Hooknswoop

Components degrade over time. This reduces performance. They test each component and if out of limits, replace it. As long as your country's regulations don't require it and you don't want the maintenance done, so be it. But if it misfires or doesn't work when you need it, you have given up any right to complain about it. I doubt those computers are use in a life-saving role. You jump a G4. Mirage did the same thing with their containers to get to the G4. You have a Temp reserve. Which has been updated tot he Smart reserve. I guess you paid for that R & D. Companies continually upgrade their products to remain competitive. The Cypres has an incredible record over the last 12+ years. Seems to me they only made the Cypres2 a bit nicer, but no real differences. Think you are making a mistake by not getting the maintenance done to your Cypres. Call them up and talk to them about what they do during the maintenance check and then decide. Derek

When you pack, fold the dive loops 'up', so they pop out and down on deployment. Derek

Not always true. I've seen too many times where USPA is put in a position to either help jumpers or help DZO's. DZO's win every time. The USPA GM is a conflict of interest. This is why BSR's are not enforced by the USPA. Derek

FAR Part 105. In the U.S. the AAD, if installed, must be maintained according to the manucaturer's specs. Derek

Does this count?: I sat in the elevator, wrapped in a warm steel cage of safety. Suspended by two steel cables certified by some government agency to a minimum performance and strength criteria. They are probably inspected on a yearly basis. A lattice-work door sealed the fourth side. I was coming down from approximately 500 feet. If safety is relative, I was safe. Physically anyway. There was no longer a risk of imminent major injury or death. As I passed the alternatively flashing and steady red lights, they cast eerie shadows on the walls of my sanctuary. The shadows slid down the white-painted walls, pulsating in tune with the flashing lights and steadily slid as I past the steady lights. I sat there, contemplating the dramatic change in my environment. Emotionally, I was still in great danger. I hadn't yet transitioned emotionally to being safe. Physically I could relax, but I still hadn't accepted that I had escaped death's firm grasp. My calmness only relented to my emotions once. My thoughts turned to my girlfriend. I decided that I should make sure that she knew how I felt about her, just in case. I grabbed the radio, still clipped to my chest strap, to my lips and hit the transmit button. "I don't want to sound all melodramatic here, but if this doesn't work out……..Joe, would you tell Mary,…….. 'I love her?'" Hearing myself say that brought on a surge of emotions. I almost failed to contain them. "Sure buddy, you know I would do that for you." I knew he meant it. I took a couple of deep breaths, cleared my throat, and forced myself to go back to considering my situation and the solution to fixing it. I exited from the antenna at about 1550 feet, feeling calm and in control, my brand new Ace 240 packed slider up on my back. The exit was clean with just the right amount of rotation. I swept my arms back and extended my legs into a tracking position quickly. My arms not completely swept back to compensate for the higher drag of the baggy pants, just as I had decided beforehand would be the optimum tracking position. As I picked up speed I could feel a head wind pushing me from the front-left side. At the exit point there had been zero wind and Joe had exited 15 minutes earlier from the same exit point. I compensated by raising my left arm and bringing my left leg in a bit. I wasn't getting the speed that had expected and decided to take a longer delay than planned, using the extra fee-fall to get more distance from the structure. The Sidewinder helmet was working very well to keep the wind out of my eyes so they wouldn't tear up. I reached in to pull, felt a slight panic as I fumbled for the handle, but knew I would find it quickly. I threw the pilot chute, glancing over my right shoulder to see it leave. There was the customary surge of adrenaline after throwing the pilot chute and before feeling anything deploy. Then the canopy opened. I didn't look up as was my skydiving habit, a habit that doesn't carry over to BASE jumping well. The canopy felt as if I began a quick right turn and stopped turning after 180-degrees. In reality, it had opened 180-degrees to the left, I discovered after reviewing the video, and the sensation was me untwisting to face the same direction as the canopy. The structure was close, very close. The canopy's speed was much higher than I had expected. I grabbed the toggles and based on my position relative to the structure, began a right turn. I knew I was off-set to the left and there was more room between the guy wires to my right than to my left. I added more right toggle as I was flying towards the structure very quickly. I knew I would miss the structure and wasn't worried. I had visualized the flight path of the canopy relative to the structure and I knew I would clear it. I had a lot of right toggle in and was swung out from under the canopy quite a bit, almost perpendicular. Then I saw the guy wire, directly in front of me and about six feet away. My flight path was going to take me into the guy wire. I had no where to go, no time to decide on a new course of action, much less execute it. I was going to hit the guy wire. There was nothing left to do. I brought the other toggle down to match the first in an effort to miss the guy wire to no avail. Maybe it was a reaction to flare when you are going to hit something, but bring the other toggle down wasn't a conscious decision, I just did it. The guy wire hit my lines just above the risers. I passed within reach of the nose of the canopy as it wrapped around the wire. The nose grabbed the slider and pulled it back up as I slide down the opposite side of the wire. I was sliding down, away from the guy wire and pulling the canopy to the wire and, at the same time, sliding down the wire towards the ground. The canopy wrapped around the cable and the sliding was making a sound similar to running a fingernail down a guitar string. The canopy wrapped around the wire and cinched tight, stopping all movement except for a little bouncing and swaying as I hung there. The slider managed to work free of the nose and drop down the lines and came to rest at the links. I thought there might be a chance that it wouldn't hang up. It might slide off, re-inflate and give me a chance to fly the canopy to the ground but this was not to be. I took a couple rapid deep breaths, then began to take stock of my situation. I tried to swing towards the guy wire, but couldn't get any motion going. sterile I realized I was going to die. I accepted my fate with dignity and composure. I wondered exactly how the end would come. Would I slide down the wire, impact with enough force to break my body, slowly bleeding out to a final blackness? Would the canopy give way with just enough left to keep me up-right so that I hit the ground 500 feet below standing up and dying instantly? Would I decide that cutting away and taking that last free-fall was my best option? I didn't know the details, but I knew the final result would be the same. I was going to die. It surprised how easily I accepted my fate. It was only logical and logic is easy for me to accept and understand. I decided I wasn't going to go out like a pathetic, whimpering mass. I would go out in style, my last words some witty joke that made everyone laugh in spite of themselves. My only complaint was that I had to wait for the end to come. I'm not a very patient person and didn't like to be kept waiting, especially if it was inevitable. "Let's get it over with.", I thought. The situation progressed and I continued to run through possible scenarios that could happen during the rescue attempt Joe had radioed up to me. While hey were busy getting gear together, I created a mental 'box' of which contained things that I didn't want to think about. I would go through a scenario and inject 'what-if's' into it. The 'what-if's' without a solution went into the box. "What if the canopy comes off the wire and re-inflates?" I decided to put the toggles back on the risers so that I could find them quickly if that happened. I decided I would fly towards the road, fly down the road until I ran out of altitude and land on the road, downwind. No turns if possible. "What if the canopy comes off the wire and is in tatters?" In the box that thought goes. "What if the rope over the wire wears through before I get to the structure?" I would fall, with my entire weight on a series of 9-foot bridles lark's-headed together. "Hmm, type IV webbing. That is rated to 1000-pounds. That will not hold if the rope fails." Toss that thought in the box. The box was getting full. I had a lot of time to consider my position. At one point, just before the sun went down, a BK-117 helicopter (we saw it the next day, it was a life-flight helicopter), flew by, very close to the antenna. I thought for sure it would see me. I decided I would wave cheerfully if it flew up to me, but it flew past without even slowing down. Later, Mike actually suggested an airbag be brought out for me to land on. I explained to him over the radio that there were two guy wires under me, and Joe explained that 1) This wasn't Hollywood, California, and 2) The record high fall was something like 180 feet, I was about 500 feet up. It was good for a laugh though. On the ground Joe, Arron, and Mike were working frantically to put together enough equipment to rescue me. They went though bags, ripped open packed BASE rigs and removed the bridles, anything and everything they could find. It took a while to rig up everything before they could begin the rescue. Even though they were working quickly, it felt like it was taking a long time. I knew that I could fall at any time and hoped they could get a line to me I time. I was scared. Now it was dark and a steady wind was blowing. Once they began to lower the line to me, my emotions soared, finally the plan is in motion and might actually work. Something that I could see was happening, something that could lead to my rescue. It also reinforced how exposed I was. I could still fall at any time and the closer to being rescued I got the more antsy I got to clip that carabiner into my swami belt. Only after I clipped into my belt would I be able to relax a little. Then they couldn't get the rope to slide down the wire. It needed weight. So they pulled it back up, forcing me to go back to depending on the canopy not slipping for an indefinite length of time. My emotions plummeted. Rescue was no longer on the way, it was being pulled back in. I radioed up, "Weight the end of the line, use boots, anything." They connected a large flashlight to the end. I had put red taillight tape over the lens of that flashlight earlier in the day. Then they began to lower the line again. It was working. It didn't slide easily and the wind was blowing the type IV 1-inch webbing of the bridles in a wide arc away from the wire. There wasn't enough bridles. They pulled it back up, attached another bridle and lowered it again. The line was now long enough but the flashlight on the end of the rope was about 5 feet above my reach. I visualized myself standing on my slider with my waist even with the end of the rope dangling from the wire. I could easily clip in and work from there. My emotions soared to new heights. This was going to work, I could do this. I radioed up, I'm going to pull myself up and stand on my slider to clip in. "No, don't do that, the canopy may slip" Joe told me over the radio. But salvation was so close at hand. I was willing to take any risk to save myself. I figured I was already lost, so any risk that paid off was worth it. And if it failed, I had lost nothing because I was going to die anyway. There wasn't anything I could to make the situation worse. It was strange, working without a safety net, anything goes. Joe pleaded with me not to attempt it. I finally relented after doing a pull up on my risers. They hauled the line back up the wire and again my emotions plummeted. There was no middle ground. I was either elated that I rescue was imminent or shattered, despairing that rescue would never come. I was becoming emotionally exhausted from the constant skyrocketing and plummeting I was going through. "I'm going to live!" "Nope, I'm going to die…….." I felt like either rescue me or let me die, but quit toying with me. They slid the line back down with a very old and worn piece of cotton rope dangling from the black static line looped over the wire that they had found this rope at the base of the antenna. A scene from the movie "Indiana Jones" came to mind where instead of a rope being lowered to climb out on, they drop a few flags tied together. We had no idea how long it had been there, but obviously a long time. Joe had tied two loops in the rope for me to climb with. They were out of ideas and materials. I was either going to make it to the guy wire with I had on me and what they had given me or I was going to die trying. It felt better to know that it was up to me and the emotional roller coaster ride had come to an end. I thought to myself, make sure each step is going to work and make sure you don't make a mistake that will prevent final salvation later on. First I had to get locked into the black line. I reached for the cotton rope, taking a couple of swings at it, knowing that if I couldn't reach it all was lost. I caught it on the third swipe for it. Feeling the rope in my hand was very re-assuring, step one of getting my self to the guy wire was complete. I was on my way. I hauled myself up the cotton rope to the black line but couldn't hold the black line above the figure eight knot and couldn't get my waist to the knot in my hands. I put myself in a cradle formed by the risers, slider, and lines of my canopy, which suspended me with my waist about 2 feet from the carabiner that represented life. I clipped the carabiner from my pocket to the black line. "That's step 2." I thought. I rested and thought. I tried and tried to clip the carabiner into my rescue belt, but I couldn't pull myself up far enough and use the other hand to make the clip. I settled back into the cradle and breathing hard, tried to think. "I'll clip into my chest strap.", I decided. I pulled up hard trying to clip the carabiner to my chest strap. I could get my chest strap to within about 3 inches of the carabiner. I struggled, knowing that this simple connection meant the difference between living and dying. I was loading only a few lines on the canopy in my cradled position and feared it might release at any time. I knew that if the canopy came off the wire or just slide down the wire any more I was good as dead. I had to clip in. I decided to loosen the chest strap as much as I could to get more slack. I looked at the one-inch webbing and friction adapter and figured it couldn't be worse than the type IV that was part of the improvised rescue gear. Then I pulled myself up again and barely managed to clip into the carabiner. Step 3 was complete. The chances of falling had been dramatically reduced and I was on my way to being rescued. I hung there, breathing hard, preparing for the next step. I had my sidewinder with a PC-101 video camera in it (I left it still recording intentionally) and a radio on my chest strap. The cotton rope was hanging below me with the red-taped lens shining on he ground near the building at the base of the antenna. I lay there, breathing hard, trying to relax, knowing that I still had to get up the black static line rope to the wire and I wasn't done then either. I needed Prussiks to get up the black static line. I pulled the sling off of the flashlight, tying the flashlight directly to the cotton rope. I attached the sling, Prussik style to the black line. It wasn't a very long sling and I couldn't find the other sling they had told me they had lowered to me. I later found out that what I though was one sling was actually two that had been larks-headed together. They weren't long enough to make two Prussiks out of though. Then, cringing, I opened the gate to the carabiner I was suspended on and put the sling through the carabiner. Then I re-locked the carabiner. I knew that opening a weighted carabiner was a no-no in climbing, but I had little choice. Then I pulled up the cotton rope, put the flashlight in my helmet and began to forma Prussik out of the cotton rope. I had to remove the knots Joe had tied for me and use my Leatherman from my pocket to cut the rope. There was one very old overhand knot that I had to work around. I was very careful not to drop either the rope or my Leatherman. It was dark, the wind was blowing and Arron was shining his headlamp at me so I had light to work with. There was a mess of gear in front of me. Sometime, while rigging the Prussiks, my radio fell off my chest strap. (I later found it, amazingly still working). I finally managed to tie the cotton rope into a Prussik and get it on the black line. Then I tested them. They both slipped down the black line when I loaded them. They wouldn't work! I couldn't get up the black rope to the guy wire. "OK, think." I remembered that I had read in a climbing book that Prussiks could be wrapped more around the rope to increase their grip. I wrapped both Prussiks a third time, carefully dressing them. Working over my head so much was tiring my arms. I knew I was going to need my arms to go up the guy wire. I tested the triple-wrapped Prussiks. They worked! I was on my way up the black line to the guy wire. It didn't take long to get where I could grab the wire. I rested next to the wire, hanging from the sling-Prussik. I tried to figure out how to make a Prussik to go on the guy wire, but realized I would have to cut the black line while hanging from the sling-Prussik with no safety backup. Should the Prussik start to slip, I would come off the end of the rope and not be able to reach it from the end of the canopies lines, if they held. I decided not to attach a Prussik to the guy wire. I would have to rely on the Type IV to hold me while I rested as I climbed up the guy wire. It was very dark and with the red lens flashlight hanging of the rope, shining in different directions, Arron shining his head lamp at me from the antenna, the constant and flashing red lights of the antenna all mixing together to make a very eerie environment to be working in. At least with the darkness, we would be harder to spot. I pulled on the canopy and it didn't budge. I jerked a little and it still wouldn't move. I decided to abandon it. I had a long way to go and if I tired myself out getting the canopy, I wouldn't have the strength to climb the wire. We were also still exposed on the antenna, lights everywhere and radio discipline had been abandoned in an effort to work faster and avoid confusion. I yelled up that I was climbing and was told to hang tight while they figured out a belay system. After about 10 minutes which felt like an hour, they yelled down to go ahead and start climbing, that I was belayed. I climbed up the wire about 6 feet and told them I had to stop to rest. As I put my weight on the black rope, it slid down the wire several feet until the type IV stopped stretching. I rested and decided I was going to cut away the canopy now. I yelled up that I was going to cut away and received an "OK" from the structure. It was a big moment. I pulled the cutaway handle and stuffed it inside my jacket. I didn't want to get teased later for "throwing my handles". I was tangled a little in the lines, so I pulled out my hook knife and cut a riser to free myself. I remember thinking, "That is the first time I have actually used my hook knife." I continued to haul myself up the guy wire, using the type IV to prevent me from sliding back down the wire. Joe and Arron where belaying my climb and we soon were working together very well, minimizing any extra climbing. I would yell up, "Climbing!", and Arron would respond, "Climb on!", typical dialogue between a rock climber and their belayer. I didn't know before then, but surmised that Arron was a climber. That was re-assuring. The higher I climbed, the less the type IV would stretch when I rested. Each time I rested and the type IV stretched, I would have to re-climb the section of guy wire that I slide down while resting. I knew that the type IV would stretch less as I got closer, but Arron had also warned me that the wire got steeper closer to the structure. The climb was exhausting. My mouth was completely dry and the skin on my lips were chapped and began to peel. During one of the breaks I took while climbing the wire, Joe called out to me, "Hang in there buddy!" I replied, "That's not fucking funny!" But it was. I had to laugh. I got within about 10 feet of the structure and I knew I would make it. My arms and legs were on fire, exhausted. Arron asked me to look at the black rope that was looped around the guy wire, but I didn't want to, knowing that it had been chaffing and that there was nothing I could do about it. It was one of the items in my mental 'box', full of things that I didn't want to think about. When he insisted I glanced at it and told him it looked OK. He was concerned that the type IV was chaffing against the guy wire and if it wore through, I would slide back down the guy wire and probably die. Arron called down "Not to worry" and that he "had me in a secure body-belay." I didn't know if he was joking or trying to reassure me, but I laughed thinking that is an oxymoron. (I didn't find out until later that Joe and Arron had worked most of the rescue without any safety lines. Only near the end did they manage to both get a rope tying them to the structure in case they fell.) As I climbed closer to the structure, I could hear Joe and Arron talking back and forth, working the belay system they had set up. Their voices were tense and they communicated in short, terse sentences. I knew that the belay system was working, but wasn't bomber. The faster I got to the structure, the better. They called out encouragement and advice. "Keep your arms straight. Shake your arms out. You can do it, you're almost here." Their positive, encouraging voices helped keep my motivation and focus. I struggled up the last few feet of guy wire and frantically swung my feet to get a hold of the structure. Byran was telling me to just relax but I wanted to be on the structure. I knew that being 2 feet away or 40 made no difference. I wouldn't be safe until I was back on the structure. I got a foot on the structure, then a handhold and pulled myself onto it. The elation was incredible. I had made it. I was going to live. I couldn't believe it. I held on tight, not moving and Arron used a hook knife to cut the type IV off of me because it was pulling me away from the structure. After a few minutes I gingerly, under Arron and Joe's watchful eye, climbed down to the platform and hugged Joe. Then I climbed into the elevator. Joe told me he wanted me to sit down and had a bottle of much needed water in the elevator waiting for me. I was too drained to argue. I took a drink of the water and offered the rest to Arron. I passed the bottle to him, then closed the door. Joe called Mike on the radio and directed him to bring the elevator down. I stepped out of the elevator, hugged Mike and climbed down the last 30-feet of ladder. As I walked to the gate, I noticed my two medic bags on the ground. I mentally thanked my rescue crew for thinking of everything and threw them back over the fence, even though Joe had ordered me not to climb it, and climbed over after them. I stripped off what was left of my gear and drank some more water. I was exhausted in every sense of the word. I looked up, trying to spot my canopy above me, but I couldn't see it. I couldn't believe I had made it. It was actually harder to accept that I had made it than it was to accept that I was going to die. We piled into my truck and drove to Joe's car with Joe driving. Before we got a few feet, jacked up the front end and pulled the tire off because it was making an awful squealing noise. Turned out to just be a rock on the rotor of the disk brake, so we put the tire back on. At Joe's car, we had something to eat and drink (I couldn't eat for many hours afterward and even then only a little). Then we discussed the potential for recovering the canopy. One idea that we eventually went with was to attach a weighted bag to the guy wire and slide it down the wire, ramming it and hopefully sliding all the way to the bottom and taking the canopy with it. We used several carabiners and a stash bag full of bottled water. No one said as much, but nobody wanted to go back up the antenna that night. I knew I would be one of the two and Arron gamely volunteered. We discussed how tired we were, exactly what we were going to do and cautioned each other to go slow and not to make a mistake now. Arron and I went back up the elevator, clipped into the structure, attached the bag and let it go. It took off and gained a lot of speed before hitting the canopy. The canopy didn't budge, but the stash bag split open, dropping all the water bottles out. They hit sounding like a cluster bomb going off. We quietly rode the elevator back down. Everyone was dealing with a tremendous amount of different fears. The fear of getting caught, the fear of dying, the fear of making a mistake and watching me fall to my death. The longer I was out there, the more likely one of our fears would be realized, so time was a big factor. Joe ,Arron, and Mike worked as a team, quickly and efficiently to rescue me from the guy wire, 500 feet up. They did a tremendous job, piecing together enough equipment to improvise a rescue system and getting me to safety. They never considered abandoning me. They were willing to do whatever it took to ensure my safety. They are heroes. Transcript from PC-101 helmet video camera: September, 25, 2003 33:32 John: Let's get Mike to get a look at what I'm suspended by here. 33:35 John: Mike, you're behind the dish from me. 33:36 Mike: I need to go up, I'm right behind the dish 33:40 John: No, you need to go DOWN. 33:45 Joe: Do you want down Mike? 38:48 Mike: Mike wants up, I'm immediately behind the dish 33:51 John: Mike, you're above me. 33:56 Mike: No, I'm almost level with uh, with John. I need you to take the elevator up about 10 to 15 feet 34:05 Joe: I'm getting ready to start up, are you ready? 34:07 Mike: Confirm up 34:14 Mike: Stop, stop ,stop 34:22 Mike: From what I can see it looks pretty wrapped. it is not just the uh, the uh, the bridle looks like it is really caught, it looks like it is really wrapped and the other stuff is not just a thread, it is around that trail. 34:45 Mike: It does not look like it is just dangling. Something that would open up that trail if he would kinda jar it. It looks like it caught and it looks like it is not going anywhere on that trail. 34:57 Joe: OK one thing to consider, thinking this thing through, it's friction that's got us there because to the best of my knowledge there is nothing other than the thick steel cable that on that thing for it to catch on. Would that be correct John? 35:12 John: That is correct. 35:18 Joe: I'm pretty confident guys that it is complete friction that is keeping everything where it is at. 35:12 John: Concur. 35:24 Mike: I can tell you from this view point that it looks like it took a wrap, that its not just friction, it took a wrap. 35:36 (helicopter noise in background) excellent. I've already concurred, conjured up a good idea. Let me put this by you. Are you ready? 35:39 John: Ready. 35:42 Joe: Here's what were gonna do, exactly what were gonna do. It's gonna be a carabiner or a bunch of them or something, preferably metal wrapped around the cable. With about 18 feet, 27 feet of bridle coming down off of that. What's gonna happen is, we are gonna belay that to you get the bridles to you so that we at least hook in so that we have a safety line so if something fails. The question is, can a carabiner go around the cable? 36:12 John: Hey, there's a helicopter inbound. 36:21 Joe: OK, from what angle, I hear it. 36:24 John: Nine-o'clock. 36: 28 Joe: It may or may not hear, may or may not see you. Probably does. (Helicopter flying by) 36:45 Joe: Just (unintelligible) now. Let's just stay without it for now, OK? 36:53 John: Kay, a carabiner will not go around the cable 37:01 Joe: You said 'will not'? 37:03 John: Will not. What I need you to do is use the black rope to make Prussiks 37:11 Joe: Copy. I'm just worried that with the friction that it might wear through. 37:14 John: I mean, I'm gonna, I can Prussik down if you can get me the tools 37:19 Joe: Copy all, copy all, good idea 37:24 Arron: I've got all the uh, the bags bridles and what not. 37:27 Joe: (stepped on) through everything in the truck the, the top of the truck and come on over here. Mike, we need to get the vador down here so we can come up again. Are you ready to come down? 37:37 Mike: Ready and waiting and the (bridles?) are off. 37:39 Joe: OK, you're ready for down. 37:43 Mike: Confirm down 38:03 Joe: Hey buddy, I know you're calm and doing good, but you are in great hands. We ARE going to square you away. 38:09 John: Roger that. 38:24 Joe: Hey Mike, you should take quick film if you have the chance. 38:35 Joe: Sorry John, I know that's not the right thing to say, but what the heck it would just be for you only. 38:53 Joe: Are you doing OK in the harness John? 38:55 John: Ya, I'm doing alright. 39:06 John: Hey, be thinking about getting me a headlamp too. 39:12 Joe: Alright. We also got big flashlights. We aren't concerned about how much light we shine. Your safety is top priority and that's all that matters. 39:26 Joe: (stepped on) we will bring in any all help we need to and that is the case. 39:30 Mike: I lost a good vantage point when I started to come down. 39:40 Joe: I just want to double check John, are you ok right now? Or do you want me to get....I think we can move faster any other emergency vehicles could. 39:47 John: Roger that. If I can get the tools, I'm OK. 39:51 Joe: I just want to re-confirm. Are you OK with only us working on this? Because I can call in the re-enforcement's while we're working if you want. 39:57 John: Negative, let's see if I can get the tools and set this up. 40:02 Joe: Ok, but if start to feel unstable, let us know, because like I said, your safety is our number one priority. 40:21 John: There is another option. 40:23 Joe: Go ahead. 40:24 John: If this idea doesn't work, uh, how do you feel about, uh, giving me another uh rig and, and, static lining from where I'm at? 40:40 Joe: I don't like it. I'm also concerned too much movement will cause the friction. That's why I want you to be as still as you can through this entire process while we try and rig things up for you. 41:01 Mike: Hey uh, I'll make a suggestion when you get down. 41:03 Joe: Copy 43:10 John: (Not on radio) Dam it. 43:58 Joe: I've found some more rope at the bottom. I'm securing things here so we can use it. 44:03 John: Roger. 44:26 Joe: Not that we're gonna need it, but I just got us an extra sixty feet of rope. 44:32 John: Terrific, you can use that to get me the stuff I need. 44:35 Joe: Yep, we'll get everything we can. 46:40 John: I had another thought. 46:46 Joe: Go ahead. 46:51 John: Making some sort of loop or ring or something that goes over the cable, a suspended line with a carabiner or two on the end, I can clip into those, cutaway, you guys can haul me up the wire. 47:03 Joe: Yep that's what we are thinking about doing. 47:05 John: OK. 49:41 John: Joe, you know what a Prussik is? 49:49 Joe: Affirmative, we know what a Prussik is. 49:50 John: OK that's what I'm gonna need. Oh, hey, I just remembered, I have one carabiner with me. 49: 58 Arron: Is that on your person? 50:00 John: Yes. (sound of Velcro and a carabiner's gate snapping, then a deep breathe) 51:28 John: Not to rush you or anything, but how are we doing? 51:32 Joe: We're doing good. I won't talk now. We getting equipment moved fast. We've got a great system to get you. Just stand by we're doing really good, we've got it all dialed in. 51:38 John: That's the information I wanted to hear. Thank you. 52:24 [Tape ends] Derek

Yo Primo!! The video of him puling an AFF student's ripcord on exit with his reserve handle was priceless. Derek

I'm guessing that he could tell because the PC didn't launch because the spring colis were locked and could therefore inspect how it was packed. I have opened a Javelin and the PC spring didn't fully expand and had zero launch because the PC material was tightly rolled up. Discussing mistakes helps others avoid making the same ones. I have learned a lot from reading about other's mistakes. I am fairly confident that I would have made mistakes (and have), but didn't (make as many) because I had read about them. Derek

If it is more than 3 months past the DOM + 8 years, you risk the pilot's license because under FAR Part 105, it is not legal to jump it out of date. The rigger also risks their license because it is not legal to pack a reserve unless the AAD is maintained according to the manufacturer's specs. As for the risk of it not working, firing prematurely, etc, the risks are unknown. Derek

I used to be a safety diver at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. 533+ hours of diving 46% NITROX in less than a year. Derek

Are you suggesting that the jumpers that were backing up under larger canopies would have been safer had they been jumping smaller canopies for that jump? Derek

From the ‘other’ thread about canopy sizing; I thinks that is why they think this thread is associated with the ‘other’ thread. Derek

A bigger canopy is safer than a small canopy, if you lower the maximum winds you jump in accordingly. Jumping a large canopy in high winds is not safer than jumping a smaller canopy in high winds because backing up under canopy is unsafe. Fortunately a jumper can decide notto jump in winds too high for their canopy + WL. Derek

No, of course not, for pictures, etc to have the effect desired, they must be presented in a "having their nose rubbed in the reality of the pain, suffering, embarisment, humility, helplessnes, and expence of a long term hospital stay" way. They can't be presented in a "Dude, check out what I did to my leg. Cool, heh?" way or the "Chicks dig scars." way. Derek

Exactly. I have seen jumpers proudly showing off their X-rays after coming back to the DZ after an incident. Derek

I see a very comparable situation between new drivers and new canopy pilots. New drivers have seen a lot of vehicle accidents, on the news, in person, etc. They have been shown the consequences of driving like an idiot. They still drive like idiots and get into accidents. Education, for drivers and canopy pilots is important. It is also severely lacking for both drivers and canopy pilots. There are schools for both that are not mandatory, but people can pay to attend. Not everyone that should does, in fact very few that should do. Unfortunately, education is not the fix-all. From: Young Drivers: The High Risk Years "Unfortunately," Dr. Simpson added, "the problem is that so many crashes involve their attitude, not their skills." “Dr. Simpson points out that what is needed is some kind of system that allows teens accessibility and mobility, but that at the same time gives them an opportunity to gain much-needed experience under conditions of 'controlled risk.' This concept is known as 'graduated licensing.'” “Peer pressure can, and usually does, override adult rules concerning issues such as obeying the speed limit or using turn signals.” “With such serious statistics, parents want to know what they can do to minimize the risks that come with teenage driving. Consider these suggestions:” “Be sure teenagers get plenty of supervised driving even after getting their licenses.” “Ease teens into more challenging situations, such as highways and mountainous roads, or wet, snowy and icy conditions.“ “Make sure teens stay out of unsafe cars, especially small cars and high performance cars.“ From: Graduated Licensing for Teen Drivers “Driving is a complicated skill to learn; it takes time and practice.” “Sometimes young drivers lack driving experience to safely react to traffic situations.” “Drivers in this age group also commonly engage in more risk-taking behaviors, exposing themselves to dangerous situations on the road.” The concept is to break the driver’s license down into stages: “Stage 1: Learner's Permit” “Stage 2: Intermediate or Provisional License” “Stage 3: Full License” http://www.usaweekend.com/99_issues/990905/990905drivers.html is another good reference. Showing newer drivers pictures of vehicle accidents won’t stop very many from driving poorly. Education would help a lot, but without experience it doesn’t do much. If they don’t use that training, it doesn’t help at all. Pictures/video/meeting jumpers that have had an incident and education will all help, but will not make a big difference Derek

Absolutely. The problem is, as you pointed out, this system doesn't work. A change is needed. Education is the key, which is the point of your post, I think. To educate newer jumpers on the risks of high performance landings. We need to make sure the teaching is standardized and correct. Teaching the wrong thing(s) is worse than not teaching at all. Good point. It won't fix everything, but it would make a difference. I don't think a single change will make a big difference. It will.would take a lot of work to make the changes that are required to make a real difference. I don't see these changes on the horizon. Derek

What, specifically, do skydivers do to deter incidents? I don't think images from a botched hook turn will deter very many people. They think it won't happen to them. Derek

Two different scenarios are being discussed, 1) Spotting or in free-fall and a airplane is flying over or near the DZ, and, 2) Parachutes are open over the DZ and an aircraft is approaching the airspace over the DZ which is filled with parachutes. In 1, the aircraft has no way to see and avoid skydivers in free-fall, it is up to the skydivers to see the aircraft and not exit if an aircraft may present a hazard. This is helped by the big sky theory and communications with ATC by both the jump ship and other aircraft. The problem is the sky is getting more and more crowded and in a lot of areas, an aircraft needs neither to be in contact with ATC nor even have a transponder so that ATC can see the aircraft's location and, if equipped, altitude, w/o primary radar. For 2, a canopy is going to have a hard time getting out of the way of an aircraft and the canopy would have the right of way, the same as an aircraft approaching a hot-air balloon or glider. I know of a case where a Piper Cub taking off clipped a Tandem that was landing. There is no way it was the Tandem’s fault, for even if the Tandem sees the Cub approaching, he can’t get out of the way. The day a skydiver hit a jet with a Senator on board and takes it down, skydiving in this country as we know it will be gone. The day a jet with a Senator on board hit a skydiver under canopy………I dunno. Derek

"§ 91.113 Right-of-way rules: Except water operations. (a) Inapplicability. This section does not apply to the operation of an aircraft on water. (b) General. When weather conditions permit, regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft. When a rule of this section gives another aircraft the right-of-way, the pilot shall give way to that aircraft and may not pass over, under, or ahead of it unless well clear. (c) In distress. An aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over all other air traffic. (d) Converging. When aircraft of the same category are converging at approximately the same altitude (except head-on, or nearly so), the aircraft to the other's right has the right-of-way. If the aircraft are of different categories -- (1) A balloon has the right-of-way over any other category of aircraft; (2) A glider has the right-of-way over an airship, airplane, or rotorcraft; and (3) An airship has the right-of-way over an airplane or rotorcraft. However, an aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft has the right-of-way over all other engine-driven aircraft. (e) Approaching head-on. When aircraft are approaching each other head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of each aircraft shall alter course to the right. (f) Overtaking. Each aircraft that is being overtaken has the right-of-way and each pilot of an overtaking aircraft shall alter course to the right to pass well clear. (g) Landing. Aircraft, while on final approach to land or while landing, have the right-of-way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the surface, except that they shall not take advantage of this rule to force an aircraft off the runway surface which has already landed and is attempting to make way for an aircraft on final approach. When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport for the purpose of landing, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right-of-way, but it shall not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of another which is on final approach to land or to overtake that aircraft." Derek

Destroying; no, damaging; yes. Derek

1000#. (Not really, but close. All the Vectran #'s are rounded off.) Derek

After 500 jumps, the main is probably wore-out. F-111 just doesn't hold up well. I would find out exactly what the reserve is and if it has any AD's/SB's on it before deciding what it is worth. Derek

Nope, plain old line-over. Only one main and one reserve. Anyone else want to chim in with what they would do? Derek

It was no my intention to be-little. Airtec says the batteries must be replaced after 2 years from date of installation. The FAR's say that the AAD, if installed, must be maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions. I think this eliminates any grey area. If the batteries come due before the reserve does, the rig is no longer legal to jump because at that point, the AAD has not been maintained according to the manufacturer's specs. Where do you see a grey area, where am I wrong? Derek

Duece is the camera-man in the pic, MM took the pic. My pro-track puts the exit altitude at 8,000 feet but I still got 43 seconds of free-fall. Thanks to Bill for oraganizing. I was sure I would be smeared down the side of the Van, but we exited clean. Derek