AFFI

I like that!

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

For dealing with this total malfunction correctly utilizing a preplanned course of action - BRAVO! Outstanding and all the positive stuff… A group of very experienced instructors and me (I was the least experienced in the group) today were talking about this very same subject and the preplanned course of action all of us teach and believe in is to teach the PC in tow as a total malfunction. A subject of debate indeed. For packing yourself a very dangerous and avoidable situation? I am certain you have picked your own expletives. Ummmm, curious how much packing experience your friend has? Glad you survived and hopefully will never repeat this mistake. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Thanks for the reply TK, and for the clarifications and elaborations on your points. After reading your reply I decided to sit down and read every word in this entire line of postings, I have nothing better to do on a Friday evening other than study skydiving. What I noticed is that there are many methods that instructors utilize to reach out to students, some we agree on and others we don’t but what we are all striving for is a similar means to the end, to teach people how to safely participate in what we seem to collectively believe is one of the most wonderful empowering peaceful exhilarating and meditative experiences we as humans have ever been exposed to – skydiving. What I am walking away with this is a deeper level of acceptance to methods that are not my own. The DZO I work for has a philosophy that a staff with instructors that are quality teachers but utilize dissimilar methods of communicating will reach out to a broader range of personalities that walk through the manifest door and I am beginning to be more appreciative of his tolerance for diversity because it is better for our students to pair up with a personality that they can better learn from. Some of the varying methods posted are astonishingly first-rate TK, Rob, Tom, Michael, John, Ron, and I was most completely floored by Nick’s ability in this string of communication to communicate effectively and make thought provoking points most brilliantly. I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and affording me the opportunity to better myself by collecting contrasting thoughts methods and ideas. When picking these experts I was looking for the similarities, not the differences: “focus my best efforts on parachute malfunctions and parachute landings.” “There are all kinds of skydiving instructors in the world and there are many ways to be effective.” “To be a good Instructor you need several personalities.” “But, sometimes jarring the right student, just a bit, is a useful tool. Experience can only tell you which those are.” “You must absolutely teach a person who's never parachuted what to do in case any one of those things you know can go wrong, does so.” “Since repetition is the mother of skill, the best approach is to simulate the condition as best as possible and have them continually perform the task they need to learn.” “Courage is not the lack of fear, but the willingness to act, in spite of it.” “I prefer to train people with the philosophy of "This is how you handle emergencies and keep yourself safe." “The best instructors tailor stress levels to individual students. If your first jump course includes a simulated stress level far higher than the student has ever experienced before, you will lose your students.” “they do not have to deal with the effects of the malfunctions itself - they simply deal with the proper procedures to deal with when it happens.” Thanks everyone, Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

