Gary73

Got to agree with Andy on this one. I've hated the FMD approach since the first time I heard it. It's like saying that the first person on the road each morning gets to decide which side of the road to drive on. I've always felt that DZs that use FMD are mainly just catering to skygods who think they're too special to follow the rules. It's far better to have the pattern established before takeoff. And better still to have the reminder of a very visible fixed indicator like the yellow arrow at The Farm. Some dropzones justify FMD by saying that they have strong, changing winds, but a better approach there is to have a really visible wind indicator, like a big tetrahedron, and have everybody fly a left-hand pattern based on that. Grow up, people. Following the landing pattern doesn't mean that you're a dweeb - it means that you care about your life and everyone else's. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Without a doubt! For those who haven't seen it, the setup is that the well-intentioned but not-too-bright station manager decided to do a Thanksgiving promotional stunt with no input from the staff. He just got one little thing wrong... http://ballhype.com/video/wkrp_turkey_drop/ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Line twists can definitely happen on reserve deployments, especially if you're spinning when it comes out. As noted above, they're rarely a problem. In fact, given that the reserve deployed between your legs, I'd say you got off easy. Here are my questions: 1. What was your body position when you chopped? A lot of people forget to arch at that point, and are in something like a sitfly position, only with the malfunctioned main holding their torsos up. As soon as that drag goes away, they go into a backflip just as the RSL pulls the reserve pin. Always arch during a cutaway, regardless of what the main is doing. 2. What kind of delay was there between the cutaway and reserve pulls? Some folks seem to think that they should try to beat the RSL. Not so. Always make sure the cutaway handle is completely out before pulling the reserve. Just a couple of things that folks might want to think about before their next EP review. Y'all do review your EPs, right? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Folks, Ed Dixon is one of the few Directors who should get re-elected. Don't criticize him for not giving you every bit of information you might want to have. Thank him for providing the information that he did, and remember that he has certain legal obligations as a Board member that sometimes keep him from saying any more than he does. Disciplinary actions often fall into this category. If you want more information about this matter, ask the members of the Executive Committee. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Very impressive set of manuals and such. Should be in every rigger's "Favorites" list. Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Some other characteristics to consider: low cost availability ease of dyeing (during manufacturing, anyway) ease of cutting ease of sewing or otherwise joining resistance to heat and cold All in all, we're pretty lucky to have nylon. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Everyone should check out www.newsoftheweird.com and subscribe to the free weekly newsletter. There is absolutely no limit to the stupidity of our fellow human beings. And they don't just drive and breed - they vote and get elected to public office, too! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Responding to several posts above: Hopefully a Coach rating is rather more than a rubber-stamp rating, but that depends on the CD. Used to be the Coach Course prereqs included teaching an FJC under supervision. Then they realized that that meant requiring the candidates to do something that they hadn't officially been trained to do yet. Now the candidates just observe, and if they and the Instructor are comfortable with it, they can teach portions under direct supervision. Then, in the course, they hopefully learn do do it even better. Even so, it's expected that recent Coach graduates will team teach the FJC a few times before going completely solo. Sometimes multiple courses are scheduled with the same CD (but different candidates) so he only has to make one trip to the hosting DZ. But yeah, some folks go straight from the Coach course into an AFF or Tandem course. Good idea? Probably not, since in most cases the Instructor course prereqs won't really have been met. Unfortunately those sometimes get rubber-stamped also. Either way, the S&TA, DZO, and other Instructors are expected to provide a level of quality control for the instructional process. As with anything else, results vary. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Personally I love zero-G, but one thing that few pilots and fewer jumpers realize is that most planes are not certified for zero-G flight of any duration. The problem is that the fuel and oil systems depend on gravity to get those fluids to their pumps, etc.. Without it, the fluids float around in the tanks, leaving the pumps sucking wind, which is not so good. It can also cause debris and gunk in the tanks to become dislodged and get into the filters and pumps. Also not good. Then there's the problem of everyone floating to the back of the cabin, which will happen with extended zero-G unless the pilot pulls back on the throttles just right. So as much fun as it is, don't encourage pilots to do zero-G in any plane that isn't certified for it. BTW, jumpers sometimes refer to low-G as being zero-G. If you're still on the floor, just lighter than normal, that's low-G, and that's okay, since the fuel and oil are still at the bottom of their tanks. If you're hitting the ceiling, that's zero- or maybe negative-G, and that's going to be trouble eventually. Yeah, I know, I'm no fun at all... "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Here's what I post when I announce a Coach course: Before attending the course, candidates must have: current USPA membership, at least a B License and at least 100 freefalls, observed and assisted* with one complete First-Jump Course, a Skydiver’s Information Manual that's less than 2 years old, an Instructional Rating Manual that's less than 2 years old, become familiar with the relevant SIM and IRM sections, become familiar with all A-license (yellow) card items, and completed the Coach Written Exam (in the IRM). At the course, candidates will: Attend a day or so of class and conduct training sessions to teach several basic skydiving skills. At or after the course, candidates will perform: two or three** simulated ground preps, two or three** coached jumps, and one or two** debriefs of the coached jump(s). Upon receiving the rating, Coaches can: teach the general portion of the First-Jump Course unsupervised*** (with DZO approval), make regular or coached jumps with students who have completed AFF, verify (but not sign!?) A-license card qualifications, and work toward qualifying for AFF and/or Tandem Instructor ratings. The course fee is $75 plus slots for yourself and your Evaluator for two or three jumps**. Start time: 9:00 AM, Friday,. Be sure to bring your: USPA membership card, Most-recent logbook, SIM, IRM, notepad and pen / pencil, IRM pink card with FJC signed off, completed Coach exam, and course fee (cash or check) * Level of assistance is whatever the candidate and Instructor are comfortable with. ** Last one only required if candidate gets an unsatisfactory grade on a previous one. *** Additional observation and practice with an experienced Instructor are normal before a Coach is cleared to teach an FJC unsupervised. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

