kkeenan

Before this thread goes away, I think Bryan Burke deserves a public mention for his work as Meet Director. Every operation that I have observed Bryan handling has always run like clockwork. He is a great organizer and seems to have ESP when it comes to forseeing and correcting problems. With the events pushed into a single week at Eloy, there was the potential for a lot of conflicts. Bryan orchestrated the aircraft and jumpers in a smooth-running operation that kept everyone safe and happy. And if there is a conflict between you being safe OR happy, he will keep you safe. Kevin Keenan CRW Competitor _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

You always knew you had a good one when you could hear them as you stood on the ground and they were exiting at 2800'. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Very cool ripcord handle. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Considering that they sent you the wrong part in the first place and could have killed you and your friends, I think it's the least they could do, in my opinion. Did Sunrise Mfg. pack the reserve for you ? Since their quality inspectors missed the ripcord cable length mistake, the rigger packing the reserve should have caught it. All's well that ends well. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Mr. Cat, I knew you wouldn't stay off the air too long. It's nice to read your commentary of S/L training. Originally, all skydivers were trained this way. Without argueing pros and cons of training methods, I think that S/L retains a certain purity and lets a student learn the sport in a more well-rounded way. Back in the day, an audible count was taught. Based on the counting of "one thousand, two thousand", etc. for counting seconds, it was: "Arch Thousand" "Look Thousand" "Reach Thousand" "Pull Thousand" This had a good rhythm, and became a kind of mantra that students could learn and rely upon. The important thing is to find what works for you. It looks like you have found that with your musical background, this is a natural way for you to "move to the beat". This is a great start, as you will find more rhythms and tempos that flow in the background music of the sky. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

You just need something wider that will distribute the load better. Check with a rigger or the DZ and see if you can get some old harness webbing. 2 in. width vs. 3/4 in. will make a big difference. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Since this is the forum for CRW discussions, I think it would be helpful to look at aspects of Ian's incident at the Nationals. This was a complex set of conditions that should be talked about so that folks may be better prepared if they run into something like this again. Freefall jumpers have pretty much one EP checklist to accomplish for a malfunction: 1. Cutaway 2. Pull Reserve CRW jumpers have many more procedures, requiring knowledge of gear, physics, etc. The more you know and prepare, the safer you will be. Copied below is Chuck Brown's account of the jump: ----------------------------------------------------- At approximately 4,000’, Ian received a dock from Alan Ressler. The dock didn’t appear to be particularly hard and was centered on. I’ve given and received harder and more angled docks without anything other than more excitement; however, in this case, the canopy hit low enough with just enough upward and sideward momentum, that Alan’s canopy wrapped completely around Ian with Alan’s lines entangled around Ian’s lower body. After a few seconds, the left side of Alan’s canopy inflated with the right side still wrapped around Ian. Alan & Ian spent approximately 1,500’ attempting to clear the wrap. During this time, Ian was in a 3 stack with the pilot and spring man, while holding onto Alan’s partially inflated (and wrapped) canopy. At approximately 2,500’, Alan cutaway and cleanly deployed his reserve (at this point, I began chasing the freebag). Following Alan’s cutaway, the pilot dropped the spring man and Ian in order to follow Alan. At this time, Ian had a good canopy and was being held by the spring man (now pilot), with the pilot planning to fly Ian to a grassy area for landing. Almost immediately thereafter, Ian’s canopy was pulled from the pilot’s grip by the partially inflated, cutaway main. Once Ian’s canopy was pulled from the pilot, his canopy went into a downplane with Alan’s cutaway main. Unfortunately, Ian’s canopy didn’t stop in a traditional downplane attitude, but, rather continued to drive forward until it was beneath Ian. As a result, Ian fell into his own canopy; the video shows Ian’s canopy cocooned around him with Alan’s partially inflated main directly overhead. Following the downplane and second wrap, Ian fell supported only by Alan’s partially inflated cutaway main. At some point prior to impact Ian deployed his reserve; however, the reserve fired into the cutaway main and never cleanly deployed. The reserve’s lines were found severely twisted around the lines of the cutaway main. Ian landed on his left side, and was treated by emergency personnel within minutes. Ian was medevaced to a Phoenix hospital where he was released on Friday. Lessons learned? Don't wrap (yeah, right). I think Kevin Vetter summed it up by saying “more is better.” While nothing may have prevented Ian’s canopy from being pulled from the pilot’s grip and going into the downplane, having more canopies in the formation and slowing the formation down as much as possible may have helped hold onto Ian until he could sort out the cutaway main. At approximately 4,000’, Ian received a dock from Alan Ressler. The dock didn’t appear to be particularly hard and was centered on. I’ve given and received harder and more angled docks without anything other than more excitement; however, in this case, the canopy hit low enough with just enough upward and sideward momentum, that Alan’s canopy wrapped completely around Ian with Alan’s lines entangled around Ian’s lower body. After a few seconds, the left side of Alan’s canopy inflated with the right side still wrapped around Ian. Alan & Ian spent approximately 1,500’ attempting to clear the wrap. During this time, Ian was in a 3 stack with the pilot and spring man, while holding onto Alan’s partially inflated (and wrapped) canopy. At approximately 2,500’, Alan cutaway and cleanly deployed his reserve (at this point, I began chasing the freebag). Following Alan’s cutaway, the pilot dropped the spring man and Ian in order to follow Alan. At this time, Ian had a good canopy and was being held by the spring man (now pilot), with the pilot planning to fly Ian to a grassy area for landing. Almost immediately thereafter, Ian’s canopy was pulled from the pilot’s grip by the partially inflated, cutaway main. Once Ian’s canopy was pulled from the pilot, his canopy went into a downplane with Alan’s cutaway main. Unfortunately, Ian’s canopy didn’t stop in a traditional downplane attitude, but, rather continued to drive forward until it was beneath Ian. As a result, Ian fell into his own canopy; the video shows Ian’s canopy cocooned around him with Alan’s partially inflated main directly overhead. Following the downplane and second wrap, Ian fell supported only by Alan’s partially inflated cutaway main. At some point prior to impact Ian deployed his reserve; however, the reserve fired into the cutaway main and never cleanly deployed. The reserve’s lines were found severely twisted around the lines of the cutaway main. Ian landed on his left side, and was treated by emergency personnel within minutes. Ian was medevaced to a Phoenix hospital where he was released on Friday. Lessons learned? Don't wrap (yeah, right). I think Kevin Vetter summed it up by saying “more is better.” While nothing may have prevented Ian’s canopy from being pulled from the pilot’s grip and going into the downplane, having more canopies in the formation and slowing the formation down as much as possible may have helped hold onto Ian until he could sort out the cutaway main. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Like in an almost exact way. It's creepy to see a rig set up for certain death. It's amazing how unconscious some people can be of the work they do. Thanks for sharing. I hope the rigger who did that can be made aware of it. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

If you are referring to "opening shock", there is a definite difference. When the parachute opens, it slows you from your falling velocity to the parachute descent velocity. The parachute velocity is the same for either one, but the falling velocity of a freefall jump will be much higher than that of a S/L jump. That means that you will feel more of a deceleration on a freefall jump because of a bigger change in speed. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I agree, it was a fun meet. It's a real chore getting back to "normal" life after a week at SD-AZ. The week was sort of a cross between Boot Camp and a Greatful Dead Road Trip. Each Nationals is different, but they're all fun. Now I'm trying to get de-toxed from a week of free Red Bull. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

A lot of folks quote the "...do everything right and still die" line. Yes, it's true, but it occurs very, very rarely. I think that some people use this fatalistic approach to rationalize their less-than-safe attitudes and practices. Sure, shit can happen to someone who does everything right, but it is damn sure more likely to happen to someone who cuts corners in their procedures, slacks off in their education, fails to maintain their gear, etc. The "fewer parts" analogy is true for the failure of a system, i.e. wing falling off an airplane or wheel coming off a bicycle. Most modern skydiving accidents, however, are not the result of equipment failure, but of human error. I think that, while the relative "safety" of certain activities can be discussed by comparing accident rates, the real measure of safety lies in the individual operator. Some people operate with several layers of plans and ideas so that they are more easily able to deal with changing events. Some don't. Some people are prepared and equipped to handle emergencies. Some aren't. That's the measure of safety. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Understanding the operation of this stuff can really affect whether you live or die in this sport. Knowing how gear works should not be confined to what you own. Even if you rent gear, you can still learn. Most riggers will welcome you to watch a repack or explain components and operation. kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I think they'll be done before the weekend. I went out there today to check it out. They had done a test jump earlier this morning and were going to do another couple this afternoon. I think they'll probably try for the hangar run tomorrow. After hanging out talking with Joao and some of the crew, I was told that the DZ was closed to all except the Tandems and the TV crew, and politely asked to leave. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

But then again, not so necessary. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Not exactly a constructive contribution to the discussion. So, you're saying that you're such a good canopy pilot you don't even jump a lot of the time. Sort of sounds like over-specialization. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That sounds good, but I think you're missing one thing. The only reason that a canopy stays inflated and pulling you is that you are pulling back. If you take just a couple of steps toward the canopy, it will deflate and stop pulling. If the wind is extra strong, you may have to run a few steps, but taking the tension off the lines is the secret to not getting dragged. If you move toward it and step on any part of the canopy and just stand there, I guarantee it will go nowhere. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I agree. I've jumped one for quite a while. I've had a twist now and then, but never anything close to a spin. I think that, due to their sensitivity to harness input, they will respond to poor body position (asymmetric loading) on opening. That can be cured by simply having your shit together and opening stable. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Latest edition is Joao Tambor swooping through the hangar at Skydive Space Center in Titusville, Florida. Filming is going on this week. The plan is for him to swoop south-to-north, in one end and out the other. Joao is a hell of a swooper. It should make for some great footage. What could possibly go wrong. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Latest edition is Joao Tambor swooping through the hangar at Skydive Space Center in Titusville, Florida. Filming is going on this week. The plan is for him to swoop south-to-north, in one end and out the other. Joao is a hell of a swooper. It should make for some great footage. What could possibly go wrong. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Do some solos, but try to keep learning and getting better at particular things. Set objectives for yourself and push yourself to achieve them. Talk with a coach or instructor and get some exercises to work on. When you have made a few jumps and have done the exercises, then get the coach to go with you and see how you're doing. Then go to a pattern of 2-3 solos in between coach jumps. That will let you practice and learn on your own in between coaching and will make your money go farther. This may sound like work rather than fun. Well, that depends on how you approach it. Some people get into the "Mindless Fun" mode and never quite get around to learning anything. All of a sudden, they have 100 jumps and they can't pack, spot, exit, or hardly even fall stable. It's your money and your jumps. It's just my 2 cent opinion. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm glad to hear that you'll be at Eloy. I agree that it is really cool the way everyone supports each other. My CRW team has spent a lot of time camping and packing next to a Freestyle team. When those folks won gold last year, we cheered louder than anyone. I think that the competitors and other folks involved with the Nationals get so into it that they just assume that all other jumpers are as interested in it as they are. I guess the truth is that a pretty small percentage of the jumpers in the U. S. pay any attention to the competition or know much about it. But that doesn't really matter, because the people who are interested are usually so enthusiastic that they make up for the rest. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

If this is not right, hopefully someone will clarify. The steering line from the toggle to the point where it branches out to the trailing edge connections, is called the lower steering line. This is one piece of line. The brake locking loop is spliced into this section of line. The upper steering lines are the branches that attach to the aft adge of the tail. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Usually, "lower steering line" refers to the line below where it splits out to the connection points on the aft edge of the tail. That would include all of the section that goes through the guide rings, brake locking loops, etc. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

You need to build up your strength in order to get the proper control. The techniques described already will help, but it sounds like you need additional conditioning for your upper body strength. There is probably a good gym in your town that can help you out with this. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I think you'll really like the Stiletto. When I went from a Sabre to the Stiletto, it was really a blast because of the increased turning performance, nice openings, and good landings. If you're careful with your landings, you should do fine. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?