livendive

Honest question here. How long have minimum pull altitudes been in the BSRs and were they really the fix for low pulls? Or was it something else that reduced our low pull fatality stats? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Why? I can see expecting people to either fill out a profile OR sign their name (which it looks like Jan forgot to do), but to say you'll discount any opinions from people who don't utilize one particular aspect of this site (profiles) is ridiculous. Blues, Dave Todak "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

A year and a half? Two years? In any case, not that long ago. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's not uncommon for me to jump without an altimeter, goggles, helmet, or jumpsuit and I don't have a CYPRES or RSL. I do usually carry my Pro-Track, but it's just in my pants/shorts pocket to log the jump for me. As long as the plane can get me to altitude, two parachutes and three handles are all the devices I need. Oh, and as for your assumption about Aggie Dave or whoever it was, I've also made a no-moon night jump without an altimeter. Someone noticed in the plane that his was broken, so I gave him mine. No big deal. All that said, I wouldn't put a student out without an altimeter. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

First question: As a S/L & IAD-I, I can't think of any IAD cons not shared by S/L, so I guess IAD enjoys a slight advantage in my mind. Second question: I cover this in FJC and occasionally throughout the rest of my student's S/L jumps. In the event of an aircraft emergency that requires an early exit, the first S/L student goes out on his main (hooked up when entering the plane), followed by me, and then the others who are to exit and immediately dump their reserve. The thing about a S/L trailing behind them isn't a concern, as we stow the S/L's in rubber bands on the top flap of the main tray. I don't take them out of those stows until I'm hooking them up. IAD students are different in that unless we're approaching jump run, their PC is still in it's pocket. I tell them that they will be leaving and deploying their reserve except in the unlikely instance that I already have their PC in my hand. Note: We put our student's out of a 206 w/ cargo door, but I can't see that I'd do things any different in a 182. The JM leaves after the first student simply to clear the door and facilitate everyone else getting out. It seems like this would actually be even more important in a 182. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Skydiving is not and never will be safe. It will always be dangerous. What we are talking about is how dangerous. What you deem "acceptably safe" is too safe for some and too risky for others. Imposing your idea of "safe" on others would certainly be unfair to some portion of us, and skydiving would still be dangerous for all of us. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

We didn't have any significant injuries in the past 12 months, but here's what we've had in the past 4 years: 110 jumps, wingloading ~1.2, tried to stand-up a no-flare, tib-fibbed both legs 500 jumps, 1.3:1 Stiletto, low turn (not intentional hook), shattered heel 4 jumps, wingloading ~.8:1 student canopy, landed on hangar roof then fell off and broke both heels 400 jumps, off dz landing (in town), hit dog kennel and was taken to hospital by ambulance for cut on chin 130 jumps, off dz landing in town (same load), got caught in powerlines and cut away, falling ~10 feet and landing on his back. Slight neck/back injury. 15 jumps, wingloading ~.8:1, student flared late and picked up his legs, landing tailbone first and compressing a disc 900 jumps, wingloading 2.3:1 EXTreme, low maneuvers following hook, dislocated shoulder 500 jumps, wingloading 1:1, ragged out canopy (stratocloud I think), broken ankle. and one of our jumpers while away on vacation in Europe...80 jumps, borrowed a stiletto 120 (~1.2:1), low-turn into wind, broke tib/fib & ankle. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Actually, the ones we hear about a few months later like that are the ones we told to take up golf. Still, you have a point. I failed to mention a corresponding effort to praise achievement and make a good example of things that are done correctly. Maybe a something like a reward system for catching a misrouted chest strap (e.g.) would be cool if it wouldn't be abused. I understand your point about not calling someone on the carpet in public (with rare exceptions). I asked on rec.skydiving a few years ago what ideas people have for fostering a more safety-conscious environment. I'm now an S&TA and still don't have a firm grasp on it...but I try. And along the lines of what DJan said above, I maintain that making safety "cool" will have a greater effect than trying to demand safety through regulation. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Bingo - we have a winner. It's not about regulation, it's about nurturing an environment that is pro-knowledge and safety conscious. When 3 forty jump wonders come up to you laughing about the zoo freefly they made together and the 2 near collisions it entailed, tell them how stupid that was instead of laughing about it. When someone docks on your formation at mach 3, don't razz them about it at the debrief, just refuse to jump with them for the rest of the day. When that 100-jump wonder does the forehead-butt-heel triple layout across the landing area, don't crowd around to laugh at the video replays. Instead, show it to the novices and explain in no uncertain terms how stupid landing procedure "x" is going to hurt/kill them...preferably with the guilty party watching. If everyone took it upon themself to respect/desire education and spurn stupidity, more regulation would become a moot topic. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

