs I jump now are mostly pretty comfortable (and even the ones that haven't been didn't cut off my circulation). I think it comes down to the thivkness of the leg pads, as you said.