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gimpboogie

Paralyzed and progressing towards solo sky diving -info on what were doing

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Ahh gotchya on the tunnel time.
Thats a real PITA.

but never mind. You can still focus on the jumps with Angus and see where they take you..

Out of interest was the accident that left you in a wheelchair from a motocrosser? I may have misread that but Im curious to know as I used to race a lot of motocross and know a few good friends who have been badly injured.
one is now quadraplegic sadly.



yah there was a motorcross accident yrs back,
landed on a truck,
3 wks in a coma and on it went from there.,


this one,
its ALS. Lou Gehrig's disease
that's trying to take me now.

I'll fly away, it can't catch me.
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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My son Mikael turned 18 last month,
so it seemed like a fitting way to celebrate;
when he asked for a skydive for himself and his dad, his best friend and I to be on the same caravan load.

Thanks to Adam mabee of Parachute school of Toronto, this was possible on July 26th 2008.

Mika, accompanied by both his parents, and his best friend jumped with TM Chad Leslie (whom we have initiated into the "gimp FF team" by doing a tandem with me), while his dad jumped with "Toronto Bill". I with Angus Smith, and Derek with TM Juan from 13,500f
out the Grand Caravan-"The Little Girl" piloted by Jason with Jeff King on video.

This is a part of skydiving that is unbelievably cool,
being able to jump with your family, celebrating family occasions.

A great weekend to pick for his celebration,
the 25 yr reuinion of PST jumpers was vastly attended by skydivers from around the world,
giving Mika a small taste of this new world opened up to him.

Happy Birthday Buddy, Blue Skies for ever,
-mom
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Skydiving is ever evolving, and new ideas fueled by determination to see a larger paraplegic skydiving feat accomplished some day .... has pushed me to try a different way to skydiving solo.

I did the FJC emergency procedures section again, and showed to Angus and Adam that I can go out there as someones dope-on-a-rope.

so it is now, I am cleared on the static line to move to TTO's.

Strange skydiving progression I have.
with more then 35 skydives, and over 21 min FF time I'm NOW getting into the TTO's. LOL

(this is review after review.. and I love every dive of it :ph34r: )
when I can get a modified left pull container repacked I will try to get some FF time back under me.
(the gear I need had a reserve ride and now there will be two of us shifting between a solo 270 and a 190 main in that container.... I'm going to have to be extra careful, for I wouldn't want to open to the 190!)


Done tons of static line dives now, just to keep jumping and creep those jump numbers up-hopefully next time I go to the DZ the gear is ready and Adam n I can start practicing how fast we can manage the main canopy shuffle.

Am determined to jump all summer and autumn and see what that brings. Focussing on accuracy landings and the last 900f of the dive.

Finally had my first messy line twists
(induced by myself-I slipped out of the plane while trying to set up to launch myself)
- the lines were just a long braid of twists.
Nice to realize the EP's kicking in, as checked for my handles and started to untwist kept my eye on the alti.
All fit in place as planned and my neptune recorded 8 secs of FF off that static line before the twists came out and the canopy over me was beautifully under control.
(all the other static line jumps it records zero secs of FF).

Have had no troubles after figuring out how to fit the harness main lift webbing properly (I was sort of hanging loose in the harness the first few times... with the chest strap pushing my chin up to restrict my head movement.)-glad I had that figured out before the line twists-that would have been uncomfortable.

Landing on my own, I still have a tendency to 'hover over my target and drop into it'.... i realized it on a no wind day last weekend.
I want to work on that one,
for it is the key to my success as a skydiver-landing properly.

butt slide landings are working well, (like I said when I do not hover over the target and drop myself on it)
and I am starting to learn from my canopy...
I had fun playing with the risers last weekend while getting to know my canopy better.

thought to share a pic of Angus now that he's lost his strap on student he's back to reading the 'tandem skydiving for dummies' book.


oohh yah, i guess here's update photos to share...
me flying free over PST!

Photos taken by my friend Dmitry Rudchenko

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Aug 6th 2007 ANGUS SMITH from PST took me for my 1st skydive
- a tandem.

The week there after, he agreed to help me learn to sky dive, and the journey began....for me to learn to skydive as a paralyzed athlete without any prior skydiving experience.

By the fall of 2007, in 2 months we were able to get 9 tandem dives in and plans were under way for the next yrs progression.

During the winter Will McCarthy our rigger built these 'gimp FF pants', which we initally built around the model of Peter Hewitt's pants (SA) designed around ideas proposed by Tonto when Peter was his AFF student.

Angus was in contact with the Skyventure wind tunnel franchisee, and two generous offers of tunnel time came forward. Skyventure NH was determined to become our testing grounds for the 'gimps in FF'; project we had trampled upon.

Angus' friend and TM, videographer, and coach_ Dave Hatherley joined the group and after harness hanging and testing our equiptment we did a few pre-jump tandems with Angus and FuzzyDave on our way to NH to the tunnel, spring 2008. There I was gifted with a great tunnel instructor, tunnel time to determine my FF capabilities, and some fime for my daughter to enjoy this FF environment for the first time.


!st AFF, and Stsatic line dives were accomplished and despite a chance in plans to needing to hold off on the FF component until later, this year has proven it to be possible to teach a paraplegic to skydive.

This was a HUGE FEAT if the SKYDIVING COMMUNITY,
for DZO's such as Adam Mabee and Tom McCarthy gave me the opportunity to jump, riggers, a world class canopy accuracy pilot, tamdem masters, coaches, tunnel owners and instructors, videographers and jump masters have helped make this all possible.
Also, without the help of any of these individuals along the way, this project would not have reached to these proportions to date.

Without any of these peoples help, from the first tandem on to the tunnel instruction, the first AFF's and static lines, this "paraplegics in flight" (affectionately known as the "gimps in FF") project would have been grounded. I do not have the ability otherwise to live in this realm where my vision brings me.. to fly the skies with this elite group of people who find themselves here in the blue skies.

Thus this is a story of what the skydiving community has accomplished in a year.

It was places such as here, people whom Angus reached out to, such as TK, Tonto, and FuzzyDave to mention merely a few DZ.COMers who had input, gave help and offered of themselves.

Then came the general skydivers, follks here, the skydiversnetwork and at my DZ PST who joined in making this poissible. Jeff King was the first guy to join our little group of adventurers on the ALS trails, as journey on to find ways to keep me motivated to stay alive long enough to see a big vision, a dream I have come to pass. That dream is yet to arrive, but one day I want to see a paralyzed skydiver demo accuracy into the opening ceremonies of the olympic and paralympic games. to show the world we can, and that no dream is too big..., we make our desires reality, if others tell us our desires are not reality.

Jeff came to join us with video each time we asked, and he still journeys with me. Luckily we will be jumping together sometime in the future again for another first, and perhaps many more.

All aspects of the skydiving community, internationally, became involved, gave of themselves, their resources, invested time, energy and effort into this.
Through this, our lives have been for ever changed and enriched. My new circle of friends cares for me and my kids.... Angus came in a snowstorm to my bedside when I was in critical care, to see me and remind me of life yet to live, it was enough to wake me up n save me.... my daughter got to travel to the USA, to Boston, went to Cheers (learned what Cheers meant to us old folks!), came to the tunnel, was there for the 1st AFF (thats enough for me, of my kids watching me jump... that needs not happen again), and flew in the tunnel herself. My son had his 18th birthday celebrated by having tandems with his dad, best friend and mom in the same plane with him... all of us for a family tandem! These are ALL experiences that came only because skydivers gave of themselves and joined in to celebrate life and living with us.


This first yr of this project has seen a paralyzed skydiver doing a AFF dives, static line dives, and tandem progression dives having come into the sport without prior skydiving experience. The next yr, I hope to develop accuracy canopy skills and expand my reportoir of canopy piloting and jumping experiences.
Having been flying with the kitewing, and 12m kites, expanding the canopy flight portion seems natural progression for me now.

FF is a desire yet to be fullfilled completely.
If also feels as integral to a dive, as air and bread to a human.
the 4 FF solo dives I did, (with 50+ secs of FF), were accompanied with one or two instructors, and did not fullfill the requirements for my expectations.

The FF section of this project is on hold at this time until I figure out the leg stability issues and the deployment stability concerns. Noticing that I physically do not have the range of motion to pull with my right hand without twisting at the torso-pulling my left shoulder down and into a barrel roll-helped me-because now I can focus on trying with my left hand and FF is again a potential in my future. This will be determined fairly soon this second year.


This 1st year was celebrated with numerous cases of beer, at two DZ's and continues to recruit into the 'gimp FF team" new tandem masters willing to push their limits and flying with me. This challenge has been first taken (didn't I tell you there are lots of 1sts, and lots of beer in this story) up by Chad Leslie at PST as the next tandem master after Angus to have learned to fly with gimps in Freefall.

Three areas of interest has come forward.

1) seeing more possibilities for individuals with disabilities to skydive, through not only public aweareness but actual contact with others who now are in the process of arranging a skydive for themselves.

2) progression in the teaching methodology for adaptive skydiving. As members of the coaching association of Canada, CSPA is mandated to provide accessibility within the sport. This it has allready done by having deaf skydivers competing and participating in all levels of our sport. Their desire to further this potential has been shown, and the progression made here, documented can be a template for an adaptive skydiving certificate with restrictions (i.e. focussing on canopy control rather then FF components) in the future. The sport itself can be revolutionized to involve tunnel training/competing events for individuals with varying levels of paralysis (our ability to sky dive is proven by a few paralyzed skydivers and I hope to be proving that skydiving is a sport that can be taught to a paralyzed individual who has never been in the skydiving environment. Some have pointed out that having the knowledge of skydiving prior to paralysis somehow helps those skydivers regain their ability to dive. If that is the case, then having someone as myself skydiving should provide some incentive to further consider the potential for others with paralysis to dive solo.

3) shattering of myths/shifting of paradigms.
Yes society is progressing, thinking is shifting and people accept women in authority roles, visible minorities in professions, and gimps in free fall! :ph34r:
It is understood more often now then ever before that we (individuals with disabilities, or as some of us affectionately call ourselves 'gimps')
can do just about anything we want to do, and usually that means we change the equiptment we play with and we all fit in the same sandbox/blueskies.


year one completed with tandem gimps flying freely solo in the blue skies and moving on to year two with the desire to expand upon this base. ;)

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Hey,

Why don't you submit this to Canpara and/other other skydiving magazines (Just make sure you get someone to translate to French if you submit to CanPara, they seem short in French translators for our 43% of skydivers being francophones)

Copy and paste your post into Microsoft Word, do some edits, and submit for the magazine.

This is an interesting journey that should probably be documented in some magazine...

P.S. As far as I know, I think I'm Canada's first licensed deaf skydiver. (Amongst those born deaf, at least). I have not been able to find any precedent of people before myself in Canada, although there are plenty of U.S. deaf skydivers.

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Hey,

Why don't you submit this to Canpara and/other other skydiving magazines (Just make sure you get someone to translate to French if you submit to CanPara, they seem short in French translators for our 43% of skydivers being francophones)

Copy and paste your post into Microsoft Word, do some edits, and submit for the magazine.

This is an interesting journey that should probably be documented in some magazine...

P.S. As far as I know, I think I'm Canada's first licensed deaf skydiver. (Amongst those born deaf, at least). I have not been able to find any precedent of people before myself in Canada, although there are plenty of U.S. deaf skydivers.




Hi,

Are you coming to the provincials @ PST Aug 22-24?
free food and beer to competitors.
Angus and Fuzzy will be there.. :ph34r:

Anyway.. there was a woman from our DZ who said she wrote up something, and sent it to CANPARA...
who knows if they think its interesting enough.. I mean how many students are they learning to skydive, and whom would you publish if you did.. propably someone who did something spectacular in skydiving... certainly not me.

having said that, i am going to start communication with CSPA regarding an adapted A licencing option with restrictions (*i.e. all static lines, no FF, and focussing on canopy control and landings.. they are tricky enough for a paralyzed skydiver to learn well.... not there yet, and have done 30 self controlled landings.
the standing up folks are better in their landings by 30 dives then i am at consistently sliding in nice and low).

I think your the only deaf Canadian skydiver also. It is you whom I refer to, when I say that CSPA allready is endorsing skydiving within the community of folks with disabilities... as an amputee or two are also skydiving in Quebec and Lonnie is licenced and paralyzed in Canada.. so there is me to try to get into the ranks of acquiring the A as the gimp chick who learned also, and we'd have everyone but the blind guy in our Canadian 'gimp 4 way team'.

There's potential.. for events once enough folks start skydiving..
that isn't going to happen until there is a program instructors can follow, have preferrably someone like Lonnie, Peter, you, me, ?,?,...
to personally teach the instructors on how to learn to communicate, move around in the plane and in the air, and what differences we have for equiptment (if any) so instructors have had a chance to see it all happen by and with someone who is 'disabled' and familiarize themselves prior to having to teach others.

I am greatful that Angus, Dave, and all my JM's etc. have always treated me like any other skydiver, although I must admit they all took great care, and have heard someone say they have never seen Angus so intense, so focussed and 'serious' then my first AFF.
and the poor guy endured the other 3 more... all of which i either flipped on him, or was about to and he pulled for me to get me under a canopy and put an end to the FF. Angus gave more of himself then anyone has ever done.. in my life... for my life.

So, how about it, join Fuzzy, Angus and I on the Provincials weekend?
how can we miss an event that took 8 yrs in the making...

;)
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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gimpboogie

I have to say, after reading your posts and following your journey//

Angus truly is a legend B| (and the other instructors and staff who helped you along)

I mean, the AFFis at my DZ would no way in the wide world EVER entertain taking someone with lowerlimb paralysis on an AFF1!

Not because they are nasty people or 'chicken' or indeed that they lack the AFFi skills to do so.
As they certainly dont and are pretty much all very experienced with 3000 jumps minimum and all over 1000 AFF jumps :S

I asked them if they would do it and they said it was 'too risky, for the AFFis and the student'
Tandem is all we could do in this situation.

SO it just goes to show how Angus and anyone else prepared to AFFi on a similar jump, how much they are giving both to the sport, and the student (in this case you)!

its great that you realise and appreciate it too B|:)

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...

Angus truly is a legend B| (and the other instructors and staff who helped you along)
....
Angus and anyone else prepared to AFFi on a similar jump, how much they are giving both to the sport, and the student (in this case you)!

its great that you realise and appreciate it too B|:)



You are absolutely correct. Angus, having been skydiving for over 20 yrs, took on this project because he said he is up for a challenge, and he cares ``not just wether θlive or die but HOW I¸live``

If it was up to me, I would think Angus (and the others who helped) should receive some recognition for having contributed to this sport in a HUGE way.
They truly are pioneers in trying something totally new (As far as I know I am the only person who jumps paralyzed who never did skydive before the paralysis... Lonnie, Russell and Peter all had skydiving experience before their paralysis)

I AM extremely fortunate. I know of only Tonto who has taught a paralyzed person to skydive
(he taught Peter Hewitt who had 17 skydives before he broke his back skydiving and came a year later to learn with Tonto-Peter now has over 100 skydives-obviously most of them as a paralyzed person)
To this day, each time I dive I blow a kiss to Tonto, whom I never had the opportunity to meet or talk to before we lost him (Blue skies for ever Tonto-your my hero!)

It may be that one other instructor in the USA is or was willing to try this.. when we went to the wind tunnel in April Angus and I were talking about this.


Infact, I agree that it is dangerous to try this
(I am thinking specifically of situations such as Chris Colwell from Deland who became paralyzed in an AFF accident -he went head down to catch-save his student.. who was completely able bodied)and Chris became paralyzed chest down as a result.
Every time I think of my 3rd AFF dive where I flipped back to ground and Angus was coming to catch me to help flip me over-the look on his face was not just serious.. but concern-worry. That look will always stay with me.

I care for Angus and Adam (my DZO) (and the `reputation` of this sport for that matter) much more then I care about me personally skydiving.
As someone said, it is bad enough when any skydiver goes in, but it is more alarming to the general public-and the USPA-CSPA etc. if someone like myself bounces. In order to not negatively impact this sport, it is my duty to be as careful as I possibly can.

Last time I was at the DZ I was to get on a load, while surely I wanted to go for a dive, I decided against it because I had a headache... I do not want anything to extend the risks... I`ve seem skydivers grab an Advil prior to diving and it is their business but for me, I will not dive unless I feel `perfectly fine`. I promised Angus and Adam this.

Angus is truly much more then a coach-AFF instructor-TM etc. to me -he is a person whom I respect deeply, and love dearly (no not that kind of love ;) that I hope to never see him so concerned again-ever.


Having said that, I fully believe that some of us para`s are capable of skydiving solo and propably most- (my guess) are not.

As it is in my case currently, I do not know if I ever will get off the static line (I`m supposed to do my TTO`s next) and after that surely my DZO and Angus will seriously assess wether I should get off the static line. one of my JM`s said that he is afraid of letting me off the static line -and I do not blame him.

As Angus said, that even tandems with paralyzed people are a very different situation then with able bodied individuals, and every JM, TM, coach etc. must seriously consider wether they are willing to take the risk. For the majority surely the answer would be NO. Such an answer must be respected deeply, for no one should be harrassed, pressured into doing this.


Having said that, currently I do not know what will be next for me in skydiving after these TTO`s are done-wether I am going to get to try freefall again, or if Angus and the DZO decide that I will remain on the static line. In either case, I respect them tremendously and will always.... for they have done more then ever dreamed of allready.

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts...
yes Angus IS a legend
(infact the video that gets shown to skydivers learning to become TM`s where they share various malfunctions-Angus is in one... he dealt with a situation where the tandem students legs were wrapped around the pilot chute-or the drogue-I do not remember which)

-minna
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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skydiving:

one can have an accident, become 'gimped', go in...
in life one can get terminally ill, have a sudden life changing moment in other ways-stroke, cancers, kidney failure, alcohol poisonings on and on it goes.

Skydiving for me, had some dips there along the way.
couldn't stay stable in FF at time to deploy not to flip upside down.
luckily it was accepted that I can go on the static line
(and since my first 10 secs of FF always were good-exits on heading, arched, etc. only once did he have to tell me adjust body position (*hips down*

we knew I can be in FF for a certain amount of time before the backsliding induced by the legs would become enough to start creating issues..., the fact that I physically cant reach behind myself to deploy on the right also certainly was a ... big factor... lol

ok, so static lines were great.
yah you read it -were.

since thelast time i was at the DZ (doing that downwind landing :S )-and weas so 'fine'....
i've become unable to swallow anything.

yes, anything-my own spit i'd rather let it hang out like a dog rather then swallow-but my dignity still has the power to force me to try to swallow it. :(


Last week Friday it had been 10 days that I was able to swallow a total of 1/2 can of liquids-ensure.
became so dehydrated that i need to get the nurse to insert a IV 24/7 drip of electrolites and yesterday a feeding tube up my nose
(yah brings new meaning to "up yours"! in my vocabulary)


I guess I'm not a quitter, and an ididot if I think...
maybe i cant static line right now (who am I kidding this sh*t will come off when I've left this corpse that I now drag around).

maybe these are too many "snag points" and maybe the IV (it should be gone by the weekend so I will have the nose tube still) or feeding tube can become a safety threat in exit, or deployment.


damn -maybe i'm right, and not projecting the worse case scenaruio and this is nothing to stop me from skydiving....
just maybe, my 'fears' are real enough that others would feel them too...
perhaps...

i will jump with ANgus.

I talked to him on the phone at his work, before going to get the tube in....

(not often I call him at work)
he said (with sadness in his voice :( -I'm so sorry ANgus my dear friend for causing you sadness])
"we all knew this was coming"
after he first said:
"thatIS sad".


Sweet Angus n Dave

thank you for EVERYTHING you guys made happen.... B|:S

I'll be at the DZ this weekend kus of skydiving.

My friend and video flyer, and a DECENT, smart young man had his brake line torn up.broke on flaring (he slies fiarly highly loaded, and is a good flyer on FF and under canopy-- many skydiving skills he has,., there was not enough time to do anything about it 3 seconds, never mind the 1 second he had,


My friend Jeff has a broken femur, titanium is in place now,....

Jeff is on all our minds, for we are family at the DZ at PST.
WE are having a party with proceeds going to help jeff (its tough to pay your bills when video flying is your job, n you'll be laid up for months before you can jump-again).

well...

im here,
alive n relkatively well.
maybe there is something better for me,
this i have to believe
staying positive is so much better then to sulk n grieve
-I learned that from Chris Colwell.

so... until the next "special" jump comes along....

cya,
-minna

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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A 3-page article spread with 4 full color photographs has been published in CanPara about Minna (gimpboogie). CanPara is Canada's skydiving magazine.

Very nice article and congratulations to Chelsea Loney for the initiative of writing this article!

I hope that you have a copy of CanPara well on your way to you but if you do not, let me know, and I'd like to make sure an extra copy is sent to you!

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o,,
so im used to this nose feeding tube.

the IV comes and goes.
(currently on again).

learnt to jump with the nose tube,

funny thing is, it withstands head down terminal speeds
but when i am asleep, ive pulled it out by accident.
sp

yes, head down, did three of those.

the 1st one, things were great, and it sort of did not work for many seconds because i had positioned the leg straps too low, not permitting my legs to go completely straight-which is what they needed to be for the head down portion of the FF,
2nd time i had leg straps correct, but i think my legs themselves -or...-
caused the head down to sort of start carving out of it, then with correction another 3 secs or so was gained back in head down before carving like a plane -felt like i imagine a turn to be like in delta position... then stability, and tyime for more excercises before deployment @ 5,500f...

its been a good season diving, despite the crazy medical situations-most so insanely disgusting i wouldnt share them here...

but, now ive got Peter Hewittès beautifully kept, almost NEW (110 jumps on main, n no reserve rides), with some sweet mods!

so... jumping i need to do...
this winter, till i find a way to escape to a warmer US or Mexican DZ, i will battle cold at PST, and when i can find a place warm enough i can sleep in a tent @ DZ, when i go on a family trip, with my daughter there, to live out a couple of months n jump n see local area for some homeschooling for my daughter...

something like that.
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Head down!! Wow!! I've tried it once without much success. I lerned to arch too well, I guess. lol I am so glad to see you still jumping. I'm looking for warmer places to jump this winter too. Maybe our paths will cross. Keep jumping as long as you can and keep letting us know haw you are doing. Pat
"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

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Well check out the manual I made to help get para's and other disabled to a solo postion combining tandems wind tunnel and PFF/AFF so go here
http://www.jagworksdesign.com/html/Para%20Manul%20opening%20page.htm
or look up Adaptive skydiving on facebook
Rod Mack D-422
My history: http://www.jagworksdesign.com/html/R%20Mack%20Skydive%20History.htm

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ne 2.arched too much,
so legs were coming more forward (towards a movement of lifting knees up towards body) and not giving a good head down.
that was due to the way iu had strapped on my leg straps.

being self supervised, ive done two mistakes-one critical-left my AAD OFF, DZO did a gear check (after an instructo5r allready did one also-so we both missed the AAD being off)m
DZO boticed-and now I have a strict routine for AAD ON check during my gear check-once is not enough-to check it-i will check it as often as i need to-to remember that i did-so.,...


yah head down takes a lot more prep. work from the skydiver then typical head down with able bodied divers.

my leg straps were ok the next two dives, and the one turned out to be a great-long head down eating up over 4,000f of altitude-before carvng out of it-and it was all head down.. no slipping off that time.

it's a skill i do not expect to have as one used often,
but certainly want to know how it works-basically-literally if i fall out of the plane without a door-i do not want to end up head down and not know what to do-or how to do it at all.


yah, i need warm places.
one that is kid friendly enough that my 15 yr old-a wise girl who has no problem sitting in the car instead of hanging out with people she dont want to hang out with... so.. she needs a place that is respectable during the days and nghts id like to take her out of there-as well as some days send her to shop or do something.

warm place, and comforts for my daughter-i can otherwise go live in a tent on a dz if it was just me,.

wany suggestions for warm places to jump this winter,
and ones affordeable (hotels and such are out of our league-we will bus it, or use train to get there and public transit once there-)
;
let me know, i think the gimp FF tour needs to start
by training with a goal in mind,
for the future and someone like Dale can take over and go to the olympic opening ceremonies demo jump \
but in the meantime,
someone has to be training, to keep it going...
so i will train for some accuracy jumps.
been looking at a lot of training camps,
most are geazared to either FF skills, RW skills or something special like flocking....

so also looking for some good and experienced accuracy canopy piots.
pure accuracy.

i better leave the swooping to those with 1000's of jumps B|

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Hey,

I continue to be impressed at your persistence in keeping up.

You may be more stubborn than I am. For me, in trying to get better at bigways. Essentially trying to make it to 500-Way World Record on a limited budget by going to as many bigway camps and invitationals as I can afford! I'm now in 100-way camp league / 50-way invitational league -- still working my way up the ladder. My next event is the 40-way invitational Dec 27-30 at Z-Hills.

The World Record typically requires jumpers be over 1000 jumps and I'll try to reach that by the time that event happens, but I figure if I jump bigways as my primary discipline...

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lol,
persistance-thats a polite way to put it ;)
usually they just say stubborn.

big ways.
that is so far up the ladder for me,
and with my medical condition i do not think i will see that.
i know i can jump this winter,
providing it is a place that i can tolerate being in,
winter jumping up here at pst is a bit scetzy when we have to worry about -20c plus wind chill....

big ways that is impressive for sure.
and lots of practice discipline and that

determination ;)
so.. i do have the confidence that you can do it,
as other goals you set for yourself.

i noticed with Angus,
he kept his love for the sport
as his primary objective when he was jumping for fun
and not work..and at work he is the most professional one ive met-as in safe, knows what he is doing, and -well is epic-as my daughter determines he is-
his fun jumps focus on the bigger formations, and other FF fun, but while landing he doenst come in like a screaming deamon, although i know he could-better then anyone other then randy.

so..i guess the lesson there is to stick to doing what you know you can... and focus on that discipline-sure learn the rest, canopy control, accuracy etc.but focussing on your main love for the sport, seems to help in keeping those who dive for long time-doing so.
29 yrs is a long time.


big ways, if i was of the position in my life,
that i could participate in big ways,
then i would work towards it.

i had one jump with another very accomplished jumper and my coach.
my job was to do 360 circles, dock, circle around the other way to dock again and break off at 6,000 .
it was one of the most memorable-important jumps of my life.

alone with my wakep-funeral we had the other week,
(i figured, hey, if im going to pay for the party, i will be there to party with them-so Nov 1st was my -dead mans party- and the most important guest, arrived-and put himself through a lot of trouble and sleepless nights to make it happen.
that is true love for not only the sport, but the people.
his last jump of the season was with me 0his 400th this season- and his 1st jumps of the season were with me also-thats cool.

so now that my funeral is over and done with....
(thanks to my special gues who arrived-was there-you will always be in my heart -for everything Angus).


now, i go out there and learn some safety skills,
learning how to turn as the canopy opens, with it, if it is twisted is just a safety skill as far as im concerned-even if my log book states
;excellent door position, excellent arch, exited backwards, watching opening;
a little strange to do a èblind man out the door-
but yah...
i focus on some safety skills, accuracy is the name of the game for me.
and preparedness for a lower altitude dive.
because i dont have a lot of time left for a reserve ride if i end up out the door at 3 grand.
almost better to have all canopies packed like reserves, and learn quick toggle grab on openings, watching opening sequence to be able to stay with the canopy-on heading to it-and on toggles to turn asap...
just skills i can try to work on for now....

peters rig is here and jumping it will happen soon, got to get an AAD for it first-but have some feedback-very positive from one of our instructors who did a hop n pop

so, even though flocking, big ways and swooping are out for me...
it matters not
accuracy is fun
and low altitude jumps cant be beat.
by anything other then freeflying- for me

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Ist test flight of my new gear.

giving her the gears trying to trash her a bit was the purpose of this flight....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwOzDgPDfXc

she flies well, has an AAD ASTRA, and is now ready to keep flying.

Winter diving, is going to be attempted here....
and its happening, slowly on warmer days with still a lot of prep work.

winter diving as a paraplegic is VERY DIFFERENT then summer diving.

1) OFF DZ LANDINGS COULD KILL FROM EXPOSURE.
if I land off by far, it could take 1 to 3 hrs before my DZ can get to me, to get me out.
Preparing to stay warm upon landing is the key here.

I jump with extremely warm clothing to begin with, and focus on the lower extremities for warmth-i cant tell how cold exactly my body is getting-when it is cold.
that is a big concern to watch for in the winter.


my jumping kit-yes, i must jump with some -gear- regardless of this not being a typical recommendation for students.

i must always have a cell phone, hot packs that you squeeze to make them warm, a solar blanket and two large black garbage bags.

My procedure for landing off DZ.
Which i have never had to use-yet.
but this is what i would do.
This is NOT A MANUAL OR RECOMMENDATIONS, but rather sharing what I do... if it gives you some ideas to think on..great.

UPON LANDING:
1) Call my DZ, tell them where I am. my compass coordinates will help, and I have a Suunto watch with alti, n compass. My cell also has the GPS locator function turned ON, so if i am seriously lost or injured, i can be found by EMS personnel.. make sure you cell has this function turned on, if you have it.

2) stay dry and warm as much as possible.
immediately on landing, after checking i am ok, place canopy in one large black garbage bag and tie it closed with twist ties.
Place container in the other black bag n tie it closed.

This will keep my gear from soaking in the moisture from the snow, AND provides a larger black target to look for me.

3) crack open the warmth packs, place one in each boot, each mitt, under helmet to keep head warm and if i have extra keep them incase people cannot find me soon.

4) IF I can see i am in a location where it will take a while to get to me, take out the solar blanket, and cover myself with it. Also, if there is blowing snow, cover myself with it regardless.. it will be a better reflective target to look for me and keeps the snow from blowing over me.

try to stay small, to preserve body heat. Typically in the summer, I would want to stay large-(and my garbage bags should be orange not green or black) but now i would stay small for heat conservation and leave the spotting aid to the black bags and reflection off the solar blanket.


Also, I NEVER GET ON 1ST OR LAST LOAD.
I want to watch the first couple of loads to see how the winds behave, at different levels etc.

I also never want to be in the last load, for sundown comes fast and reflective blankets, lights or not, if I land off DZ, i am in potential life threatening situation by being out there somewhere in the dark and not be able to get up and walk to a road.



I hope some of that made sense, to all jumpers in the winter and those with ANY mobility issues I hope you come up with a clear and concise safety plan for winter jumping, and share it with your fellow jumpers, DZO and instructors so every one knows your plan.

stay safe, have fun and jump in the winter!
you fly faster the air is cooler!:ph34r:


as an addition
IF I EVER was to find myself out there when it got dark,
I would hope i remembered to bring my green glow sticks and flashing LED head lamp. The green helps spotters see distinguish me from cars or stationary lights from houses, and the flashing steady location light -me- hopefully helps to distinguish me from moving vehicles with flashers.. Im not sure what else would help, but my main concern would be to be seen from afar, -good light weight light- and be easier to distinguished from other objects.

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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some changes, on recommendations from one of my coaches, and the airport owner-operator where our DZ is located
- regarding:

Quote


Preparing to stay warm upon landing is the key here.


i must always have a ... and two large black garbage bags.


UPON LANDING:

2) stay dry and warm as much as possible.
immediately on landing, after checking i am ok, place canopy in one large black garbage bag and tie it closed with twist ties.
Place container in the other black bag n tie it closed.

***ADDITIONS-CHANGES BELOW***



The ORANGE bags are BETTER.
VISIBILITY IS BETTER.

ALSO SOUND CARRIES FARTHER, USE WHISTLE.

It was suggested that winter or summer, using a Fox40 safety whistle is a good idea, it carries farther then me yelling, and it does not get tired and worn out like my voice will.
Wearing something Orange is not a bad idea.

Sure, this is not a fashion affair,
or else i would be on a different runway...
but safety and comfort are keys to skydiving wear.
then comes weather appropriate in there with the safety category.

Winter diving wearing ORANGE like hunters, is a good idea.
If even a orange vest to put on when you need it, (along with those hotpacks to keep me warm) its the least i can do, to help myself remain as safe as possible so my DZO knows I can take care of myself, and not to panic if I am off on landing.
this will help not just me, but all involved in looking for me, and the future of paraplegic solo skydiving-if i fck up its looked upon in a different light then any other student...un fortunate as it may be, it is the reality and we must admit-we ARE different skydivers then the typical.


Finally, the airport owner suggested a MIRROR.
to SIGNAL during the day, but also in the night time at least if i can see them coming i can signall when th===

The mirror, is good for all skydivers, and all seasons.

For those of you who have some colours to your canopy *(mine is white with two blue cells on the top skin so not the best colours for this in the winter)*
it will make an excellent target for the searchers to look for, and also provide you shelter from the winds.
i cant use it, my lack of colours is the reasons for me having an orange garbage bag to put it in, with some orange hunters jacket i should be visible enough.
hung up in a tree off DZ could be tough to see otherwise.
To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

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Quote

Ist test flight of my new gear.

giving her the gears trying to trash her a bit was the purpose of this flight....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwOzDgPDfXc

she flies well, has an AAD ASTRA, and is now ready to keep flying.

Winter diving, is going to be attempted here....
and its happening, slowly on warmer days with still a lot of prep work.

winter diving as a paraplegic is VERY DIFFERENT then summer diving.

1) OFF DZ LANDINGS COULD KILL FROM EXPOSURE.
if I land off by far, it could take 1 to 3 hrs before my DZ can get to me, to get me out.
Preparing to stay warm upon landing is the key here.

I jump with extremely warm clothing to begin with, and focus on the lower extremities for warmth-i cant tell how cold exactly my body is getting-when it is cold.
that is a big concern to watch for in the winter.


my jumping kit-yes, i must jump with some -gear- regardless of this not being a typical recommendation for students.

i must always have a cell phone, hot packs that you squeeze to make them warm, a solar blanket and two large black garbage bags.

My procedure for landing off DZ.
Which i have never had to use-yet.
but this is what i would do.
This is NOT A MANUAL OR RECOMMENDATIONS, but rather sharing what I do... if it gives you some ideas to think on..great.

UPON LANDING:
1) Call my DZ, tell them where I am. my compass coordinates will help, and I have a Suunto watch with alti, n compass. My cell also has the GPS locator function turned ON, so if i am seriously lost or injured, i can be found by EMS personnel.. make sure you cell has this function turned on, if you have it.

2) stay dry and warm as much as possible.
immediately on landing, after checking i am ok, place canopy in one large black garbage bag and tie it closed with twist ties.
Place container in the other black bag n tie it closed.

This will keep my gear from soaking in the moisture from the snow, AND provides a larger black target to look for me.

3) crack open the warmth packs, place one in each boot, each mitt, under helmet to keep head warm and if i have extra keep them incase people cannot find me soon.

4) IF I can see i am in a location where it will take a while to get to me, take out the solar blanket, and cover myself with it. Also, if there is blowing snow, cover myself with it regardless.. it will be a better reflective target to look for me and keeps the snow from blowing over me.

try to stay small, to preserve body heat. Typically in the summer, I would want to stay large-(and my garbage bags should be orange not green or black) but now i would stay small for heat conservation and leave the spotting aid to the black bags and reflection off the solar blanket.


Also, I NEVER GET ON 1ST OR LAST LOAD.
I want to watch the first couple of loads to see how the winds behave, at different levels etc.

I also never want to be in the last load, for sundown comes fast and reflective blankets, lights or not, if I land off DZ, i am in potential life threatening situation by being out there somewhere in the dark and not be able to get up and walk to a road.



I hope some of that made sense, to all jumpers in the winter and those with ANY mobility issues I hope you come up with a clear and concise safety plan for winter jumping, and share it with your fellow jumpers, DZO and instructors so every one knows your plan.

stay safe, have fun and jump in the winter!
you fly faster the air is cooler!:ph34r:


as an addition
IF I EVER was to find myself out there when it got dark,
I would hope i remembered to bring my green glow sticks and flashing LED head lamp. The green helps spotters see distinguish me from cars or stationary lights from houses, and the flashing steady location light -me- hopefully helps to distinguish me from moving vehicles with flashers.. Im not sure what else would help, but my main concern would be to be seen from afar, -good light weight light- and be easier to distinguished from other objects.



you got yourself a long canopy ride there...you got a shot of your landing, congrats on your new gear..

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