GLIDEANGLE

Last year I was on a Twin Otter for a CReW jump. At 10k the engiines stared behaving oddly and the pilot told us to get out. We did precisely the exit we had planned (single file solo exits with 3 sec of separation) and built the planned CReW formation. That was the day that I learned that an empty Twin Otter with dead engines can descend more slowly than a formation of Lightnings. On the ground we learned that the engines were fine... there was a problem with not enough hydrocarbons to put into the engines. In terms of the "emergency" exit.... it was a non-event. Lots of altitude and a stable aircraft made this very easy. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Wow.... That may be the best return on investment of 10 minutes of my time that I have experienced in a long time. Thanks!!!

These might be of help as you think this over: "The Katana is a fully elliptical nine cell canopy that is the ride of a life time for the experienced canopy pilot. Warning: this canopy is not for the faint of heart." Source: http://www.performancedesigns.com/katana.asp "As we mentioned in the introduction to this document, the Katana is intended for experienced canopy pilots. Most of the Katana’s performance characteristics are specifically tailored for jumpers who make high-speed “swoop” landings using modern high-performance approach techniques. These same performance characteristics tend to make a canopy undesirable for novice jumpers, or those who consider themselves conservative. Even if you have a relatively large number of jumps and have put considerable effort into developing your freefall skills, but not as much effort into developing your canopy skills, we may have other canopies that you will find more suitable than the Katana." Source: http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/KatanaFlightCharacteristics.pdf The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

You are not alone. Many folks feel distress for many jumps. There is quite a bit of variation in how long it lasts. However, it often lasts a while. For me I was still quite stressed at 30 jumps. I had a student who I coached who admitted last year that he was completely terrified all the way through his A-license, but that he hid his distress from all of us. None of this distress has anything at all to do with the eventual outcome. The student I mentioned above has since earned a medal at nationals. Your distress will last however long it lasts.... Embrace the suck. Blue Skies!!! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

At Skydive Dallas, we are using traffic cones to mark the edge of the grass runway. The 20 m circle around the accuracy target (for A-licence) is marked with paving stones set into the grass so that the top is flush with the soil. The pavers are painted white. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

My guess is that doing renewals of memberships for folks with ratings would be more pain than it is worth. Simple renewals without ratings certainly could/should be online. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This is one of the reasons that some DZs teach to pull cutaway then reserve ripcord in this situation. Doing so would have made the entanglement less likely to occur. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

"A couple of times a month" will be more than adequate to maintain currency. There is no reason to limit yourself to jumping solo. By the time you have your A-license you should have sufficient skill to jump safely and somewhat effectively in small groups. Jumping solo is like masturbation: it feels good but doesn't accomplish much. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

However, by making this post....you just did! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Depending on what kind of performance you need, perhaps a seven cell like a Spectre or Storm might be a good match for you. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I started to celebrate my 50th birthday. 1200 jumps later I am still having fun. My wife started at age 54. She has made >70 jumps so far. As an AFF instructor, I see all ages of students. Physical, mental, & emotional condition matter, age does not. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Re: losing instructors in AFF see this: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4378576#4378576 Re line twists at night: Typically these jumps are in full moon. With eyes well adapted to darkness it is typically VERY easy to see the canopy and lines well. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Smile, Breathe, Relax.

Here you go: http://www.flyaerodyne.com/download/triathlonlinetrim.pdf PLUS http://www.paragear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=32#W9777R PLUS http://www.paragear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=33#T1009 The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Fabulous post! Thank you! Many of the safety discussions in skydiving involve "It is my choice to take on this excess risk... leave me alone". I remember a few summers ago when I landed stupidly and dislocated my ankle. 10 minutes later I was lying on the floor of the hangar making phone calls... to the people who were affected by my injury: Call #1: My wife. She had to interrupt her day to come retrieve me from the DZ. Her life was disrupted for the next couple of weeks as I was recovering. Call #2: My boss. My injury affected my boss, my co-workers, and my students. All had to change what they did to accommodate my absence for several weeks. Rare is the skydiver who is so disconnected from the world that their death or serious injury will not affect others. No man is an island. The choices we make have consequences, for us AND for others! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

First jump @ 50 years. That was six years and 1200 jumps ago. Made 5 jumps last Sunday and hope to do at least twice that this weekend. My wife started jumping at age 54. She now has 60 jumps. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Maximum Suspended Weight in the Owners Manual for a RAVEN 1 is 166 lbs. http://www.parachutemanuals.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=40&func=download&id=407&chk=b9038d17c4738cec95ac988a1cb5a98f&no_html=1 Relevant page attached below. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Thank you Mr. Sherman!!! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I am looking for a standard. I don't care how it is expressed. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Yes, that is true. I was imprecise in my description. One would have to run this test 5 times with the reserve container closed each time. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Is there a standardized test of how much force it takes to extract a reserve? This would be a test which could be used by a rigger to assess if a specific combination of reserve, container, and main is likely to extract promptly or not. I know that the rigger is responsible to assess this compatibility. How is the rigger to asses this other than “Damn, that sucker is a tight fit!”? The thumb test led to the TS-108 pull test, the “closing loop seems tight” led to the pin pull force checking tool (lets the pin move a little… but not come out completely during a pull test with a fish scale), so what test do we have for reserve extraction? My memory seems to recollect a service bulletin that described a test of this… but my brain can’t remember enough to help me find it. I would imagine that the test would be something like: 1. Secure the rig, belly down, with main packed and reserve container closed. 2. Pull reserve handle to open reserve container. 3. Attach a fish scale to the pilot chute/bridle connection 4. Record the force needed to remove the reserve in five directions: directly UP, toward head, toward feet, right, & left. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This might be a help to you. It is the student logbook of Wendy Faulkner. She has had a VERY successful career of jumping, despite a rocky start. She has over 8000 jumps and at least one skydiving world record (shared with 99 other CReW dawgs). She now makes her living as a skydiver. As you can see from her logbook, she had some trouble as a student. http://crwdog.servebeer.com/CRWdog/HowCRW.html The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Chapter 2 of the document linked below might help you with the various deployment systems. http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/media/FAA-H-8083-17.pdf The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

For ram air mains being used ONLY for clear & pull (hop & pop) jumps there is the "tail pocket". Basically it is just a set of rubber bands at the middle of the canopy's tail. Lines are stored on it.... And NOTHING controls (wraps or contains) the canopy itself. Sometimes this is used for CReW. The purpose is to get really fast sub-terminal openings. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Why fret over this? Tunnel is cool, tunnel is great for learning freefall skills..... but it is ENTIRELY optional. Go jump and never give this another thought! Go have fun in the sky while your friends are stuck indoors in the tunnel. Become a CReW dawg. That makes the tunnel irrelevant!!! Skydiving is supposed to be fun....remember? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!