Craig

LOL To adapt Adam's comment, how about "Prepare for Leg Fracture" The PRO pack spinoff made me think of that.... "Prepare for Reserve Opening" That must have been the saying when they first started PRO packing? Craig Edited by Craig on 3/5/01 03:46 PM.

In all seriousness, I think Tom Sanders http://www.aerialfocus.com/ is going to try. At least that is what i heard on a National Geographic show that he was in that was about skydiving. Craig

He was wearing a "space" type suit to survive at those altitudes so I doubt he could really feel much. I do not know what the effects of going through the sound barrier are on a human with only a soft layer of protection. When they were first attempting to break the sound barrier in aircraft they sometimes had "control reversal" which is just that. It is hard to tell what will happen passing through the sound barrier, freefall wise and what affect the shockwave will have. As you speed up try to imagine a flat sheet in front of you. It will start to take on the shape of a cone as you are pushing on it. Eventually you (or aircraft) would "break through", thus breaking the speed of sound and creating the "boom" that is often heard. You can get a general idea HERE. Typically you don't see the shockwave like you do here, but it was at a low altitude and high humidity and was literally squeezing the moisture out of the air. Craig Edited by Craig on 3/5/01 12:33 PM.

I have not used Booties yet but I think you nailed it. Better tracks, more efficient turns, and can also help to "balance" you a bit if you fly head high. Craig

Someone correct me if I am wrong but yes, you could reach a higher speed. As you increase in altitude, the density of the air decreases. This would mean that there is less drag on your body. Joe Kittenger reached about 600 some odd MPH when he jumped from 100,000 feet. He also had a drogue which helped to slow and stabilize him. The prople that are planning on breaking his altitude record are going to go drogueless I think, which will allow them to break the sound barrier (about 761MPH here in the ground, less at higher altitude) Craig

This mal sounds more like a PC in tow, or a hesitation. A bag lock is where the lines have reached linestreach, but the PC won't pull the bag off the canopy. In any event, glad it all worked out OK. Craig

There is some info HERE. Some of the links seem to be dead, but still some interesting reading. There were jumps from 20,000 to 23,000 at our DZ last year, but I didn't have enough jumps (need 50 I think). I hope they have them again this year....that's about 1:45 seconds freefall, yahoo! I think real HALO jumps start at about 30,000+ but not sure. Craig

Hey Mike, the link below shows the Wolmari pack. I have never tried the pack job but this is the only page on the web that I have seen that gives you an idea on how to do it. Wolmari Pack Craig Edited by Craig on 3/4/01 05:00 PM.

I have to agree with Adam since were on the topic of malfunctions. I check my gear before I gear up every jump. If for some reason I would get bumped, or the load gets put on hold, I will check it again before putting my rig on. I also do my gear checks the same way every time, ie. up the front and down the back. I have found two potential problems on rented gear myself. One was a misrouted bridle on a BOC rig. Leaving the D-bag it came up from under the top of the right flap as it should to the pin and closing loop, but then it went back up to where it came from at the top of the right flap. Someone probibally opened and re-closed the rig without taking out the PC and bridle and repacking it, instead just closed the right flap over the bridle bringing the pin out the top. This would have most likely resulted in a PC in tow. The other potential problem was a cutaway cable that had a nick taken out of it just above the 3-ring retaining loop. This had the potential to cause a hard pull, or possibly impossible to release riser in the event of a cutaway. Also, check those handles before you leave the door of the plane, better to find any lost or folded under handles while your STILL in the plane. I've seen some jumpers that get in to what I would say is to big of a hurry for the next load and possibly being too complacent, gearing up and having to run to catch the plane. Personally, I don't like to be bothered while checking my gear, and like to have it on at least 5 minutes before I catch the plane. I just don't like to feel rushed. Everyone knows that most malfunctions can be prevented, you just have to take the time to prevent them. Be safe, Craig

Thanks for the info everyone, I can't wait to get back up in the air! RobertS: I am new to the Tri also, so can't offer much help. Have you check the gear riviews at DZ.com yet, they are HERE. Aerodyne, who makes the canopy also has some info on their page and some wing loading charts you can download as well to get a general idea Aerodyne. Ask some instructors since they know your abilities under canopy. To get any real idea of wingloading you need to know your exit weight with your gear on (not sure if this was 150lbs?) Good luck, Craig

I do not instruct but I have heard the same about the burn out factor. I think it really depends on the volume of students at a DZ versus the number of instructors. In my opinion, there were quite a few tandems and students that came through the DZ this past year, but it was my first season in the sport. From my point of view it seemed like the majority the instructors jumps were with students and tandems. While some instructors did have some fun jumps every now and then, almost their jumps were with students it seemed. I think what it really comes down to is how much time you would like to invest in instructing, and then balancing that with some fun jumps in between so not to get burnt out. Since I am not even close to a point in being able to instruct, and thus have not given the idea much thought all this is just my opinion. Craig

Heh, try telling that to Troy. Canopy Fire Craig

lol, check this page out Top 10 skydiving things NOT to say in a whuffo bar Craig

While I agree that the RSL is a passive device and should not change your reserve activation procedures, it can be released in the event you do NOT want it to pull the reserve pin. I will say that the RSL has a potential to cause problems such as a broken riser, this is not as common since reinforcements were implemented in the construction. Also the RSL is not a good idea for camera/skysurf/CRW types of jumps since stability during deployment is more important. I have to disagree with the comment about CYPRES taking the place of an RSL. There are situations where a CYPRES would not save someone because of a low cutaway (you will have to reach 78mph before it will fire) and an RSL would have deployed the reserve in time. I would like to hear more about the misrouted RSL's you have found. I have heard the issues with the ring on the reserve side of the RSL hanging up under the reserve cable housing, but this is more of a design flaw. I belive this has been answered with the addition of tapes to cover the end of the housing to prevent the ring from getting under the housing. Just curious. Craig

LOL, I have been asked by a few people why I am being so grumpy lately.....maybe they will run me out! Oh, the irony! Craig

Hope the jumper at Parris gets through this alright. To answer Zennie's question (somewhat). I do not have alot of expierence with turbulance myself. A little chop from rising warm air off of fields is about it. I can tell you that turbulance can collapse a canopy in the right conditions. Sometimes flying with a little brakes can help, but from what I have heard some canopies just dont fly in turbulant conditions well at all. Craig

I hear ya! I have not made a jump since November either. There has not been much jumping to be had here this winter either. The few times there has been decent weather either no jumpers have shown up or I have been ill. Just found out there were some jumpers getting together tommorow since the weather looks nice and wouldn't you know I have family "RW" and it is too late to back out! I guess it is all good though since I was able to buy my rig this winter. The weather is going to start getting consistantly better here which means getting recurrent and get back to a more "normal" life! Craig

I think kicking out may help to clear them faster. One reason that it may be important to not waste time on line twists may be how the canopy acts, or is expected to act in a twist situation. On more docile canopies line twists seem to be nothing more than a hassle. From what I have seen/heard the higher the loading on the canopy, the more of a problem they become. Sometimes the canopy is wanting to twist up faster than you can kick out of them. If the canopy happens to decide to spin up, and you happened to have a low shoulder, not you body position is locked in by the twists. This could cause a shallow turn on a more docile canopy, or on a more highly loaded canopy a violent spin in which you and your canopy are flying towards the ground losing a couple hundred feet per revolution. Craig

There is also the one that looks similar to the one in the link, but has a persons head and a prop strike. I think that is the one we have at our loading area at the DZ. Craig

First off listen to the pilot, he is in command of the ship (or jumpmaster, who should get directions from pilot). At my DZ it goes something like this, for students anyhow. Under 1,000ft be prepared to land with the plane. Above 1,000ft be prepared to exit if informed to do so. What you decide to deploy (main/reserve) is dependant on your gear and altitude. Do you use a bungee collapsable PC? They usually are not as efficient at low airspeeds. Do you have a CYPRES? It will not operate until the aircraft reaches 1,500ft, but do you want to risk a fire if you are exiting low and you main decides to snivel? Personally, at or below 1,500ft, the reserve sounds pretty tempting IMO. Another aircraft emergency could be a pilot chute deployment in the aircraft. If yours comes out and is heading for the door, follow it! If someone elses is heading for the door, help them out the door (read-push if necessary). This could not only injure the jumper, but pull them through the side of the aircraft and take the whole thing down. I might have missed something, this is just what came to mind first. Craig

I have heard this one once on the ride to altitude.... Someone yells out: "Prayer Time!" To which others respond: "Please Lord, don't let me Fu@k this one up!" Craig

It points to: file:///C:/My Documents/videos/basecollision.rm

Let's face it, DZ.com gets alot of traffic. Why not get his listing removed and blocked? I mean, I am all for being competitive but somewhere you have to draw the line. Especially when you start listing that your DZ is in states it is not. A waste of bandwith? Sometimes word of mouth (or what you have seen written) can go along way. I don't live even close to Georgia and know of many of their tactics and misleading information. rant mode off Craig

Damn, how many rides to altitude is that?

Just for discussion purposes, if M$ can package IE with Windows cause they own it, why can't AOL package some of their crap with NS. Also, some would argue that when they buy an Operating System, they don't expect to have stuff "bundled" with it that is not required. Oh, and think of all those people who wouldn't be on the internet without AOHell. Sorry, AOL gripes me with their tactics. I gave up on them looong ago! Craig