slotperfect

In the military, free fall helmets provide three kinds of protection: -*bump* protection: prevents injury in case of inadvertent contact with the aircraft, another jumper in free fall, part of the parachute (e.g. risers), and the ground (or an obstacle) on landing. -*hearing* protection: helmets with an ear cup provide a modest level of hearing protection by themselves; used in conjunction with a simple E.A.R. Classic ear plug, properly inserted, the protection is excellent. -*warmth*: self-explanatory. These helmets also provide a mounting platform for other important equipment such as oxygen masks, night vision goggles, strobe lights, etc. But - they are not intended to provide *impact* protection like a motorcycle helmet is. MFF helmets are not tested to that degree. With a rare exception or two, they do not provide any *ballistic* protection either. The school of thought here is that during the majority of MFF jumps, if impact with the ground requires the protection of a helmet to prevent head injury, the rest of your body - also unprotected against the impact, will be incur much worse injury. In other words, if I bounce hard enough to need a helmet with impact protection, I have a lot worse problems than that. Take that mindset and add the liability risk of skydiving helmet manufacturers, and it's a safe bet you have answered the question "why don't skydiving helmets protect against impact?" Between myself and our safety officer, we have done a lot of homework on helmets and testing, including visits to the Snell Labs website you posted here (which is great information, BTW). During that research we discovered that the Gentex HGU-55/P helmet that has been used by MFF jumpers since the early 1980's has never truly been tested to determine the extent of its hearing protection! Arrive Safely John

Added Ivan Korobkov (KRBKV) from Freezone Moscow. Arrive Safely John

As explained in this article on the USPA web page, all skydivers are urged to submit their comments in support of the proposed rule change that would extend the reserve repack cycle in the U.S. from 120 to 180 days. The more support this effort gets from the community, especially from those who have first-hand experience with extended repack cycles, the more likely it is to become a reality. To post your comments, visit http://dms.dot.gov/. Find the heading toward the bottom of the front page that reads "Dockets Open for Comments." Click on "Open Dockets." Choose docket number FAA-2005-21829, "Exemption/Rulemaking - Parachute Industry Association" to read the existing comments. To leave your own, click on the "Comments/Submissions" button in the toolbar at the top, click continue (there is no need to register to make your comments), then fill out the form. Be sure and enter FAA-2005-21829 as the Docket ID. I will add my comments this weekend. Arrive Safely John

I like it!

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=handcam&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=50 Arrive Safely John

Please use PMs for this purpose. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=amychmelecki; Thanks, Arrive Safely John

After watching the video twice, and cringing both times, I re-read all of the replies. All that I would say about the incident has already been said, but I would like to comment on this stamtement: There can be (and usually is) great value in sharing the details of an incident with others so lessons learned can have their maximum benefit. The two big questions to ask are: to what end, and at whose expense? In this case, all of those highly experienced jumpers that make up the useful cross-section you speak of are available here without exposing the incident to the forums. You can contact them via PM or email and ask them to comment so those involved can learn. If you don't know who to go to, there are plenty of folks here (including me) that can point you in the right direction regarding who to talk to. I am not telling you what course of action to take - expose it in a public forum or "hide your head in the sand;" - that's a judgment call only you can make. What I am saying is that there is often more than one way to achieve the desired result in cases like this while being reasonably discreet. The one thing that is completely certain is that if you post it in the open, you are going to get opinions that you either didn't want or don't like or didn't mean to solicit. Nuff said. Arrive Safely John

My son Logan has never been to a concert. I have been promising him, but there has been a lame selection this year. I just had a trip cancel, which makes me available to go see Peter Frampton. My son asked to hear some, so I put on "Do You Feel Like We Do?" He had a smile on his face and was tapping his feet. I will get us some tickets.

It's dead in here right now. Arrive Safely John

Added Olga Usanova (olga_inet) from Skylark.

I have some video (somewhere) of two drogueless tandems and some other jumpers in an RW formation (tandems originally had no drogue). I also have video and pictures of a single tandem, drogue deplyed, with RW jumpers docked in a formation. Those are pretty common. I would imagine that some sort of relativity has been attempted with drogues deployed, but I have no real life examples (that's probably just as well). Arrive Safely John

Please reply to your original thread instead of starting another one on the same topic. Thanks. Arrive Safely John

*I was unable to reply to Billy's post, so I used this one.* There is a thread on this incident in the Incidents forum: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2900754;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed; Use that thread to discuss the facts of the incident and lessons learned. DO NOT use it as fuel for the anti-Skyride/ASC/Pratville fire. There is a dead skydiver involved here that had family and friends. Don't use it as a soap box to preach "I told you so's" from. Arrive Safely John

Please save the personal conversations for PMs or Bonfire and reserve posts in the topical forums for discussion on the subject at hand. Thanks, Arrive Safely John

PAs are not permitted in the forums. Be prepared for others to post opinions that are vehemently opposite of yours, and to keep your emotions in check. Think before you post . . . [/warning] Arrive Safely John

Tips are always appreciated, but I never expect them so (as Steve said), it is always a nice surprise. I have been tipped with everything from cash ($20 usually) to t-shirts to jackets to movie tickets. If you can afford the extra expense, it is a nice thing to do. Speaking for myself - if you want to learn to skydive I would rather you spent your tip money on AFF. Others may feel differently. If the Tandem Instructor and Camera Flyer both did a tip-worthy job, including them both is a great gesture. Otherwise most TIs will split a tip with his CF. Arrive Safely John

Sunrise . . . you get to see the sun come up twice: once from the air (free fall), and again on the ground after you land. Arrive Safely John

A military orgranization? Arrive Safely John

On loan from what organization? Arrive Safely John

From side door aircraft I do a smooth side-slide exit, beginning with a squat in the Otter door, or a seated position in the PAC 750XL door. From ramp aircraft I do a 270 cheetah flip 99% of the time. Arrive Safely John

Added Tony Uragallo (tony-tonysuits) from Tony Suits. Arrive Safely John

I fly through the opening - I don't touch my student. Once we are vertical my hands go high on the main risers prepared to deal with a malfunction if it happens. Arrive Safely John

Billy - this is not a Skyride thread. Please don't continue to drag those conversations into this thread. This thread needs to stay on topic, please . . . Arrive Safely John

Nice!

OK - I figured out the slo-mo thing (DOH!), and here is my take on it. -I think the side attachments were either a smidge on the loose side *or* tightened down a little unevenly. There was just enough room for your hips and hers to slide apart sideways a little. -Her hips slide to the left immediately upon pushing off the airplane - it looks like she pushes off along with you, a split second before you do, making her hips slide slight to the left of yours. -That bit of unevenness (or something) causes the left turn on exit, and when you get about 90 degrees through that turn the pair rolls right slightly, which cuts you in a bit on the right side. (Right before the drogue throw) That starts the momentum of a left turn. -At that point, in my opinion, it was your body position (not hers) that caused the spin to continue. -Your student gave you a dynamite body position right off the edge of the door - symmetrical arms, nice arch at the pelvis, and symmetrical legs thrown back between yours. -You knew something was up, but rather than flying through it you began to use your arms and legs to correct the student. Since you are using your arms to correct her, your only flying surface is your legs, which seem to be knees down and mostly straight, possibly driving you around in the same direction. -Then your teamie pops in and stops the left turn momentum. -Right there you are digging in really hard with your right arm to square things up. A side note here . . . be careful putting your arms down there, a freaked out student can wrap you up really easily. -Right after the arm dig, once you think it's flying OK, it registers on your face and your whole body position changes - your arms come out into clean air flying, your legs are up high and off your student flying by themselves, and you look relaxed. It's right here that you shake your head thinking "what the hell was that?" Then you start geeking the camera. -Believe it or not her body position here is the same as is was right after exit - she is arching like a champ, but still cocked off to the left side a little. The big difference is that you are relaxed and flying through it, correcting it naturally rather than manhandling it. The moral of the story: -Side attachments need to be nice and snug and even -Ignore the student and fly yourself first, fix minor problems later after the drogue throw and handle checks. If you can't fix them, just fly it yourself. -Don't put your hands/arms where the student can trap them. That's how I see it. I hope that helps you. Arrive Safely John