Dutchboy

I need some more hints. I was at Skydive Chicago and also at Quincy two weeks ago. So where did we meet? Did we jump from the same aircraft? Were you working at either convention? Were you by chance driving a golf cart around at Quincy? Did we meet off or the dropzone? Phil's inquiring mind wants to know. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I never really told the whole story of my 1st mal at the WFFC. I did a helicopter jump early in the day with a couple friends that I traveled with (Broken Eagle and Dead Bird). It was so incredibly hot that I did something I don't normally do, I paid a packer to pack my rig. It was over 100 degrees up there and I was feeling lazy. A couple hours later I was manifested on a 23k ft jump from Mike Mullin's Super King Air. As I was getting ready to jump I noticed that I had about three inches of my pilot chute hanging out of the BOC pouch. I just tucked it back in. Big mistake. I should have pulled it out and looked at it. I would have seen that it wasn't folded and stowed correctly. It is hard to describe how they stowed it, but the big problem was that the folded PC wasn't thick enough near the top to keep it from easily coming out of the pouch. So I took that 14 minute ride up to altitude. Checked my gear several times in the plane, including right before exit. Did some sitflying and did over 10 backloops on the way down. Went to my belly at about 7k because the spot was really long. I was actually going to pull a little high so I could get back (3500) even though they don't like this. I reach back to grab my handle and it wasn't there. I felt the corner of the rig and groped my way around from there. When I hit about 1800 ft (dytter going off for 1 sec, set to 2k) I gave up on it and went for the silver guy. I put both thumbs in that handle and before I knew it I had tossed it away. It landed in some crops below me, no chance of finding it. This wasn't the standard scenario that everyone always practices (cutaway, then pull), so I didn' t have the muscle memory that would have had me still holding on to the handle. Oh well, my life is worth more than a $40 handle. As I was flying toward the landing area under my Tempo, I thought about flying down with the free bag, but it was in the soy beans and I didn't want to land there. I realized I'd never flown this canopy and did a couple test flares along the way. I also had to remind myself to flare higher than I normally would with the Hornet. As soon as I landed I took my rig off and found that the PC handle had come out a good four inches or more. It wasn't that the roll had come out that far, becuase it wasn't properly rolled. Instead just a single layer of material at the top of the PC had come out that far. Given that my hands were slightly numb from the cold and I was wearing gloves, I couldn't feel that little bit of material. My friends and I drove to the farm across the street to look for the free bag. The WFFC safety people were already there looking for my stuff. I stayed with one of their guys and after maybe a half hour he found my freebag. It had actually fallen down in the plants and the only reason he saw it was the label on the bag was facing upward. I was impressed with the WFFC staff and the way they went looking for my gear before I even got there. I was also glad that the rigger didn't gouge me for the repack like the store that sold me the handle did just because I needed it immediately. So I had my first reserve ride at the WFFC on jump 132 and I logged 2:20 of freefall time. It was an expensive jump $48 jump ticket, $50 reserve repack, $40 handle, $6 pack. But at least I learned a few things, and I'm more confident in my emergency proceedures. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Ah, yes, the good old days..... sigh Now we have better technology on the forums, but that just goes to show you that it isn't all about how sophisticated the forums are. Don't get me wrong, I like the new features. Things were way more personal back then. Now the only time we hear from Carrie in months is when she's trying to sell her canopy (and getting flamed for mentioning it here). I don't think we're doomed, though. I think things will gravitate back to normal when HH returns. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I jump with an Altimaster III on my wrist and an FT-50 on my chest. I prefer the Alti-III overall, I feel that the quality of construction is better. The Alti-III also seems to agree better with the aircraft altimeter than the 50. My 50 reads about 500 feet higher at altitude (so which altitude do you think I log?). I got my Alti-III for $106 brand new on an auction at this website. The FT-50 was used, and cost me more to buy as a chest mount. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Just had to say that skydivers everywhere (well almost) are awesome. Just got back from a trip to Rochester, NY to see some friends (and the godchildren). Convinced my buddy to do a jump at Frontier Skydivers. He totally enjoyed it. The folks there were extra nice to move him up on the tandem list because he had his 10 month and 2.5 year old children with him, and there was no way they'd make it all day without turning into problems. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

What makes you think that YOU have to be there for that? LOL The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

A raft dive on an Otter is kinda dangerous. I've heard people have managed to hang the raft on the tail before. It's only 4 weeks till the Casa boogie, so I'd rather just wait till then. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I was visiting some friends in Rochester who wanted to try a jump. We decided to give this DZ a try because they had a Super Otter for the weekend. I'm glad we did. Everyone was very friendly, and they were nice enough to do my friend's jump early because he had two small children who would have gone a bit crazy if we spent the entire day at the DZ. They gave my friend the most complete tandem brief I've ever seen. They also did a good jump of briefing me on the DZ. Worth a stop if you are in the area.

