MotherGoose

Right, its not how you do it because its not strongly enforced. It's how screwed you will be if you have an accident and it can be proven that clearly laid out rules were not followed. But every DZ I've been to choses some rules to follow and others to not follow. It's the plain nature of the sport. Even the strictest DZO I've met is known for breaking the rules when it suits him to get his tandems in the air. We, as TI's, make the FINAL call though. If you break the rules, you are prepared to pay the price. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

TK, see Andrew's post above? This is exactly what the DZO up here is saying. Bill Booth has personally told certain people that Sigma mains should be flat packed. The contradiction is of course that the manual shows (Pablo?) pro-packing the main with step by step details to that effect. There is NO mention of flat-packing. If you email the rigger at UPT regarding this issue, the response is abrupt and straightforward : "Please follow the manual". I don't mean to knock flat-packing. I have well over 1000 paid flatpacks (over half of which were Sigma mains). If done properly, there should not be an issue. I'm just trying to correlate root cause to my mals. It seems that brake line twisting is the major culprit. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I don't mean to get into an argument or anything but if you flat pack properly, you start off with the canopy in a sideways orientation, but end up with a stack where the nose is at the bottom and the tail is at the top. At that point you just make sure your lines are all clear and centered. My problem is that if a canopy doesn't have cell tabs, it probably wasn't meant to be flat-packed. Also, with elliptical laying on its side, the cells are not at equal heights which makes it trickier to flake them all out and ensure line tension. EDIT : I can't believe I just read my post and realized what I wrote. It should say FLAT PACKING ellipticals doesn't make sense. Sorry. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Dave, I wish I could supervise the packing mat all day and still make my jumps. The packers have been told, the rest is up to them. I have to trust that its being done. Ashli, its good to hear that the shorties are shoulder packing, something that MANY people think is not doable. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Our head rigger has mandated the use of all equipment that is available. Basically, if it's there, UPT meant for it to be there so the snaps are in use always. That being said, the equipment is slowly being switched over to the new tuck tab riser/toggle setup. The DZO has agreed to start "looking into" alternative packing methods (in light of the recent spate of mals I would imagine), and he is interested in the drop hook PRO pack. Any word on which is better, shoulder or hook ? I have never personally used a hook. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I'm drawing a parallel to the flat packing as well, it just doesn't make sense to flat pack an elliptical main of that size. Plus a canopy with lines that long is better packed standing up to maintain tension as long as possible. I see lost tension on flat packing all the time. Rhys, I understand the untwisting of the brake lines, they get very twisted because most TI's don't stow in the field and if packers aren't diligent with untwisting them then it can be a major cause of tension knots. With the slower opening mains, like Sigma, there is more time for lines to knot up while they dance around above the slider at linestretch, before opening up. I'm not concerned about line twists, I've caused a line twist opening or two because of shitty body position on opening and I don't worry about them, even the really bad ones. The canopy seems to stay on heading and behave so why worry, just wait for it to unwind. I did almost chop one recently due to a locked toggle. I thought for sure I was screwed after trying countless times to pull it out. Eventually, as a last ditch effort, with no energy left, I reached up and pulled at the snap and out she came, nice and easy. I am not a fan of the snaps on Sigma. I prefer the new tabs they have. EDIT : I made an error (explained in a post below) You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

