StearmanR985

Agreed!! But damn, some of these people just won't jump!! Can't quite figure it out... Over here the passengers ride in the front of the plane, I believe they are not allowed near the door while the plane is flying. Still funny to see the looks on their faces after their nose down return to earth. Jeff

Bump And I misspelled OTTIS. Sorry, my bad. Jeff

Hey Ed, Have you heard if there is going to be an "official" boogie that weekend? I know about the big party for Saturday night and I know there are lots of peeps planning on jumping that weekend too. Just wondering about the boogie thing 'cause I haven't really seen or heard anything. Jeff

Don't you worry, he's still jumpin' - Although a little less now that he is manifesting on the weekends. Did you see all those tandems that walked in on Saturday morning. It was like standing in line at Disneyland. Damn it was busy, still fun though. Jeff

What type of risk are we talking about? If the plane is properly maintained and you have a decent pilot is there really that much risk? The reason I ask is that I have been and observer myself just for fun and never really thought about a risk factor. Also, my daughter is really wanting to take a ride too and I am thinking about letting her do it. On a side note: I love watching the faces of passengers when they get off the plane. It is quite sometimes. Jeff

I take it no one has been able to get something set up with you here in Northern CA Brian? I know some people were trying at one point. Jeff

Glad to hear you really like your Spectre. I definitely like the demo. After putting a few more jumps on it I would still say it is a bit ground hungry (not scary ground hungry though) but then again I do not have much to compare to. It responds very well to any kind of input, at least for me. I still think the flare is truly great especially if you induce a bit of extra speed. This canopy resonds to both toggle and riser input fairly quickly yet with a comfortable amount of control. I made a piss poor decision last Sunday and got myself into a potentially nasty situation, I was quite glad to be under the demo at the time. I had to make some last second heading changes once I realized I screwed up and needed to land in a fairly tight alternative area. The canopy responded very well and I was able to steer it right where I wanted and land safely. Oh yeah, it is just plain fun too!!! Jeff

Since you are requesting a serious answer I will divulge some information about my personality, possibly a flaw. I am the type of person you are speaking of. I have selective hearing. There are times I will only take heed of the advice I feel suits me. I have a tendancy to privately set goals for myself based on what I see and think. Once I have determined that I want to and am capable of accomplishing a given task, regardless of the odds or opposition, I will do whatever it takes to make it happen. This means seeking out advice, reading materials, videos etc. on ways to achieve this goal whatever it may be. For me, once I set my mind to something there is no turning back unless I have failed.

Okay, I give in. I am now a crispy critter. And not from the power lines. Jeff a.k.a. Mr. Charcoal P.S. I know, everyone here is trying to keep it safe. Well, the demo goes back on Monday so not to worry I shall soon be back on my Tri.

Hey Jason, Glad to hear you're still having fun over there in Davis! I have been over there a couple of times but only to the gear shop. Haven't had the opportunity to jump there again though. Have a great day, Jeff

I didn't drop in on a group. He and I were the only canopies on the x-wind leg that were anywhere near one another. I had established my spot first but since we all share the air I kept an eye out for other traffic. He came in nice and gentle beside me but because he came in later he was turning and lost a bit of altitude as compared to me. I did ask him later and he said he never saw me. Anyhow, this put him slightly below me. At this point I was thinkking no biggie I will just follow him in (not too literally). I have landed with others before with no problem. But, he kept drifting towards me, closer and closer and finally I bailed. Obviously I chose the wrong way to bail. Anyhow, he was never in any danger of me and at the time that is all I cared about. The correct solution was so simple it is ridiculous, (I beat myself up for my own stupidity far more than anyone else can) a little toggle to slow down and wait to see where exactly he was going and all I had to do then is follow him in. Jeff

Riggerrob, Blunt but exactly the type of advice I need to hear. I am grateful for your constructive criticism and your guidance. Jeff

As long as you have come to the understanding that my WL had little if anything to do with this situation. I realized my mistakes even before I got to the ground that day. You have pointed out what I had already realized and what I have already been advised of. Do try to keep up with the thread if you are going to reply, it would be greatly appreciated.