DJan wrote: I can't tell you how good it is to hear something like this from a sitting BOD member.

One need not look to regulation to make a safety program become popular. Consider the treatment AODs got in the 80's then look at the CYPRES. If you can design a canopy control progression system/class that *works well*, eventually, taking it will become the norm. Forcing another money-sucking class or tiered wingloading requirements both go against what skydiving is all about. How many more requirements does USPA have to implement before the FAA would be the lesser of two evils? Establish a system that works yet remains voluntary and you will eventually accomplish your goal. Try to cram it down people's throats and all you'll get is resentment. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I voted for "grass" because I've been deep in the basement before (sitflying through 1000 feet, w/ CYPRES aboard) and I dumped my main even though my procedure on the ground was to go silver below 1500'. Muscle memory is just that good. When my brain is screaming "GIVE ME A PARACHUTE NOW!", it does what it's done so many times before to get a parachute. Additionally, I was filming another guy sitflying on that jump and muscle memory triggered a wave-off to him before I dumped (somewhere between 700-800 feet). I suspect many others would find their body kicks into a similar "autopilot" mode. On an emergency exit, I'm pretty sure I'd dump my reserve anywhere significantly below 1500', as that situation allows an extra second or two to think (i.e. while exiting). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

$80/case...for Budweiser. (Delivered to our boat by a seaplane) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

To put the stars are on the leading edge? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Snow ski (Schweitzer, Sun Valley), whitewater raft (Salmon River), skydive (Snake River Skydiving & Skydive Idaho, both near Boise). Drink lots. I'm not from Idaho, but I occasionally head down to Snake River for their boogies. Outside of Boise, other DZ's within reasonable driving distances include Lost Prairie in Montana and Spokane and Richland in Washington (reasonable contingent on where in Idaho you're at). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Here's one of our boxer (Ally) meeting our new bulldog pup (Gracie) the day we brought her home (in January). Speaking of cute animal photo's, our Gracie is in an online "cute photo" contest at http://members.aol.com/iluvpwcs/contest.html It's pretty silly and there are no prizes, but I hate losing and she's only trailing by two votes, so if some of you could go vote for her, that'd be great. She's the bulldog at the bottom of the contest (i.e. not the one with the green frog on it's back). Thanks! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Putting a contact back in while in the air would be impossible. Someone mentioned that they usually stay inside your goggles, and that's correct, but he didn't mention that they dry into hard little raisins that you have to soak awhile before you can put them back in. 120 mph wind takes the moisture out of them QUICK. Plus, you don't need that kind of distraction while flying. I like the idea someone suggested of carrying a cheap pair of glasses in your jumpsuit. With this, you could quickly toss your other contact and slip the glasses on while still paying some attention to what you're doing. The last time I lost a contact, I was doing a short delay (10-15 seconds) with no goggles and just carrying a pair of Oakley's in my hand. Well lucky me, I had a spinning mal. I slapped the sunglasses on my head and chopped, remembering (to my dismay) as I pulled the cutaway that I had connected my RSL. So my reserve opened while I was still spinning on my back and I got a healthy riser slap upside the head, leaving me missing my contact in one eye and the sunglass lens over my other, and thus a fairly odd perspective on things. However I jump a pretty good-sized reserve, so it wasn't a big deal. I've never lost both contacts on the same jump, and have even done a 30-way with no visor or goggles (visor took a foot on exit, was shredded and flapping around my helmet the whole jump). Still, it's certainly within the realm of possible. Losing one ain't too bad with a decent sized canopy and at least some experience. Losing both, or even just one while still a newbie, could be bad juju. I think I'll throw an old pair of glasses in my jumpsuit when I get done kicking myself for not having thought of that before. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You're right, the exit is fantastic. I'd call it a tie between that and breakoff. Both are so 3D and seem to me to happen in slow-motion. Hectic slow-motion if that's possible. :-) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Rather than describing attributes, I'll just give examples. You don't have to go far to see a really good LO. Just go see Walt. Of the LO's I've jumped with in S. Cal (admittedly not a lot), he's the most fun, but he also keeps an eye on success. To state the obvious, uou have a great talent pool to draw from at Perris. Farther north, at Byron and sometimes Lodi, MadJohn (John Dobleman) is the best organizer I've jumped with anywhere. If you haven't jumped with him at Lost Prairie, you've missed out. He has an ability to seamlessly blend challenge with pure fun, and the results are often worth long logbook entries. Avoid skygods like the plague. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Actually, it seems to me that most people jump reserves that are smaller than their mains. This guy with 45 jumps had no way of knowing the thing above his head was 97 sq.ft. How could he (or you) tell? For all he knew it could have been a 120 or 135, and cutting away might have given him a PD-106 (though at least that would have been square and had a lower aspect ratio). I say the proper response is to check it out and see if you can control it. Cutting away a properly functioning canopy in favor of an unknown is bad juju. That said, if someone mistakenly grabbed my rig when it had the EXT-99 in it, cutting away in favor of the reserve would get them a Tempo 170. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Unfortunately, they even included the footage of him hitting the bridge. I have no idea why, as that actually runs counter to the intended effect (him sliding under the bridge). They should have clipped it a half second or more ealier. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Why is that? You don't think teaching safety and canopy control first and then adding in the sensation and challenges of freefall later makes sense for some students? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You have held a reserve pilot chute outside an airplane???? No, however I have caught my own reserve pilot chute at the edge of the door while my (tandem) student was hanging out the door...twice. (The problem with that rig has since been fixed, but I don't jump it anymore regardless) Those were both in a 206 w/ cargo door, where the wind would be more likely to "grab" the PC than in the back of a 182. This situation is not hypothetical for me. I have handled reserve pilot chutes inside airplanes with open doors at least 3 times, all of which included the affected parties having body parts outside the plane. Additionally, I can think of at least 2 other times in which I was present when a door was opened with an open reserve container in the plane. Very simply put, it is not difficult to handle...at all. The Vector reserve pilot chute is designed to have enough fource to open and deploy the reserve even sideways.....Call Niklas at RWS and ask him about it. I'll do one better and next jump I make, I'll first hold a reserve PC outside the door (just the PC, no bridle or anything attached) Unless it escapes, and then gets launched....then you're fucked. True. IF it made it out the door, we'd be screwed. In my experience, there's absolutely no reason to believe it would make it out the door. I am a pilot.( And I welcome comments from other pilots) If your pilot can't land a Cessna with 4 people in it....he should not be flying. If I were flying...there would be no way in hell I would let you open that door. If I am Pilot in Commmand you would do what I say....Ask your jump pilot what he wants you to do in this case. I agree. The pilot is the boss and what he says go. Our pilots, who've seen these pilot chutes in the cabin with the doors open, have no qualms about letting folks out. They are perfectly capable of landing with a full load. They just agree that there's no reason to in this situation. Yes, I communicate with the pilot, and yes, I guess I'd ride the plane down if you were the pilot. I disagree, and if I were on the plane (as a pilot...you would NOT open the door Period) and as a jumper you and I would have a quick long talk..... If you were on the plane and freaking out about opening the door, I'd first offer to let you be the one who opens it and spots (thus able to get out should something bad happen). If that didn't work, I'd concede and we'd ride the plane down. It's simply not a big enough deal to raise a fuss over either way. As for the military example, we all know about "military intelligence", and yes, as a vet, I've seen it first hand. As for the risk trade-off you mention, it's just like hookturns (though lower), or skydiving in general. Compare it to a group of 4 first jump students. 3 buddies get in the plane, one opts out after learning of all the possible malfunctions. He might feel silly later and have to buy his buddies beers, but there's zero chance he'll die skydiving today. On jumprun, 1 more changes his mind. He rides the plane down and buys his buddies beers later. Two jump. They realize there's a possibility they could die doing this, but they consider it remote enough to be worth the risk. We don't chastise them for taking that risk when they could have backed out and just bought beers later do we? Having some experience with reserve PC's in open aircraft cabins, I consider the possibility of one getting out and destroying the aircraft considerably more remote than the possibility of a mal, and probably less likely than a lineover on a reserve on the same jump. They are as easy to hang onto in the airplane as they are standing on the ground. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Having played with main and reserve pilot chutes in an open door, and even outside the door (as an IAD instructor), I think this is a common misperception. There's nothing magic about the door, and I'm sure you know it's only in Hollywood that things are "sucked out" of such an opening. Ever see someone wave off, pull, then hang on to their PC for a second or two? Provided it's not a pullout, they'll be holding it by the apex and thus it's not ripped out of their hands. Pilot chutes are designed to work under certain parameters (open and "facing" significant wind), and they're relatively benign outside of those parameters. They certainly won't be catching much wind stowed between his butt and the back of the cabin (unless he farts). I know that if a plane takes off with 4 jumpers, it can land with 4 jumpers, but the pilot is used to landing it relatively empty and I don't consider an open container (main or reserve) an emergency that justifies taking him out of his norm. The exceptions are if the person with the open reserve is a student of mine (then I'll certainly be landing with the plane), or a novice who is overly concerned about the situation. Outside of that, an open reserve container in the back of a 182 is simply not a big deal. That doesn't mean the offending party won't be buying beer for hosing our 4-way. :-) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Dump my main. I know, the reserve would theoretically open faster, but I can dump my main quicker. Several years ago, I'd have said I'd pull my reserve, but then just this scenario happened to me, and I dumped my main. I had a CYPRES at the time but was lucky enough to reach back during my main opening and catch my reserve bridle just as the CYPRES fired. I landed ~15 seconds later with my freebag held between my knees. At the vast majority of DZ's I've been to, I'd land outside the main landing area, into the wind. In the rare instance this wasn't possible, I'd probably take it downwind (i.e. stick with the plan). Depends on altitude. Assuming we're high, stop the dive, find the camera and wave him off. Point at the offending party, if it's a friend of mine, give him the middle finger (my friends know that the pull signal followed by the bird means "equipment problem"...i.e. "You're" - "F*cked"), point out where the problem is and stick around for a little while (because communication in the air is much more difficult than describing it on the ground). It's a 4-way and I've been trying to up my normal pull height a little, so 500 feet ain't gonna make much difference either way. Yell "STOP" and try to get him to fix it, or at least make him aware of it. (I can yell pretty loud, so the folks on his stick inside the plane should be able to get the message) Same as #5, except try to get him back inside the plane. Land on rear risers. No problem standing up even slightly downwind on a Diablo @ 1.7. Much faster than that though and I'd slide it in like a tandem. Pretty simple with practice. He's gonna be behind me. I'd act like it's a poor spot and call for a go-around, then quietly point it out to him. No need to freak out the student screaming at him like it's an emergency. Don't open the door. Call for a go around. Point out the problem and have the person sit with their reserve against the back wall, with their hands holding their pc behind their butt. Everyone else exits and does an impromptu 3-way (lightening the load), pilot closes door, then the person can move forward. Depends on too many things to list here. Either flat turn right or flare over the top of them. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)