pilotdave

Why bother writing all these posts about statistics and whatever if you simply believe that an RSL is absolutely useless. Just say so. Dave

I am willing to bet that every jumper that has ever gone in without an AAD was quite comfortable without an AAD. I don't see how comfort matters. An RSL is for the worst times, not the best times. When you find yourself cutting away at 500 feet for whatever reason, let me know how comfortable you are. Of course you never plan to do something so stupid. Neither did all those people whose fatality reports say "an RSL may have helped..." You think you're better than them. I don't know anything about them so I see no reason to think I'm any different. Dave

What could that possibly mean? Dave

The cop with the desk job doesn't need a vest as much as the cop on the SWAT team. The average cop on the street may survive his entire career never needing a vest. Some will choose to wear one every day anyway, because they never know, right? Shootings don't just happen when they raid crack houses, they happen on ordinary traffic stops every once in a while. Do you really think those that have had cypres fires or those that have gone in without an AAD saw it coming before getting on the plane? They happen on regular ordinary jumps too. But if you're the cop that volunteers to raid crack houses, you probably should wear a vest, right? The raft dive is just one example that seems pretty obvious as a dangerous skydive. What about AFF instruction? My DZ requires AADs for instructors/coaches. Cause when you're gonna raid a crack house, history has proven that ya might need a bullet proof vest. Dave

If the numbers are skewed far in favor of help over hinder, sure. I don't know what the number has to be. I'm searching the fatality reports now to get some idea. Would you count all incidents where the RSL may have contributed to reserve line twists which endd up killing the jumper? No way to know the jumpers would have tried to get stable before pulling, and no way to know if they would have pulled too low trying to get stable... Dave

People screw up. Happens all the time. I personally don't believe people deserve to die for making a mistake. Sure, that's a BIG mistake which SHOULD have killed them. They deserve a really hard reserve opening that leaves em sore for days, a grounding at the very least, etc. How many people die per year due to RSLs? How many people die that MAY have been saved if they had an RSL? I bet more die that could have been saved than die directly because of the RSL, on average. Dave

I hate to do it, but compare your anti-RSL argument with an argument againt AADs. An AAD is FAR FAR FAR more likely to cause a 2-out than ever save anyones life. Pulling high enough prevents both 2-out situations (caused by AAD fires) and also death by not pulling. It's easy to say don't go low and you don't need an AAD. On probably 99.99% of jumps, the AAD neither hurts nor helps, but the chances of it hurting are better than the chances of it helping. But of course we all have em "just in case." So with RSLs, sure, they don't help or hurt on most cutaways. They CAN hurt, but we use em "just in case." Question: When the SkyHook gets licensed to other manufacturers, do you think it will virtually replace the RSL? Dave

Would you mind discussing the SkyHook RSL in the same context? I'm just curious if you'd lump it together with other RSLs and are including it in your opinion, or if you'd separate it out as having different pros and cons and what you see them as (especially the cons). Also, for those that use 2 hands to cut away (whether taught that way or need to do it that way because of the required force), doesn't an RSL help in cases where the jumper may have trouble locating the reserve handle? People end up low very quickly when they start tugging on their big ring or something else. How about the RSL getting the reserve open at a higher altitude preventing some off landings which could be hazardous? Again, might make little difference with one hand per handle... but a significant difference if it takes a moment to locate the reserve handle after cutting away. One more... I've never had a cutaway so I can't speak from experience, but I did hear a cutaway story where the jumper had some trouble getting stable after the cutaway. Flung off from a spinning mal with his left hand on his reserve handle, he found it difficult to get stable. He got stable with enough altitude and was fine. He also could have pulled unstable. But on your back, with only one free arm(which is presumably holding a cutaway pad), at less than terminal speeds, with your altimeter possibly difficult to see while you're holding your reserve handle, how hard is it to lose altitude awareness while trying to get stable? Not for you... for someone more like me... Dave

