Aviatrr

It was Sat, not Sun.. I was one of the first few people on scene.. Not a pretty sight.. I'm sure you either saw it on the news or read it in the paper.. 2 broken legs(compound on the left, outside about halfway between knee and thigh), broken jaw, and broken nose.. He got lucky.. Mike

Listen to the highly experienced jumpers.. It amazes me sometimes when the weather starts to get questionable, and the high timers sit it out.....but the low timers are ready to jump.. Step back and take a good look at what the more experienced people are doing.. When the weather starts to look questionable(storms nearby, high winds, etc), I always take a look at what some of the more experienced jumpers that I respect are doing.. I don't usually let my ego make the decision - but every now and then..... Mike

Yep, sure was.. And there sure as hell were some beautiful tits there this weekend.. Mike

Hey, Paul - tell me this.. What do you do with your camera helmet during takeoff? Do you wear it? Secure it to something? I have had this discussion with many people, and the general concensus seems to be secure it with something(chest strap, seatbelt), but don't wear it because of the additional weight and sometimes funky weight distribution.. I have, of course, run into people that don't wear it or secure it - and refuse to do either.. I'm just kinda curious what a professional such as yourself does.. I know most, if not all, of the videographers at my home DZ secure their helmet with a seatbelt.. Mike

I agree 100%....but, there are exceptions.. I'm sure you noticed that I don't wear my helmet during takeoff.. The extra weight of the camera setup, and the position of it, causes a much greater risk of serious neck injury in a crash.. I feel that the risk of a head injury is less than that of a neck injury in a crash.. One thing that REALLY pisses me off is people that don't secure their helmets - whether they are wearing it or not.. I ALWAYS attach my helmet to my chest strap(I loop the helmet chin strap and chin cup through my chest strap) so that it will not become flying debris in the event of a crash.. If I am not jumping a camera, but just a regular helmet, I always make sure it is fastened when I put it on.. If I recall correctly, after the Perris crash, a camera helmet was recovered that had blood from 8 or 9 different people on it.. It was just a projectile, zooming around the cabin hitting many people.. Mike

I don't mind having the door open - especially on these hot summer afternoons in Florida.. At my home DZ we have a Caravan, and we always take off with the door open.. I enjoy sitting back by the door watching as we climb.. I don't often get to sit right next to the door - it's primarily the videographers there so they can get video of takeoff and some shots out the door at various altitudes for the videos.. I do wear my seatbelt every time.. At all the DZ's that I frequent, not using a seatbelt is not tolerated.. If somebody is not using one, somebody will surely point it out and correct the situation.. In my opinion, to not wear a seatbelt for the takeoff and initial climb is downright stupid.. Mike

Definitely relevant.. Toe taps(or heel clicks, same effect) will tell you if your legs are doing what they should be.. If you try to tap your heels or toes together, and you miss, you know that one leg is more extended than the other - which will cause a turn.. If your right leg is straighter than the left, you will turn left.. If your left leg is straighter than the right, you will turn right.. Keep in mind, however, that it may not be your legs.. The legs are often the culprit(since you can't see them, you don't know what they're doing), but not always.. It could be arm position, or even a twist in your body causing the turn.. Get video - it should help you identify the problem if it still exists.. Good luck.. Mike

Well, at a DZ running multiple turbines, manifest has their hands busy without having to keep track of the jumpers that have landed.. Whenever I see somebody land off, I always tell manifest how many, who(if I know), and where immediately after getting on the ground.. Not long ago, an entire 4 way I was on landed off.. We may have been able to make it back, but if we got close and couldn't make it, we were severely limiting our outs due to the area around the DZ.. We elected to land in the safe off field area.. We hadn't been on the ground for 5 minutes when somebody from the DZ pulled up.. One of the tandem videographers saw us land off, and notified manifest immediately upon landing.. That made me feel damn good.. A sharp videographer recently saved somebody's life when he reported an out landing immediately after he got on the ground.. The jumper was seriously injured, and in a pretty hidden area, and may not have been found for a long time.. Thanks to the videographer who saw him land off, he is alive.. ALWAYS NOTIFY MANIFEST IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY LANDED OFF! Mike

