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Rstanley0312

What would you do?

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jzzsxm

Sunset tracking dives at my DZ always include a big long track and a barrel roll at the end but that's because we're dealing with 15-20 people.



The group size is irrelevant. Barrel rolls are not necessary to clear the air above regardless of how many people are in the air. Besides, a jumper's responsibility is to avoid others BELOW.

And while we're on the subject, exactly what do you plan to do if you do a barrel roll and see someone somewhere above you? Hum it low? Change direction and end up causing traffic problems for someone else? No real good option there, eh?

There's a reason that we use a uniform "low jumper has the right of way" strategy. It works and does so with minimum confusion - until people start throwing confusing, time-consuming extra procedures into the mix - like doing barrel rolls - which can easily cause a change of direction while tracking.

We don't clear our air above and wave off because we should have to. We do it IN CASE WE NEED TO. It's a last ditch contingency to get someone off your back who has already made a mistake.

Stop with the barrel roll crap.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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jzzsxm

Hmm, I didn't realize this was controversial, interesting.

Sunset tracking dives at my DZ always include a big long track and a barrel roll at the end but that's because we're dealing with 15-20 people. There also aren't any "lower jump number" jumpers that would be incapable of executing a barrel roll. We stop the track a bit early, do a roll, big wave, then pull.

What would I have done in that situation? I'd have stayed on the jump, not corrected the LO, and done a barrel roll. Organizer is the organizer, what they say goes, and if somebody doesn't feel comfortable doing a roll at the end then they can scratch. I don't mind doing a roll.



Your profile says 152 jumps in 1 year.
Last year, I was on a tracking dive where a young woman with 200 jumps (fairly skilled flyer) came out of her barrel roll off-heading and skimmed my leg.
My response was to track like hell and take it lower than usual. And not do any other jumps with that organizer until they stopped the barrel roll request at the end of tracking jumps.
There is a significant difference between a load of freeflyers that are experienced (know how to backtrack and stay on heading while doing so) and a group of fun jumpers doing a track at sunset.
Tracking jumps are more tricky than most think.

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Everything DSE said and ChuckAkers said. The low man has right of way. The top man has the responsibility to stay clear of the jumper below him. If you can't handle that responsibility, get off the jump. I shouldn't have to barrel roll to make sure you're not above me.

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Avikus


2) If you do a big clear wave and wait 2 second.. the person over you will have a clear view and time to track elsewhere or pull him/herself.

My 2 cents



DOLLARS worth of good stuff.
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

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Rstanley0312

***>>>>My concern is the low timers on the jump that then feel like they have to and are not comfortable with it. Would you speak up right then and there?

Yes.



I am curious how many people will answer like this. I didn't speak up right then and there and have been thinking about it since.

Add one more..Yes.

...and advise against it
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

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I don't get why a barrel role was advcated in the first place. It was a head up jump - the standard breakoff should be a traffic check followed by a controlled transition into a back track and finally a roll to the belly. There's no point in a barrel roll.

If the low timers said to have been on the jump can't break off with a controlled transition to a back track they should not be in a group big enough to need this kind of organising. If the group's not got the skills to keep everyone relative to one another on a head up jump so that people don't know where everyone is come breakoff time, it shouldn't be going out the door and ought to be broken up into two smaller jumps.

What would I have done? I wouldn't have been on the dive as it is said to have included multiple low timers. If the group was big enough that the organiser thought it would have been a good idea to do a barrel roll, I don't want multiple low time jumpers on it with me unless I know them and how well they fly... in which case it wouldn't have needed an organiser. Kind of a catch 22.

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mr2mk1g

I don't get why a barrel role was advcated in the first place. It was a head up jump - the standard breakoff should be a traffic check followed by a controlled transition into a back track and finally a roll to the belly. There's no point in a barrel roll.

If the low timers said to have been on the jump can't break off with a controlled transition to a back track they should not be in a group big enough to need this kind of organising. If the group's not got the skills to keep everyone relative to one another on a head up jump so that people don't know where everyone is come breakoff time, it shouldn't be going out the door and ought to be broken up into two smaller jumps.

