NickDG

Did you actually check the RSL routing? I won't assume you didn't or that you can't do a proper gear check. There is always a stuff happens factor with RSLs and rental gear in general. But. I'm asking, did you actually physically check the RSL routing all the way from the reserve pin to the main riser RSL ring? If so good on you, and who knows what may have happened. If not, a gear check isn't just looking and hoping something weird will jump out at you. It may have been a previous renter unhooked the RSL because he didn't want to use it and then they hooked it back up incorrectly when turning in the gear. Gear checks need to be methodical and done the same way all the time. And you need two of them. One you do yourself before putting the rig on and second you get prior to boarding the plane. You can skip some stuff when it's your own gear between jumps but on the first jump of the day, and always with rental gear, that first check needs to be very thorough. I can write it all down here, if you want, but most rig manuals spell it out so borrow one and start there. NickD

The most common way is probably over a main riser instead of under. NickD

AFF was called so to differentiate it from static line training which was all there was before AFF was approved in about 1982. It meant it was an "accelerated" way to achieve free fall without the five required static line jumps that used to be the norm. So it made more sense at one time. On the FF part. Some write it as two words, which it probably correct usage wise, but we speak it in one word. It's like "drop zone" is really two words but people say it. and often write it, like it's one word. Now someone will say they found "freefall" or "dropzone" in some dictionary but that's because language is fluid and ever-changing. Sometimes two words first become hyphenated like "ever-changing" but then after enough people start using it the hypen gets dropped and "everchanging" becomes a real stand alone word. (Which in that case hasn't happened yet). NickD

A little Wind Blade History . . . Wind Blades are everywhere these days so most don't give them a second thought. But they were invented in about '93 or '94 in the Perris Ghetto by an Aussie named Reggie Estaugh (sp?). Reggie was a very creative and talented jumper who up to that point was doing skydiving related sculptures with metal and a blow torch. Among other things he did, jumpers who had metal rods removed from their limbs would give them to Reggie and he makes them a very cool keepsake. He also did many other skydiving related pieces that hung in Square One and the Bombshelter and some of these sold for pretty decent money as they were that good. One day coming home from work at the DZ I saw the very first wind blade he made. We were used to seeing weird things from Reggie but still I had to say, "What the hell is that thing?" "It's a windsock for the drop zone." He said without fanfare. "Wow, that's kinda neat," I said. We opened some beers and rolled a fatty and we sat there staring at it. I was at the time creating advertising for several gear manufacturers and Reggie asked me to do one for these to run in PARACHUTIST and SKYDIVING. "What are you going to call them? I asked. "I don't know yet," he replied. "Well," I said, "It looks like a sail to me. How about calling it a wind sail?" "That's not bad," he said, "see what you can do with that." So the next morning I had an advert ready for Reggie to look at calling them Air Sails with a photo and the tagline, "Wind Direction from the 21st Century" "That's cool," Reggie said when he saw it, "but I thought of a better name last night. I'm going to call them Wind Blades. And like any good Ad-Man I argued for my idea. "Look, you could sell one of these to every DZ in the country, or you could sell one to every new car lot in the country. In that case, with a logo on them, you could call them Air Sales. Get it?" It was at that moment the light bulb went on and we both realized these things had the potential to be much bigger than just skydiving. And the next prototype Reggie built was indeed double sided and meant to be lighted from the inside. At night it was a sight to behold. "How much for the advert," he asked. "A hundred bucks," I said. "I don't have a hundred bucks, he stated. "How about you invest the hundred in the company?" "Yeah, right Reggie, I need to be involved with another flopped skydiving business like I need a hole in my head." But that decision turned out to be a big mistake on my part. Not as big as not lending Tony Dominico some money when nobody had yet heard of Square One, but right up there. "Okay, I'll owe you the hundred," he said. Reggie did indeed get a patent and the original Wind Blades are still being manufactured in the Perris Ghetto by a partner Reggie later took on. However there are knock offs being built all over the world. But I still smile when I see one flying in places other than on the DZs. I saw a photo in the paper of this years golf Master's tournament and there were Wind Blades all over. They've been in the Olympics, at ski resorts, beaches, and almost anywhere else you can think of, I've even seen a few at new car lots . . . NickD

