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billvon 2,380
>liability? false sense of security?
Partly. Thinking "I know that place like the back of my hand; a demo should be a piece of cake" is definitely a danger. People don't know about things like wind shadows, powerlines and outs just because they grew up there.
But a much bigger risk is demo fever, an irrationally strong need to jump into one's home town/high school/family wedding/high profile demo etc. "I CAN'T back out of this one! All my friends are down there and I told them I was going to do it!" It is by far the most dangerous part of any demo for newer jumpers; they are willing to disregard even the rudimentary judgment they have developed over a few hundred jumps to do the demo at any cost. I've seen half a dozen jumpers injured because of this phenomenon.
Thus an excellent first demo is a demo a mile away from the normal DZ, done as a training exercise. No one around, not as much pressure, no one to disappoint if you don't jump or choose an out.
Quote
Thus an excellent first demo is a demo a mile away from the normal DZ, done as a training exercise. No one around, not as much pressure, no one to disappoint if you don't jump or choose an out.
Absolutely good stuff.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239
QuoteA big second to the Wind drift indicator.
It can be a lifesaver, especially if the winds change while you're on your way to altitude.
Most of the other things have been covered, but....
Release your brakes before you deploy/hook up anything. I've never jumped a flag that small, but with big flags/streamers, etc, I always wait to make any final connections til I have a canopy that I know I can land safely.
Period.
If one of your brakes had locked or anything else happened that required you to chop, would you want to do that with the flag hanging out?????
Ummm....
Though that sounds like it's safer 'in theory' ~ I always deploy my extra gear first...and here's why:
More often than not while jumping a demo there are several others sharing a relatively tight sector of air-space.
The last thing ya wanna do is be charging around full bore with your eyes, hands & attention on the flag, smoke or streamer & not on where you're going.
When I pack for a demo I always triple check the brake system for easy functionality, I also give it a hard look upon deployment, if anything looks funky I'll straight that out first.
IF you should have a brake hang up, what's the worse that's gonna happen?
-You pull down on the released one and stop the spin.
You now have time to consider one of several options~
- You can either re-set the good one temporarily by using the cat's-eye, ring & toggle or chomp down on the handle to hold it while you try to un-bind the stuck one.
- You can hook knife the steering line and go in on the rears.
- You can drop the deployed demo gear safely into the large open area you should be over prior to deploying anything anyway...and proceed with a 'normal' cut-away.
You will likely be in a better & safer configuration, not having that crap strapped to you during the chop.
My main & reserve are the same size & same red, white & blue color pattern...if I function on deployment few can tell.
Once under the reserve I then deploy the demo gear...brakes on for all the same reasons stated above, and continue with the performance.
If the canopy is square & flyin' I have no problem landing on the rears - gear deployed.
Demo jumping isn't skydiving - the three priorities in order are:
Don't hurt anyone on the ground.
Don't get hurt.
DO give the promoter exactly what you said you would...flag, smoke, streamer or whatever - on time & on target.
One must be able to DO all three EVERY TIME ~ it's a business & professionalism is the key to success.
If one can only do 2 out of the 3, they're 'just another Skydiver' ~ fuckin' up a demo!
~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~
It can be a lifesaver, especially if the winds change while you're on your way to altitude.
Most of the other things have been covered, but....
Release your brakes before you deploy/hook up anything. I've never jumped a flag that small, but with big flags/streamers, etc, I always wait to make any final connections til I have a canopy that I know I can land safely.
Period.
If one of your brakes had locked or anything else happened that required you to chop, would you want to do that with the flag hanging out?????
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