What would I have done? I wouldn't have been on the dive as it is said to have included multiple low timers. If the group was big enough that the organiser thought it would have been a good idea to do a barrel roll, I don't want multiple low time jumpers on it with me unless I know them and how well they fly... in which case it wouldn't have needed an organiser. Kind of a catch 22.



I don't get it either.... from a friend who just happens to be a badass flyer and coach. This is not him or me. He shared it to give a nice example of a point that was brought up earlier. The barrel roll at the end results in a lost picture of what is below.

http://vimeo.com/14382316
Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

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Scrumpot

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barrel roll at the end results in a lost picture of what is below.

http://vimeo.com/14382316



Perfect! ...THANK YOU, for this!!


Nice example isn't it? :S
Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

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Perfect example of being focus on what on top of you then under you.

I see tracking similar to skiing. Does the person down a ski hill look behind him before making a turn? No. The one coming down the hill behind him is the one that has to make sure he doesn't crash on the guy bellow him. And this goes on and on with everyone in the ski hill.

If everyone focus on below them and make sure they track in a clear direction, then barrel roll shouldn't even be mentioned.
Avikus - Packer and Jumper - Hate landing with the plane!

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I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading on here, especially from the older-time jumpers, so I'll reiterate a point I made earlier. In skydiving, NOBODY has the right-of-way. It's EVERYONE'S responsibility to keep THEMSELVES alive from every angle and possibility. Two people skiing probably aren't going to die if they collide. Two people skydiving probably are, and you don't get to crawl out of your crater and dust yourself off just because you think it was the other guy's fault. If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with.

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Rstanley0312


I think that one had a dz.com thread of its own. It was a case where the formation was messed up after a small collision in freefall. Note that the guy doing the video, who nearly had a collision on opening, was looking forward and down for quite a while. Then he looks to both sides, throws in a quick barrel roll, and then sees someone deploying beneath & infront of him. One can argue whether he would have spotted the guy below even had he omitted the barrel roll.

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>In skydiving, NOBODY has the right-of-way.

Just plain not true. During canopy flight, for example, the low person has right of way. This is not because someone just decided it should be that way - this is because you cannot physically see through your canopy, and thus you have a blind spot above you.

This does not mean, of course, that it is fine to stare below you and ignore everything else. You should keep your head on a swivel. But your primary responsibility is to ensure you stay clear of the people below you, just as the primary responsibility of the person above (who, often, you cannot see) is to stay clear of you.

Likewise in freefall your primary responsibility is to clear the airspace below you. Definitely look above yourself and take action if you see someone up there. But since you will very quickly be arriving in the airspace directly below you, that's where your primary responsibility lies.

That's why the video shown above is completely unacceptable. The guy did a barrel roll to check above him. No problem there. But in doing that he stopped checking below him - and that is completely unacceptable. He could have died, and much more significantly, could have killed someone else who was doing everything right.

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dudeman17

I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading on here, especially from the older-time jumpers, so I'll reiterate a point I made earlier. In skydiving, NOBODY has the right-of-way. It's EVERYONE'S responsibility to keep THEMSELVES alive from every angle and possibility. Two people skiing probably aren't going to die if they collide. Two people skydiving probably are, and you don't get to crawl out of your crater and dust yourself off just because you think it was the other guy's fault. If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with.



That's crap.

Accepted skydiving procedures do indeed include right of ways, and if you skydive the same way you advocate, it is YOU that is dangerous. You DO have a responsibility to yield to those below you, and if you don't agree with that I suggest you get the hell off the plane.

You must believe that others think of "right of way" as a law, which of course it isn't. The term "right of way" refers to an agreed upon procedure, not an absolute. No one here has said that the person below has the right to do as they please without regard to what's happening around them because of a right of way privilege. Right of way is a concept designed to take variables and confusion out of a situation, which is crucial in skydiving where decisions must be made split-second in an environment where the ability to do so is the difference between life and death.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it IS the responsibility of every jumper to check the air above - which can be accomplished without a barrel roll - and give a clear signal before throwing out. What the "right of way" folks are saying is that following a "low man has the right of way" procedure is safer than people taking their attention off targets below with a full body twirl, which can create a whole new world of deadly possibilities.

