tbrown

What type of container/risers were you using? Usually the stow above the guide ring that the top of the toggle goes into after going through the cats's eye should keep the toggle in place. I wonder why yours didn't. Actually, no they don't. That's just an elastic stow and it's quite common for the toggle to rip the stow loose from its stitching if the toggle wasn't set correctly in the catseye. Happened to me once. Anyway, even if the elastic stow DID hold, the length of steering line that should've been stowed, but wasn't, will still cause a spin until the stowed brakeline is released. The lesson to be learned from this mishap is NEVER go adding homemade rigging as an alternative to simple established procedure. The guy's toggles were fupped duck because he had them wrapped up in rubber bands that never should've been there in the first place. The real thing to do is to give your brakelines a short tug after you stow them, while looking to SEE that the toggle has gone through the catseye the way it's supposed to. Very simple, quick, and effective. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I really have to dissent from that. First of all, elcobi2004 has 17 jumps, he doesn't even have his A license and is still at a point in his progression that he's still getting a lot of nerves about jumping in general. By the book, he HAS TO have the AAD and it needs to be turned on. Second, we recently lost a highly experienced (4000+ jumps) Instructor in So Cal who couldn't find his reserve handle after a cutaway above 1500 ft. An AAD would likely have saved his life. That plus an AAD saved no less than Al Kruger's life last year when he was too injured to pull. AADs are for real people and they save real people's lives. Once you turn them on, AADs are good for 14 hours. They just need to be turned on in the first place. The trick to setting an AAD is to make a hard and fast rule about turning it on before you have the chance of forgetting. I used to rent gear from one shop, where the person behind the counter would say, "Please turn on the Cypres now", as they'd hand me the rig - and they would WATCH me turn it on. Now that I own my own rig, my rule is that I do not lift the rig out of the car until the Cypres is set (I even watch the numbers count down and could tell you the exact battery voltage reading, but that's just me). And for the rest of the day, I forget it's there and behave accordingly. I'm a little dismayed at a dropzone that doesn't make sure its students and newbies are turning on their AADs on the rental gear. I'd call that a shortcoming that really needs to be addressed - and it's such a no-brainer to correct. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I came up through static line and short freefalls back in the seventies. My first freefalls were a lot like yours too. My favorite logbook entry from that time is, "stable by coincidence only". What solved the problem for me was a Jumpmaster who told me to take the time to look UP at the plane (a Cessna) when I exited. This did a number of things. It takes your eyes off the ground for starters. Plus it's REALLY cool to see the underbelly of an airplane rising up above you. PLUS, to do this you have to pull your head back, which causes your entire spine to follow in a lovely stable arch. This simple bit of advice solved my stability problems. From that day on, I moved ahead into 10, 15, 20, and 30 second delays. It was fun enough to see the plane for just that second or two that I could relax and go about the business of looking for, reaching, and pulling my main ripcord. Your BOC drill is a little different, you don't need to look, can't see it anyway. But just look up at the plane and enjoy it for a moment. See if you don't have a big improvement. P.S. I you're already on freefall, fuck tandem. Tandem is for tourists ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

...it also insures not a lotta folks are down there with me which is safer in my book these days! Good point. Sometimes if there are a lot of people in the air it helps to let them start taking themselves out of the picture. I've done that a few times and am still at line stretch as my hard deck goes off at 2 grand. The onetime extreme of this was a big hybrid jump, where a lot of silly ass people were tracking around on their backs with silly grins, instead of getting the fuck out of the area. I dodged 'em all and sat in around 1200 ft. My immediate reaction was to feel around my back to make sure my reserve container was still closed. That's when my wife and daughters decided to give me my Pro Dytter for a birthday present. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

All that means is that someone has a lot of paper for insulating their leaky trailer at the dropzone..... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What she sez.... Sounds like some people need to grow up a little. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Nunn ? As in Sam "Nobdy Can Beat George HW Bush in '92" Nunn ? Isn't that guy dead YET ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Actually Andy, the wife's also got two nephews with Asburger's syndrome, a form of autism. The younger one is still in school. the older one is in his twenties and while living at home, holds down a regular job. He's really DEEPLY involved in Anime and has become a regualr fixture at the annual Anime Festival in LA, where he proudly appears in his red Power Rangers costume every year. He's definitely not retarded, but is pretty much a big kid in most ways. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Although I am opposed to the death penalty in general, I was recently cold blooded enough to suggest that a pinata and mariachi band might be appropriate for the execution of a Mexican national in Texas. In that spirit, I suppose invited witnesses should rise for The Star Spangled Banner (Kate Smith recording) for executions of American citizens. Or maybe "Dixie" if the asshole has a Confederate flag tattoo.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I wouldn't say they're demonstrating hypocracy so much as finding out their own actions have shot their credibility all to hell. Look at it this way. Not too long ago, our forces were in Haiti. If Russia told us to leave Haiti, would we not have politely told the Russians to fuck off ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's been 28 years, but yeah, I've done it and liked it. So did she. I don't think we even had another date, so I'm just as glad we did. And just for the record, she dumped me, so I wasn't a thoughtless cad. Met my wife-to-be a few weeks later anyway, so it was all good. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Didn't the original Swift reserve fail to meet the new TSO-C23c requirements when they came out in the eighties ? I seem to remember all of the round and some existing square reserves failed the newer c revision standard. Also recall that the Swift system was the official rig of the US Team (Mirror Image and US Army) at the 1981 World Meet at Z-Hills. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

