peek

Yesterday, me and my tandem student, and another TI and his student, are getting ready to board the plane. I stood in back of my student and had him practice touching the drogue release handle, as I taught him in the training. The other tandem student says to him, "They told me that you shouldn't try to pull the handle on your first tandem so you can just enjoy the ride more." (I don't know who "they" was, perhaps someone he had met who had done a tandem before. I'm pretty sure it wasn't anyone at this DZ.) Huh?!!! WTF? "Shouldn't try?" Well, my student successfully read the altimeter and pulled the handle, and after we landed I asked him about his friend's advice to not try to pull. He said that no, that was not good advice, that it indeed it was very cool pulling, and when I filled out his logbook, I emphasized the checkmark in the "pulled ripcord" box. (Yes, Peek is at it again, emphasizing tandem training. It's just that I can't believe some of the things I hear about tandem jumps.)

Here is one I'm pretty sure you will like. First person out gets in poised exit position with left hand free. Second person gets out facing the rear using the right hand to hold onto the door frame. Both people use left hand to form a "compressed accordian", gripping the other person's leg strap. After you launch it, try to do frontloops, backloops, and even just 360 degree turns. It isn't easy coordinating the moves. You will probably come down laughing.

But Chris, that includes instruction on canopy control too! It takes soooooo... long to teach them that. And an altimeter would be required to know when to pull. My gosh, the expense of providing that, and the time it would take to train them! $50 is a bargain.

I visited your web site, yet have little idea of what you are trying to accomplish. (I am not going to download or sign up for anything.) Please just tell us what you are trying to do. Is this supposed to be a repository of instructional resources for students? What does it have to do with the "habits and tendencies of skydivers"?

To the politically correct, yes! (I had read about that before our discussion today.) Just see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana_%28word%29 The Wikipedia page that refers to the drug has already been changed to "cannabis". Political correctness gone crazy.

In light of a certain someone being accused of using the incorrect term for identifying a certain group, I offer you the following link: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Hispanic_vs_Latino It may or may not be entirely applicable to the "argument" but I found it interesting. Is it accurate? I have no idea. I'm sure someone will find something wrong with it. What I continue to wonder however, is why there is so much criticism of someone that uses what other people consider an "incorrect" term? My gosh, there is so much disagreement on many terms, how can someone think that their term is so correct that they have the right to criticize someone else. Obviously, some terms are not good to use because they are offensive to nearly everyone, but some other terms have subtle differences in meaning. What do we do with these terms? Just continue to criticize those who use them? By the way, what is the origin of the taco-salad?

Last time I checked they still do, in several sizes and 3 fabric types.

I made a pattern with pieces of poster board (cardboard) taped together with a circle drawn using a string on a pencil with the string anchored in the middle. Then I cut out the circle.

Here is what I provide to my one pilot friend that is not a skydiver and for whom I set up with a ram-air reserve. I insist that he review it often. The rig is a Softie. This is a lot of stuff to remember if a pilot has just bailed out of a disabled airplane and is at 500 feet! Feel free to use it or modify it for your use. The parachute is a Raven 4. and he is not too big, so he will probably land as well as with a round parachute, plus, he will be able to steer away from obstacles. http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/instruction/ramairforpilot.jpg

A coach rating, minimum. Or do we let anyone teach unlicensed skydivers these days? If you're answering questions in front of a judge or jury, you're going to breathing a whole lot easier if they had an instructional rating of some sort. Not everything is spelled out in detail in the SIM/IRM, nor should it have to be. The legal issue is real if there is an accident, yes. But from what I have seen over the years, it is better to have someone on the radio that actually wants the job and is good at it, that way an accident is less likely. If some kind of "rating" or endorsement is created, then a DZO may just hand the radio to whoever has the rating or endorsement (assuming that some organization has given them the okie-dokie on radio skills) and that person is likely to not be the best person for the job. It may just be their "turn in the barrel". I am also happy to report that most dropzones I know of are treating radios as more of a backup, much more so that in the past. So instructors are teaching canopy control, and hopefully the radio person does not need to do much.

There are none, nor should there be. I have seen a huge variation in how different DZs treat operation of the student radio, and I think we should leave that alone and not try to specify a particular way of doing it. A DZ staff meeting should be able to easily make things consistent at a DZ.

Do you know that this can be done with the help of instructors/coaches and a Safety and Training Advisor on regular jump days? You are not required to take a "course" (although it may be easier if one is available.)

Well, folks, I'm glad I asked that question and I'm glad I was a bit skeptical. What is the "correct sizing" of a pilot chute supposed to insure? 1. That the parachute doesn't open too quick? 2. That the parachute opens quickly enough? 3. ? Aren't there more important questions to put on a rigger's test? (A lot more important?)

Where did you get that information?

It certainly does. However, the manufacturers of parachute equipment have convinced many riggers that parachute equipment is "different" and that a rigger is much more likely to get sued than aircraft maintenance personnel if they don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations as well as the original maintenance instructions. They may be right, who knows. It is all a matter of money and who can afford to defend their actions or decisions in a court of law if their work comes into question.

Are you referring to links on reserves or mains? Why do you consider soft links an "upgrade"? Why do you think Rapide links should be phased out?

That is the kind I mean, to make a person comfortable with continuing to use the canopy as a reserve. I may very well be calling it by the wrong name.

(You may recognize this as a continuation of another topic as of late.) I don't know if this has been asked before, either here, or in the Facebook Rigging group. How many of you have ever done a non-destructive "pull test" on a ram-air reserve and had it "fail"? 1. What brand and model? 2. What age? 3. What kind of test? 4. At what force?

Repeat the entire AFF progression of jumps? Certainly not. Assuming you have your logbook with those 30 jumps in it and the instructor comments on all of the jumps are "normal" ... I would expect most places to have you go through the equivalent of the first jump AFF course to ensure you are refreshed on everything (perhaps at a reduced price if that place is where you used to jump), and then do a typical first AFF jump. During that jump they should be able to find out how skilled you are and then accelerate the progression (perhaps by quite a lot) if you perform well. (The fact that you have done tunnel flying recently is significant.) The key to this is to find a drop zone and an instructor that cares to take the time to do this with you. At the same time, keep in mind that skydiving is not all about freefall. Anything about canopy control you get refreshed on is good.

It looks like it but I don't know. You will need to contact them. I like it too, that is why I will always use Velcro on my high performance canopy. On the big canopies a premature toggle release is not so intense. By the way, since Velcro is OK with you, you can make some really nice and secure methods of stowing the excess steering lines with Velcro too, and if you design it well, the hook Velcro will not catch on the lines. Here is how I do it with standard risers and Dacron line. http://www.pcprg.com/slstow.htm It can be much smaller with small diameter line.

Para-Gear item D226 ... but jeez, they are kind of expensive, better would be Para-Gear item W907 in black It takes me about 5 minutes to replace the Velcro on toggles, and maybe another 10 minutes for Velcro on the risers too. Para-Gear.com item M3345 I have never installed these but how long could it take? A rigger should not charge you very much for the work.

Excellent point. I continue to be amazed at the number of DZOs who do not see this as an issue, and tandem instructors who do not bother to point it out.

When I saw it, I thought that it surely must be a "setup" with an experienced jumper acting as the "student" because there are such obvious weird things about it! If not, well ...

I once saw a parachute made by the Hightstown Rug Company Parachute Division, Hightstown New Jersey. You can find a small amount of info about them with a search engine.

Today we: - Started a bit chilly, but warmed up rapidly - Changed from long pants to shorts - Skydived without gloves - Sweated while packing - Watched a thunderstorm with lightning while drinking some beer - talked about "how nice and cool it was" while drinking beer after sweating while packing - got really wet running to the car carrying gear The old saying is, "If you don't like the weather in St. Louis, just wait a day." Right now I'm hearing a thunderstorm warning on the TV news.