jacketsdb23

Why would you give your rig to someone to pack if you weren't sure of their capabilities? Maybe you could ask...do you know how to close a pullout system? Or do you know how to cock a pilot chute? Or even better...cock the pilot chute yourself

Dude I "chased" a cut-away main down this weekend. The closing speed on one of those wadded up canopies was amazing. I can't imagine trying to catch it. I'll stick to the watch where it lands and land next to it.

Krisanne as you know Bryon can get pretty windy. I have no problem jumping in 28 knot winds and do it on a regular basis. If the tandems stand down, I think its a pretty good indication that everyone on the plane should stand down. I haven't been in that situation yet. I did however go to Perris last summer and was in the otter. Unexpectedly, the pilot leveled out at 8,000ft and said get out now or your coming down with the plane to the entire load. We looked out the door and saw a big storm was coming our way. You could see the sheets of rain coming down being pushed by strong winds. I was the only person on the Otter to stay with the plane. Went up near the pilot, buckled my seat belt and said i'm staying with the plane. (now, that being said, the ride down was um..how to say this...very interesting. I might get out next time ) No sooner than we got on the ground did 40mph "straight line" winds come through the landing area. Thankfully everyone was on the ground at that time. That was not a race I wanted to be in. In short, yes information received in the plane can be helpful in determining whether to jump or not. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I've jumped a Safire 2 159 @ ~1.35 (~250 jumps) and now am jumping a xf2 139 @ ~1.58 (~100 jumps). My experience has been the safire 2 had lighter front riser pressure but a shorter recovery arc than the xf2. I can harness turn my xf2 but couldn't do to much with the safire. I get slightly worried that some may take the xf2/safire2 discussions as the xf2 is suitable as a replacement for a safire2. It is not. The xf2 is much more responsive to inputs and can put you into the ground quickly. Carry on Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Fixed it Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Let me tell you a story, take it for what its worth: I am generally speaking a pretty anal guy when it comes to packing my main parachute. Its kind of ironic because I packed myself a malfunction when I only set one brake. I don't like other people packing for me. Anyway, I gave my canopy to a buddy who made a few (50!) jumps on it. He gave me the canopy back nicely packed in the Dbag and the lines stowed. So that Dbag is sitting there, the risers were attached and we were pretty careful at converting from one rig to the other. There were about 5 people there telling me to just close the rig up. To be fair half of them were kind of kidding and the other half were sort of serious. It took me a few minutes and I finally was like "fuck it - I'm repacking it". Sure as shit I unpacked it and it was a pretty ugly setup. Pretty sure I would have had a reserve ride. Long story short.....Open it up and repack it if you switch rigs. I wouldn't be as concerned about using the Dbag and pilot chute as long as it fits in the container well. Have a rigger check out the setup. Just in case you were wondering my position: Take the ten minutes to pack the rig! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I like to remind people that sometimes its not the intent of what you are trying to do with the canopy. Its how can you handle it when the unexpected happens. A toggle jerk at 85 feet because you are cut off by someone is going to be much different on an elliptical canopy even at the wing loading you are proposing. I would not recommend an elliptical canopy to anyone under 300 jumps. I think a manufacturers recommendation of 500 jumps is somewhat conservative for many pilots, but its a blanket policy to protect most people. I also believe to an extent people have the right to make there own choices. I only have 400 some odd jumps and I jump and elliptical. Talk with people you trust and take there advice wisely. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I was 16 dude. Best thing I've ever done. Took a few years off after that and got started again when I was 24 (could afford the time and money) Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Brian, I think the best thing to do is to avoid this situation all together. I feel the PCIT is probably one of the most preventable malfunctions out there. However, as we should be prepared for this situation I choose to cutaway anytime I'm sure Ive thrown the PC. It keeps my emergency procedures simple and consistent. My handles are numbered 1, 2, 3 in my head. If the count is started, I finish it in order. I do it this way if for no other reason than to keep it consistent. I don't think there is any way to know for sure what would happen to the main canopy if you do/ don't cutaway. In your example you assume the main will be removed from the Dbag..this may or may not happen. My goal is to avoid that situation. My choice if ever needed may prove fatal. (low altitude situations may arise that would require reserve deployment before cutting away- trying to avoid that situation too)

The SIM teaches two methods for dealing with a PCIT. Neither one is wrong. They key is to learn one procedure and practice it. Both methods can and have resulted in death. I choose to cutaway if i've thrown my pilot chute out. What will you do? Think about it and practice. Nobody can give you the chances - or percentages of the main staying in the container or leaving or ...... I'll try to get the SIM section posted. EDITED TO ADD SIM SECTION: Section 5-1: Total Malfunctions Pilot chute in tow procedure 1: Pull the reserve immediately. A pilot-chute-in-tow malfunctions is associated with a high descent rate and requires immediate action. The chance of a main-reserve entanglement is slim, and valuable time and altitude could be lost by initiating a cutaway prior to deploying the reserve. Be prepared to cutaway. Pilot chute in tow procedure 2: Cut away, then immediately deploy the reserve. Because there is a chance the main parachute could deploy during or as a result of the reserve activation, a cutaway might be the best response in some situations. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I worked hard on it. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

They've done some work in the area and its now a four lane road with the additional right hand turn/merge lane. General idea remains the same as the aerial photo you posted. On my way to work this morning I noticed something....fresh paint :( Sadly the lane I've been turning from now has a straight arrow on it. Now its time to ticket the people who cut in the turn lane at the last minute. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

painted lines only. no physical structure. The funny thing is and the reason I ask...there are usually two City PO's on motorcycle's at that intersection. I havn't been pulled over yet, but most of the time the PO's are there writing tickets. I think its because the right hand turn only lane has a light as well. A lot of cars don't stop and run the red arrow light backing up traffic on the cross st. (Rt. 29). More than once the Police havn't been writing tickets and I've pulled this stunt. Not sure if they saw me and decided it was legal or if they didn't see me. It sure beats getting pissed off watching the cars squeeze into the right hand turn lane and sitting there for 10 minutes. If i get a ticket...well I can't say I didn't try to do my homework! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

To be honest...i'm not even looking at my chest strap when I do it. With my XF2 I can "flare" the canopy use my right hand to loosen the chest strap and not even skip a beat. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Mike - So your 100% sure about this? Because that would be fantastic. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

There are no signs or arrows in the lane i'm turning from to indicate you can or can't turn. To make things clear, there is a third lane to my left in the sketch. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

didn't you see my divided white line on the far left of the sketch. That clearly indicates a third lane. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

And then we could nominate said person for one of those famous Darwin awards...that'd be fun. and people, please don't get all PC on me. Its a joke. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

haha...yep. I'm sure he'd send me right on my way. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

well... "Upon a highway having three marked lanes for traffic moving in one direction that terminates at an intersecting highway" I wonder if the merging lane (right hand turn lane) counts as terminating at an intersecting highway. This part might get me. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

But there are no arrows on the road. They may be coming soon as the whole area is kinda under construction, but for now I don't see why its illegal to turn right. We do it legally at almost every other intersection. I don't think the exclusive right hand turn lane which merges with the cross street automatically makes a right hand turn illegal. I'm not convinced its illegal. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I like my idea way better than the yahoo's who cruise past everyone then get in the exclusive right hand turn lane at the last minute cutting someone off This in turn makes the line of cars go much slower because about 5 cars per light squeeze into that right hand turn lane! Gotta love Bay Area traffic

Every morning I get quite frustrated on my way to work as many in the Bay Area do. When I get into American Canyon there is a lot of traffic congestion...we'll save the whole lets build 10,000 houses and no infrastructure discussion for later. So when I'm turning from American Canyon Rd to Rt. 29 the exclusive right hand turn lane is backed up forever! So I just drive by the exclusive lane up to the light where there is no back up. I wait for the light to turn green and I make a right hand turn. I don't see anything wrong with it as there are no signs or road arrows indicating I must go straight or turn left. See attached sketch. Some at work think its illegal. What do you think? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Just an update to this story with video The Gryphon http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352477,00.html Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.