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blue24

Lowest altitude you've pulled at?

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We saw a friend (RIP) go past the roof of the hangar (looking upwards over it) with nothing out.
...
I can't say for sure how low that was but is was so freaking low everyone ran to the other side to see if he was dead.



I witnessed this on one occasion also, but it was Cypres fire. So I guess it does not count. :P
I remember thinking, while I was running to the other side of hangar, please let him have an AAD...:(

My lowest pull was ~1300/1500ft. Important demo, from helicopter, over very populated city area, at 8:30PM. [:/]
I pitched immediately on exit and my pc got wrapped around my palm. [:/]
So there I was playing air guitar over blocks of buildings and very low and the only landable area was tennis field size.
It ended well, but I won`t do it again for sure...
dudeist skydiver #42

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About 500 ft. twice. The first time was as a student and I was trying to get stable. I finally pulled and when I saddled out the French aircraft altimeter read 100 meters. 5 or 6 hundred jumps later we were going the 12,500 and only got to 10.500 before we had to get out. The star was held below break off altitude waiting on some one to get in. Of course they funneled it and we all wound up "deep in the beeps."

Through the late '70s I had a Starlite canopy that opened in maybe 200 ft. I became a fearless (read dumb) man. I would routinely throw my pilot chute at 1100 or 1200 ft. I thought I could handle it if some thing bad happened. I'm really glad I never had to find out. Then a friend gave me an old Strat0 Star and the openings got longer and higher.
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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I've scared myself two times opening low...I was rear rear float on a five way spider? at the bottom of the door in the Lodi DC-3(which is actually a C-47 iirc)

Apparently I rolled my altimeter up 1,500' across the floor on exit...as the five came together I noticed that my girlfriend had a floating reserve ripcord, I got her to pull her main at between 9,000 an 10,000...

then the four of us left, from the five way, just started screwing around doing two ways three ways with someone always out...then back flips...during one of my back flips I noticed canopies opening above me...

as I came face to face with my comrade he glances at his alti and his eyes get big and he dumps...I glance at my alti and it says 3 grand...so I turn and start tracking back to the airport from the north, tracking south perpendicular to the runway.

As I look down, tracking along with no worries, I spot the word LODI on the runway...then the funniest question just popped into my head..."why is the word LODI so big?"

Well it took me a nano second to know I was way in the basement...I reach back and pitched and my 220 Fury opened beautifully above me.

I immediately checked my altimeter and it said 2 grand...I didn't even make it to the grass and landed on the side of runway 12/30 and walking back I was trying to figure out why my alti said 1,500' on the ground...by the time I got to the hanger I was shaking after doing the math...lesson learned...use your eyes...after that I made at least a 1000 jumps with no altimeter at all...I knew what the basement looked like.

The second one...doing video of a good friend trying to fly on his back...I have his whole opening at a grand with him still spinning on his back...I watched the hills go up as he checked his alti and he said he saw 1000' and just dumped...I saw my grave...right in front of that oak tree...that sight picture is burned in my brain forever...my thoughts after I pitched was if I was going to feel opening shock first or feet into the ground.

After that PD210 opened I just started laughing for about 20 seconds before landing.

Back at the DZ an observer told my partner he saw 3 jumpers in freefall go behind the hills.
They came to find us expecting to find craters...I have a feeling it was about 700' at terminal...I had to guess because I wasn't wearing an alti but I did know where I was this time...way too low!

You can only beat the reaper so many times before he wins...

hangdiver

"Mans got to know his limitations"
Harry Callahan

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...then the funniest question just popped into my head..."why is the word LODI so big?"



:D:D:D


On the serious note, that low and you went for the main... I try to tell (and train) myself, that if i`m LOW I`ll go straight for the silver but, stuff like this make me wonder...
dudeist skydiver #42

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Chucked a pilot chute going through 1200ft once "back in the day" when I was a low time jumper after fucking up the break-off & track from a 5-way dancing spider. I didn't have a Cypres back then, they were around, but all jumpers off of student status back then didn't yet feel the need to have one... there's a reason we called em "the fatal forties" back then... :S If I had had a Cypres, I'm sure it would have been a 2-out situation for me as I got sadled around 700ft. Can still remember Celaya getting on my case (rightfully so) when I walked back into the hangar.

I once too took 15sec off a balloon a bit over 3K at AV once. Did have a Cypres then. Got saddled a RCH around (below) a grand. :$ Still don't know how I beat Mr. Cypres on that one. Sparky still gives me grief about that one.


Another time at Cal City, Celaya, Cher and I pulled a three way round off at 3.5 - 4ish after putting a full load of static line students out, snapped a 360, re-docked, smiled and left. I got concerned when I saw Bob dump before me... I didn't much pull out of the track before I tossed my PC... Cher kept going, waived off and pulled. After the jump I asked her why she waved off? She said so we knew she was about to pull... I pointed out that there was no one down there with her! :D


Gravity doesn't care how many jumps you have, but I'm sure glad I lived through some of that stupid shit. :)

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...then the funniest question just popped into my head..."why is the word LODI so big?"



:D:D:D


On the serious note, that low and you went for the main... I try to tell (and train) myself, that if i`m LOW I`ll go straight for the silver but, stuff like this make me wonder...


nope your going for youir main 99.99 out of 100. ask me how I know~ Now if your chasing someone and have decided your going for silver if you can't get them thats different but the OH SHIT I'M GONNA DIE moment you revert to what you've done over and over....

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

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Just last weekend... I was dispatching some students. Going through 1500ft I was thinking: If the plane goes dead right now, what would I do? Myself (students would be hitting silver anyway). First thing that came to mind was: main of course (i have A LOT low exits with fast opening demo canopies). But AAD would beat me to it. Still It looked like a lot altitude for pulling silver straight away...
dudeist skydiver #42

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Richmond "The" Boogie 10 way 1400'. Had a hard pull got it on my third try but was jumping a 260 sqft PD 7 cell. Had I not got it I was going to my reserve.... STUPID! I should have gone for the reserve as soon as I broke 2k. I landed and Cliff Schmucker walked up to me and said "hard pull huh?" with a smile on his face... he was parallel to me the whole way and watching me. He dumped at 2k.

I do not pull lower than 3k now if I can help it.

It scared the shit out of me!
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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At the Ranch with overcast clouds were 2000 doing hop and pops got out of the plane at 1800 on my alti tossed at 1500 had a pd f111 that snivled on opening kept looking at the canopy and looking at the ground hoping that thing was going to finish opening sometime. No AAD of course stupid looking back on it. But I did do three more. Ah Youth

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At the Ranch with overcast clouds were 2000 doing hop and pops got out of the plane at 1800 on my alti tossed at 1500 had a pd f111 that snivled on opening kept looking at the canopy and looking at the ground hoping that thing was going to finish opening sometime. No AAD of course stupid looking back on it. But I did do three more. Ah Youth



I've done a few exits like that, but pulled right away. Exiting that low, maybe better to not have an AAD.
People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

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I've done a few exits like that, but pulled right away. Exiting that low, maybe better to not have an AAD.

I can usually get open by 1600-1700' even jumping that low. You're using the distance of the forward throw to get open as much as the vertical fall. One day jumping from that very altitude, I watched 2 people launch a two way ahead of me, turn points and open very low. One jumper ended up with two out after his AAD fired. From there the canopies downplaned and he didn't get the main released. He was severely injured.

The next day low clouds were keeping us at 4500' for our jumps. I overheard two jumpers, 40-60 jumps each, discussing turning off their AADs because "this is a hop and pop and you should turn off your AAD for a hop and pop." I talked to them for a minute, asked what altitude they planned to open at (3500') and convinced them to leave the AADs on. I'm glad I overheard their conversation.

I'm not saying I haven't jumped or opened low. I think you and I have been together on some of those loads.;) I'm just saying any jump you're making that has you considering turning off your AAD should make you consider "Should I be doing this jump at all?":)

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What is the lowest altitude you have ever pulled at?



Okay, this was not me but it got my attention.

At Rantoul the PAC750 was the only plane flying, doing hop and pops from about 2,100 feet due to low ceilings.

Two people took a chunk off, one guy hummed it a bit, pitched and sniveled. I gave him less than a count of ten between slider down and landing.

Judging by the look on his face, that was not quite what he intended; he damn near pulled a Wile E. Coyote.


BSBD,

Winsor

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What is the lowest altitude you have ever pulled at?



About 900 feet and I was pulling the RIPCORD as I was going out the door of the Cessna since the ground was right there in front of the windshield and not below the door as we came out of a cloud... I thought that idiot was going in for sure>:(>:(>:(

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Intentionally exited at 1500.
Intentionally pulled on another jump at ~1k.

Accidental pull at around 600.

All of those were under a Raven II main. All of those were when I had less than 500 jumps and thought I knew everything.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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