14 pounds per stone, so 16 stone = 224 lbs. A rig that size is going to weigh 25 - 30 pounds, so yeah, exit weight around 254, which is about as much as most containers and reserves are certified for, by the way! For what it's worth, USPA recommends keeping your wing loading at less than 1.0 pounds per square foot until you have at least 200 jumps, and then they recommend that you downsize by no more than 30 square feet at a time. How many total jumps do you have? At 1.1 PSF you may already be above the recommended wing loading for your experience level, in which case I wouldn't recommend downsizing at all. There's a pretty good article by Bill von Novak in the Safety section. Don't downsize until you can comfortably do everything in the list on your current canopy. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47 Having said that, I hear good things about the Pilot, Sabre2, and Silhouette, with appropriate wing loadings, of course. As for the last question, yeah, you can swoop 'most any canopy, but don't expect to compete on the canopy piloting circuits until you're at a wing loading and flying a type of canopy that puts you one or two toggle-inches from disaster. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Mark, Thanks for the info; I guess I saw something that wasn't there. I honestly didn't think a canopy like that would twist up with just a single turn. Glad you got out of it okay! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Thanks, everybody! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Cartainly almost anything can get you hurt, but there are usually checks along the way to reduce the chances. Low, hard turns are preached against literally from day one. Packing is done under supervision. Checking closing-loop tightness should be taught from day one, also. The A card reads: "...perform a maximum-performance 90-degree toggle turn, followed immediately by a turn of at least 180 degrees in the opposite direction...". Note the word "immediately". The SIM describes a more gradual approach to learning the limits of how quickly you can do turn reversals. The A card should reflect that. I'm not sure how a maximum-turn-recovery flare could kill someone. I'm referring to being in a steep toggle turn and bringing the other toggle down to stop the turn, level the canopy, and slow down with the minimum altitude loss. As for front-riser maneuvers, I think that there are just too many ways for those to go bad. Look over the incident reports and ask yourself how many people we've lost because someone pulled fronts without having sufficient situational awareness. And remember that most canopy collisions seem to be caused by a front-riser-pulling swooper hitting someone flying a standard pattern. I really don't think that the few benefits of front-riser maneuvers come anywhere close to justifying the inherent risks, especially for newbies. If experienced jumpers want to push the limits that's their choice, but students and novices should stay in safer territory. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

As mentioned above, jumpers never do the required maintenance on the three-ring system, so I consider that to be part of the I&R. I've also found several rigs with dangerously worn components on the main risers, including the webbing just above the medium ring, the retaining loop, and of course, brake lines. I wouldn't have found those problems if I had left the main in the container. I prefer to receive the rig fully packed, since I usually take them home to I&R and have limited space in my car. I always return them that way for the same reason, and charge an extra $5 if I received the rig with the main unpacked or the owner wants a main I&R also. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I've never liked that particular A-license requirement, precisely because it can cause line twists. And there's a huge difference between a deployment line twist with both toggles evenly stowed, and an induced line twist, where there might be a five-foot difference between the toggles. The former is easy to handle, and so common that there's no need to create one. The latter may be unrecoverable. Personally. I'd prefer to have this requirement replaced with a maximum-turn-recovery flare. That's something that might save a jumper's life. And don't even get me started on the requirement to do front-riser dives and turns. No one should be doing front-riser maneuvers until they have at least a C license, and even then only with competent instruction. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hi, I have a couple of cousins near Sacramento, CA who are interested in making Tandem jumps. I don't know the area, so can someone recommend a fun, friendly, safety-conscious dropzone for a couple of first timers? Thanks "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I watched the video linked above by BlueHaze several times, and what I saw was: Normal main deployment. Release brakes. Canopy flies normally. Hard left toggle turn around 360 degrees. Immediate right toggle turn, without waiting for the canopy and jumper to return to straight flight. Canopy flies into line twists. Jumper tries to kick out. Jumper decides that it's time to cutaway. Jumper cuts away. Typically fast SkyHook reserve deployment. Normal reserve flight and landing. (Though I'm not sure I would have made that left turn just before landing. Looked a little low!) This problem can happen even on lightly loaded student canopies. Any time you're making a hard turn, let the canopy return to straight flight before turning the other direction. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hi Beth! Interesting timing: A couple of weeks ago, C.G. brought in some of his dad's old Parachutist magazines from 1988-1990. One little article mentioned that the Army was starting to test replacements for the T-10. Sounds like they got a good product, but jeeze, twenty years? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

http://www.collegeskydiving.com/ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

You can estimate the value of a used CYPRES with the calculator on SSK's Web site: http://www.cypres-usa.com/usedcypres.asp For "CYPRES Cost" enter the current cost of a new CYPRES, which was $1425 a few weeks ago. The calculator doesn't account for shipping costs, either from the seller or to/from SSK if maintenance is needed, but you can fudge that by adding 30 to the maintenance cost. The calculator isn't perfect, but it's a lot more accurate than assuming a straight-line depreciation. As for finding a used CYPRES, yes, you'll have to check the Classifieds frequently and act quickly, and even then it may take a few weeks, but it'll be time well spent if you ever need the thing. Good luck! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If I had to choose just one kind of skydive to do for the rest of my life it would be AFF. Nothing else is as much fun for me or as beneficial to the sport. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Got a friend with an older Eclipse on which the riser covers often come open, even when belly flying. The tuck tabs are the right size and seem to fit okay on the ground. I'm thinking about sewing a layer of cordura over the tabs to thicken and roughen them to maybe keep them in the slots a little better. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If your phone tells you that you missed a call from someone you know, but they didn't leave a message, what do you do? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Charles, The new spacer foam leg pads from Sunpath are pretty good. Give them a call with your rig's serial number (17627, I believe) and your thigh circumference (don't worry; not a clue there!) and they'll hook you up. Any rigger can remove the old "pads" and install the new ones. Take care, Gary "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan