AFFI

Right on! Great post! The Test will really help with the initial evaluation. I have a good friend who was giving someone with 150 jumps a refresher, he let go of him in freefall because "they guy has 150 jumps" and in hindsight, he really wishes he wouldn’t have... Made for a great video though… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

what is jumping smike???

You may find an answer or someone to PM with the question by following this link: Your search for "landing a flag returned" 232 results http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=landing%20a%20flag&sb=score&mh=25 Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Heh, thanks... I think...

I share with you the frustration that you are expressing. There are often times when unqualified individuals attempt to give advice or instruction, both in person and especially in online forums. I really wish skydivers would not do that, because although they are well intentioned, they may be planting seeds into the minds of inexperienced individuals who may take their inappropriate advice to heart and disable a practice or understanding that is beneficial and replace it with an idea that may end up getting the person receiving the advice injured or killed. Another thing to keep in mind, even though a practice is a good idea for someone at an experience level with high jump numbers (perhaps in the thousands and decades in the sport), that same practice may not be a good idea for an individual with much less experience (say a couple hundred jumps or less) to put into their toolbox just yet. Furthermore, giving advice to individuals still on student status may undermine the quality instruction that those students are receiving from the rated instructors that are working with them first hand and in person. Even though I am an instructor, I still will not advise students who are actively working with another instructor either remotely of even at the DZ where I work unless I am specifically asked to do so by the instructor that is actively training that individual student. It is a matter of respect for the other instructors, but also because different instructors have a variety of methods in which they teach the varying aspects of skydiving. In this case though, I do not believe that mbondvegas was advising you to this particular situation as much as sharing an overall generic understanding as to what a good practice is in determining the limitations concerning making a decision to land a particular problem. I believe he was saying that "maybe" is not good enough for him, which is something I agree with wholeheartedly. For example, if landing a particular configuration may be more dangerous than cutting away and deploying the reserve, then it is perhaps a good idea to choose the lesser of two evils. Concurrently, it is not always a good idea to cutaway a parachute that although cannot be landed in a traditional method (flare with the toggles), can still be landed to a degree that is safe enough to not necessitate a cutaway and reserve deployment. That is where perfect altitude awareness and practicing using different control inputs on a regular basis come into play. This is a testament as to how difficult it is to understand completely what someone is trying to say in the written word because good and effective communication is exceedingly difficult to properly convey and express without the benefit of being in person, and even at that it is quite difficult to achieve complete effectiveness… - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Based on reading the account of the event in the original post, you did a good job of evaluating your situation and improvising solutions that resulted in a landing that did not leave you injured and gave you a good learning experience. Overall, at your experience level you did an outstanding job of handling the situation you had created for yourself. If there is a red flag area that you may want to consider focusing on (based on the written account of the event) is altitude awareness. You never once mentioned in the original post that you checked your altitude. Whether you did or not is not my point, being altitude aware is so ultra important, and often overlooked that it should have been a point of focus in your written description. This way it will help to solidify the practice of being altitude aware, especially when you are in a situation where you are trying to deal with a problem such as you were. It is at these times that altitude awareness can easily be lost because many skydivers do not put forth a conscious effort to ensure that altitude awareness is a top priority. Many think that is “goes without saying” but if that were the case, there would not be so many fatalities worldwide that were a direct result of skydivers loosing altitude awareness while dealing with a potentially reparable partial malfunction. Once again, you did a fantastic job in dealing with your situation. Keep training and learning, good job! - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Point of clarification: In the USPA, getting to the 25 jump mark does not automatically give you an “A” License. There is a list of Skills that are required for a skydiving student to reach a level of proficiency in prior to being awarded the “A” License. There is sections that include Exit and Freefall skills yes, but there are also other categories such as Canopy Skills, Aircraft and Spotting, Emergency Reviews, Equipment Knowledge and a License Examination. Follow these links for a detailed description: http://uspa.org/publications/form.pdf/A_Lic_Prof_Card_09-06.pdf and http://uspa.org/publications/form.pdf/A_Lic_Prog_Card_ISP_09-06.pdf So there is much more to obtaining USPA license than just freefall skills. In fact, the USPA rated school where I instruct, freefall skills as a priority is secondary to the safety aspect of skydiving concerning various Emergency Procedures (and all that that implies) and Canopy Piloting. All of which is detailed required learning in order to obtain a USPA license. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

How do these statistics show as pilot error versus mechanical issues? Another words, is a specific airplane to blame, or pilots in command? I am not a pilot, so forgive my inability to understand, but is it correct to say that a specific airplane is “bad” or to blame or for that matter, the occupants? If the pilot is in command, how can the occupants be to blame if the pilot does not take command and brief the occupants before a flight? I have never been on a jump plane where the pilot gave a briefing as to what is expected of the occupants except for once, at a boogie on a Skyvan. How should I know what is expected of me as a skydiver? Only by word of mouth by other skydivers? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I use a microwave oven, a brick and a bucket of water....

Because, more often than not "that guy" isn't the highest loaded, or even close. Not directed at Bill: If you're having to spiral to stay below the other canopies - you're that guy. I may be viewed as "that guy". I don't fly the fastest canopy, but not the slowest either. I love to spiral, my favorite toy as a child was the "Sit N Spin". When I do spiral my ass off, I am very certain to clear my airspace and to continually scan the area of the sky I am headed into for traffic. But there is another side to my madness: The amount of "sport" jumps I make is maybe 5 to 10 out of every 100. My preferred discipline in skydiving is jumping with students. The methods utilized at the DZ I work at is not controlled at the instructor level, but from the management (DZO) level - the way we have are radio communication set up is the transmitter to communicate to students is on the ground. The first instructor to the ground will retrieve the transmitter to take on communication to the students who are all on the same frequency. Once my student deploys (usually at 5,500) I hum along and deploy usually at 2,500' or so. Then I jam on down to the ground ASAP to get on the horn (transmitter). This is the way the powers that be decided to have the system operate, and for 8 years it has been run that way without incident, so it seems to be working. So I have a valid reason to be "that guy" and get to fly the way I love to, spiraling my ass off. Over the years I have had no significant incidents of having near collision as a result of my taste for radical spiral maneuvering. Its fun, and if done responsibly, so what? Like Bill said, keep it out of others airspace and patterns... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Is that in "space"?...

Hard to miss a planet, just look down and search!

Just give it a good 7 or 8 seconds exit separation. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be an issue. Nono, 45 degrees!

I hear that many drop zones are now requiring skydivers to use parachutes!

Trying to re-stow the one un-stowed toggle is a possible viable solution, as are some other potentially conceivable solutions to such a situation that do not involve trusting a reserve. Provided as was previously mentioned there is sufficient altitude and sufficient altitude awareness while the jumper made such attempts to correct the problem with the main and improvise a solution. And as was previously mentioned, the level of experience of the jumper may play a significant factor. Question is, which course of action has the odds stacked in the jumpers favor? Looking at the history of deaths in say the last 20 years from skydivers loosing track of their altitude as opposed to skydivers dying from a correctly used malfunctioning reserve, which category has the highest numbers of fatalities? I am not going to go to the statistics page for the last 20 years and count on my fingers, but I would strongly speculate that there has been a substantial amount more that fit into the lost altitude awareness category as opposed to the reserve malfunction category. I recall a few years ago at the WFFC, there was a skydiver who lost altitude awareness trying to correct a problem with the main, cutaway too low and died as a result, then the very next day the exact same thing happened. One skydiver had around 65 jumps and the other had a couple thousand. So level of experience did not stack the odds of survival in the more experienced jumpers favor. Gravity was equally unforgiving to both of the dead skydivers. This illustrates that regardless of experience level, it is easy to loose track of altitude while dealing with a problem. As an instructor, I would recommend to students I train to follow the guidelines of the training they are receiving as students, and additionally, I would recommend to any skydiver of any experience level that while it is possible to correct a plethora of situations, if the decision must be made to trust the reserve, to make that decision with sufficient altitude for the reserve to work and before altitude awareness is lost. Personally, I do not allow the thought of a reserve malfunction to ever enter my mind as part of the equation as to whether I should use it or not as this may cloud my judgment and cause me to second guess my training. Of course, I have a very limited amount of experience as a skydiver, even less as an instructor so I could be totally wrong. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Good, responsible and sound advice... Glad I did not take that advice 7 years back, because now, if I wanted to take a year off to skydive my ass off, it would be too late. There is a chance, however small that a medical issue will arise, as it did for me that will affect ones ability to do such a thing. I am not far from being in a wheelchair due to a reoccurring spinal tumor that is destroying my neurological system. The odds of something like that happening are about the same as winning the lottery, and I did not think I would be so lucky but here I am - glad that I took the chance to live out a dream while my health was in tact because now it is gone for the remainder of my life. There are some things money cannot buy… Skydiving will always be there, but our health will not. I will have business opportunities arise that I can do as a cripple and skydiving unfortunately is not on that list. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

