GroundRush1 0 #1 February 21, 2003 New to skydiving, have only 3 jumps, one tandem and two static line, although the second static line was a rough one. Made me want to quit skydiving temporarily, but decided to enter and AFF program instead. Still a little nervous, but Ill get over it. You can get used to anything after a few times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #2 February 21, 2003 Welcome to the fourms! She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #3 February 21, 2003 Welcome! So tell us about the second static line jump.... J -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blewaway5 0 #4 February 21, 2003 Welcome, and for sure, we wanna know, what was up on the second SL? Truman Sparks for President Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outofit 0 #5 February 21, 2003 welcome! It is better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyskydiver 0 #6 February 21, 2003 Welcome. Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yardhippie 0 #7 February 21, 2003 Yea your gonna have some rough ones if you stay in long enough. Just use those to learn from! My #12 jump I blew up a steering line, and then tried to land it... ouch. Glad to see your sticking with it!Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD "What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me "Anything you want." ~ female skydiver Mohoso Rodriguez #865 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lukepinion 0 #8 February 21, 2003 Good to hear it didn't scare you off permanantly! Luke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slim 0 #9 February 22, 2003 What up Ground Rush!!! welcome >>> A good friend will bail you outta jail... A true friend will be sitting next to you saying "That was fucking awesome!!!' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyboyshell 0 #10 February 22, 2003 Welcome There!!!Blue Skies!!! FlyBoyShell EarthBound FreeFly Suits Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #11 February 25, 2003 Yea, pretty interesting forum, glad I found it! Im starting AFF in a few weeks when I have the money, its a money thing right now, but once you get past the first few it does get more affordable. The thing about me is, once something scares the hell out of me, I can help but wanting to do it again. Its the same thing that happened when I dropped a 20 ft wave at point break one time, couldnt wait to do it again. Still waiting... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #12 February 25, 2003 The second, and last static line Ill ever do? I was told to do a poised exit, and under no circumstances, to do a hanging exit. Why I dont know. Holding on to the wing strut, I had my foot too far forward on the wheel and tried to take a small hop back to get in a better position for exiting. Then my feet blew out from under me, and I was forced to try to swing my feet back on the wheel...no hanging exits allowed. This was a nightmare, and a dangerous situation if the chute would have blown. I finally accomplished that by some miracle, exited, and in all the exitement, forgot to throw my waist forward, causing me to forward flip twice while on the static line. Noticing the ground from less than 3000 ft, I immediately thought the chute was going to get tangled, panicked and started looking for the cutaway device, just in case. Then the chute blew open instintaneously, no line twists, slider in place, perfect deployment. I havent been at it long enough to know the reliability of these ram air chutes, so I naturally thought I was in a pretty bad situation. Im done with these static lines, that isnt skydiving anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #13 February 25, 2003 Ive got a better plan: How about ALIVE and COOL? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #14 February 25, 2003 This Id like to hear more about if you dont mind...sounds pretty scary! What exactly do you mean when you say blew up a steering line? And how did that happen, bad parachute, not packed right? How fast or hard did you finally impact? I see a lot of people that like these real gentle landings, what ram air chutes are the most popular for. I never do them. I always flare and stall the chute at least 5 feet above the ground so I can get used to hard landings, just in case of a situation like youre reporting. And besides, I think hard landings are more fun anyway. So did you break anything? I dont want any rough ones, just want to avoid them at all costs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #15 February 25, 2003 Hey thanks for all the cool responses! Hope I awnsered everyones questions. Let me ask, anyone ever done a cutaway? Thats the thing that worries me, when to make the decision, then doing it right, and being able to find the reserve handle after breaking away. Im all for using RSLs but wouldnt depend on it. Call me paranoid, okay so Im paranoid, what else is new? Anyone seen that movie "Cutaway"? I guess thats all about cutting away, maybe I should see it. Why else would they call a skydiving movie "Cutaway"? I dont know, sounds pretty interesting, maybe Ill learn something. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #16 February 25, 2003 I had a cutaway on jump 26. I pulled for my reserve, even though I had a RSL. I do my practice pulls everytime I'm in the place, so I don't think I'll forget when to do it. I think a good many of us here have seen Cutaway, it's a little silly. The term "cutaway" is used more as a metaphor in that movie. It's worth watching just so you can catch all the ridiculous parts in it.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raefordite 0 #17 February 25, 2003 What type of student container are you using? If it is the new Student Javelin, even if you pull the handles out of sequence, the main will cutaway and then the reserve deploy. Good reassurance but not to be depended on. That is what our DZ uses. Just the same, listen to Skymama and practice touching those handles - in order - before every jump. I had over 700 jumps before my first malfunction and cutaway. Doesn't matter if you have 3 jumps or thousands of jumps. Your first cutaway is your first! I found it to be very reassuring that everything went by the book and turned out fine. Keep your training current! I'm sure your home DZ is planning on events on March 8th for Safety Day. Take advantage of this and attend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #18 February 26, 2003 The kind they had me using had no RSL, just a cutaway device and reserve rip cord handle, to be pulled in that order. If you dont pull in that order, uh oh! Thats not good! Analyze this if you will please, and tell me what you think. They trained on the cutaways by telling me to look at the cutaway device, reach with BOTH hands for the cutaway device, pull, then look for the reserve handle, reach for it, then pull. What if the reserve handle moves after the cutaway, seconds count, and you have trouble finding it right away? Why is it necessary to use both hands on each handle? Isnt is better to first look at the reserve handle, put your thumb in it, look for the cutaway device, reach and pull, then just pull the reserve? It seems a lot safer to me, than having the possiblility or having to grovel for the reserve handle when seconds may couint! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #19 February 26, 2003 OK Andrea, if you dont mind Id like to hear more about that. A cutaway on jump 26? What happened to the main? How did you make the final decision to cutaway from the main, and about how high were you? Inquiring minds want to know! Sorry to see the movie wasnt original, I had high hopes for it. Already ordered it, so I guess Ill be seeing it. Even more ridiculous was the Point Break skydive, theyre talking to each other during freefall, then it looked like the chute blew about 100 ft from impact, and they land in the water with out any floatation device and float just perfectly. Yea, sure. The worst of it was, a first timer executes maneuvers just perfectly without any training. That was funny. By the way, youre very pretty. Single by any chance? Im not counting on it, but I had to ask. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raefordite 0 #20 February 26, 2003 http://www.uspa.org/Publications/SIM/SIMtext/Section2.htm#e 2. All students are to be equipped with the following equipment until they have obtained a USPA A license: a. a rigid helmet (except tandem students) [NW] b. a piggyback harness and container system that includes a single-point riser release and a reserve static line, except: [FB] (1) A student who has been cleared for freefall self-supervision may jump without a reserve static line upon endorsement from his or her supervising instructor. (2) Such endorsement may be for one jump or a series of jumps. Dear Groundrush: The above is from the USPA SIMS manual. If you are at a USPA Group Member Drop Zone, they have agreed to adhere to the Basic Safety Regulations (BSR's). As you can read, an RSL is mandatory. I bet they do have an RSL, or perhaps following the link and reading about it yourself may help. Then, turn to your instructors and ask a few questions. I bet they can help and will be happy to answer. As for the cutaway procedure - what you have learned is fine. If teaching a two handed technique, I like the following: Look at the cutaway device Reach with both hands for the cutaway device Look atr the reserve handle, then Pull the cutaway handle Strip the cutaway cable, Reach for the reserve handle Pull the reserve handle Strip the reserve cable Some think that is too confusing. I am sure your instructors have had much discussion and have agreed on the method of teaching you for a reason. Ask them what is that reason! If I have a small female or someone with less than what I hope for developed triceps and grip strength, I like the two handed approach. In my last (of two) cutaways, I had too much g-force and needed a two handed method to cutaway my main. So my first cutaway was a one handed method, my second cutaway was a two handed method. BOTH worked fine and I was safe and kept all handles! You are asking all the right questions. Safety is always first! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #21 February 26, 2003 Quote OK Andrea, if you dont mind Id like to hear more about that. Oh, I kinda got talked into doing something that was a little soon for me, I think. My friend asked me to go on a jump where we would pull high and fly around each other. He motioned for me to spiral down and I ended up getting us in a wrap, from not really realizing how much room my huge student canopy took to do a spiral and doing it in the wrong direction. Thankfully we were still around 5000 when we had to cutaway, so we had plenty of time to take care of things. The canopies were found and we were fine. Although it did make me quit for 7 months from me questioning whether I should still skydive while I'm a mother and making stupid mistakes like that. But, I missed the sky so much, I read a lot (right here on dropzone.com!), asked a lot of questions, learned a lot and have been fine for 200+ jumps. Now I'm know as a pretty conservative jumper. Quote By the way, youre very pretty. Single by any chance? Thank-you very much, and yes. She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #22 February 26, 2003 Thanks a milllion for the info. On the RSL, I am sure they did not have one on the rig because I did ask about it, and they told me it was just another piece of equipment that you have to rely on so it wasnt being used. That is interesting though, they seem to be in violaiton of USPA regs. This was a very small DZ that I am not at anymore. Somhow it doenst surprise me. Going to a larger DZ. Dont know what a single point riser release is, can you explain that? Also, what is stripping the handle? They didnt say anything about that. Again, doesnt surprise me, thier lack of responsiveness to questions is one of the reasons why I would never go back there. The problem was, they were never happy to awnser. They did not have me join the USPA on the first two static lines. I have to wonder why now. I also feel better with the two handed method. How hard is it to pull the cutaway with one hand? From your procedure, it looks like you have some time during the cutaway to pull the reserve handle, I always had the impression it has to be done instintaneously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #23 February 26, 2003 Andrea, Thanks for the input. I always like to ask for the reasons behind a cutaway, just to try to stay out of the situation. Looks like you had gotten pretty shooken up, but you were doing a daredevil act at the time. I did the same thing when I was young in a Cessna and almost crashed, which made me quit flying forever. Going up in Cessnas to skydive makes me nervous, not because of the skydiving, because of the Cessna. Even today. But I have the same idea as you, jump conservative, standard arch position, good enough for me. Its enough of an adrenaline rush to be dropping anyway. Besides, I get plenty of other action surfing and rock climbing, not centered on just one extreme. That keeps me out of trouble. On the last note, I dont know where you live, I live in Phoenix, AZ. Would you mind if I email you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GroundRush1 0 #24 February 26, 2003 Andrea, sorry about that, I looked at your profile and youre from central Florida. I was planning on a trip to Sebastian, but dont know when yet. Plans are to go skydiving there, stay there at the campground, and do some mild surfing so I can practice a few maneuvers without having to deal with intimidating waves on the west coast. Are you anywhere near Sebastian? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #25 February 26, 2003 Hi Chris~ I will now teach you about the wonderful world of pm's. Look at the word "Messages" on the second blue bar at the top of the page. If it has a red number next to it, that means that someone sent you a message. Click on it and you'll see where you can read and reply to it. If we use that, we won't bore people with our personal stuff. Check it in a few minutes for the answer to your question. She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
