SkymonkeyONE

Dave, I think you missed Ed's main point: as a dual-rated instructor (T and AFF), he is best able to take that student from zero to hero. I completly agree with him on that point. The absolute best example of the "one man show" is Paul Rafferty. There is a lot to be said for one-on-one instruction from start to finish. Tandem Progression (use whatever acronym you please) is fantastic for dropzones with fewer, but more qualified instructors which have a heavy student load. I can't imagine a scenario where taking a student on three training tandems, then taking him on a full altitude release dive (solo exit especially) without an AFF-rated I would be within the BSR's. Chuck (another dual-rated instructional machine)

That is a fantastic statement. Spot on, as it applies to both both radical, unplanned evasionary/emergency landings as well as planned HP landings. In order to result in safe landings, both must start with a good setup and as best a flight plan as you can manage.

I have seen them in action at two different boogies now and will say that in both cases, the canopies were being overloaded. This was clearly evident by the abreviated swoops and the canopies wanting to "fall off" (stall) at the end of the swoops. Yes, they came out of the sky very fast and seemed to turn fast (due to high loading I would say), but all appeared to be bouncing around quite a bit in the wind. The two that I saw at Eloy two Holiday Boogies ago reacted exactly the same as the one that a visiting German couple at Lake Wales was trading back and forth last week. It's a great looking canopy, but it was obvious to me on both occasions that while the canopy was "landable" at that heavy wingload, all parties would have benefitted greatly (in swoop control and distance) with bigger canopies. By comparrison, I was equally able to safely land the Competition Cobalt 65 I was test jumping a couple of years ago, but jumping it as a regular main would have been pointless because my swoop distance and general control envelope suffered immensely. Chuck

Jim fucking ripped that one. Noice.

I used to jump a set of integrity risers and never had a problem with them.

Very nice sequential photos. Kevin ought to add those to his site. I will have them added to the BirdMan site as well if you don't mind.

That sounds really fun, Dave! I am always excited to hear about things that actual skydivers are doing. You know, the kind of stuff you would hear around the fire at your dropzone. These are the threads that Talkback used to have back in the day.

If that dude showed up at Raeford, I would have taken him on a Cat A tandem and let him do all the work. If he did well, then great; his next skydive (after the AFF ground course) would be a Cat B AFF and he would not have wasted a penny by doing his first jump as a "tandem." If he didn't like freefall, then he would know immediately, without "wasting" seven hours in a full ground class. Chuck

Like Jason said. Any amount of harness steer can be equalized with toggles. Attaching your legstraps together (freefly safety style) defeats the purpose and restricts (in some cases) your ability to harness turn. FWIW, I don't use legstrap ties for anything and I have never experienced any problem with my legstraps slipping so far I couldn't fix them with a simple change of attitude. You can't use legstrap ties on wingsuit jumps anyway, so it's not worth the effort for me to put them on and take them off when I feel like standing up in freefall. Chuck

Could be worse. You could have them pulled then have two grow back, only to have to be extracted again, years later. Think that's impossible? Think again.

Those tandems, not your fun jumping, are what pays for your airplane. Letting the props spin for a couple of minutes waiting for a tandem or AFF is much more cost efficient than sending a load light without it, that's just the economics of the sport.

it sounds to me like the person simply didn't care to keep track of where that main fell, thus they probably don't even know where to look. The person ought to have been more heads-up.

People used to do that stuff all the time. Watch any old Freak Brothers Convention tape and see plenty of it.

Not smaller by any means, but one mustn't rule out The Ranch PSN. I understand it will be back to the "old" format and possibly run on both coasts this year. Most people nowadays are smart enough to list their meets on this forum so that it will get maximum exposure. Jim's site is getting a bit of traffic now too and is another great place to get current info on what's going on where. The Florida series will be a fun diversion for people living in that state or who want to get away and make those meets. We just had a fun little four-round cash meet in Dublin, GA that went well. Not sure if they will be running anymore meets at ASC, but I know Hans is definitely going to be running a meet at the new DZ up near Rock Mart.

Steve-O (Steve Utter) rear risers the piss out of his CF2.

BirdMan will be there (me and Scott), Alti-2 will be there, I think JumpShack will be there. Not sure about who else. I talked to Derek Thomas last weekend and he didn't know if he was sending anyone (sunpath).

I have done that to someone. They deserved it.

I had forgotten about that, Erk. First out when using a Skyvan can be an incredible hassle (opening and securing the door) if the plane is full of birdies. Still, I only once had to do it myself; all the other times getting a "regular" jumper who was to exit after us to handle the door. It's not really that big a deal for taller birdies, but it was a motherfucker for me to do in a wingsuit. When given a choice of jumpships at the convention for mass flocks, I will always choose the rear exits, so doing whatever it takes to get the door open is worth it to me. I think I split my flights 75% tailgate: 25% Otter last year. Chuck

I know of very few places that wouldn't charge the jumper for the lost equipment. Even the military clubs hold you 100% accountable for the gear you rent from them. This seems only to recently have become an issue, when today's jumpers don't have sense enough to land with their main. I have seen many, many people chop, then fly their reserve straight to the main landing area, not once looking to see where their main might have went. Skydiving is an expensive sport and you better pay attention to where your chops land less you lose your precious $2400 crossbrace. I have landed my reserve intentionally in a briar patch for fear of losing a "ball of shit" main which landed right there. At the Eloy Holiday Boogie, some moron went and jumped the Skyhook cutaway rig from RWS. The guy did the chop, never looked at the main, landed the "reserve" in the main landing area, then simply dropped the unpacked rig off back at Egon's booth and walked off, not even attempting to go fetch the main! Unbelievable. Anway, if the place you are renting from has your packjob and slot included in the rental and the staff packed it, then it's likely that your rental contract will not hold you libel. If you are simply renting the equipment and you are packing it, then I can almost guarantee you that you will be held responsible for replacement. I have assisted, out of the kindness of my heart, many people in their recovery efforts and only once or twice have we failed to locate the equipment. When you KNOW you are responsible for gear, then you are far more likely to walk that extra mile in efforts to recover it.

There were several different variations of stuff sent. The current packet has washers for the screws when you use the wrist mount (no backing plate). Mine had a backing plate, but I misread when "not" to use it.

Another option is the incredibly freaky-looking BoneHead Boomerang. NightJumper (Big Mike Forsythe from JumpShack) has one of the biggest damn heads I have ever seen and he loves his. Says "it's the only thing that will fit my cow head."

Agreed, Glen. No amount of experience proved enough to keep some people from flying off to Missouri, so while we might jack the minimums back up to the "recommended" level of 500, I doubt it will make much difference. We are still going to get the occasional lost sheep. I am 100% down with getting out last/upwind. That said, I very-seriously doubt we are going to get to take it out as far as we would like and we still are going to have to fly straight out and not come all the way back. That puts us all pulling high again, just like we always end up doing at these things, then getting bitched at for it. Listen, I never jump a canopy over 97 square feet, but you can bet your ass I am going to land "in" every single time. Smarter; MUCH smarter, is landing your canopy over next to the swoop pond. Staying upwind in your suit on that side and opening far enough out to allow you to just make that area worked fantastically for me last year. Another great place to fly back to for a safe opening/landing was the crossing runway; the one that had the golf course at the end. I had great luck opening over there and flying back down the runway and ending up next to Camp Colorado. Oh, and by the way, Bryan Burke was the S&TA, not the "dzo" or "dzm" of the event. Actually, I am not even sure that is accurate because as far as I know, the convention isn't a USPA group member anymore. Still, Bryan is the S&TA.

My two favorite teams are Auburn and anyone playing Bama. War Damn Eagle!

My team got 3rd place in 4-way scrambles. I sucked in Hit and Rock, but looked damn good swooping the piss out of my big parachute (the 97) as I flew past the intended target by 20 feet. It was a fun time and more "younger" people ought to get involved in the organization. Amazingly, there was at least one guy over 60 jumping a Velo at 2.2. Sweet! Chuck

Ottley is an institution. Lots of us at Raeford have him on speed dial and don't hesitate to drunk-dial him when we are all up till the wee hours. Chuck