goose491

Here's your comparison: In the skydiving world, landing is considered by many to be the most dangerous aspect of the sport and doing a "Swoop" on landing is adding even more risk to an already perilous activity. I'd say that's a good comparison. Most injuries/fatalities in our sport occur under a perfectly good parachute at landing. "Swooping" is a discipline where skydivers dive their parachutes towards the ground to pick up great speed before leveling out only inches above the ground. The effect is a nice long 'surf' along the ground before touching down. It is clearly the most dangerous discipline practiced by many. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I'm actually very stoked about a couple HD two ways I did this weeekend. I've never been able to plan so much in a dive and get it all done like this. They were both with very good flyers but I still feel as though I was pullin' my weight. On Saturday with Glen we freeflew a HD exit and: -right handed dock -360 -left handed dock -I take foot dock -two handed dock -Glen takes foot dock -two handed dock -carve around in one direction, stop and then carve around in the other On Sunday with Pauly we freeflew a HD exit and: -right handed dock -left handed dock -two handed dock -right handed dock held while Pauly flips into sit -eagle -eagle (pauly gets back into HD) -carve Now I know these may sound simple to many of you. But I'm still reeling about it today as I just couldn't beleive we got it all done! I did a few HD skills camps this year with Steve Curtis. They were big-way training dives. Anyway, my HD flying has improved so much it's insane and jumps like the two I described were unimmaginable for me last season. So yeah, I would consider them to be "cool jumps" My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Okay then... thank you to all DZ.commers who get me through the day at my desk. lol. Without you, I'd be forced to fill 8hrs a day with... work My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Words of wisdom! I hate (repeat: Hate!) briefs. I wear boxers and actually opt to not wear underwear at all most of the time (for those that wanted a bit too much info ). I wear boxer-briefs when I skydive though. It makes ajusting the harness a lot less uncomfortable and I must say it does give me a lot more confidence in the dreaded nut-under department. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

No no, please do! Glad I could brighten up your day.

Ahhh! Q: what malfunction is worse then the line over? A: The nut under. The deployment will look normal from the ground but you will hear the jumpers cries. lol. It happened to a friend of mine only a couple weeks ago. Poor bugger. Head down premature reserve opening and you've a lot more damage to worry about then yo privates friend. It won't be pretty. Ahhh... no. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Nice writeup Bill. Good on you to lend a helping body. I'll bet it was great fun... and a bit of great chaos too. lol. Those "canopy" pictures are WOW! When I think "bigways", I always think "Canopy Traffic" but pictures like that never cease to amaze me. Hey, can you tell us what happened leading to that CYPRES fire? Nick My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

How about taking your helmet off and putting it on your feet? It will make it easier for them to 'collect' you after the fact as all the'll have to do is pick up the helmet like a bucket! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I`m usually pretty blunt. What you say and what you address can truly make a difference in the way wuffos see you and your sport. If asked about the risks in this sport, I always -and almost immediately- point out that a large percentage of injuries and fatalities in this sport occur under a fully inflated main canopy. I explain about swoops, low turns and object strikes. I also explain that the vast majority of incidents can be traced back to the jumpers action or lack thereof. A lot of people still truly think it`s like russian roulette. Your jumping is like pulling the triger, you`ve a predetermined chance of dying and if you parachute opens, you are lucky. I like to think I`ve changed a few peoples perception by explaining that the risks are calculated and that in general, people don`t just die because their "chute didn`t open" My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Don`t think me insensitive. I`d not laugh at the tragic loss of life. (having said that, don`t we all still get a good laugh at the Darwin Awards every year?) Let`s face it, this guy is an idiot. He said he saw an antenna yes... his altimeter would have done a better job at telling him he was low... and getting lower. I`m laughing because that`s what I do when faced with a fool. The guys a fool and he made it but for the grace of God and some very very good help on the radio. Just like skydiving, flying isn`t for everyone. If I have a malfuncion and it is learned that instead of keeping my cool and doing what I was trained to do, all I did was scream "I`m gonna crash" all the way down to CYPRES fire... I think there would be a few comments/jokes made about my itelligence. I think a few people may suggest that skydiving isn`t for me. I think, after hearing this guy, that flying isn`t really for him. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Customer Service??? What on earth?? We singed away the right to harp about customer service when we all helped Blockbuster kill off the Ma and Pa movie rental stores and take monopoly. I know you all remember hearing them say something warning us to this effect... It`s just too bad they aren`t around anymore to give an "I told you so" My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Not funny at all. But that 178 seconds is to loss of control of the aircraft... not to loss of control of ones self. The pilot lost his head. It`s understood, as you have pointed out, that you will lose control of the aircraft. Flying in IMC is sometimes more about repeated regaining of control rather then maintaining it. But your head... your head man, you`ve got to keep it cool. I don`t think there is any defending this guys blatant loss of wits. He clearly had no idea what was going on even after the incident. The third recording is basically the flight service guy toying with him. So maybe there`s nothing funny about it... NOW. But IMO, this pilot is to be a laughing stock. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Who`s comments are you declaring to be asinine? The Pilot of One Five Lima clearly lost his head. Scared or not, that`s just not cool.... That`s why it`s called "Loosing your cool" ! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Now that`s a real solution! None of our kids should go to school! I`ve always equated getting them to school with wasting fuel. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Unless he`s got a seatbelt on somehow. I pretty much wouldn`t sit on the floor of an open-door cessna without one. Then again who knows, some people just have the big pair... swingin` My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

But you`re not german. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I think the only way I would think to exit a large commercial airplane would be from the great big gapping hole in the wall/ceiling/floor. That Jet Blue is flying just fine straight and level. Trying to bail would only complicate the emergency landing further. Basically, the only way I`d even dream of such a skydive is if the plane has come appart at altitude and it`s respective parts/pieces are plummeting. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Hmmm that`s pretty interesting. You know, the pilots that wear pilot bailout rigs do so for a reason. Skydive pilots understand that there is a chance of a canopy hangup, or a body colliding with their ship. Such events could lead to such a loss of control over the bird that it is impossible to fly safely or land. Aerobatic pilots understand that some of their maneuvers may lend themselves to an uncontrollable plane with no time for recovery. A collision with a partner plane might do the same. Millitary pilots might get shot at. These operations however, take note of these possibilities and are usually conducted within the most suitable area. There aren`t many situations in private aviation where a rig would benefit the pilot. Most scenarios, you`re looking at a forced approach and if you`d rather get out then land the plane, perhaps learning to fly is not your fortae. I can think of only a few scenarios where a private pilot would need to bail out... and even then, I would say they owe a larger amount of responsibility to those innocents below them. Wouldn`t you hate to bail out of a plane that you set on a collision course with a schoolyard? Fly it until it`s on the ground and stopped. That is a true motto. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

My first `big` tracking dive was my 100th skydive. It was a 17way. Here is a photo taken by Francis B. Jackson. The leader is my buddy Brad. It was his first time leading one. I am directly above him, with my knees bent to get down. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Congrats on the tracking dive! They can be SO much fun! At my DZ, we tend to end the busier days with a Sunset Tracking Dive. It`s great because you can get a good number of people of varying experience levels together for a good safe jump and keep things interesting for everyone. So long as everyone remembers to track 90 degrees to your flight path when breakoff comes, a plan to keep a lower speed and gradualy pick up the pace will spread you out nicely over the sky. As you get better and better, you will become more aggresive and get up there to the front. Just don`t ever sacrifice safety for glory. lol. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Nevermind! I once chased my buddys cutaway main down. It landed in a field and I opted to land in one which suited me better but was kitti-corner to it. Anyway, I landed right behind a house and there were some teenagers BBQing in the yard. Of course, I was an instant cellebrity. Anyway, they kept telling me they saw my friend who's "chute didn't open" I just said "Yeah, he had to use his second parachute. I'm here to retreive his first one." I don't think they really grasped the concept... and I didn't really grasp what they were saying either as they kept saying "Come, You friend landed over here!" They led me to a clearing in the brush between the two fields so that I could get right to it. One of them had a four-wheeler and he rode it to the edge of the property and stopped. They all seemed to be leer and be stretchin' their necks to see... but very reluctant to continue. Basically, he was convinced that somebody had gone in. When I picked up the parachute, it became clear to me. They all thought there was a busted up skydiver under it! To this day, I think about it and wonder how long they would have sat there just looking at it. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Did you make it? Toto do you disagree that the chances of a reserve malfunctioning are slimmer then those of the main malfunctioning or just that it 'won't'. I think it's clear that the reserve can malfunction. But I also think it's clear that all things remaining equal, the chances of it happening are lesser then on your main. What do you think? My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Very well put. The reserve is not the same as a main. It's chances of malfunctioning, all other things remaining equal, are quite a bit lesser. It is my understanding that this is why we consider going straight to the reserve if having to exit real low in an emergency situation. Knowing you won't have time for two chances if there is a malfunction, you'd want to go with your best chance off the hop. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I had to stick my hand throught the loop in my shoelace real quick to confirm but I stick three fingers in my toggles (index, middle and ring), and two in the dive loops (index, middle) I would put all four in the toggles and I tried it after having read a thread here on just this topic, but I like to have my pinky wrapped around the bottom tuck-tab of the toggle. I'm not sure if it's easy to visualize, but it seems more secure in my hand that way. You still have one finger in the toggle which isn't in the diveloop, to avoid dropping both at once. And you've also got a 'pintch' on the toggle between your ring and pinky finger, like a horse-riding bridle. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

You'll find a bunch here. I started this poll when a fortune cookie told me to "keep my feet on the ground". Lot's of interesting thoughts in there... and a couple of spooky stories too. If you read the whole thing, you'll see how I predicted my beer cutaway! (that spooked even me!) My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!