I also have a Z1, and I have done plenty of freeflying with it.. The difference between the Z1 and many other full face helmets is the Z1 has a chin strap.. Many full face don't.. Mike

True, but a lot of the regionals have minimums hovering around 500TT and 100ME right now.. Many are hiring people with times around that.. A friend of mine went through training at ASA about 6 months ago, and he was the highest time - BY FAR - in his class.. He had a whopping 1100 hours, and 150ME.. I think the next person had something like 700 hours, with the average falling at about 550.. ASA's mins are 350TT, but I don't know what their ME requirement is.. In a way, it kinda scares me.. I got on an RJ one day with a 500 hour FO and a 2000 hour Capt.. My normal FO and I have over 9500 hours between us.....and we're still fairly low timers.. Ok, I can deal with 500 hour FO's in RJ's as long as the Captain is fairly experienced, but at 2000 hours(and likely very little if any real PIC experience), I don't feel anybody is ready to command a jet with up to 53 people(50 pax, 3 crew) onboard.. I would go to a regional if I could hire in as a Capt and make what I'm making now.. A 3rd year RJ Capt makes less than half what I do - and that's not much.. Mike

Hell, they all look good enough to take a bite.. Mike

Stacy, that's all too much damn work.. Here in Florida, it's a damn cold winter day if you see us wearing pants instead of shorts..

If it's something your really interested in, go for it.. There are a lot of people that make career changes at 40-50 years old and go into aviation.. I knew what I wanted to do from the beginning.. I've always wanted to fly.. I'm 25, have an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with 4 type ratings, all fixed wing instructor ratings, over 5,000 hours of flight time(broke 5k about 3 weeks ago), and I'm a Captain on a business jet.. I've been PIC for most of my flight time - only about 350 hours of SIC time, all in Learjets.. I've been a jet Captain for about 2 years.. I was a turboprop Captain for 2 years before that.. I hope to go to a major airline in the very near future.. If I can do all that by 25, it's sure as hell not too late for you to start at 21 - or even at 30 for that matter! Hell, if you waited until you were 40 to start flying you could still have a fairly long career in aviation.. If you want to do it, don't hesitate - do it! On the bright side, at least you'll have a BA degree.....I only have a BS degree....but, I'm sure as hell good at the BS part! Actually, working on my MBA right now.. Probably about another year.. Mike

You should head on up anyways.. I wish I could go, but my recurrent training isn't something I can get out of.. I even made it a point to make sure I got the 28-30 off.. I guess I'll have to find someplace else to go that weekend.. Mike

Is flying what you really want to do - or are you considering it just to use the GI bill for something 'more useful'? Civilian flying is not a fun thing if you don't love to fly.. If you love to fly, by all means, it's the one of the best damn jobs in the world.. What is your flying background? Civilian or military? Ratings? Hours? Of course, you would need to do some recurrent training before you get into further ratings - but that shouldn't take too much.. Basically, when people ask me whether they should fly for a living or not, I ask 'em one question.. Do you love to fly? If so, do it.. If not, don't - you won't be happy.. Mike

And you probably spent about that much on beer.....RIGHT?! Both of my cutaways were packer induced, so I choose not to use a packer anymore.. One a massive tension knot, one a step through.. There is one packer that I will use, if necessary, and that's only at my home DZ.. Funny thing, though.....a friend of mine that always uses packers, and has 300 jumps now, has 5 cutaways.. Imagine that.. If you choose to use a packer, make damn sure you know that packers skills/experience.. I prefer to use only riggers to pack, but that's not always possible.....it will ALWAYS be, at the very least, a very experienced jumper.. Mike

Welcome back. So what'd ya bring us?

That figures....the one time that I can't even trade time off with other pilots, since I have training scheduled.. Ah, well, such is life.. I hope everybody has a kick ass time, and I definitely wanna see pics....especially of the raft dive.. Anybody decide which topless babes will be in the raft, yet?

After climbing outside, close the door behind you. Make the next group open it back up. Mike

I'm not familiar with the Factory Diver - how does it fasten? Is it one that has a chin strap, or does it just have the tightening strap built into the side of the helmet? I have done some freeflying with a full face, but it has a chin strap. I won't do any sit/stand with a helmet without a chincup or chin strap.. I normally jump an open face camera helmet.. Mike

Well, it sure looks that way based on the '31 days left' thing on the website.. It figures.. I have the following weekend off(28-30), but I have some recurrent training in Dallas the 22nd through 27th.. If it is the 21-23, count me out.. Can we confirm this Cyber? Is it definitely that weekend? Mike

Actually, the way I understand it, the main reason to have Vectran lines is that they don't go out of trim anywhere near as quickly(or as bad), so they are best suited for high performance canopies.. This prevents canopy distortion(making the canopy less efficient) as the lines go out of trim.. Mike

Show me exactly where I stated that I oppose better training.. You won't.. It's a terrible thing when somebody dies, PERIOD.. No matter how you slice it, deaths and injuries are a given in an extreme sport such as skydiving.. Ok, Frank - let's take it one step further.. People that don't skydiving feel that it's unacceptable to lose ONE SINGLE LIFE from something as stupid as skydiving.. Let's ban skydiving for the sake of those people.. After all, sometimes you have to give up a tiny bit of freedom to reduce the potential for disaster....right, Frank? Trust me - I am the last person that would oppose better training.. When I started jumping, I pursued canopy control training from some of the local skygods.. It helped me an incredible amount, and made me a MUCH safer canopy pilot.. It saved my ass a couple of times.. When I get my new Crossfire(which will be the first elliptical I have ever owned), I am going to take some canopy control classes from Scott Miller at Deland.. I want to learn to do anything with that canopy - from long distance swoops to sinking accuracy type approaches.. Scott knows a hell of a lot more about canopy flight than I do - especially on ellipticals - so I'll take advantage of that knowledge.. As Clay stated, there are many canopy control schools out there.....why don't people that aren't comfortable/competent under canopy take the initiative to pursue them? I am 100% for better canopy control training.. I don't like picking up bodies.. Today was the third time that I have had to help pick up broken bodies after canopy accidents.. This one was a low panic turn during a tight out landing.. Luckily, he is expected to survive.. Mike

If you weigh 190, your exit weight is probably about 215.. The largest Cobalt made is a 170.. 1.26 wing loading based on a 215 exit weight.. Ok, maybe 1.26 is not ridiculous for a newbie, but on a full elliptical, at 10-20 jumps, it's almost a deathwish.. Try this.. Call several gear dealers and tell them you want to buy a Stilleto 170 or a Crossfire 169.. The first question you will get is "how many jumps do you have?".. There's a reason for that.. Regardless of how "tame" the Cobalt is at "low" wing loadings, it's still a full elliptical.. Get a semi-elliptical(such as the Spectre, Sabre2, Safire, Hornet) with around a max 1.0-1.2 wing loading.. As your instructors for a specific wing loading you should target - they know your canopy skills, none of us do.. I have always been a fairly agressive canopy pilot.. Maybe too aggressive early on.. I was jumping canopies(only squares, not ellipticals) loaded at 1.5 within 100 jumps.. Hell, I busted my leg under a Sabre at a little over 1.5.. If it had been an elliptical, I may not be alive right now.. You may be able to handle a lightly loaded elliptical when everything goes perfect - but what about when things aren't so great? You get cut off on final at 50ft, and must turn to avoid a collision.. You have a bad spot, and have to land in a small, confined area.. You have to land on really shitty terrain.. Ya know what gave me my biggest scare in skydiving? Not a cutaway.. It was an out landing in a VERY tight area.. There were 3 of us, and the landing area was about 30' wide by 50' long.. I was scared shitless sailing in under that Sabre at 1.5 with a whopping 90 jumps.. I would have loved one of those big ass Manta 288's right about then..

Try calling the DZ and ask them.. I think he's around most weekends.. Mike