Reginald

Ron, as you probably know, we are serious people. We do not do this staff ... at least officially Hey, man I've seen the video! Not to mention I've jumped with you all. I know the truth!

LOL! Well, look at it this way, just call it a hybrid dive and declare victory! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Interesting tangent… I visualize going to my reserve first in a particular circumstance. When I am sitting by the door and after we hit 1,000 feet, I have to open the door to let the cool air in (hey it’s Texas it’s smothering heat 9 months a year). I have an irrational fear of falling out when I open the door or when I’m siting by it after I open it. Falling out at 13,500 might be funny but falling out at 1,300 feet isn’t. I visualize hitting the reserve. It’s funny the fear of falling out goes away at about 2,500 feet, an altitude I’ve deployed at, at terminal. Oh sure it’s an irrational fear but nonetheless one I have. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Nice Job! I like hearing about how the highly experienced handle issues like this. At my experience level, I would have just plane chopped it. I don’t have the skills you do and so have fewer options. I won’t ask you what your hard deck is. ;-) “Canopy transfer” that’s a good one! I’ll have to remember that! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Well, there is plenty to do. My suggestions are: In free fall: read in the SIM the A license check out dive. Go up and practice it! You should have the skills to do it by now and it will be great practice! Under Canopy: work on canopy control stuff. Do rear riser turns, see how may feet you lose doing both a 90, 180, 270 and 360 degree toggle turn, try flying in deep brakes (above your hard deck). Canopy control is important to know! Aim for an accuracy landing! You need them for your license! I would strongly advise against trying a “sit’ as others suggested at this point. Once you get you license you can talk to experienced free flyers and get some coaching if that is what you want to do, but for now it is probably dangerous (most student gear is not free fly friendly) and it is not a good use of your money. Practice the things you need to get your license. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Will, this stop people from doing low hook turns without the proper skills? Will this stop people from doing dumb stuff like landing a Mr. Bill? Will this stop people from jumping intoxicated? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I agree 100%. I mean come on people we're jumping out of airplanes! I get a good-natured dose of s*** from my friends and packer because I check my gear EVERY TIME before I put it on. I also get pin checks in the plane, EVERY TIME. They (in a good-natured way) tell me I have "gear fear". I also change my closing loop at the first sign of wear. Why not it's a 10 cent piece of equipment?!? I can afford the 10 cents! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Um, I think you missed his point. He was referring to the TM that was yelling at you. Blue Ones, Ron "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Hmm, sorry to hear about your issue. There are 2 issues here. 1. Spotting - screw anyone that pressures you to get out of the plane until the spot is acceptable. 2. Uncool DZ's. In my limited experience, I've been to 7 DZ's. 6 have been great and one so uncool all around that I will never go back and recommend friends don't go there. The 1 problem DZ bothered me more because my experiences at all of the others have been so good. Generally skydivers are caring friendly people that are happy to help others and are generally highly inclusive (as long as you’re dumb enough to jump out of an airplane). The occasional DZ with a bad vibe happens but it is the exception. Take your money elsewhere. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Amen brother! Do you mind if I quote you on this one? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Ouch...sorry to see that. After a couple of hard openings I'm actually scared of them. It took me a few weeks to recover formt he last one. I hope you are okay and recover quickly. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Wow, nice one! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I would like o hear how that works out. I've thought about 2 btu I wodered if hearing that many beeps would just confuse me. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I absolutely never did nor said that. VERY specifically my limits are set based on my abilities not his. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Agreed. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Ouch..I hate to see it happen. Can't wait for all the insightful analysis of why "the chute didn't open". "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Some interesting threads recently about audible settings, hard decks and pull altitudes got me wondering about all of these things in conjunction. I believe the USPA recommends a minimum container opening (generally perceived as pull altitude) of 2,000 for C and D licensed skydivers. It also recommends, if I recall, a minimum hard deck of 1,800 feet for C and D licenses. These two don’t’ work together as nobody has a 200 foot snivel (nor do I want one!) on a regular sport rig. I know of a highly, highly experienced skydiver that has a 1,000 foot hard deck and is comfortable pulling at 2,000. Personally, my audible is set for break-off, my second alarm is set for 300 feet above where I want to pull (although I don’t rely on this, I count and use the audible as a second source of altitude information), I never pull below 2,500 (and prefer to pull at 3,000) and have a hard deck of 1,800 at which my third alarm is set. The interaction of the 2,500 foot pull with the 1,800 hard deck is a bit tricky. I consistently have an 800 foot snivel so I do hear my flat line when I pull at 2,500. It is usually just starting as my main finishes opening but I am grabbing for my handles just in case and will pull them if there is any doubt. For the more experienced skydivers on the board what is your hard deck and how do you relate this to low pull altitudes? Do you ever really pull as low as 2,000? If so what is your hard deck? Where do you have your flat line set and why given the interaction of pull alt. and hardeck. _________________________________ Edited to add To head off any misunderstanding here: My personal hard decks, etc. are all set with great consideration to my gear, the type of jumping I do, my experience level, my currency, the advice of my former instructors, my ST&A, the experienced jumpers that mentor me and a good heavy dose of common sense. I will not change anything I do based on what people say here. I am trying to probe other people thought process as a tool for edification for myself and others. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

