AFFI

What a great point! Lead by example...

WOW!!!

Not knowing your experience level as it is not stated in your profile I would generically recommend that: Before advancing toward specific disciplines I would advise that all the basic stuff (EP's, piloting, basic freefall skills, and etcetera) has reached a level of proficiency. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Practice dealing with malfunctions at the start of EVERY day jumping. EP's EP's EP's!!! Canopy piloting proficiency - Practice Practice Practice!!! Never stop learning from others, and not just those with more jumps than I but taking on the attitude that I can learn from everyone. Humility Humility Humility!!! Know when I have reached my ability to safely jump due to fatigue, injuries and whatnot. Keeping my priorities in order - for me freefall skills are not on my list of priorities, that will come with time but it is hard to get better in freefall if injury or death occoures. I have never seen someone on the plane on the way to altitude with a femur sticking out. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I see a lot of camera flyers take a lackadaisical approach to tracking after tandem deployment - I have learned to always track after the tandem deploys for a long and far as I can depending on how far from the LZ the spot was. Years ago, after a tandem deployment I gave a good track, saddled in and just after I turned my camera off and began taking care of the standard business at hand the sniveling reserve on the tandem passed right in front of my canopy, probably 20 feet in front of me, very freaking CLOSE - they had a streamer malfunction. It happened so fast it was over before I knew it but in the aftermath it scared the hell out of me and gave me things to think about. As much separation as possible is not over rated. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

One important aspect to the slide in landing is for the TI to make contact with their feet before the students butt to help prevent tailbone injuries. In a tandem progression method, one habbit that is hard to break solo freefall students of is to PLF rather than lifting thier legs up as they were instructed to do on tandem landing. Tailbone injuries are easy to obtain and very painful to recover from. There has been threads of postings where some young jumpers believe that a slide in landing is safer than a PLF - which is in my opion not the case at all. Slide in landings takes skill that a newbie have not yet acquired. MAke a search on the subject, there has been a lot of connumication on this subject in the past... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Most often, not really the packing errors that will kill but rather a lack of preparation in dealing with EP's. If a packer's malfunction is a result at deployment time, and mistakes are made in properly dealing with the malfunction then the only person to blame is the jumper for not being better prepared to deal with the situation. When I put a rig on a go skydive, I am the responsible party, no one else. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Not at all, PM'd you, look for a message... I just made some edits to my origional posting, give her another look... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Yes, 500 jumps is reccommended to begin entry level camera flying at our DZ along with a lot of instruction handed down by the senior camera flyers - it is a good policy...

My experience level: 2000+ tandem videos shot. Here are a few comments: Stay close on exit, but not close enough that drogue entanglement is possible. Leaving just an instant before the tandem pain, stay below the tandem, taking the shot of exit from below keep you out of the way and get the plane in the background. "Tandem Instructors, wave off 500 ft before deployment" Try using a standardized Tandem Dive flow. It makes the dive flow very predicitable for the camera flyer and this helps a lot in the aspect of knowing what is going to happen next. The TI's might not like it but we are not making these jumps for our enjoyment, but rather for the paying customers enjoyment and safety. A tandem DiveFlow might look something like: Team Poised Exit (Otter Exit 14k, Cessna is usually diving exit - no intentional loops, tumbling or surprises). Drogue release, face into the sun. Camera flyer should be in position to get the face shot (7 seconds max is what we strive for, but fly within personal limitations). Couple of 360s L and R. Relax time/Alt/Heading Maintence/Geek Camera/ 7K lock on - 6k Wave, Arch Reach Pull (at our DZ, the tandem students are given the oppoutrunity to initate drouge release). Using a standard dive flow makes the Tandem Videos much safer to shoot because there are no "surprises" in what is going to happen next and the vid's and safety level are fantastic as a result! "During drogue fall, try to stay in front and below the pair, flying on your back if possible." Flying on my back is not possible for me to do safely with a tandem, I have much better control hanging on my wings (can easlily get steep enough to get the drouge in the background) - here I would emphasize to fly within ones limitations. Be wary of a premature deployment, stay out of the trap door area. Edited to add: the orientation of the camera flyer (on back, sitting, hanging on wings) is not as important as safely getting the shot, dont try to make the camera flyers use a certain body position, but rather what works best for them and thier abilities. Clint Eastwood said, "A man has to know his own limitations". "Video guys, at wave off, back up and as they deploy, you can flip to your back to get the shot, while you are tracking away. When we are nearing deployment time what the camera staff where I work began using as a guideline after the accident you mentioned is to clear the area below and in front of the tandem. Around 7K we move to the side, around 10 feet away and as the tandem begins to reach for the drouge release then the camera flyer begins to "track" backwards away from the tanden pair. If you use your wings you can create a lot of distance while getting the opening shot, by the time you are ready to "turn and burn" a lot of seperation has already occoured. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Walt, you must have a lot of stories for this string! I know I do, you remember how reckless I used to be?!?!? Early on, when I went through the "I got is all figured out" stage is when I made an abundance of stupid calls - that is why it is sometimes difficult to tell a newbie to not do something stupid because chances are I did the same thing which more times that not resulted in a "close call" and I had a lot of fun doing it. Certainly there are stupid things yet to come on the horizon, but probably the stupidest thing I ever did in skydiving was not listen to those with more experience than I when they were warning me about all the stupid things I was doing. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Main Entry: 1ex•pe•ri•ence 1 a : direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge b : the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation 2 practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity 3 a : the conscious events that make up an individual life b : the events that make up the conscious past of a community or nation or mankind generally 4 : something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through 5 : the act or process of directly perceiving events or reality

Thats it, I am gonna sue McDonalds cuz my ass looks like it was slapped with a waffle iron!

I still feel like a newbie, learning all the time. To me 10,000 "or more is respectable..." If and when I ever get to that point (doubt it) I will still probably feel the same way, but 20,000. Experienced? Ummmm, 1 jump? Dedication or Proficiency? Guess that varies from person to person. What I like about skydiving is I never stop learning and growing, probably cuz I suck and there is always room for improvement... So much room… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Must have been quite a trick deploying your main PC with your left, I had imagined you reached round your back. Have a friend with right shoulder problems so his BOC is set up for a left handed deployment. I am curious as to how you injured your shoulder. Good job recovering from a less than ideal circumstance. Hope you heal quickly. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Oh yeah, congrats on your new rig, you are going to love it! Down time will be over before you know it, I have been out for months recovering from a surgery so I know how you feel. Better to sit out a little while then jumping and making matters worse thus keeping you grounded for a longer period of time. It will pass quickly, hang in there...

It's not about "Saying" the word, it is more a matter of folowing tradition, sort of an honor thing. My first year I brought a case every weekend just to cover my ass, the second year I brought a couple kegs just to cover all the first's which all fell apart because I really like to drink with my skydiving friends, so beer beer beer!

Must have been beautiful skydiving up there. Make a living skydiving? I have a few friends down here that moved south for the year round jumping, and still it is tough to make a living skydiving – helps if you can handle a modest lifestyle. You will get lots of opinions as to which type of program is better to learn; personally I like the tandem progression where you go into solo freefall with instructors after a couple tandems. Some people like one program or another, do a search (upper right hand corner) and you will be able to find lots of information on various types of progressions. Which ever path you take, learn all you can, listen to your instructors and be the best you can be. Being at the DZ is a great place to hang out, make friends and maybe even get on the packing room floor – a lot of skydivers helped to fund their training and beyond by packing. While you are on student status follow your instructors lead, advice you get online can be quite varied and may not compliment the type of instruction you are receiving. Down the road you will not have a problem exiting, it gets easy the more you learn and become experienced, besides, it would not look good if your student has to push you out the door – skydiving is incredible, glad you are part of the family! Welcome to skydiving! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What state are you in? How many tandems have you done? What are your goals?

Wow, an A lic theory exam? Souns like something one would have to study for. Where can I obtain a copy of this type of exam? Here in the states we have a somewhat differenct type of paperwork.

The Javelin container is nortorious for having the closing flap come open in freefall, (Javelin AAD, that way if you burn in, at least your bridle was out) it is had to believe that they have not altered thier design much to address this issue. Now this does not apply to ALL JAv's and other container certainly have thier issues but I could show you many many many Jav's w/a open pin flap in freefall and I know many javelins owners who are trying modifications to make it stay closed. When I made my gear choice years ago I really investigated problems with every container on the market and I settled for what I considered to be the best engineered rig on the market at that time, but if that assesment were made today perhaps there would be another front runner - there are a lot of good rigs on the market these days, and to me, until Javelin does not address thier issues then it will be considered by me a second rate engineering design. Skydiving is not a place to become a BETA tester for new shit, get a contiaier that is tried and true and stays closed in freefall. Hell, a lot of people clain the Vector Riser Cover flaps come undone in freefall, but not if you pack it right and the same hold true for many Jav's out there - maybe you need some guidance in closing you JAv from a mentor type person. But having this type of problem is not an excuse for not getting a pin check. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2280174#2280174 Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I was not going to post in this thread but I feel compelled to say this about post #62 in this string of communication - (http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2280132#2280132) What an incredible post! It is a long read, but well worth the time to read and I thank Douglas for taking time out of his life to compose it. The only area I wouldn’t state an opinion is concerning whether or not this person should give up skydiving as many have. I have been witness to complaints about Waivers by a few experienced skydivers and newcomers as well. Personally, I have never read a skydiving waiver; I just sign the shit like everyone else and get my ass into the air. Today I had a surgery that required they put me to sleep, I had to sign a waiver, the same one everyone else does and they won’t operate unless I sign it so I signed it and didn’t even read it, I just wanted to move forward to the relief from agony this procedure would bring. Am I a dumb-ass? Probably, the point is I don’t care about lawsuits and negligence or all that other legal “mumbo jumbo”, I just want to get into the air and know I can’t unless I sign the same paper everyone else has to sign if they want to jump, therefore I am taking full responsibility with my decision to skydive. If I were signing a different type of document like a work or purchase contract I would have my lawyer read every word, just to make certain everything is on the up and up. To me this is a different thing but to some people, they have to read everything they sign and make pragmatic decisions, and there is nothing wrong with that. Cut the origional poster some slack, he was just perhaps, taken back by such a document... You say potato, I say taters… What’s “taters” precious? Think I will sit down and read it again… Thanks Douglas! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Ummmmm, don't get injured or die... Never stop training as much as you did as a student. Practice and Study EPs and Canopy Piloting. Learn about the Gear, get Pin Checks (and all that Safety stuff)and the rest will come with time. Congradufuckinlationz on getting your A, good times are ahead, have fun and keep it safe. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

http://dropzone.com/fatalities/ Seems to be operator error the vast majority of the time.