riggerrob 558 #1 April 1, 2004 1 April 2004 Are canopy whistles mandatory at your DZ? They are rapidly becoming the norm at my DZ. It all started last year when a few of the youngest and hottest swoopers hooked safety whistles onto their stabilizers. The high-pitched whistle of them falling out of the sky was enough to warn everyone to get out of their way. At the first hint of their arrival we all buried our left toggles to get out of the way. All that tumbling, bruising and spitting out of grass was a small price to pay for avoiding mid air collisions. Some of the POPs were reluctant to spend the money, but most of them grudgingly admitted the extra safety margin afforded by safety whistles. Oh! And when the canopy formation team landed an eight stack, it sounded like the Vancouver Symphony had arrived at the DZ. As soon as the last batch of bassoon whistles arrive we will install them on our tandems. Nothing quite like the rising pitch of safety whistles during that last turn to grab the attention of friends and family! We have been buying our safety whistles from Gotcha Enterprises and gluing them on. Has anyone else found a less expensive source? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #2 April 1, 2004 I've seen the whistles that folks put on the bumpers of their pick-ups to warn deer. Seriously, I hadn't heard of them. Sounds like a heckuvan idea. I'll have to mention it to the folks at our DZ. Good tip! Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #3 April 1, 2004 I have been a staunch proponent of Safety whistles since I was a youngster on the family farm. We placed them on the collars of the sows so that you could hear them running at you from behind as you attempted to clip the teeth and cut the nuts off their offspring. After the first chunk of flesh got taken out of my 15 year-old ass, my dad invested in them. They saved me at least a dozen times in the ensuing years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
headoverheels 291 #4 April 1, 2004 We only use them for POPs. That's so everyone can look their way on landing, in case those brittle old bones break. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #5 April 1, 2004 They havent made their way to Quebec yet. Then again, we're french, so we talk all the time, approach and landing included; its easy to know when we'Re coming.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #6 April 1, 2004 I think these whistles are a great idea. I went searching for them at several dealer sites and finally found them. I tried to attach a picture here but that didn’t work quite right, you have to hit "Alt"-"F4" to bring up the attachment for some strange reason. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #7 April 1, 2004 QuoteWe have been buying our safety whistles from Gotcha Enterprises and gluing them on. Has anyone else found a less expensive source? Yes. I can't tell you where or what we're paying (trade secrets and all that) but I've got them in stock in middle C, D, E, F and G tones and have been selling the shit out of these things here at Sebastian. The swoopers seem to like C best; the school has been using G on students. The tandem instructors are simply having the passenger hum on final approach, which is working well as it gives the passenger something to focus on other than lifting their legs and screaming. We've found them especially useful during our sunset hit n chug contests. Canopy whistles rock. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karenmeal 0 #8 April 1, 2004 I've never heard of or seen one of these canopy whistles. Are they supposed to warn you of an impending canopy collision? Can other people under canopy really hear these? Or is it just a "hey look at how cool I am swooping and making pretty noises" sort of thing? P.S. You forgot to add a "no" on the poll. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #9 April 1, 2004 >> I've never heard of or seen one of these canopy whistles. Are they supposed to warn you of an impending canopy collision? Can other people under canopy really hear these? Or is it just a "hey look at how cool I am swooping and making pretty noises" sort of thing? P.S. You forgot to add a "no" on the poll. << Great job, riggerbob! ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christelsabine 1 #10 April 1, 2004 1st of April, right ? dudeist skydiver # 3105 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #11 April 1, 2004 Most of the swoopers at SOBE don't need the whistles, you can hear their sliders flapping from a mile away. Which is good, because it gives you time to dive to the ground. Myself, I just one of those air horns and honk at people to get out of my way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karenmeal 0 #12 April 1, 2004 stupid april fools day. I figured it was just another example of conspicuous consumerism that some yuppie skydivers came up with. hahaha. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #13 April 1, 2004 Naw! Serious... 2-box-tops and 50cents! We use 'em on our bulls at the ranch! Chuck P.S. Good job... Rob! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerry81 10 #14 April 1, 2004 Quote Has anyone else found a less expensive source? I prefer to yodel as I start my final approach. I've discussed it with our head instructor and I think we'll start teaching it to students this season. It might take licensed jumpers a bit longer to learn it, but it beats buying whistles and modifying all canopies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riddler 0 #15 April 1, 2004 Damn! And I was thinking "what a great idea" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #16 April 1, 2004 Quote stupid april fools day. You think? Noooooo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #17 April 1, 2004 Good joke! You know, unless your deaf you can hear the swoopers coming in anyways.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #18 April 1, 2004 QuoteDamn! And I was thinking "what a great idea" Most high performance canopies already hiss when the pilot is executing a diving front riser turn (gotta love the sound of a high performance canopy in a dive almost as much as I love the sound of a radial aircraft engine). But this makes me think back to a girl I used to mountain bike with. She used to have a cow horn attached to her bike and we always knew where Lisa was. Of course we were riding in the Alberta Rockies (home of many many Black and Grizzly Bears) and this is no April Fools joke. She actually did used to (maybe she still does) ride around with this clank-clank-clank sound. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 0 #19 April 1, 2004 QuoteWe have been buying our safety whistles from Gotcha Enterprises and gluing them on What kind of glue are you using? That seems odd to glue something to a parachute rathar than create a pocket to help eliminate snag points or just sew it on directly Usually I think your posts are informative but I'm not so sure that glue is the best attachment method. Then again.. you've been doing this a long time. Do you have a link to Gotcha? I've done an extensive search but come up with nothing.My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #20 April 1, 2004 hahhaha I was thinking what a stupid idea these whistles were for a while. ya had me. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #21 April 1, 2004 QuoteQuoteWe have been buying our safety whistles from Gotcha Enterprises and gluing them on What kind of glue are you using? That seems odd to glue something to a parachute rathar than create a pocket to help eliminate snag points or just sew it on directly Usually I think your posts are informative but I'm not so sure that glue is the best attachment method. Then again.. you've been doing this a long time. Do you have a link to Gotcha? I've done an extensive search but come up with nothing. um... looks like they "Gotcha", hookitt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,123 #22 April 1, 2004 Yeah, got me too. Only, being a POPS and all, I wasn't so sure it was a great idea Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 0 #23 April 1, 2004 Quote um... looks like they "Gotcha", hookitt. Oh come on... be serious Twas but a bit of humor.... My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #24 April 1, 2004 QuoteDamn! And I was thinking "what a great idea" I was thinking "where can I get one?" mixed with a healthy dose of "but how would they attach it", "sounds like it could interfere with opening" and "hmm, sounds like a joke; why does he think he can post jokes in G&R?". Followed later by "Oh, it's today." -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 3 #25 April 1, 2004 Excellent, very well done. SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