You don't want to pay for the fuel burn in a Cessna 182! Definitely wouldn't be what I might fly out if it all works out. A 182 is great if you want to haul 4 real people. 'course, if you had some friends that wanted to come along then it might be feasible. To give you an idea, Broken Eagle, Dead Bird, and I all flew up to Summerfest and then down to WFFC and back. Split 3 ways the bill was about $300/each for this trip of approximately 1400 miles (1200 nm). Anyway, let me know if you can't work the comercial flight out. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

If you can't scrape up a good deal on airfare let me know. I could use some more flight time, and just might be able to help you out if I don't have all my ratings by then. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I'm a fast faller. 'Course everybody knows the rule on raft dives. Only topless chicks allow in the raft. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Let me know. I have to try out this raft I just bought. Definitely need a tailgate for that jump. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Yeah, I've gotten information from this site before. This information is more correct than the information from AOPA. Still no procedures on how to behave around the airport, approaches, etc. Most DZ's aren't on private airports, which is why there is no information on flying in there. At a public airport, jump pilots have to communicate with everyone else so that everyone knows what is going on. If you look at most DZ's on private airports they do publish procedures. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I think that if they were to publish a standard proceedure for flying into this airport on their website, and with the AOPA and/or FAA that anyone flying into the place for the 1st time would know what to expect. That and updating the information AOPA has on the airport would be simple and greatly enhance everyone's safety. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Yes, I did see it hanging out and shoved it back in as I said. It was my mistake not to repack the PC. When I pulled it out later I did see that it was not packed in the recommended way which is why it worked itself back out three inches during my dive. As for me, I don't think I'll be running to use packers again. Especially not at a boogie. Don't forget about the bridle routing right up against the velcro for maximum wear on both mine and Faye's rigs. You could say that my 180 on openning was due to bad body position, but given the fact that I don't often have these I'd say probably not. So the moral to the story is to check your stuff, and be especially careful to check everything if someone else was involved. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I was there on the 5th and 6th. It didn't seem all that much busier than what I'm used to seeing on a good Saturday down at Skydive Atlanta. The only difference is that they were running two Otters most of the time instead of one. I only got in one jump, because it was just too hot, and I can jump an Otter any time back at home. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Anyone have an opinion on this DZ located near Niagra Falls, NY? I'm visiting friends in Rochester, and they want to try a first jump. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I was at Toys-R-Us buying toys for my godchildren when I happened to notice a half off all summer items sign. I bought me a nice raft for $17.99. Don't know if this is true nationally or not, but I'll definitely have to make the next local Casa boogie! Might be worth checking out for anyone who wants to do the same. BTW, for the locals, this was the store in Kennesaw on Barrett Parkway. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

No, their web page doesn't have any info. I find it strange, since all the other dropzones have such info. Quincy had a whole page on flying in to the WFFC as well. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Actually Roger spoke to me just after I landed (in a very unfriendly way). I didn't know it was him at the time. According to my instruments I was 3-4 miles away when an entire Otter load of jumpers openned up perhaps 1000 feet to the left of me. I immediately flew directly away from them. This was a very scary experience for all involved. Roger seemed more concerned with bitching at me than finding out what caused the situation. So I guess you now know what their response would be. I was quite disappointed that nobody else was concerned about how similar incidents could be prevented in the future. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

I just wanted to warn any other skydiving pilots who might be considering flying into Skydive Chicago (8N2). Flying into this airport is extremely hazardous for several reasons. First off, the information in your airport directory is probably wrong! The location is wrong as are the runway numbers. I suspect the information was correct for the old airport. I got my info from the online AOPA directory. Second, despite the fact that there is a published frequency for this airport none of the jump planes appear to use it. So you will have no indication as to what jump operations are currently in progress. Nobody on the ground appears to monitor this frequency either. Third, your requests for airport advisories will likely be ignored by both the pilots and people on the ground, as were all four of mine. So you'll have no idea what is happening or even which way to land. I would highly recommend you fly somewhere else and get to the DZ some other way, should you chose to jump here. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Which days were you there? I was there with my two friends, Broken Eagle, and Dead Bird Sunday and Monday. We didn't jump much (only once actually) while we were there because it was too hot! We really went to visit some friends anyway (Jeff in the rigging loft among others). The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Did you dye ALL of your hair red? You wouldn't want anyone to know it isn't natural would you? The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

Sorry to hear about your landing. I did a helicopter jump and noticed the rough landing area when I got tripped off my feet by the soy beans. I got a bit of road rash on my leg (wearing shorts), but not nearly as bad as what happened to you. Sorry I missed everyone at the convention as well. We certainly had a fun and interesting trip. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

You are describing a seperate product which I'm not certain is from Skydive U (it may be). I have Basic Body Flight Theory. I had also looked at the book Basic Body Flight which is as you describe, bigger, with drill dives in it that you can work on with a partner. As far as I know, there is no video that goes with that book. I was also having a hard time finding that book. I think they were trying to phase it out so you'd get their expensive coaching instead. The Dutchboy http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra