Night jumps.

[skittles_of_SDC 0]

The idea of them worries me slightly. I mean I wanna do one real bad but I'm a little worried about busting myself up. Not scared, just a little worried. I know they can be very safe if done right but I'm not worried about in the air its the landing. I know there are lights on the ground but still I just don't wanna bust up my ankle or femur or knee or something and be out for a couple of months (which would be the rest of the season in IL). What are your guys thoughts on night jumps both from a first timer's point of view, and for those of you that have done many, an experienced view?

[mjosparky 3]

Like so many things in skydiving, there is not rush. Wait until you have a few more jumps and landings. The night will be there waiting for you.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[airtwardo 6]

For a 'first timer'~ if you think you may not be ready, you're not & good on you for recognizing it. You make one when it's time and that ya got plenty of.

As someone that's done a fair # of night jumps ~ took me a few to get comfortable with the idea it's just like it is during the day only darker.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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The idea of them worries me slightly. I mean I wanna do one real bad but I'm a little worried about busting myself up. Not scared, just a little worried. I know they can be very safe if done right but I'm not worried about in the air its the landing. I know there are lights on the ground but still I just don't wanna bust up my ankle or femur or knee or something and be out for a couple of months (which would be the rest of the season in IL). What are your guys thoughts on night jumps both from a first timer's point of view, and for those of you that have done many, an experienced view?

Night jumps a are a _LOT_ of fun. I did my first one during the lunar eclipse which coincided with the Hale-Bopp comet's visit and followed it up on most warm weather full moons after that.

Note that winds are different at night. As during the day, if there are multiple loads you want to be on the second load (on one jump I was one out of two to make it back to the DZ because of winds aloft).

High moon is like high noon. At some DZs the DZO wants to go home before the moon gets high enough to be really useful. You want to jump later rather than earlier if that's an option.

A bigger canopy if you land out might be a better option but you still need to land on even ground - after over 1500 jumps I managed to join the titanium club with a tibia+fibula spiral fracture a few feet before landing when I went through a piece of wood in some brush with a wing loading under .8 pounds/square foot.

That said, there's no reason to rush it. You'll be more comfortable and safer with more jumps.

[ROK 0]

Night jumps are awesome!

I do them as often as I can. The last was a wingsuit flock (I was scared), but it was really fantastic.

Where I do them, the landing area is really dark. When you look down from altitude, you just see pin pricks of light. It's nice if they key the runway lights, and they stay on long enough to help you.

Here's my advice...FWIW

Know the drop zone well. Pay attention to where towers are, ball fields, parking lots, power lines, etc. At night, you won't have the same visual land marks to use as during the day. If you have to land off, be very prepared.

I swear that my night landings are much faster than during the day. Be very comfortable with landing your canopy. Don't be afraid to PLF.

Sit through a couple of night jump briefings when others are doing them, and don't let ANYONE give you a hard time about waiting.

See if the DZO will let you ride up with the load, but not jump. It will cost you, but the experience and visuals will be very valuable for when you do decide to try it out.

Pay close attention to every detail in the night jump training. Example: I did one jump on a night where it had just stopped storming. Very cool 4-way. I was pysched! Turned on final and my googles fogged over 100% from the humidity. Broke my shoulder. Yes, I forgot the small detail taught to me about removing my googles after under canopy. Landing blind sucks


You don't need them until you are prepared to go for your D license. Waiting will only make you more experienced in the air, and landing your canopy. Besides, if you're on schedule with your sig line, you only have to wait till the end of the summer next year!

[BIGUN 1,053]

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What are your guys thoughts on night jumps both from a first timer's point of view, and for those of you that have done many, an experienced view?

My first forum name was [NightJumps] till that focker Nightjumper
I tell you this because I can sum up nightjumps for me in one word - serenity. You've been in an A/C late at night looking out the window down at the lights and the cities...

Advice: 1) If you're very proficient with your canopy as in Billvon's Downsizing Checklist and, 2) you can coordinate it with a full moon, and 3) you're very familiar with all the outs around your DZ, and 4) you receive a good nightjump briefing, and 5) So you wanna make a night jump by Phreezone...

EDIT: Most DZ's will have your first nightjump as a solo - altitude dependent on DZ so you start building up to doing night RW at the top.

...the only thing you should worry about is if cops will be comparing your avatar with recent bolo's.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[BillyVance 34]

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As someone that's done a fair # of night jumps ~ took me a few to get comfortable with the idea it's just like it is during the day only darker.

Yeah, you've come a long way in those night jumps, just reading about your night demos about made me shit my pants!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[livendive 8]

Get more jumps, know the DZ, prepare like an obsessive compulsive, keep your head on a swivel and your brain in top gear, fly like you know what you're doing.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[skittles_of_SDC 0]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'll listen to you guys and get a bunch more jumps in before I make a night jump.

[airtwardo 6]

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Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'll listen to you guys and get a bunch more jumps in before I make a night jump.

Little advice on how to time your flare at night...

Get about 30-35' of 550 chord, tie a 5 pound window weight to one end and make a slip knot on the other, put the slip knot around yer scrotum...toss the weight out after you open.

When your eyes uncross because the slack in the line eased the pain in yer balls ~

...F L A R E!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[skittles_of_SDC 0]

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Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'll listen to you guys and get a bunch more jumps in before I make a night jump.

Little advice on how to time your flare at night...

Get about 30-35' of 550 chord, tie a 5 pound window weight to one end and make a slip knot on the other, put the slip knot around yer scrotum...toss the weight out after you open.

When your eyes uncross because the slack in the line eased the pain in yer balls ~

...F L A R E!

LMAO.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'll listen to you guys and get a bunch more jumps in before I make a night jump.

There are also easier night jumps - near an urban area, the typical lack of moon doesn't matter.

A DZ that segments the load - say 5-7 people per pass rather than as many as can go before one calls a go around. I find the navigating around crazy patterns (seen only as indistinct strobe lights) is more difficult than the actual landing.

Know the outs well. If you've ever stayed on the outside playground too long and then ran out of altitude before you could get to the LZ, it's even easier to do in the dark.

Don't change gear for the night jump- stick to the familar. At the American, someone borrowed a Neptune and discovered on the way up she couldn't make the backlighting work. No jump, or would have been a very dangerous jump for all. I found how silly it was to put extra lighting on my night glow Galaxy - I had to turn off the glow stick in mid freefall, then turn it back on again after opening.

[Skwrl 56]

My first five jumps were night water jumps...

... I had my eyes closed and pee'd myself each time.

Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[Andy_Copland 0]

Borrow student gear, bigger canopies. Just make sure the spot is good, winds are good and keep your head on a swivel. PLF and it will be your most memorable jump.

I have a few night jumps now and love them, even no moon and no lights are fun when you end up rolling on the ground laughing because you know everything is ok.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[labrys 0]

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My first five jumps were night water jumps...

Please tell that story, gramps. C'mon.

Owned by Remi #?

[mdrejhon 8]

One of my favourite solos was a night jump at Deaf World Record 2005 --

It's a piece of cake when you're well prepared. Full moon, strobe light, bunch of glowsticks, $50 headlamp that projects 300' away, good spot, and being the only canopy in the air (no canopy traffic to worry about). Just don't turn on the headlamp until you're under canopy.
That said, other people had a bit of a scare. (Billy Vance can chime in. He was on my load!)

[mjosparky 3]

This is a good read.

Sparky

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=570

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[tigra 0]

I've never made one. My first couple of years in the sport, I was jonesing to do one and kept missing out on the opportunities. Clouds/ bad weather on the nights they were planned, etc.

But you see and learn a lot of things after a few years in the sport and my interest in doing a night jumps is no longer as strong as my interest in avoiding painful injuries! And quite frankly, I don't think I have the eyesight for it anymore. My depth perception at dusk and beyond is just not what it used to be and even under a full moon with a great spot and a well lit landing area, I wouldn't trust myself to land my canopy properly!

Still, I kind of wish I had done one or two when I was younger, dumber, braver, more current and less "blind"! More like you, really! They're cool - take the proper precautions, pay attention at the briefing, fly a conservative pattern and have fun.

[jumpwally 0]

well,? what was the scare ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[rgaray 0]

Hey! Correct me if I'm wrong, don't you need to do a night jump in order to get your B-license? I see you already got yours? and I read on this thread that they weren't necessary until the D-license? Please let me know, because I already went over the 50 jumps and the only thing I thought was keeping me from going and getting my B license was the night jump, and my DZ won't have another one till November. Thanks!

-R

---
"It takes courage to walk through the rain on a cold and foggy night, but it is those nights that dawn the most beautiful mornings."

[DocPop 1]

Night jumps are not a requirement of the USPA B licence.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

[DougH 270]

You are mixed up. You NEED your B license to participate in night jumps at a USPA group member dropzone. D license is the only license that has night jumps as a license qual.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[mdrejhon 8]

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well,? what was the scare ?

After World Record all-deaf night RW (8-way), the spot was bad at opening. As they broke off, below them was darkness, no lights (a dark swamp below). 7 people landed out, one barely made it to the edge of the dropzone. Nobody got hurt, someone landed in a lit parking lot, another landed in the middle of a dark swamp.

Needless to say, after that jump, I believe Billy Vance swore he would never do night-jump RW again

This was on the same plane load as mine, but on a separate pass than my pass. I self-spotted, pulled high as pre-planned, had my very own airspace, landed in the middle of the lit landing area. Tons of fun! I'd still try night jump RW if an opportunity arose, but I'll be wearing my bright headlamp just in case of a dark out landing (I only powered it on after opening, far away from other parchutists), just in case.

I know you can see the ground on a full-moon night, but I like the extra security and the convenience of having a headlamp and not needing to manhandle a flashlight (just aim my head), at about 300 feet, the illumination is roughly as bright as a full moon, then progressively gets brighter, so I could even jump into an out on a moonless night if I had to... (though on an unexpected moonless out landing in a totally dark area, I'll be limited to about 300 feet of obstacle avoidance -- good thing to know flat turns and flare turns for that possible unexpected tree or fence! Unlikely to happen since I ain't going to do a night exit if the spot is bad -- I know how to spot myself since I jumped mostly Cessna for a long time, and I'm sure as hell going to doublecheck and triplecheck the exit spot on any night jump! But you never know, especially with wonky midwinds...)

Goofy smile of my night jump: pic clicky

[Croc 0]

My personal experience bears out Airtwardo's advice. I was VERY apprehensive about night jumps, heard all the horror stories, was encouraged to get it pencil whipped, etc. But after another season on my canopy I felt much more confident. As a matter of fact, my two night jumps last summer were the highlight of the summer.
Plan your four way carefully, and don't forget to track!

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy

[labrys 0]

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You NEED your B license to participate in night jumps at a USPA group member dropzone

Well, no. Not exactly. You do NOT NEED a B license to make a night jump. You only need to be qualified for a B license. I never got my B and know several others who chose to save that 20 bucks and make a skydive with it instead of sending in the paperwork and getting the number.

Owned by Remi #?