I've de-briefed plenty of AFF students in my time and I see a couple of things here . . . First off, yes, this would give you pause considering it's your next level. But let's put it into perspective. It used to be almost everyone had an uncontrolled spin problem in my days as a student. But the training is so much better nowadays there's a very good chance you won't. And if it happens, and you have the same problem as in the vid, the answer is also in the vid. If the skydive gets out of control, just stop the skydive. Live to fly another day. But there are things you can do before you allow things to progress to that out of control. In the first videos the student's main problem isn't spins it's staying face to earth. In the later videos he's trying hard not to repeat that problem, and he is successful, but then he runs into the spin problem. And the problem in this case is he simply isn't trying hard enough to correct his heading. He's locked into what he thinks is the correct position for belly to earth freefall and he can't figure out why it isn't working. It isn't working (and here's the big secret) because flying means continually adjusting. Let's say you take a fully articulated life size model of a skydiver and place its arms and legs into the position you practiced on the ground and gave it a nice overall arch. If you throw that model out of plane what do you think will happen? That's right. It will stay belly to earth but it will spin like a top. It will spin because the model has no brain and it can't adjust, and if it can't adjust, it can't fly, and if it can't fly, it can't hold a heading. So in a nutshell no locking in, you've got to fly your body, you've got to stay fluid. He also had his head down. Your body will follow your head so look in the direction you want to go. If you are spinning right you better be looking left and high on the horizon. And although you termed this a horror show, and I can fully understand why, I saw some good stuff too. While this student did let his flying get away from him he kept control over the most important part of the skydive. He kept his altitude awareness and in the latter jumps at least, he got a parachute out unassisted and while belly to earth. Any other problem he has is minor and can be fixed. (When, and if, you become an Instructor you'll see what a real horror show is like, and this wasn't it). Believe me, in a year this student will be a shit hot free flyer, in two years he'll be a shit hot canopy swooper, and in three years he'll be so obnoxious his Instructor will turn the other way when he sees him coming. And of course he won't remember he ever had a spin problem. And kudos to that Instructor too. We never get enough credit for it, but one of the hardest in-air things we do is when we release a student we know has a spin issue. It's like intentionally dropping a hammer on your foot, and every time it's like, "Okay, here we go!" So remember. The only way not to turn is to counter turn. And at first you'll have to exaggerate the moves, but as you gain experience it will become so subtle it will be almost unnoticeable, and then you'll be flying with your brain and not so much your body. So good luck on this upcoming level five. Take a picture of the horizon and fight to keep that picture. And above all else keep an eye on the clock. And let us know how you make out! NickD

Plus after you get a D license signatures in a log book are just good for the memories. "Look, this guy is dead, that guy is dead," and so on and so on . . . NickD

Every couple of years we have a logbook signing party. Everyone throws their latest logbook on a table and you never walk passed the table without picking one up and signing off a few jumps. NickD

Great idea! Except for the fact this kind of thing happens all the time . . . NickD

"I Knew This Would Happen . . ." NickD

Skip the tandem and go straight to AFF . . . It's a bit more expensive, but whether you continue or not, you'll get more satisfaction accomplishment wise out of it, learn much more about skydiving, and actually be able to say you basically made a parachute jump on your own. NickD

Hi Tami, There's a small boogie going on at Skydive San Diego this weekend. The DZ is in Jamul and not that far from Chula Vista. If that's not an option make your way over to Coronado. There's a bar on Orange Ave (I've forgotten the name, so just ask someone) that's usually full of Navy Seals. It would be just like partying with Scotty . . . NickD

Also, if it's three guys in the front seat of the car (when most cars had front bench seats) the poor sap in the middle was said to be, "riding pussy." NickD

It would depend on the seat belt configuration. If you just wrap it around a MLW or leg strap then while you won't go flying in a collision, that's still a lot of slack in each belt spread out over everyone on the load. Plus you'll pivot on that point of attachment. But luckily crashes are rare compared to how many operations there are so in the end I suppose it's what you're comfortable with . . . NickD

>>You wont be able to jump at Zhills. Otters you know.

