parachutist

You'll get that advice about altis... mount them on your chest... but I've been CRWing around for a few years and I know of 2 accidents where jumpers face-planted on landing and were injured (1 seriously and 1 fatally) by their chest-mount altimeters which were driven into their chest or throat. I quit wearing chest-mount altis for that reason & started wearing a Neptune on my glove. A wrist-mount is fine for a Neptune too because a line would be very difficult to catch on it (try to catch a Dacron line on it... you'll need to work hard at it). Chris

Thanks for that report, Frank. Sounds like it was a good gathering. Chris

When I'm teaching AFF first jump courses, I stress to the students that the most common cause of injury in the sport today is hard turn at low altitude. "If you get to 100 ft and realize that you've misread the wind sock and you're going downwind, cotinue ahead and flare at 10-12 ft. It's good PLF practice. If you try to do a 180 you'll end up in an ambulance" They remember this becaue I repeat it several times throughout the FJC and I make crashing sounds when I'm explaining what will happen if they make a low 180. So anyway, recently I was on the ground watching one of my students come in for a landing (jump #6 or 7) She'd learned not to do hard low turns ... she's on final approach at about 100 ft and going the wrong way. She starts turning a 180 and she knows it's a really bad idea because I'm watching her kicking in the air like crazy, knowing she's in distress. She knows she's making a bad decision, but she's turning anyway. It seemed like her conscious couldn't convince her subconscious to fly straight ahead and PLF. Thankfully she was light and flying a really big canopy, so the biff didn't do more than bruise her a bit. Maybe she could benefit from an intentional downwinder a some point. Like Mr. Peek was saying, though, it would depend on consent from the gear owner. Chris

It's usually body position. Twists in the bridle should have no real effect. What do you look at when you pull and while your canopy is inflating? The only thing you can look at that will help you have an on-heading opening is the horizon. Watch the horizon and maintain your heading during opening by shifting your body weight. If you start turning right, then put more weight on the left by "sitting" more on your left. That's the answer I got a few years ago when I asked the same question, and it resolved my line twist issues. I asked the guy who did the 'Pack Like A Pro' video.. I was expecting him to tell me some packing tricks but he said no, it's usually body position.. you can pack like crap and still get an on-heading opening. Chris

[reply I know most of the folks out there since I am on one of the Dallas 8 way teams. I would rather someone recomend an individual(s) that I could contact. Since you do RW, You may already know Rob Laidlaw in Whitewright. I attended one of his week-long canopy control courses in Daytona, FL about 6 years ago. He straightened out some misconceptions I had about canopy flight, and taught me some new tactics for accuracy and good landings. Even if he's not currently teaching classes like that, I'm sure he can hand pick someone suitable in your area. I called the DZ and he wasn't currently there, but I suggest you talk to him next time you're there. Just explain what you're looking for. If somehow that doesn't work out, let me know and I'll talk to a friend who jumps in Whitewright... but really Rob is a great resource. Chris

Actually Skydve Dallas is a great DZ for getting quality 1:1 canopy coaching. I suggest talking to the DZO... get yourself set up with a local coach who can focus on your particular needs. There are many specific points that could be addressed online, but it sounds like general instruction on canopy flight would benefit you. If you have difficulty finding someone who'll do onoing teaching with you (over several days instead of just 1 afternoon), let me know and I'll talk to some friends in your area Chris

When your lines are extending and the bag is ascending relative to you, there is nothing holding the bag ponted in 1 direction. The bag's going to turn whichever way it gets pulled. So instead of holding it pointed in 1 specific direction, maybe the only thing you really can do is try to eliminate the forces that pull it one way or the other (such as stows) The fewer stows, then the less chance for the bag to get pulled one way or the other. That's my reasoning on why I subscribe to Sparky's theory. Chris

Ditto Change of stow point on the brake line just 1" can make a big difference in opening style

What a pain in the rear. A quick scribbled note in the line set bag from the manufacturer would have done wonders to prevent the confusion. "by the way, the new brake lines are a little dfferent from what may be on your canopy.... if you're uncertain, please contact us at this number" Have you suggested such an idea to Aerodyne? Chris

I've packed a D-4 with 220 reserve and it works well but's very tight already. Trying to go fo a 249 is too much in my opinion. 218 is already 1 size bigger than the recommended sizes for a D-4. As per the order form, D-4 = 200 reserve, 220 main: http://www.altico.com/dophinorderform.pdf Chris W

High aspect ratio canopies work well for filming CRW if you want photos from all sides (like for big-ways). You can stay at the same altitude with the formation, but you'll have a very diffuclt time slowing your forward speed enough to stay behind a team the whole time. If you do end up staying behind the team, likely the video will make people seasick from all the sashaying you'd be doing to stay back there. So for filming teams I'd say not a good choice. It never hurts to try, though. Just make sure you have both canopies available in case one doesn'work well for you. Chris W

True, but I'm not getting a rig TSO'd when I pack it. The rig design already has a TSO. FAA does indicate that the PRH and PPM volI and II are reference material for parachute rigging. I'm interested in looking further into this tomorrow. Thanks for attaching the AS8015B Chris

The 22 pounds includes the seal thread under TSO-C23d. 4.3.2.1 Primary Actuation Device/Ripcord, Human Factors Tests: The primary actuation device/ripcord shall be ground tested by a representative user group of no less than 6 male and 6 female subjects. They shall be able to operate the actuation device without difficulty. The ripcord, or equivalent, shall be sealed in accordance with FAR 65.133 for these tests. The cutaway requires the same 22 pounds but at a load twice the MOW. That's different from what I was taught, and it's different from what is apparently stated in the Parachute Rigger Handbook on p5-42 (intructions for closing a reserve container): "WARNING: MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE PULL FORCE ON THE RESERVE RIPCORD IS 22 POUNDS (10 KG) 13. Once you are satisfied that the pull force is less than 22 pounds (10 kg), seal the ripcord and log the pack job." Going by the above text, the 22 lbs is to be measured before the pin is sealed. Edit: ok I missed the bold text first time though "The ripcord, or equivalent, shall be sealed in accordance with FAR 65.133 for these tests". There are different ways to interpret the 22lbs depending on which text you read A quote from PPM VolII, p296: "TSO tests are run without the safety tie thread so the 22 lb. maximum pull is easier to meet"

Yanking on the risers is not the way to get speed. When you're above 2,000 ft try pulling down on a front riser and keeping it down for a few seconds. You'll pick up a lot more speed than if you were to do a quick yank. Of course this is very dangerous near the ground, so like everyone else said, get some coaching. Trial and error is painful :)

3 males in this forum are telling me it's no problem for anyone to use 1 hand. I bet each of you can look down at your tricep and compare it to an average female's and realize that it's at least twice the bulk. Ron I'm sure you know that the max ripcord pull should be 22lbs + 4 lbs safety tie... = 26 lbs. The cutaway handle may require more force than that. It's not always a light pull. While 2 hands on each handle may require 1-2 seconds between pulls, that's very little time compared to someone trying over and over to pull the cuatway handle unsuccessfully. It's not silly for me to say that use of a 1-hand method, which requires strong arms, is something that should not be taught to those wiho don't have strong arms. Chris

' I see. Thanks for the explanation. I'm glad you're safe and I do hope that next time you're able to perform your emergency procedure as planned. I'm surprised that an instructor presented the 1-hand option to you. If you're a weight lifter or a rock climber... then maybe it wouldn't be a probem. Even if you are such an athlete, there's no real advantage to using 1 hand. Disadvantage is that you can only pull with 1/2 the force. Chris

I don't consider changing emergency procedures to be something I will do on a knee-jerk reaction. Why did you change the frst time? It appears that you started out with good training: both hands on your cutaway pillow. What was the logic that led you to one hand on each handle? Chris

I don't believe I did. I was taught two-handed, but made a decision early on to do a one-hand on each handle procedure. I may change that now. You're a chick. You have equal rights to males in this country, but laws of physics do not care about such equality. You are female and you need to realize that your instructor taught you to use 2 hands for a reason. I'm male and pretty strong and still I like to stack the odds in my favor by using 2 hands on each handle. It works darn well. 'I may change that now' So you're actually considering the possibility of still using the method that completely failed you once already? Chris

I'd go with everything Chuck Brown said, and make sure you're using curved closing pin, not a straight one. I have my Lightning bridle much shorter than stock and still it pulls the closing pin every time. I'm using a 34" ZP pilot chute.. throwing it out hard to make sure it clears my burble. blue skies & soft grass, Chris

I think you're being too specific about "Dangerous Low Turn". It covers a broad range of actions near the ground. I would write something simpler like: Dangerous Low Turn: 'The most common cause of injuries in skydiving today. AKA The SLAM (Stupid Low Altitude Maneuver). A canopy does not simply pivot right or left when turning... it also dives. A turn is deemed dangerous when it's initiated at an altitude that is too low for recovery from the dive' Descent is misspelled in both definitions Anyway, that's my take on it =] Chris

\ I suggest right-clicking on the link and choose "save as".. save it to your desktop. then once it's finished downloading, double-click the file on your desktop. I hope this helps Chris

It's available directly from FAA online now: http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/media/faa-h-8083-17.pdf I thought it was worth reading all 300+ pages. There is some good information inside Chris

No. redundancy to me means: Use the time on the ride to altitude to check your chest strap multiple times. (instead of joking with the scared tandem passenger about the passenger cutaway handle, etc.) Even when riding to 13.5 on a really fast King Air. I've found time to check all my handles/straps and a student's... and go over the dive flow with him/her. There's really no excuse for not making a habit of this. Chris

I owned a Xaos-27 92 loaded at 2.45. It behaves well, but the stall speed was too high for comfortable landings when 0 wind. You must run very fast in those conditions. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with 2.1 - 2.2 range. The front riser pressure was very low on the fronts and I haven't found another canopy that gives that much induced speed for such little input. Before the xaos-27 I'd flown a VX97 for a while. The Xaos has a much flatter glide, slower openings (like 500-600 ft openings), and I thought it was more fun because flying it is not as much work as VX

Since you appear still willing to fly such formations, I must assume that one han't gone to crap yet. If it had I thnk you'd be terrified of using a x-braced canopy to do any more crw. It's similar to doing a low pull contest: Eventually it will bite you hard. Spectra lines have been known to cut off fingertips in CRW wraps. Smaller lines such as Vectran and HMA can remove entire limbs. Dacron is much more friendly in wraps. It can hurt, but doesn't slice like the smaller lines. I encourage using only CRW-specific canopies or more forgiving canopies (large ones). The smaller they are then the faster wraps can happen. Bigger ones give you time to anticipate problems. Be careful & have fun Chris W