Auryn

I am a newbie tandem/aff videographer, and I am looking for tips about the nuances of the exit... basically, how in the hell do you know it's time to exit ??? I have done enough failed attempts at a good exit to realize that the count, well, doesn't count

Here's a couple more tips: watch their helmets.. Ive had to tell quite a few of my students to put their helmet on during take off... let them make mistakes only until it affects safety... they are learning new things so may forget the basics. be sympathetic toward the new things they are experiencing.. a good quote from this weekend "It scared me that we were sitting so close to the door of the otter on the way up !" these are things we take for granted but are completely new to the student. also, try to do something goofy during the early part of the skydive to relax the student.. stick your tongue out, scream your head off, kiss them, (I licked one student's visor, that got a great reaction) this will relax them more than any "relax, we are about to jump" on the plane can. tell them "you're on jump 18, so you have 7 more jumps till you're eligible for your license" so if they don't meet the objective and you don't feel comfortable signing it off, they don't have to worry about having their license delayed, which is what most of my students worry about. You will instinctively know if they have met the objective, and follow your instinct.. you've earned, and paid for, your rating, so use your judgement. if they don't meet the objective, make the debrief as positive as possible. Blue Skies ! Bryan D 27808

I have to disagree with you. I made my first jump at the end of my 18th year, and I was licensed 4 months later. I was a high school drop out doing room service at a hotel, paying my own rent and car payment at the time. I still made it happen, paying about 1400 total for my training. I sacrificed other things, mainly dating

The policy re: coaching varies from DZ to DZ, from progression to progression. the REQUIREMENTS for coach sign offs are listed on the A proficiency card. if you can meet all those requirements in two dives then a coach can sign them off. Note: if a student is entirely AFF, then you have the additional 2 hop and pops w/ a coach, but the cost is less than $40, more like $22 and $16 However, some DZs require more actual dives to get the skills.. the want you to have 6 or 7. My previous home DZ was this way, even before the coach rating was invented (damn I feel old at 24) they required, on thier own independent of USPA, 5 coach dives w/ BIC rated jumpers. my personal preference is in between.. I will not combine A card sign offs into one dive, which can be done.. the reason being, I don't want to put too much pressure on a student to accomplish 2 goals in 1 dive and encourage a low pull, which I have allready been involved in.. NEVER again. these dives aren't that expensive compared to AFF, and can be a lot more fun and pressure free as long as only 1 objective is present. and I always include an IF qualifier. IF you meet the goal, we will learn more about turns and whatnot. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808 Coach 04

LONG: I have a good amount of experience with packing canopies of that size.. and additionally other canopies that are known to open hard. I'm a packer, so I'm buried in 400 sq ft tandems all day long.. I recommend Pro Pack because of several reasons: #1: You can still roll the snot out of the nose if it needs be.. just simply put the nose along your right leg, controlling the pack job after it's arranged w/ your left hand and leg.. roll the nose however you prefer w/ your right hand. w/ a canopy like that, heading control really isn't an issue, so you can do a simple one directional roll. Go all the way up to the A lines and then a bit if you wish. #2: the first reason why I think pro pack is better to get soft openings no matter what: you can bury the rolled nose deeper inside the pack job than you can w/ a flat pack. A tip for really burying the nose: when you're finishing arranging the lines, before you deal w/ the nose and slider, roll the stabilizers and ends of the tail INWARD, so that when you stuff the nose deeply this helps control the lines and keeps them from splaying outward everywhere. #3 It is easier to roll the hell out of the tail, which is JUST AS IMPORTANT for a soft opening as rolling the nose. remember also that if you have a canopy that opens hard, pull the slider as far forward as you can without messing up the quartering along the sides and back. I got a 2500 ft snivel on a tandem last weekend using these methods. I am 6'1" so I can pro pack stuff this big reasonably easily. if you are shorter it shouldn't be an issue unless the D lines touch the ground when it's over your shoulder.. you just have to bend down a bit to get the tail and flake the D lines, which even I do. if the lines touch the ground, you can use a booster of some sort under your feet if you're really concerned. My partner is 5'4" and has no problem pro packing tandems either. My $.02 worth.. remember, nothing is better than practice and subsequent confidence. PS: the reason I say that heading control isn't that big of an issue is: it's flying so slow, you should be able to react to any off heading really easily.. but you have to work very hard to get a canopy that big to open off heading w/ a pro pack.. w/ a flat pack it is MORE prone to be off heading.. laying it on it's side puts it 90 degrees off if you don't splay the nose out like a reserve, which causes hard openings. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808