I've got nothing against electronic study guides... I've bought a few of them, including one for the private pilot written. But seriously, the SIM lists every section of the SIM needed for each exam. It's already very straight forward. It's all in one book, available for free (are all necessary sections included in the free version?). And with the D test, you can get 10 wrong and still pass. I'm not sure there were 10 questions on the exam I wouldn't have known if I hadn't specifically studied for the test. I didn't study every recommended section... just high altitude, exhibition jumps, FARs (the SIM even says specifically what FARs to study...there were only ~5), and a few other sections I hadn't read in a while. Got 3 wrong... ironically 2 of em were repeats or very similar to questions from the B or C tests. I bet if I bought your product and used it I woulda gotten 100%. But I don't think it would have saved me even one minute, and it wouldn't have helped me pass the test, since I coulda done that without cracking the SIM I think. As for making the tests harder and more relevant, go for it! But as it is, no matter how hard the test is, you can retake it in a week. As I said before, if you fail it once, you better get 100% on the second try because you've seen the answers. Learning the material is the important part, not passing the test. Dave

I know someone that left his cell phone in his pants and put them in a washing machine. I guess he realized when he was moving his clothes to the dryer. Pulled it out, let it dry, and it worked fine. I got thrown in a pool yesterday with my cell phone in my pocket (thank god there was no whipped cream on the DZ or I woulda been pied instead). Phone seems to be working fine after drying off in the sun for a few hours. Dave

BTW, you can feel free to link to pages on SkydivingMovies.com... just don't link straight to video files themselves. Without the info pages, the site would be nothing more than a big hard drive. Dave

This is a general public service announcement regarding license test prep. Don't ever spend money on a study guide. That would be a truly ridiculous thing to do. Appendix B of the SIM says what sections to study for each license. Study a bit, take the test, see how you do. If you fail, you take the very same test again the next weekend. No record of the failure is kept. And you will have gone over it so you best get 100% the second try. The tests are generally very easy except for a few very specific questions. Most of em are obvious though. 25 questions on B and C and 40 on the D exam. BTW, took (and passed) the D test today. WOOHOO! Only took 7 years...

Umm, you weren't a customer and had a problem with customer service? That's impressive!

They, along with Mirage Systems, are also a sponsor of SkydivingMovies.com, so buy a Mirage from SkydiveStore.com to match your helmet! Dave

The AAD doesn't change any decision. The AAD is an available option. "If I go on that jump, I want an AAD." Not "I have an AAD, therefore I will go on that jump." I know you guys don't see the difference. It's cause and effect - or something. You're assuming they are reversible. I don't agree that they are. "I won't jump off a bridge unless I have a parachute" is not equivalent to "I have a parachute, therefore I'm going to jump off a bridge." Knowing that an AAD is more likely to save your life on a raft dive than on a 4-way RW jump, what would be a good reason to decide to go on a raft dive without an AAD? Yeah, I realize you don't mean to be arguing that point. But that's just turning around your argument the same way you're turning around mine. Dave

Have you seen a skyhook installation up close? It's not just something that can be added on real quick. Each manufacturer will have to make modifications to their gear to implement it. And then test them just as thoroughly as RWS has. Dave

Knowing that AADs are widely and easily available, and assuming you own one, why WOULD you do a raft dive without one? Why would you do an AFF jump without one? Why would you do big way RW without one? Why would you coach a newbie at freeflying without one? AADs DO exist. They ARE widely available. Jumps with an increased risk of collisions or loss of altitude awareness or whatever are the best time to use an AAD. Do you have a problem with a pro swooper that has 2 rigs... one without a cypres for swooping and another with a cypres for RW? I know a lot of jumpers that have an accuracy rig and a regular rig. Most don't equip their accuracy rigs with AADs. Does that make RW too dangerous for them? The choice to use an AAD is a personal decision and says absolutely nothing about the actual amount of risk a jumper is taking or is willing to take. Dave

To play billvon devil's advocate: Clearly big-ways are beyond your personal risk threshold and you should not be doing them because they are too dangerous for you. I know this because I have stepped inside your brain based on one sentence you made in a post on dropzone.com and I know what's better for you than you do. Dave

Give up on me. I'll never understand. The example just doesn't do it for me. Landing a twin with one engine out is a skill that must be learned, practiced, and demonstrated. Skydiving without an AAD is not a skill. Anyone that can jump with an AAD CAN jump without one. There's not a skydiver in the world that physically couldn't do it. There are many that wouldn't do it though. I mean, if it really was a skill that had to be demonstrated, you'd better take an AFF instructor along in case you found out at pull time that your really needed your cypres. Come on, it's maybe at most a little confidence builder for a small number of jumpers that like having a security blanket. Jumping without a cypres teaches nothing. It demonstrates nothing to the jumper. Maybe it demonstrates something to you, but I don't see how that matters. Jumping without a cypres is just playing the odds. So is jumping with a cypres. You use one because there's some tiny little chance that you'll need it. When you jump without one, you're taking the chance that this jump will not be that one in a million. For a million bucks, I'd make a jump without a reserve. Man would that be a confidence booster in my packing when I survived it. But what would it teach me? That I don't NEED a reserve? Of course it wouldn't. It wouldn't teach me anything. Same thing with shutting off my cypres for one jump. Dave

ABSOLUTELY! As I said, we'd all be safer by sitting on the ground instead of making any skydive. An AAD might make a given jump a little safer. Sitting out makes it infinitely safer. But skydivers have this nasty habit of jumping out of planes. It's more of an addiction than a habit really. I think I'm just going to have to face the fact that I don't understand the "you must be willing to jump without an AAD" argument. I don't understand the logic. Everyone has this "personal risk threshold," right? Why do you care what mine is or what anyone elses is? Why is it bad for anyone to jump beyond their risk threshold? Who does it affect? YES, some jumps come with higher risk, AAD or not. I understand being opposed to those types of jumps. I don't understand why somebody's choice to use an AAD should be seen as a reason why that person shouldn't participate in that type of jump though. I'll live with this problem. Dave

No, someone that doesn't pull on purpose because they have an AAD is relying on it. Choosing to use one is not relying on it. I wear a hard helmet in case I get kicked or whatever. I don't go throwng my head at peoples' feet or airplane doorways. In fact, I even go as far as trying NOT to get kicked or bump my head. The helmet is there just in case. I never jump without my helmet mostly because I hate over the glasses goggles, but someone else might choose to wear a full face for RW and no helmet for hop n' pops. Is that person NECESSARILY relying on the helmet for RW jumps? Of course not. No more than someone that chooses to wear an AAD for a raft dive relies on the AAD. If a person EXPECTS to get knocked out on a jump and wears a cypres as their expected means of surviving the jump, that person is relying on the AAD and is putting himself at extreme risk. But a person can also choose to wear an AAD even when they fully expect to not need it on a jump where the risk of needing it is higher than normal. Did that make any sense? Dave

See I just think the logic is flawed. I understand the point. Don't do things beyond your SKILL level simply because you have an AAD to save you when you screw up. But that's not what you said. You said that every skydiver should be equally willing to do any particular skydive with or without an AAD. I can't think of one good reason to do ANY skydive without an AAD (ok I can think of some but you know what I mean). An AAD might save ANY jumper on ANY jump. Shit happens. That's why damn near everyone wears one. I simply don't buy it that you are safer if you are willing to jump without an AAD. There isn't logic there. You are safer if you don't go on jumps you know you can't handle. You're safest if you sit on the ground and watch. Dave

YES! A 3rd complaint and still NO RESPONSE at all from the company. What kind of customer service is this?? They should be ashamed! I want my $3 (or was it $2?) back! Dave

It's "free fallers," not "free flyers." Hence the "duh." It's not wrong, it's just not useful information. Dave

So YOU are safe on a raft dive because YOU know that YOU won't screw up? But someone that recognizes that he may screw up or that someone else on the jump may screw up is less safe on a raft dive? The whole idea that feeling safe makes someone safer is what bothers me. You'll go on a raft dive because you feel safe. Someone that recognizes the increased risk of incapacitation and therefore chooses to use an AAD on that jump should reconsider doing the jump? The attitude I get from all these AAD threads is that if a person chooses to always use an AAD for jumps with an increased probability of incapacitation, that person is somehow inferior to others that choose to ignore the increased risk. The risk on a raft dive is independent of what YOU or anybody else thinks it is. YOU don't think it's so risky, because if you did, you wouldn't do them. If someone else DOES think a raft dive has a higher than normal probability of causing them to not be able to pull, that person is not at a higher risk on a raft dive than YOU are. They don't belong there any less than YOU do. Dave