This is kinda of funny. This guy is a student (18 jumps) and is not going to be jumping with ANYONE other than an instructor or a coach for a number of jumps yet. His pull altitude and hard deck are fine for a STUDENT. As he gets more experience he will naturally lower these (on the advice of his instructors). Once he gets his license and starts jumping with other people things may change but the discussions of not being able to jump with many other people is irrelevant as he can't jump with anyone other than instructors and coaches yet anyway. As far as exit order, I’m sure his DZ has it worked out. He’s a student guys…. As far as my hard deck, it went from 3,000 to 2,500 to 2,000 and currently sits at 1,800, where it will stay for some time. Why, because I learned more and more, have better and better reaction times and pull lower and lower given the types of jumps I’m doing. Currently I never pull below 2,500 (although I’m licensed to pull as low as 2,000) so 1,800 is reasonable to know if I have a good main and yet still give me time to chop if I need to. As I stated in another post I hear flat line (set at 1,800) I’m grabbing handles. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Interesting but what is there to change? It is a high liability and hence high cost propostion. You can't change the economics of the situation. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I demoed my reserve on my first cutaway! Seriously, I researched the gear and took the advice of a master riger. Demo's are frequently not available for low time jumpers. Dosen't PD require 200 jumps before they will send a demo canopy? All that said I've been extremely happy with all of my gear. I don't think I coudl have made any better choices. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Nothing broken. Lot's of bruses, freefall bumps, otter bites on exit, the odd biffed landing, more than a few harness bruses due to hard or brisk openings, and a few other identified causes. Actually, i counted 4 seperate bruses form my 11 jumps this weekend. i can only identify how I got 2 of them. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

First – break-off (4,500 is common) Second – 300ish feet above where I want to pitch (3,500 is common if 4,500 is break-off) Third – 1,800. This never changes. If I ever hear this I should be grabbing handles. A few notes, I do rely on the first tone for break-off. I am usually working on turning points and RELY on it. Of course I have an internal clock that I count on too but with 3+ other people on the skydive it is highly unlikely everyone will have their audible fail or ignore break-off. However, I do check my visual once in a while, particularly if the skydive is going well…after about 12 point I just feel the dive should be over! The second tone I don’t rely on. I count during track and use the audible as a backup. The third tone I do take seriously. If I hear this I should be grabbing handles. If by the time I have them in hand I don’t have a good main above me then there is no thinking about it I pull them. Why do I have my setting like this? I spent 15 minutes talking with a person with 12,000 jumps about the various ramifications of the settings, my skill level, the type of skydiving I do, etc. I suggest anyone ask their instructors of a respected jumper on their DZ the same. One major point, the person that gave me advice is serious that the flat line means grab handles and pull if you don’t have a good main above you by the time your handles are in hand. He thinks it is a recipe for disaster to have it set a few seconds above your hard deck because if you think you have a couple of seconds to work on fixing a problem you stand too high a chance of working on trying to fix a problem for the “rest of your life”. Flat line means handles! And since someone is going to take things out of context, YES there is a big does of common sense needed. I jumped with a guy just off A license this weekend, I kept an eye on my visual on a regular basis because I did not trust him to be altitude aware and I didn’t have much else to do as he was trying to come in and dock. I did a large formation that required me to pull at 2,500 feet, I knew that with an 800 foot snivel on my main I might hear my flat line and I did for all of about half a second. I was damn ready to cutaway if needed but knew I might get a half a second of flat line as I hit my hard deck. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

222 at last count. How many times have you made this decision under 1000 feet. If you can't see the difference between making the dicision to pull and deciding, in a split sec., on an action that can cost you your life, buy a bowling ball. Dude, get a grip...did you see the Please.... "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

222 at last count. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Not sure what audible you have but I thought the third warning would continue to go off on most of them until you stopped free falling…either by a canopy being above your head or the ground stopping you. So, it sounds like your third will stop when you impact. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP