tombuch

It's my understanding that the Sentinels were all removed from service and can NOT be used. I remember this issue with another DZ many years ago. I believe the manufacturer (SSE?) stopped supporting the Sentinal, and forbid their use in the civilian market. 105.43(c) says "If installed, the automatic activation device must be maintained in accordance with manufacturers instructions..." I would not even consider putting a student out (or jumping with a rig) equipped with a Sentinel unless the manufacturer has approved that use, and the AAD is maintained according to the manufacturer guidelines. Many of the other issues seem equally serious. I'd call the regional director, and if that doesn't answer the question, contact Jim Crouch (Director of Safety and Training) at USPA. Following all that, I might even consider calling the FAA directly, given the AAD issue. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Oh but there was, and there still may be at some drop zones. 'Back in the day' many big drop zones had specific rules that said no beer until the last load is off the ground, or until everybody is back on the ground. Those same drop zones would also provide a keg. There was often so much activity it was hard for regular jumpers to know when beer could be consumed, so an actual light was introduced and would be turned on indicating the keg could be tapped. That was (is) a beer light. The DZ I'm at now doesn't have a beer light, because there isn't any beer rule. For us, when the sun is shining there is enough light to drink beer. When the sun isn't shining, it's dark, and that's a good time to drink beer. So I guess at our DZ the sun is our beer light. Also keep in mind that there is a "lite beer," and for our skydiving friends with dyslexia, there is definitely a "beer lite." . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Makes sense. One of the great things about discussing incident like this is that we are build a mental database of potential responses, and if a similar situation happens to us, we will have a wealth of options to call upon. Of course it's all dependent on remaining calm and in command. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

If that's the case, then yes, cutting a reserve riser when the cutaway has already been pulled would be the wrong choice. The video isn't clear enough for me to see that. And I guess that's the point. The instant response is to cut. A better response is to relax, figure out what is wrong, and then take action. Based on what I'm seeing in a low res video in a tiny box, I'd cut. Based on what I'm hearing, I wouldn't. So, the case is made to relax and get as much information as possible before taking action. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

First chill. The guy on the step is going nuts, thrashing about and not accomplishing much. I'd probably try to get a bit more stable in the airstream. In that position I'd determine as best I could what the problem is, then make eye contact with the folks in the airplane. Cut the hang up if I could, but otherwise ask for help (that's where the eye contact or hand on head signal comes in). As the guy inside I'd probably try to identify the specific cause, and then get down low to calmly communicate. From there it's a matter of cutting the jumper free. If there was a threat of the container opening I'd pass word up to the pilot and delegate to somebody inside to get folks ready for an emergency exit at altitude. I'd probably not call for that exit unless it was obvious the container was opening. I think it was handled well, but one of the best pieces of advice for an emergency is to relax and THINK before you act. It's hard to do that when the crap hits the fan, but it really reduces serious mistakes. Leadership is about remaining calm, gathering as much information as possible, making a "best" decision based on the limited information available, and then taking action. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

First thing, calm down. Reduce movement and settle into the new reality. Determine if I'm OK and if there is any imminent danger. Those of us that trained on a static line learned that if we were "in tow" we were to put our left hand on our head to indicate we were alright (and right hand on belly mounted ripcord), then the JM would cut the static line and we would go into freefall. SCUBA divers use the same 'hand on head' signal to say they are alright, as do freestyle skiers and snowboarders. So, that's the first thing I would do/look for. Then I'd want to confirm as best I could that the container wasn't about to open, and from there I'd just chill a bit and build a plan. Ideally, the guy outside would be able to cut the fabric, but that won't always work. In the recent case at The Ranch the tandem pair was hooked on a twisted seatbelt and the belt wouldn't fit inside the blade area. So, somebody inside needed to get a knife and cut the belt. It's a scary position to be in, but as long as there is a knife available and the container isn't in danger of opening, it's not a super concern. It really just takes a moment of zen, and then action. The key to survival is to have a big knife in the airplane, communicate with the jumper/pilot, build a plan, and then take action. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

There, that's better.

Back when I was doing tandems I wore an old miilitary style flight suit and had a Jack The Ripper knife in the leg pocket. I was afraid of dropping it so it was attached to the snap by a lanyard. I never needed it, but was pretty sure it wouldn't be dropped. These days I just have a little knife attached to the rig, and I'm pretty sure I'd drop the thing, or perhaps poke my eye out. There are limits to how many things I'm willing to worry about, and hook knives just aren't on the front page. However, having watched this video, and a similar incident involving a tandem at my home DZ, I'm convinced every airplane should have at least one big knife available at all times. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

The maximum wind speed for students is 14 mph. Experienced jumpers don't have official limits, but it's a good idea to stick to 14mph for a while after graduation. I think a general guideline for experienced jumpers should be about 20mph, but that depends on what direction the wind is blowing and how much turbulence there is. Sometimes a slightly stronger steady wind isn't a problem, but any turbulence can be a big issue. I wrote a feature for The Ranch web site about checking winds. It is article 6 "Evaluating Wind and Turbulence" available at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. The article is really written for jumpers at The Ranch and includes phone numbers to call for local winds at area airports. You can check with your local pilots to see if there are phone numbers for airports near your DZ. Ask for the phone numbers for ATIS or AWOS broadcasts. They should be located in the AFD or a similar pilot handbook of airport information. Also note that winds reported by Flight Service or any other aviation source are in knots, and the speed will be a bit greater in mph. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Ok, story time. Back in the early 60’s my dad took me for my first airplane ride I was an amazing experience I’ll never forget. He died just a year later when I was eight. Spin forward. I turned into a somewhat reckless young adult, messing with BASE jumping, crazy low parachute openings, and other stuff that was frowned on by the establishment. Eventually I settled down and earned my commercial pilot’s license in my 30’s, and was wondering if my dad had had a private or commercial, and how old he was when he got is first pilot license, so I checked the FAA database. There was no record of my dad ever being issued a pilot license. The FAA checked back in their paper records too, but still no listing. The clerk explained that in the deep past pilots would sometimes skirt the law and fly for years without a license. I guess that’s what my dad did, and perhaps he is where I got that reckless streak from. I also remember jumping from a Cessna in upstate NY, and I learned the pilot was not licensed. He was about a million years old, but just never bothered to get a license. He was also somewhat forgetful, and frequently we needed to nudge him as a reminder to keep climbing. Kinda crazy. I wouldn’t tolerate it today, but back then regulations and safety weren’t nearly as important. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

For a young private pilot (less than 40 years old) a class three medical is good for three years. For a commercial pilot (jump pilots) a medical certificate is only good for one year. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Curved jump runs can work, but they can also add a bit of complexity and risk. The primary key is to fly a wide radius turn, rather than a tight turn. Another key is to fly the long straight leg into the wind. Ideally, the final curve will only cover the last few jumpers, won’t complete to a 180, and won’t be established at the mid-point of the jumprun. Let’s assume the wind is from 360 and the pilot tracks a line of 360 (into the wind) and then quickly turns to 180 for a very tight downwind. The two jumpruns will be parallel and there will be a chance the earlier jumpers will have opened and already flown under the downwind leg of the continuing jumprun. I have been on several curving jumpruns where the pilot turned too quickly and placed the last part of the load on top of the first part. I’ve even been on a few where the pilot turned about 270 degrees and actually crossed over the first part of the jumprun. So, obviously the two sides of the jumprun need to be far enough apart to prevent this, and that’s where a big wide turn works best. Now let’s assume the wind is from 090 and the jumprun is 360 (the wind is from the right). As the first jumpers open, their parachutes will be pushed to the left. If the pilot makes a left curving jumprun to 180, the parachutes from the first segment may actually be blown below the second segment, even if the turn isn’t super tight. Keep in mind a jumprun can extend for a couple of minutes and the first/last jumpers could easily be in conflict. The lesson here is that if the initial jumprun is crosswind and the pilot really wants to do a curve, the curve should be made into the wind. Now let’s add a bit of discussion about separation between groups. If the wind is strong and the pilot curves to a downwind, the first groups (flying into the wind) will need to allow lots of time between groups because the ground speed is so low. As the pilot turns the curving 180 all the way to a downwind jumprun, the ground speed will increase, and the time between groups should be shortened. It’s also worth thinking about who the last jumpers are going to be. Sometimes the last jumpers are tandems who open high anyway, and the tandem instructors should be pretty heads up about what’s happening with the jumprun. Of course sometimes the last jumpers are beginners who are doing solos, and they will often be confused by the turning airplane. A pilot needs to think about the experience and opening altitude of the later jumpers if he makes a wide curving jumprun. I’ll also mention that the jumprun should always be calculated based on what’s below the airplane with an assumption that any jumper might have a super low opening. So, the jumprun should consider alternate landing areas for every skydiver from the exit point back to the drop zone. That’s true of a conventional straight line jumprun, and a curved jumprun. That’s a lot of stuff to think about when designing a jumprun. Curved jumpruns can work, but it takes some understanding to keep the process safe. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

From the Random House College Dictionary in my desk drawer, most recent copyright entry 1980: "Skydive... Sports. to make a parachute jump, delaying the opening of the parachute as long as possible." From Webster's New World Pocket Dictionary (Fourth Edition) on my desk: "Skydiving: n.parachute jumping From JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Skydive: A parachute jump, usually involving a freefall. Skydiver: A person who makes skydives. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Try calling USPA and ask for the name of the association attorney. Give him/her a call as an interested law student and see if you can get some pro bono direction for your project. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Interesting question. The strategic part of canopy flight is defined by balancing options. That's a complex process in which there isn't really a right or wrong answer. I'd suggest you sit down with an instructor and replay your options and decisions to get a better understanding of how to make those decisions. Your interest in the topic speaks volumes about your training and attitude...many people just fly from here to there without any concern or interest in learning, so I'm impressed that you are looking for more context to make better decisions. With that said, your instructor is the best person to talk with because he has a better idea of the hazards and normal activity at your DZ, as well as the outs that are available. For a bit about how to handle landing direction, see my article at: http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. The article discusses how we select landing direction at The Ranch, but the concepts apply to every drop zone. Keep in mind that at The Ranch we select the landing direction at the boarding area, while at some other DZ's they may select the landing direction based on the first person down. Either program works, and the issues have been hashed out many times on this site. My article also includes suggestions for avoiding collision hazards on final. Plus, there are a few other articles on the site that you might find interesting. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

First, jumping through clouds is dangerous and illegal. It does happen sometimes, but if the DZ was putting students and regular jumpers through large clouds you should select a different drop zone. I don't know everything about aviation, airplanes, or skydiving, but I do know enough to treat cloud jumps as an indicator of general safety. If a DZ is putting students through obvious clouds there may be many other issues that I'm not aware of. It's an attitude/culture thing. Now for reading material: If you haven't picked up my book JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy, check it out. It was published by McGraw-Hill is is written for folks wondering how to evaluate a drop zone, and how to find the best DZ. Another solid book is "Parachuting: The Skydivers Handbook" by Turoff and Poynter. This one is written for beginners and experts, and should have lots of good information for you now, and you should be able to grow with it. Both books are available on Amazon.com and at many bookstores. There are some other solid books that will be good when you have a bit more experience, but I don't think they will do much for you at this stage. Blue Skies, Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

In addition to the magazine, insurance, and licenses/ratings, you also get government representation at the Federal level, and some help at the state level. There are lots of threats to skydiving and USPA is on top of them on our behalf. You could drop your membership and the organization would still be there, but if too many people backed out USPA would not have the same clout with the government, nor the same budget to protect our access to the airspace. I gotta say it's well worth a few dollars a year to keep the government at bay. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

and also nothing would happen during a no-pull... the time when an AAD is of most use... in fact, that's the very situation that 99% of jumpers bought a cypres to guard against. ...or a high speed malfunction. The problem with a Cypres firing when swooping is limited to a very small percentage of jumpers and canopies. The rest of us will benefit from a Cypres (or other AAD). I fly a Sabre 120 and have no reason to believe that I am at any risk of an AAD deployment regardless of what "normal" parachute operations I might be involved in. Sure, I could collapse the canopy by wrapping both break lines and blast through 750 feet causing the Cypres to fire, but that isn't a normal parachute flight. I should be able to, and can, do as many spins as I like at any altitude with my Sabre 120 without worry. AAD's work. They save lives. Let's not get all bent about a unique problem that occurs with a tiny percentage of specific users and parachutes. Let's identify the area of concern and let's maintain advocacy of AAD for everybody that doesn't fly in that tiny piece of the sky. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Yup. I agree. The sport has changed since that manual was written, and since the Cypres was designed. I think each manufacturer needs to establish "tested" limits so users know what level of performance is appropriate. Bill said essentially the same thing as follows: In the airplane world manufacturers are required to establish a "demonstrated crosswind component" for each aircraft. That's the maximum crosswind that was tested through the certification process. It doesn't mean that a given aircraft can't handle a greater crosswind, just that the manufacturer hasn't officially experimented with a greater crosswind through the certification process. For example, my 1978 Cessna 172 has a "maximum demonstrated crosswind velocity for takeoff or landing" of 15 knots. It is specifically defined as "not considered to be limiting" so I can land with more crosswind if I want to, but it becomes a handful. AAD manufacturers should begin to define specific maneuvers and wing loadings that they have tested. It helps to know what the firing parameters are (for example 78 mph), but users should also know how that speed relates to specific parachutes and maneuvers. Thus, I'd like an AAD manufacturer to say they tested the AAD with a Crossfire 119 at all possible deploed speeds, and that the unit is not recommended for smaller parachutes of similar design. Another option is for canopy manufacturers to test AAD's and offer minimum recommendations for users. In that case, Icarus might say to purchasers of Crossfires smaller than 109 that a Cypres is not recommended, and that an FXC 12000 is not recommended for any parachute. There are obviously lots of variables with all the parachutes on the market, and now, all the different AAD's, so it's not possible to test every combination, but there should be some kind of tested standard to define an appropriate approved operating window. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Never tried a Cherokee, but I've jumped a few 150's. I've always left the door on, but made sure to cover any extending handles or hardware that might snag my equipment. If the pilot puts the airplane in a slip it's pretty easy to open the door. CAUTION: Flying a plane at low airspeed in an uncoordinated slip can be very dangerous. Be careful who you use as a jump pilot. I think one of my favorite jumps was from an AgCat, a single seat cropdusting bi-plane. There weren't any conventional seats for jumpers, and the chemical hopper had stuff in it, so two of us took off sitting on the big yellow benches that stick out from the airframe. There were even these cool wire handles to hang onto as the airplane climbed. What a blast, but probably not legal. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I use the 10 minute rule. If, after watching the winds for ten minutes you are still unsure, stay ont he ground. That's adapted from the SCUBA diving world where I was taught a "10 second" rule about weather evaluation. Wind is a bit more fickle, so I give it 10 minutes in skydiving. I wrote a feature on The Ranch web site about evaluating winds at our drop zone. Much of it also applies to other DZ's. It is Article 6 "Evaluating Wind and Turbulence" available at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. The article includes phone numbers for nearby airports with weather reporting. Check with your pilots and see if there are AWOS or ASOS weather stations near your airport too. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

