jacketsdb23

Tommy...miss you man. Take care of all our friends at the various boogies this holiday season. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I agree, Mikhail, don't put yourself in that situation. What if you had a crossfire or some other slow opening canopy?

Beth, It may turn into a SNOW. Anyway, i'd be down. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I learned on a SOS system. So things were a bit different. However, after switching over to rigs with a cutaway and reserve side handle I learned the two hands on cutaway, look at reserve, pull cutaway, pull reserve. At some point (for whatever reason-more comfortable?) I started practicing one hand on each handle multiple times before each jump. When it came time to cutaway I used one hand on each as it was almost automatic. When it comes time to do your EP's your going to do whatever it is you practice. Have a method, stick to it and practice it. I believe each method is widely accepted with a myriad of pros and cons for each. As long as you get that main cutaway and reserve out...all is good :) Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

There are a few of us that live in San Francisco that jump out at Byron. If you do a quick search i'm sure you'll find opinions of pros/cons of each of the other DZ's in the area. Hit me up when you get out here. I'm always down to party. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Just want to add that sometimes a plan B landing spot is behind you! You don't always need to keep flying toward the planned landing area. If you aren't going to make it take a look at what is behind you. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

furthermore, there are many people who downsize "early" that don't make an issue of it and who get proper training and don't pop up on any radar screens because for the most part they do it "right". Yes accidents happen. If everyone always flew a 220 challenger whether you have 20,000 jumps or 20 jumps there would be far fewer landing accidents. If your looking to DZ.com for advice on downsizing you probably aren't ready. We could all stop jumping out of planes too. If you ask people for advice and you don't like what you hear...stop asking or take the advice. Its pretty simple. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

It seems strange to me that there is even questions about how far to pull the damn handles. I'm not sure if my cutaway cables were completely cleared from the housing but I know that I was falling away from a bad main last month before I pulled the reserve handle. I think this Pulling the cut-away cable all the way out issue is really an awarenss issue. Edited to add: The RSL beat me to the punch...but making sure my main was going away was criteria to pull the reserve. Not checking to see if the cutaway cables cleared the housing. Nobody had to ask me twice to pull hard when the time came. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Hey now...I paid my dues saturday night! I bet you were off flocking somewhere but...i'll buy you a beer on thursday night anyway...just because I'm a nice guy. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I agree. I don't know how I missed it. I f'ed up. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Mark - I did have a RSL on this jump. [Reply]Thanks for taking the time to share this. Would you mind explaining how you were able to determine that you hadn't stowed one of the brakes? Are you sure you made a mistake and that it wasn't just one of those random things that happen? The toggle was "stowed" securely in place but it wasn't placed through the loop in the brake line. With a brake fire during opening the toggle would have to become unsecured from the riser. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

As DZ.com can be a source of knowledge for some I thought I might share my experience this weekend, so that at the very least maybe it helps a new jumper or two. The skydive was normal 4-way sit fly until I tracked and pulled. After I threw out the pilot chute (neptune said depl. 3200 ft) my canopy immediately spun me into three or four line twists. The canopy was also spinning and diving. I managed to kick out of the line twists by 2000 ft but the canopy was still diving and turning. I went up to reach for what I thought was a brake fire and the rear grommets on my slider had come down over my toggles. I was going through 1800 ft and decided to get rid of it instead of messing with the slider to release the other brake. The reserve opened fine and I landed next to my chopped main and freebag. It turns out after inspecting the canopy that I had packed it with only one brake stowed. I've been packing since I was ten. This is the first time that I know of where I've done this. Variables: It was only my second jump on this particular canopy. I had just changed over from a semi-eliptical to an eliptical. (safire to xf). I had not experienced the diving and spinning before. That combined with the slider coming down over my toggles just presented me with too many things to fix before my decision altitude of 1800ft. I *think* I could have dealt with the slider and the brake situation but would have been a lot lower than I was comfortable with. I'm happy with the decision I made. With another 50 or so jumps on this canopy I'm not sure that it would have been a chop. Things I've learned: There is no place for complacency in packing or any other part of skydiving. I fucked up my own pack job. No excuses for that. I'm happy with my hard deck. Could I have fixed the brake issue? probably - but I don't know how low I would have been. I was unfamiliar with the canopy to a large degree and turning faster than I was used too. The slider wasn't collapsed so there was also a bunch of fabric partially obstructing my view of the toggles. I think in the long run I am happier cutting away at my predetermined altitude then having a main flying straight by 1000-1400ft. Bad packing and flying a unfamiliar canopy led to this. Play safe everyone! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

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

...RSL's clipped to the large ring of the 3-ring.... Saw a RSL routed through the large ring of the 3-ring and then attached to the normal spot on the riser this past weekend at our boogie. Another jumper saw it on the plane during the ride to altitude. Scary. I'm not sure if the RSL would have worked its way through the large 3-ring or not. Glad it was caught. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Well Lany....I'm pretty sure 'Hot Sauce' is in reference to some crazy dude (are you kidding me?) who drank a bottle of hot sauce. But it wasn't me... Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Lena, sorry to hear you and Mikey can't make it. We'll get that jump in some time soon! Take care up there in beautiful Montana. Blue Skies Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

yes either or. I wouldn't encourage downsizing and landing downwind though. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Winds are never a problem at Byron. The 3,000+ wind mills are just for aesthetics. Actually, we tell everyone to downsize before coming to jump at Byron. I recommend two downsizes in the off chance that winds are around 30 knots. But not to worry I looked at the weather forecast. Winds are supposed to be around 0 next weekend. Disclaimer: just playing. please do not take this post seriously.

If you make it North, hit up Dick Swanson's place in Plattsburg, NY. Malone Parachute Club at Plattsburg I think is the name now. Top notch bunch of guys. Its been a while since i've been out there....a long time actually...but that place has been around for ever and has a GREAT vibe! Blue Skies Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

"i just wanna live" - Good Charlote "learning to fly" - Pink Floyd Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Scott, Depending on # of Tandems....Byron is open wed-sun. Wed & Thursday probably just the cessna. But call and ask. Friday sometimes brings out the King Air. On Sat & Sun the King Air going. www.bayareaskydiving.com for more info. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

hahahaha...congratulations! Enjoy the beer and drink it with some peeps who can share some stories and pass on the knowledge. Stay safe! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

QuoteI just sold my fast canopy Quote Yes...its a treat for us all to watch the new owner on said canopy. Ask our boy Fozz up at Lost Prairie!! Ooops! On a serious note...my father used to jump a challenger 220. He was 160lbs out the door. He loved it and you couldn't tell him any different. He thinks i'm nuts for jumping my safire2 159. Different strokes for different folks. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

And that would be one additional case for your FIRST case Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Tommy, So tonight we ride. I know you'll be with us on our trip up to LP. I miss you man. We'll crack a Skydiver Blonde for you when we get there. I'm sure you and Joel are causing all sorts of trouble. Peace my friends. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.