Chris-Ottawa

Hey, To tell you the truth, I probably would have done very similar to you. I know I would have ridden it down to a much lower altitude at the very least. I mean what's the worst that could happen, the canopy rips and you have to cut away? or maybe it starts flying erratically, cut it. In this case I definately would have contemplated landing it but if it ripped below 2k, I'd be shitting myself if it got to the point when I "HAD" to cut it. I'd rather get rid of it close to the ground but not too close, and not risk landing a damaged parachute. You made a choice, you're ok, that's good. Now you have the experience. I had a mal last weekend and I had a pretty-square parachute, but i had a line crossed causing a spin. I could counteract it with the right toggle to my hip, but I didn't feel comfortable landing a "damaged" canopy. Training kicked in and said: It's not a perfect parachute, get rid of it. Now in that same scenario, if I had full control and only had to have the toggle to my ear or something, I bet I would have landed it. Good work on your EP's and clear thinking! "When once you have tasted flight..."

It'll probably eventually come out once the cold is completely gone. You can try plugging your nose and exhaling with your mouth closed. DO NOT do this fast as you can rupture your ear drums and you've got a bigger problem. I find drinking or swallowing with your nose and mouth closed works too. I take no liability for what my advice causes, but it's what I do and it works pretty well. Use at your own risk! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I've been working on flips and spins, it's great fun. I just go up and do anythign I want. I dont' have my A license and it's not a huge priority for me right now. I'm just having fun, then I'll get into RW and FF and whatever. No sense in rushing to somethnig that doesn't end right? If you want to go to skydivingmovies.com and do a search for backflips, you can see my "less than perfect" flips and rolls. (The movie is called backflips-frontflips-rolls.....) One of the funnest things I've done yet is a backflip off the step of the Cessna 205. Scared the crap out of me (butterfly feeling) when I left the step, but it was a blast. Before doing anything though, run it by your instructors, they will tell you if they're comfortable with you doing something new etc... Have fun! Skies! "When once you have tasted flight..."