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

Great idea. If that is not possible, you will have to decide what is more important to you, money or skydiving. 7 years ago, I decided to leave my career, sell everything I owned - buy a truck and camper and I was going to take a year out of the rat race to just skydive and have fun. Here I am 7 years later, broke as hell and trying to resurrect my career, but mostly concerned with skydiving and recovering from some medical issues (which means I cannot do much of anything these days). I do not have any regrets, the past 7 years have been more fulfilling than making money, but that was just my personal decision, I had no children or wife so my decision did not affect anyone but myself and I have had a GREAT time! I figured, why wait until I am old to retire and wanted to enjoy some of it now, but did not intend for my "sabbatical" to last so long. Wouldn’t change a thing! For me, it was so worth it! So it is a personal choice... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Was the entire McDonalds in freefall? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

After reading several posts and an article By Douglas Spotted_Eagle (DSE) at http://dvinfo.net/articles/business/copyrightfaq1.php - it has really opened my eyes to the ethics and potential consequences of copyright violations and what it could cost companies out there committing such violations (such as a DZ using music on tandem videos). I have a few questions. 1) Do you have a link you can send me to a good source of music that can be purchased for use that is decent music with a variety that will not break the bank of a small budget? 2) If I were to use copyrighted music for self promotion (demo reel), I understand that is a violation, question is can I be sued for money or will I just be issued a cease and assist type order? 3) If I were commissioned to make an edit for someone and they provided me with copyrighted music, which will be in trouble, me or the entity that hired me to do the edit? 4) Further to that point, if the company I am working for hires me to film an event, but I have nothing to do with the post production and they use copyrighted music in their production can I be held liable even though all I did was provide the raw footage? 5) If I have already (and I have) made an infraction, how do I protect myself now that the damage has been done? Would it be sufficient to just stop, or do I need to also send a letter demanding that the edit no longer be used by anyone I provided it to? 6) If I cease on my own and begin to remain within legal boundaries, can I still be sued for prior infractions, or will the fact that I realized what I was doing is wrong and changed my practices be sufficient to avoid litigation? ******************** I have always tried to be as ethical and honest in all my practices, both personal and professional and have never really encountered this type of concern until I started skydiving. I honesty never considered how dishonest this practice was, I grew up making mix tapes for friends (back in the days of records and cassettes)and stuff like that so I had never given this issue much thought or consideration. I really want to thank you for opening my eyes Douglas, and educating me to the fact that I am being unethical and dishonest in this practice and helping me to realize that if I am to consider myself an honest person, that I need to (and will) stop this practice immediately. Thank you Douglas. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Raw cat brains with fried rice?

There is a trick that is very difficult to pull off... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

At 40 jumps I did not know how to do any of those things. I knew hands up, hands down. It took me hundreds of jumps to learn how to pilot my canopy. In the training proram I teach in, our graduates know as much as or more than I did at 200 jumps! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

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

"Am I a Jerk because I am a camera man?" Yes, but only to skydivers who want something for nothing. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…