EvilLurker

Hey, I didn't say to do THAT! If you're in a cloud, it's a GREAT time to look at your alti, since you can't see anything else. Yes, though, the cloud deck can change but it's usually a pretty good form of feedback if you're making a jump from 12k or so to know when you're down to 5k (or whatever the cloud deck is), after that you can count and be open where everyone expects you to be. Just a tool to use in certain situations.

Or the one the pilot has on the instrument panel, if you can see it. I jump a lot of Cessnas. I wear an altimeter just in case somebody else forgets theirs. I loaned it out in the plane once (so far).

Well, if you forget your altimeter and there are any clouds, take a look at the base altitude of the cloud deck on the way up and remember it. It's a good reference to have, just in case. There are almost always clouds here and 5500 feet is a common base. I can count down from there if needed. After 50 or so jumps you shouldn't need an altimeter if you've been paying attention. I might not, either, unless I could use that cloud trick or there's real good visibility. People at a new DZ like to know what altitude you're opening at.

I'd try a little longer than that, if I was making progress/it wasn't getting any worse. Did the rig have an RSL? I guess if you're not comfortable going below 2800 with a low-speed malfunction, it's up to you. I decided quite a while back I'll work on a low-speed problem down to 1600 feet, but no lower. You have to decide that one for yourself, but once you decide, stick to it. It's possible, but I always fall faster in my jumpsuit. It's a real slick Tony suit, though. I don't see how that would have caused line twists. ??? Glad you're okay.

Yeah, I meant "low" as in 2000 feet. If I was scared, I'd ride the plane down. No shame in that.

I'm not scared of low exits, but if I had a canopy that routinely ate up 10+ seconds opening, I'd be fairly "concerned" making a 2000 foot exit. I like to be open above 1800 feet or so.

Yes, but I prefer to have one when doing RW or night jumps. Solo jumps or hop n' pops, it's not a concern. I'd actually prefer it wasn't on during the climb to altitude, but that's not an option.

Make sure when you're doing those low hop'n'pops that you feel your PC handle last thing before you exit ( I do that on EVERY jump). You don't have any time to waste searching for one that's pushed into the pouch. I've done a 5 second delay from 1900, so you're okay for a 5 from 3 grand. Don't screw around looking for a lost pud, though, go straight to your reserve before you're in Cypres territory. Have fun.

Yeah, you're right. How tight was your ass puckered when you exited is the real question. A canopy that snivels for 1000 feet is how many seconds from when you throw the PC till you're open? About 10 or 12 seconds, right? I've NEVER seen a canopy that takes that much time to be open, but I'll take your word for it.

Sure, you have to watch out for the people in your group at breakoff, but I've never had a problem turning and tracking away from them and never had a "near miss" in that situation. I was saying you should really keep an eye on the low person, just in case they have a premature deployment or throw their PC early. That can be a REAL hazard, so if I see someone go low I try and keep one eye on them just in case. Don't you? I'd figure the cameraman was the least danger, he's supposed to pull in place on most jumps (and yes, I've jumped camera a few times and made sure I was throwing out first). Personally, I don't like someone who's low hanging around directly under me at pull time, I have too many other things to worry about. I'm in the "give up at a reasonable time and track away hard" group. I'd say if you haven't got a grip by 5500, get out from under the formation. Even if you only tracked 200 feet and threw out before the camera flyer, it would be a safe move. I'm sure someone will disagree, but that's what I'd do.

I wouldn't feel comfortable with it, just for the fact that I've made jumps where the exit altitude was 1900 feet. That would be a scenario where you could reasonably expect a Cypres to result in a two-out situation. It would be a bad thing if you had an in-flight emergency and didn't use your reserve, too. I'd be wondering when my 1000 foot snivel might turn into to a 1500 foot snivel, too. I get nice soft openings with a canopy that snivels for about 400 feet, I can't see why more than that is "normal" or desirable. Not the same canopy type, though, so maybe 600 or 700 would be okay. ***...I"m not going to sit around in my living room with a pair of scissors hacking at my slider because someone suggested it on the Internet ..." Heh..heh, no, not a good idea, but I'd bet PD would send you a replacement loaner to try that's one size smaller and you would get an idea if you're on the right track to fixing it. From reading all the "hard opening" Sabre2 posts, it sounds like that canopy is particular about slider size being correct (or I'm full of crap).

Personally, I don't think reducing the size of the slider area by 10% would present much of a risk of turning a mega-snivveler like that into a slammer. I will ask one thing, though: are you sure your steering lines are adjusted correctly and you don't have some extra slack? That could explain it, in my opinion (but I've never owned/jumped a Sabre2, so it's pure speculation).

Personally, if I was low on the group and knew I wasn't going to get back up to them, I'd track away before 4500 feet, make sure I was clear and pull. If you had a PC out at 4500 feet there would be no risk on anyone tracking above you and causing a collision. The person that tracked right towards you and fell within 20 feet without ever seeing you is a concern, you were the one person they should have been watching out for. Scary. 5 seconds of tracking isn't enough to get much seperation, you should go for about 10 if you're breaking at 4500 feet, or break at 5k if you're not comfortable with throwing out at around 3200. Yeah, no kidding.

I never noticed any difficulties in doing solo jumps in "street" clothes, it's fine as long as you're not wearing anything that could possibly cover your PC pouch or handles, but if you're going to be doing any serious RW, you'll want a jumpsuit so you can get a faster fallrate, most likely. Personally, I saved my expensive jumpsuit for when I needed it and wore Levis and a T-shirt when it was hot and I was doing a solo.

I realized during IAD jumps (and I made quite a few, both as a student and as a "training dummy" for IAD instructors), that if you keep your eyes on the plane as you depart you'll be a lot more aware of what your body position is. It also keeps you from looking down at the ground and de-arching. I made my best exits when I watched my instructor in the door during the whole process.

Correct. I thought from your post you meant a brain tumor would not cause headaches, etc. My mistake.

No, my sister had a brain tumor about 15 years ago and she had persistant headaches. The doctor caught it during an eye exam. They sent her to emergency surgery the next day. She had progressively worse headaches for months before that, though.

Glad it opened and you survived. What do you think the chances of that happening twice in a row are?

I'm not sure what kind of pack mat you're looking for, but a place that sells carpeting has a whole bunch of carpet samples that are about 22 inches square and nicely bound, and if you convince them you're shopping for new carpeting, you can walk out of there with a couple of free samples (at least I did). Now you need to pop rivet a couple of pieces of velcro on and you're set. Just an idea.

Agreed, and if you could write a routine to take in ground speed vs. heading and show only the heading of max. ground speed, you would have a very useful piece of information. I have a Garmin, but it doesn't provide that option. I usually do a 360 after opening to check for traffic, if my GPS could do the wind computation for me while I was turning, I'd be pretty happy with that.

I have to agree, at this point in your progression, some time in a tunnel would really help you a LOT. You'll come out of there with awareness of good body position and the ability to do decent RW work. It's cheap compared to doing AFF jumps over, and actually pretty dam fun, too.

I use a GPS when flying powered parachutes, and yes, what you are describing will work. Watch ground speed and do a 360, min. speed is directly into the wind and the difference between min. and max. speed/2 is the true wind speed. I might be a bit concerned about someone fixating on their GPS and not scanning for other traffic, though.

I never noticed any difference, unless doing RW. Your fall rate will suffer, but you won't notice it much on a solo jump, in my experience.

Never. I've got a Dacron line set, though (original) and the original PC. I've never even had an opening I'd describe as "hard" on it. I've flat packed it and Pro packed it, both opened the same. Try the bigger slider, that's what I'd suspect first. I wouldn't say mine has "poor flare power", either. Have someone video your landings, being trained on ZP canopies you may need to modify your technique a little. With your wing loading you should be able to get a real nice landing.

My ears plug so tight on 12,000 foot jumps I can't hear an audible altimeter. I have to Valsalva every time I land before I can carry on a conversation. I've done that at least 150 times and my hearing is the same as it was when I started jumping and I've never had any bleeding from the ears or a broken eardrum. It's most likely some sort of sinus congestion, or maybe I got punched in the nose a few too many times boxing when I was young.