Oct 2, 2003, 1:31 PM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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once you've deployed a parachute in freefall and looked over and done gear checks and had your instructor explain all the FJC material you probably wont have to ask. It's very intuitive. We are creatures of flight.
Oct 2, 2003, 1:33 PM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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or are these questions that would be better answered by my instructor with a rig so I can actually see?
That will be the best and usually your instructor will be more than happy to explain it to you.
There's a combination of different factors involved during the opening, such as packing techniques, slider, ect...
Same with the cutaway, best described by somebody, perferably an instructor with rig on hands. The reserve has aspring loaded pilot chute. Basically whel pulling the reserve handle, the container flaps open and the spring (which is inside the pilot chute) jumps out of the container, catches the wind, and pulls the reserve out. If you have a chance of seeing a reserve chute repack, that will be very instructive in visualizing how it works.
Oct 2, 2003, 1:34 PM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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or are these questions that would be better answered by my instructor with a rig so I can actually see?
Yes.
I'd highly recommend getting your hands on and reading cover to cover "The Skydiver's Handbook" (Dan Poynter and Mike Turoff, authors; Para Publishing) and/or "Jump" (Tom Buchanan; McGraw Hill). Both are excellent sources of all the info you need to know right now - from what to expect on your student jumps to what each piece of gear is and a basic explanation of how it works.
They're available from just about any skydiving gear store (I know Square One has 'em in the shop at Perris).
Oct 2, 2003, 4:41 PM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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also, how does the cutaway work,
You did do an AFF jump without doing a drill cutaway in a hanging harness??? Kick your instructor if that applies!
Apart from that, just take a rental rig and pull out the pilot chute and all that comes out after, and have a packer, instructor or rigger explain the deployment to you step by step...
Oct 2, 2003, 5:41 PM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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how does pulling the little red pillow thing cutaway the main chute? what are the mechanics to make it work?
Again ..no disrespect but if that wasnt shown to you by your instructor at the time
Quote:
Kick your instructor if that applies
students should never jump unless they understand how there eqipment works!!! I mean I'm not talking allthe physics and pull forces and equations,, but at least the basics!! But thats just my opinion!!!
Oct 2, 2003, 6:16 PM
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Re: [lazerq3] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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We weren't taught the specifics in my FJC, we were taught what we needed to know to save ourselves. Everything was kept pretty basic, there reason being that there is so much information and a person can only retain so much. After hanging out at the DZ some more, and asking a few questions I was shown exactly how pulling the cutaway handle releases the white loop which releases the 3-rings etc etc
Oct 2, 2003, 6:24 PM
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Re: [Casch] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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Well I guess every instructors different but we had a rig laid out and the J/M went over everything and how it worked for us but like I said everyones different!! So yeah I guess as long as you know how/when to pull the handle the rest will come in time!!
Oct 2, 2003, 7:49 PM
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Re: [lazerq3] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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Shelly was a great instructor. She taught us everything we needed to know to save ourselves if something went wrong in the air. The mechanics of the cutaway handle weren't important. knowing how and when to use it and what the end result would be if I pulled it was important, and that's what she taught us.
Oct 3, 2003, 1:41 AM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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I know a training course verges on info overload...
But knowing why you do something and knowing how something works really do help you apply the knowledge you gain.
You will probably know exactly what I mean as you are now asking those very questions.
When I teach the students in our club how to pack its not just "put the slider here, make sure these lines are here". I make sure they know why its importatnt to control the lines and exactly how the slider works on opening.
These things aren't just things you should know as a qualified skydiver, but things that help you to understand what you are doing and assess the risks involved before you volunteer to accept those very risks.
If someone cant grasp the basic concept of how a cuttaway system works they are not really intelligent enough to skydive. This sport is not best suited to dumbies.
(caviat - not saying you cant grasp these concepts, just that you should have been told them by your instructors (IMO) and thus been given the oportunity to demonstrate that you realy do have that ability before they chuck you out of a plane).
(This post was edited by mr2mk1g on Oct 3, 2003, 5:47 AM)
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Oct 3, 2003, 3:14 AM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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Air. Nothing works without the air moving past you. That same scary, swirling stuff in the door that seems scary, is your best friend.
Ask your instructor to show you the deployment sequence on the ground. (If you were not shown this on your 1st jump course..)
Oct 3, 2003, 5:52 AM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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Nice work! Asking questions like this after your first jump is surely positive.
I know of people with circa 100 jumps that dont know how the 3 rings work, how the reserve works, what their knife is actually for........... starting to ask questions at such an early stage is a refreshing change.......... most are so focused on the jump and making it through to the licence and then once that is done having fun and progressing they forget to think about finding as much as possible about the equipment they rely on to save their lives.........
Thats my take anyway - but perhaps i am just an equipment freak!!
be safe always
(This post was edited by BASE813 on Oct 3, 2003, 6:00 AM)
Oct 3, 2003, 6:15 AM
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Re: [mr2mk1g] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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Mr2mk1g has never spoken truer words. I will add just the following to his quote.
Quote:
I know a training course verges on info overload...
But knowing why you do something and knowing how something works really do help you apply the knowledge you gain.
Why - how - and (my add) WHEN to correctly execute EMP.
I can understand the tandem jump not covering the mechanics of the rig however, you should have completed a "real" first jump course prior to the Cat A jump. If you did not, ask your instructor Why - How - When!
Oct 3, 2003, 7:54 AM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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AH, a product of the Jim Wallace Sky School...
Id recognise that cuttaway drill anywhere. I dont like it
NEVER CHANGE IT though
Once you've been trained on a cuttaway drill your pretty much stuck with it for the rest of your life. If you try an mess with it (certainly whilst a newby) you'll prob end up doing half of one and half the other when you really need it to work right.
Oct 3, 2003, 8:01 AM
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Re: [Nightingale] **STUPID NEWBIE QUESTION** What makes a parachute work?
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she didn't go into the mechanics of how it worked, but she made damn sure we knew how to make it work if we needed it to.
That's the way I used to teach an FJC too. If a student asked about how the cutaway/reserve system worked I'd explain it, but it wasn't information that they needed to safely make their first jump so it wasn't included in the "normal" course I taught.
There is a limit to how much information a person can absorb in a 5-6 hour class... I think it's better to teach survival skills in an FJC and leave the detailed gear information for later levels when the student has more time to absorb it.
btw, I happen to know the instructor who taught Nightingale's FJC. Known her for years. She's a very good instructor - I'd have been just as happy if she'd taught my kid's FJC as I was with the guy who did.
) 
, ask your instructor Why - How - When! 
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