AFFI

Unless of course there is an emergency situation - a year or two back there was an emergency exit out of a Beech, several jumpers had to bail out around 2k, one person did a poised exit and was KO'd by the HS - Cypress fire saved the life. There is a philosophy that dictated teaching newcomers to the sport the importance of a diving for emergency exits for this very reason. I believe that it is a philosophy worthy of consideration. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Thats what Shayna Richardson thought about her reserve. Oh, please don't get anyone (me) started on the absolute CF of events leading up to little miss Shayna's problems. What does CF (absolute CF of events) stand for? Is that the girl that was on Good Morning America the other day? Did panicking and body position have something to do with her situation? To clarify, although I am aware that the reserve is subject to failure, I think what I meant was I am willing to use it as if there were a 100% guarantee. Total trust, when the situation calls for it, like not being able to safely land my main. Is there anyone out there that has reservations about using their reserve if they need to? I have seen the results of being afraid to use a reserve and landing a malfunctioning main – not a good idea… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Condone or Condemn?

Thanks guys, that gives me a good understanding. In that past, when I have ran bigger professional setups I have always preferred 2 LANs, kind of like what Douglass is describing, one LAN for the machines on the production line that is isolated and not online, then the business LAN that is protected and online. Now I am a small operation working out of my home office with only a few machines, a single LAN for all. I will begin to disable my VS whenever I work, but oddly enough I have not noticed any problems with performance so far running the entire Adobe CS and 3DS MAX. Maybe I am just not used to these faster machines that run light years ahead of what I had for the past 6 years. I recently bought some late model configurations and the speed really allows for the creativity to flow, now if I could just find a way to be creative! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Then why not recommend that they talk to a rated and experienced solo freefall instructor who has experience in making such evaluations? It is IMPOSSIBLE to make an evaluation on the OP based on what was written here without reviewing logbooks, talking with the tandem instructors who have personally worked with them and taking time to make an assessment of this individual - IN PERSON, by a instructor qualified to do so… Skydivers giving advice when they are not qualified and do not know what they are really talking about – well intentioned but overall detrimental to the safe progression of learning for solo freefall students. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2891889#2891889 Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Interesting statement that I know nothing about - can you elaborate please? I'd agree with: Norton and any hard work for the pc do not go hand in hand e•lab•o•rate: 1) to add details to; expand. 2) to add details in writing, speaking, etc.; give additional or fuller treatment (usually fol. by on or upon): to elaborate upon a theme or an idea.

I agree with pops, great job. The only thing I would suggest is an earlier check of your altitude. Example: "the chute opened but was throwing me from side to side, then after opening," I checked my altitude and monitored it while dealing with this situation... You did a great job in handling your situation, but it is easy to get a little preoccupied and loose track of altitude, what if when you made your first altitude check you are 1,000' lower, then the outcome may have gone from landing off to having your corpse carried away. I do not think I became really altitude aware under canopy until I had - jeez, maybe 1,000 jumps. It is important and overlooked by many, then perhaps over emphasized by guys like me after seeing a couple people die and even experiencing a close call myself. Again, good job... Oh, ummmm, beer? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Making such decisive and bold statements when one does not know what they are talking about could potentially make them appear to others as a dumb ass. Trust me; someone with 10,000 jumps has forgotten more about skydiving (many times over) than someone with a couple hundred has even learned yet. How could someone know how students (solo or tandem) react with zero experience working with them? A male may as well claim to know what it feels like to give birth (taking a shit does not count). I don’t think that is a personal attack, I am just sharing, or maybe preaching but not meant to be an attack. Everyone is entitled to give their opinion, you gave yours, I gave mine… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Get a rope...

Interesting statement that I know nothing about - can you elaborate please? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Unless one is prepared and confident it can be controlled and safely landed, than land the main right? The salient point others have been pointing out is to land a canopy that can be landed safely - deciding when to go to EP's is based on each individual’s skill level and confidence in their abilities. If I have a problem with my main, but I am confident that I can safely land it then I am going to land it. If I am not confident I can land it, time for another reserve ride... Makes perfect sense to me. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Yuck Yuck Yuck Certs is a breath mint - Dodge is the best - yada yada yada... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Thats what Shayna Richardson thought about her reserve. She had a rude awakening when she opened it and it spun her all the way to a face plant in a parking lot. Proper understanding of your gear and what your doing is what should keep you calm and relaxed. And there is a much larger number of individuals afraid to use their reserve that had worse results. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Let’s keep in mind that we are not comparing Apples to Apples. The individuals you had in your half may have had a more natural capability to think in 3 dimensional space and the other instructors training methods may have been inferior to yours or not communicating to the varying personalities in the other half effectively. Lastly, the other instructor may have not been using the radio in an appropriate manner. There are too many variables to make a determination like this on the outcome of one insufficiently conducted test. Just to try and "prove your point" you placed first jump students at a potentially greater risk of injury. Putting students out without radio is a disservice to the students safety and is a liability hazard. What if a student flew into an obstacle and suffered injury or death, the fact that they did not have radio guidance could be considered gross negligence as we are in an industry where radio use is standard for first jump students. An instructor putting a solo freefall student out without a radio, especially a low level student would not be tolerated where I work. This test is inexcusable to the philosophies that I have been taught to utilize as guidelines for training first jump students safely. Glad everything turned out ok... Then we actually agree, we are both talking about “properly” using the radio as a training tool. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I would tend to agree in my very limited experience. The reserve may be worse. Sure, it's a small risk, but it's there. Lets say you can't land that well with rear risers. That may be better than bouncing with a worse problem on the reserve. Yea, trust your rigger and all that, but bottom line, taking another unecessary risk with you life as opposed to a rough landing? Why? Rear riser input - Versus – Toggle input Rear riser input is much more sensitive than Toggle input. It is much easier to stall a canopy, even with a conservative wing loading using rear risers. Having very low jump numbers there is a much greater probability that the jumper may stall the canopy and fall 5, 10, 20 or 30+ feet off the ground (as opposed to a jumper with many hundreds or even thousands of landings and practice using rears) and any of these heights could cause considerable injuries and or death. Additionally, making turns low to the ground, such as an evasive maneuver to avoid an obstacle can also be over emphasized using rear risers as opposed to toggles thus creating a greater risk of injury or death. Until a jumper is proficient using rear risers for maneuvering and flaring utilizing the reserve canopy is a much safer option. The occurrences of reserve canopy failures are rare, and when there are failures of the reserve it is not always a system fault, there are also jumper errors to consider such as body position at the time of the reserve deployment. A factor in this latter situation may be further complicated by the jumper being nervous to use the reserve simply because they are fearful of a reserve failure. This is why it is important to trust the reserve with total confidence and to continue to train emergency procedures throughout jumping activities in ones skydiving career. As far as I am concerned, my reserve will function properly 100% of the time. I trust it totally and I shut out the miniscule possibility of a reserve failure. This will better my chances of remaining calm whenever a situation calls for its use. Hope this answers your inquiry as to “Why”. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Don't try, decide before you board the plane, and then follow through. Trust me, on of your parachutes will work and after you land, you will find that it was not that big of a deal. I suppose it's like getting laid for the first time, at first you’re all nervous and kinda scared, and then you get into it and say hey, this aint nothing to be nervous about! Unless of course it was with Father McCulady! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

This may be kind of a long post, but I will compose it carefully to keep it as short as possible, it might be worth the read to anyone that has been as interested in this thread as I have been. It was July 4th, Independence Day – a personal story. I am terrified of heights and especially airplanes, in fact I still will not fly commercially to this day - I am the last person that would ever skydive. In order to try and get over my fear of heights, and a few other somewhat critical personal reasons I decided to go and make a skydive, just once. AFF Level 1: Compared to the rigs my instructors were utilizing, the one I had on my back was an old ragged out of date piece of shit, at least that was my conception because I knew nothing about how skydiving equipment worked and knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t jump the rig I used on my first jump, must have been 20+ years old but I know if I had to bail out with that same rig today that it would work because if I have learned anything at all about skydiving – the gear is very reliable. I have been amazed over the years how incredibly reliable it is! To make a really LONG story less long: On jump run we approached the door and I said NO, I am not going to jump. I did not feel confident in my gear and mostly, in all honesty, I was terrified! FUCKING TERRIFIED!!! Every sense told me that if I jumped out that door that I was most certainly going to DIE. Rather than just taking me down, my instructors signaled the pilot to make a go around. Chuck, the instructor that taught the FJC that morning knew my reasons for wanting to jump, and he wanted to try to calm me down and get me out the door because he knew I desperately needed what skydiving could provide me. Skydiving is the builder of self confidence and self esteem, both of which I was at the time, in desperate need of… Phil, the reserve side JM probably hadn’t said 5 words to me, he was assigned to jump with us at the last minute and that only added to my anxiety. The Otter turned port, the view of the sky outside the door turned to ground and I starred at it, not even hearing the words that were coming out of Chuck’s mouth, I was mesmerized. The plane leveled and I must have been shaking my head, giving signals that I was absolutely not going to jump when something interesting happened. Phil, the JM I had hardly even spoken to turned me to him and he literally put his nose to mine and looked me square in the eye with his huge, budging and commanding eyes and screamed much like my drill sergeants during boot camp did: “Did you come here to fucking skydive or not”? I reacted exactly as if it was 1987 and I was in Ft. Ln-wood and Drill Sergeant Green was in my face. I shouted in reply at the top of my lungs – Yes, I am here to skydive! He than ordered me to take my place in the door. I did. Check Left – Check Right – Ready, Set, Go… The very moment my feet left the door ALL the fear was gone and I was overwhelmed with the most amazing sensation I have ever been exposed to. Freefall really lit me up, it totally did it for me – I had found what I was looking for all my life. It was beautiful… Right after I landed, the first words out of my mouth to Chuck were: “I am going to become a skydive instructor”. And I worked toward that goal from the very start. Even though I completed AFF in 7 without any repeats and was what is referred to as a “natural” did not mean I was not nervous, scared or even terrified at times. But I made the decision that no matter what my brain was telling me, that I was going to get in the door, check in and exit because I made a CONSCIOUS DECISION from that point on that I was going to take my training seriously and that I was going to TRUST the gear and the process. Some people may have opinions that the way Phil got me out the door was right or wrong, but it was EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks Phil… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Looks like I missed a cool event. So what does everyone think? Was it a good time? Nice DZ?

ALL my PCs seem to recgonize just about any camera I plug into them automatically. Dem Mac's need 2 much configurin… Come to think of it, soaking a Mac in water is too good a fate... Windows XP Pro is the way to go... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Here ya go bro, I fixed em 4 ya Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Precisely what I was wondering... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Good progress Matthew. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

You must soak your MAC in a bucket of water for 15 minutes before transferring the footage. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Good advice, and learn how to stall your canopy using rear risers with brakes stowed and unstowed. Do this at a safe altitude - ergo way up there (above an altitude you are willing to cutaway from). This way you will know how NOT to stall close to the ground... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Yes. Absolutely not. Radios should be used with students, but there should be more emphasis on proper utilization as a training tool. Learning to appropriately use the radio as a training tool was of the more difficult aspects of quality instruction for me to learn. I once heard the DZO where I jump say “correctly using the radio is the hardest thing for an instructor to master” and I would have to say I agree with him. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…