johnny1488

As far as I can tell, you are exactly right. If you have not initiated a main canopy deployment, initiate reserve deyployment if you know your cutaway handle is out. They only reason I can think of is having one set of emergency procedures- ie cutaway, pull reserve. I dont do that, but I have heard it. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Why would you cutaway first? If your cutaway handle is out and you know it, open the only canopy that is still attached to your rig. You did the right thing. Cutting away wouldnt really hurt, but now we are down to semantics. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

My safire2 169 opened softer (and more consistent) than the the spectres i've jumped 230-210-190 Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Oh yeah, that too Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Such is life in a society that doesnt want its people to be able to own guns. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I copied this from the ranch forum. Im sure scott wouldnt mind. This did not happen to me so I have no answers, but I think it speaks for itself. Good Luck The TSA Cut My Reserve Pin on the Way to WT '04 !!! From: Scott Macario Date: 12 Feb 2004 Time: 22:03:52 Comments Hello Ranch Hands, I am posting this regarding damage that was done to my rig by the TSA. Since it is a little chilly up here and some skydivers may be headed to warmer climates, my desire is to get this information out so that other skydivers may avoid what happened to me. I was on my way to Thailand to participate in World Team '04. On January 20, 2004 I was travelling on Continental Airlines to Tokyo then NorthWest to Bangkok. I checked my rig. I did not carry it on. The rig was in a gear bag which I placed in a suitcase. Upon my arrival in Bangkok I found my bag had a TSA seal on it. When I opened the bag I found the TSA had cut, YES CUT!!!!, the pin on my reserve. I contacted USPA while in Thailand by Email and sent pictures (God Bless our dgital cameras). The Emails were originally sent to Betsy McStay at USPA. Betsy replied and said she sent the info to the TSA and I should hear back shortly. I have not heard anything to date and Betsy has since left USPA. I have contacted Ed Scott at USPA to discuss this further. I will be writing several letters and looking for compensation for the money I had to lay out. Plain and simple, the TSA inspectors did not follow their own procedures. At no time did they attempt to contact me or page me. Instead, they cut my reserve pin. My bag was clearly marked with a luggage tag with my name, baggage tags with my name and flight info, Continental OnePass Elite and Priority Handling tags. It would have been very easy to identify me as the owner of the bag and page me in the terminal or at the gate. After the incident I talked to some people and got some ideas on how this may have been avoided. At the TSA's website: http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1147.xml there is a bulletin with suggestions for travelling with rigs. It would help to follow the suggestions. I personally had my weights packed with the rig, which was probably what triggered the inspection. This still does not let the TSA off the hook for not following their own procedures. It would help to print the bulletin out and put it on top of your rig in a gear bag, if you check it, or carry it with you if you bring your rig on board the plane. Another person I spoke to also puts their travel itenarary on top of the rig with the TSA Bulletin. They always check their rig and have had no problems. The itenarary helps if the bag ever gets lost. AS I said before, my desire is to get this information out so that other skydivers may avoid what happened to me. Thanks, Scott Macario WT '04 - World Record 357 way Sector 4 PS: I found someone with a spare reserve handle and found a rigger to pack the reserve. I was able to make the mass jump and the rest of the event with my own rig. As I was looking for a spare handle in Thailand, Mike Arzillo contacted folks stateside that hadn't left yet and asked them to bring spares. Derreck Thomas and Rusty Vest each brought a replacement handle with them. This worked out well as I needed to replace the one I borrowed. I keep the other as a spare. THANKS MIKE!!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

We'll see, cause I should be at the top of the 135 list! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I didnt talk to PD, but I think you mean the 135 and 150. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Kelli (skycat) sells one. I got it and it was excellent quality. Support a dz.commer! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That works great on some canopies, but on an Icarus all the lines are different lengths. I guess you could check the outer of one side to the outside of the other side. Thats why I like my vectran. I can see wear better that I can check trim. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Altitude permitting, I would see if I can clear the line over while staying aware of my hard deck. If you dont have a landable canopy by your hard deck, initiate emergency procedures. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I spoke with Jim Slaton (PST) about this when I was out at Perris. He said in order to be marketable, there has to be a rock solid way of rating competitors. Someone like the xgames would want the top 20 (or whatever) and you can tjust hand them 20 good swoopers. They want proof of numbers that they can sell to an audience. Plus with almost every other event in the xgames, a kid can go out and emulate what they see on tv. BMX, motocross, surfing, skateboarding ect. Swooping works good as a quick attention getter, but I wonder how it will hold the attention of an audience (ie kids and young adults) who if they ever expierence skydiving, will probably be only once and will not be swooping. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

A local jumper lost a shoe when he and I did a h+p a few years ago. A local returned it about a week later. He said he has 6 foot fences and figured it had to be one of ours! Dare to dream!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That, my friend, is the best expaination I have ever heard of for rolling the nose. I still want to see something happen, though, so I will press on with my mission to unravel the mystery, as it were. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Not sure about specifics, but longer risers, like longer lines, will add to the recovery arc. I takes the pilot longer to swing back under the canopy once he or she is out from under it. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Thats why I was planning on doing a buch of videos of deyployments this year. I want to see the nose of the canopy still rolled and not exposed to air after it comes out of the bag. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It seemed colse enough to see that a split second after the canopy came out of the bag, the nose was exposed. I can not be sure if the nose was rolled or not, but I plan on doing some video this year of this subject. Could it be that in rolling the nose/taking special measures in the pack job, the jumper is taking better care of the stabilizers and slider? But then again I never jumped a sabre (or any bad opening canopy for that matter) after I knew how to pack or knew what a bad opening was. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I met a south african at the ranch this year when he was doing the aff course. His name was graham and he was from cape town. I believe he was pretty involved in the DZ. Does anyone know where I can find a picture of graham hoal? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Does it do anything? I know plenty of people swear on rolling the nose/tail/ spend 20 minutes getting everything in order in their preparation to lay the canopy down. I have watched openings in slo-mo and thought about it an awful lot and it seemd to me that as soon as the last stows come off the bag and the slider hits the airstream, everything you just spent 20 minutes on goes right out the window and the canopy is going to do what its designed to do. Assume that the slider is all the way up and the brakes are set and not gonna line over. Does waving a dead chicken nailed to a packing paddle over your sabre/monarch/any canopy you want really do anything? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm grabbing at straws here, but I would guess line trim, line length and wing loading. I am sure there are plenty of construction techniques that make it happen, but I think I got 3. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I jumped a safire2 169 and a xfire2 169 after that. I was loading the canopies a little under 1.4 The xfire did have a longer recovery arc, but not all that much at that loading. I could be wrong but I think the speeds were similar but the safire leveled off in less altitude. Loading really seemed the key to make the longer recovery arc work. So at a loading a new HP canopy student should probably be working at, I dont think a particularly HP design will make much of a difference. A mid range canopy would work just as well for the beginning. I think the loading is what whould be the main concern to help keep a HP student safe and learning quicker. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Yes yes, of course, woulda shoulda coulda, I am thinking real world were things do not go acording to plan. I think it best to try to stack the odds on the side of inexpierence.

I think people are erring on the side of caution. A canopy with a longer recovery arc is much harder to get out of "the corner". It wants to dive. Its much safer for a newer HP pilot to go cruising over the ground at 20ft that being up to their waist in earth. A newer pilot should avoid traffic in a clear pattern and landing area and focus more on the landing itself. A shorter recover arc adds a margin of safety. Once they gain proficiency, they very well might want to move to a design with a longer recovery arc, but this characteristic does not especially help a HP student. This is not to say you cant kill yourself on a Safire or stilleto (not similar designs, mind you, just short recovery arcs). You can kill yourself on any canopy. But I think a short recovery arc lends itself to the learning curve (or arc, as it were.) Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I do that a bit with freefall, but get me infront of swoop or dirt, water, dirt, and I cant move. Gotta get my PST dvd in 2 weeks so I can wear out my dvd slow button. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

We'll just have to see about that when you get back up here, Ari. The first rule of swoop club.... Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome