MakeItHappen

Ok I have to reply now. I've read many views on this thread and have not seen my opinion posted. My opinion differs significantly from many others. Kevin postulates I would postulate something completely different. I believe that people making low turns are doing so because they think they have enough altitude, not because they don't want to get their jumpsuit dirty. The real question to answer is why people too low for such-n-such turn do the turn anyway. They may think they are high enough, but they are not. Why is the sight picture and evaluation of descent rate incorrect? That is the question to answer, before trying some 'what if we had these requirements...' type testing phase. I wrote a rather long article on this that SNM did not publish because Truffer and I could not agree on some nomenclature. If you want a copy, please request one via email. As to the baseball slides, baseball slides are different than the soccer or QB football slides. Baseball slides are break-away slides. That means that as your lower leg touches a base it will fold so as not to break that leg or ankle. The bases are anchored above ground. Home plate is flush with the ground. Soccer and QB slides are all done on known flat terrain and work well in that environment. When landing in perhaps, uneven terrain, a break-away slide is better. Erica, the experiences you related do not epitomize a proper baseball slide. I do baseball slides or my modified jumper slide on most no/low wind landings because my knees are not what they used to be. On some of my landings the slide goes into a stand-up. I use the last little bit of canopy lift to stand me up, but the approach has a slide to it and not a run as fast as you can type approach. In essence, I think that requiring a mandatory downwind landing would be counter productive and makes about as much sense as requiring mandatory tree or power line landings. To date my highest wind, down wind landing (~20mph) was at Coolidge many moons ago. The windsock indicated wind from the north. I was going North. As I got closer to the ground my ground speed increased. The guy that landed a few seconds before me broke his ankle. His canopy landed in front of him. I realized there was a wind shear. I leaned backed in my harness and did the best "I'm stealing home in the bottom of the ninth" slide I could muster. I slid about 75 feet and stood up at the very end. I couldn't believe I made it thru that. Preventing low turns is more about why people do low turns than why they don't want to get dirty. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

A proud US based father TI posting about his 4 yo daughter doing a tandem jump with him, with photos too. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Conference meet: Boise State Collegiate Parachuting Championships Star, ID April 1-2, 1972 and April 21-22, 1973 NCPL Championships: DeLand 1972 DeLand 1973 SIU, Carbondale, IL 1974 Collegiates were held in Nov or Dec. I doubt if ID would be a good site for NCPL at that time of the year. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Joule is a metric unit for energy. Joule heating is the name referred to electronics generating heat while a current is passed through a circuit. Both terms are named after James Prescott Joule. A google search can help those without a formal education in physics. . I'm so sorry. I quickly assumed that it was just a made up term. I don't remember that term being used. I do have a formal education in mechanical engineering, thermodynamics was my area of emphasis, but that was 20 years ago. So sorry to have offended without even bothering to look it up. That's funny. I got my MS in Physics from Purdue in 1978. I can't recall anytime during the intervening years doing something involving Joule heating in the interim. Anyway, the potential for Joule heating being a root cause for this misfire is slim, wouldn't you agree? IOW, it is more likely that the external environmental temps found a way to fool the Vigil algorithms. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Joule is a metric unit for energy. Joule heating is the name referred to electronics generating heat while a current is passed through a circuit. Both terms are named after James Prescott Joule. A google search can help those without a formal education in physics. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

My take on it is that the Vigil incorrectly equated Temp changes to altitude changes and fired the unit. Pressure changes get equated to altitude changes and rate of change of altitude. Temperature changes change pressure, but that does not necessarily mean that altitude has changed. The algorithms, aka software, making the decisions to fire or not to fire are not correct. The blurp does not actually say if these temp changes are because of external temp changes or components heating up. It could be either or both. My guess is environmental changes because I do not think the power consumption, leading to Joule heating, is all that great in an AAD. The batteries would not last long if there was major component heating because of Joule heating. An example of Joule heating is a hot laptop. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

It's an Iowa record, but it only ties the California record, set in 2000. That record was a bonifide 'all people on the same dive' jump from the top floor. Can't really tell if the Iowa record was several solos or a 4-way, plus solo. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This sounds like a software problem to me. It fired when the temp changes by about 30C=54F and the ambient pressure was constant and equal to ground level. The software should be using redundant checks of rate of change of pressure, ambient pressure and possibly backing that up with a temperature change. These should be calculated over time periods and correlate to previous time periods. Somewhere there is probably a logic error that only looks at pressure changes, regardless of their cause, and then signals the unit to fire. Measured temperature changes change the ambient pressure and that Vigil acknowledges by stating: "After the switch-on procedure, the temperature adapted itself just over the allowed maximum parameter and implemented by compensation a higher pressure registration. In those rare circumstances, this correction gave the necessary pressure variation parameters to activate the Vigil." IOW, a pressure change because of a temperature change was being equated to a pressure change because of an altitude change. The software logic could not or did not know the difference and fired the unit. In any case a 54F change in temperature is quite common in the desert during the course of a day. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Three loads so far today that turned onto jumprun at ~8:30, 10:30 and 12:30. Formation loads fly over my house. They only have 4 AC in formation. That is all I know. I am not at the DZ. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

ummm Jan...the women's has had them for 2 seasons now Musta been added after May 05. Cuz I know they weren't there then. But there were really cool thunderstorms. Do they have those buildings that were built several years ago, but left unfinished because the in-town motels objected? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

