VideoFly

I had to stop and get something to eat ... At the crematorium?

Symbiosis suits are fantastic!

Another reason I find it important to be on your risers is that I find that if you even the ends of the risers or get them level with each other, you can stand a better chance of having the canopy fly straight while untwisting the lines. Otherwise, the canopy might tend to dive while untwisting. On the other hand, I have had twists with an eliptical canopy and over a 2 to 1 wing loading that just wanted to keep twisting in spite of my efforts to untwist my lines. In that case, by having your arms extended up on your risers while you look at your lines, your altimeter is in plain sight.

For me and my current main, I would definitely go to my reserve below 2,000 feet. In the last 100 jumps, I’ve typically had 1,500 foot snivels on my main whereas I used to have 800 to 1,200 foot snivels. My main is old and porous and it’s probably ready for a third line set. Also, where I jump, there are lots of 100+ foot trees in wide-based dense wooded areas (not to mention the Great Dismal Swamp) with sporadic great fields to land in. Even if I was in the saddle at 1,000 feet with my main, I might need a little extra altitude to make it to a safe landing zone. Furthermore, my reserve is not the boogie-man. It’s a perfectly good canopy with in this situation, a lot of possible advantages. As far as my main is concerned, I got a new one today. If I were still jumping Sabre’s I’d go to my main at 1,800 feet and after jumping my new canopy, I might consider changing my current plan. But with the possibility of line twists, bag lock, long snivels, a cypres fire with two out, or other common inconveniences or malfunctions, I would go directly to my reserve below 2,000 feet.

I like to keep a thin nylon bag in my jumpsuit leg pocket so when I land off, I can daisy chain my lines and stuff the canopy with the lines in the bag. It only takes a few minutes. That way, when a neighbor or someone from the DZ gives me a ride back, I don’t have to worry about catching my stuff on things and damaging my gear.

Mount the still camera vertically or kiss it goodbye.

I have had a similar problem on several occasions. The toothaches felt so bad, I could hardly pay attention during the canopy ride. Trying to figure the problems out, I’ve come up with three causes. First, I’ve had the toothache feeling from sinus blockage in freefall. I am almost sure it was from sinuses because the pain was in my gums and I leave my dentures on the ground when I jump. Second, when I had teeth, I think I’ve had pain from gases escaping or bubbles expanding within a tooth’s cavity. Third, again with teeth, I’ve had toothaches when smiling in freefall in below zero temperatures. Check with your dentist...teeth are a good thing.

Repair it or replace it. Whichever the owner wishes. The owner knowingly takes a risk when lending and the borrower takes a risk when borrowing. Both parties should do the right thing.

Stay focused on a brighter future and feel better. Get well soon. We feel your pain and celebrate your wellness.

While you take impeccable care of your aircraft, how often do you have its systems checked within a twelve-year period? I have my car inspected annually, whether it needs repair or not. As with the percussion detonation mechanism of an airbag, I have little doubt that the percussion cutter of an AAD would not fail when detonated. As I said before, it’s the electronic systems that trigger detonation that may be prone to failure outside of tolerable ranges. I’ve seen many cars with the airbag light on, which only needed to be reset, not repaired. My car has a faulty dash cluster module and periodically, all my gauges go haywire. Despite what my gauges read, I know I’m not doing 120 at over 7 grand RPM. On the other hand, I’ve driven cars without airbags for years and to tell you the truth, I have no problem driving older cars without them now. Just as many skydivers choose to jump without AAD’s for one reason or another. To each his own, although I wish one of my buddies had one when he struck the tail of a King Air. While I’m sure all AAD’s are well made, personally, I like having my Cypres checked every four years.

Very often, back pain is the result of stress at home, at work, or possibly even at the DZ while learning to jump. In addition to checking with a doctor, consider using relaxation techniques to ease life’s stress. I have had several discs removed and have had more surgeries recommended. Instead, I lift weights regularly and include back-building exercises in my routine. While it might not seem like it, skydiving can be a very physical sport and as in most sports, regular physical conditioning is important. Get a doctor’s advice and consider working out.

Electronic devices often move out of tolerable ranges in four or more years. This is not unique to Cypres units. You see it in car electronics, thermostats, radios, and more. Although inconvenient, it might be a good thing to keep a life saving device within stringent tolerances. The variability of performance in all electronic devices is to be expected. It makes me wonder about Cypres competitors who don’t require periodic checks. I too had a Cypres require service in Germany about seven years ago. I rented one from my rigger while it was out and the service adjustment gave me piece of mind.

Wings obscuring handles is certainly one of the many hazards added to skydiving when shooting video. Personal recommendations include a thorough familiarization with your wings and the appropriate size for you, your main canopy and the appropriate choice for video work, deployment techniques, and a sufficient deployment altitude, which allows for handling inconveniences and emergencies. Video equipment can definitely add dangerous variables and difficulties to a jump and videographers need to be aware of that. It sounds like you were heads up and did a great job handling your EP’s.

Sorry, I meant missing the reserve toggles.

I checked another bag of stuff and found an almost new set of risers with toggles. They are the wider risers, not the ones with the mini three-rings and velcro-backed yellow toggles. PM me if you want them and I will send them to you, no charge.

1- Pretty Woman 2- The Notebook (broke my heart because it reminded me of my parents) 3- Devil Wears Prada 4- Beauty and the Beast (1946- French version: La Belle et la Bete) Directed by Jean Cocteau. Black and white with subtitles (don’t bother with the English dubbed version). It is an incredibly romantic film.

I recently bought a container which was missing the reserve risers. After asking around the DZ, another jumper gave me a set from his spare parts bag. I often give away parts to others in similar situations. Ask around before buying and someone may have some toggles for you. Unfortunately, I checked my boxes of parts and did not find any toggles to send you, but ask the people you jump with and hopefully, some toggles will turn up.

A real beauty. It reminds me of my hiding place when I used to cut class in high school. It was a fun and cheap car in those days.

I have a difficult time getting out of the front seat of the R44 with a rig on and the door off. I haven't tried jumping from the rear seat, but it seams like it would be a little tight. Also, the uneven weight distribution of two jumpers may be difficult to handle.

The problem with packing your own reserve is that if it doesn’t open, it’s more gratifying to curse someone else rather than yourself on your way in.

Lying on back to change sink faucets. Standing on toes and reaching up high to install a storm door. Standing on a chair to hang ceiling fans. Kneeling on knees and hunching over to replace wall sockets. Curling arms to paint walls. Rolling up old carpet and nailing wood down. Flicking the wrist to pull out a credit card.

I noticed the lens change when I switched from the 22 to the 33 and adjusted my flying to accommodate it.

TRV22 and TRV33 are good, durable, and cheap skydiving video cameras. They have LANC ports and touch screen transitions to save on editing time.

My flying changed drastically when I lost 40 pounds in a couple of months. Most specifically, I had to change the way I flew to fall fast in my camera wings while filming heavy tandems. The weight loss was due to a year of experimental chemotherapy and since recovery, I’ve regained almost 20 pounds. I was able to do 125 jumps while in treatment and I credit much of my ability to survive to skydiving. It helped to keep me pressing on.

My father.