danielcroft

The coach rating is as much about how to teach as it is how to fly with low time jumpers, if not more. Pretending that it's not because you've seen some people doing what you think is a bad job or approaching it in a way that you don't like shows just as much disrespect to the rating and to those who do have a coach ratings and do care about teaching people. I applaud you for wanting to help newer jumpers but go get a coach rating if you want to jump with pre-A license holders, you *will* learn something.

No injuries here either (so far anyway). I love night jumps, thought I'd never do them when I started jumping but glad I did. I'd say my favorite was doing the new year's eve jumps into Zhills. First one down at midnight.

Congratulations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_oMXHn427w

Arise zombie thread! I've been continuing to jump the Odyssey 115 and have another 20 or so jumps on it. On the weekend I demoed a Katana 120 and put 13 jumps on it. I found it to be a lot less dramatic than my first impressions suggested. With 50 or so jumps on elliptical canopies, I guess my perspective has changed a bit. I'd definitely say that the KA120 is a really big step from the S2 120 and that it flies similarly to the OD 115. The KA openings are really nice, only issues I had were a couple of brake fires which aren't really a function of the canopy anyway. They were really only half brake fires (top of toggle popped from keeper) and could correct most of the turn with harness. I reported this to PD. The KA is definitely strong on toggles whereas the XF2 has amazing rears. The riser pressure on the KA is also the opposite from the XF2 - super light fronts and heavy rears. The flare on the KA is pretty awesome too, a lot of power, very deep the flare is too. I was doing normal skydives during the demo so I wasn't swooping the KA for the most part. I tried a couple of double fronts and a couple of 90s, nothing fancy, just nice calm carves. I've seen how a KA can be swooped when flown by some amazing pilots so I know I wasn't anywhere near its potential. Over all I'd say that the KA is a great canopy and at that loading (1.54 for people keeping score) was about the same as the OD115 (@ 1.6) in terms of how the recovery felt when I was flying it (i.e. not very hard). These three canopies make for an interesting comparison in that they all have strengths that I enjoyed (KA flare is awesome, dive is amazing but I only scratched the surface, XF2 rear risers are awesome and amazing range) but the OD was really a nice middle ground and was the one I was least happy to give back when the time came (luckily they gave it back to me for a while). I'll probably put a few more jumps on my friend's Sam 120 because my first impressions were good but I'd like to get a better idea about the canopy. I've already ordered an Odyssey 115 so the KA demo was really just to get a better idea about the canopy rather than basing my opinions on a single jump. I also did a couple of jumps on an OM126 (Optimum Main - you learn something new every day!) - talk about an amazing canopy, quick but soft openings (made me laugh both times) and an incredible flare. I was just amazed at how it flew - deep control range and very solid - kept ranting about it and trying to get people to demo theirs (if they had one) and fly it because it was just fun. I'm very happy to have one in my rig. /zombie thread

"Operator Error" - euphemisms are fun. That's what mine was anyway.

Based on the one of three sides of this story that we know, I'd say tell the customer to sack the fuck up. Give them back their gear and keep the cash. Don't do business with them again. Seriously, the last time I remember when it was cool for me to try something and then give it back was when I was a kid and my mum gave me some food I didn't like. Even then I'd usually be told to eat it anyway.

So random. Total win twardo. LOL! Congratulations on the new rig. : )

We get paid for coach jumps at my DZ but I don't bother putting in for them, I just like helping people out. I did a "coach" jump the other day which was actually just a two way with a guy who didn't have his A yet. We had a dive plan and did pretty well at it and the student had fun, I don't need money for that. I did get my slot paid for which was great but it was a good time irrespective. edit: no tip expected or required!

