davelepka

Thats fucked up. Your AAD is there to save your ass when some one else fucks up, and brings you into the fray. Nobody expects you to be perfect 24/7. For the few minutes between exit and landing on the other hand, you better be damn close.

The PC is shot. I'm 99% sure. Did it seem like a long time between the bag leaving your back, and when the canopy stood you up? A shot PC will take more time to get the bag off your back, and more time to get it to line stretch. While the lines are unstowing, the force of each stow releasing, and the choppy air in your burble will contribute to the bag spinning on it's way up. A PC producing the right amount of drag willpull the bag up fast enough to prevent this from happening. F-111 PC's will wear out, and this is what happens. Especially on rental gear, that sort thing gets overlooked for maintenence. You can't tell by looking at it that it's too worn, only by jumping it. Since the people jumping it are newbies, they don't know enough to recognize the rpoblem, or don;t jump the rig over and over to see a problem develop, or that the problem is consistant. Let the owner of the rig know.

Yes, both. Look for the release of 'Thread the Needle 3' in early 07' for that, and other things I'm not allowed to talk about.

Thats some inspirational shit right there. Rise up ye oppressed, and shift your thoughts towards the future and the unlimited bounty it hold for ye. Whatever. Lets get back to reality. Everyone knows you can't stop a guy from thinking about things. Newbies will forever daydream about cameras, big ways, little rigs, swooping and eberything else cool about skydiving. Nobody is trying to get them to literally stop thinking, they're trying to reinforce that there's no substitute for experience, and that the past has illustrated some general guidelines for what is a good idea when. Take newbie A, he's a regular guy who can make about 50 jumps his first year, and 100 jump per year after that. He's loooking at 2 1/2 years min. to get to 200 jumps. After the first year or 18 months it seems silly to wait any longer, he's got over 100 jumps, and been thinking about jumping non-stop for a long time now. Compare that to newbie B, he lives in Florida, 20 min from Z hills, and is rich. He makes his first 100 jumps in six months. He's got all the gear, and knows all the cool guys. He jumps four or five days a week. He's as current as hell, and ready to strap on the camera. See? Two different guys, same result. Enthusiasm is built into newbies. Without it, they would never be newbies, they'd be golfing. You don't need to encourage newbies, you need to determine their level of enthusiasm, and temper that with an appropriate measure of common sense (keeping in mind that common sense in skydiving is unique to skydiving, and not common to anyone wihtout experience).

Thats stupid. Even if most people do it, it's still stupid. Take the time to give a shit about your skydive. A guy you know nothing about wants to jump with, you need time to talk it out. Go over the details. See what he knows and doesn't know. Different dropzones have different prpcedures for all kinds of things. Bobby might be on his first trip away from his home DZ, and is working with a different set of procedures than the locals. Next time it happens, tell Bobby there's not enough time to get him on this jump. Meet him afterwards, and work him into the next one. If another jumper tells you Bobby is OK, then let Bobby jump with him.

Sorry, but wrong again. We do 3 three ways with video for peoples first jump all the time. It takes all day to train, and set it up, but we do it. You can jump with any experience level provided that the jump is structured appropriately, and all involved are on the same page. Some fun jumpers seem to have the idea that getting on a four way and meeting at the mock-up at the ten minute call is all it takes. If you've jumped with the other three before, maybe, otherwise, you need more time to really review the plan, the exit, the points, the break off, plan B, plan C, etc. Ever notice that serious four way teams will spend a half hour on the creepers before getting started for a training day? Proper planning is key for success.

No you don't. You know it was right at one time, unless that was the last time you touched the canopy, you don't know what you folded up and shoved in the bag. Shit happens. Get used to it, or at a minnimum, be ready for it. It's a fine line between tensing up, and getting ready to take a hit, but figure out where the line is, and be ready to take a hit everytime you throw out. 1/2 a second later, if you didn't get the shit knocked out of you, go back to relaxing. Just being ready to take a hit can really take the edge off of a hard opening.

Thats dumb. With the ISP, the first 25 are all supervised, and the jumpers learn very little about playing with others. The remaining 75 could easily be a mix of solos, freefly attempts, and two ways with another guy with 62 jumps. The smart move is to dirt dive EVERYTHING with EVERY person on the jump. If there is an outside video, include them in the dirt dive. Especially if any jumper on the load is trying something new, the dirt dive is essential to ensure that all involved know whay they need to know. Assume nothing. If you really want to do it right, if someone is trying something new, locate the local expert in that area, and have them review your plan, and make additions or subtractions as needed. Ever watch a behind the scenes feature involving a stunt for a movie? See how much time they put into planning, and prepping? Thats so nobody gets hurt. Technically every skydive is a 'stunt'. They warrant the same careful planning and prepping. Failing to recognize this is leaving the door wide open for any number of unforeseen circumstances to come walking in.

My reply makes perfect sense. The jumped with a guy he didn't know, and the guy ran into him. If he knew more about the guy, he wouldn't have let him jump with him. To sum it up, how do you prevent this? "know who is jumping with you" (thats the title to the thread, as well as the answer to your question. I can kinda see where you're going, but this is pretty simple. The guy ran into him due to lack of skill/experience.

Did you read the title of the thread?

I'm not sure which is worse. I guy who jumps a 70 sq ft canopy, or the guy with the 96 who wears 30+ lbs of lead. At least when small canopies were the thing it took $1800 to get one, or you had to borrow one from a guy who had one. With lead, you've got every jackass out there weighting up. Guys are stacking on the lead to get their WL from 1.2 up to 1.4, some of them before they are ready to donwsize. Now they are at too high of a WL, and carrying (and mayeb crashing) with alot of extre weight. Thats progress, baby.

Turn the camera on Don't forget to check your gear Don't forget to check your cameras Don't think that a good camera or good helmet makes you a good cameraman. Don't smack your camera into the door frame Don't get kicked en the head on exit Don't look away from your subject Don't get hit from behind while looking at your subject Don't burn through break off trying to get a shot Don't run into anyone trying to get a shot Don't get taken out on break off Don't get anything caught on your camera during opening. Don't get into a wrap trying to film under canopy Don't biff in your landing and break your camera Don't biff in on landing and break your neck There's 400 more things to remember. Maybe others will chime in with some additions...

Great pic with just water behind you. I think the low airspeed also makes it look 'different' then other skydiving pics. Just cool all around.

Those two statements have no place together. If you think you're GK material, dial yourself in, and make then all within one meter. Better yet, dead center at least half of them. It just takes practice. You might be surprised how well you can do if you focus, plan ahead, and apply yourself.

If you have a tounge switch, you can shove it to the side, stick your tounge out, and if you're quick, catch the still when they do it back to you. All of the above can also be done while chewing gum. It's amazing what you'll come up with to keep yourself busy during drouge-fall.

Why does everyone restate what I say in the most negative possible? Anyway, thats the reality of a DZ these days. The students and tandems make up the bulk of the profit for the business. As far as fleecing them, pricing is set to allow the DZO to operate his business and turn a profit. If he deciedes that operating his business means an Otter, and a rack of new Sigmas, then the pricing will reflect that. Yes, the first timers are footing the bill for the stuff we have. Are they being fleeced? Maybe in the sense that DZO's are charging them so they can have a nice DZ with nice facilities, where if the DZO would scale down his operation and overhead, he could save the student some money (provided he passed the savings along. Not likely in my opinion). Like I said, everyone has to pay in the beginning. The longer you hang out, the more jumps you make, the more you'll get back. I'd say thats fair.

At my DZ, every tandem is offered the chance to pull the drouge release. They have altimeters, and the TM's reveiw the dive flow in the plane, and discuss canopy control during the canopy ride. After the jump, they have the chance to purchase a second jump at a greatly reduced rate, without having to make the jump that day. I don't think the marketing effort is whats keeping the return business down. It's the product. It's easy for us, as skydivers, to overlook it, but making a jump is a huge deal for the average person. Not something to take lightly, or something they could even consdier doing again. On top of that is the cost factor, which for a new jumper is pretty significant. Look around the DZ. See what a mix of people there are? Thats because the formula for making a skydiver is such a random one. Take a guy who has the mental component of being a skydiver, now you have to get him to a DZ, at the right timein his life, when he has the time and money to put towards taking up a new venture. This why you see people of all ages and backrounds at the DZ. This is also why it's tough to market skydiving. Who do you target? What age group? What economic group? I'm not saying to give up improving the marketing effort, I'm just saying be sure to keep in perspective what you're selling, and the limitations is creates. Edit: A quick example is the college student. We gat a shitload fo them to do tandems. Many of them would liek to do AFF, but can't afford it. Alot of them want video, but can't swing the cost. Of the ones who do get video, you see some heads up guys, really having fun, and when they land you can see that they could do it. They could follow through, and make a good skydiver, but guess what, no money. End of story. On the flip side, we all know the middle age guy who shows up one day to jump, does OK to fair, and dives in head first. Pays for the program in full, buys a helmet and alti, and is already looking at gear. Two weeks later, after the 8th try at AFF lv 4, the idea of taking up golf comes up in the debrief. As it turns out he stopped golfing to skydive, and his clubs are in the trunk. This guy had the time and money, but not the ability. It's a tough combination to nail down. When it's going to happen, it'll happen.

That pretty much says it all. Hold off on a downsize until it's overdue instead of trying to sneak up on it. You want to be so good on what you have, that when you switch, it's a no-brainer. Some people do try to push it with a donwsize, and generally they waste their time being scared and adapting to their new wing. They end taking two steps back in their learning, and have to play catch up just to get back to where they were. Confindence in what you are doing will go a long way toward helping to make good choices, and stay ahead of your canopy while you're flying. The truth of the matter is, that all mfs measure canopies differently, so trying to step down a 1/2 size is tricky. You may end up with a canopy that measures smaller than PD, and combine that with your donwsize, now you're jumping a 152 sq ft canopy. Also, look for a Sabre2 170. Nothing like the Sabre you have now, better in every aspect. Hunt down a used one, and save your extra cash, and the pain in the ass you get trying to pack a brand new canopy. When your ready for the 150, maybe next year, you shouod be able to sell the 170 for the same cost as a used 150. Once you have downsized as far as you think you will, and you find a canopy youlike to fly, THEN order a new rig with a new canopy that matches the rig. You'll jump the canopy for years, and look good too. As it sits now, you won't even jump the 'new' out of a canopy before you're ready fopr a new one.

I guess if you want to 'screen' customers for can skydive and who can't, then by all means, go ahead. Skydiving isn't for evryone (which I thank god for). People want to jump for different reasons. I'm not here to judge those reasons, I'm here to make sure that they get a chance to make a jump in a fun and safe enviornment. What they want to do after that is up to them. Either way, if they want to get a video, then I'd say shoot the video. I can see what you're saying, but offering the propect of a paying for video as a ploy to get a second jump out of some one seems a little far fetched. I can see a coffee shop offering a puch card for a free cup after 10 cups. Alot of people drink alot of coffee everyday. They will all drink ten cups within the next week or two. The free cup will pay off. We're talking about jumping out of an airplane more than once. To the general public, the cost, as well as the act itself is a big deal. There are people who will jump once. People who will jump twice, and people who will make thousands. No amount of video (or lack off) is going to change that. I'm not sure how that hurts retention. It's not an uncomfortable high-pressure sales situation. You tell them about video, they make a choice. Stills are available. T-shirts hang on the wall and sell themselves. Again, being able to buy a T-shirt, and making a second jump are not relates. As fas as being a 'slave' to the customer, you could say it that way, if you wanted to put a negative spin on it. How about some customer service, or customer appriciation? How do you spin that? The tandems and students are the ones who keep the Otter flying, and keeping the Otter flying is an imortant part of my life. They're the ones who show up and spend several hundreed dollars to make one jump. Sometimes I even get a cut of that, but even if I was a fun jumper and didn't work at the DZ, the tandems and students still foot the bill for the plane and DZ I use every weekend.

Whats your deal here? Are you looking to do a half downsize? Trying to cram something into a container? Either one is a bad idea, or at best a short-term solution, with much better long-term type alternatives. So what is it?

A guy who's content to sit home and re-watch his video instead of making a second jump is not the type of person we should be catering to. Those who are the type to make another jump, who have the time and money to make another jump, will come and make another jump. There are ALOT of tandems who show up with the intention of making one jump, just to do it, and thats it. Even after seeing the DZ in full swing, and making a great jump, either their personality or financial situation will keep them from coming back. Those folks want the 'once in a lifetime' video. Once you get a guy to come back, video becomes a harder sell. Frist off, two tandems is expensive, and if they're looking at AFF, it's even worse. Add in instructors who shoot POV video, and the prospect of getting a video on solo dive, or a gradutaion jump, and you've shot yourself in the foot. Sell the video to everyone you can. And the stills. And T-shirts. And whatever else you can. Most of the time it's a one-shot deal with customers. They come, they jump, and you never see them again. As for the ones who stick around, sooner or later you'll pay them back for selling them everything not bolted down. Mayeb a dub of a fun jump video they were on, or help with a pack job to make a load or whatever.

We'll see them in skydiving. In 25 years. My guess for a new Otter? Maybe $2M? $2.5M?

Thats fucking retarded. The worst thing about skydiving is that I, or one of my friends, may end up maimed or dead by the end of the day. If you could eliminate that 100%, skydiving would be better. Absolutley.

You seem to be grazing over the huge giant point that YOU can do whatever you want on YOUR land with YOUR airplane. Nobody is suggesting that an AAD be a requirement of law for every jump. Some DZO's are saying that if you want to jump from THEIR aircraft over THEIR land, and have your actions relfect on THEIR livelyhood, then you have to follow their rules. Please do, Make all the decisions you want. Just don't turn around and point fingers at DZOs when they do the same.

You've got alot of problems with the idea. First off, you're locking people into jumping one type of helmet. What about open face helemts? What about frap hats? Even with that aside, you're locking them into jumping one type of full face helmet. If a jumper doosntt like the helmet you use, they don't get the technology. What happens when it breaks? The jumper is without both a helmet and altimeter while repairs are made. What happens when the visor fogs? What happens when a full face helemt gets used for it's intended purpose, and a guy gets a bootie in the face? Will it hold up? In the bigger picture, things like speed and time to impact, and a count down to flare are not the things that jumpers need to know in freefall or under canopy. You plan your skydive, and select your altitudes for break off, pull, and your hard deck. The only info you need is your altitude. Thats it. Any of the other things are things that either don't matter, or you should be able to figure out on you're own. This is similar to the guy who suggested a Cypres that can cut away for you, as well as deploy your reserve. Those are also skills a jumper needs to be able to manage on their own, or they need to stop jumping.