4230 for mine all said and done. Gear was bought new in 2003, 55 jumps on everything. Cypres needed 4 yr Cost me $460 in taxes to bring it into Canada Cost $400 to get the Cypres 4 Yr done, and $70 for my rigger to pack the cypres and reserve. **Note: All prices in Canadian, so that's like $75 US for everything (hehe) But the best part...I HAVE MY OWN GEAR AND DON'T HAVE TO BORROW GEAR THAT I END UP CUTTING AWAY AND FEELING TERRIBLE! (not like that happened or anything). Seriously though, hold up on buying gear till at least you have your solo and have a better idea of what you want. EDIT to add my total investment. To get all my gear and the jumps I have and everything, 've spent about 7 grand Canadian. Never thought I'd get bitten this hard. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Honestly I'm happy it happened. The experience was very good. Not that I wanted it to happen, but the fact that it did was good. Alot of people get comfortable, never practice their EP's, and when the time come, they may panick or do something out of sequence. I know now that in the heat of the moment, even though I had a straight flying parachute, that altitude burns up quick. I can only imagine if I couldn't compensate the spin how much quicker things would have happened. I have now decided that 3500 is a nice safe altitude to dump. I have no need at this point to go any lower. LPus my canopy apparently snivels like a mofo. I've heard 7-1000 feet.... Anyone jump a Spectre 135 loaded around 1:1? CHris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I'm pretty shocked to see how many people don't talk to their families about what they are doing. It's running around 25% right now. That is pretty shocking. I can understand now why families would be inclined to sue. If my parents had no idea, I wouldn't blame them for suing the A/C manufacturer or the DZ or anyone. There's only one person to blame and that would be myself. Alot of people have too much of an attitude of "it can't happen to me". You're wrong, it can definately happen to you. I think alot of people are involved in this sport without fully realizing the consequences. I don't try to convince myself that it's more dangerous to scuba dive/drive my car/get hit by lightning etc. Just this last weekend, I had a mal and my first reserve ride, my cameraman for that jump had a broken femur when I reached the ground. It really hit home and made things sink in about what I do on weekends. You have no idea until you're involved or know someone very close that gets involved. DON'T WAIT TO HAVE REGRETS, TALK TO YOUR FAMILY/FRIENDS/LOVED ONES. Turn off your ego and think about what you're putting your family through. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Ok that makes more sense. The way I read it was that you don't give a damn, and everyone else can go to hell. I was shocked that someone could care that little. I understand now, thanks for the clarification. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I find that hard to believe. You may think that but I guarantee that your family feels different. Even if you were the outcast in your family and never once talked to your parent's since you moved out, I GUARANTEE they would still deeply miss more than you could imagine. I think that's terrible that you feel that way, but it's none of my business anyways. I feel sorry for your family and friends. The day I went for my Tandem, I talked to my parents on the drive up and they were happy, and slightly scared. My friend who also did a tandem, didn't tell his parents because they wouldn't let him go. Now, if he had died, I am willing to bet that they would have sued. (He actually had a cutaway which I have on video, that he could never share with his parents). To this day they have no idea. This past Sunday I had my first cutaway and I felt the need to call my family and let them know that I was ok. My mom's question to me: Are you sure you want to keep doing this?, I replied yes, and she said, ok as long as you're as safe as possible. I can only hope more people communicate with their families about what they do. If you don't care, that's great, but that's why we have DZ's getting sued. Mis-informed families. It's not just for you, it's for the preservation of the sport. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I'm curious to know how many people have talked with their families about what they do and the risks and realities involved. I would exlain here but I think Tom Aiello put it best in one of his articles: Here's the whole document: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=64 I know the article has to do with BASE jumping, but it has 100% relevance to skydiving. Please comment!!! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Jakee: I completely agree, it's the lawyer driving this, that's obvious. They can't wait until the evidence is there before they jump on, someone else will do it before them. Normiss: I assume you are referring to Tom's article I linked (Thanks Tom!! - Great article BTW). I found that one day and it really got me thinking. I called my parents 10 minutes after reading that and talked to them about what I'm doing. They are accepting of what I do, and realize how happy it makes me. They know if something happens, no one is necessarily negligent or responsible for the incident. I'm going home this Saturday for the first time in 1.5 yrs. I'm 22 yrs old and plan to talk in-depth to my parents about this. I'm bringing them my rig so I can explain everything, show them, let them touch it etc... I want them to understand that I hold no one liable for my death should it happen while skydiving. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I understand there will be costs incurred to all involved, but hopefully not enough to cause a DZ to close. The DZ is simply providing a service, you choose to go for a "ride" with that company. Due to the inherent risk involved, you sign a waiver due to the slight possibility of things going bad. It happens, you assumed the risk. I just really hope this family is not suing to get money for the loss of their daughter. If they truly do believe that there was negligence involved, so be it. I really really hope it's not simply for revenge on the DZ. They will be ruining it for alot of people who enjoy the sport and accept the reality of it. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone, I can't honestly blame the family for doing what they're doing. I almost guarantee that any of your families would do the same without knowing about the sport. I don't think it's right, basically that waiver trashes all your rights and you have to understand that, but families don't. Does anyone consider that she may not have told her family? Question for everyone: How many of you have taken the time to sit down with your friends/family and explain the sport to them and in the event of an emergency/accident what they should/should not do. See Tom Aiello's article, and read section "Talk to your family". Base jumping or Skydiving, same things can happen. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=64 I'm not taking a side either way here, but I think that there's more details that haven't come out yet and there's still alot of speculation. For example, if the aircraft WAS out of maintenance or past due, they have every right to sue the DZ. If the DZ did everything right, and the waiver is well done, they shouldn't have anything to worry about. I know this may not work out that way, but I can only hope... If they win this case against the DZ, does anyone have a clue how easy it will be after this to sue a DZ for being negligent? This will be detrimental to the sport. My condolences go to the families involved... Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Are you kidding? I couldn't even contemplate someone on drugs while skydiving. This has to be a joke. If it's not, please bring it up to someone as mentioned above. These people should have their licenses revoked if they are jumpig while intoxicated in any fashion. What they do on their own time is their own business, but during jumping, simply, NO! This is honestly unbelievable! "When once you have tasted flight..."

I agree and that's the only thing I can see happening, but it would have to be from a tension knot. I looked at the canopy today and it was perfectly fine, no burn marks or anything. I remember seeing the slider stop wrapped around the line and I thought the slider stop was just hooked around there and the tension was holding it there. In that case it probably would have came out with a few jerks of the riser, which didn't happen. Makes me wonder if it was a tension knot and I grabbed the riser, jerked it down then quickly released it to take tension off the line to release the knot. Guess I'll never know unless my rigger finds something on final inspection. It also struck me odd that it wasn't a slider stop on the leading or trailing edge of the canopy, it was the one before the front of the leading edge and it was attached to the linedirectly to the right of it on the first cell in. Ah well, it happened, all was ok and I got some valuable experience. I appreciate everyone's input. Skies!! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks, Haha, I held those handles to the ground, they weren't going anywhere. I just found it hard when I had a tight fist around the handles and tried getting the steering loops. I simply adjusted my grip and held them there. Jumpsuit would be a good idea, but at the time, not thinking about that. I actually didn't even think to look what altitude my reserve opened at. I checked the reserve functionality, and looked for the main/frebag and watched them. First time I looked at my altitude was 1500', then I started my landing after watching the main/freeebag hit. I should have watched my altitude more, but I was able to roughly judge just from experience under canopy, and from my previous flying experience. EDIT: I wasn't concerned about my altitude becasue I jump at an airport and had nothing but fields to land in. My main was probably 0.5 km away and I was going to land with it but saw exactly where it landed and could still make it back to the DZ, so I did. "When once you have tasted flight..."

No comments on my jump..... Was it that bad? "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Don't try to do everything in one jump. These things will come to you in time. It takes a few jumps for you to be able to comprehend what your body is doing. Your instructors keep saying it to keep it in your mind. Trust me, I had the same issues, and one jump it will just click and work for ya. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I've been jumping the 150 for a while now. And I've gotten flak from other posts as well. I weigh 115 lbs and i'm about 140 out the door. I have been solely working on my canopy progression so I can jump my own parachute. That's why I'm at 31 jumps and still no "A". Haven't even bothered with those requirements yet. (Only need 5 RW jumps though). I bought a Spectre 135 and should be able to jump it as soon as I come back from holidays. Trust me, I am going completely on what my instructors say, they see I'm doing very well under canopy and on landing. I have never once not stood a landing from day 1. Even the reserve yesterday I skidded on my feet, bumped my ass and stood up. Worst landing yet. EDIT: I added my jump to skydivingmovies.com, just do a search for backflips and it is the first one. Full movie name is: backflips-frontflips-and-spins-me-skydiving.wmv 2.9mb "When once you have tasted flight..."

If anyone cares to critique my jump video, feel free. I know the first roll was pretty awkward looking, but I think all the rest was pretty good. The first front loop was subterminal and the last turn was intentionally quick. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Well good to know I made the right choice. I actually thought at the time that I could land the parachute as I could get it flying straight, but knew I'd probably break both my legs at the very least. Training kicked back in and iI thought, "it ain't flying straight on it's own, it's gone". Took my breath and.... I'm honestly curious to know what happened. I can't see it being a brake line tangle due to what I posted above, but I can't really see it being anything else. Everyone at the DZ immediate suggested lineover, and when i first saw the mal, I thought the same. The only problem was that I had a square canopy for the most part, and no line were over the top. I'm anxiously waiting to hear from my rigger...assuming the problem hasn't undone itself post-chop. Thanks for the input Video link removed by request due to high bandwidth demand on the hosting server - slotperfect "When once you have tasted flight..."

Beer was explained. Funny thing is I got my cypres for my rig back on friday and should have it this week, so I was done borrowing rigs after this jump, but now I have to buy booze for the reserve ride, plus pay for the repack, and the repack on my rig so I can use that. Pretty costly jump. As far as tonnes of time goes, I was basically trying to say that I was fully aware of my altitude and it simply looked hooked around so I figured I'd play with it. For the thumb hlding the toggle, I took a deep breath, dropped the toggle, and chopped, so I wasn't attached to it. I just figured if I can prevent possible problems on my reserve I would as it's my last resort. Edit: That will be beer for a first reserve ride, and a case for my rigger (He prefers beer) for the packjob! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Actually, one more question. This one is completely subjective. In the exact same scenario above, if you had a hook knife and could tell which line was tangled, would you cut away anyways or would you do some mid air rigging? "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the fact that it seems like I did everything right. One of my instructors told me that I shouldn't have fought with it. The only reason is I knew I had tonnes of time and 2500 is my decision altitude, but I didn't want to wait that long. If I was lower on deployment, or spinning out of my control, that reserve would have been out so quick, you have no idea. I had time to hold the right toggle with my right thumb so I didn't cutaway in a spin. I took the time to grab each handle, dropped the toggle and choppy choppy. Reserve came out with me nice and stable. I was happy I saved both handles as it was a borrowed rig. I realized pretty quickly that it's hard to control a parachute while holding both handles. Either way, good experience so if it happens again in a more "rushed" scenario, I'll be comfortable knowing that I can do it! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Ok, think about what you are doing. This is a sport where you can die very easily. It is a very serious sport and you need to think about what you're doing long and hard. Talk to your family as well, see what they think of you avoiding buying an insurance policy because you don't want to. Now, that being said, it is your choice, and I hope you make the right one. If you can't afford an AAD, rethink your situation and maybe wait. Please read this post, it'll make you rethink what you're contemplating: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=650224 I wouldn't dare jump withouot one, but I'm still the primary activator. I just had a reserve ride today actually, nothing to do with my cypres or anything but still. There are things you can't control and will never be able to, so again, have fun and be safe! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone, Had my first cutaway this morning. We're not sure what happened yet, but I can only see 2 things that would have caused it, but one is unlikely, but that's what I'm hoping to see if you guys can confirm how unlikely it is. Gear: Vector 2 (no rsl or skyhook), Sabre 2 150 and PD143. Pro-packed by myself last night. I deployed high because I was being filmed, dumped at 4k. Opening seemed pretty normal except that I started in a spin during the snivel. It wasn't twisting the lines/risers, but just turning. Everything opened and I had 2 endcell closures(used to this), so I did my flare and they went away. As I put the toggles back up it started spinning. I pulled the right toggle to my hip to stabilize the turn. I'm not sure if I did the right thing here or not but since I was at 3400' on a straight flying canopy(with the right toggle down), I tooko a bit of time to assess the scenario. If it was spinning and I couldn't get it stable, it would have been gone instantly. So when I looked up I had a square parachute for the most part. I saw one of the stabilizer lines wrapped around the lines on the first cell, causing the end cell to be folder under towards the second cell. I initially thought lineover, but it was not over top or collapsing any cells. The line was running from the outer cell, to the inner cell and back out again. It was not wrapped around the inner line and then following the line down to the risers. Now, I tried pumping the toggle, and both risers to no avail. Constantly watching my altitude the whole time. I got to 2700' and decided to cut it. So I cut it and landed safely with both handles and we found the main/freebag. I watched where they landed and was able to make it back to the DZ. So, I realize I'm probably going to get some flak for not chopping it sooner, or doing something different, and I expect that, but my question to the masses is this: If, on the previous landing the left toggle dropped through the lines. Could it cause this issue? I can't see this because the small metal loop for setting the brakes would have had a line wrapped around it, no? And if it did or didn't, when I walked up the lines would the lines not have been twisted? I remember packing it, didn't have anything looped around the locking loop, and walking the lines was clean. I propacked it and didn't see any twists there either. The only other thing that I can imagine happening was a tension knot around one of the outer stabilizer lines. I remember seeing the slider stop on the stabilizer line right at the top of the lines right where the problem was. I though it was just hooked around the line but obviously not. So, please comment on the above, please critique my thinking on decision altitude etc. I appreciate any advice, comments that I can get. If you need clarification on something, please reply back and I'll do my best. I'll also update the post once my rigger checks the chute and lets me know what's up. I really hope it's not something I caused in packing error. Thanks! EDIT: This was jump #31 for me, and I was on a borrowed rig that I put 2 jumps on yesterday and packed it both times for those as well. "When once you have tasted flight..."