brianfry713 0 #1 January 25, 2006 http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3269 We had low clouds on Monday, 1/16/06 at Skydance in Davis, CA so I tried a few Mr. Bills. Don't ever try one, they way too often end bad, this one ended with my first chop...BEER has already been delivered. On this one we exited at 3,700ft, I pitched right away and the bridle and P/C went under my arm and around Sluggo. He eventually cleared it and the main started to deploy around 3,000ft. I didn't like what I saw on the main, so I quickly cutaway at around 2,300ft. The RSL fired the reserve while I was on my back and I kicked out of the reserve line twists by 1,800ft. Helmet cam video and Mr. Bill - Brian Fry Sluggo - Steve Sanderson Ground Video - Lisa Briggs Short in the plane video - Crystal Mr. Bill was a clay character on Saturday Night Live in the 70's created by Walter Williams. Lessons to be learned: Don't ever try a Mr. Bill. Practice your EPs and do them right. Jump priorities: Pull, pull on time, pull stable if possible (main or reserve). If you're going to do a Mr. Bill out of a Cessna (we had better success out of other airplanes), it might work better if Sluggo climbs out first and faces the tail. edit to add video...oops second edit to remove bad advice.BASE 1224, Senior Parachute Rigger, CPL ASEL IA, AGI, IGI USPA Coach & UPT Tandem Instructor, PRO, Altimaster Field Support Representative Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 136 #2 January 25, 2006 and where is the video ?? edit 1 : thank you for editing quickly edit 2 : next time you jump with video, think twice for the RSL.. Did your mate shout LET GO ?? I'm not deaf but that's what I read on his lips...scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ixlr82 7 #3 January 25, 2006 Thanks for posting the video. It's clear how important a stable pitch is in that scenario. If I ever do try one, I'll definitely do a couple or more practice jumps without pitching to get the timing (presentation to the relative wind) down. Question: Do you normally leave RSL on for camera jumps and if so, do you have a quick release on your helmet? __________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #4 January 25, 2006 Downloading now, though I got to see it live, too... glad you posted this, Brian... shows how these can go very wrong very quickly (and how fortunate you were that the chop was the worst that happened...)"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyinghonu 0 #5 January 25, 2006 QuoteDownloading now, though I got to see it live, too... glad you posted this, Brian... shows how these can go very wrong very quickly (and how fortunate you were that the chop was the worst that happened...) Also shows why a lot of jumpers call them stupid . Of course, glad everyone was ok. "Excuse me while I kiss the sky..." - Jimi Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justinb138 0 #6 January 25, 2006 After seeing many videos of Mr. Bills, I can't say that I have any desire to try one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gulaz 1 #7 January 25, 2006 Quoteedit 2 : next time you jump with video, or do a Mr Bill think twice for the RSL.. There, fixed it... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canuck 0 #8 January 25, 2006 QuoteLessons to be learned: Don't deploy either your main or your reserve unstable. Advice like this kills people. Canuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niu 0 #9 January 25, 2006 Quote Question: Do you normally leave RSL on for camera jumps and if so, do you have a quick release on your helmet? Quick release AND disconnected rsl is the only good option. In case one does many video jumps,my personal opinion is that the rsl should be permanently removed from the rig to avoid the risk of leaving it connected by mistake. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tr027 0 #10 January 25, 2006 Pretty knarly! Show's how bad it can get. I'm sure that reserve deployment really got your blood flowing. Yea that style of launch was definately the biggest contributing cause I would say, since it looks like he pushed you out and into a flip. I'm happy you came out of it okay, and it was a good learning experience. edit: At least you didnt lose your handles! "The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #11 January 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteLessons to be learned: Don't deploy either your main or your reserve unstable. Advice like this kills people. Canuck Yup. Keep in mind that pulling on time trumps pulling on time, stable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elisha 1 #12 January 25, 2006 QuoteDownloading now, though I got to see it live, too... But I got to see it live...under canopy...and I'm in the video for like a whole second. This will be downloaded into the permanent collection! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dolph 0 #13 January 25, 2006 Mr Bill's should not be taken lightly. Lotta things can go wrong. A friend of mine has done two - the first with an experienced jumper that went fine and then second with someone with less experience. The second one - both jump out, guy loses his grip, regains it on cutaway handle. Main goes away. Lots of potential dangers doing Mr Bills. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brianfry713 0 #14 January 25, 2006 I thought about the RSL for a while after this. I think I'm still going to use it, but I'd probably disconnect it if I ever am Mr. Bill again . I'd also recommend not to do one from such a low exit altitude. I jump a FF2 camera helmet, so there isn't a big snag hazard I should probably buy the extra cutaway hardware, and I will before I add a ring sight or still camera. Sluggo (I think that refers to the guy holding on, but I've seen it debated both ways) did yell "Let go" right before my pin was finally pulled. I heard it, but it isn't audible over the wind noise on the original video. We had towed my P/C to low enough that he wanted some time to pull his own. Sluggo also shouted "Nice" and I let out a huge sigh of relief after I was on the ground. He was unaware that I had chopped until I landed. Lisa also was bummed she didn't get the actual cutaway on video from the ground and my girlfriend on the ground sounded pretty nervous for a few seconds. Of course, if you've reached your pull altitude, deploy your main regardless of stability. If you've reached your decision altitude and don't have a main you can land safely, cutaway and pull the reserve. Most of the time parachutes work regardless of stability, but it helps. I think the instability probably led to the line over, and the reserve line twists. There's also the possibility of a packing error or just sloppy packing or sloppy line stows, although I didn't purposely do anything different for this jump. If you look at the video frame by frame, you can see that both risers appear twisted, like a step-through. Also neither the right lines nor the main appear to inflate cleanly, although this jump is somewhat different from normal deployments. The exit was bad. We had discussed me trying to swing him in front of me, but that didn't happen. We should've climbed out in the opposite order. I know it's a bad idea and I don't recommend anyone try a Mr. Bill, but I had two somewhat successful that same day as both passenger and rider. I guess the ultimate goal is to climb up onto Mr. Bill's shoulders, but we didn't have the alititude for that with the low clouds.BASE 1224, Senior Parachute Rigger, CPL ASEL IA, AGI, IGI USPA Coach & UPT Tandem Instructor, PRO, Altimaster Field Support Representative Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrickyDicky 0 #15 January 25, 2006 Reminds me of this this video on skydiving movies from my DZ in england. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1437&string=skydog UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 136 #16 January 25, 2006 waw that was a hot one. Hopefully they did it at altitude and not around 4'000ft like the original posters...scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feeblemind 1 #17 January 25, 2006 Quote waw that was a hot one. Hopefully they did it at altitude and not around 4'000ft like the original posters... I was there also and saw the live feed. Yes it was done at or around 4,000. They had done several successful Mr. Bills earlier in the day. Thanks again Shawn for helping me retrieve te main and free bag. Edited to add: Pull Stable/Pull on time/but no mater what PULL!!!! Fire Safety Tip: Don't fry bacon while naked Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LawnDart21 0 #18 January 25, 2006 Low # of jumps + low altitude + extraordinary skydive = recipe for potential incident. Glad your okay. Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dharma1976 0 #19 January 25, 2006 that would be why I am a fan of the 1 2 3 second stable pull mr bill I have done one out in Perris with my friend alan, and it went perfectly... he faced out I faced in, he wrapped arms around harness I gave the count and pulled him out... great jump which turned into a nice canopy ride from 11,000... man that was fun... remember the 3 second count... Cheers Davehttp://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #20 January 25, 2006 We were oh so close to catching the main on the fly with me standing in the back of your truck. Missed it by that much. Nice driving. That was a nice catch on the free bag as you tried to stay out of the ditch. Good thing the rain had soaked in so the ditch wasn't full. Sean50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMax 0 #21 January 25, 2006 one of my first instructors likes to say: "if you gonna be stupid, you better be tough" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkwing 4 #22 January 25, 2006 Another data point in my "don't do Mr. Bills" talk I give to the youngsters who think it sounds fun and easy. -- Jeff My Skydiving History Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #23 January 25, 2006 Were you holding your left riser when you chopped? Interesting video FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Martini 0 #24 January 26, 2006 Quote Lessons to be learned: Don't ever try a Mr. Bill. So you tried a few and one ended up a chopper. Now no one should ever try one. That seems reasonable. Not. The next time I try one, which I certainly will, it sure as hell won't be from 3700'.Sometimes you eat the bear.............. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #25 January 26, 2006 GREAT Video and 'top shelf' editing!! Nice job on the reserve too! Good day all around!! Ohhhh Noooooooooo...... ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