What if the DZO is absolutely convinced that at some point, somewhere, Bill Booth went on record as saying that Sigma mains should be flat-packed? I like the idea of stowing the excess brake line at the cascade with an elastic. Another DZ I jump at does that with Precision mains. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Busted. I forgot all about that one! But the best part is this is openly violated on a daily basis all around the world ! You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Hey guys, I really need to talk with some other TI's regarding tandem mals. I'm putting myself out there on this flame-infested site , but I don't care, I need some answers and the perspectives of other more experienced tandem instructors. I'd like to know if you've had a tandem mal before, what system were you jumping, what kind of mal was it and how many tandem mals you have had over your career? Here's the fun part, I have had 3 tandem mals in my first 75 tandems. I have a Sigma rating, jumping moslty 370's but on occasion I use 395's. Each time I had a mal it was a tension knot at the brake cascade that would not clear no matter what I tried so I had to cutaway a spinning main. Each time it was on a 370 with Dacron lines. Each time the canopy was FLAT packed. I need to talk about this because I have NOT had a mal on my regular gear. (intentional cutaway for the TI course) I truly believe that I did what I could under the circumstances to clear the mal but could not get it fixed. Sure on the first one, I spent very little time fighting a spinner with someone attached to me. But I know for sure that on the second one, I stayed way more calm and had a good look at the mess of lines at the cascade. I pulled the riser, I pulled the toggle, yanking away at it with all my might. I had almost TOO much confidence on the second one as I was in the saddle under the reserve sub 3000 ft. By the third one, I was also playing around with it, trying to free it up and I was in a much steeper spin on my back this time with a much heavier student. The third one was witnessed by many from the ground and they said it looked brutal. Anhow, I'm sitting here second guessing myself. Is it possible that its just bad luck or am I doing something wrong? Should I be able to clear a tension knot? Is there a technique? Are Sigma elliptical mains meant to be flat-packed? Do you think the packing style is contributing to the tension knots or is it perhaps my body position or something I am doing wrong at deployment? What are your thoughts? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (P.S. I put the word YET in the title on purpose) You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I'm not even sure most Sigma tandem schools even know of these restrictions. How many people read the whole manual ? This section wasn't even mentioned in my TI course. We all just kind of assume that the DZO/gear owner knows the rules and follows them. In the end though, the ultimate liability lies on the shoulders of the TI and for that reason, I will not break the rules that UPT has set forth. If there is a videographer on the rotation that does not meet the minimum requirements, I don't do the particular tandems that he/she is assigned to. There are plenty of MUCH more experienced TI's that will likely not care though, so that videographer will still get the work. It all boils down to your own decisions in the end. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I hear you, and I patiently await the release of technology that will give us DSLR-quality stills with HD video in one package. I don't think we're that far away, although we all know that electronics manufacturers withhold the advance of technology in an effort to make more sales. The next 5 years will be very exciting though, me thinks. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Does Contour have the still photo feature like GoPro ? With 1080, the screenshots from video should be high quality, whats the max image size on a screenshot from video though? Has anyone played around with this ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

My point ? I'm not making a point, I'm answering a question. Cphelan mentioned that the topic of currency had not come up. It is referred to clearly by UPT that you need to do a minimum of 100RW jumps EVERY year to stay current enough to fly tandem video. Beyond that, if you do 200 a year or 1000 a year, UPT doesn't care. Obviously the more you jump the better chance you have of being a good flyer, but from a legal and liability standpoint, you need to complete 100RW jumps every year to fly tandem video on Sigma. So, once you have completed a minimum of 500 RW jumps, 100 of which must be video jumps, you can fly video on a Sigma tandem as long as you stay current by a minimum of 100 relative work jumps every year. (TI or AFFI rating trumps the initial 500 RW jump minimum.) You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

UPT clearly states that you need 100 RW jumps in the last year. See qualification #3 attached. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Most talked about does not necessarily mean best quality right ? I thought neither was any good for saleable video, has this changed ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

The bad news is, you could die trying. In any case, anyone looking for minimum requirements, should always stick to the mfr's req's in the least. Interesting that Strong is so much less strict than Sigma. Do you have a link to some verbiage ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I understand that Strong and Racer (including some international brands) will all have their own rules. I'm not familiar with these because I don't have their rating. I just know that Bill Booth presents a clear restriction on tandem RW with Sigma gear. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

There was recently a good discussion on this HERE If you take the time to read through all the posts, you will find the legal liabilities in not following UPT's strict guidelines. UPT clearly spells out the tandem RW restrictions in their Sigma manual. To answer your question in a nutshell, I follow the Sigma requirements when allowing someone to jump relative to me when Im in a TI role. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Screen grab attached. Saskia, what camera are you using ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Well I think you know which one is my favourite ! What's the name and artist ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I love the song in that video ! You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Left Thursday night at 10pm, arrived Friday night at 9pm. Jumped all day Saturday and all day Sunday and left Sunday after sunset 6:30pm. Arrived home Monday at about 10:30pm (snowstorm in Tenn). 6 friends in a van for 51 hours, wouldn't trade it for anything. Best skydiving trip hands down. Sometimes you gotta get a little crazy. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

It doesn't matter where you jump, go somewhere warm for a few jumps in the winter to stay current. I drive to Z-hills in the winter and this past February, 6 of us did a WEEKEND roadtrip from Toronto to Florida. Anyone care to bring up that passion argument again ?? It was DIRT cheap to split gas between 6 people and we even shared 1 motel room. Lasting memories are created from experiences like these. Edited to add this link : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3469296&id=124376830059 You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

You'll progress at your own pace, we all do. If someone is not answering your questions, don't go to them. This can't be any more simple. You said yourself your DZ has plenty of quality jumpers/instructors. But I'll tell you this, if you truly believe that statement you made, you're in for a good cry. Skydivers are humans, and very weird humans at that. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Great, but what I cannot understand . . . as an outsider reading your post on the internet from 1000's of miles away is . . . why are good instructors not answering the questions of a curious novice ?? The answer will not be found in your post, it will only be found in a dialogue between you and the individuals. Maybe you're the asshole, how am I to know ? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.