AndyMan

You should've cut away long before it gets that bad... You tend to only see line twists that bad when it's a spinning malfunction. You'll know when you're in a spinning malfunction rather then simple line twists because the canopy continues to wind up faster then you can kick out of (low wingloading), or you're literally spinning around the parachute on your back (higher wingloading) I'll try to remember to bring my laptop out to the DZ this weekend and I'll show you the jump-track graph of the spinning malfunction I had last fall. The pro-track read a vertical speed that was actually faster then freefall, under a spinning main. Spinning malfunctions need to be delt with quickly, you're burning altitidude just as fast as freefall. I would hope to deal with it long before it gets that bad. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

4 to 5 feeet?!?!?!? That's nearly a slider-up malfunction. You should talk to your rigger about why the slider isn't coming down all the way. Adding handles to help you grab it isn't the solution, figuring out why it won't come down in the first place is. Sliders should come down to the top of your risers. If you're willing to deal with it, a good way to bring a slider down is by pumping the brakes. Pull the brakes down to furll flare, and let them back up smoothly. Repeat as necesary. If the slider doesn't come down.... I sure as hell wouldn't land it... _Am You sho __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think you need to define "high performance" and "eliptical". Sabre 2's could be considered both, but many DZ's are using them for first jump students. Myself, I went from a lightly loaded triathlon to a heavily loaded Stiletto at around 350 jumps. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I stand corrected. I am not a lawyer. That said, this doesn't change the fact that its very unlikely that a complete waiver will ever be enforcable. Parts of it will, but not all.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

A lawyer for a dropzone will tell you whatever in the best interest of that dropzone. That's his job. They can claim they're not liable all they want, but until a judge agrees with them that simply isn't the case. In an extreme case, like the completely sloshed pilot, it is unlikely the judge would agree with them. That said, I have no idea what he was told or not. I was not there, and the only word against whataever the guy says is what the pilot says. There was a bit of talk about it on wreck dot, a bit here, I think too. Most of the info I found out at the dz after the fact. This one did not make the NTSB reports, although the one 3 weeks later did. The guy should be thankfull he got off with only 60 stiches. Many aren't so lucky.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I doubt very much that any standard US DZ waiver will ever be found legally sound, in its entirety. For example, clauses like "anyone who sues has to pay us $25,000" will be tossed right off the bat. You can't sign away the right to sue. You can sign away some the damages you'd receive in a jugement, but not the right to sue in the first place. Likewise, in an example of gross negligence (say, an full otter goes in with a pilot that has a blood-alcohol reading of 4 times the legal limit), clauses about jumpers assumining all risks will be dumped - having a wasted pilot is not a risk we willingly assume when we jump from airplanes. Waiver have sucessfully gotten DZ's off of many skydiving related claims, but they are not bullet-proof. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's a mistake anybody could've made, and infact a skydiver made a very similar mistake just a few weeks later that nearly killed her. What the newspaper doesn't mention is that the guy was sitting right-seat, and exited through the right cockpit door after the pilot had shut down the engines. The passenger exited the side door and stepped straight into the silently still spinning prop. The pilot attempted to stop him, but it was too late. The guy clearly did himself in... but making fun of him tells me that you do not take aircraft safety very seriously. It shows complacency on your part. Aircraft safety is not obvious. This guy was hit by a SILENT prop, it can happen to any one of us, even skydivers, even pilots - in fact it does happen to skydivers, way too frequently. It happens to people who know a lot more about planes then you or I do. I won't be surprised if this guy does make some progress in the lawsuit because there is some fault in any DZ that lets somebody ride in the cockpit of an commercial airplane. Yes, all DZ's do it, but that doesn't change the fact that the cockpit of commercial airplanes are not places to put paying passengers. They are not safe places. Does American Airlines let passengers fly right-seat? Why should DZ's? It's a hell of a lot safer on a 747 then it is on an Otter.... Ever fly commercially on a Dash-8? Do they ever let passengers off the plane while the props are still spinning? Ever wonder why? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The one problem I see with the Sony F717 is burried down on the "specifications" page on sonystyle.com: Burst Mode: 3Frames, 2fps I read this as saying that the fastest this camera can shoot is 2 frames per second, up to a maximum of 3 frames. EI, it'll take 3 shots in 1.5 seconds. By comparison, the Canon 10D shoots continuously at 3 frames per second, and can burst up to 9 frames per second. This means you can shoot off 9 seconds during the exit with the Canon, but only 3 with the Sony.... You'll probably miss that killer shot with the Sony. The Canon 10D costs about twice as much... But people (not me) seem to be having good experiences with it. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Ok, a few ideas.... First, a question. Are you trying to get video from the students perspective, or are you trying to find a new application for a new technology? If it's the second, which I think most of us suspect... bad idea. If it's the first, well - there's a few better ways to go about it. First, add a second camera to the camera flyer, pointed at the ground. Chest-mount the camera, or something. This perspective would be nearly identical to the students one. Failing that, you could add a camera to the TM's head. Now before everyone jumps on me, I know full well that no TM would go for this, and the manufacturers would probably freak and pull the TM's rating. However, I think it's preferable then putting one on the student.... Lastly, you could just have some stock footage of some first person perspective. But... if you're a good camera flyer you're already doing this. You should have shots of the cameraman in flight, the cameraman opening, maybe the students perspective of the exit. You should already be doing this and mixing it into the video. You are, right? Once you've got stock footage of the students freefall.... why do you care if it's specific to the student? Why go to all these lengths to get a very minor incremental improvement - that the video not be stock? Why is this minor incremental improvement worth all the added work, never mind the added risk? Do you really think first jump students and the people they show the video to are aware enough to even KNOW that it's stock footage and not real first person perspective? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yup, that with a little generator like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2535608921&category=11771 Should do the trick... The GE 5200 BTU airconditioner I looked up drew 5 amps, which means 750 watts. These small generators say they support 1000 watts peak, or 750 sustained... The GE 5 amps is probably just at startup.... Hmm. Is a cool, comfortable tent worth $300 ? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If we're gonna get this complex... A small window-style airconditioner, small gas generator, a bit of duct work and the required mcGuyver tape would work just as well. Now that I think about it... that's not such a bad idea. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yeah... I saw the weather forcast this morning, and well - I'm suddenly feeling so much better! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I just don't see the big deal. Yes, we know tents aren't soundproof. Not only that, but it's pretty damn near impossible to conceal the sounds of good sex. You WILL get raised eyebrows the next morning, and you will get ribbed around the campfire the next evening. You will get a "how YOU doin" from the DZO as you wander into the hanger... So... keep the windows open or not? I presume we're talking about nightime, right? Can people realy see into tents with the windows unzipped? Between the 'fly' and the screen window, is it really the case that somebody who just happens to be wandering by will see something you'd rather they not? What really are the odds of enough moonlight shining around the fly, through the screen that somebody could possibly see IN? Aren't the sounds going to keep most people away anyways? Besides... Isn't that what the landing area is for? Right Val? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Is there anybody who's advice you will listen to? Sure wish I knew as much as you do.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Chicagoland has had one - a very experienced jumper from a different DZ screwed up his hook on his first jump after a 3 year haitus under a very highly loaded eliptical. He ended up getting airlifted out with complete paralysis. A month later he is now able to wiggle his fingers. Anyone want to count the mistakes this poor guy made? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

When people ask me this and I don't have a pooter handy... Start with a standard Mason jar. Take a standard latex baloon, (or any other latex product....) and cut it up so that you can pull the latex over the top of the jar. Use a stiff rubber band to hold the latex tight over the jar. Now take a popsicle stick, tape it to the baloon so that it runs from the center of the baloon outwards. Place a ruler standing beside the jar, so that the popsicle stick points at the ruler. As the air preasure outside increases, the baloon will push down into the jar, and the popsicle stick will point up. As the air preasure outside decreases, the baloon will push up out of the jar, and the popsicle stick will point down. Turn your ruler upside down so that pointing down points to big numbers, and pointing up points to small numbers. Calibrate accordingly. Now you just need to figure out how to turn the linear scale of the ruler into a radial scale of the altimeter... This is explained on alti-2's website as "The mechanical movement transfers the linear motion of the capsule to a rotational motion of a pinion through a system of levers and gears. A pointer is attached to the pinion so the rotation of the pinion can be indicated." _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yup. Something definately coming on with me too. Gonna have to take friday off.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If you're having trouble flaring the Sabre 2... It might've just been that the brake lines were set incorrectly. I had the same problem with a demo canopy until I adjusted them. The Sabre 2 should have a very strong flare - much stronger then the old Sabre 1. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

On a high performance canopy, turning your head on deployment will ofset your body position, and possibly cause a spinning malfunction. On high performance canopies it is critical to have a stable body position at pull time. But... since you're not jumping a high performance canopy, listen to your instructor. He's telling you to turn your head to CAUSE you to go just slightly unstable - this will help a pilot-chute that's stuck in your burble. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

As the group ahead of me is leaving, I do a "check of 3's" 3 handles, 3 straps, 3 rings. I can't possibly imagine why this would make anyone anxious. If seeing me check my gear bothers someone... they probably shouldn't be in the sport. I do make sure that my checks are done before I get in the door, as to make sure I don't hold anyone up. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Most tandem students heads are not big enough to take out teeth, or break a jaw bone when the students head slams back. Head and teeth just don't line up. Adding a helmet can add up to two inches to the "height" of the head, which will put it into range of the TM's jaw-bone with many students. Hard helmets are strongly discouraged by all the tandem manufacturers. Many tandem students aren't even aware enough to pull a rip-cord when an instructer is shoving an altimeter in their face. I'd hate to add more responsibilities. Also, I would hate to have a tandem student thinking they are photographers who need to concentrate on getting cool video. I would much rather see them just have fun. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Hey Crystal! Glad you're making it!!! Gonna be a blast! _Am (andy from perris) __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Myself and my craichead plan on being at my old mans cottage up north. Next time... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

See? I've still got most people fooled. They think I'm bald by choice. Yeah... not sure I'm gonna head out saturday, so I'll miss the nignoggery. 26MPH winds don't do it for me. We'll see, though. Sunday definately.... And yeah, the skyvan is fun. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

yup... 11 years t'il I'm 40. The countdown continues... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.