indradhanush 0 #1 June 24, 2007 dear instructors, i came across a person who has done 35 tandems, he is paralized for the left hand from the shoulder. his right hand is working fine, during tandem jumps he keeps his left hand folded with the help of strap and clips.. i would like to know advice and modification required for the gear so that he can steer with one hand(right)and falres with right hand. your valuable suggestion is highly appricated. santhoshlife is a daring adventure or nothing at all Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #2 June 24, 2007 Skydiving on his own with one working arm would be incredibly difficult and risky. I'm not saying it can't be done safely, but steering and flaring with one hand is hard enough, plus you kind of lose the ability to react quickly in case of emergency, or suppose you find yourself hosed on the spot and need to find a tight spot to land safely in. A friend of mine is a left arm amputee with which he has a prosthetic hook on the left arm and uses that to steer and flare, and his rig is set up with one emergency handle on the good arm side. I guess I would go with a lightly loaded big canopy and big "D" shaped stiff toggles for easy gripping (crwdogs use them a lot for canopy formations), with maybe a cross-tie strap attached to both with a handle in between that he can grab and pull down to his teeth, then grab the toggles together. But damned if I know how to pack that set up safely, because it could get in the way of a clean reserve deployment if the main won't come out. With a lightly loaded parachute, it probably won't affect the flight too badly to grab one toggle first then the other toggle, if he's up high and in light traffic, because that's going to induce a turn. You should cross post your questions in the Instructors forum though. You'll get more qualified answers there. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indradhanush 0 #3 June 26, 2007 thank you so much i will await for some more advice. regards santoshlife is a daring adventure or nothing at all Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #4 June 29, 2007 you'll also want to look into what's called an "SOS" system, which is a 2 parachute system that facillitates the release of the reserve parachute (usually a left handed function) with the other hand. Not to discourage it, but I see a number of different problems that shoulder-down paralysis would present that say an AE/BE amputee would not have. One of the most important safety practices in skydiving in knowing when to say when, whether that's because of a physical condition, wheather, equipment, mood, etc. Sometimes that kibosh is right out of the gates. good luck to you! pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #5 June 29, 2007 Quote Not to discourage it, but I see a number of different problems that shoulder-down paralysis would present that say an AE/BE amputee would not have. Yeah, like being able to control your body in freefall for one thing... but it probably could be done."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #6 July 3, 2007 QuoteQuote Not to discourage it, but I see a number of different problems that shoulder-down paralysis would present that say an AE/BE amputee would not have. Yeah, like being able to control your body in freefall for one thing... but it probably could be done. A challenge perhaps, but assuming the rest of their body works this shouldn't be an issue. A wind tunnel could sort that issue out or at least answer that queston. I think this situation really boils down to using the equipment acceptably. IMHO that is... cp Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #7 July 3, 2007 Quote Quote Quote Not to discourage it, but I see a number of different problems that shoulder-down paralysis would present that say an AE/BE amputee would not have. Yeah, like being able to control your body in freefall for one thing... but it probably could be done. A challenge perhaps, but assuming the rest of their body works this shouldn't be an issue. A wind tunnel could sort that issue out or at least answer that queston. Absolutely... and it's safer too! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #8 December 1, 2007 Knew a guy named David Arnquist (AKA David Armtwist) that had an underdeveloped arm (baby arm if you will) from birth and he was/is still? a very prolific skydiver for many years. Has thousands of jumps and worked as a loader/mechanic on several DC-3s on the boogie circuit back in the day. He flew and landed his canopy with only one arm and was always in place, on time in his slot on many, many big way dives. If this person you speak of wants to do it, it can be done. The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
