bclark

FAR 105.45 No person may conduct a parachute operation using a tandem parachute system, and no pilot in command of an aircraft may allow any person to conduct a parachute operation from that aircraft using a tandem parachute system, unless- 1)One of the parachutists using he tandem parachute system is the parachutist in command, and meets the following requirements: a.)Has a minimum of 3 years of experience in parachuting, and must provide documentation that the parachutist- b.)has completed a minimum of 500 freefall parachute jumps using a ram air parachute, and c.)holds a MASTER PARACHUTE LICENSE issued by an organization recognized by the FAA, and d.)has successfully completed a tandem instructor course given by the MANUFACTURER OF THE TANDEM PARACHUTE SYSTEM used in the parachute operation OR a course acceptable to the administrator. e.)has been certified by the appropriate PARACHUTE MANUFACTURER ORtandem course provider as being properly trained on the use of the specific tandem parachute system to be used. Interpret how you will, but the FAR's do not seem to require any USPA license other than a "Master Parachute License (D-License)".

Put the harness on right. Don't fuck with your student and fly your self through the opening. I have seen / experienced more problems with smooth freefall and deployment caused by the Tandem I worrying more about students body than flying themselves. Just my 2 cents.

It was her 3rd jump. She was 6' 2''. All things considered it was an easy jump and I would take HER again. Definately a case by case basis. I can't think of very many 290 lb females I would take on a tandem. Don't know how many of you have jumped at Spaceland, but we took the whole beer line on landing.

Smallest: 76 pounds (adult female) Biggest: 290 (adult female)

I wonder how the hybrid A2 will hold up in the long run in comparison to the all zp Icarus mains. What kind of lines are on them? I have heard Dacron and Microline. I know that we get LOTS of jumps out of our Vectran lined Icarus canopies and they still fly and open good. I figure that there is a reason that the Icarus tandem is so popular. It is time proven and rugged, and I still have never jumped a tandem canopy that out flies and out lands an Icarus. I have never jumped an A2, but doubt that a hybrid canopy can last as long and perform as well for as long. I guess that I am biased, but I just love Icarus mains.

I have a beautiful royal blue FURY 200 ( CRW Fury ) with grey ribs and stabilizers. Most Furi are 220's. This Fury is a 200, red decascaded A lines, retractable bag and pilot chute, cross connectors, etc....The nose is reinforced with kevlar. I don't see many people talking about Furies much these days. If anyone would be interested, I would let this canopy go cheap! It's in immaculate condition. I have put MAYBE 5 jumps on it and it has been bagged and in storage.

Love Icarus tandem mains. Have jumps on SET 400's, Sigma 370's, EZ 384, HOP 330. Would not want to jump anything but an Icarus. I can take passengers up to the TSO on the rig and flare them by myself with no problems. (I am a pretty small TM 150 lbs) They fly great in high winds and turbulence. The bottom end flare is fantastic. They can open a little sporty but you get used to it. I was largely unimpressed with the HOP 330. It has such a huge aspect ratio and is so eliptical that it has a very disturbing side to side rolling moment when coming out of turns, does some very scary things in turbulence, and in my experience does not flare NEARLY as well as what people here are saying. It does open nice and has a very high rate of turn on toggles. Just my opinion though. I have done 3000 tandems on Icarus 365's and believe it is just the right tool for the job.

We all get unexpected surprises on exits from time to time. Seems like the more experience we get the less frequent they become. But, the point of the post was not to debate flying tandems. Just to tell about what happened. Has anyone else out there had this happen / seen this? What did you do and what was your experience. How about some blue loc-tite on those screws eh? Anyone know the manufacturers stance on this or if they have one?

I didn't release the drogue when it stayed collapsed for 2 reasons: #1 I have seen uncocked drogues "cock themselves" after a few seconds of droguefall. #2 I know from other peoples experiences and from the manufacturers training materials that a collapsed drogue should deploy the main No Problemo albeit maybe a little slower. We were in the middle of the TSR 150 way event with multiple aircraft in the air at one time. I felt better about riding it down to a reasonably normal pull altitude than I did about opening up high and having a CASA drop a load of freefallers on my head. I released the drogue at 7000' where we normally start drogue release sequence at 6000'. I was under a main at normal altitudes. I speculate that the collapsed drogue may also be LESS effective at opening the main at a lower speed. My student was 198 lbs...I am the small one 140 lbs. In response to a the post about a smaller student giving you control problems, yes they can be a little harder to handle during exits, but once you have a drogue set, even a malfunctioned drogue, YOU SHOULD be able to fly them.

I'm sure it took multiple jumps to work free. Once the rig is closed, hard to see on a normal preflight. Easy for packers to overlook during a 150 way state record event. But you can bet I will be paying more attention to it now. I suppose that once one of those screws has backed out the other may fail. The jump prior I was hauling a 270 lb passenger, which probably put some stress on the drogue. I am sure glad that this waited one more jump to happen.

Threw my drogue on Saturday and it came out collapsed and stayed that way throughout droguefall. Could DEFINATELY tell. Went on with the skydive but pulled slightly high, expecting the collapsed drogue to deploy the main slower than normal, which it did. Landed and the cross piece which holds the disk stationary on the drogue bridle had come free, allowing the bridle between the disk and bag to pull through and collapse the drogue. (SIGMA). I knew the drogue was cocked, and had seen this happen once before, so I had an idea as to what was going on. 150 mph freefall with collapsed drogue. 37 seconds of freefall from 14000 to 7000 where I released the drogue. The main opened nice even at the higher speed (icarus 365). I wonder if a little blue loc-tite on the alan screws that hold the disk in place would be out of order?

started jumping in 96 at cedar valley, utah. Did my first 546 jumps out of a Beech D-18S N6BA. DZO sold 6BA and "upgraded" to a supercharged T-Bone. Last 2 seasons I spent there we also had the Southern Cross DC-3. Now I am a turbine baby, but LOVED the nostalgia of jumping those old airplanes. They had more personality than most people I know.

Chronicle III for sure.

full time skydiver. Just did taxes. sending a check to the IRS for $4412.00 tomorrow. OUCH.

Parachute Symbol? I thought it was an ice cream cone! (We always joke that those local pilots are looking for an ice cream stand.)

It is good to see a company stand by their product. I was contacted by the manufacturer and they have offered to replace my helmet. Good customer service goes a long way. Hopefully the issues have been fixed. I am happy now. THANK YOU

I would like to share my experience with the NEW Aviator Freefly Helmets. I was always a big fan of the Aviator and own a Hawkeye (Arrow Dynamics Inc.). I was very sad when they went out of production and really excited when I saw they were being made again by another company. So, on 1/16/07 I bought one from Square 2 in Eloy on my way through town. On first inspection it looked just like the old Aviator, with the exception of a cool looking new "graphite" finish. It is now 03/20/07. The first time it got banged off the bar of the Otter, rather than scratching, huge eggshell like chunks broke off of the finish. Within a week the material that covers the bolt / nut that holds the chin strap on had come loose. Now the trim across the back of the helmet is loose too. Needless to say, I believe the "new" Aviator is a shoddy ripoff of the old product, and sold at the same price. Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone else out there who might be fooled into buying one of these, especially if you are expecting the same quality and workmanship that the Arrow Dynamics Inc. Aviator developed a reputation for. I tried to upload some pix for you but had trouble due to the size of the files. If I can figure it out I will post these later.

"I was stuck in the rear end of an Otter all day." "I was head down in a 3 way with 2 other guys." -and my personal favorite- "I was almost in when she dumped in my face."

I agree that bag locks are largely preventable. I would like to hear from some TI's who have actually HAD bag locks on Sigmas. What were your experiences? Did risers release on their own? Did you have to manually clear them? How about with Skyhooked Sigmas? I have heard the theory that with such a quick reserve extraction a cut away bag lock may fall into the reserve canopy.

Way to go Jack!

0 tandems as a student. I did an AFF jump. I wanted to skydive just to experience it the first time (although after the first one I knew I loved it). In retrospect I would have rather done a tandem for my first jump. My first AFF skydive was a very overwhelming experience. Never mind all that "don't want to strap myself to some dude" shit. For MOST people a tandem allows them to experience skydiving in a low pressure environment to see whether it is something they want to do on their own. That said, I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with starting AFF, IF you are a person who is getting into the sport knowing you want to become a licensed skydiver. I'm sure my JM's would have appreciated me doing a tandem first. I had NO ARCH, legs EVERYWHERE, and I reached across the front of my body with my left hand to pull. We all know how THAT improves student body position. Someone mentioned earlier that tandems can become a crutch for some students who are afraid. That may be true, but on the flip side there are some people out there who should NEVER skdive on their own. Tandem allows us to weed those people out before at best some AFF I gets the shit scared out of them, or at worst that person gets hurt.

I feel that a tandem jump can be whatever the student wants it to be. Of course people have varying levels of enthusiasm and interest in learning. I have worked at DZ's that do it both ways. I now work at a DZ where EVERY tandem student is instructed in the use of an altimeter, and how to pull. From there it is up to them to participate to their level of comfort. I get a student who says they don't want to pull and I tell them, "of course you don't have to pull, and I am there to back you up. But it is likely that you will feel differently when you get up there, so I want you to know how to pull." 90% of them do. Many of those who thought they did not want to pull walk away from their skydive with a feeling of accomplishment and feeling like they learned something. Then they ARE more likely to come back. I have 3000 tandems, 2500 of them letting my students pull and help me land the parachute. To those who worry about the student pulling high, PROTECT YOUR HANDLES. Be aware of where your students hands are, or are going at all times during the skydive. If all you give your student is an amusement park ride, that is likely all they will see the sport as. If you involve them and teach them something, and explain to them how easy it is to learn to do, they are more likely to come back.

Does anyone remember the "bounce if you want to swoop trainer"? One of a couple of ads for gag products published in skydiving mag a couple years back. It had extra cushioned corners for those "deep in the corner" landings.

between thermals, ridge lift, and DUST DEVILS there are lots of places to get lift there. The engine out dinged prop story sounds interesting. When I learned how to skydive they had Beech D-18S N6BA and C-182 N9770T. As far as I know Larry still owns the airport. Perhaps you remember Brent Davis. He was airport manager last I checked. Ran the glider concession. What a cool place to skydive. Besides the high altitude and dust devils the DZ there had a great vibe. Just close enough to civilization to be convenient, just far away enough you could pretty much do whatever you wanted there. John Cashman took me on my first AFF jump. Johnny and Janet flew the Twin Beech. Doing AFF at the time were Nathan Hall, Annette Woodhead, JoNathan, Gordon? Lewis.

My favorite BD T-shirt had a bunch of skeletons floating outside a Beech 18, with one inside staring out the aft window from inside. Another Beech with a wing falling off and one engine on fire in the background. Simply said "Black Death" above the graphic. I inherited this shirt from a friend, wore it to pieces.