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bqmassey

Pulling High

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I'm an inexperienced jumper. (2 tandems, 7 AFF, 2 solos, but haven't jumped since 2009.)

There's always discussion about pulling high. I'm curious, is there any limit to how high you can deploy your canopy? My jumps were typically from 14.5. Is there any reason I couldn't pull as soon as I stabilize?

Freefall is a blast, but I think it'd be cool to pull high and just enjoy the scenic route every once in a while, maybe take some pictures.

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I'm an inexperienced jumper. (2 tandems, 7 AFF, 2 solos, but haven't jumped since 2009.)

There's always discussion about pulling high. I'm curious, is there any limit to how high you can deploy your canopy? My jumps were typically from 14.5. Is there any reason I couldn't pull as soon as I stabilize?

Freefall is a blast, but I think it'd be cool to pull high and just enjoy the scenic route every once in a while, maybe take some pictures.



Popcorn and beer ready

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Ha! Due to your response, I'm guessing that you consider taking a second to pull out a camera and snap a picture to be inadvisable.



At your experience level, it's inadvisable to do anything other than pay attention to yourself and others in the air with you, your canopy, where you are, where your landing area is, what the wind is doing, etc.

Here are some of the potential problems:

1. That second it takes to pull out a camera can easily become several minutes in which you are trying to unzip a jumpsuit under your chest strap or dicking around trying to get something out of a pocket next to your leg straps. The wind at high alt could easily blow you far enough away from home to confuse or disorient you.

2. After you've finally gotten your camera out, be careful not to drop it on some poor innocent whuffo's head down below, okay?

3. No problem, you won't drop the camera because you'll put it on a lanyard around your neck or wrist, right? That's just asking for something wrapped around a wrist or neck to become a nasty horeshoe mal for you or impede an EP.

A couple of snaphots aren't worth it yet, okay?
Owned by Remi #?

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At your experience level, it's inadvisable to do anything other than pay attention to yourself and others in the air with you, your canopy, where you are, where your landing area is, what the wind is doing, etc.

Here are some of the potential problems:

1. That second it takes to pull out a camera can easily become several minutes in which you are trying to unzip a jumpsuit under your chest strap or dicking around trying to get something out of a pocket next to your leg straps. The wind at high alt could easily blow you far enough away from home to confuse or disorient you.

2. After you've finally gotten your camera out, be careful not to drop it on some poor innocent whuffo's head down below, okay?

3. No problem, you won't drop the camera because you'll put it on a lanyard around your neck or wrist, right? That's just asking for something wrapped around a wrist or neck to become a nasty horeshoe mal for you or impede an EP.

A couple of snaphots aren't worth it yet, okay?



Thanks for the reply, but what you fail to realize is that I'm really good at skydiving. It's not like I won't have the camera put away when I start my hookturn.

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:D:D:D:D:D

Alright, now we're talkin'...just made a second batch and cracked another brew



Glad I'm entertaining. Pay attention, I might be able to teach you something.

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Just playin y'all. ;)

I didn't expect to be doing this anytime soon. I have more important things to worry about,.. like learning how to avoid potato chipping.

I was just curious if there are rules that prohibit it, or any safety-related reasons not to.

If there are no rules about it, is pulling high only limited then to hypoxia concerns?

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If there are no rules about it, is pulling high only limited then to hypoxia concerns?



And the temperature, and the wind, the other air traffic in the vicinity, and the knowledge / approval of the pilot, etc.

Ask the pilot and an instructor / S&TA before you go. Get a good briefing on your best exit point and understand how to find it from the door. Maybe find an experienced high puller to jump with...If everything is good, go for it. High pulls are awesome.
Owned by Remi #?

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hmmmm ok i'll play...


used to call that..."a cross-country"... most of which resulted in landing OFF the DZ [:/] due to..
Inability of the jumper to properly fly the much longer , much further route... Jumpers would either "hang back " too long and then Not "get there" or would "get there too soon " i.e. be over the top at 3 grand and then BLOW AWAY......
VERY tricky stuff... for those who KNOW what they are doing..
inadviseable for those who DON'T....For sure,, not to be done without a particularly loooong spot...and usually NOT on a routine jump run exit...

