tombuch

The Ranch pumpkin drop is this weekend, but we make the drop from under canopy. Details at: http://www.theblueskyranch.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130 . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Well, in a rare case it would be appropriate to pull the instructors rating if he completely dropped a student and the student was killed as a result. But of course it might not be the instructors fault, and sometimes even the best instructors make mistakes. So, it should be decided on a case-by-case basis. For example, a typical tandem system has four separate hook-up points, and that’s a lot for an instructor to do just before making a jump. I’d expect a good instructor to think about making the connections, but we should forgive the failure to actually connect the student if it is a very rare mistake and the instructor is properly rated. It’s also important to remember that just one connection point will hold the student, and connecting one point is faster and easier than using all four. With that in mind, some efficient DZO’s may choose to use just one connection because it makes it easier for the instructor and reduces wear on all the other hardware, thus making the equipment last longer. We also know that an instructor is more likely to forget just one attachment point if that is all that is used. In that case I’d say the benefits to the DZ of limited hardware use outweigh the potential risk to the student, so a failure to attach the single point should be forgiven. Another thing to keep in mind is that the hardware provided on most tandem rigs is way overbuilt, and some DZO’s might switch to weaker hardware to make the rigs easier to use. Sometimes that hardware will fail, and if that’s the case it should probably be forgiven as long as the DZO assures the public that weaker hardware isn’t a problem. We should also consider the other DZ’s in the area. If all the DZ’s have a similar chance of “dropping a student” then pulling an instructors rating could be used as a political attack to hurt one drop zone more than another. In that case, it makes sense for everybody to look the other way because it could happen at any DZ. I also know that students sometimes wiggle out of their harness, or insist that they don’t need to use all four attachment points. A good DZ will always cater to the interest of a student, so if the student is dropped, it is probably the student’s fault, not the instructors. Keep in mind that the instructor may not have known it is wrong to drop a student. He may have seen another instructor do it, or heard that another DZ dropped a student, and there isn’t any real way for the instructor to know that he shouldn’t drop a student too. There isn’t even a BSR or FAR that prohibits dropping students. It’s not fair to punish an instructor for doing something that isn’t against the rules, and that he didn’t even know was wrong. It’s also really critical that we understand that tandems are dangerous, and there is always a potential for something to go wrong, even a potential for the student to be dropped. Students understand this and don’t expect the instructor, DZ, or equipment to be 100% reliable. Thus an instructor probably shouldn’t be held accountable for dropping the student unless he told the student (with witnesses) that it couldn’t ever happen under any circumstances. Of course I believe in safety first, and would never advocate anything that might endanger a student. But we need to understand that tandem jumping is a business. Doing lots of tandems provides profits to the DZ’s and keeps our jump prices low. As experienced jumpers we should usually look the other way when a tandem student is dropped because it isn’t reasonable to expect tandems to be held to a high standard, plus the student signed the waiver. [/satire] . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

A nice cuddly kitten. We could start a new sport called "Cat Chasing." Oh, wait, I think I read about that once a few years ago. Never mind. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Old gear is fun. I made my 25th anniversary dive on the same day I started jumping (plus 25 years) using an old T-10 and belly mount reserve. Very enjoyable throwback to the days of yesteryear. Many of the larger drop zones have old timers who still have and maintain the old stuff. Seek them out and ask if they will clue you into the fun (and dangers) of the old gear. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

So how can this be brought about? What is hard about it, why are we not already there? Are there competing data providers, so that DZs can become a feature/selling point? LAT/LONGs of basically all civilian DZs in the country are available on this site. See this historical thread http://dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1133168;#1133168 for background. I’ll cover the topic again here with current status. It’s a complex problem with lots of players. I’ve been working the issue for about two years, and although we have made some progress, it does tend to drag. I actually began working the problem on October 28, 2003, so I’m thinking of an anniversary party! There are a couple of industry committees that need to deal with this issue and they only meet twice a year. Thus, moving the project forward is a time-challenge. I’ll try to outline the issue in simple terms as best I know it. There are five levels of concern. First: Drop zone listings have been maintained by the FAA as analog data and cannot be added to any database until the source data is converted to a digital format. Part of the issue with conversion is establishing a standard, and part of the issue is confirming the accuracy/integrity of the data. Pilots and other users require current and accurate data, and until now, the FAA has not been able to provide that level of integrity. For example, the data that supports sectionals is old and inaccurate because it isn’t really managed at any level. That issue needs to be resolved. Likewise, drop zones are now lumped in with gliders, hang gliders, and ultralights and whatever solution we establish for skydiving needs to work for the other users too. All these issues are being hashed out at the FAA level with USPA support. I expect this stuff to finally be handled later this month, but I think I said that more than a year ago too. Sometimes it makes me scream. Second: Once a data standard has been established, a technical communication standard needs to be established between the FAA and all the manufacturers, and among all the manufacturers. There are two levels of standards. The first is for GPS use, and that’s being worked on as part of the basic standard. The second is for FMS use (big airplanes), and that standard has been established and should be published, probably next year. In the meantime manufacturers of FMS boxes can write display code to the future standard. Getting drop zones listed in the next ARINC revision for FMS systems was a huge step forward, and much of the rest of our progress will be built upon that foundation. Third: Once data standards and communication standards have been set, the FAA needs to release the data to manufacturers and then to maintain the currency of that data over time. The FAA has agreed to release the data on an update CD of existing data. So, once standards have been set, we have an easy means of distributing data. Maintaining that data is still an unresolved issue, but I understand USPA is working to assist FAA in this regard. Fourth: Once data is distributed, the GPS and FMS manufacturers will need to establish memory to hold that data, and code to display it. They will need to spend money to do that, and as of now none of the manufacturers have any interest in adding drop zones to their boxes. That could change. We spent more than a year convincing FAA to put the data cart before the display cart, and now that they have done that, we have a better chance of driving manufacturers to upgrade their display units. In the past manufacturers have been able to avoid the issue because there wasn’t any data available. Once data begins to flow manufacturers can be pressured with liability risk if they don’t recode their boxes. Fifth: Once data is distributed and boxes have been designed to display that data we will need to convince pilots to actually use the display. That will probably be a menu option, so at that point pilot education will become important. Right now, however, there is no data, and no means of displaying that data, so the pilots aren’t a meaningful concern. As I said, it’s a big issue. When I first stepped into this pile I thought it would be easy, but our national airspace system and the systems that surround it are very stable and resistant to change. That’s a big problem when we are trying to improve a specific safety risk, but it’s a benefit as well because that stability tends to prevent untested changes, and enhances safety over the long haul. So, our industry needs to keep plugging away. USPA and AOPA are on board, as is the FAA. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

When I was preparing to write “JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy” I was planning to tell readers to avoid any DZ that uses round reserves because the only reason DZ’s used them was to save money. Several very prominent DZO’s convinced me that that there may be a safety benefit to a round when a student has two parachutes out. Their argument went like this: They had a point. Of course putting a student under a round reserve means he/she needs to know how to fly a round, and it reduces the allowable wind conditions for student jumps. The added training increases the complexity of the instruction, and the threat of landing a round adds to the fear of a student. Plus, round parachutes have inversion as an inherent malfunction, and while the overall malfunction rate of a round is very low, it is still greater than a square. In practice, students deploying and landing reserves in conventional single parachute situations are more common than dual deployments. The most frequent cause of a dual deployment is an AAD fire, and the second most common cause is probably equipment failure. I think we can dramatically reduce AAD deployments by switching to a Cypres from an FXC, and with improved training and supervision. We can also improve equipment inspection and maintenance to reduce dual deployments from those issues. I’ve thought long and hard about using round reserves. My conclusions are based on 25 years of jumping, a skydiving career that began on round mains and reserves, probably about 5-6 actual round reserve rides, and a current package of instructional ratings in every program recognized by USPA. I'm also a rigger. I don’t like using rounds for students. I understand the counter argument and respect most of the folks who present the case for rounds, but I’m just not willing to put students out on rounds. That’s not saying round reserves are unsafe or less safe in this context. It just means that my decision is to use squares for students. There is an entirely different argument about the benefits of an FXC for students, and while it too might make sense in isolation, I can’t buy it at all when coupled to the argument for a round reserve. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the combination of an FXC and a round reserve is bad news, is the product of ‘old school’ thinking or a cheap DZO, has no safety benefit, and should be avoided. As for selecting a round reserve for myself just in case I’m unconscious or injured…Not a chance. I don’t like flying or landing rounds. I like my squares. When a malfunction happens I’ll probably be low and away from the airport and I want a reserve that I can land anyplace, anytime. That’s a square. More specifically, I want a docile square. I hope I never need to land my reserve unconscious, but I know it flys well (and slow) without input as long as the toggles remain stowed. Having landed both square and round reserves, I’ll pack a square every time. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I'll offer a few quick ways it could happen based on incidents at My DZ. First, our airspace is split between Center (at altitude) and Approach (below 6,000). If we are jumping from Center airspace and the jet is in Approach airspace, the two controllers may not be sharing information and the conflict might happen. Ideally, we should be talking to both Center and Approach before exit, but sometimes those calls get missed by one party or the other. Rare, but it happens. If it's a super clear day, a large jet on the way to a major airport 12 miles away may be handed off to tower for the visual before he reaches us. At that point Approach and Center assume the big boy is clear, but he may well change his track and become a threat. Rare, but it happens. Sometimes we will do a couple of passes and controllers will hear our first two minute warning and figure the sky is clear again a few minutes later, but we may just be setting up for another pass, and might skip the next two minute warning. Rare, but it happens. A controller may be asleep at his scope and might miss the conflict. Rare, but it happens. A pilot may be asleep in his window seat and miss the required radio calls. Rare, but it happens. A controller may have no real idea what happens when jump planes begin a drop, or a pilot may have no idea what the controllers must deal with on their end. Rare, but it happens. Staying safe is a team effort. The nice thing about threads like this is that they allow us to share knowledge with each other, and that makes the sky safer for everybody. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Develop a local plan that addresses all of the issues. Some suggestions: 1) Talk to local pilots at small airports around your DZ. There are lots of pilot groups and they love having speakers visit their meetings. Lay out the problem as a shared responsibility and seek their support. 2) Publish your own “NOTAM” on the bulletin boards of all local airports. For a sample see: http://theblueskyranch.com/sta/pilot_caution.pdf. If you visit pilot meetings or “fly In” events, take copies to pass around for posting on distant bulletin boards. 3) Contact your local FSDO/GADO (FAA) office and seek their support and ideas. They meet with pilot groups too, and can easily share your concerns around the region. 4) If you have a major airport in your area meet with the airport manager and ask him/her to share your concerns with the tenants. Meet directly with the tenants too. Visit all the FBO’s that handle jet traffic near you and ask them to post your notice in their flight planning area. 5) Ask the local “big” airport with jet traffic to add a mention of your operation to their ATIS broadcast when your operations are especially heavy. 6) Contact the station managers that work for the major airlines at your local airport and ask them to clue their flight planning department into your situation. If possible, seek direct contact with the flight planners that have responsibility for your area. 7) Call the local ATC facility having control over your airspace and set up procedures for handling traffic and communication. When problem happen (and they will) make direct contact with the supervisor and seek forward looking resolutions. Many DZ’s may need to coordinate through a local tower, approach, center controller, and CATF, so you may already have a letter of agreement (LOA) that outlines this stuff. Know what it says and modify those requirements to meet changing hazards. 8) If an airplane does have a close call, try to track it down and learn what went wrong so the problems can be corrected. 9) Educate your local jumpers about the need to check for traffic. Teach them where, when, and why they must check for traffic. 10) Talk to your DZO about adding traffic alerts to the flight deck of your airplane. This can be expensive, but if you are a turbine operation in a major market, it may really help. Consider the advantages of Mode S and ADS-B. If you don’t know what those things are, talk with your pilots or with AOPA. 11) Know what frequencies transient pilots monitor in your area (center, approach, CTAF) and make sure your pilots broadcast on each of those frequencies before each jump. Make sure your pilots broadcast a clear message that will make sense to a pilot visiting from outside your area. 12) Contact USPA and tell them this is a continuing and serious problem at your airport. Ask for their assistance. USPA is currently working on a way to get drop zones into GPS and FMS units, but it’s not considered a priority right now at the FAA level. If you think it should be, let USPA know so they can push harder on our behalf. 13) Contact AOPA and ask them to help with educating the GA traffic. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

NOTAMS do not prohibit pilots from flying through a parachute release zone. Is it allowed? Yes. Is it neccssarily wise? Probably not. Checking NOTAMS can get to be a mundane procedure. Pilots won't always catch every single NOTAM. Once a NOTAM is published it is no longer listed in a briefing. Charted DZ's aren't mentioned at all. Aircraft flying with GPS or FMS have no way of knowing about drop zones. It's a big problem. The airspace belongs to everybody, and each of us MUST clear the space. This issue seems to come up every six months or so. For more information please see The Ranch S&TA area at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. See article 1 "Checking For Traffic" for a good graphic that outlines where to look. See article 8 "Airspace" for a discussion of how the National Airspace System works. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Consider FAA requirements for oxygen use and availability (91.211): Above 12,500 feet MSL a pilot must use oxygen for that part of the flight in excess of 30 minutes. Not much of a concern for contemporary turbine operations, but it can be a factor with Cessna jumps. Above 14,000 feet MSL the pilot must use oxygen continuously. This regulation is often violated. Above 15,000 feet MSL the passengers (jumpers) must be provided with oxygen. They don't need to use it, but it must be available. Most record attempts and organized jumps to higher altitudes include oxygen, but sometimes those 'push the pilot' jumps don't. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Yup. The county is responsible for EMS. If they hire a contractor they are responsible for the conduct of that contractor. The relationship the citizens have is with the public service provider---the county EMS division---and not with the poorly supervised private ambulance company or their individual workers. I look at the skydiving world the same way. Our students have a relationship with the drop zone that they take their business to, and that business has a responsibility to supervise all the staff that are used. Simply defining the staff as "independent contractors" or farming the business out to a second company such as an aircraft leasing company, does not provide the business with immunity for gross negligence on the part of the contractor. The business is expected to be the eyes and ears of the the end user/customer, and act in the best interests of that customer. Failure to adequately supervise or enforce established standards should be actionable. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Tom, If this is the case, you should not find a certificate number, seal symbol or a signature of a FAA rigger. It would not be legal for them to pack the rig. Sparky Kinda true, but it does happen. Sometimes a rig is packed in the jumpers home country by a legal rigger in that country (sometimes even legal in the USA too). Sometimes an FAA rigger will be legal to pack a rig for a foreign jumper under that countries policy/rule. The specific cases I'm thinking about have involved Russian jumpers, with Russian gear, packed in the USA for use in the USA, by a Russian rigger, who is also an FAA rigger. It's probably rare at most drop zones, but is more likely to happen at larger DZ's with large ethnic subpopulations. I had to hunt the rigger down to better understand the relationships and what was actually inside the container. It just would have been easier if the legality of jumping that gear in this country was presented on the card. Another case would involve a non-TSO'd reserve packed in a foreign country and signed, but without a certificate number. My questions is 'why no certificate number' and my position will be you can't jump that here unless you can show me it is not TSO'd and IS legal in your country. The more common case would involve a foreign manufactured reserve that is TSO'd for use here, and that is packed by an FAA rigger. If I see the manufacturer on the data card and know it's foreign, I always wonder if that specific equipment is TSO'd. The same is true for a harness, but most approved harnesses have the TSO tag where I can see it. Knowing if it is or is not TSO'd tells me what rules to apply. The issue seems to come up with French and South African equipment more frequently than other gear. It would just be easier if the rigger made a note on modle line that is is TSO'd for use in the United States. Another way to handle it is not to sign with a certificate number or use your seal symbol if it's not TSO'd, and to always use those elements if it is. But that's a harder thing to change industry wide, I think. So, I guess what I'm saying is that riggers who are packing gear intended for use in this country should know our rules and offer a quick notation to reduce confusion so that inspectors can figure out what is inside. I'm the S&TA at The Ranch in Gardiner, New York, and we get a fair amount of foreign gear. It's sometimes confusing, and I really look for ways to help the customer, but I need something to hang my hat on. Riggers that go the extra distance help me to help their client. So, what are the rules here? See http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=96 . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

For most people who jump year round, that's about 12-15 years of use. At that point the reserve isn't grounded, it just needs to be returned to the manufacturer for testing. BTW, not all manufacturers require this. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Part 65.131 requires that when a rigger packs a reserve he must make a record on the parachute data card listing the date and location of the repack, and his seal number. There is no mention about including his seal symbol, and some rigger don't. That pisses me off. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, a rigger has an official FAA certificate number, usually eight or nine digits, and a seal number, usually three digits.) When I inspect a rig for a visiting jumper I want to know when and where the rig was packed, who packed it, and I want to be sure the last pack job was done by the rigger who signed the card. I like to match the rigger seal symbol with the notation on the card. If the rigger doesn't list his seal number on the card I have no means of making the match. Including the seal number along with the certificate number really makes it easier for inspection by other riggers and drop zones. It's a simple thing. Is there any reason a rigger might not list his seal number? Another slightly less annoying issue is riggers that have such sloppy signatures that nobody can read them. I know a rigger is supposed to sign the card, but that doesn't mean he should pretend he is a doctor. When I look at a visiting jumpers reserve card, just being able to read the riggers name gives me the warm and fuzzys. It tells me the rigger is a professional who cares about his image, and it means I don't have to ask the jumper (with clear annoyance in my voice) who the rigger was. As long as I'm on this rant...I also like to know what the reserve is, but some riggers don't bother including that information on the card. When I'm checking-in a visiting jumper I like to match the reserve type and size with the jumpers experience and weight. So it's helpful to know what is actually packed in the container. If it is an unusual reserve or container I also like to see a notation that it is or is not TSO'ed, especially if it is a foreign jumper who might be subject to his home country rules and not the FARs, but only if one of the components is not TSO'ed. So, that would be a cool thing to note on the front of the card, but I don't think I've ever seen it. Anybody else have thoughts on the issue? Does anybody else do check-ins at big DZ's or boogies and see this sort of stuff? . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Do you list the Cypres inspection and battery change dates on the card for them? I can never remember that stuff on my own, so I add a little tag to the front of the data card that says "batteries due xx/xx, Inspection due xx/xx." That's much easier than looking at the history side of the card and counting months since the last service/change. Of course the owner still needs to take the initiative and actually look at their own data card, but if the due dates are clearly listed it makes that check easier. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

from http://theblueskyranch.com/CSCNightJumpBriefing.htm This is not nice! I have converted to pdf. Nice work anyway! Interesting. The original version on the site gave me that same error message so the webmaster did some tweeking and now it is fine, at least with my IE 6.0. Sorry it didn't work for you. Computers sometimes suck! . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Nope. I clean them at every repack cycle unless the morning pre-jump inspection suggests there is a problem. That's a crappy answer, I know, but heck, I'm not perfect. Perhaps this is my Persian Flaw. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Sure, but it's not a compelled issue. Most folks do have a preference, but at the early stages of learning something it doesn't really matter. Most of my snowboarding students have no idea which foot should be forward and the standard field tests don't answer the question. So, we start 'em duck and let the favored foot slide into position later on. Some folks, especially those with wakeboarding, surfing, or skateboarding backgrounds do have a favored foot, and that's fine too. I started snowboarding after skysurfing, and the skysurf board I started with was set-up goofy (right foot forward). Thus, I started snowboarding as a goofy footed rider. I built that style so deeply that when years later I tried riding regular (left foot forward) it was a hard transition. Now, I try to get my students riding switch as soon as possible so they don't build up a deep foot preference. At this point I've done so much switch riding that I'll find myself riding down the mountain and forget which foot "is supposed" to be forward. I guess the answer here is that foot preference is real at some level but for most of us it doesn't really matter, and it isn't a huge issue in skydiving unless there is a leg injury or handicap. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

An airplane used for commercial operations (such as skydiving) requires an inspection every 100 hours of use, plus an annual inspection. I'd like to see the same kind of 'double standard' applied to skydiving, such that a parachute system that is used by students or available for rent has a 120 day repack and inspection, while a rig used by the owner and not in a commercial application should have a longer repack cycle. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I saw an interesting release on the PR Newswire this morning about STARA Technologies. They are doing some demo tests of a parachute delivery system for the military, and showing a new kind of parachute material that they report is stronger, lighter, and less stretchable than conventional parachute material. It's an interesting read, but of course it is on the PR Wire, so take it with a grain of salt. See below. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Some people do favor one foot over the other, but it’s usually not a big deal. Most of us don’t really pay attention to our feet or use them for anything more complex than walking, so awareness is often limited. Anything you can do to build leg awareness on the ground will help, and anything that involves being horizontal while drilling legs is ideal. In the winter I teach snowboarding where legs are almost everything, so we are quicker to pick up on the favoring of one side or the other. There isn’t a lot of science to this stuff, at least with regard to skydiving, so drills are improvised and may or may not actually work. Here’s an idea I’ve deployed in the past: Try laying on the floor in a relaxed arch with both feet up. Don’t worry so much about pushing your pelvis out because at this point the drill is to work on your legs in isolation. Move your feet around and try to understand where they are, first using toe taps, then without. Eyes open at first, then closed. If you have a friend handy, prop a can or something small and non-harmful on top of your left foot, then right foot, and try moving your foot forward and back, then side to side, while balancing the can. Have your friend push gently against your knee or shin to simulate slight wind pressure from below. If you can progress the exercise to the end of a bed or table where your knees have a tendency to drop, you will be able to work on holding them up too. I’d also suggest a wind tunnel, but that’s expensive and requires some travel. The SkyVenture tunnel in Orlando is best, but FlyAway in Pigeon Forge will also work, and the road system to get to Tennessee is probably better right now. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

'Back in the day' skydiving was organized into self supporting clubs for the benefit of the members. These days most drop zones are commercial operations organized to generate a profit that is returned to an owner. Do you think I should assist the salespeople at a local shoe store just to be nice? Should I volunteer time at my local lawyers office to help his paying clients? Should I swing by the grocery store and stock shelves to make things easier and cheaper for the corporate owners? Times have changed. If you jump at a club where everybody shares in the decision making and profits, then by all means volunenter to help out. If you jump at a commercial center owned by an individual or corporation, let them know what your needs are and then stand back and be a customer. Corporate drop zones are responsible for their own marketing, operations, and profit. That's not my job as a customer. Let's not confuse the olden days with today. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

There is some truth to the notion that skills learned under stress are easier to recall under stress. That suggests that a bit of stress in the suspended harness, for example, might be a good thing. However, making the entire program stressful seems very counter productive. A little stress can go a long way, but only if it is limited. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

BSR section H, item 3 states that manned ground-to-air communications are to be present on the dropzone during skydiving operations. Again, speaking up for a DZO with little or no facts to back up your assumptions. One pilot, one jump master, two students, one experienced jumper, all in the same plane - who is manning the communications on the ground?! No one, no whuffo, no spouse, no student. Every warm body on the DZ is in the plane. Kevin: I agree that every drop zone should have a ground radio that will reach the airplane, and every student should have a radio receiver for canopy control instruction. It doesn't always work out that way, although again it should. If we go way back in time, there were no radios and students were "talked in" by bullhorn or a big arrow that somebody on the ground pointed in the direction they were to turn. Radios are far better. Some drop zones only use radios for the first few jumps, and some let the instructor jump with the transmitter and then talk the students down when he lands. It's not the best way to handle it, but it is "legal" under the BSR's. There is no requirement for actual radios. A drop zone MUST have some way to communicate with the airplane, and that can be satisfied with smoke or a big fabric "X" that somebody pulls out to say "don't jump." That somebody could be a whuffo, or a non-rated skydiver. Again, that's not the best way to handle communications, but I believe it is legal under the BSR's. A formal FAA radio to reach the airplane is a really good idea, and portables are only a few hundred dollars. Not every drop zone will have a "manned" base station, or even an available portable, but they are good ideas. Still, they are not required. Several of your other issues seem far more serious to me. The radio isssue you write about strikes me as a reflection of a very poor safety culture, but not a violation in itself. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I agree with your approach. Students do need to understand what might go wrong, but a good instructor can instill safe conduct without a whole lot of fear. The pictures don't add much. Back in the day we all used those pictures, so old timers may still be stuck in the 60's, as may the instructors they have trained. With that said, instructors should be exposed to those photos as part of their advanced training, and should never let their guard down with regard to aircraft safety. I'd also say that aircraft emergencies, although important, are not the most likely cause of a student fatality, and an instructor will be in the plane with them, at least for the first 20-25 jumps. I'd cover that material in the FJC/CGS, but focus my best efforts on parachute malfunctions and parachute landings. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy