davelepka

If you have any interest in swooping, or just getting performance out of your canopy, you need to disconnect the wings completely. They produce alot of drag (which is why you're wearing them) but you don't want that under canopy. It will spoil your forward speed, and kill your glide.

***I'll add to that - make them pull the cutaway handle. If the bag does go out for any reason, they don't get dragged out with it ------------------------------------------- An RSL could make this situation even worse. Think through your actions before taking them.

***What's going to be different when I strap on a still? --------------------------------------------- Your biggest hurdle, provided your video skills are sufficient, is going to be remembering to take the stills, and remembering not to take them all at once. You want to get a couple right off of the step, but after that, wait until you have something nice to look at. The flip side is that if nothing nice is happening, eventaully you have to start shooting anyway, because the skydive is ending soon. Also keep in mind if you want to take any pics on landing, you'll need to to reserve a frame or two for that. Duce had a pretty good idea for getting a handle on your skills. You will need to shoot a couple rolls on your own, just to see how they are turning out. His idea for having them developed, and put on CD is a good one, but if money is tight, you can do a develop only for around $3 a roll, and you can judge proximity and framing from the negatives (if you are jumping a Rebel, the exposure should not be a problem). A good trick would be to jump with tandems who are either not getting video, or just getting video (no stills). This way you can try to sell them the video after the fact, or get their contact info, and sell them some stills or a set of prints at a discount, after you have viewed them. It might not pay the rent, but it will defray the cost of learning to operate a shutter. Be sure to check with the video consession regarding selling, after selling, or discounted pricing to make sure they are cool with what you are doing.

If you are coming in on double fronts, building extra speed, when you release the risers, your canopy will turn that extra speed into lift on it's own, with no input from the pilot. The trick is to make sure that this is happening just as you need to plane out for your landing. If you let off too high, as you are waiting to come down to your flare altitude, your canopy will level off somewhat, and go a to a more shallow glide angle (in comparison to full flight). The canopy will ride this glide angle untill the speed reduces enough for it to return to it natural gilde angle and arispeed (full flight). The trouble is that during the last part of this level off, the canopy will be going slower than full flight, which means one of three things will happen: 1. You will reach your flare point at the end of the level off, and the reduced speed will give you reduced flare power, even less than a standard, full flight approach. 2. The canopy will finish its level off, and be in the process of returing to full flight when you reach your flare point. The problem here is that the canopy will dive slightly while transitioning between the slower than normal end of the level out and full flight. During this dive, you are behind the canopy, and in order to produce a flare, you first need to rotate forward under the canopy before you realize any actual reduction in decent rate or forward speed. This delay in response to input will manifest itslef as a precieved reduction in flare power. 3. The level off will occur high enough that your canopy can dive, and recover and be in a standard full flight configuration when you reach your flare point. Landing should proceed as normal. Here's the tricky part. If you release the riser too high, you risk scenario 1 or 2, which nobody wants. If you hold them too long, you may not have sufficeint time to properly flare and will impact the ground at a high rate of speed. It's a bit of a catch-22 where too high is bad, and too low is bad (probably worse). There's a narrow window you're trying to fly through, be careful.

You've got a good point about the approach of the article. It is a little 'off' in hte approach they use toward the target audience. A good usage would be for everyone at safety day to fill one out, and then discuss the results with a qualified instructor. It would help to smooth out the message to those pulling down higher scores. For the more experienced jumpers, as in several thousand jumps and up, the resutls do seem to lean toward the higher numbers. This seems to be a result of steering the survey toward accuracy for those with lower jump numbers. I think that your score is what it is, but a highly experienced jumper can 'downplay' thier number a bit due to experience. No offence to Andyman, but I think he is in the target audience. With 500 jumps, a 1.6 WL, and a leaning toward HP landings, I think he should give his scores another, more humble, look. Swooping is an advanced manuver in skydiving. Just like we whip the 100 jump wonders for thinking they know it all, when it comes to swooping, 500 jumps is a newbie. You've got to figure that in those 500, many of them were not Hp landings, and were most likely on a variety of very different canopies. Experienced swoopers do change canopies, but the differences are usually small, such as 96 x-brace to 90 x-brace. An upcoming jumper will downsize one or more sizes (a bigger percenatge of change in sq ft than the x-brace example) as well as changing planform one or more times. While 500 jumps is a good general number for everyday skydiving, swooping isn't everyday skydiving, and jumpers need to willing to return to the "newbie" midset before getting involved. You've got alot to learn and your attitude needs to reflect that.

I came out to a low 40 something. This was after I used currency info from Oct., the last time I jumped. If I used actual info, who knows how high I'd be. This survey lacked ALOT. I don't do any dedicated practice jumps at all. I've got 3500 'practice' jumps. Also, I've never taken a canopy course. When I started jumping they didn't exist, and I had 2000+ jumps by the time they came to be. I can see how this survey would work for lower time jumpers, say, under 1000 jumps.

As a newer jumper, keep in mind there is alot you can learn by being on a DZ. Doing solos out of your own airplane will not teach you much about skydiving on a regular DZ. Just remember that when you are on a DZ. Don't forget about the unique skills needed to fly a jump plane. Might not be a good place for a low time pilot in a new to them airplane.

It depends on alot: 1. What is the altitude? A Lv. 4 student may pull at the correct alt, regardless of the spin. How close do you want to be to a spinning, deploying student? Will this help or harm them? 2. Relationship / experience with the AFFI. Is this your first jump with them, or 101st? Furthermore, have you discussed this with them before hand? Would they be expecting you to assist, or stay out of the way? No rating / 3. Can you really help? If you don't have a rating, have you been through the AFF cert course? Do you know the protocol or procedjure for this situation? I don't think there is an answer. I have seen this several times while filming, and each situation required a different action. There are just too many variables to give a concrete answer.

1. Rear riser turns aren't used for swooping/landing. You may be confusing this with rear riser flares for landing. 2. If you NEED to use your front risers to get a good landing, you are jumping the wrong canopy. You should be able to land your canopy with a straight in approach in no wind, and have a soft satnd up. If you cannot, you need to re-think your canopy choice (ie; bigger, or maybe a couple of extra cells). 3. Anything basides a straight in approach, with no additional speed is too much at this point. Work on your accuracy, landing pattern, and traffic monitoring. Front risers and other advanced landing techniques should be reserved for more experienced jumpers, with more time under thier current canopy (your 52 jumps minus your student and/or rental gear jumps doesn't add up to alot of jumps under that canopy). While you may disagree with my viewpoint, consider the fact that you were under the impression that a rear riser turn is an acceptalbe manuver for building speed for your landing. Yes, you aksed about it, but consider the multitude of other things you may have mis-informaiton on, and may not ask about. The landing phase of your skydive is the most dangerous part. Have respect for it, and approach it slowly and with caution.

I understand what you're doing, my question was why? Especailly if you feel that the industry is marketing things in the wrong direction. Wouldn't that make it even more important to steer things in the right (safer) direction? Why not play devils advocte to the unsafe advertisers?

OK, would you go for this? How about a jumper who has the additional training AND is jumping a conservative WL untill the repetiton of experiece has "built-in" some basic survival responses. Yes, it can be done, and people have jumped with x jumps at y WL before. But it's a real shame when you see an accident, and the medical bills, months of rehab, and distruption of a life due to a poor decision. Yes, accidents happen, and sometimes it is genuine bad luck, but in a case where a jumper can choose thier equipment, doesn't it make sense to encourage conservative choices, rather than reinforce the idea that 'I did it, and others have too'? It's no secret that newbies will be newbies, and do things that aren't smart. Why encourage them? Why not discourge that behaviour as much as possible, and let Darwin do what Darwin will do?

***OMG!! 1.35, That thing is gonna kill him in his sleep for godsake! --------------------------------------------- No, it's not. While this may not seem too extreme, and under good conditions, this canopy may work well for this jumper. The trouble is that under less than ideal conditions, it isn't leaving much room for making 'rookie mistakes'. There is another thread gong about a jumper with twice the jumps of the one in question, and juping around the same WL. She made a 'rookie mistake' is is now in the hospital with some serious injuries. Bad things can and will happen, and the smart move is to plan for the worst, and be ready for it when it comes. One point that I think people who post online are missing is that the injuries sustained from a bad landing can be severe and life changing. While seems like another annoying post to the masses, there is someone out there who's life may be on the verge of a major and disturbing change. Some people do recover, and can resume thier lives after a peroid of time. But others have to change their outlook of the rest of thier lives. A person in thier twenties who will never walk again or who will walk, but never run, or participate in a physical activities has go to be hurting physically and emotionally. What if this person made their living in a physical job? What now? Or had a family to support? It's just something to think about. Making mistakes in skydiving can be very final and permanent. Trying to prevent those mistakes is all we can do.

A conversion lens will modify the focal length of the original lens. For example, a 50 mm focal lenght lens (SLR or Video, doesn't matter) with a .5x wide angle conversion will give you a 25 mm focal length. 50 mm X .5 wide angle = 25mm To match an SLR to a video camera you will need to know the SLR equivalent focal length of the stock video camera. This is udually in the specifications section of the camera manual. Most video cameras are around 40mm eqiuvalant when zoomed all the way back. If you had a 24 mm SLR lens, you could add a .5x conversion to your video, and come up with a slightly wider 20mm focal length on the video. If you bump the zoom up just a touch, to take out the 'corners' of the wide angle lens, your video and stills are a close match.

The argument could have been made that a larger canopy would have put her higher up when she reached the DZ, and with the reduced turn rate and reduced loss of altitude in a trun, the outcome may have been different. This incident is similar to the kid who hooked it in under the Stilletto 190 when he had under 100 jumps. The argument was made both ways that it would have happened on a different canopy, or that a different canopy would have changed the outcome. The point is that we heard about that incident, and we heard about this incident. Why? Becasue somebody was hurt or killed. How often would you guess that this same scenario is played out, but the turn is just high enough to avoid an incident? Probably fairly often. I see this happen several times a season, but it never goes beyond some talking to of the jumper. Nobody reports the close calls that trun out OK. So the conclusion that a different canopy wouldn't have changed the outcome is unsubstatiated. The fact that experienced and informed jumpers looked to the canopy selection as a signifiacnt contributing factor in both incidents can be substantiated (it's in writing). I'll stand by my assertion that the canopy selection was a signifactly contributing factor in this incident, and a more appropriate canopy would have lessened the severity or eliminated this incident altogether.

There's some consice and useful info. I do agree that the 143 may have been a better choice. Actually the 160 would have been ideal, and jumping with people at a similar loading to elimiate (or minnimize) the need for lead.

I agree with your point, but as Scott Miller indicated, in Sept, she was jumping a Sabre 190. For her, downsizing would be a 170 or 150. In addition, the Lightning was a new planform for her, which only furthers the thoery that this was VERY poor canopy selection.

I have seen varying info on the WL, from 1.38 to 1.27. I'm not sure which is correct, but one fact being left out is the behavior of a 126 at 1.27 and a 176 at 1.27 are two different things. The shorter line set of a 126 will cause the canopy to react more quickly to inputs, and be more radical as the result of those inputs. Another point is that CRW canopies are not known for their easy landings. In comparison to the Sabre 190 this student was jumping, a Lightning 126 seems like a VERY poor choice of canopy. Aside from a drasitc increase in wing loading, it represents a major change in the planform. How much experience did this jumper have with a 7-cell? (I'm not sure of the canopy itslef, but the fabric may been F-111, which would be another new factor). Indeed errors were made by the jumper. Part of being a low time jumper, especially at an organized 'camp' is relying on the expertice of the instructors. Five succesful landings hardly qualifies this jumper for that canopy nor do they show that this was a good reccomendation of canopy size. The conditions were not mentioned in the 'report' but I would guess that five succesful landings means they were on field (which is how people witnessed them) and the fact that six jumps were made indicates good weather throughout the day. Canopies should not be selected based on what a jumper can hadle in a 'best case scenario' landing, which it seems the first five were. Canopy selection needs to be based on what the jumper can handle in less than ideal conditions. If those conditions are a result of the weather, the spot, or jumper error (as newer jumpers are prone to) is not relevant.

The quality of your 'look at my helmet' photos is fantastic.

I get the impression that some skygods would place themselves as (edit oops, wrong word) gatekeepers of knowledge. This is truly dangerous. ---------------------------------------------------- Replace the word 'skygod' with the term 'experienced qualifeid professional' and the only problem with the statement becomes if that person doesn't want to share that knowledge. In a few years, after you have another 500 jumps, you will see that you have forgotten more about skydiving than you currently know. Just imagine what you will know when you cross 1000, 2000 or 3000 jumps.

Keep in mind the width of your reserve risers should make slinks a non-issue when it comes to your slider.

***At some point you stop being under the direct supervision of a JM and you start getting advice from other people. At that point the advisor has a responsibility to not give bad advice and the advisee has a responsibility to judge which advice he should take. ----------------------------------------- This line is the core of the thread. By the very nature of the relationship, the senior jumper (the advisor) nees to censor his advcie, as the junior jumper (the advisee) is less capable of doing so. The advisee has no way of knowing the experience of qualifications of the advisor (yes they could ask, but I haven't seen this happen). To a student or low time jumper, anyone with their own gear, and seemingly more experience than them (it must seem that way as they have advice to give) could be considered a valid source. It's almost like teaching life lessons to an eight year old. There are some things a twelve year old could teach them, but I would put more trust in the accuracy and integrity of the advice from grown adult. To the child however both sources seem valid as the information in either case is coming from an older person.

Just a couple of thoughts. Going low on a formation is a dangerous situation. Would another 50 jump wonder know to advise (or know at all) not going under a formation while recovering? Maybe so, maybe no. Big guys usually use big jumpsuits. Would a 50 jumper be able to advise on things like making sure a jumpsuit doesn't cover your altimiter or handles? Again, it's a toss up. A more experienced jumper (presumably a big guy, or rated coach) would know both of these, and advise accordingly. Often times in skydiving, advcie goes deeper than the core reccomendation, such as the examples above. Without the underlying concerns being addressed, the advice can be more harmful then helpful. Your point about freshness or learning doesn't really apply here as rated coaches are put through a course which teaches them how to teach, and they will fall back on this while coaching. Addtionally, any jumper capable of giving good advice, is always learning, regardless of jump numbers.

PD does make some hats for the slinks, but I've heard that they may not work (it will depend on the size of your sldier grommets). Using stainless links and bunpers for now would work for sure. A set of slinks later on is only $20. As far as rigging goes, have a rigger do any and all assembly of your rig, along with ongoing repairs, modifications, or changes. Try to be present while it's being done and ask any questions you may have, but for now, let the pros do the work. In time you will be able to do some of it yourself (with supervision) but there is no rush. In general with skydiving, taking the slow and cautious route will always pay off in the end. Also, skydiving is expensive, there's no way around it. Pay for quality gear and rigging, don't try to skimp in these areas. Good luck.

Good reply, very heads up. Loosening the chest strap untill it is not restricing the MLW is a better way to go. Loosen it until there is no longer tension, and this will give you all the improved canopy performance your harness will allow. This may or may not create a hazard in a cut away situation. Most cut aways happen on deployment, so the chest strap would still be in it's freefall position. I am not aware of any data concerning a loosened chest strap and cut aways. My chest strap is gerenally fairly loose during freefall, and has not posed any deployment problems thus far. I would say that it's a fair assumption to make that having no chest strap (or a disconnected one) would not be a good idea in any circumstance. Considering that most chest straps can be sufficently loosened to where they are not resrticting the MLW, and still remain threaded, it only furthers the point that unthreading is pointless.

Not really replying to Ron, just adding to the thread, Keep in mind that even if you are repeating advice you have heard, if the situaiotn is the slightest bit different, the advice may be incorrect. What works for one canopy may be the worst possible move on another. What may be a good idea on one day, in one set of weather conditions may not work in another. Unless you have jumped both canopies, in all different types of weather, you would not know this This is where expereince comes into play. Newbies, don't get all worked up if more experienced people say that xxx number jumps means you don't know what you're talking about. Nobody is trying to downplay your knowledge, and classify you as an idiot. It's just a basic truth you will come to understand as your numbers come up. You may be the brightest 100 jump wonder around, but you still lack the fundamental experience of jump numbers. Don't complain about it, just jump more, and make the problem go away. One last point, giving incorrect advice can lead to injury or death. Before speaking up with advice, ask yourself how you would feel if your advice led to an incident. One more than one occasion, I have intevened in just such a situation. There are severe consequenses for making mistakes in this sport, thats why we have rated instructors, and cranky old-timers to keep everyone in line. If you want to grow up to be one of them, keep your mouth shut, and your ears cautiously open.