SkymonkeyONE

What kills people, like Jarno said, is rushing and forgetting the basic pull principles taught in a good FFC. To get around large wings, the technique has always been: ARCH, touch your fingers below your rig, bring your hands up to the bottom of your rig, locate the BOC/Handle, deploy with violence of action. If you do not arch, then you are not going to be able to get around your wing and touch your fingers together. You will, instead, be trying to reach through the wing fabric. The bigger the wing, the more critical the pull sequence. Make no mistake, though; there are a LOT of people out there who deploy in full flight and don't even bother to bring their left armwing in at pull time (BASE guys for sure and Purple Mike as well). Ultimately, people are going to do what they want, so long as it works for them. Still, the best way to avoid the problem in the first place is simply to go back to the tried and true FFC method. Chuck BMCI-4 (among other things)

VealedBlow, don't go. Or do.. Lord knows we all need a break sometimes.

Then perhaps PD had been licensed John Eiff's design....?

I totally agree. What has always perplexed me, though, is the fact that Yves continues to use a Porter as his "launch" aircraft. It would be SO much easier for him to just step backwards off a tailgate.

Looks like he knocked the shit out of that spool. Those are HARD to break.

Likewise. My first one was on the old, OLD, original dropzone.com. Only three forums back then: talkback, gear and rigging, safety and training.

I see no evidence of this supposed rack replacement

Ninja 250'a are in incredibly high demand these days. They are perfect for commuting, never mind the seemingly-anemic performance as compared to larger bikes. If you want a bigger bike get one, but I would keep that Ninja 250 simply for the economical reasons you already listed. Chuck (I have four bikes and a scooter)

Me too

You got THAT right! I have polarized lenses on everything EXCEPT my skydiving sunglasses. I don't wear goggles.

You mean Stump Liquor, fool!

I believe the problem to stem from some girly-men lobbing limp-wristed PC throws.

Everyone with a brain in their head ought to copy this info to their desktop before it disappears. Seriously.

We give them certificates, bumper stickers, price sheets for the AFF program, and if they did a CAT A training tandem we start a four-page ISP card for them.

You know, back in the day, you could not compete at nationals at all unless you had a D license and had competed at a regional competition. My D license still stays "Master License"

seconded.

I am just glad that my fighter pilot flying motherfucker buddy, Matt Miller, didn't die on that jump. His exposure to "unusual attitudes" in his flight training probably helped in this instance.

Thanks for the back-up Andrea and Scott. It's common sense. We, in wingsuits, are adding an added level of complexity to our skydives. You know, my deployment altitude for my first 800 wingsuit jumps was 4000 feet. I still don't normally deploy much below that because the meat of the skydive is over and I like to dump high and get my canopy configured for the swoop. Wingsuit jumps are much like AFF instructor jumps or tandems in that we have that additional factor to deal with. At least that's the way I deal with them as a life-long instructor. January 13th 2011 will be my 30th year anniversary in skydiving. I plan on jumping another 30. Know what I'm sayin, See what I'm sayin, Feel what I'm Sayin? What are we doing, having a know-what-I'm-Sayinsus?

I have over 2.200 wingsuit jumps with a hackey: no issues. I DO, on the other hand, know at least two buddies who have had their PC hackeys knot up on them during deployment.

Have fun with it, brother. They are great suits.

In case any of you do not know me personally, skydiving instruction is what I do for a living. I have been a rated jumpmaster/instructor since 1982. I possess an AFF-I, SL-I, Tandem-I (three manufacturers), am PRO rated, and am an S&TA. Never mind the fact that I am instructor rated by three wingsuit manufacturers and am BMCI/Examiner rated by two. At any rate, coming from that frame of mind I can tell you in no uncertain terms that jumping without an AAD these days is akin to telling a gay guy that it's cool to fuck without a rubber. If your life is worth less than $1,200 dollars then go for it. If not, then buy an AAD. If, God help you, you DO get hit so hard in freefall that you get knocked out, would you rather the recovery party find you intact under a fully-deployed reserve, or would you prefer they find a ball of jelly on the ground. I, for one, have walked up on both scenarios and I can tell you with 100% certainty that it's much more pleasant to recover a body which has landed under a canopy. I jumped for 18 years without an AAD and it didn't bug me one bit. The AAD options back then were not ellegant, misfired often, and were generally scorned by experienced jumpers. it's been over 13 years since the introduction of the CYPRES AAD. They are small, work EVERY time, and are not so expensive that a skydiver can't afford them. I got my first one 13 years ago when my Dad got his first one. He was getting older, was having occasional "faint" moments, and realized that he ought not be jumping with students without one. That Christmas he bought him one, me one, and my youngest sister one. That first unit "expired" about a year ago and I just replaced it with another AAD (a Vigil 2). At our dropzone if you are working with students you must have an AAD in your rig. No exceptions whatsoever. If you cannot afford one, then the DZ will buy you one and you can pay them back. As far as wingsuiting goes, the very-first BirdMan wingsuit FFC brief included a blurb about how it MIGHT be possible for you to fly right through your AAD "wake up" altitude and for it not to function due to the low vertical speed in a wingsuit. In the decade since that original course sylabus I will tell you that there have been a total of zero incidents where a wingsuit student has flown through that altitude and had an AAD not function. Quite the contrary: If you go tumbling through your arming altitude in a wingsuit in a spin then your AAD will absolutely function. The ONLY time I can recall where an AAD may not have saved an individual is the death of Chris Martin who, at the time, was the 2nd most experienced wingsuit pilot on the planet. He was unconscious under a 21 square foot canopy which brake-fired upon opening. That is an absolute anomoly though because he did not intend to land that canopy. Ultimately, you are doing yourself a disservice if you are too cheap to buy a modern AAD. Your life IS worth the cost of the device. I know MINE is. I own five rigs and all are equipped with AAD's. That is all, Chuck Blue, D-12501

While I can appreciate your enthusiasm and dedication to your chosen method, Sonic, I am going to have to disagree with you. I have been a rated instructor since 1982 and have always worked at schools that use the "one hand per handle" EP method. That's three different dropzones and four different schools. Ultimately, I think it's like Tim said: be confident in your procedures and practice them repeatedly on EVERY skydive. I touch my handles in the order I will use them not less than five times every ride to altitude. I make my AFF students do it over and over on the ground and in the plane as well. I don't think it's dumb luck that I have never seen any of our students bounce because of an out of sequence cutaway. Just my opinion and experiences as a VERY experienced instructor who uses the "obsolete" method. Your mileage, though, clearly varies. Good thread though. I like a good debate, even if it's started by an Iranian. Chuckie, D-12501 AFF/SL/TM-I, PRO, S&TA

You missed the "other" way to do partial: just the removable slider. I have them on all my rigs, even my Sabre2 has one. I hate wasting time in the air fucking around with stowing sliders.

Yeah, it's the suit Voodew sent me a couple of years ago. There are actually two tall/skinny guys here at Raeford that fit in it. One already owns an S-Bird. Back to the original post: Lyle Presse had one of those first run S.U.I.T.s It had been sitting in a box for a very long time and I doubt it had five jumps on it.

Would all of you squirrels pleases stop feeding the nut! This use to be a serious forum. This thread is AWESOME!