katzas

I may have been the first to jump a Para Commander static line. It was at Orange, Mass.....Parachutes Incorporated. I was still a student on the rope but managed to talk Doug Angel into letting me do a static line jump on one of the rental PCs. Cold day...January or February....thick air....Cessna....exit at 2600 ft agl. It opened perfectly....steered it to the ground, did a plf....and Doug started breathing again. It was definitely the first static line PC jump at Orange...but not sure if it was the first ever. The year was, I think, 1967 or 1968.

I have one rig with and one without. When I jump with the AAD rig I don't give it a second thought once I activate it and check to see if it works. I don't jump with it thinking, "this rig is safer" or "this one will save me". I just jump. The only time I think about it is the next day when I turn it on again during my gear check. It's there--I use it--and that's it. Those who think that skydivers with AADs are somehow counting on it and can be casual about EPs because of it just aren't firing on all eight.

Anyone have any experience with the stowless bags that use magnets? Pros, cons, problems.....anything and everything would be appreciated.

Had to laugh. Jacques was (and I think still is) one of the icons of skydiving. I heard he is the mayor of some small town in California. I once had the priviledge (?) of being pin checked by the man himself at Orange. I made a comment about it to him and, in inimitable Jacques style he just smiled and said, "Nobles Oblige". I laughed out loud. Made the pilgrimage to Orange last summer--kinda like going to Mecca. Walked into the office and there, as big as life, was John Carlson--one of the Orange originals. We reminisced a bit. I had my brand new rig in the trunk but didn't jump--windy I think. Will be making my way across the USA from DZ to DZ this summer. Might be my swan song--might not. Got two months to abuse myself--can't think of a better way.

License D-1 belongs to Lew Sanborn. If that's you Lew--you flew a Norseman on my first static line jump.

Yup--had that in mind as well but am trying to stay north-ish because of the heat in July and August. Midwest has a number of DZs all the way up to Montana. Thought about Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio.....but still looking. Thanks.

It's an interesting exercise that people should try... What are your priorities for an AAD? Personally, my first one is that is must not fire when it shouldn't. Second is having no unsafe failure modes. Third is firing when it should... those are mine. What are yours? One of my priorities is the ability for ME to set the activation altitude above a minimum. I can't understand why stock units are set to fire at 750 ft. The Vigil II+ can be set higher as I understand. My lowest opening was at 1200 ft way back when. That was pretty damned scary.

I am looking to spend about two months this summer traveling and skydiving. I will probably start in Chicago--but I could be talked into Philadelphia or somewhere in the east. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good itinerary? I don't want to go to any tandem factories or skygod hangouts.

I have mine made for me here in China. They are tailor made by two women who definitely do not work in a sweat shop. Their quality is first class and, in fact, I am having two more made in the next month so when I travel back to the states and Europe this summer I have three--one of fairly heavy poly-cotton and two of lighter weight material. The two I had made fit perfectly and slowed me down just as I had hoped so I could shed the nick of "flying bowling ball". When I looked at the prices for tailor made suits in the states and some of the reviews that crapped all over the supposedly custom made suits--I just had to do it here. Next I am gonna havie a wing suit made. I guarantee it won't cost anything like what they do in the big PX.

If you haven't seen this video you just gotta. https://vimeo.com/96571020 Put on your best headphones, crank up the audio--go to full screen mode and rock on. If this doesn't get you stomping your feet then check your pulse.

Here's what I did way back when. I found a DZ that was run by a club. Great place--but--it was only open on weekends. This was before tandems took over many dzs. I wanted to do a lot of concentrated skydiving because I figured (rightly so) that the only way to get good was to do it a lot in a relatively short period of time. I wanted an instructor--the same one--on every jump. I approached the club and made a somewhat radical proposal. I wanted to rent the whole place for a week. Airplane, pilot, instructor, and someone to pack gear so I could land, debrief and strap another rig on and do it again. To my surprise, they agreed. Not only did they agree--but they were only going to charge me the regular jump rates. I parked my conversion van on the dz and jumped my brains out every day--good weather all week. Sooo..........if you can get that kind of a deal I think you will enjoy a fine week of learning and skygasms. By the way---the club was Connecticut Parachutists in Ellington, Ct.

FYI. I flew both domestically (USA) and internationally with my gear. The flight began in the US and ended up in China. I was reluctant to check my bag (two free checked bags) because it had about $6000 worth of gear in it. I purchased excess value insurance from the airline. Had to explain to the gal behind the counter that there is such a thing. It allowed me to insure the gear to a max of $5000.00 which cost $50.00. Not many people know you can insure your checked bag in excess of the normal airline liability. The maximum "normal" coverage on an international flight is $2000.00 I think.

Icon NexGen took 12 weeks. Worth the wait.

OOPS--typo. It was Jan. 22, 1967. My bad

Best days of skydiving? As an official old fart I'd say the best days had little to do with the gear--it was the people. There was a camaraderie-- a sense of bon homme that seems to be missing today. Even when the skies lowered, the wind howled and the rain was horizontal we were still there--looking up and swapping stories, talking skydiving. I started in the 60's under modified rounds--then I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first day I strapped a Para Commander on my back. You had to have something like 100 or 200 jumps before they'd let you jump on of those. Cutaways were rare--and dying under a functional canopy was practically unheard of. Mind you--put in 7 or 8 jumps in one day under a round and the next morning it felt like you got hit by a truck. But--we went out and did it all over again. Nobody was ever ever drunk at the DZ--and dope was something jazz musicians did. If you did something stupid somebody would let you know. There were skygods for sure--but we all knew who they were--and we let them hang out with each other until they got bored. There was "The Inn" where Jill (who made me the first ever Martini I ever drank) made your drinks--where you got a good steak at a fair price--and where, if you got too drunk to drive there was always a bunk. The cops knew us--and left us alone--for the most part. There was Fred--who sold his blood to get money to jump. There was Butch who took the time to teach--even nerds like me. There was Sonny who played his sax (Satin Doll mostly) at The Inn. There was Marcia--who I had a terrible crush on and actually got to kiss a couple of times when her BF (a JM) wasn't looking. There was Pam--dear god--Pam--who didn't jump but.......watching her play pool in a tight skirt on a rainy day made up for it. There was Al who was always by the book and by the numbers. There was Cardinal Puff. And of course there was Jacques--who by definition brought a certain air of arrogance to the place--who rode an elephant in a parade in his PI jumpsuit. There was the day when--at last--you had enough money to buy a Para Commander--and choosing the colors became a big decision. There were French jump boots that needed to be broken in--and became the unofficial badge that proclaimed, "I am a skydiver". There was the first static line jump--where you had absolutely no idea what the hell you were doing. Then there was the second jump--where you did have an idea and it scared the crap outta you. The rounds were steerable--sure they were. Wooden toggles--pull hard and it spun you around--slowly--very slowly. PLF was mandatory. AADs were nearly nonexistent. Cutaways only happened if you were jumping a PC and it really really screwed up--with shot and a half Capewells and a belly reserve (look, pull, punch). Dummy ripcord handles--then--one day--a real one. Big debates about whether the ripcord handle should face in or out on your harness. Cross pull vs. righ hand pull. Somehow, most of us lived through it.....and some of us are lucky enough to be still doing it. Thank the gods I am one of those. And thank you to all my instructors, my friends who helped this snot-nosed nerd figure it out. They were--and some still are--some of the finest people I ever met.

Doug Angel was one of the good guys at PI in Orange. One cold winter day, Jan. 22, 1961 with the sun shining brightly I convinced him to let me jump a Para Commander static line. He was very, very nervous. I may have been the first student to ever do that. Bill Tobin was my JM. Doug was standing on the ground talking to me on the radio. It opened, I played with it--and landed without incident. That night at "The Inn" we celebrated with Cutaways. Here is the recipe. One part vodka, one part gin, one part white rum, fill half way with sour mix syrup and then top off the rest of a 12 oz beer glass with beer. I visited Orange this past summer and as I walked into the office I beheld John Carlson. Still alive--still there--and still jumping occasionally. We reminisced and looked at all the sigs in my old PI logbook. Butch Rubb, Howie White, Doug, Pat Gorham, Al Smith, Vic Deveau, Lew Sanborn, and yes even the man himself--Jacques Istel. I was sorry to hear about Doug's passing. I liked him a lot--he always offered constructive criticism and wanted to help a newbie like me. Blue Skies, Doug from Cardinal Ed.

Bought mine on (gasp!) ebay for $80.00. Crap shoot--but what the hell. It works fine. It came with a different mounting strap--not the finger kind but around my wrist and thumb. I like it. Funny thing--went aboard a commercial flight and brought it with me (set to zero in the boarding area). About an hour into the flight I checked it to see what the altitude in the cabin was. Was pretty surprised to see 13,000 ft. Made cabin crew aware that this altitude was higher than it should be. First officer came back--looked at it and said, "make it a habit of carrying an altimeter do ya?" He returned to the cockpit and I watched the altitude in the cabin decrease slowly to about 7000 ft which is pretty normal. Later I found out that they do this deliberately--especially on red eye flights. Passengers pass out from low air pressure and the cabin crew doesn't have to work so hard. I carry it with me every time I fly now.

OK--I can't really complain about how it works. Nor can I complain about the cost (for me). I bought an used helmet on ebay, great helmet but it squashed my head like a vise. BUT, hidden inside the helmet was this little plastic box. Yup, a pro dytter - essentially for free. So I sold the helmet and kept the dytter. Now, how to set it up? Dowloaded the manual. Okie dokie. Played with it, followed the instructions, it just blinked at me, sat there and mocked me. After dicking with it for an hour I figured it out. You gotta be fast with your fingers. When it blinks the second time you better push that button during the half second the light comes on or it just sits there and laughs at you. Having read all the reviews about L+B products and their legendary service I am looking at the Optima II. Don't be surprised if you see my dytter for sale in the classified section--but only after I find an Optima II.

Yup--it wasn't that long ago that using an AAD made you a pussy too. Then the Golden Knights started using them--and suddenly maybe the guy who was using one wasn't that much of a pussy any more. Doing stupid shit can make you dead. But don't worry--"He wasn't a pussy" will be on the tombstone. I stay faaar away from that type.

OK--so am I dense or am I missing the Cypres comparison? Be kind.

Ordered a NexGen in March, 2014. It was waiting for me at my dealer in early July. Options are few--but I ordered it with a skyhook, freefly handle and magnetic riser covers. It came with stuff that is $$ options from other manufacturers like stainless steel everything, bungeed leg straps, honest to god real hook knife custom color trim tapes, etc. Check out what all the options on other lower cost rigs cost and you'll find that the Icon is very competitive. Canopies are Aerodyne Pilot 230 and a PD 193 reserve--also new. It fits like a custom made suit. In the past Icons had a rep for the leg straps coming loose on opening. Well, they sure fixed that problem--there is no way your leg strap will budge once you get it cinched down. The back pad is super comfy--as are the wide leg straps. The rig will not shift around on your back in freefall--and the freefly handle is exactly where it should be when you reach back to yank it. This rig sat me up in the saddle on opening. It even handled a hard opening very well by distributing the shock and not shifting up. The material (cordura) is as tough as it comes. The mag riser covers absolutely will not open unless you want them to. Stitching is flawless. I ordered mine in black with royal blue Icon symbol and same color trim tape. Got an unsolicited compliment from one of the guys on the second load as to how sharp it looks (if you care about such things). Cutaway and reserve handles are perfectly located--with the reserve handle in a stiff pocket. My hands fall to the handles perfectly. Nothing at all bad to say. Aerodyne was great to work with (thanks J!!). If I ever need to buy another container it will be an Icon.

Well, in fact, it is how you can pay for them. Use a credit card--buy one--pay it off in a year--whatever. Yes, you pay interest--but if it saved your ass that's a small price to pay. Skydiving is not a cheap sport. The equipment is expensive, jumps are expensive.......that's a given. New skydivers try to buy used stuff--and many are successful. Some can''t because of size, canopy type, etc. It costs what it costs. An AAD adds about 20% (give or take) to the cost of a complete new rig. I just bought all new stuff. I wanted a Vigil. However, Vigil, in their wisdom, decided to upgrade (or whatever they call it) their AAD at exactly the wrong time. Murphy exerted his influence and when I needed one there wasn't one single dealer in the world who could sell me one. So--I jumped my new gear without one--only a few times. I am satisfied with my new gear--but I stopped jumping that rig because there is no AAD in it. As soon as Vigil gets their shit together I'll order one and have it installed--then I'll jump the hell outta my new stuff. Until then--my pretty new rig sits in it's bag. Yes I could have purchased a Cypres.....but I didn't for a few good reasons. I made that choice. You made the choice to include an AAD in your rig too. I think we both made the right choices.

Oh? Seen the vid of a freefall photographer (pro) who got saved by his buddies? He was out like a light and unresponsive. Don't know if he had an AAD--his friends performed that function before an AAD would have fired. Novice? Don't think so.

Just to note, it is often said that an AAD save is a bounce that didn't happen, so the "why" question should be the first and most important one. Followed by "what have you done to fix your EP's?(assuming the jumper isn't a victim of a FF collision) I agree with your comment above as to the "why". However, the only way anyone is going to be able to ask that question and have it answered is if the AAD saved the person on the other end of that question. Freefall collisions aren't the only reason a skydiver becomes unable to perform EPs. Hard openings cause all sorts of physical (and equipment) problems. Sometimes making the decision to work on the problem until the hard deck can incapacitate due to g forces building up impairing both mental and physical ability. I have never advocated relying on an AAD to do what you should be doing. Just as an RSL will most likely get your reserve out before you can clear your reserve ripcord--we teach students to pull it anyway. However--if you can't do an EP--or you fuck up and lose awareness--or whatever the hell happened--it just might save your ass so that why question can be asked and answered.

There is no doubt that a new AAD increases the cost of a rig by about $1300 or so. That being said--it is probably the one component of a rig that holds it's value the best. Buy one today for the above price and sell it either with your rig or seperately in five years and (assuming a Vigil) lose about $500.00 on it. A hundred bucks a year (4 jumps a year by my reckoning) to have that kind of backup protection is a pretty trivial number. As to leg strap pcs--yes I guess you can have rigs modified to include one--but they are not even offered as an option by most manufacturers on new gear. It's a custom job for a rigger and has to cost $$$. CRW guys may not do CRW on every jump. I guess a case could be made that an AAD in a CRW situation might not be a good idea--but--they come with an ON-OFF button. Turn it on if you're not doing CRW. Swoopers are another issue--but--they do their high speed canopy stuff at low altitude under a fully deployed canopy which tends to make the AAD a non-starter for them at that altitude. However, given the nature of the high performance canopies that the swoopers use and their tendency to have more serious malfunctions at opening--an AAD would be a useful backup for them as well.