On loads of 8 or less people, I'll pull at about 3 grand. My pull alarm on my Pro-Dytter is usually set at 3 grand and often goes off at about line stretch. If I'm in a larger group, we're usually assigned a pull altitude, which may be 2500 ft. Then I'll stay in my track until the pull alarm goes off, come out of my track, wave off & pull. Occasionally this will trigger my hard deck alarm at 2 grand while my canopy's shaking itself out, but usually I'll be fully open by 2 grand. Then again if I'm in the base of a large formation, I may be assigned to throw it out between 3000 and 3500 ft. I generally like pulling at 3 grand, but at least once a day I'll track for a lower opening just to stay comfy with doing it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Andy, The acquaintance was Carol on Easter Sunday '76 ? I wasn't there for that, but still remember. Irv J was Nick's JM. I still remember Irv when he landed, white as a sheet and asking me if Nick was dead. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

But the US Women are hanging right in there, in second place by only 3 points. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It only offends me when it's directed at someone with Downs. I've got a cousin in law with Downs and anybody who wants to call her a retard can answer to me. Other than that, heck no. I think the whole big stink about this movie is, well.....retarded. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

John Edwards has lied this far and I believe he's lying all the way. I don't believe for one moment that some guy who worked for the campaign is the father. I can understand the woman wanting to protect her and her child's privacy, but in my gut I know he's the father and hasn't got the integrity to admit it. And that's what bothers me, worse than the affair itself, worse than the way he's treated his wife. The baby's just a baby, too bad she's got such a swell dad. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I don't trust the state to fill a fucking pothole. so why on earth would I want to allow the state to take anyone's life. The only exception I would make is in allowing the police to kill a person on the spot, when that person is posing a mortal danger to others. Even then, it should be subject to revue afterwards. Because I don't trust the state, under any party. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I never did like Capewells. When R-2's and similar "tapewell" alternatives came allong around 1977, I converted over as fast as I could. There was a fatality in upstate NY in 1974, at a demo jump at a county fair, where the guy's chest mounted reserve snagged an open capewell. The other thing about capewells was that they wouldn't always pull at the same time like you wanted. One friend could only get one of his capewells opened, so he went streamering down to about 500 ft, where he pulled his round reserve in desperation (main was a Strato Star, the rig was a pre-Racer SST). His reserve cleared and opened for a VERY short ride. I think a lot of people who say they'd only jump old canopies over water are full of it, that or they've gained a few pounds since the old days. But if you're young and just average weight, you'll do fine with a PC. They're lovely canopies. And I've never, never, ever had to chop a round. Never. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The fact that there was no Consular notification is a violation of a treaty that we (the US) signed and should honor. We as Americans would be extremely pissed off if any foreign government executed an American citizen at all, let alone without proper Consular notification. Other than that, and aside from the fact that I'm opposed to the death penalty altogether, I don't think there's any doubt that medellin deserved to be executed. Plenty of prisoners on death row have committed crimes that deserve it. Sadly though, too many have NOT, as in they're completely innocent, and that's the main reason I oppose it altogether. But in this guy's case, maybe a pinata and a mariachi band might have made up for things ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What does Sun Path say ? Have you tried it ? A general sort of rule of thumb is that most containers will allow the next two smaller size mains before things get too loose. You're smart not to downsize on your reserve. Some parachutes really ARE meant to slow you down. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm so bummed, I loved that guy. Loved his TV show too. Used to tell my wife and kids to pay attention to what he was saying, that he was MY kind of father figure. On the bright side, heaven just got funnier. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I don't have a UPT rig, but the new cutaway handle on my Javelin is a fatter pillow handle, with an extra chunk of hard aluminum tubing inside the pillow. It makes for a nice chunky grip and is now the recommended handle from Sun Path. My reserve handle is a steel D ring, which I slip my thumb into, grip with a fist, pull out of pocket and punch. Got to use my handles last summer. Not with a high speed mal, but with a seriously damaged blown out canopy. I'm "old school" and do a one handed cutaway. I'd tried to teach myself the two handed chop, but when push came to shove I found I still do it the old fashioned way. The actual way I did it was to grab and peel my pillow, looked and found my silver, punched the pillow, then slid the thumb, gripped silver, pulled it out and punched. That's in slow motion, thinking about it. In real time I was fast enough to be at about mid punch on silver when I hit line stretch due to my RSL. The funny thing that occurs to me is that NOBODY pulls ripcords anymore until they're in trouble. I'm so old school that I learned how to skydive on a ripcord, including a lot of 3 and 4 pin ripcords, which included a fair number of harder pulls that required an extra hard punch. Nowadays, nobody pulls a ripcord until the shit hits the fan. If you've never pulled a ripcord in your life, you need to practice ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

No amount of jumps blesses you with altitude awareness in an emergency situation. In 1981 Tom DeMotts was killed at Perris while trying to fix a PC in tow. He had at least several hundred jumps at the time. There are also some unanswered questions about the recent Elsinore fatality, as to whether the man lost altitude awareness, though a PC in tow was NOT involved in his death. Fixing a PC in tow falls undewr the category of "improvised rigging". A high speed malfunction is no time to try earning your rigger's ticket. I will concede to the wisdom of making ONE and ONLY one try at clearing a horseshoe mal, but both situations need a reserve out - and fast ! Somebody else in tese threads once said the cutaway handle is the one handle that will not save your life. Both of these malfunctions are frightening, horrible situations. And both of them can almost completely be prevented by proper gear maintenance and packing techniques. I'd much rather prevent them from happening than ever have to deal with one. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !