davelepka

Ask again in October.

You need to train the camera guy along with the team. However many practice jumps the team will do, have the camera guy there for every jump. With a full season of practice, any camera flyer can make a good showing at Nats. You will need to do two video reviews, one with the team, than one with the camera flyer debriefing the video work itself. In truth, any good camera flyer should be debriefing thier own video after each jump anyway. Even just a once over during a dub will teach you alot. Being a part of the team, and having a season of jumps with them will go a long way. It takes a very experienced camera guy to grab a strange team and produce top quality work. Take a marginal flyer, and give him 100 jumps with the team, and his work with the team will be spot on.

Various reasons. The DZ may be too large to micro-manage each jumper. The DZO and staff may be too busy to pay attention. The DZO's impression of what or is or isn't safe may be 'off'. This is a good point, however, involving the USPA is a tactic to get the DZO's to play along, as well as establish the rules they play by. In turn, the individual jumper will have to follow the rules, regardless of who laid them out, as the DZO will be behind them. You want to jump, you follow the rules. Also, you can't tell a know-it-all anything even if you are a respected, world class canopy pilot. Your advice may stick with them for a few jumps, but thier minds will find a way to turn it into permission from a world class pilot to do whatever their heart desires.

If you're in or around Ohio, and interested in competing in a CPC meet, e-mail your contact info to cpcohio@hotmail.com. We don't have dates or locations nailed down yet, but if you figure during the summer somewhere in Ohio, you're on the right track.

The size of the rig is not related to the size of the harness. With extremely small people, rig size might matter, but you're an average size, and any rig with a proper size harness would be fine. The Javelin is a good choice. The Spectre is also a good choice, speak with your instructors, or the DZ S&TA regardig what size would be best for you. A PD reserve is always a good choice, as is a Cypres. If you buy from a private seller, have your rigger conact them to ask some quesitons. After that, make sure the rigger inspects every purchase (ideally before you make a payment). Open your Parachutist and call every gear dealer advertised, and ask about used equipment. Again, have your rigger involved with this as well.

If you consider that the chart has more strict requirements for canpoies smaller than 150 sq ft, the variations in WL created by a change in weight of under 10 lbs, would be minnimal. Seeing as these numbers are the MAX wl, if a jumper was right on the line, and then gained 10 lbs, that represents an increase of less than .1 lbs, per square ft. Even if this were a common occurence, it would still be a better situation than the current one, where essentially, anything goes. Otherwise, enforcement would be simple. Have the DZO post the guidelines, along with note stating, 'I expect everyone to abide by these guidelines. If you are found to be outside of these guidelines, you will be asked to leave, and not return until your equipment is within spec'. Sooner or later it will become common knowledge, much like pull altitudes. No DZO can watch every jumper on every jump, but when a guy hums it down, if the DZO sees, he'll get a talking to, and the jumper will pormise to never do it again. If it happens repeatedly, there will probably some sanction on the part of the DZO. The advatage to the WL requirement is that the DZO only has to see it happen once, and can ground the jumper (or their gear) unitl they switch canopies.

That's some hard core professional shit right there.

This is true, and a godsend. The last thing we need is more attention from the FAA. I don't believe that it will ever come to that, so my intentions aren't to stave off big brother. My intention are, however, to keep some jumpers in one piece. I had a couple of additional thoughts for the doubters. One that I know has been touched upon, is that many incidents are not reported. Broken arms, legs, ankles, torn ACL's etc. are all events that will not be reported, but aside from pain and suffering have some side effects as well. Those jumpers will most likely be out for a season, which at a seasonal DZ, means less income for the DZ. If those jumpers were newer, and are out for the season, that quickly turns into a year (including the winter) and some of those jumpers will just give up, representing another loss for the DZ and skydiving. For those who think that 'It won't happen to me', keep in mind that everyone who is hurt, were just fine until the last ten seconds. Many of those who are hurt are not trying to swoop, but found themselves in a situation where they could no longer control the outcome. For those who are trying to swoop, very few of them have a history of close calls. many times a close call is enough to scare then into re-evaluating their actions. It's when the close call is too close, and they end up with more time to think about their actions then they bargained for. If you feel like thigs are going OK, but others suggest you're pushing it, remember, it only takes one mistake. Speaking of which, anyone know Rickster Powell? He's one of the pioneers of modern swooping. A PD test pilot who spent years swooping in between, over, around, and into what ever he could find. On a regular camera jump, he clipped a tree and got seriously messed up. He had 5000+ jumps, and almost as many swoops, and it happened to him. With that possibility on the horizon, doesn't it make sense to keep a handle on the factors you can control? Such as your canopy selection, and what you do with it?

Newer jumpers who have their heads so far up their ass that they can neither hear what people are trying to tell them, nor see their impending impact with the ground. Of course, I could be wrong..........but I'm not.

No, what I said was that someone jumping at that level wouldn't have a problem with a WL restriciton as their jump numbers would progress so quickly. I also said that if you're not at that level, the chart is really where you need to be.

OK, heres the thing. The driving thing was the only thing I could think of where evryone could relate to the high level of proficiency you gain through experience. I don't care what you think about your skills behind the wheel as a new driver. You know that years later you are more in tune with whats happening around you, and more aware of impending problems, and in turn able to avoid them before they happen. The point is that many new jumpers don't seem to understand the level of proficiency that you CAN achieve in canopy flight. They can't seem to see the top end, and therefore, have no idea how far they are from it. Why are you not convinced that within said regulation there is plenty of room to learn? Not to mention, if you punch out 300 or 400 jumps a year, at the end of your first year you're at a WL that is good to get started swooping on. At the end of your second year, you're at a WL where you can dial in some serious swooping. By the time you've done that, you've got 1300 jumps and nobody cares what you do. You're not going to do 300 jumps a year? THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS JUMPING ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE GUIDELINES ANYWAY. It's that simple, A dedicated, hard jumping guy, who's committed to the sport, will not feel any restricitons from the chart. His jump numbers will fly by faster than his wallet can buy new canopies. If you don't fall into that catagory, you're better off following the chart. It's true. You can still jump out of a plane. You can still do more than 99.999% of people will ever do. You can fly a canopy that will be fun and APPROPRIATE for your experience, but there is a limit. Realize you are not one of the very few who has put in their time, learned their lessons, and survived to jump another day. Put in your time. Learn your lessons. Survive. THEN Swoop whatever you want.

It's been stated several times that there are exceptions to every rule. In truth, I prefer to see the exceptions to this rule, because the ones who validate it have been injured in doing so. The trouble is in defining who is the exception beforehand. If you are incorrect, you are satcking the cards against that person with an agressive canopy choice.

Seriously, I don't know what 'moderate' means. To me, moderate is anything under 1.9 to 1 WL, but above 1.6ish. Everything under that is low performace. Again, what are you looking to do here? Do you want moderate flare performance? Moderate glide? Are you swooping? What is your current wing, and what changes are you looking for? What aspects of your current canopy are lacking, in your opinion? Without knowing your frame of reference, it's hard to answer your questions accurately. What size Lotus did you demo in relation to what you have now? What was the lineset on the demo you jumped? Have you discussed the line issues with Brian Germain? My guess would be he'd be the final word on any of this.

If you're looking for any kind of perormance, go with what the mfr is doing. As far as safety, I've had line breaks at high WL and landed the canopy without a problem. More to the point, if safety is your concern, why would you switch to HMA? What about Dacron? Adside from absorbing opening shock, they will last forever. What are you jumping now? What are you looking fir in a new canopy?

Lets also keep in mind the differential in performace between different canopies, and then between different cars. Most people, regardless of age or experience will ever get to drive the equivalant of a Velo 90 at 2.0 to 1. They just don't have enough money. Most people, in fact, end up driving cars which are all within a couple percent of each other from a performance standpoint.

While that may be true, the point I was making is that everyone can relate to the proficiency one achieves after years of driving in relation to thier formative years behind the wheel. This proficiency is the same for canopy flight. Everyone who doubts this needs only to picture their pimply faced neighbor who insists they are a great driver, and that you shoud let them borrow your Corvette for their big date.

With the ongoing debate over a WL BSR and such, and the prevalence of less experienced jumpers being opposed to it, I started thinking of how I could relate what they don't know about flying canopies to them (they don't seem to believe you when you say 'Trust me'). I was thinking about this as I was driving home from work the other day. It was rush hour, and snowing, and while I was driving with my knee (I had a latte in one hand, and was changing a CD with the other) I saw a driver ahead make a really stupid mistake, and almost cause an accident. As a caught up to the offending car, I looked over and saw it was a teenager behind the wheel. My first thought was, 'Damned kids' (which is scary because I'm only 29). Then it hit me. Everyone involved in this discussion has been driving for at least a few years. Driving is one fo the few things that almost everyone can relate to. As much as I hate to admit it, most people are fairly good drivers. They get the hang of watching whats going on around them, planning ahead just a bit, and how to behave with other cars around. Furhtermore, most people can do that and carry on a conversation, or play with the radio, or whatever. Now everyone think back. Way back to your first few months behind the wheel. Remember the concentration it took to just get down the road? Or when merging into traffic was a major project? How about straying onto the shoulder the first few times you tried to change the radio sation on the fly? It happened to everyone. In time, it became easier to manage, and the additional tasks weren't such a big deal. Did you ever imagine then, that one day you would be driving with your knee, drinking coffee, and playing with the radio in a rush-hour snowstorm without even thinking about it? Canopy flight is the same thing. You will reach a point where things will just happen without your needing to think about them. Your mind will be free to process other information. You will be a natural, and flying your canopy will seem as easy as walking. Just understand that just like driving, there is a world of experienced-based reactions and instincts that you need to develop before speeding up. Just like a teenager needs to keep their eyes up, and both hands on the wheel, new pilots need to take a similar view on canopy flight.

This is a general response to your posts regarding the 'gray list'. Here's why that idea won't work. To build the list you're counting on the judgement of a DZO or S&TA. The trouble with that is that each individual will have a different idea of what/who is safe. The ptifalls are obvious; people not getting on the list who should be, and of course, the inverse. Why is this a problem? Were currently counting on the judgement of those poeple in regards to canopy selection, and it's working. The concept of the BSR, while it still includes people making a judgement call, it's a group of people, all of whom were voted into their position by the population to be effected, who are making a decision based on an ideal that will work for the masses (those of lower skill/talent included). This is all leaving out the other side of your coin, the utilization of this list. How often is the list updated? How does a jumper got off the list? How does a DZ access the current list? What separates a guy who 'needs a little guidance' from the 'crater to be'? On the subject of DZ's not following a BSR, you will find that anytime a DZ knowingly breaks a BSR, it is a controlled and calculated risk. Not following the BSR's is leading toward negligence, and anytime you ignore a Basic SAFETY Reg, the element of liability comes into play. In an effort to reduce overall liablilty, and strengthen their waivers, DZ's will toe the (this) BSR line. Here's an example. Bob, a DZO has a jumper at his Cessna DZ, John, who has 1000 jumps, most of them tandem/AFF video, and has been training to take the AFF cert course all summer. The satff admires this jumpers skill, and all the AFF I who are helping him prepare have only good things ot say. Now Bob needs a reserve side JM for an AFF lv 1, whom he is the main side for. He knows he could do the jump by himself, but the training has involved 2 JM's and he wants to keep it that way. In this case, Bob may go ahead and allow John to act as a JM. He has jumped with John for years, been filmed by him on countless jumps, and Bob will be present on the jump himself. Now Bob has a new jumper, Dan, who has 123 jumps and is ready for a canopy XZY, even though the BSR says he's not. Would Bob give Dan the Ok for the XZY he wants to jump? Given Dan's experience, how long he's been around, and how much control Bob has after Dan leaves the plane? This is why a BSR will hold. Anyone trying to get around it is inexperienced, and eager to move beyond what's been deemed reasonable. They represent the worst kind of risk, and therefore would not be allowed to break the BSR.

Why do you think that the jumpers who are most vocal in supporting these ideas are well past being effected by any changes to the rules? Is it becasue it's easy to make changes that won;t effect us? Maybe just to jerk around the little guy? If you think so, ask yourself this, what do any of have to gain from our efforts? How does it benefit us personally to support such actions? If you cannot think of an answer to those questions, would you consider that after years of juming, and living through the very same stage of jumping you're at now (and most of us were just starting out when the shit started hiting the fan), and seeing the pattern develop, and things get progressively worse, that we just flat out care what happens to people? Especially those people who see what we do, and persue skydiving? Year in and year out we see that same things happening. A change must occur to stop the carnage. Not only is it sad to see, it drops the skydiving population every time, and we cannot afford those losses. Is it really going to cramp your style that much to follow the chart? If everyone else is following the same chart? Can't you show yourself to be the more gifted and skilled pilot on any canopy you are jumping? I have illustrated several times that an ambitious jumper can learn the skills and build a solid foundation on canpopies that fall within the chart guidelines. You may disagree, but I would direct your attention to the fact that as focused as you are on your jumping and swooping, I have been on mine for the last decade. In truth, I'm probably more dedicated to it than you are (ask my ex-wife living in my ex-house). Take one for the team, and trust me when I say that in 500 jumps you'll going crazy fast, and be doing safely and with the respect of your peers. For now, pull it back a notch, and see that if you cannot crawl, how do you expect to learn how to sprint?

The story seems incomplete. Did the damage occur on opening? If so, how hard was the opening? If so, where did the lower brake line recieve damage if the brakes were stowed? If they were stowed, were they stowed properly? If the damage did not occur on opening, when was it discovered? Right on brake release or after? As far as the bumper, it's not uncommon for a hard opening (I'm guessing that it was) to cause a slider to crack a bumper. The frayed line is another story. If there was a defect in the line to begin with, again, a hard opening could finish the job. I don't see any way a bumper could damage the line. Considering thier proximity to each other, is there anyting in the main pack tray that could have caused the damage? Look at where the link would lie when the riser is in place, and see whats in that area. Is it anywhere near the d-bag? Is there anything on the d-bag grommets? A burr, or poorly seated edge?

Maybe I should have been specific with my post regarding the increase in deaths. I was refering to the deaths related to open canopy incidents only. That graph really illustrates my point. Both in the quantity, and the time frame. Since open canopy incidents have prevailed, there has been zero change regarding the training or regluation of canopy flight (with the exception of private schools).

Yep. This answers every question about this subject. Regardless of altitude, wind direction or distance, be aware of your immediate surroundings, as they may turn into your premanent surroundings.

Keep in mind, that your 30 jump tunnel-wonder has not proven his ability track in a crowd, react to a funnel in a formation, or fly his canopy in heavy traffic. Likewise, a student who presues canopy flying with courses and coaching is not penalized by a WL limitation. They are rewarded improved skills, and if canopy flight is their thing, they can upsize every 100 jumps, and be at a good WL for their experience. The point to remember is that most swoopers agree, there is no rush to learning to swoop. By the time you have your basic canopy skills nailed down, say 150 or 200 jumps, you're able to jump at 1.2. This is a fine WL for working with a double front riser approach. You need at least 100 jumps to learn both how to fly the approach, as well as deal with the increased speed (what good does a high speed swoop do you if you cannot control the canopy throughout). Now you're ready for 90's, and can move up to 1.3, but keep mind that you need 20 jumps min. to get used to the new canopy,then another 20 or so transitioning your established skill of double fronts. Even if you moved up to 90's and wanted to donwsize at your next available interval (400 jumps), that only leaves you sixty 90 degree approaches on your canopy before upsizing. 60 jumps does not the expert make. Do you see where this is going? The folks who are so opposed to these ideas are the up-and -commers who have a misconception about just what's involved in learning HP canopy flight. The fact is that to safely learn how to swoop, it takes enough jumps that the WL chart becomes a non-issue. When you're ready, the canopies are available to you. You don't need anything more than 1.2 to learn your basic skills, and maybe some double front stuff, and the jump number requirements on the chart are in line with when you should be working on that stuff. All the swoopers at my DZ got into the habit of getting up early on the weekends, and flying several Cessna hop n pop loads before the Otter fires up. All of us have 1000+ jumps, and make approx 8 - 10 Otter jumps through the day, but we still make the effort to get those 3 or 4 extra swoops each day. Thats what it takes to swoop. Not 200 jumps and warm fuzzy feeling. It's not a penalty to impose a WL chart, it's reality.

Well, yeah, that would work too.

You should remove several of those options. PD wouldn't sell it if it wasn't as safe as the current PDR, and if it didn't fly as good or better.