QuoteIf I have something out and trailing - like PC in tow - I will chop before pulling the reserve because chances are great the my main will deploy as my reserve comes out. I know this topic is a big debate but I stick to this procedure. Altitude awareness at all times is the key.Quote Although I would handle a PC in Tow differently you are totally correct that it is a topic of big debate with compelling arguments on both sides and when in that situation skydivers have died both ways and it is hard if not impossible to determine what caused the entanglement without eyewitness sources of review I.E. video footage. Its almost a crap shoot. The USPA clearly states the two acceptable methods of dealing with a PC in tow and recommends that skydivers have a preplanned course of action after review with an instructor. I commend you for making an informed decision and I am once again being presented with the challenge of re-evaluating how I might handle this situation if it ever presents itself to me. The most important thing we can keep in mind is that the PC in tow is a preventable situation and avoidance is the best solution. Maintaining our gear and to keep in mind that an extra minute on the ground packing might make the difference whether we are presented with this potentially life threatening situation in the air. Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Thinking it was my second season as an instructor and I had one student deploy on his back at 8-9k. I released and he caught me by surprise, flipped onto his back and went to spinning. Around 6-7 seconds and I still was not there but was on my way to get him and believe I was on a good course to do so coming in on a steep diagonal trajectory from above, being only seconds away I remember thinking he was mine. It was so cool! I was going to get my first save! Not that I was hoping for it per se but all the hours of training for that moment left me with a sort of “eagerness”. He reached for his hackey and I put on the brakes as fast as I could, I certainly didn’t want parachute for lunch. Then the coolest thing happened – he looked at his altimeter, let go of his hackey and waved off they deployed his main while still on his back, his canopy opened cleanly. I was disappointed in myself because I did not get there in 5 seconds or less and lost a little sleep over it but the cool part was he did as he was trained. This experience taught me a couple of valuable lessons early on, the first of which being the importance of through ground training that I learned from guys like Drill Sergeant Green, Don Yahrling and Scott Borghesse - because I am not superman and wont always be able to get there in time. Thank goodness for Otter altitude! Secondly it taught me to remain closer to students until they get my trust then after they earn my trust to try to fly just as tight once they start performing maneuvers, overall, to fly tight on them like I did my evaluators at the AFFCC. I had to wait 2 more years to get my next chance to make a save – on that one I was there in time, I learned not to be a gentleman and wipe the snot off of a students face in freefall because it might mess up their concentration. I have had to make additional "saves" since but overall opportunities to make saves haven’t come as often as I suspected they would early on but I have to stay prepared on every student jump because I never know when that opportunity is going to present itself. Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Every now and then I read a posting and copy and paste it into a document that I have to print and re-read in paper from time to time and this is definitely one of them, Thanks TK for sharing your knowledge, experience and perspective based on your many years of experience for which I have a great amount of respect. Before going any further I will state that I am not being confrontational in the rest of this posting, I am only making some clarifications putting things in context and asking some questions that will create a learning environment for myself and others that take the time to read these postings to better themselves. As for being professional? (How about a white pair of shorts, a polo shirt, video training aids, a white classroom, clean restrooms, professional speakers and presentations, a clean demonstration of what they need to do and some rehersals of typical malfunctions, etc.) I totally agree and am. Being tough? (If you are leaving your students in tears, then I would suggest you are doing a very poor job of instructing) I have only rattled a couple times this way over my past 5 years of instructing (both “tough guys”) - with only 5 years of experience I am still inexperienced as an instructor and still learning how to treat different individuals. If I am working with a student that is 10 jumps into our 18 jump progression and they still don’t know their malfunctions and everything is a big joke because they know it all and are invincible and not taking any of their training seriously (usually the young testosterone drenched male) then you can bet I am going to get TOUGH on them. “They are paying a lot of money to get the thrill of their lives” indeed, and it is my duty to teach them to jump from an airplane and not get injured or die. I only get tough when certain attitudes dictate that I should, learning when and how to treat each individual has been difficult – the part that comes only with experience and my DZO has been complimentary to the progress I have made in this arena and as always I am eager to learn and become a better instructor that I may be of better service to our clients. “what you are suggesting would be akin to pulling someone's air on a scuba dive just to see how they would react.” Not certain I agree with this perspective, this is what we would refer to in the ARMY as a “Live Fire Exercise” - if we were to induce malfunctions in the air, say for instance pack them a line over to see how they would deal with the malfunction in an actual emergency situation then this comment would apply but we simulate on the ground so they are prepared to deal with emergencies in the air. If someone wants to subject themselves to a live fire exercise after they are experienced more power to them – I have practiced flat turns in braked flight low to the ground simulating an emergency evasive maneuver low to the ground after I became proficient higher up. When the time comes when my choices are hitting an obstacle or perform a braked turn hopefully all the practice will pay off and I will be able to land safely without stalling my canopy. “Perform a Braked Approach and Landing” is part of the A License requirements that is a good example of a live fire exercise for skydivers in the progression of obtaining their A License from the USPA. “would you 'fail' someone on the outcome of your demonstration? If not, then it is probably not worth doing.” Could you please elaborate on this comment? I am not certain I understand it. “We can sit there all day a dream up 'what-ifs'.” Totally agree, that is why some training can take longer than needed or not cover everything that should be covered – that is why we have developed a check list for the FJC so all the necessary material is taught and currently creating Malfunction Tutorials and Dive Flows that coincide with the A License Proficiency card to better increase the instructors effectiveness and efficiency. Professionally outside of skydiving I construct educational learning material so I have been placing my skills at the disposal of my DZO in assisting the creation of our student training manuals and guidelines and I do not get paid for it. My Motivation? Knowledge that comes from others for the content had to be filtered through my brain, so my compensation is the experience and knowledge of others who have many decades in the skydiving arena. I once read that is you wish to become proficient in something, the trick is to find others who are experts in what you wish to learn, then “stand beneath them and catch their drippings”. “I would hate to be in your class.” Last year an older gentleman from the UK was in the US on business and I was his instructor from the FJC then 8 Dive Flows into the progression. Very educated and his background where “extreme” activity was extensive with over a decade experience as a Commercial Deep Sea Diver, on the Nautical Emergency Rescue Team for decades and climbs the largest ice glaciers and mountains in the world, his personal photo album was amazing! It looked like the freaking National Geographic. He sent our DZO a letter telling him that of all his years of being subjected to specialized training in potentially hazardous environments that the instruction he received from me was amongst the finest individual training he has ever received. This year he brought his son from Cornwall UK all the way to Texas specifically so his son could be trained in skydiving by me because he wanted his son to have what he considered the best. I am not telling you this to impress you, I am telling you this to impress upon you that unless you read the entire book you will not know the entire story until you reach the end of the book and discover the conclusion. Thanks again TK for your thought provoking comments... MAke it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Tell ya the truth - I used to have the same concern. then it went away, then I got pillows on each side and I bacame concerned about it again simply due to the fact the stopper was no longer visible, then it went away. I actually heard a bondfire story where something caused to D-Ring to no longer be there and the jumper was able to take a wrap or the reserve cable and pull it hard enough on the first attempt to activate reserve deployment... Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I think you're referring to a horseshoe mal. You'd throw your PC so that the main doesn't hang up when/if you have to cutaway. They type of horseshoe he is reffering to I believe is the out of sequence deployment. Pilot chute in tow procedures might go something like this... Pilot chute in tow: (a Pilot Chute hesitation might be occurring) •Upon throwing your pilot chute, start counting: One Thousand, Two Thousand, Three Thousand – “Shouldn’t I be feeling something by now? •In the event you are experiencing a pilot chute hesitation, look over your left shoulder to assess the situation. This will spill air across your back and disrupt your burble. Train yourself to look over your left shoulder because it keeps your altimeter and reserve deployment handle in your view. If the pilot chute is trailing behind you, this is a pilot chute in tow. The USPA SIM 2005 states: For a pilot-chute-in-tow malfunction, there are currently two common and acceptable procedures, both of which have pros and cons. An instructor should be consulted prior to gearing up, and each skydiver should have a pre-determined course of action. Pilot chute in tow procedure 1: (my personal pre-determined course of action as per PIA) Deploy the reserve immediately. A pilot chute- in-tow malfunction is associated with a high descent rate and requires immediate action. The chance of a main-reserve entanglement is slim, and valuable time and altitude could be lost by initiating a cutaway prior to deploying the reserve. Be prepared to cut away. Pilot chute in tow procedure 2: Cut away, then immediately deploy the reserve. Because there is a chance the main parachute could deploy during or as a result of the reserve activation, a cutaway might be the best response in some situations. The Horshoe could be explained like this: Horseshoe Malfunction High speed partial malfunction. The definition of a Horseshoe malfunction is that your container is open and the parachute is connected to your body somewhere other than the risers. 2.1a) Out of Sequence Deployment: (Throw Hackey, if necessary-cut away, deploy reserve) A Normal Deployment sequence is: Step 1) Throw your pilot chute. Step 2) Container opens and parachute comes out. Step 3) Parachute opens and inflates. In an Out of Sequence situation the container has opened but pilot chute is still in the pouch – essentially, Step 2 has happened (container is open) but Step 1 has not. •Attempt to locate and deploy your pilot chute. The main container tray is open and the parachute is potentially out so the bottom flap (where the BOC hackey handle is located) may not be where it normally is. Place your right palm on the back of your thigh and feel your way up your leg to the bottom of the container in an attempt to locate the hackey handle. •Maintain an arched body position and keep your hand facing palm skyward to prevent a potential entanglement with the pilot chute bridal. •Remember, this is a high speed situation, you are losing altitude fast. The USPA SIM 2005 states: Premature container opening in freefall (hand deployment only): •Attempt to locate and deploy the pilot chute first (no more than two attempts or two seconds, whichever comes first). •If the pilot chute can’t be located after two tries or if deploying the pilot chute results in a partial malfunction, cut away and deploy the reserve. Pilot chute bridle wrapped around arm/leg, the parachute is out: This is a preventable situation by maintaining good body position and keeping your palm skyward during the deployment of a throw-out pilot chute BOC system. •Two attempts to clear the entanglement by presenting the extremity with the bridle caught on it skyward, away from your body and into the wind. •If you cannot clear the pilot chute, now you have to look over your shoulder to find out if the pin has been extracted or not to determine the type of malfunction you have. Total or Horseshoe (partial)? •Remember, this is a high speed situation, you are losing altitude fast. •If your pin has been extracted and the container is open you have a partial (Horseshoe) malfunction, Initiate emergency procedures for a partial malfunction, cutaway (making sure the 3 rings have released thus clearing a path for reserve deployment) and deploy your reserve. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Does that mean like in never?

That's easy? More like hunting needles in haystacks when the changes are few and far between. The needles in a hay stack analogy sounds like a good one if it is a stack of hay that has 267 pieces of hay, since that is how many pages there are in the book or 19,513 pieces of hay since that is how many words there are in the book - not a lot. Please regard this posting as friendly I am not attempting to be confrontational, merely presenting a different perspective to illustrate the potential fact that a lot of people do not study their SIM on a regular basis or every year when a new one comes out. I will admit that I do not study every word or read every page thoroughly, but I am known as a “SIM Thumper” at my DZ since I do take the time to study it a bit and teach from it to the students I work with to encourage them to study it after graduation. Some people do not like the formatting of the book, admittedly I have read better manuals but I have looked at worse as well. The USPA is generous enough to offer the book as a free download as a PDF file with the main advantage there being the use of a Search Function the makes finding things much easier. The CSPA manual is a good read as well, hell I would even read ones from other countries if they were translated since I can barely read engrish much less dem uther weird languizez… Hujed un phnuix rully werked fer me. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

No worries, email if you want to talk about anything personal anytime...

If the problem is knowing what the changes are, might I suggest a quick look at the APF Op Regs (pdf) for a possible solution? To quote: Makes it easy to see what's changed at a glance! What makes it easier is to study the 2006 SIM Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I am certain that individuals with more knowledge than I can enlighten you inquiry with much more accuracy that I but I will share what little I think I understand. Some schools of thought suggest that when a bag lock stands the skydiver into a vertical orientation you loose the drag of your body and may exceed freefall velocity. Kind of like deploying while in a stand position, or any other position that will accelerate the skydiver beyond terminal. I have personally had an opening so hard I did not jump for a month! Whiplash, hurt back – it was very painful and you can hear the sound of the canopy opening on the video, it sounds like a cannon went off and I was in a stable belly to earth body position when it happened. Additionally I know a skydiver who deployed n his belly and his canopy opened so hard that it broke his femur and actually bent and misshaped his articulated hip rings. So hard openings do happen and when you are acclerated beyond terminal velocity (120) or in poor body position you increase you chances as well AND sometimes shit just happens. Perhaps someone with more knowledge and insight can enlighten us? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I think you're missing a "not" in there. There is EVERY reason to get on the airplane completely ready to make your pre-planned exit from altitude ESPECIALLY when you are an instructor jumping with a student. Better?

nah, i'll be doing some crack instead Good luck getting to jump 17...

This is a very good example of how one person’s opinion is another person’s load of complete crap… I have jumped very frequently (every day the plane is flying) for over 5 years as a full time camera flyer and USPA Solo Freefall Instructor at a very busy DZ. There is EVERY reason to get on the airplane completely ready to make your pre-planned exit from altitude ESPECIALLY when you are an instructor jumping with a student. Squirrel and I could not be more likeminded concerning the following comment he made – “I feel that an overkill of safety examples should be demonstrated during instruction, and then the student will have an excellent base to start from.” And I hope that if he is endeavoring to obtain a solo freefall instructional rating one day in the future that he stay on his path of being an excellent minded individual and not get lost in the quagmire of mediocrity that is the mindset of so many well intentioned under trained and unprepared skydivers out there. Leaders leading by good example is the cornerstone of good leadership. I have worked with very fine instructors whom I respect deeply, who are more experienced than I, overall better instructors than I have become yet but do not take leading by example to the extremes I do (like having my students pin check me before exit etcetera) but I have little respect for the instructors out there that are lost in mediocrity who do not teach by example whatsoever. Fortunately I work for a DZO that expects his instructors to lead by example, to be through in their teaching practices and adhere to the guidelines and reccomendatins for safety that the USPA suggests and the DZ policies demand... Good posting Squirrel… Perhaps you should get a rig that fits properly... Of course this is just my opinion - I could be wrong... Make it a great day everyone… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Poor comparison, there is a huge difference between setting a good example where skydiving is concerned and illegal drug use while on the job. No, I wouldn’t join him but I would ride the airplane down - have a talk with the DZO and send a report to the USPA, the FAA and if the DZO didn’t fire him immediately contact the local paper and TV news and picket the DZ in front of the news camera crew when they showed up, contact the local police, the governor and the president of the freaking United States if I had to. Another words, I would do everything in my power to stop him just like I would do anything in my power to stop a child molester if I knew what he was doing to children… Am I against to child molesters? Totally… Am I against weed heads? Not at all, but not on the job, just like I wouldn’t want my doctor to perform surgery on me if he were under the influence of drugs or alcohol… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Someone I know had a bag lock malfunction at 13,000 feet (clear and pull from altitude). Fearing he would never find his main if he chopped it so high he decided to ride it down to a lower altitude so he could be able to find his main after cutting away. Around 8,000 feet the main opened violently and broke his back! This was several years back and he still jumps today but had quite a layoff to heal and medical bills that cost much more than a new main would have. Just something to think to consider… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

And used when appropriate.. If I am training a person who has a backrgound in high speed sports requiring staying calm in stressful situations is a different approach to someone who is not. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

My second malfunction was a bag lock - since my reserve worked flawlwssly it was a FANTISTIC experience and lots of fun! I am one of the wierdos that actually like malfunctions, getting out of them while staying altitude aware or having to chop and deploy reserve while remeining altitude aware is a good skill to remain current. Since I have not had a malfunction requiring EP's for 5 years and 2800 skydives I train more than a lot... Congrats on dealing with your bag lock correctly... MAke it a great day.. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

THAT is how I would love to be taught. Sounds like there is an instructor out there who cares and is doing his job - that is very refreshing to hear... I might sound cruel but I have actually brought a few individuals to tears when putting them under some ground stress while training - imaging what zooming towards potential death will do to them! Better to figure out if someone can handle a stressful situation before their life is at stake. One of those I rattled pretty good hung in there and we drilled a lot - that person recently had their first cutaway and reserve ride and sent me a very nice letter thanking me for the type of training they received from me, they stayed calm, altitude aware and dealt with a nasty malfunction no problem... Being a little tough and through works... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Before I read your post first thing I thougt was "I sure would like to have this to read since I learn better by reading rather than listening". I will ask my wife to transcrip this into a doc format this week and will send it to whomever would like to read rather that listen - send me a PM in a few days to see if it has been done yet... Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

We are in total agreement - debate online is useless. Debate in any forum can go either way, if is argumentative than it is a waste of time, if there is a good exchange of information occurring than it is not – and this is only how I view the use of my time in my life, others might view it differently. I avoid debate on DZ.com as much as possible and stay out of the “chat” forums visiting only the Safety and Training, Instructor and Incidents forums as I do not have time for drama. Learning however; be it online, in person, from books, over the telephone, listening to stories at the fire, letters, emails - basically any exchange of productive dialogue where exchange of knowledge is occurring and getting input on how others do things is not a waste of my time. It is simply information to draw upon and has nothing to do with the responsibility of how other instructors perform their duties in their daily practices with their students. If I came across to you as being confrontational than I apologize, it was not my intent whatsoever. I am humbly inquisitive by nature and have an affinity for varying knowledge, techniques and practices that allow me to consider contrasting methods of performing varying tasks. So I am not debating with you, I would rather to think of it as we are learning and exploring possibilities together so do not take any of my comments as confrontational but rather friendly and endeavor to have a mutually beneficial learning experience and look forward to any comments you and others will add that will further enlighten the readers of this forum that will make us all safer and better educated skydivers and instructors of skydivers. I will send you a private message concerning my personal credentials. Make it a great day! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

It is sometimes difficult to tell from written dialogue the tone in which inquiries are being made - don’t know if there is a chip on your shoulder or you are being friendly. If there is a chip on your shoulder I don’t have time. If you are being friendly PM me and well get to know each other.