pilotdave

Hehe, no I fly planes, not helicopters. I work in the helicopter world though, so sometimes I get funny looks when I say things that I assume apply to helicopters but really only apply to planes. Dave

Well, that's what a flat turn does. In a regular turn, the canopy will roll, yaw, and pitch, pretty much in that order. A flat turn is basically only yaw. Dave

Well, true, but all the flying time in the world isn't gonna do me any good when I'm 40 feet off the ground and realize I'm about to slam into another jumper or something else. I can control a plane on 3 axes.... On a parachute, all three axes are highly coupled. Under normal circumstances, that's no big deal. AFF students are taught to use left toggle to turn left, right toggle to turn right, and that when they turn, they'll dive. At low altitude, they must be taught how decouple the yaw and pitch axes. I never was (other than by reading how to do it and trying it myself). If showing competency in flat turns isn't currently a requirement for an A license, it probably should be. Hooknswoop talked about the similarity between new jumpers and young drivers. Well, in military aviation (possibly civil too, I don't know), they have a similar phenomenon to the increased accident rate among skydivers with 500-800 jumps. At around 1500 hours, accident rates suddenly spike. It's all about overconfidence, trying new things, and complacency. Maybe now that the D license is up to 500 jumps, they should add a canopy control signoff. Just a demonstration of flat and flare turns. Make those "500 jump wonders" get some remedial canopy training if they can't do it properly. Dave

In my opinion, wingloading doesn't kill... low turns do. There's a lot of talk on here about flat turns and flare turns, and avoiding panic turns. I got my A license before the ISP started so things were a little different, but I never learned any of those things. Never taken a canopy course either, so anything I know about canopy control beyond what I learned as a student, I've learned on my own. Do students now learn these techniques to avoid smacking into the ground if they need to turn low down? If not, wouldn't that be a start? Dave

That's as much of a real expensive wind-vane as my apartment is a real expensive rock. Dave

Sounds like the Skydive Moab video. Try a search for that. Dave

I'm not so familiar with the new testament. Does Matthew 19:26 really talk about parachutes? Damn, that new testament is even newer than I thought! Just kidding. Dave

I think thats exactly why they use souls and not people. Sounds like an interesting job though. I thought most bodies get transported in the cargo holds of airliners. Is there really enough demand to need a company that only flies dead people? Dave

Well, this is the first test of the new site with any real load on it. Lemme know how your download speeds are, as well as the overall speed of the site! Dave

Wanna beta test skydivingmovies.com? I'll PM you. Anyone else? PM me. Dave

Started flight training when I was 11 in 1991 (got a whole 1.5 hours that year), soloed at 16 with 50 hours, private at 17 with in 1997, started skydiving in 1998. I skydive a lot more than I fly now. I feel like I'm wasting a weekend if I fly instead of jump. When it gets warmer and I get a few more hours in the Grumman Tigers I fly now, I'll start flying to the DZ. Only have 10 or 15 hours in the type. Awesome planes though! Dave

Nice video. Wish I coulda done that in college. I was lucky just to be able to fly over campus, since it's not allowed anymore (inside the DC flight restriction zone). Mind if I put that video on skydivingmovies.com? Dave

Hehe, move outta paradise and that'll change REAL fast. I feel lucky when the weather is good enough to jump two weekends in a row. Dave

I think it depends a lot on how many jumps the person has. I watched a guy a few weeks ago make his 2nd jump in 5 years. He left the plane 12th on a 16 way and docked. Having over 3000 jumps probably helped. Dave

Do a search, there are companies making helicopter controls for PC sims. I'm sure you could also find instructions to build them yourself. The sims I flew had real cyclic and collective controls, but the comanche doesn't use pedals for yaw control. The cyclic twists, just like on a microsoft sidewinder joystick. It also gets a small amount of collective by lifting or lowering the cyclic. That's used for fine control when hovering. Dave

Try a newer version of media player. Dave

I understand that raven reserves may be used ONCE as a main before being used as a reserve. Can't be switched back and forth. Once it's a reserve, it's a reserve. Dave

Not for long

There are a couple videos on skydivingmovies.com (coming soon!) of wingsuits getting towed behind planes. One attempt behind a 182 or 206, don't remember, by Joe Jennings. The plane wasn't nearly fast enough, and he hung way below the plane. The other one is Felix Baumgartner behind a B-25. He was a bit unstable, and the swinging around did some damage to the tail end of the fuselage and eventually broke the climbing hardware holding him to the plane. Video ends with the car pulling up to some random house in germany where felix is drinking wine with a family wherever he landed. Dave

Sounds good to me, especially if they have some sort of skydiving content (take place on a DZ, for example). Site is nearly ready to open for bidness. Dave

Well, try it (on the ground). Cut away then pull your bridle. I bet you'll have a normal deployment, then the main will release. On my rig, it takes quite a bit of force to open the riser covers. I'm pretty sure the bag will come out before the risers release. Dave

Yeah, I had a PC in tow a while back (sometime around my 50th jump) for the same reason (from the sound of it, anyway), a shrunken kill line. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed the bridle. It worked, but flipped me on my back. Didn't cause any problems other than a couple linetwists. But I wouldn't do it again. Dave

????????? Your exit weight is 127.50 pounds??? You weigh around 114 pounds???? Hehe, you prolly thought I did my math wrong. But yeah, thats actually a little more than I weighed when I bought the canopy. I've gained a little weight since then, plus I almost always wear weights now. Now picture me under a Manta288.

Anyone wanna help beta test the new site? PM me today (1/28/04). Dave

My first canopy was a PD 9-cell 150, loaded at around .85. I think a PD 9-cell is a great choice for a first canopy. Yeah, the flare does require good timing to get right, and not all my landings were tiptoe soft, but you come in slow enough that an imperfect flare isn't the end of the world. The canopy flies slower than most modern canopies. But on long spots, I had an easier time making it back than most people since I'd come down so slow. Going into the wind is another story, but I was glad to have a slow flying canopy for the times I had to land off. But yeah, the best part is packing. You can practice your technique without killing yourself to get the canopy in the bag. I was amazed when I switched to ZP how different the flare was, but I don't regret jumping F111 for my first 100 jumps either. Dave