Gary, I received this advice as well. I will defininetly keep that in mind from now on. You are right, there is plenty of room elsewhere. Thanks

My WL had nothing to do with this situation. The real topic is making proper decisions with regards to others that are also in the air. In both instances I made the proper decision of giving the other pilots more space since neither one was aware of my location (BTW, I did fly the proper pattern). But, on Sunday the manner in which I went about giving the other jumper room was incorrect. I put MYSELF (and only me) in danger when I really didn't have to. Keep on topic please. Jeff

AndyMan & Bodypilot1, I have been advised to do the following should I choose to do a high performance landing: Hold at a higher altitude for awhile to allow for more canopies to land, hence there will be less traffic in the air. Get down really quick and be one of the first to land. (I actually don't care for this one). If there is considerable traffic or anything 'out of the ordinary' don't screw around and do a standard straight in landing. AndyMan, I don't pass the buck, it is not in my character. As I stated, it was due to my own poor decision making that lead to me landing on the road Sunday. I was simply trying describe the situation, it was not my intention to place blame. I apologize if my wording seemed like I was faulting someone else.

I completely agree. I should have gave up on the "HP" approach immediately. While some people have 'target fixation' issues apparently I have 'front riser fixation' issues. Something that I shall remedy right now. Thanks for the pointers.

We didn't have a long spot, we were out right over the airport.

When: Saturday May 29th 2004 Where: The Parachute Center, Lodi Why: Why the hell not? Something Special: There will be "Entertainment" INSIDE the DC-3 from 8pm to Midnight. ALL are welcome!! Donations for the D.J., Security and Equipment: $20 Pre-Registration $30 @ the Door See ya there!

Saturday I had to use some hard fronts to stay out of anothers way. The other individual was a bit high and went a little long on his cross wind to eat up altitude. Problem is, when he did finally turn back to get on final he was looking at the GROUND and not in the direction of his turn . He had no idea I was already there and preparing to set up myself. I on the other hand do keep my head on a swivel, as instructed, and pulled hard on the left front followed by both fronts to get the f#$%^ out of there. A friend who was still above and watching commented that it looked like that guy was aiming to kill me. Sunday I landed on the frontage road between the power lines and the freeway. Another and myself were on the crosswind preparing for final. He was drifting towards me a bit so I moved away from him which put me over the freeway. I made two bad decisions here. The first being I turned towards the freeway, I SHOULD have got on the brakes for a bit let him go then follow him in staying away from his burble of course. Secondly, once he was out the way I used fronts to get back on track. Problem with this is the canopy is going to dive a bit and those power lines started looking really big and getting realy close. I then said "F-it" and riser turned to line up with the road. The landing was quite good, I surfed the road for a bit and did a one step (I love the flare on this Spectre!). To 'get back' after the first stupid decision I made I should have used some rear riser instead of front. Now, to be perfectly honest, I am glad it happened. It was very good learning experience and I probably needed it for a few reasons. This is what I got from the two experiences: 1. Keep your head on a swivel. 2. Fly defensively. This is where I failed on Sunday. Sure I stayed away from the other guy but I stayed on the fronts like a dumbass!! 3. Keep your head if you do get into trouble and find a way to get yourself safely to the ground. Anymore thoughts or constructive input are welcome. Jeff

Great response, your observations are much appreciated. I am going to work with stall points, at altitude of course, this morning. Also, there is barely a light breeze so far this morning so it will be interesting to see how the landings go today. Jeff

Wow, I am really sorry to here that happened. I have only had one long spot so far, about 2 miles (super long jump run), I pulled at 7K to make it back which ended up being more than adequate. Keep on having fun!!!

Nope. There is a rumor that some peeps are trying to put something together to get Brian Germain over here (Nor Cal) in the near future. Haven't heard anything more about it though. If he does come up here, I am taking the course.

Hey, this is Lodi, we don't get long spots over here!! Okay, maybe once in awhile we do, but that's what the rear risers are for right? You are right, I did notice it to be a bit ground hungry even in the 10 mph winds.

I know it is aggressive but not outrageous. All I can say is that I intend to be quite diligent with my canopy control both for my safety and the safety of others in the air with me.