ha ha ha That is really funny!!!!!! The motel's website says they exist and they don't take pets. So no use to me. I still find camping out of the back of my truck to be the best accommodations at Eloy. Desert camping is really great. You get to see the sun rise and straggler coyotes running off to their den. I'm partial to the desert. I really like it, much more than the midwest where I grew up. The only thing I don't like about it, are the communal showers. How hard would it be to put put some privacy curtains in the showers? Hey Betsy, how early will the Bent Prop open for breakfast during Nats? I usually have to do a Micky D's run when I'm there to get food around/before 7 am. That's something I'd rather not do. During the 300-way there was some caterer that handled that. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Try this . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Actually, you are wrong on that point. Today, I got an email from a TI that did admit to doing this maneuver and has been reading this thread. When I called him to get some more info, I learned that the DZ had changed its policy on these types of carnival rides several years ago. Jacko did not abide by the new policy. This particular TI also wants to see Jacko's TI rating pulled for at least a year. Well, I don't have the time to wade thru the realxstream nav system to look at videos. Maybe you can provide some 'hints'. I think it's more like DZs have told TIs not to do this for several years, but there are some renegades still out there that want to do their thing because they are bored on tandem jumps. I think it will be quite the opposite. If nothing happens, then USPA will get inundated with emails. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I did, long before this thread came about. Both the TM and the S&TA's insisted that Strong Enterprises was aware of, and condoned that style of jumping. They were not interested in my opinion, which isn't surprising - I don't have a TM rating. _Am You say "Both the TM and the S&TA's..." does that mean that you only know about one TI doing this or have you seen any other TIs do this hop off to the side manuever? Some other posts would have us believe that this practice is rampant. You say "They were not interested in my opinion" does 'They' refer to 'TM & S&TAs' or 'Strong' or both? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

If this is true, I am shocked and disappointed. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

THanks. People making incendiary posts are part of the online culture. Don't you just love it when someone quotes you out of context? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This is just grand. We have an elected director doing an investigation in Skydiving's equivalent of the Jerry Springer show. Says a lot about her credibility to me. THis is funny. The 'investigation' was over more than a week ago by the RD, Aug. 17 to be precise. THis is a thread where people are discussing the relative merits of a well documented manuever by a TI. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I would count me as part of the 'said agencies' and not part of the 'angry mobs'. A lot of that 'who, what, where, when, how' stuff is not completely known to said agencies. If you, or someone else, won't tell the said agencies, who will? Glad to see you are not propagating the hostility. Exactly. If it comes across like that, perhaps it is because the 'authorities' do not have the information you have. I'm not an Ozzy, but I think I have the same reputation. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That is great, I am glad to hear that. I am curious about why he would not listen to what you had to say - assuming you said it was kind of a stupid thing to do. That's kind of like background type info. Jumpers can spot DGITs and that was the type of intention the question had. It's so hard to keep my web sites up to date, I don't even try to keep my profile here up to date. You can click on MakeItHappen to get somewhat of an idea of me and my experience. Not everything I do in skydiving is listed there. That actually makes sense of some other correspondence I have regarding this case. I don't perpetuate any kind of rage. I am more of the impartial and benevolent type, what's the next move in the chess game of life? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

What is the 3rd DZ? We know about CSC and CK. Geez, you said he had 15,500 jumps, 7500+ tandems. Everyone else I know in that league (for real) would ground the guy on the spot (at least prohibit tandem jumps). Why didn't he have the 'common sense', 'intelligence', 'where-with-all' or 'mind-set' to realize that this was dangerous? I noticed that you are listed as staff at CSC. Did you say anything to him or your RD or did you just turn a blind eye to it? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Oh, it is not quite that bad. 3/05 to 9/06 is really 1.5 years. And you really don't know how up to date the web site was kept. The wayback machine has the "9000 jumps - nine years skydiving" since at least Jul. 20 2004. At most it's 6500 per two years. = 3250/year = 8.9/day (everyday) . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I stand corrected. I read it on the internet and *thought* it was true. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I believe you are mistaken. Anyone in the world can see those videos. No one needs a password or login to see those links. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

According to the CK web site modified Mar. 5, 2005: STEVE “JACKO” JACKSON SKYDIVING INSTRUCTOR FREEFALL VIDEOGRAPHER 9000 JUMPS 9 YEARS SKYDIVING Ratings: Tandem Instructor (US and Australia), Accelerated Freefall Instructor (US and Australia), Videographer, Skydive University Instructor. According to the CSC web site modified Aug. 25, 2006: Jacko Jackson FU Staff, Video Staff, Sky Team Aviation Pilot Ratings: AFF, Tandem, Video, Commercial, IFR, Multi-Engine Pilot Number of Jumps: 13500 USPA #: D10731 DOB: October 10th, 1973 email: extremelife02@yahoo.com The D10731 is probably an Aussie license because that USPA D license was published in Jun 1987 Parachutist with a different name and Jacko would have been only 13 years old then. I could not find him listed on Skydive U's website as a coach, but I did not check all state listings either. Rumor mill says he *might* have been teaching other TIs how to do this hop over to the side manuever. The same rumor mill says that most TIs thought he was an idiot for doing that. (their words). The tandem students do not have a clue of the dangers involved with this manuever. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

It was a lot a work done by someone else, not me. They wish to remain nameless. That is a topic for another thread. There are a lot of DZs that approach the first tandem jump as a carnival ride. THanks. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker