Divalent

Anyone using this helmet cutaway system? (a retro fit for open faced helmets) http://www.gravitygear.com/store/product166.html If so, I'd be interested in any opinions.

True story: my FJC and first jump were on a sunday, and when I arrived at the DZ, there was an 8-way dirt diving their jump, all holding hands and huddled together, and one guy who was clearly the leader was saying stuff I couldn't quite make out. I honestly thought it was some of wierd religious thing. [turns out I was right! ) "Skydiving" to me: that feeling of liberation as I jump from the plane into the cool air.

I don't know, but is that guy behind him in the plane holding a machine gun?

If I'm reading the proposal (as summarized in the USPA information) and the discussion/opinions here correctly, the good thing about the FAA doing this is that it proposes to put in place an *objective* standard for what is a safe landing zone, as opposed to the *subjective* one that EXISTS NOW. (i.e., if a proposed LZ meets the dimensions in the new standard, then it is, by definition, safe, and airport folks can't come up with silly/trivial/bizzare/phony reasons why it is unsafe). So it should streamline the approval process with regards to this one issue. But that the bad thing about what they are proposing is the specific standard for what a safe landing zone has to be. (e.g., the proposed dimensions are not reasonable, and it excludes areas (such as taxiways) that aren't a problem now). Is that a fair assessment of what is at play here?

I can see the value of practicing it up high to get a feel for how the canopy behaves, so that you have some expectation of what will happen close to the ground if you need to land on rears. However, for an average non-swooper, is actually landing on rears the first time substantially safer when you are doing it deliberately, compared to when circumstances force you to? IOW, is the cumulative risk you expose yourself in order to learn to land on rears at some level of competence worth the reduction in risk of injury when you subsequently are forced to do it?

dang, sounds like you did pretty well. If you remained altitude aware, and actually pulled yourself, that means your head got back in the game after your initial moment of panic. In FF, it seems like the main problems was the one that is hard to simulate on the ground: arching in the face of a 120 mph wind. Even more experienced jumpers have the canopy issue you described. It is definitly a learned skill to judge height and distance and speed over a 3/4 box pattern to predict a landing point. (That's one reason some DZs give students radios for guiding them in the final pattern.) Ask yourself: knowing what you know now, would you do better on a redo? Remember, you now have 3 jumps, so the next time the environment is going to a bit more familiar.

Looks like it is this guy (same name, and his home page is the web address at issue). http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=andrewlovemore;

You need to explicitly state what country you are in. (Your profile doesn't say, but from your description of what you think you need to do it would appear to be the USA.) The USPA A license is different from the UK version (different requirements, and they are not equivalent in what you can do with it once you earn it). If you are in the USA and plan to train here, then what those helpful guys from the UK are saying does not apply to you. And if you are from Russia, almost everything people have told you doesn't apply to you. (this is an international forum, so ya gotta be clear, and that's one reason it is a profile item)

I can't envision how this could lead to the pin piercing the bridle. I could see how it might lead to a PCIT if the bridle leading into the container is so tight that the PC can't pull enough slack to allow the pin to get out of the closing loop. Is it that when the bridle reaches extension, and rotates the pin (so that the curve of the pin is now curved upwards with respect to the plane of the container surface), that if the end of the pin is under a taut bridle, it might have enough force to pierce it as it is rotating up? That's about the best I can do with what you said. And if that is the case, the only fix needed (for both scenarios) is just to ensure that there is enough slack on the bag side of the pin.

FWIW, I asked Pivothead whether they were planning to release a wider angle version of their sunglass video camera, and as of a month ago they had no plans to. I guess they view the skydiving market as too small, but that would also include a lot of other recreational/sport activities. There is a thread about Pivothead's product about a month ago, and it has links to some demo videos, one taken during a skydive. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4313527 I like the concept and simplicity of the design, though. They are retailing now for (IIRC) $375.

I'm trying to figure out how this can occur. How exactly does the pin end up piercing the bridle? And what is the alternative closing technique/bridle routing that prevents it? I normally don't reposition the pin after inserting it, so generally the curve of the pin is going out to the left and curving upward towards the top of the rig. Which means the blunt end of the pin is visible (and the bridle is to the right of it; running straight up/down). On my rig (and probably on all others) I could position the pin so that the curve is, say, going up and curving to the right, and so would always be hidden by the bridle material on top. IOW, normally it looks like this \_o but I could rotate it 90 degrees CW. would that make a difference? Any help appreciated

It might be good for you to figure out what it is that you are afraid of. Do you instinctively fear heights, fear the strange foreign environment of the noise and wind of freefalling 120 mph (and your ability to function safely), or fear a malfunction that will result in your death? For all of those, the door is the gateway, but the solution to overcome it (if it can be overcome) is different. And I suspect everyone has at least of bit of each of these fears going into the sport. Fear of a malfunction can likely be overcome by education: knowledge about modern gear, how it works, the safety features, the strengths and weaknesses, and with information about how likely malfunctions are, and what you do if you get one. Spending time at a DZ looking at gear and talking to folks about how it works, etc, might also help. Fear of your uncertainty about whether you could keep your head in the game in the unfamilar environment as you fell 120 mph towards the earth will almost certainly diminish with with each successive jump, but some people adapt faster than others. A strong instinctive fear of heights might be more problematic, although I've read accounts here by skydivers that have/had that, and how it diminished with time in the sport. My fear going into the sport was mostly concern about whether I had what it took to keep my wits about me and perform in the free fall environment: would I be able to react if needed. I did a tandem the day before my AFF course, as a check. If I freaked out, I would not do the course. I did educate myself (reading incident reports here, and reading about the errors that are made, and learning a bit about the gear, and compiling data on the likelihood of a malfunction). I don't have a strong fear of heights. So for me, it was probably AFF level 6 jump where my eagerness to get to the door and jump exceeded the fear I felt creeping towards the door. Prior to that, it was in part a lot of trust in my instructors and my equipment that nothing bad was going to happen (but that was the rational side of my brain fighting against the primal part of my brain). As a number of people said: it is something that only you can decide. But IMO I think you would be better able to overcome it if you can figure out what is most fearful for you.

Maybe not enough people have bought watches yet.

That was my first reaction: move it all here. A "DiverDriver" forum, and a place for storing articles about the craft.

Yeah, easy to see folks getting that impression if they only visit The Farm. But I'm sure there are DZ that are a little more, how would you say, "earthy"?

I agree the field of view is too narrow for general purpose skydiving. Do they have a wider angle option? And the continuous flicker in the video that begins once they exit the plane mars what is otherwise reasonably good quality. Hope they can fix that. Good concept, however. Not a snag hazzard, easy to "mount", no need to fuss with getting it aimed properly.

In the US he has a year to file after publication. (But international rights are lost if he hadn't already filed). If anyone "lifts" his idea from here and tries to patent it, their attempt will fail because they didn't "invent" it.

Great. It's about time DB Cooper had his day in court. (am I in the right thread? Thousands of replies? Check. I must be.)

And looks like you already uploaded the video! (Nice sweater vest, btw.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSEgSFVj2s

Dang, that was low. If you use the video time marker to estimate his fall time, its pretty clear that he cut away at about 240 ft. About 3.5 secs (and certainly less than 4 secs) from cutaway to being under a full canopy about 20 ft off the ground.

was it in student mode? In any event, doesn't sound like it was supposed to do that, based on what you said you were doing. This should probably be posted in the incidents or the Safety forum.

No need to do that: just get your training at the Farm: pets are always welcome there. (And popsjumper will keep her well fed, if she can handle 30-60 lb four-legged meals )

Of course it's a user-adjustable setting, so one needn't change it, but one would hope that those that change it are smart enough to factor that into their planned deployment altitude. Adding 200 ft to the setting would rob you of an additional second of "altitude unawareness". BTW, around the farm there are a couple of hills that range up to about 150 ft higher (and which are forested as well, so approaching 200 ft object height). If my cypres fired while I was over those, I'd probably appreciate having an extra 200 ft to maneuver (or for my reserve to open).

so I googled a currency converter to figure out what that means, and 1000 yen = ~$12.25 US right now. That means the AFF course was ~$2,730 (7 jumps?), jump+gear rental would be ~ $115, and just a jump ticket is ~$80.

Got my A-license via the AFF route last year at age 55. What I experienced seemed not at all different from what other new students (here at DZ.com and at the dropzone I train at) related in accounts of their training. Generally same set of emotions, fears, and mental and physical hurdles, etc. IMO, this sport is a tad bit physical, but mostly mental. If you have normal range of motion of your limbs, reasonable coordination, and even just near average strength, you have the physical attributes to do it. I'm not sure what "fair shape" means regarding your legs, but in any event, learning (among many other things) to be the best damn PLF'er at the drop zone is not a bad idea if you want to maximize the odds that they remain as good as they are.