No one is arguing that we don't need to clear the air above. We are arguing about the safest way to get it done. Unless a person has a mobility issue, there is NO NEED to perform a barrel roll to clear the air above, which brings into question the concept of performing a barrel roll and taking one's eyes off the area below, which IS the area we are responsible to give right of way to. Get it? Every jumper IS RESPONSIBLE to YIELD TO the jumper below them. It's a ONE WAY STREET. You don't have to agree with it, but it's the accepted procedure and thus you are OBLIGATED to follow it.

And just for fun, let's try a different comparison. Try telling a cop that the guy in front of you in traffic should have gotten out of the way so you wouldn't have slammed him in the rear. Argue all you want, but it will be YOU that gets the ticket and YOUR insurance company that pays the claim.

Our vision is limited behind us, whether we stay on our bellies or barrel roll and get a "flash' of a person above us that still doesn't pinpoint whether they are a factor or not.

And finally, since you are schooling folks, let's school you. You said:

"If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with."

That is a very foolish comment and one I hope you will reconsider. The truth is that every one of us relies on everyone in our group for our survival on every jump. None of us can see everything at every moment on every skydive, and thus we ARE dependent on our fellow jumpers for our survival on every jump.

It's also the reason we have procedures - like focusing most of our attention on the person below, not the person above who should be following the same procedure.

I like your "it's on me" attitude, but when a jumper takes that to a point where they focus so much on their own safety that they ignore best practices that are in the best interest of EVERYONE'S safety, that's a problem.

If you can safely perform a barrel roll to clear your air while breaking off, good for you. But my bet is you can do the same thing without a barrel roll, and that would be a safer way to go.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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Nice example isn't it?



On all counts. It's clear to see the loss of awareness below (where there turned out to be a jumper), but the other point it illustrates is that you can't see shit above you when you toss a barrel roll during a track.

Watch the video, and see if you think you could do a 'complete' scan of the sky above you during that maneuver?

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davelepka

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Nice example isn't it?



On all counts. It's clear to see the loss of awareness below (where there turned out to be a jumper), but the other point it illustrates is that you can't see shit above you when you toss a barrel roll during a track.

Watch the video, and see if you think you could do a 'complete' scan of the sky above you during that maneuver?



Agreed! On a freefly jump often times you are tracking away on your back anyway, for me all of the time. That is a great time to see what is above you but once you are on your belly going back to your back for a split second before deployment is pointless in my opinion. This should never be told to anyone by an instructor or organizer.
Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

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chuckakers

***I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading on here, especially from the older-time jumpers, so I'll reiterate a point I made earlier. In skydiving, NOBODY has the right-of-way. It's EVERYONE'S responsibility to keep THEMSELVES alive from every angle and possibility. Two people skiing probably aren't going to die if they collide. Two people skydiving probably are, and you don't get to crawl out of your crater and dust yourself off just because you think it was the other guy's fault. If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with.



That's crap.

Accepted skydiving procedures do indeed include right of ways, and if you skydive the same way you advocate, it is YOU that is dangerous. You DO have a responsibility to yield to those below you, and if you don't agree with that I suggest you get the hell off the plane.

You must believe that others think of "right of way" as a law, which of course it isn't. The term "right of way" refers to an agreed upon procedure, not an absolute. No one here has said that the person below has the right to do as they please without regard to what's happening around them because of a right of way privilege. Right of way is a concept designed to take variables and confusion out of a situation, which is crucial in skydiving where decisions must be made split-second in an environment where the ability to do so is the difference between life and death.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it IS the responsibility of every jumper to check the air above - which can be accomplished without a barrel roll - and give a clear signal before throwing out. What the "right of way" folks are saying is that following a "low man has the right of way" procedure is safer than people taking their attention off targets below with a full body twirl, which can create a whole new world of deadly possibilities.

No one is arguing that we don't need to clear the air above. We are arguing about the safest way to get it done. Unless a person has a mobility issue, there is NO NEED to perform a barrel roll to clear the air above, which brings into question the concept of performing a barrel roll and taking one's eyes off the area below, which IS the area we are responsible to give right of way to. Get it? Every jumper IS RESPONSIBLE to YIELD TO the jumper below them. It's a ONE WAY STREET. You don't have to agree with it, but it's the accepted procedure and thus you are OBLIGATED to follow it.

And just for fun, let's try a different comparison. Try telling a cop that the guy in front of you in traffic should have gotten out of the way so you wouldn't have slammed him in the rear. Argue all you want, but it will be YOU that gets the ticket and YOUR insurance company that pays the claim.

Our vision is limited behind us, whether we stay on our bellies or barrel roll and get a "flash' of a person above us that still doesn't pinpoint whether they are a factor or not.

And finally, since you are schooling folks, let's school you. You said:

"If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with."

That is a very foolish comment and one I hope you will reconsider. The truth is that every one of us relies on everyone in our group for our survival on every jump. None of us can see everything at every moment on every skydive, and thus we ARE dependent on our fellow jumpers for our survival on every jump.

It's also the reason we have procedures - like focusing most of our attention on the person below, not the person above who should be following the same procedure.

I like your "it's on me" attitude, but when a jumper takes that to a point where they focus so much on their own safety that they ignore best practices that are in the best interest of EVERYONE'S safety, that's a problem.

If you can safely perform a barrel roll to clear your air while breaking off, good for you. But my bet is you can do the same thing without a barrel roll, and that would be a safer way to go.

Aww, geez, now that's why I don't post on here very often. There are always people lying in wait to take one statement out of context and convolute it into what they'd like it to mean so that they can get all haughty and throw down an argument.

Chuck, if you've read the entire thread, then you'd know from my previous post that I do not practice, nor do I advocate, the barrel roll method of clearing your airspace. And if what I've said in totality makes you think that I believe in the things that you're railing against, then perhaps you should move to Hollywood and get a job writing for the soap operas.

Chuck, both you and billvon, by the tone of your posts, have missed my point, yet within your posts, you've both MADE the same point as I have. I was trying to emphasize the point because I'm reading in here stuff like 'just wave off and wait a few seconds and let the other guy handle it', and 'watch the guy below you and let the guy above worry about you'. To be sure, in skydiving there are established protocols for breakoffs, canopy patterns, and what-not that include rights of way, and I teach, preach, and practice them every week. When I say 'nobody has the right of way', I do not mean that you should blow off yielding to the other guy's right of way. What I AM saying is that you should not bet your life on the other guy yielding to yours.

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dudeman17

******I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading on here, especially from the older-time jumpers, so I'll reiterate a point I made earlier. In skydiving, NOBODY has the right-of-way. It's EVERYONE'S responsibility to keep THEMSELVES alive from every angle and possibility. Two people skiing probably aren't going to die if they collide. Two people skydiving probably are, and you don't get to crawl out of your crater and dust yourself off just because you think it was the other guy's fault. If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with.



That's crap.

Accepted skydiving procedures do indeed include right of ways, and if you skydive the same way you advocate, it is YOU that is dangerous. You DO have a responsibility to yield to those below you, and if you don't agree with that I suggest you get the hell off the plane.

You must believe that others think of "right of way" as a law, which of course it isn't. The term "right of way" refers to an agreed upon procedure, not an absolute. No one here has said that the person below has the right to do as they please without regard to what's happening around them because of a right of way privilege. Right of way is a concept designed to take variables and confusion out of a situation, which is crucial in skydiving where decisions must be made split-second in an environment where the ability to do so is the difference between life and death.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it IS the responsibility of every jumper to check the air above - which can be accomplished without a barrel roll - and give a clear signal before throwing out. What the "right of way" folks are saying is that following a "low man has the right of way" procedure is safer than people taking their attention off targets below with a full body twirl, which can create a whole new world of deadly possibilities.

No one is arguing that we don't need to clear the air above. We are arguing about the safest way to get it done. Unless a person has a mobility issue, there is NO NEED to perform a barrel roll to clear the air above, which brings into question the concept of performing a barrel roll and taking one's eyes off the area below, which IS the area we are responsible to give right of way to. Get it? Every jumper IS RESPONSIBLE to YIELD TO the jumper below them. It's a ONE WAY STREET. You don't have to agree with it, but it's the accepted procedure and thus you are OBLIGATED to follow it.

And just for fun, let's try a different comparison. Try telling a cop that the guy in front of you in traffic should have gotten out of the way so you wouldn't have slammed him in the rear. Argue all you want, but it will be YOU that gets the ticket and YOUR insurance company that pays the claim.

Our vision is limited behind us, whether we stay on our bellies or barrel roll and get a "flash' of a person above us that still doesn't pinpoint whether they are a factor or not.

And finally, since you are schooling folks, let's school you. You said:

"If you're leaving ANY part of your survival up to someone else, then you clearly don't fully understand the situation you're putting yourself in and how it needs to be dealt with."

That is a very foolish comment and one I hope you will reconsider. The truth is that every one of us relies on everyone in our group for our survival on every jump. None of us can see everything at every moment on every skydive, and thus we ARE dependent on our fellow jumpers for our survival on every jump.

It's also the reason we have procedures - like focusing most of our attention on the person below, not the person above who should be following the same procedure.

I like your "it's on me" attitude, but when a jumper takes that to a point where they focus so much on their own safety that they ignore best practices that are in the best interest of EVERYONE'S safety, that's a problem.

If you can safely perform a barrel roll to clear your air while breaking off, good for you. But my bet is you can do the same thing without a barrel roll, and that would be a safer way to go.

Aww, geez, now that's why I don't post on here very often. There are always people lying in wait to take one statement out of context and convolute it into what they'd like it to mean so that they can get all haughty and throw down an argument.

Chuck, if you've read the entire thread, then you'd know from my previous post that I do not practice, nor do I advocate, the barrel roll method of clearing your airspace. And if what I've said in totality makes you think that I believe in the things that you're railing against, then perhaps you should move to Hollywood and get a job writing for the soap operas.

Chuck, both you and billvon, by the tone of your posts, have missed my point, yet within your posts, you've both MADE the same point as I have. I was trying to emphasize the point because I'm reading in here stuff like 'just wave off and wait a few seconds and let the other guy handle it', and 'watch the guy below you and let the guy above worry about you'. To be sure, in skydiving there are established protocols for breakoffs, canopy patterns, and what-not that include rights of way, and I teach, preach, and practice them every week. When I say 'nobody has the right of way', I do not mean that you should blow off yielding to the other guy's right of way. What I AM saying is that you should not bet your life on the other guy yielding to yours.

Well then, never mind. ;)

I didn't notice that you posted previously. I was addressing your post the way I understood it. I obviously didn't catch the context, but that means others - including the all important knowledge-sucking noobs - might not have either.

Without respect to your post, my point stands. For the barrel rollers out there, if you can pull off a super-clean b/r while tracking have at it, but STOP advocating the technique as a standard procedure for all jumpers. It doesn't work for most jumpers and wil only serve to eventually get folks in trouble.

Besides, IT ISN'T NECESSARY!
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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I was trying to rephrase this in "other" terms to better understand the question.


So As I understand this??? :

The person below, performing a barrel roll is now some how responsible for someone above, who may or may not pull whenever they want, (conceivably they could just move out of the way...) and at the same time, as in the vid also responsible for someone who has in fact opened up underneath.

Does the highest jumper not have to do a barrel roll?

Seriously, what action do I take while I'm in a barrel roll, clearing the airspace above me??

What would be your Organizer's answere to that???

Must be some sort of Mad Skilzz thing???

Seriously? I do a barrel roll, and I think I see someone above me, what do I do then?

Waiting?............

C
But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

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Is it me or did the jumper in the video go back down the line of flight? The track direction looked like it was 90 degs to the runway, after he gets hit the runway comes in to view as he (possibly) moves back towards it? Just a thought???

Personally i always barrel role after a big way track regardless, but thats just me... and yes you can see people above you if there still there. If you give a big wave off and wait 2 secs before pulling, and it works for you then all well and good. It's obviously worked for you during your jumping carrier, then why why change the drills your happy with? But on big way head up and head down drills i still think a 360 turn to clear your airspace around you before moving away from the group in a direction you know to be clear is a good idea and takes a few seconds to do. Move away, and then transition to your track and then you now nobody should be around you.
At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

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andym148

But on big way head up and head down drills i still think a 360 turn to clear your airspace around you before moving away from the group in a direction you know to be clear is a good idea.....



I strongly advise against that.
Man, you're going to get beat up over that...just sayin'
My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

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