IF you enlist the aid of your Chief pilot, and a few instructors who KNOW how to calculate AND explain the specific winds aloft and the ground winds OF THAT PARTICULAR INSTANT.......you could get away with it....providing you're Ok with an OFF Field landing,, ( which i would advise against,, considering your stated "experience " level.)
So i'd say it's better to save the "creative stuff" for when you have learned a bit more.....
as for the camera... The Good Lord gave us all a Built -In camera.. it's called our eyes and our brain... Fantastic lenses, stereoscopic, 3D and the most efficient hard drive in existence !! stick with that. for the time being.....If you Must pull high, be sure that anyone else on the load knows about it, and that the pilot also knows about it..and probably a few people on the ground, in case there are some heads UP types on the Ground who KEEP TRACK of ALL the canopies in the air and would NOT be expecting to have to look UP to 10 Grand to find YOU... after the others from the load have landed...;)
NOT the thing to do.."on impulse", or spontaneously..imho
good luck.
jmy

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used to call that..."a cross-country"... most of which resulted in landing OFF the DZ [:/] due to..



Just getcherself a Stiletto - you'll always get where you need to go... ;)
Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal

Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess

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I LOVE high pulls, especially at sunset or dawn.

All of the above advice is good. I would add:

High pulls are great fun to do with another jumper. If you do it with an appropriately experienced jumper, you can mitigate some of the risks mentioned above. They can help you with the spot and you can follow them back to the DZ.

My favorite bit of odd advice to folks about these is:
If doing a high pull at sunset on a really hot day... put on a dry shirt first. If it has been hot, you shirt is likely damp. A damp shirt at 10K gets a bit chilly.

A cell phone in a pocket is a good idea. If you land out, you can call manifest and tell them that you are OK, and where you are. Be sure to take the phone number of manifest with you! This is more than just convenient for you... it is polite. If this is a sunset jump, knowing that you are OK will allow folks to send someone to get you and then crack open a cold one. :D If however, you are "missing"... some folks will not be able to begin to play until you are accounted for.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

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used to call that..."a cross-country"... most of which resulted in landing OFF the DZ



Pulling high and cross country are 2 different things these days. On a day with high uppers, most of the same principles of spotting and being prepared to land way out on a round or a square still apply,

But on a day with mild uppers, it's much easier to take a ram-air out at 14,000 feet, close the the DZ, and make the corrections necessary to land at home.
Owned by Remi #?

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Thanks for the informative replies! I think it'd be a lot of fun, especially if you were dropped off quite a ways upwind and could fly back cross-country.

It's something I hope to do some day. I'd probably try to talk an experienced jumper into doing it with me so I could just follow him and not have to worry so much about screwing up the rest.

The view up there is great, but in freefall you don't get as much of an opportunity to take it in.

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Why not as Bill? Or any of the instructors there at Monroe?



I haven't been up there in a while (2009). I moved to Savannah now, and will be finding a new DZ soon. I miss jumping a lot. It's a shame though, I really like the folks out at SD Monroe. I started and completed AFF there, so it will always be a special place to me.

I was out at STF recently with a big group of guys/girls on an organized skydiving trip. They split the group between ASC and STF. I got a chance to hang out at both. STF seemed like a great place. ASC.... eh. It only takes one or two people to ruin the vibe at a place.

I just went along for the ride since I talked a friend into doing a tandem. I didn't jump because I didn't want to waste money on a tandem when I've already gotten through AFF. It killed me to be at a DZ and not be jumping.

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used to call that..."a cross-country"... most of which resulted in landing OFF the DZ [:/] due to..



Just getcherself a Stiletto Paraglider - you'll always get where you need to go... ;)


(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

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If you are jumping at Skydive Monroe there are a few CRW dawgs out there who rarely ever go in freefall. Ask manifest to introduce you to one of them and they can jump with you and explain whatever you need to know about spotting, winds and 3 second delays. Try and find John Young to jump with since he has a wealth of knowledge and is a great teacher. Hop and pops are the best way to learn how to truly fly your canopy and not just glide it back to the ground.

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