Hooknswoop

And be aware of where you rig is in the plane. Don't drag your rig across anything that can dislodge a pin. A fully seated pin in a tight closing loop doesn't do any good if you are hitting everything in the plane as you move around. Derek

I tried that at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (40ft). Didn't work really at all. The only thing that worked a little was a diving track. As a training tool, worthless. Derek

I can think of at least 5 where the jumper would have probably lived if they did not have an RSL. Tandem breaking a riser and the RSL firing the reserve into the main. A SEAL having the reserve deployed into their main when they deployed. “The rapid deployment of the reserve via the RSL resulted in his capturing the reserve pilot chute on his right arm. One report indicates the reserve lines also entangled with his neck. The reserve never cleared the freebag.” Description: The Navy was at Elsinore training Seals; they had their own instructors and their own equipment. At the time of this report, no detailed analysis of the rig has yet been made. This report is based on preliminary examinations and eyewitness accounts. The student ( training under the Navy's equivalent of AFF) deployed his main normally at around 4500 feet. During the main deployment the RSL somehow deployed his reserve which then entangled in the main. Someone supposedly had seen that his main was square and apparently flyable while the reserve was completely fouled and entangled in his main lines. No one directly witnessed the incident while the student was between 4000 and 2500 feet. Somewhere during that interval the student apparently cutaway his main which then collapsed and remained entangled with his fouled reserve. It was believed that if he had not cutaway, he may have been able to land relatively safely on his main. The reserve was apparently NOT deployed by his CYPRES: the preliminary examination revealed a kink in the reserve ripcord where the RSL must have pulled against it while it was still under tension from the closing loop. As soon as the rig is released by the coroner more detailed examinations are going to happen by the DZO, the USPA, the rig manufacturer and the Navy. It is unknown at this time what pulled the RSL, it may have been improperly routed and was pulled on line stretch, or it may have been caught by a toggle. It is also unknown if this type of malfunction is particular to this type of rig or is an industry-wide concern. The Navy has stood down their training and grounded all of their equipment until more is known about the true cause of the incident" "Description: After a four way jump, the deceased suffered a violently spinning malfunction on his Startrac 2 main canopy, which he cutaway from at a low altitude. While unstable, at about 800-900 ft, he deployed his reserve. It (a Swift) opened into into serious line twists, potentially due to his unstable attitude during reserve deployment. He landed extremely hard under a partially-inflated reserve. The reserve was found to still have about 5 line twists. Reportedly, the risers were tangled around his throat, perhaps strangling him during decent. He weighed about 215 lbs and was jumping a Racer with a Pull-out main deployment system. He had been involved in the sport for 35 years." Search the incident databases, RSL's have killed people. Kind of a pet peeve of mine when people think that RSL's have never killed anyone. The information is out there. Also, do a search for: "Facts about the "Reserve Staticline Lanyard" Derek

suspended license. I'll have to look and see if I still have the binder from PIA 2001. The case is in there. I'm sure someone else has it as well. The pilot tried to say that because he wasn't getting paid, he didn't need a commercial. But the judge found that because not all the jumpers were members of the club and they paid the DZ for a jump, then the pilot needed a commercial license. Derek

In the USA, the FAA considers the flight time compensation. There is a case, dated August 21, 1997, where the pilot was found to be in violation for flying jumpers at a club with a private pilot's license. It is in the PIA handout from 2001. I'm sure you can google it. Derek

1. Turn them into the FAA and quit skydiving. 2. Shut up about it forever and keep jumping. Derek

Ya, I think it depends on what type of riding you do for what type of helmet you want. The same issue can be applied to skydiving helmets. How do you make a standard? What type of impacts do you want to optimize the helmet for? Huge can of worms that, like you mentioned, the motorcycle world is still struggling with. Derek

Yes, I want leave the airplane with 399 other people thinking I have a functioning AAD on my back. I would much rather have it shut off than fire. Derek

Sure, but a DOT sticker does not tell you if the helmets meets any standards or was even tested. From: http://www.smf.org/articles/dot.html “In fact, Snell certified helmets do meet DOT. If you want to be sure that your helmet meets the DOT standard, get a Snell certified helmet. Manufacturers apply for and earn Snell certification because they care about quality. These are the very manufacturers for whom the honor system works. A Snell sticker is your best assurance that the helmet meets both Snell and DOT. Without our sticker, it's purely a gamble that the helmet meets any standard at all.” I didn’t say they should be tested or a standard set. I was just clearing up the myth that the DOT certification actually means something. I think skydiving helmet manufacturers realize that skydivers, as a group, won’t pay for safety, they pay for cool. Skydivers pay big bucks for helmets now without the standard. Establishing a standard, testing, and designing helmets that meet that standard would be huge waste of time and money for them. Derek

Scary, hey? I did some research when I bought my CBR600RR. SNELL helmets must actually be tested and pass in order to get the certification. A DOT sticker is kinda like a USPA GM DZ. People think it means something, but it really doesn't mean anything at all. Derek

Not true. DOT certification means absolutely nothing. "DOT Standards The DOT rating simply indicates that a manufacturer believes that its helmet meets the basic DOT standards, without any actual testing on the helmets themselves. In that sense, DOT ratings are fairly easy to come by, and virtually anybody can make and sell a helmet with a DOT sticker. Fortunately, DOT personnel periodically buys helmets and sends them to independent labs for testing to assure that they actually do meet the standard. The results are posted on the NHTSA website in a pass/fail form. You might be surprised to learn that more than half of all helmets recently tested with the DOT sticker on them actually failed DOT's lab tests" Build a helmet, slap a DOT sticker on it and you are in business. Derek

In pic 3530, the lines look strange. What type of lines were they? Who did he re-line? What about the slider grommets? Is there any damage on them? Derek

You get all the tunnel you want anyway Derek

I just canceled your 20 minutes at 9:00 PM tonight Derek

"3 to 5 seconds of airflow seems about right)." He answered that question. "beginner flyer was in the tunnel about 5 feet off the net." And that one too. You wouldn't give a beginner flyer enough power to pop up 30 feet. ***power to "hop in, pop up about 30 feet, come back down, stop, then back out the door"? [/quote I'm sure they didn't have the power set so they could have done that, without the power failure. I do that from head down speeds with the throttle at zero, not from belly speeds and the throttle at zero. From belly speeds, you would have a couple of seconds before the wind slowed gradually and set you on the net. No freefall, no plummeting, etc. Derek

That is a quote of what I wrote. It is the data from a test I did at the SVCO tunnel to show the difference that the 'braking' sytem makes to slow the wind down faster than what would happen if the power failed or the e-stop was hit. The wind takes about 45 seconds to reach 30-mph from 90% after the e-stop is pressed and power is cut to the motors. If you go through my posts, I already wrote what the designer of the control system said about what happens if the power was cut, almost exactly the same as if the e-stop was pressed. This only applies to SVCO, I do not know what happens in other tunnels. Derek

So, just for fun, I hit the e-stop (which cuts all power to the motors instantly) while Jason was flying head down about 8 feet off the net. He held the head down for about a second, then transitioned to his belly. Taking his time he flew out the door. Flight did not stop immediately and it was a non-event. We accurately simulated a power grid failure with a head down flyer. Derek

LOL! So, you feel you know the systems better than the designer. 'Well, there's your problem right there!' I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Well, since you are not willing to discuss how the system works and what happens if the power fails, and think you know more about the system than the designer, I am wasting my time. Good luck with that. Derek

I have. The flyer injured their knee too. (I guess that adds to your only had one injury list) You were spotting a sit flyer from behind them, never seen that before or since either. All that aside, since we all make mistakes, do you realize that you were wrong when you posted how the control system works? Derek

LOL. Well then, come on out to SVCO, since apparently other tunnels don't have that feature. Derek

Seems like most of the replies include 'Staff' as part of what they look for in a tunnel. If you were planning a tunnel trip, would you go to www.tunnelflight.com and look at what the tunnel offers for Instructors? Do you talk to other tunnel flyers to get their opinion of a tunnel's staff? Do you call the tunnel and ask about the staff? In short, where I am going with this, what can a tunnel do, within their control, to attract your business? Derek

You just can't admit when you are wrong, can you? You think you know how the tunnel works and are wrong. I experience the tunnel speed slowing down faster than a power outage all the time, routinely flying up to the turn vanes as the wind speed is slowing down faster than it would during a power outage. Otherr Instructors do multiple back loops, etc. I don't see how you can possibly still think you are right given that I have proven that you don't even understand how the system works. You didn't answer my question about which tunnel you work at or if you siomply forgot to update your profile. Derek

And I have shown that you don't know what you are talking about. You think you know how the tunnel operates, but you are clearly wrong. Derek

What, no comment on my post? Avoiding the issue? Derek

What makes you go to one tunnel over another? Location? Price? Staff? Type of tunnel? Other? Derek