Gary73

Andy, Glad you got it out okay - you've had enough excitement lately! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

How tight should a BOC pouch be? That is, what are safe minimum and maximum forces for pilot chute extraction? I think I know it when I feel it, but are there any objective standards? I'd like to be able to give my customers more than just an opinion. Thanks "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

AFF graduation. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

What kinds of policies and prices do dropzones out there have for the rental or use of dropzone equipment like jumpsuits, helmets, altimeters, gloves, and goggles? Does it depend on whether the person did their student training there? Does it depend on whether a rig is being rented at the same time? I'm curious because we just got a new policy: Jumpsuits will not be available to anyone after graduation. Period. A jumper/ new graduate must purchase an altimeter [by] the first jump weekend after graduation. A new graduate may use a helmet and altimeter the weekend they graduate but not a jump suit. Out of state jumpers with no access to their gear will be able to rent a helmet and altimeter at a rate of $10 per jump. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Dontiego, Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Who cares how far down the beach you land, as long as you do land on the beach and not in the water! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Andy, Any time, man. See you at Dublin! Doug, Yes, your ground speed would increase, but the increase would all be down the wind line instead of across it, which is the goal in this particular case. (See attached second diagram.) John, I guess I don't understand. The drawing is a view from directly overhead, and the arrows are intended to indicate the directions the canopy is pointing and the wind is blowing. Perhaps the second diagram is clearer. Sorry, I'm not much of an artist and Microsoft Paint isn't much of a diagramming tool... WRT the second diagram (attached to this post), when you're flying a canopy, your movement through the air (glide) and the air's movement over the ground (wind) are happening simultaneously, but sometimes it makes the situation more clear to draw them one at a time. In this case I drew the wind movement first, then the glide movement starting where the wind "left off". Examples are given of an upwind crab, a downwind crab, and a perpendicular (to the line separating the good area from the bad area) crab, with the dotted lines showing the actual movement over the ground. (Geeks will recognize this as a crude description of elementary vector arithmetic.) From that starting point, the canopy pilot can get to any point inside the Glide Range circle, but only a small portion of that circle is in the safe area. Note that this case shows a strong wind parallel to the separating line, but the same rule applies regardless of wind speed or direction: point the canopy perpendicular to the separating line to get the most movement toward the good area. BTW, thanks, all: As is often the case, explaining this has caused me to re-think and hopefully improve how I teach it. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Gary, Yeah, it's important to stay flexible in this sport, isn't it? Sometimes we forget that and focus too much on the original plan when there's a better answer right in front of us. Or right behind us! Stratostar, I've heard good things about the Parasim but never had a chance to use one. Too bad they're so pricey. FFG, I definitely agree about using overhead photos for both regular and "what if" canopy-control scenarios. In fact I just recently made some new ones for our DZ. Fortunately, Google Earth makes it pretty easy to get good images of most of the U.S. Their coverage of Austria isn't very high-resolution yet, but from what I can see it looks beautiful. I'll have to get over there someday. Rob, Funny that you should use that analogy: The first time I remember using this technique was after a cutaway a couple hundred yards out over the Gulf of Mexico with a strong wind blowing along the shoreline! Unfortunately, sometimes people focus so much on getting to the original target that they fight a losing battle crabbing across a strong crosswind and come up short. Glad to hear that others are teaching this technique. I generally agree with the standard method of moving the whole downwind/base/final landing pattern to a safe area when you can't get to the original target, but sometimes it takes all the running, holding, or crabbing you can do to get to a safe area. Sometimes you even have to skip that last turn and land downwind or crosswind to get to a good area, so it seems like a good idea to make sure that students (and radio Instructors) are aware of their options. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Sometimes it happens that you find yourself under canopy over a large bad area (trees, water, etc.) on a day when the wind is parallel to the line separating the bad area from a large good area. The tendency is to crab toward your original target, but if the wind is close to your glide speed, you may not cover enough ground to make it to the good area before you land. On the other hand, if you turn perpendicular to that separating line, you'll make the best possible progress toward the good area, even though you may end up a good way downwind of your original target. (Please see attached diagram. And yes, that's about the limit of my artistic ability!) Is anyone else teaching this or using it while giving radio guidance? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The Atlanta channel 5 FOX News I-Team just aired a followup to the investigation they did last year. You can view it on their Web site: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2034603&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1 The contents won't surprise anyone who's familiar with that operation. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Oh, also: beware of sneaky-ass Evaluator tricks. I heard of an Evaluator at another course who called a time-out after the second JMPI to go to the bathroom, tore off his reserve rigger seal, then called time-in and got on the plane. That's a deliberate FAR and BSR violation, not to mention being a violation of course rules, but the CD allowed it. Make sure your second JMPI is thorough and as close as possible to boarding time. If the Evaluator disappears after that, insist on another thorough JMPI. I've also heard of an Evaluator who will dive out the door the instant it opens, which is highly unrealistic. Even so, the main-side instructor should have a leg-strap grip before the door opens. The job of the AFF Evaluator is to provide reasonably real-world scenarios in the safest way possible. Unfortunately some Evaluators treat their jobs as opportunities to trick candidates by any means possible, fair or foul. What's worse is that some CDs allow Evaluators to get away with it. At one time there was a great deal of standardization among CDs, but nowdays they can do pretty much whatever they want. I've heard from someone with a lot of international experience that USPA is the best such organization in the world, but there's still some room for improvement. Good luck! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I just became an AFF Evaluator last week, so I may be able to offer some more insight now. To answer your questions one at a time: Practicing with another skydiver is better than not practicing at all, but practicing with an active Evaluator is much better. USPA keeps a list of Evaluators on it's Web site, but for some reason it's in an area that can only be accessed by people like Course Directors and maybe DZOs. Ask your DZO or CD to get into that area and try to find one for you to work with, even if it's not one that he/she regularly uses. Unlike students, Evaluators will provide a reasonably arched, stable backfly for you. There are several different techniques to use, depending on whether you approach from the top, bottom, or side (most common). To do the side flip: fly up level and grab one main lift webbing with each hand. Make sure not to grab any handles!!! Push the near side under then up while pulling the far side over then down. From the top or bottom, fly up level, cross your arms, grab arm or leg grips (or whatever is safe and convenient) and flip. Once the student is belly flying again, switch grips as necessary, give whatever signals are appropriate, and re-release. Candidates can use any exit they want at the course, but most candidates use the "Course Exit" for simplicity and ease of working with other candidates on the Level 3 dives, so yeah, practice that a lot. At least some CDs have an outline that they prefer for you to follow during the ground preps. It's shameful that USPA hasn't standardized this and doesn't provide either a printed copy or a video of a good ground prep to the candidate ahead of time, but that's USPA for you. Ask your CD for a copy of what he/she uses and become familiar with it. Worst case, it's been said many times that the best preparation for an AFF course is an AFF course. Like a lot of people, it took me two tries to get it right, and the second one was far easier and less stressful. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Usually the suit doesn't make a big difference, but I definitely agree with Strong's recommendation (mentioned above), especially with light or tall students and especially with less-experienced TIs. Fortunately it isn't hard to take in a jumpsuit (i.e., make it tighter), so if your TMs find them to be a problem, almost anybody who knows how to sew can fix them pretty quickly. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

You might ask yourself why it is that of the 300 dropzones and scores of other skydiving-related businesses in the country, only the enterprises owned by Butler and Quattrocchi receive this kind of reaction from the skydiving community. Don't let the ASC/Skyride propaganda fool you. We all have choices. Skydive the Farm (previously linked) and Skydive Atlanta ( www.skydiveatlanta.com ) are both within reasonable driving distance of midtown Atlanta and both have far larger, safer landing areas than ASC. As for making a lot of jumps, I haven't been to the Farm lately, but at SDA I made four AFF training jumps with the same student a few Sundays ago, and it's fairly easy for a regular jumper to make that many or more. In fact, a few months ago with our "one plane" we flew thirty loads. One jumper was on all thirty of them (special circumstances) and three others made over fifteen jumps each. We all have choices. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The USPA Board of Directors meeting minutes don't go into details, but their decisions are published on the USPA Web site: http://www.uspa.org/contact/BODminutes/BODMinutes07-05.pdf page 19-20, motions 35 - 39 http://www.uspa.org/contact/BODminutes/BODMin0206.pdf page 21 As for the jumps, yes, jumps at non-USPA dropzones do count toward USPA licenses, ratings, and awards, but only USPA-certified Instructors, etc., can sign off A-license cards and other USPA documents. We all have to come up with our own definitions of sin. Personally I define it as deliberately harming an innocent person. If you can look at what ASC/Skyride does and decide that their behavior is morally acceptable, then go ahead and jump there; you'll probably fit right in. Likewise, we all have to set our own priorities in life. If you decide that what they do is wrong but that you can live with that as long as it means having a short drive or an air-conditioned packing area, then ditto. It's not for me to tell anyone else what their morality or priorities should be. As for me, I'll quit skydiving before I ever put a penny into Quattrocchi or Butler's pockets. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Don't know about any of the others, but the '74 meet was actually held in DeLand over Thanksgiving weekend. Gary (Georgia Tech team, Second Place, Novice Accuracy!) "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hi, Anybody out there have any personal experience with using the Sanyo VPC C6 or CA6 as a helmet camera? Thanks, Gary "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Yeah, I would have called RWS, but they're kind of closed now. Anyway, now that it's assembled, the stow isn't as tight as I feared it would be, so I'm sure it's okay. Thanks for the info from the other rig, though; that makes me feel even better. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Question: I'm assembling a new Vector 3M V375 (yeah, what a life I have!) and I notice that the safety stow won't reach the center of both grommets with the bag lying flat. Is that normal on that size bag? Seems kind of short to me. Thanks. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

As has been mentioned, there's no substitute for jumping with an active evaluator. I'd recommend at least twenty jumps (preferably thirty!), and be sure to practice funnelled-exit recovery and rollovers, since those are guaranteed to happen at the course. Also have them practice the in-the-plane stuff with you. It feels kind of dorky doing that, but the practice will help you at the course. Learn the ground-prep stuff and practice that, also. Make sure your routine covers everything required on the evaluator's check-off sheet. Make practice and eval jumps in the suit in which you're most comfortable doing RW. Do lots of RW, but remember that AFF is not RW. You have to be more aggressive in your flying and you must sometimes manhandle the student in the air, particularly during the exit. Get all your course jumps videoed, and as many of the practice jumps as possible. Learn about student jumpsuit selection. An evaluator will allow you to select a suit for him/her that will make it almost impossible for you succeed on the dive. When in doubt, put the evaluator into a fast suit. Learn the hand signals (including the harness shake) and get into the mindset of using them the instant they're needed. Evaluators will generally respond to a clearly given signal, which can save you a lot of chasing. (If only real students did that!) Also get into the mindset of pulling for the evaluator every time (which will be necessary at the course), so have them wear a dummy handle for you to pull. Remember to transfer the dummy handle to your left hand before it's time for you to pull! Remember that most of the stress at the AFF course is self-generated. I did the course twice (both times with Billy) and the difference was like night and day. I simply wasn't prepared the first time, and it showed and created stress. The second time it was kind of fun, and I got to watch all the other candidates stressing over every little thing. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Summer: T-shirt and Swoop Pants over regular shorts. Fall/Spring: Double-zipper jumpsuit (real easy to put on / take off) Winter: Same, but with jeans and turtleneck pullover Adjust as necessary for camera. All of the above: Always get cordura on the knees and butt of every jumpsuit. Add extra padding to the knees of any Tandem outfit. (Cordura's available from the factory for most jumpsuits, but not on the double-zipper models I've seen. Fortunately it's pretty easy to add cordura and padding to those suits.) As for durability, I get about 500 slide-ins out of the double-zipper suits with cordura butts. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I've seen a couple of cases in which a rigger has split open the lower part of the bridle of a collapsible pilot chute and sewn the halves to the top of the deployment bag on each side of the grommet. That makes it a royal pain to change pilot chutes, of course. Is there a reason for this mod that makes it worth the effort? Thanks "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

After an eight-month fight, Skydive Monroe in Georgia has lost its lease and has been forced to close. An FAA investigation is underway to determine whether the city of Monroe (the landlord) is in violation of Airport Improvement Program grant assurances, but if it's anything like the one involving the dropzone in Paris, Tennessee, it could be years before a verdict is announced. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

There are probably some copyright issues there, but they put summaries of their reports on http://www.fox5atlanta.com/iteam/index.html "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Randy Travis, an investigative reporter with FOX5 Atlanta, will be doing a report on the ASC / Skyride scams on their Thursday evening news programs at 6 and 10 PM. I haven't seen the report, but it should be interesting. Be sure to watch, especially if you have any doubts about those operations. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan