Hooknswoop

Different situations affect gear choices. A good instructor and skydiver is constantly evaulating the conditions and his/her gear and if appropiate, making changes. For example, my VX, a bad demo canopy choice, my Safire 189, great demo canopy choice. Cold outside, wear gloves, etc. And there are times when not changing gear, even if a different gear choice might be a little better, but sticking with what you are used to out-weighs the small advantage a particular gear change offered. We all make gear choices, some good, some not so good. Some jump gear that they shouldn't be jumping, usually because they don't realize how far in over their head they are. Some consider injuries to be an acceptable part of skydiving and are willing to pay that price to jump the gear they do. An educated gear decision beats an ignorant decision any day of the week, the problem is that it is damn hard to educate someone that has made up their mind. Evaluating the ricks require a conscious effort and either experience or good counsel, and both doesn't hurt one bit. Hook

The silver handle should go right in the pocket where the reserve pillow was. Hook

The reserve handles are inter-changable. The only thing you should do is cover up the extra piece of velcro that isn't used when the pillow handle is installed. Hook

"The canopy may not fly straight, because the rear of one half of the canopy is still being loaded to some extent by the unstowed brake line, but the other side will be completely un-loaded. This would be worse if brake lines are too short (many are) or on a canopy with a very short control range like a Stiletto." If the canopy turns w/ one broken steering line, the steering lines are too short. Safire 189 at 1:1, land w/ rear risers VX-60 at 3.1:1, cutaway Hook

Deal :-) hook

I've had students under Sabre 230's, 210's, 190's, 170's, and 150's. So a 1.2 wingloading under a 170 wouldn't beat the student down by much, especially if you had to fly back to the DZ a bit and couldn't spiral much. I am not suggesting that AFFI's should jump very small mains in order to get down quickly, just that I have found that it is an advantage for me. Hook

If you still want to bet, I'll bet you a $1.00, Chuck, or someone else pulls it off within 6 years. Hook

So I am thinking of getting a wing suit. How many companies make them? Which is the leading company? Why? Who has the best quality, customer service, suit? Any recommendations for type of suit, options? (I would just go ahead and get the really fast one, kinda in my nature) Anything new in suit design on the horizon? Anything I would need to have special for wing suit flying? How the heck to set up a protrack for wing suit flying? Any mods to do to a suit right away? (like shoe-goo on booties, that sort of thing) Thanks Hook

"However, I ALSO believe there is a proper way to bring up safety issues and that is NOT (at least not right off the bat) yelling and screaming around the hangar about an issue. If you have an issue then bring it up with the person involved. If that doesn't seem to take effect then take it to the DZO. " Before I respond, was this directed towards me, or is it general advice? Hook

"Jumping a tiny canopy just so you can land before your student to radio him down is a lame excuse. You should jump a mid-sized canopy, and spiral as if the devil was after you to land before the student." I said it was an advantage and I like jumping a small main. Why should I jump a larger main? "Secondly, you do not need a full-blown AFFI to talk down students. Any Instructor A (Canadian term) who has demonstrated competence at talking down first jump students should be able to talk down an AFF student." Again I haven't had the luxury of having anyone talk a student down for me, in AFF anyway. I either have to jump w/ the radio or get on the ground and hustle to it, depending on where I have taught. Thirdly," I agree w/ your third point. Hook

"I'm tired of watching this thread. "I'm goin' to be the hero, I'll die if need be..."" I heard a story about two guys that accidently set fire to an apartment building. They ended up rescueing a bunch of people out of the building and were treated like heros. I think that once they set fire to the apartment building, they are DQ'd from being heros, regardless of how many people they save. Kinda like you aren't a hero if you save someones life that was shot, if you shot them, you aren't a hero. If you catch your student at 1000 ft and live to tell the tell you aren't a hero, you should have never been in that situation to begin with. Another example, if you student had a PC in tow (from the bridle being mis-routed) on a throw out system and they panic and you pull their their reserve for them, you are DQ'd from being the hero becasue you should have caught the packing error on the ground. Hook

"The question is: "How are you going to get involved to make a difference?"" You can stand up and say this isn't right, but I'll lay odds that no one will stand up with you, then you out of the group or banned from the DZ. Hook

The evaluators do thier best to simulate a poor student (not as easy as it sounds) while at the same time watch and evaluate 2 candidates, and keep track of altitude. That is a very busy skydive and they must be very good instructors and skydiver to do the job they do. They do not get nearly out of control as real students are capable of. From what I saw, they will do something to move away from the candidates, then not move, and watch the candidates and see how fast they recover. I didn't have an evaluator get on their back, spin, or make any radical moves. Hook

"Wear an open face at the course, then whatever you prefer for the real thing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I disagree. Don, Rick, and Glenn all wear full-face helmets. I don't know about Billy. I've helped with 5 AFFCCs in the past year, and nobody was graded on headgear or facial expressions in freefall." Don was the CC at my course ans specifically recommended an open face helmet, he wore an open face at the course. During a de-brief, he mentioned to my partner, (he wore a full face), that "because of the full face helmet I couldn't hear you". "Do not disagree or even express your opinion at the course unless it is the same as the Evaluator's/director's. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I disagree. If a candidate has a better way of doing things, I want to hear about it. How will I get better otherwise?" That is great, but my experience was different. Suggestions were used as an opportunity to ridicule a candidate. I kept my mouth shut, believe it or not :-) "Neither have I. What changes would you like to see?" A course based in reality. What I was trained to do at the AFFCC is not how real AFF is done. The course I attended used the old point system, 6 dives 0-4 points per dive. It was possible to "kill" 3 students, 3 zeros, and then score fours on three dives and still pass. But if you scored three 4's, that proved you could really fly. Today's system allows a candidate to marginally pass two dives and kill the third student and still pass, never demostrating a high skill level, and actually demonstrating a below standard flying. There are a lot of excellent evaluators out therre working to prevent this from happening, but DZs want more instructors. I would like to see a mentoring program, where after passing the AFFCC, the new AFFI must make 25 +/- jumps with an experienced AFFI before being signed off to take solo AFF students. I would like to see a bi-annual eval jump w/ an evaluator keep an AFFI rating current. I would like to see the "I participated in a JM/I seminar at:____________on_____________" either taken off the annual membership renewal or actual seminars taking place at DZ's. In 7 years of jumping and 6 years of instructing I have never even heard of a JM/I seminar. Everyone pencil whips that section of the renewal. Sorry for the rant Hook

"One benefit of a larger canopy is that you can let it fly in brakes for a little while while you haul out the radio, get him oriented and turned towards the DZ, and then stow the radio and land. That's one reason I didn't get a Diablo five years ago - it was unstable with brakes stowed, and the last thing I needed was a canopy winding up while I was trying to get a student turned around and headed back to the DZ." Very true, but I wear a factory diver and can't talk on the radio under canopy. Hook

A qualified third person on the ground w/ the radio is a luxury I haven't been afforded yet. That would be nice though. I didn't say jump a canopy you are not comfortable with landing off. I am comfortable landing off w/ my main and/or reserve. I have watched a student land at almost the same time as the instructor, and the student landed before the instructor ever got to the radio. I get to the radio quick, in time to make sure they are headed to their holding area and remind them what canopy exercises they are supposed to be practicing on that jump. Hook

The benifits of using a small canopy is getting to the radio to talk your student down quicker. Hook

OK, If things are going that bad, then they probably can't see me because they are spinning so bad. So if I pull chances are they won't see me. I have no intentions of landing after watching my student bounce, walk up to their mother/father, look them in the eye and tell them, "Sorry your son/daughter is dead, I couldn't catch them. I gave up." As much as I tell them, pulling is their responsibility, they are responsible for themselves, etc, I still believe I am responsible for my student. Another way to think about it, you and your best friend have a mid-air collision in free-fall and they are knocked un-concious. At what point to give up and let your buddy die? How many PJ's gave their lives in Vietnam attempting to rescure a pilot they never met? I take AFF very seriously and if I felt I couldn't catch a student, I would turn in my rating. Hook

"And frankly I agree with them. If a system is proven and has worked well for them for many years, why change?" Round reserves are proven and worked well for many years. Square reserves, which you changed to, are better. I think your policy of watching a new idea for several years is very wise, but I disagree on stopping the improvement of equipment. Until what we are jumping is perfect, there will always be room for improvement. Change is difficult and takes extra effort. I am willing to put forth the extra effort in the search for better training methods, equipment, and skydiving techniques to make the sport better. The bar is always rising, if you aren't improving, them you are being left behind. I have seen older instructors using out-dated methods to teach their students. They simply can't be bothered to change the way they teach. I stopped teaching at that DZ because I wasn't willing to go "retro". I compare it to using rounds as mains and chest mount reserves to teach students. The sport has progressed, but these instructors haven't. Who suffers? The students. The only constant is change. Hook

Dan & Chris- To expand on Skycat's post; Instead of ripping out a seam because the bobbin ran out and re-sewing, doubling the number of holes in the fabric, why not just make sure there is enough thread in the bobbin before starting the seam? It seems to me that a small section, 3-5 inches, of overlap would be preferable to re-stitching the entire seam. I haven't run across a canopy that failed because of an overstitch in a seam. Also Chris-, For repairs, you said PA replaces the entire panel, but unless you replace the entire canopy, you will have at least one seam with double holes from a replaced panel. If replacing a panel resulted in less re-stitching and reduced the number of "extra" holes in the fabric, then it makes sense. But if replacing an entire panel results in more re-stiching than a patch, seems to me that a patch would be the way to go. Of course if I had access to a cutting table programmed with every panel on a canopy I was repairing, I would replace the entire panel too, because that would be esaier than a patch and would look nicer and help the re-sale value of the canopy vs. a patch. Hook

Wear an open face at the course, then whatever you prefer for the real thing.. Do not dis-agree or even express your opinion at the course unless it is the same as the Evalutator's/director's. Realize that the AFFCC is different from real-life AFF. I have yet to see an AFF dive that is like the course, from prep, to how the actual dive is conducted, to the de-brief. I personnally wear a full face. I have asked students if they could see my face and read expressions, and they all have said they could (w/ a factory diver). I have taken a nice shot to the chin from a student's foot on opening, I think the helemt made a significate difference between seeing a star or two and being stunned/unconscious. Hook

"Hey Hook: what's your procedures? just curious. i think if they got out of control on me early, way early, i'd deploy them early, (give them the pull signal first) let em' ride it down." My plan is to never have to answer my own question. I will take a leg gripper on the student before pull time (on release dives), just to make sure they aren't getting away from me. It doesn't take anything away from the student and prevent having to chase them if it gets ugly at pull time. Before that I fly very tight. I look for trouble before it happens. The look ontheor face say a lot. That is why I don't let student wear tinted goggles. Having worn a sidewinder w/ a PC-1 on 800+ AFF jumps, I have been able to self-critique my own performance on these dives and I recognize trouble coming a lot sooner than when I was a new AFFI. What would I do? I hope I never have to find out. Hook

Richard's, "An article worth reading" post motivated this question. How low would you chase a student before giving up and pulling yourself? Hook

"Call me a grumpy old fart, but I made up my mind on this issue in 1979. In 1979 a skydive went to !@#$%^&, I pulled a silver handle and I lived. All my rigs have have had silver reserve ripcord handles. This is partly due to our climate in the Great White North. It is difficult to find things by feel while wearing thick gloves. If you worry about oafs grabbing your handles in error, then don't jump with them. The second solution is to ask for the smallest silver ripcord handles that are currently installed on Racers and Mirages. My third choice would be the fabric-covered steel tube ripcord handle available on Vectors. I do not want go any softer than a Vector reserve ripcord. Finally, you can mix and match ripcord handles from various manufacturers. For example, the Racer factory builds ripcord handles for dozens of other manufacturers, just specify the length (from the pointy end of the pin) when you order." Rob- good points, especially the gloves. My question is when you pulled silver in 1979, did you have a round or square reserve? Do you have a round or square reserve now? safe guess your container now is a lot different from the container you were jumping in 1979. My point is, new isn't necessarly bad. "That's the way we've always done it" is a phrase sure to get me riled :-). Of course, rushing right out and buying the latest and greatest isn't the best idea either, but soft handles have some advantages over hard handles and hard handles have some advantages over soft handles. In some situations, a soft handle makes more sense than a hard handle and vice versus. Hook

RWS has a pipe in the handle and Sun path has a small(er) oval metal ring inside their reserve pillow handles. Hook