kkeenan

Oh Jeez. Some of those guys get their reserves re-lined every few years due to excessive use. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Ha !! Nothing like checking with an "expert". If you feel that your packer knows your gear better than you, there may be deeper issues to think about. My experience is that pumping the brakes is a better method to bring it down. There's probably nothing wrong. Seriously, how about asking your local rigger to show you the things that need to be checked on your gear to watch for wear & tear. You may discover many interesting things about the equipment that you trust with your life. You may even learn to pack. That's a great way to stay in touch with the condition of your gear. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Be careful what you wish for... _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Some countries have guidelines that spell out currency requirements. Since you have no information in your profile, it is hard to tell how this applies to you. Currency is somewhat subjective. Everyone is different in their ability to retain information, training, etc. One general principle that applies in most areas is: "The greater the total experience, the less currency required". The converse of that being that the newer you are, the more currency you need. Someone who has been jumping for many years may lay off for 6 months and not be affected, whereas someone, like you, right off of AFF, should not skip a great deal of time between jumps. Your instructors and local Safety folks should be able to give you guidance in this area. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Actually, you seem to be exceeding the quota in that department. From your experience level and posting history, it would seem that you may benefit from more reading and less writing. Hopefully, you will consider this to be the friendly advice it is meant to be, and not start crying about being "Personally Attacked". Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Hell, I thought this was another ZHills story... _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Yeah, videos like this are some of our best recruiting tools. Having an eloquent speaker like Frank say a few words at the end helps, too. CRW is very different from regular skydiving. It involves a lot more thinking and requires much more knowledge of gear and flying. Make sure you do your homework. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

First, it is always best to have a plan. Obviously, things change, but it is easier to change an existing plan than it is to make up a new one. Hopefully, there is some indicator on your DZ that shows the wind velocity in addition to the direction. That is important to know. Then you have the complete picture to base your revision on. As far as coming onto final and realizing that you're going downwind, that sucks. But far worse is trying to turn too low. Remember - downwind landings give you grass stains, but low turns can kill you. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I think that you can make a rough analogy to swimmimg. To people who cannot swim, jumping into deep water is the most horrifying thought that they can imagine. When you learn to swim, you do it gradually in shallow water to get used to the whole unusual feeling of it. As you get better, you are still nervous and want everything to be just right and not upset your procedures. Then, somewhere along the line, you become conscious that you are leaping into the water without a thought about the depth, or how far you are from the edge. You feel comfortable in the environment because the act of swimming, holding your breath at the right times, etc. has become second nature. You concentrate more on your tasks in the water-or just having fun- than on the act of surviving. Some day, as you stand in the door, you will be thinking about the exit, the maneuvers, or the beauty of the sky. You know you have checked your gear and your EPs are programmed and ready to run if necessary, and you just don't think about it. As you exit, your body reflexively goes to the right positions and you react to changes instinctively, like staying balanced on a bike. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

No Shit. Question is, who's it more scary for - you or us ?? _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

And here we were thinking that you were way too Extreme for that. Could spelling, grammer, and punctuation also lie in your future ?? _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That's very true for CRW, but it really applies to all jumping. Lace hooks were responsible for several fatalities way back in the day, due to snagging pilotchutes that wandered into the foot area. That is just as real a possibility today with a student or noobie making a sleezy PC deployment. When it comes to boots, also avoid the ones with big lugs on the soles. These can catch more easily on weeds and stuff on the ground, causing falls or ankle injury. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Actually what is meant may be better expressed as, "become proficient in each canopy before moving on". And, yes, actually many people attain this proficiency. This proficiency level is clearly defined in a list of objectives posted by Bill Von some time back. It clearly states the tasks that one should be able to routinely be able to perform on a canopy in order to be considered "proficient" and at a minimum level to consider a performance upgrade. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Come on, Phil. I'm sure you know a lot of CRWDogs who will disagree. However, CRW really fits into his theory that the danger is just starting when the parachute opens. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Thanks for your work as MC. Good job. You should have saved your "Shaved Balls" t-shirt for the ceremony. kevin k. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The SCR Ceremony was pretty impressive. I had not seen one in several years, and it's good to see that the traditions are being upheld. There were quire a few recipients, and they were properly abused. There was one hell of a lot of beer to pour. I was surprised that there were only a few SCR holders to do the pouring. It was a really good boogie. No matter what you have heard about the heat, it was hotter than that. Kevin K. SCR 3011 _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

They have special sideways-trimmed canopies for doing Italics. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

"Trust, but Verify." - Ronald Reagan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

One thing that I have stopped worrying about, as I have grown older, is offending someone with an offer to buy something. You never know what someone will accept, and if they don't accept an offer, does it really matter whether they are saying, "No Thanks", or, "@#% No, you *%#-%&*". And, even though I'm a fan of newbies buying righteous old, used gear, I too would draw the line at this one. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I once heard about a jumper entering a false repack date on a reserve data card. I can't remember if it was a Ukranian or a Texan. But that was probably just a rumor. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

QuoteWhy would landing a downplane be better than chopping a downplane at 50, 100, 200 feet? Quote I'm very sorry if I was unclear. Landing a downplane would only be preferable to landing in freefall. Landing a downplane could very likely be fatal. What I meant was that if you have a two-out, and delay your actions in turning either a side-by-side or a front-back configuration into a downplane, you may use up a lot of altitude. The rapid onset of high vertical speed can take one by surprise. Once you split the canopies into a downplane, the next step MUST be cutting away the main. If you freeze up and don't cutaway, you're toast. If the entire procedure is not completed in time, it may be better to simply keep the two canopies as stable as possible until reaching the ground. If you cut away from a two-out downplane at: 50 ft. - Probably fatal. Equivilant to a very low hook turn. 100 ft. - Probably survivable. High prob. of injury due to not having time to unstow brakes, turn, or set up landing. 200 ft. - Make sure you're in front of the crowd, because it will look cooler than shit and you'll never want to do it again. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Pardon my old age and ignorance, but what altitude do students pull at thses days ? Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I've had one of these, (not AAD-Related) and I was glad that I had some CRW experience to work my way through it. Probably not really necessary, it just makes you more comfortable doing weird shit with canopies. Mine opened as a side-by-side. Without unstowing any brakes, I just used the outside rear riser of the reserve to start it moving away from the main. As it moves, it naturally assumes the downplane configuration. Since I was sort of low at that point, I didn't want to spend much time in a full downplane, because they come down very fucking fast. As the canopies reached about 45 degree separation, I could see that the main lines were all well away from the reserve and the force of the main was pulling away from the reserve. That looked good enough to me, so I chopped it. Some things to remember. - Take your time. Figure out what you're going to do. Don't get into a hurry. - If you're extremely low, you may want to just land the two canopies. - Try to steer the reserve away from the main, rather than vice-versa, so that you're not holding a main riser when you cut away. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

At least they have those "Stopping Ropes" to pull when you land. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The obviously didn't appreciate your style. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?