slotperfect

Hang in Mark . . . better days and better weather are on their way. Take the down time to look around and find out if there are better and maybe more steady opportunities out there for ya. Arrive Safely John

Damn, Kate . . . I'm glad you guys are OK and came out of that as well as you did. Obviously it could have been much worse. Glad to hear reparations are already underway as well. As for the weather, the scary part was how it came upon us so quickly. The temperature dropped from a balmy 75 to 50 in no time, and the winds came up almost instantly. There was no warning at all. We lost power all night, but that was it. Tornado?? I hadn't heard of one, but I'm not much of a news watcher. I will say that conditions were prime for it, though. Arrive Safely John

Personally, I don't want a "title" that reflects my jump numbers. To me, that uses my jump numbers as a measuring stick to give me "status" in the sport, which is really not what I'm about. IMHO, jump numbers only very generally indicate someone's experience level. There are some 150 jump wonders with natural talent that can fly circles around me. When I joined the site, I explored a lot, and found the explanation to the DZ.com title next to my name. The current system makes sense to me. Arrive Safely John

Assuming the student's hands are in the toggles: When preparing to land I physically push the toggles all the way to the keepers for full flight, then wrap my thumbs around the rear risers to lock them in place. I have had very strong students pull down on the toggles prematurely using this fail safe, and I have been able to hold the toggles in position while saying "not yet, not yet" in their ear. Some of them listened, some of them didn't, but the flare happened when I wanted it to regardless. I learned this from a very small TM with short arms and very little leverage as a result. It is one of the most useful tips I have received. Arrive Safely John

1) I am a strong advocate of an Instructor Forum 2) I understand and support the need for it to be a closed forum . . . I think it would flourish to its full potential that way. 3) Question: how do you filter participants? Confirming credentials seems to be a difficult task. Using the USPA DZO database would work for USPA rated Instructors, but Instructors rated by other organizations/manufacturers would be harder to verify. Arrive Safely John

I totally agree that this survey was not perfect, but I think it was a good place to start. I think it will accomplish its purpose (in my estimation anyway) to bring some sort of methodology to people's awareness of the issues that directly affect safe canopy piloting. I believe that information and training are the keys to reducing the canopy flight related fatalities of late. I am a big guy, and I jump bigger canopies at conservative wing loadings. Most of my 3000+ jumps have been on other than zero-p canopies. My Risk Quotient with my work canopy (a Silhouette 210 loaded at 1.21) was "Comfortable" - 25. Perfect, since I jump it at a field elevation of 1900 FT MSL, sometimes at night. My score with my personal canopy (a Sabre2 190 loaded at 1.34), was "Average" - 30. Good news, since that canopy is the first all zero-p canopy I have ever owned. Admittedly, the fact that I have made 106 jumps already in 2004, most of them in February, helped my score. I also took advantage of many "hop n pop" opportunities to train on canopy flight, and have been working specific maneuvers with both canopies to improve myself. That also lowered my score. The one thing I gleaned from my results was that keeping my two canopies close together in size and wing loading is a good thing for me. I can use very similar landing techniques with both, only fine tuning them when I drop down to the Sabre2. I will seek out a canopy piloting course this year, and I'm looking forward to the results. Even after all these years in the sport I still love to learn, train, and improve myself. It makes me a safer and better skydiver and a better instructor. Arrive Safely John

"Super Anvils" I love it! I am not far behind you at 225 - "Clydesdale" class, maybe?? I want to see your "Super Anvil" logo . . . that's gonna make a cool t-shirt! Arrive Safely John

That's AWESOME! What an achievement! I'd be interested to know what kind of equipment you done tandems with, and how many of those jumps were with rigs you packed yourself. I have another comment, but rather than hijack this thread I posted it HERE instead. It's a very similar subject, but I don't want to choke off this poll thread. Arrive Safely John

Rather than hijack this thread I decided to post this separately. Usually when I am talking to a very experienced Tandem Instructor, I ask them: 1) How many total tandems do you have? 2) How many tandem reserve rides do you have? 3) Of those malfunctioned canopies, how many of them did you pack yourself? Interestingly enough, almost every time the response to the third question is "none." I realize that many Tandem Instructors rarely pack their own rig, which contributes to the results of that question. I also realize that maintenance related malfunctions (equipment failure) don't directly factor into the answer either, except that packers should question worn out or damaged parachute components and get them replaced. I know a few TMs that own their own rig, and never let anyone else pack for them, just because of the risk/responsibility factor. At the risk of running closely parallel to the other thread, I would like to hear from some of you DZ.com TMs with over 1500 tandems: 1) how many reserve rides 2) how many of those malfunctioned mains did you pack yourself? Arrive Safely John

For "training tandems' using the USPA Tandem Progression, all of my students help fly the canopy. For e-ticket ride type tandems, I have a weight range rule of thumb. Anyone 180 lbs or heavier, I have them help me. I have a way of locking my thumbs around the rear risers with both sets of toggles in my hands that prevents a premature flare. I can flare for heavier people without there help, but after a full weekend of nothing but tandems I get tendonitis in my shoulders. I am intrigued by Dave's tandem-specific workout. For reference, I most often jump a Sigma 370 tandem canopy. Also, most TMs I know do not let their students help them land. Arrive Safely John