That's right. I suppose you could say that was our version of PC assist in 1982 . . . NickD

The above post nailed it. I thought my vision was perfect, as it always was, until I started biffing my landings. First I thought, what the heck is wrong with my Stiletto? But then I noticed my tandem landings were going off the rails too. I went to an Optometrist and learned, that yes, I needed glasses. And also that I was somewhat color blind. He showed me those colored dot sheets with the number embedded in them. and I was like, "What number?" NickD

It's interesting to see how differently we all think of Tandems . . . Ted Strong originally envisioned Tandem as the dual instruction that would do away with all other forms of student instruction. DZOs saw it was a cash cow and it turned into the ride it generally is today. For my part, when Tandem first came out I thought this is great! Now handicapped folks and my grandmother can at least make one skydive. I never thought it would become anything more than that. And when I first started doing them I couldn't help but think, "Gee, the rig on my back is trying to kill me, the kid on the front is trying to kill me, and I'm giving myself an intentional pilot chute in tow. And then I don't do anything about it for 45 seconds or so. Overall, I felt like the meat in a death sandwich. But like anything else you get more comfortable with it after a while, but the real question is probably - how has Tandem affected the sport overall? I would think those who came to the sport after Tandem began, or made their first jump via Tandem, see it as the normal way of things. But if you pre-date tandem, then some of you, not all, may say it hasn't been the best thing. Personally I know without Tandem we'd never have had the switch to turbine aircraft across the board that we did. But on the other hand I think some first jump tandems, who might have pursued skydiving, leave the DZ with the feeling, "Well, I've done that, nothing more to do here." I suppose only the future will say if we shot ourselves in the foot or if Tandem saved us . . . NickD

If I remember right, I think maybe we static lined them . . . NickD

Could we please put actual photos in our posts here like on the sister site B.A.S.E.jumper.com? It'd awful nice to be able to caption photos and put them inline in posts. Especially when trying to explain complicated things. The way it is now is so wonky and yesterday . . . And yes, I know bandwidth, expense, blah, blah, but when someone else comes up with a more graphical skydiving forum it'll be hasta la vista baby . . . NickD

A day or so ago I received a PM from a jumper who asked if I was the same Nick he knew from the Romona, California DZ in 1982. He said that maybe I was one who shot a photo of him doing a Mr.Bill. I said I was and sent him the photo which he was very happy to get. He also told me his twin daughters just this week did their first few AFF levels which is very cool. Then I thought maybe not many have seen a round parachute Mr. Bill so here's the photo. I'm not sure anymore which jumper is Mr. Bill and which is Sluggo but the jumper who just launched off the shoulders of the jumper under the PC is the jumper who wrote me. He had 62 jumps at the time. NickD

>>What do you do in aircraft with no benches now? Or with straddle benches?

Oh you guys and your electronic gizmos . . . I've grounded more than a few people for low pulls over the years and all I need is an ear and an eyeball. On a busy DZ you never look up unless you hear something that doesn't right, and low openings are something you can hear. Then you just look up to see who gets grounded. Unless of course they had a bonefide problem or you work for a greedy DZO who won't let you ground people. NickD

At the time we sat on the floor of the Otter facing aft with the person in front of you between your legs. It was the fashion of the day and we also did the same in Beeches, DC-3s, etc. And while some jump planes had seat belts on the floor it was kind of up to you to use them or not, and almost nobody did. But even if they had used them, with the belt around your waist it would only keep you from sliding aft, not forward. The aircraft nosed into the ground and taking into consideration the seating arrangement I just mentioned the results were horrible to see, or even recount here, so I'll let you figure it out. After this everyone went to bench seating where a seat belt might actually do you some good by keeping you in place. So in this case even if someone toward the front did survive the initial impact they were crushed under the weight of everyone in front of them. The four survivors (all badly hurt) were the last ones in the plane and they landed on top of the pile of bodies. There was no fire. I'll never sit in an aircraft again with someone between my legs . . . NickD

I used to live near Vic Logan AKA "Captain Good Vibes" in the Perris Ghetto when he got interested in the guitar. We all suffered through STH for a month straight. I decided to fight fire with fire and got myself a bass and retaliated with "Smoke on the Water" and the theme from "The Twilight Zone . . ." NickD

To answer your original question, with just 12 years in the sport you are approaching Fuddy, but you're a long ways from Duddy . . . NickD