I voted: Goggles or visor b/c of my contacts, have to have them. visual altimeter: In the event of a spinning mal under my stiletto, this is a must have.. judging alti from the ground in that bad a of a spin, for me, is impossible and would take waaaayy too long to discern. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808

I'm beginning to learn about this phenomenon.. I am a packer at TSP and that takes up the majority of my time. I am also a coach however, and I have been learning that sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. case in point. Last weekend we had a student that wanted to get as many coach dives in as possible. I was in the shower when I was volunteered to be the coach. I got out of the shower and I was on a 20 minute call with a student who I had very little idea about and I wasnt packed. due to our temporary a/c situation, it turned into a 15 minute call. and I had just gotten out of the shower :) For me I look at it like this: It is fun because it is a challenge, although getting my gear arranged in the plane can be unsettling.. but I know I have the experience to make some good judgements. Later that day I was TOO rushed, and I bumped myself, telling the student to do a solo, we would go up together on the next one. He was perfectly fine w/ that and enjoyed the chance to practice before going w/ me. I know the limit. That's the challenge, b/c now it's judgements that affect me and someone else, both safety and quality of the skydive. I enjoy it thoroughly, although I may gripe a bit from time to time. This is the only way I can finish up college and skydive too. plain and simple. So if I want to have my cake and eat it to, it may not be the perfect flavor. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808

you can check this yourself really easily. take the pc, cock it fully, and hang it upside down. if the kill line is taught inside the pc, it has shrunk and may need to be lengthened. Blue Ones ! Bryan

yeppers.. but, all's well that ends well. I think you summed it up.. The communication was the hardest part, due to the suprise and size of the A/C hence the number of people that all needed to get on the same page. I think we handled it reasonably well, but ideally could have been more organized. It was by no means mayhem however. Just a much faster than normal egress from the plane

Everyone got up at once, which caused a lurch. Someone behind me, it may have been the pilot, yelled for us not to all get up at once and calm down, which helped people remember to stay spaced out as they exited.. no one really moved toward the door until it was their turn to go. Bryan

that's one way to look at it What surprised me was how calm I was.. I was really detached emotionally from the situation, just focused on getting my camera helmet on, checking my gear and waiting for instructions.. I even made an attempt to get my camera on, but failed. One interesting thing that happened was that the guys in the back couldn't really hear the engine go, or the instructions that well, which added to the delay and confusion.. the first group even set up in the door before going, they had no idea. Everyone else did by then tho and just got out. One more thing to remember: since there was no seperation, be sure to look for the groups in front of and behind you, and track off flight line for a bit to create some room for openings.. I was still really close to three or 4 canopies even though I was a solo (trying a camera suit for the first time, so I was in the same boat you were Katie) However, I said screw the good exit, I just want out LOL Blue Ones ! Bryan

the engine that was failing had partial power, and he was able to hold altitude on the good engine. As soon as we got out, he apparantly shut it down and immediately desended to land. The A/C was an Otter. The pilot did an amazing job, even holding it well enough to get us a good spot. I give him mad props ! Blue Skies ! D27808 Bryan

I had my first emergency exit this weekend, and I wanted to say: Listen to the pilot ! Everyone on the plane did, and when he said get out, we did. as fast as possible I might add. we were at 10,500 when it happened, so it wasn't really that bad, other than the sound of the right engine dying :) it turned out that the culprit was apparantly a bad fuel filter on a light fuel load (semi confirmed).. whatever it was, the engine was dying, no doubt (I was sitting right by it and heard it sputter several times) and last, don't panic, you do have a parachute after all. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808

I don't know of the highest jump # w/o a cutaway, but I have an interesting number for you. I know someone quite well with 5 malfunctions in her 100 or so jumps.. the mals were as follows: lineover-hardpull-hardpull-hardpull resulting in a dual out downplane that she did not chop and got lucky-ballosh*t shes running a 1:25ish average. she still jumps. Blue Ones ! D27808 D27808

I jumped them for a bit and I highly recommend against them for a first rig especially. The extra riser on the steering line allows the control line to "float" side to side, resulting in unintentionally muted input to the canopy.. in other words, instead of the control input going to the canopy, he could accidentally be just moving the riser and line from side to side, doing little to nothing. additionally, the extra thickness of the riser can (w/ some sliders) make getting the slider past the top of the riser tough.. taking awareness away from the air. I accidentally unstowed a brake when fuddling w/ it once, and at 1.6:1 w/ my brakes trapped by the half pulled down slider, this was really uncool. a first rig IMHO should be as simple as possible to use. Blue Ones ! Bryan D27808 ps. they do look cool tho.

I'm a packer, I jump a stiletto 120, and am very interested as to how this works for him. What kind of wing loading does he have ? how does it open ? I have never rolled the nose on an elliptical except tandems (sigma). I would imagine it would be 4 cells on each side toward the middle cell. Blue Ones ! Bryan D27808

Nice.. here's one, the quality isn't that great.. simple sitfly exit Blue Ones! Bryan D27808

I hope you had GPS ! Blue Ones ! Bryan D27808

I second this. I work at a DZ known for it's great attitude.. it's what we pride ourselves on.. but, I can always do better at this. I will make an extra effort this weekend to welcome the new person, whoever they may be. blue ones ! Bryan D27808

QuoteI'm with the monkey. Anything except packing. Packers work hard and get zero respect. reply] I'm going to disagree here.. but I am a packer :) I have been in the sport for 5 years and b/c of DZ politics at my first home DZ was never able to get a job doing anything, even though I wanted it badly. I moved home DZs and got a job packing right away.. and I love it. yep. that's right. love it. me and the other packer work together so that we can get in the air as much as we want to.. we make good money, and I am never disrespected. I also coach on a very regular basis, I have an AFF I deteremined to help me get my AFF rating, and I will be apprenticing this summer to be a rigger. I look at it as the beginning of being very involved in the sport, and those above me have been exceptional at treating me well and helping me to advance. so if you're thinking about packing, it's really damn hard work, but not nessecarily thankless work. The people I pack for thank me w/ money and more knowledge. Blue Skies ! Bryan D27808

that is funny. Blue ones Bryan

Pulled underneath a 15 way that I had funneled. Blue Ones Bryan D27808

for me it is the fear, then the RUSH, then the flight. I get a huge rush from exit every time. it is my crack. If I go a week without it, Im a friggin mess. Blue ones. Bryan D27808

I don't know if I'm allowed to quote a moderator, but I'll try..

This is the first (beer) thread on dropzone.com that got me really thinking.. I mean really thinking. and thank you for it. I have changed my EPs for a PC in tow from cutaway and hit silver to just going to silver. because of this question exactly. I have seen 4 dual outs in my career, 3 from under canopy literally right next to them, 1 from the ground. and each was a very controllable situation for the jumper involved.. 2 of the three reacted correctly and 1 didnt (downplane, took no action) but got lucky and it went to a biplane. I would much rather have this, which I have drilled for, trained for, and HAVE CONTROL over, than an entanglement I can't do a damn thing about except hang from it until I die. Wow, what I do for the rush. Blue Skies Black Death. Bryan