shadeland

One trick I use for audibles is to use earplugs. Paradoxically, earplugs (at least the foam ones I use) make hearing the beeps/sounds much easier, since it conducts the sounds through the foam directly to my ear. Even when I can barely hear the wind, the audible sounds loud and clear.

I've only seen a few Vortex's around, but a lot of Infinities. I've jumped Infinities as rentals and as student rigs. I've not jumped a Vortex I don't think. The two places I've jumped at most use them as student rigs. I like them for coaching jumps because I can check the AAD on the flight line/in the plane, but that's a different issue. My only complaint, and why I never got an Infinity, was that it didn't have a MARD. I've got an Icon NextGen and a second one on order. I'm quite happy with them. Riggers tend to love their reserve pack trays. Either way you go, a harness that fits (either custom or just lucked out and got a used rig that fits you perfectly) is really, really awesome. I won't go back to ill-fitting rigs. There's lots of really great rigs out there, and it's tough to go wrong. The only one I'd stay away from is Racer/Jumpshack (for a variety of reasons).

Except for the seat belt thing (has he changed that policy?).

I'm a private pilot and skydiver. I also spend a lot of time on commercial planes as a passenger. Skydiving changed my perspective on seatbelts/passenger restraint systems on airplanes. In cars, we primarily regard a seatbelt as something that will save *me*. And if I'm not wearing one, it's my choice. Then I read about the Perris accident, as others have referenced in this thread. I heard another skydiver on this board suggest a helpful phrase to someone on a jump plane that refuses to put a seatbelt on. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said something to the effect of "Put your seat belt on." "Naw, I don't need it." *Smack 'em upside the head* "It's not for you dipshit, it's for me." In planes, your seatbelt is not for you. In a crash, it's probably not going to help you out like a seatbelt in a car would. It's for everyone around you, so they don't turn into a meat missle/blender blade. It's for the pilot so he doesn't have a sudden shift in CG. I give pilot briefings to students, and the phrase I use is "your seatbelt isn't for you, it's for everyone else". Here's a good GIF that demonstrates the issue in a car. There are two passengers in the back seat, one of them without a seat belt, just absolutely pummels the other one. It looks like she's hurt a bit from it. If the other one had worn a seatbelt, that wouldn't have been the case. http://imgur.com/gallery/PLcEVqU And for very somber demonstration of the need to keep the center of gravity in check.... http://imgur.com/gallery/pDXlvNR A shift like that could potentially happen on a jump plane if jumpers weren't secured and the pilot had to yank back to avoid another plane or obstacle. If there's something that pilots don't fuck with, it's CG limits. I've been on a load or two before where not all of us could find our belts, and one or two people rode the plane up to 1,000/1,500 without one. That happens. But a DZ (*cough* Lodi *couch*) that doesn't as a matter of SOP I think is asking for a tragedy.

As a (private, non-jump) pilot, I read 9,000 feet and thought "oh, luxury!". There's a lot of time if something goes wrong that high. When a single engine plane loses its engine, first thing you usually do is trim for best glide. Every plane has a "best glide" speed, you point the nose down until that speed is reached. That'll keep you from stalling and give you time to go through your emergency procedures. At a descent rate of 1,000 feet per minute (which is a really fast decent rate, I think much faster than a Caravan would even heavily loaded) you've got 9 minutes before wheels down. I think the real issue is what happens at 2,500 feet, or 1,500 feet. Or 3,500 feet when there's time to bail at that moment, but the clock is ticking and the pilots immediate workload is high. Of course, you don't want a packed plane running to the door at the same time, otherwise you can get into an irreversible stall/spin that could kill just about everyone (even those that already left, plus maybe a few on the ground). But a lighter loaded plane will glide further than a heavier loaded one. At 9,000 feet, I imagine most pilots would tell people to get out. At 3,000? I don't know.