Update to the zombie thread. I've now done 16 jumps on a Skylark Odyssey 115, 1 jump on a Samurai 120 and another 6 jumps on the Crossfire 2 119 (had to give the Odyssey demo back). The Odyssey was pretty interesting; to me it felt very much like what I imagine PD would do if they made a Crossfire competitor. Faster openings, shorter control range (toggles) and steeper trim. The feeling that the OD was trimmed steeper may have been due to the size difference but we're talking .05 here so I'm not sure that'd account for it. edit: The slider was the size of a small planet too, I'd be keen to get a removable slider if I were getting this (or another new) canopy. The canopy itself was odd in a couple of ways, firstly there was loads of excess brake line, haven't seen that much before but tail deflection happened at approximately the same place (just above shoulder height) as the XF2 so I'm not sure what the deal was there, maybe set up for longer risers or something? The risers that it came on weren't the best either but I'm kind of coming to expect that from demo canopies. There are also a couple of line attachment points that I found odd when packing. Most of all, without the labels on the stabilizer, you'd probably be hard pressed to tell it from a Crossfire 2. I'm sure people who were really keen and knew what the internal porting looked like would probably be able to work it out pretty quickly but at least on a superficial level, it definitely bares a striking resemblance to the XF2. Enough of that, how'd it fly? Well, I'd say it really was half way between the KA120 and the XF2 119 which is saying something (about the KA really) because it's a 115. I had to land it in some fairly iffy winds, not "I shouldn't be jumping but I have to jump this demo" bad but not optimal and didn't really have any issues with it. Still flying a standard pattern on all these demos so I can't really give anyone serious swoop related feedback. I can say that I was pretty accurate with it after the first few jumps (landed off once too because I'm a moron but had no trouble putting it down). I think the riser pressure was lower than the XF2 and it was certainly more agressive than the XF2 but I didn't feel that it was as agressive as the KA120. Coming back from a long spot in high wind was deep brakes and I definitely drifted well. Canopy felt a little unstable in the lower end of the toggle stroke, especially compared to the XF2. I could put my (giant monkey) arms all the way down on the XF2 and not stall it, on the OD it was just below my hips where it started to feel pretty uneasy. I think I did 3 or 4 clear and pulls from altitude on the Odyssey, one of which was with friends loaded 1.6 and up on KAs and VEs. I didn't really have any trouble staying with them but wasn't keen on trying anything fancy for obvious reasons. The Odyssey kind of came out of left field but I'm glad I tried it because, out of all the canopies I've flown so far, it's my favorite. I also put a jump on a Samurai 120 which I quite enjoyed too. Nice canopy, felt quite nice and I was comfortable on it right away. I can't say too much about it though as I've only put one jump on it. The jump wasn't exactly ideal either - big tracking jump and the rig it was in doesn't have an AAD or an RSL. Discretion is the better part of valor as they say so I stayed nice an high and out of everyone's way. Opened pretty high too and played around a bit. I'd read that the Sam has a shorter recovery than the KA but longer than the XF2 - I didn't really get a good feeling due to the jump I did. I'm planning on doing a few more, if only to play around with the canopy. I set up my camera to record openings a couple of times if people are interested, I don't think it necessarily says a lot about the canopy but it is certainly fun to watch the craziness of an opening frame by frame.

In the hypothetical, I'd wait. I was in a C182 that had the engine die and come back at about 9k. The first time it happened, I made sure I was ready to go, by the third time, with the pilot visibly irritated, he told us to just get out. At that point the engine was still running but we weren't climbing. Not that dramatic but in keeping with my inclination to get word from the pilot first.

That's pretty cool.

Here's an update (sorry for the zombie thread): I've done one jump on a KA120 @ 1.54 - clear an pull out the door, open @ ~12k. To me, the KA120 felt like more than one step "down". People say that going semi-elliptical -> elliptical is equivalent to 1 downsize. I think the KA120 was more like 2 steps down. The dive that this canopy got purely from harness input was extreme to say the least. I was diving harder and faster on the KA with only harness input than I was on the SA2 on harness and fronts. It's an amazing canopy but while I really enjoyed playing with it on that jump, I don't think it's right for me right now. I'm sure I could deal with it but I want to spend time concentrating on more than just my canopy. For the record, the opening was good, didn't have any issues with the canopy other than that I'm not ready for it. Obviously I'd need more than one jump to get a good idea of the canopy (which I might later in the year), these are based on first impressions. Compared to the KA135, the KA120 felt like a different animal. I've done 10 jumps on a XF2 119 @ 1.55 - first jump deploy @ ~7, second clear & pull open @ ~12k. The Crossfire 2 119 feels a lot more like what I was expecting from the side step to a fully elliptical canopy. It definitely demands more of your attention in flight and I needed to re-learn my flare as I haven't jumped anything but Sabre 2s for like 300 jumps. I was lucky enough to have some awesome friends on the DZ to video my landings and point out to me how much I sucked at flaring on the XF2. Have only been flying it straight in so far. I don't consider myself ready to induce speed until I'm doing the basics right (this is a general rule for me: after winter, downsize, new canopy, etc). Although, having said that, I've been flying my pattern with harness which is induced speed so... I liked that the XF2 allows me to fly more conservatively but that I can also get on the harness and get some serious dives out of the canopy (high pull remember). I feel that, given the choice of landing either canopy out, I'd certainly go for the XF2 which is why I've been putting a few jumps on it. I guess that's what people mean when they talk about range. Yes, the KA can be flown back from a long spot and I'm positive that someone with a lot of experience would be able to park their canopy wherever they wanted to but until I gain that experience I don't think it's the right choice for me. The rears on the XF2 were totally awesome. I have a friend who flies a Pilot 188 @ ~1.2 (IIRC) who I did a jump with. When I hit my rears on the way back (spot was a bit meh) he said that he thought I was actually climbing. I will say that I prefer the openings on the KA as weird as that sounds. My tune would probably change if I had a spinner though. I've grown to like the PD "positive" openings over the Icarus "soft" openings. I think, if I wanted to fly a KA, I'd be better off flying the KA135 for a while to get a good feel for the way the KA flies and then look at downsizing to the KA120 later. To me, the XF2 119 feels really good, nice solid canopy, fun to fly. Luckily, my friend who owns the XF2 has said I can borrow it for a while so I can get a really good idea about the canopy in varying conditions. I think my face said it all when I got down from jumping the KA120 and the XF2 119 - was very serious after the KA and smiling and happy after the XF2 - easy choice. What's next? I have a demo Skylark Odyssey to try out. I still need to try my friends Samurai 120 and my wife's ST120. I'm not sure I'll go as far as getting the Mamba demo, if it's meant to be like the KA in terms of recovery arc & dive then probably not even worth it. Fortunately, when the weather isn't sucking, I've been putting a lot of jumps in and staying nice and current.

I've done Brian Germain's course and I'm currently trying to organize to get Flight-1 out to my DZ as well (damn Ian, where's my update?). Good work trying to organize! When I started talking to flight-1, I had the course added to our DZ newsletter and just had people contact me that way. If that's not an option for you, try posting up a flyer at your DZ to get interest and just generally ask around. I think I mentioned in the other thread that flight-1 requires at least 6 and at most 10 jumpers in the Essentials course. There's also and Advanced course but that's a separate course. Good luck dude, hope you can get them out there.

Cookie Ozone 3 Cookie G2 I used to own a Military Fairwind but it was stolen.

For me, I started doing pushups regularly which has helped quite a lot.

ddrrroooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllll oh Tim Tams, how I miss you :'(

I'll stop speaking for Dave, he is man enough to speak up for himself and has done so in the past. I wouldn't hold your breath though. I started learning to swoop way before then but that was just using double fronts up high. I did a canopy course at 15 jumps (it helped sure but not a whole lot) I've spent a lot of time reading (yes, I have BG's book) and getting coaching for as many people as will help me but have had a couple of experienced friends (thousands of jumps each) helping me consistently for years. Some people's advice I've learned to ignore because it disagrees with the majority opinion. Yeah, I'm lucky that I have that support but I've also spent a lot of time and energy focusing on it (not as much as I could have mind you). I'm currently organizing a canopy course at my own DZ with flight-1 and I'll be attending the essentials course because the basics are important. This is just coming from me now: You *are* in a high risk zone right now so you need to be really careful. I would make a point of slowing it down at least until you get a chance to read Brian's book. I've read it but it does take a while to digest some of the concepts. Also have a look around for "The Canopy Pilot's Handbook" by Bryan Burke and make sure you read Billvon's downsizing checklist on the site and start working towards those skills. You don't have a whole lot of jumps (nor do I), you've already moved on to 180s which means that you're not only getting an early start but you're moving through your turn radii pretty quickly. You're doing all this alone with very little help or support which means you could be doing stuff really dangerously wrong and not even realizing it. I'm not saying you are, please don't feel like I'm being patronizing because I'm not trying to be. The videos that you've taken (ground video is *way* better) will be really useful in getting some advice online (I've organized to have this done in addition to the coaching/mentoring I already get). But you really need to get your shit together and do it. Here's a bunch of stuff you can get started on: 1. Get and read Brian Germain's book 2. Get and read Brian Burke's book 3. Read through and start working on Bill's checklist (it's on dz.com) - I'd suggest starting up high 4. Find a mentor (who is respected) to review your videos and offer advice 5. Locate a canopy course in your area or organize your own - you need 6 people for the flight-1 course 6. Find a coach near you and go visit them if need be Swooping is something I personally take very seriously and spend a lot of time on (hence me posting here) and I'm just some shitty weekend-warrior fun jumper. If you want to do this seriously (well, more seriously than shitty weekend warrior status like me) then you need to pull your finger out and spend more time on it than you *seem* to be right now. For the record, you ought to think about your response to people on this board. Rather than making him seem like a bad guy (which is what you were aiming for I believe) you've come across as very short tempered and agressive. I've been in the position to be on the receiving end of that kind of thing and it's taken all I could muster not to tell people to fuck off but when it comes down to it, very few responses you get are going to be purely empty attacks. There's value in most if you care to look for it.

For the record, those flags are pretty useless, the slightest breeze has them all over the shop so I wouldn't take them to mean that it was a strong down winder.

Ok, I'll translate for you - this is how I read Dave's post (sorry if I'm getting this wrong Dave): You really should have the book already. If you were serious about learning you'd have done the preparation which is relatively easy to come by. Again, preparation for something this serious is very important. You don't appear to be making much effort to get the low hanging fruit taken care of. I think that speaks for itself. You're making some pretty poor choices. That, on top of your jump numbers and lack of planning and investment in actual training tools that will help you, you appear to be backing yourself into a corner to make bad decisions and have bad planning when flying - i.e. you're high risk. You're self helping yourself into one of the most dangerous aspects of skydiving. When you, by your own word and behavior, show that you're not prioritizing learning and safety (i.e. respect for the discipline) you're actually putting yourself in the really high risk braket. So, your options are to slow down a little or to get some serious coaching, or be super unsafe and be at a really high risk of hurting or killing yourself. Here's someone who is doing something similar to what you're doing, just as an example to hopefully give you an idea of the situation from an outsider's perspective. What was your response to someone who took the time to write several paragraphs with the basic message that you need to slow down or really get coaching or you're going to get hurt? That he's an asshole and he should fuck off. Not to mention saying that he's a liar and putting all of DZ.com into a poor light. Personally I think you've taken his response a little too hard and failed to really understand what he's trying to say. Dave's not always easy to hear just because of the way he says stuff but please think about what he's saying. He's right.

Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding. Ok, I guess I can see that working. Given the instances of swooper collisions, would you expect this to actually bring the numbers of injured/killed down all that much?

I think a more general discussion about the results of making things easy would be interesting. I think people have the tendency to under-value things that are easy and therefore put very little effort into them. So, the more rules we institute, the less people think about the actual process. I think that there are certain personality types who don't fall into this trap (because they're OCD) but I see this in every day life all the time. I certainly can't speak as an instructor or canopy coach but I can say from other experiences that simplifying and, in theory freeing up cycles for other work, doesn't always get the result you're after. Sometimes the opposite is true.

Dave is giving you good advice. If you put your ego aside for a second and try to understand the message, you'd see that he's actually one of a very small number of people who've read this thread and felt enough to respond. Personally, I don't have any issue with you wanting to learn to swoop but I think you should at least consider going somewhere else to get some coaching or do a canopy course. You may be a natural and may be actually quite safe but you really do need to acknowledge that you're stacking the odds against yourself when you try to self teach. Here's another suggestion: you're at a C182 DZ, so there must be a few people on the ground when you're coming in to land. Get someone to video your landings and find a respected coach who would be willing to review your landings online and at least give you some feedback. It's not as good as having a defined curriculum or having help you in person but it's going to be at least helpful in giving you something to work off. Now please, try to refrain from blowing up at Dave, he's actually right and while he might not have said what you wanted to hear or the way you wanted to hear it, your reaction is just confirming what he's saying.

What if they griped it by the husk?

Not to mention pranking people who don't know!