Mad47

Thanks again to everybody for the help. Ron: The preliminary plan I created was pretty much based on what I learned at 4-way.org (including your article

I have heard that too We should probably consider taking E instead of most difficult exits. On the other hand, I think we should go through them all in order to determine what works fine and what will most likely create a problem. Apparently there must be some compromise between very conservative plan to only take the easiest and very risky plan to try to nail them all. I think the correct ratio can only be determined by experiment.

Thanks! That's exactly the plan and that's why I posted the link for Ron's article at www.4-way.org. The only thing I am still trying to figure out is how to distribute/practice the exits. In preliminary plan I classified the exits based on degree of difficulty planning to go through all of them from easiest to the hardest and then to concentrate on hardest. We will for sure work with coach and try to get at least one tunnel camp.

Thaks for the input. Look at this if you have time http://4way.org/cgi-bin/board/ikonboard.cgi?s=3fb02eac096affff;act=ST;f=4;t=120

I am trying to design a training plan for a new 4-way team that will be formed by people with 400-500 jumps (mostly RW) and very limited previous 4-way experience. After getting some advice from several experienced 4-way techs I designed a draw for 200 training jumps, however, I am still not sure what would be the most efficient strategy to practice the exits. Obviously with training 200 jumps we will be able to take each exit only 6 times during the whole season (16 randoms + 16 blocks for Intermediate division - 200/32~6). Intuition tells that we should probably start from the easiest (B, E, for example) and then progress to more difficult random and block exits. However I am not sure how we should distribute the exits throughout the whole training schedule. Any input from experienced 4-way folks will be appreciated. Thanks.

I would not consider this as an incident if the canopy does not consistently open in such a long snivel. People, especially on formation loads frequently pass the hard deck while still sniveling. Not a big deal if you are aware of altitude, and ready to chop if it does not open right. 1600 ft to open, check the airspace, collapse the slider and unstowe the brakes isn't too much if you canopy opens really slow. I would bring the pull altitude up or get a different canopy if it does so.

You should also learn how to prevent a problem in the first place. In other words do not go low! Know who is you cross partner on every formation and maintain the levels and eye contact with this person. On bigger groups anticipate fall rate changes as formation builds. Big things always tend to float as more and more people dock. Be prepared to slow down and you will not be surprised to find yourself several feet lower when you were about to take a grip

I wish one day we all wake up and realize that we are very old skydivers

I met Igor

Hm ... I thought Russian airborne are always big muscular guys. Did you shrink after you come to US ???

I was at Z-Hills a week ago too. How come we did not meet??? It is absolutely awesome dz and we had a great time jumping there. Nice landing area, facilities, plane and very friendly staff and jumpers. Special thanks to Tony for the video and stills!

Logged 5 jumps at Z-Hills on the way back from Nationals. Z-Hills rock!

Thanks for the great tip. I have learned something new today

You vision will be broadening as you make more jumps. The key is not only being relaxed but also being current. The more jumps you make the more you will be able to see, control and enjoy. Also, if you are serious about skydiving, learn how to VISUALIZE when you are on the ground or in the airplane.

On some evenings I don't remember how many jumps I logged since morning. And i don't really jump a lot

A few years ago I have heard a story about two Russian paratroopers landing one PC due to emergency (one guy had D-mal or something like that). Not sure whether on not it is a true story.

I don't think that the law of the probabilities of two independent events applies to the case of D-mal. Malfunction of reserve can be caused by malfunction of the main, improper excecution of emergency procedure or instability after cutaway. Therefore, the probability of D-mail should be much higher than 750X750.

There we go. I just started to pack for her and she already thinks about all kinds of weird malfunctions.

Done

OK ... First of all I have to say that I am really surprised and disappointed with many of posts here and with the fact that moderators only pay moderate attention to some serious personal attacks on Bruno. I used to moderate IRC channels attended by thousands of users and I am telling you that for such attacks people would be at least temporary banned. I was always amazed with friendly atmosphere on dz.com forums. Not anymore. Now regarding the topic. Bruno has clearly stated why he does what he does. I will just add what I think about the whole issue since I know him personally and have watched many of his landings. Flying 55 loaded at 4.0 is f*cking dangerous and he gets lots of sh*t from many people at DZ for doing it. I believe it is necessary to continue to give him a lot of shit because it will keep his head up. On the other hand, Bruno is not just one of these brainless kids who do not realize what they are doing. Progress always means accepting the risk and believe me he made a lot of progress flying his canopy. Most of the people picking on Bruno’s technique simply make impression of jealous people. Imagine yourself going back to 60’s and showing your highly loaded ellipticals to folks jumping huge T10’s and PC’s. They would probably say you are insane. They would probably doubt that one could safely land these canopies. Now imagine yourself going in future and they will probably laugh at your canopies and the way you fly them. Most of us use what was developed for us by those who take the risks and push the limits. Lets have some respect for these people.

0:8:5 Two 4-ways, bunch of 6- and 8-way drills, nice sunset 36-way on Saturday. Back to work

I also recently realized that going on tracking dives with fryfliers in order to practice flat track is not a very good idea b/c they use different body position. If you match the forward speed and stay on level with them you don’t really flat track. If you go to your max, you will probably out track the leader ...

I heard this from my JM's, both are very nice people but they get really mad when they talk about that student. The guy was doing AFF 1 and he was a smartest ass in class. The exit went pretty ugly, the guy was tumbling and after struggling for some time JM's finally put him on belly. At pull time the guy goes head down and gets a death grip on the hand of JM trying to deploy him main. Finally, JM pulls the ripcord and tracks away. The student's main opens uneventfully and he begins to steer the canopy. As he later said on the ground' he remembered that in order to steer the canopy he need to pull the toggles. The guy finds a red 'toggle' (one handle release system) and pulls it slowly. As a result he releases one main riser and reserve begins to deploy while the second main riser is still attached to the harness. Fortunately, the guy 'steers' little bit more and main leaves. Nice reserve ride. The guy was told not to came back.

Ha-ha-ha … this is the funniest thing I have recently read here. Tells us one more time that experience is always relative and there are always people who are way better than we are. I would probably feel embarrassed if I was that coach Regarding the jumps numbers, I think that padding the logbook is not only stupid but breaks some rules established by USPA and should be prosecuted. Here at dz.com I have "not enough" in my profile simply because I feel that it is not enough and because I don't want to update my profile after every weekend. My teachers, my teammates and other people I jump with know exactly how many jumps I got and what I can and cannot do in freefall. Displaying a logbook on-line is a personal choice.

When I dive to the base on formation load I look around, scan the airspace and try not to cut anyone off. Does is guarantee that no one will cut me and knock me off? It does not. Does it guarantee that I will not make a mistake and collide with another jumper? It does not. In busy traffic on highway or busy airspace you can do everything right and still die. Overconfidence is a bad habit.