Reliance on altimeters

[Baksteen 84]

I was under a fully functional main at 2.5K - Having exited at 7k, this means that I must have pulled between 3-3.5k, in other words, static-line exit altitude

EDIT: For Dutch students the hard deck is at 2k by the way.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[377 20]

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Don't forget that from one altimeter to the next in freefall can be 500 feet off of eachother

More than 500 ft!! I had a nearly 1000 ft diff btwn a wrist mounted Altimaster II and a Digitude on the back of my hand. Both tracked identically in the test chamber. The difference disappeared when I rotated my hand to kill the low pressure area created directly behind my hand in freefall. 1000 ft error is a LOT when you are really at 1K, your altimeter says 2K and your Cypres is ready to fire at 700 ft. I wonder if this has caused accidents?

377

I always wear two altimeters, and the low one rules.

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[mdrejhon 8]

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Don't forget that from one altimeter to the next in freefall can be 500 feet off of eachother

That will mean the low one rules.

Currently I am at Perris P3 bigway camp, and the LED accessory happened to become damaged (my fault - an accident caused by visor closing in the incorrect position. This will be fixed once I get the replacement $35 accessory). So I'm reverted to my former altitude awarenesss for the last 15 jumps so far.

Either way, I've made my decision: I'm adjusting the breakoff altitude alarm on my audible, or setting it at an altitude higher/lower. I may even disable the breakoff alarm (and keep only the pull and flatline alarms) like many people do.

My altitude awareness during belly jumps was fine without an audible. On the recent jumps I was able to turn and track right on key. There are already four altimeters:
The wrist altimeter (in very standard reliable belly fly position, not a burbleworthy position)
The ground (it often causes me me to glance at alti when it's getting close at the bottom of my peripheral vision, remember I'm bellyflying)
The internal clock (not 100% reliable, but it's there to tell me to check all the other alti's including my wrist)
The breakoff signal from the center. (if there is one, and yes it can be missed, but it's there as a supplement and breakoff altitudes can vary a bit especially if the formation is stable)
...So that makes it four "altimeters" already.

Dozens of deafies have gone without audibles for many years anyway...

Once my audible is back in service (replacement part for my accidental LED damage). I will probably set a +500 or a -500 (or disable), so that it doesn't subsconsioucly becomes something I immediately key on, but as merely as a signal ... this will preserve my other means of altitude awareness, i.e. interrupting my other altitude awareness at the exact moment of breakoff. I don't want to make my audible cause me get lazy if it's keyed nearly exactly at breakoff altitude.

Obviously, the audible becomes more important in freefly -- especially given the different variables that presents (like more difficulty seeing the ground while paying attention to other freefliers, etc). The audible especially becomes useful if I am tracking really far and low (My seeming more-frequent 2500 feet pulls, even down to 2200 feet as an up-and-coming bigway regular), that's way more important than having a breakoff alarm in the audible. If I was doing competition 4-way, I'd enable the breakoff alarm - but a one-point bigway gives plenty of opportunities of altitude awareness.

Nontheless, I like my audible. :-)