I answered "Other," but my method almost fits the first response. I disconnect the side attachment straps, then rehook them behind the student's back so they do not 1) get caught on anything (like a pulled down toggle ) and 2) get underneath me or the student on landing (ouch). I don't hook them back to their original location, or attempt to find the rings designed to hold them when they're not being used. Arrive Safely John

Is that the jump aircraft featured in "The Gypsy Moths?" Arrive Safely John

Congratulations! Now you're able to pick and choose from the myriad of opportunities for fun available in this great sport. Choose wisely, be safe, and emjoy the freedom of the skies. Arrive Safely John

Danny (Bubba) Greene was one of my Commanders on the Golden Knights when I was there. He is an outstanding individual and was a fantastic Commander and team mate. I knew he was going to be a good one when he started rigging smoke by himself while we were up making our second demo jump of the day during his first road trip with the Gold Team in Cleveland. I used to email back and forth with him a coupla times per year, but he changed his email address. If anyone has it, please PM it to me. Arrive Safely John

There have been several of these, and here are the results grouped together to make them useful. 42% of 36 TMs voting wear a hard helmet THREAD 64% of 44 TMs voting wear a big floppy jumpsuit without booties THREAD 89% of 35 TMs voting put their student in some sort of jumpsuit THREAD 81% of 32 TMs voting have their student's harness completely tightened down ready to jump before boarding the aircraft THREAD 52% of 33 TMs voting remove their student's seatbelt after reaching a safe emergency exit altitude THREAD 67% of 18 TMs voting are able to turn a tandem canopy with rear risers (brakes stowed)THREAD 43% of 74 TMs voting have had between 0 and 3 reserve ridesTHREAD Of 75 TMs that shared their "incident history," the results were: -Student threw up 27& -Student passed out 21% -Student peed their pants 4% -Student crapped their pants 3% -Side-spin 15% -Student injured on landing 15% -TM head-butted by student 16% THREAD These small snapshots of TMs in the dotcommer community have helped me a lot, maybe they will help y'all as well. Arrive Safely John

Going twice . . . anyone have these pics to help me out?? Arrive Safely John

I leave for a vacation in Mexico on the 10th, but I have asked for some time off the 7th and 8th. I will try and make it! Arrive Safely John

Pulling both drogue release handles before making an emergency exit is the proper procedure for a Strong rig. The drogue on the Strong system does not collapse until the canopy comes out of the bag, so the fully inflated drogue would still do its job in this case. The Vector drogue collapses as soon as it is released, so pulling the drogue release handle before exit will only result in a delayed main canopy deployment (the drogue will be collapsed sonn after being thrown). Pulling the drogue release handle(s) on a Sigma rig before exit will do nothing, since the curved safety pin keeps the straight main closing pin in place until the drogue is set. As far as practicing emergency exits, I think expedited exits from lower altitudes with another TM or an experienced jumper who has made tandem exits on that equipment from that particular aircraft are worth the effort. I would make them no lower than 5500 FT - no sense in creating an emergency situation while training to prevent one. I would also take the time to do a full hookup and at least tighten snugly and evenly. I have had two tandem emergency exits, both from 4000 FT. The first was an experienced student (8th tandem - 4th with me), and the second a first timer. In both cases we had plenty of time to completely hook up and tighten down - it did not take long at all. Arrive Safely John

Zero Why? Good packing and good maintenance! Arrive Safely John

At Raeford we put all students in jumpsuits - the slicker the better. If they are wearing jeans, we'll have them take them off and put the jumpsuit on over their skivvies. Reasoning: what they wear is consistent, safe, and not theirs if it gets dirty or torn. Some versions of street clothes are safe, but much less predictable than knowing we have a jumpsuit. Arrive Safely John

I have sent one Swift Reserve, and two Cirrus Reserves in for testing - all three failed and were deemed unairworthy The paperwork simply stated that the canopy fabric failed the porosity test. In my case, two of the canopies were given to me, and one was a friend's who asked me to sell it. One of the reserves I had reservations about - the other two passed fabric pull tests and visual inspection. A phone call to Giorgio might yield a better answer to your questions given your good record keeping. Arrive Safely John

Para Flite, the manufacturer of the Swift reserve, will do a 100% airworthiness and porosity inspection for $25 including the return shipping. People bring me older gear asking me to sell it for them. I usually have the canopies inspected to make sure I am selling someone a gear that will do the job for them. The last three reserves I have sent for this inspection have been deemed unairworthy due to poor porosity. Para Flite 5800 Magnolia Ave Pennsauken, NJ 08109-1399 (856) 663-1275 POC: Giorgio Piatti giorgio@paraflite.com Hope this helps! Arrive Safely John

The original Swift Reserve was a 177 5-cell. There was no other size option. When the Swift Plus came out (a series of 7-cell reserves), there were 175 and 225 versions, later followed by a 145. Arrive Safely John

Those pics are not from the same skydive, but I saved them anyway. Thanks! Arrive Safely John

I am looking for a few tandem pictures I have seen posted here before. I have searched to no avail . . . -free flyer standing on the tandem master's rig holding onto the drogue -tandem pair being towed behind an SUV -triple tandem (double student) balloon jump In the spirit of sharing, here's one for y'all . . . Tandem BASE Jump Arrive Safely John