None. I may loose track of altitude at some point and make the mistake of chasing a student below 2,000, but it will not be by decision. There is no reason to chase below the hard deck. Ever. One of the last ways i have to tell my student to pull is to do so myself. Both the student and I have AAD's set to fire at the same altitude, so chasing lower risks a reserve entanglement with the student. It's not my job to go lower than 2,000 feet. The student knows that and has accepted that limitation. . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Try joining the Professional Ski Instructors of America or American Association of Snowboard Instructors, a requirement to teach at many resorts. It'll cost you close to 90 USD per year, and give you an opportunity to pay even more for officially sanctioned and MANDATORY recurrent training every two years. Your USPA ratings only cost 20.00 per year no matter how many you have, and there is no additional charge for annual training. It aint a bad deal! . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I do log all my jumps, and can look back and tell you about each one of them. You are right that people with lots of jumps don't update their profiles very often. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me if my profile says I have 4,300 jumps, 4,700, or 4,726 jumps. It's all in the same ballpark. That wasn't true when I had a few hundred jumps. Back then, I wanted everybody to know that I had 126 and not 122 jumps. That's not to say I don't care about each jump I make now, rather I don't think the elevated number means as much as it did when I was a pup. Keep logging your jumps, and updating your profile! . Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

The simple answer is to PLF. It takes a fraction of a second to get your legs below you and roll the energy along your body. Be prepared for a PLF on every jump. Practice it on the ground over and over until you can do a PLF in your sleep. It works. I imagine you are afraid of breaking an ankle with a bad landing, but as others have pointed out, ankles heal better than the spine. Now I’ll dig a bit into the back story and the problem as I see it each day. Butt-strike landings have become very common, and compression factures of L1 and L2 are among the more frequent skydiving injuries. Your profile says you did your training at The Ranch, and they use a three tandem progression. On each of those tandems you were probably told to lift your legs so the tandem instructor could slide the landing along on your butts. That works for tandems when the instructor is in command, but it should never be used for solo jumps. The problem is that your first three very stressful landing experiences were handled by lifting your legs. Now, when you get scared on landing the ‘natural’ reaction is to lift your legs. On top of that, your ground school training in PLF’s was probably cursory at best, and I’ll bet that instructors have rarely noticed or mentioned it when you have landed on your butt. Another component of the problem is that when you are landing your parachute normally, the process begins by flying across the ground at about 20 mph. When you pull the control lines to flare, the canopy slows down, but at least initially, you body is still moving at 20mph. So, even under the best of circumstances, you will tend to pendulum forward with your legs in front of you. As you land you need to manage your movement so that your legs remain under the parachute. The problem isn’t isolated to The Ranch, but it does seem more severe at drop zones that use a multi-jump tandem progression. Drop zones can do a better job of teaching PLF’s, and of debriefing canopy landings. That’s something for all instructors to think about. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy