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jaffo

We need a permanent "I told you so" Thread in the incident forum

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I sometimes point them to the thread where people were urging our fellow poster Ted Nelson ("tcnelson" on here) not to jump his high-performance canopy because he wasn't ready for it yet, and he would stubbornly reply that he had particularly good skills, so he could handle it. While that thread was in full swing, Ted suffered a fatally-hard landing under that canopy, whereupon the discussion shifted over to his Incident thread. Sobering reading, and I say this with all due respect to Ted and his loved ones, but maybe it should have been made a sticky for successive groups of new jumpers to read and heed.


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Here's the thread in which Ted and other jumpers were having the debate in 2004. In 2006, it was resurrected when Ted initially was critically injured, and then tragically died of his injuries a few days later:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1106024#1106024



Not exactly. As you'd originally written, the thread had been abandoned for two years by the time he died.
Also, according to what I've read, during the intervening time he'd undergone an attitude change and had begun seeking proper advice as to his canopy training.
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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"USPA mandates wingloading" ...even if they did, there is no way you can prevent someone from hookin' in with correct loading..it might help but people will still turn too low or get in a corner...early education and prevention is the only long term solution....>:(

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

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I know several people who have injured themselves due to stalling a Raven.

That means that either
a. they overloaded it, expecting it to fly like their main
b. they didn't check out its stall point at a safe altitude before flaring for landing, and then flared aggressively for a standup, rather than conservatively and accepting a possible PLF.

Ravens aren't like most other canopies any more. They're just like canopies of the 80's, and can be flown quite satisfactorily for a safe landing. But they do illustrate the point that jumpers need to understand their gear, and have enough experience to make changes in their jumping to account for changes in circumstances.

Wendy P.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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Ravens aren't like most other canopies any more. They're just like canopies of the 80's...



Being out of date and so very different to a main is surely asking for trouble, especially for inexperienced jumpers, don't you think?

You know much better than I do about this, I just know what I have seen, which is hard landings due to a stall. I am sure you are right that this was at least partly pilot error.

I am still interested to know what Amazon's point was.
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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Ravens aren't like most other canopies any more. They're just like canopies of the 80's...



Being out of date and so very different to a main is surely asking for trouble, especially for inexperienced jumpers, don't you think?

You know much better than I do about this, I just know what I have seen, which is hard landings due to a stall. I am sure you are right that this was at least partly pilot error.

I am still interested to know what Amazon's point was.



A canopy does not stall its self.
It stalls when the toggles are depressed below the stall point.
A basic concept when flying any canopy for the first time is to stall the canopy shortly after opening, to find the stall point.
Landing an unfamiliar canopy, and just *assuming* the stall point will be the same as a different make/model/size canopy is just dumb.

And why is the stall point that high on those Ravens?
Because they are being jumped by larger people than they were designed for.
If jumped at proper wingloadings, the toggle travel would be appropriate for the arm length of the jumper.
But when jumped by a larger person, they can reach the stall point well before they run out of arm travel.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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All absolutely fair comments. I do practice flares on every jump as part of my canopy checks and building muscle memory. I don't understand why some people don't. Particularly when jumping an unfamiliar canopy.

It seems to me (and I am asking the question to learn here) that the Ravens are much less forgiving than, say, PDR, Smart or Optimums. Is that a fair statement?
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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Who was by no stretch of the imagination a low timer busting the WL guidelines.



and why didnt anyone tell him to stop or ground him?



As evidenced by the discussion in this thread, some people resist being told anything. Now, he and his friend are both dead.
_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

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All absolutely fair comments. I do practice flares on every jump as part of my canopy checks and building muscle memory. I don't understand why some people don't. Particularly when jumping an unfamiliar canopy.

It seems to me (and I am asking the question to learn here) that the Ravens are much less forgiving than, say, PDR, Smart or Optimums. Is that a fair statement?



The Ravens were designed before the practice of overloading reserves became popular,.
Back when they were designed, a 1:1 WL was common on the reserve.
So the expected jumper under a 150 would likely be a 130 lb girl.
The stall point needed to be designed for the length of her arms, not the 6'1" 180 lb guy.
If they had designed it for him, she would not have been able to get a full flare.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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Some of his comments:

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sorry 'bout your friend(s)...doesn't change my opinion...maybe you think that because you think that you're wiser that your thoughts coincide with the wise. i don't think so. i'll be here tomorrow and the next day, even though you think i know less than you. i appreciate your concern but, in my experience, those with above-average ability progress on a steeper learning curve than the average. don't mean to be a dick, but i've been listening to the bullshit for too long.



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didn't you receive my, I'm tired of your rabble memo?

i have done nothing dangerous to date. keep that in mind when your spouting more advice and judgements.



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reckless advice? here's some advice; stop making friends with injury-prone people.



He died due to a landing injury 23 July 2006.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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It seems to me (and I am asking the question to learn here) that the Ravens are much less forgiving than, say, PDR, Smart or Optimums. Is that a fair statement?



It is more about the TYPE than the brand. A 7 cell, low aspect ratio, F111 canopy (that is normally smaller than your normal canopy) is not going to fly the same as your main.

If you don't know how it does fly... You could easily stall it. Many of us flew 7 cell F111's as mains, so we know how they fly. Those that have only ever jumped ZP 9 cells do not know how to fly the F111 7cells and might stall them.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

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>It seems to me (and I am asking the question to learn here) that the
>Ravens are much less forgiving than, say, PDR, Smart or Optimums.

When landed like a HP canopy, yes. (Of course, that's true to some degree of Stilettos and Sabre1's as well; you can't land them like a modern Crossfire.)

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the fatalities are not the entire picture.

whuffos are always wrong about the number of fatalities.
jumpers never tell them about the number of injuries though.

the only thing worse than dying is almost dying.
there are a lot of busted up people who weren't flying super-fast canopies, but were flying beyond their abilities.



yes, when we had the frequent discussions of WL BSRs, I looked at several recent years of accidents and found that a BSR would have only saved a tiny portion of them. Most were experienced people, or low timers who made low turns under larger canopies. There are certainly some exceptions who posted here extensively and then died doing it, but the actual number isn't that high.

But the femur count, the messed up ankles and knees, those don't get recorded well. The most effective sticky thread may be "I fucked up" with accountings from these people. Include the details of physical therapy, rather than just the cool, EXTREME xrays of metal fixtures inside the body. From my own experience, the 6 month hassle of recovering from a simple rotator cuff repair, or the longer 9 month process when I initially broke my shoulder, the indignity of having to do bicep curl with fucking 1 pound dumbells - that may be more motivating than the fear of seemingly rare death.

The absolute least effective postings are the ones from the long timers who say "I did all this stupid shit too when I was new and although nothing happened to me, you shouldn't do it."

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>It seems to me (and I am asking the question to learn here) that the
>Ravens are much less forgiving than, say, PDR, Smart or Optimums.

When landed like a HP canopy, yes. (Of course, that's true to some degree of Stilettos and Sabre1's as well; you can't land them like a modern Crossfire.)



...and I think the point some are trying to make is that this type of knowledge/skill stems from jump numbers, time in sport, and experience. It's something you can't buy, inherit, read about, or have appear magically due to "Mad Skillz". :)
Take your time. Seek out and listen to advice. Learn what you can along the way. And, most importantly, survive long enough to become more that just a 100 jump wonder. ;)
Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

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I am still on a Sabre 170 for more than 400 jumps, even after demoing Pilot 140, Pilot 150, Sabre2 150, PD143R, and a few others.

Though, soon, I'll finally I'll switch to one of those other wings, I'm more concerned in a softer opening now -- so probably a Pilot or similiar.

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Big Ravens are different than MicroRavens.. MicroRavens have a very high stall point. Last time I jumped one (a 120) I was probably 150 out the door, 143ish without my main :-) I was trying to hold brakes to follow my stuff down. 3 times! during the canopy ride I accidently did a full-blown end-cell-touching collapse of the canopy. Anytime where the toggles were at my shoulders or below it just collapsed.. I'm only 5' 1 tall. So while slightly overloaded, I don't have monkey arms!

I also had ~5000 jumps on small 7 cells at the time. Big Ravens and other styles of Ravens are fine, but MicroRavens suck and do stall at a stupidly high stall point (shoulders.) PLF your best...

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We need a permanent "I told you so" thread in the incidents forum.

It would list all the 100-300 jump wonders that fly canopies way to small for them. Especially the ones that have told the experts to mind their own business!!

You know, the people that think they are better than Germain or any of the other legitimate experts....Reminds me of the country song "Back when I knew it all"



i bet that thread would be deleted by a certain moderator that recently injured himself, probably swooping, already the 2nd time around; now, who steps up and tells "that guy" that his canopy was too small for either his ego or his skill-set!? :P

before anyone gets me wrong, that's a tongue-in-cheek comment, but like some already have pointed out, the fatal landing-accidents seem to be by "experienced and legitimate" canopy-pilots for the most part. if you read around the incidents, the younger ones seem to be more prone to comparatively "minor" injuries..

logic would say it's more of a problem because of complacency than "excessive wingloadings" as assumed by some.

i wish the mentioned mod a speedy recovery! :)
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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There's a difference between an experienced skydiver and an experienced canopy pilot, that's the breakdown I'd be interested in. Someone with 1000 jumps who swoops themselves into the ground attempting a 270 when they've only ever used double fronts to land is still inexperienced.

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Your stats
Jumps: 200
Years: 3
Disciplines: Swooping
Freeflying


Container: Infinity
Main: Katana 135 ft² (1.52 lbs/ft²)
Reserve: Optimum Reserve 143 ft² (1.43 lbs/ft²)
AAD: Vigil

As opposed to

Jumps: 582
Years: 4
Disciplines: Freeflying
Swooping
Photographer: Yes

Gear
Container: Voodoo
Main: Crossfire 2 139 ft² (1.55 lbs/ft²)
Reserve: Raven Dash-M
AAD: Cypres



You confused me with this post.

Who is the other person you are comparing me with?
What is the point of this comparison?

The biggest thing that stands out is that the second guy should REALLY get a decent reserve! Those Ravens are dangerous stall machines.



You are being compared to the late Ted Nelson, are you really too thick to see that?

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Big Ravens are different than MicroRavens.. MicroRavens have a very high stall point.

I watched a petite woman, like you, stall her Micro Raven reserve and get a few comp. fractures. She said it was her fault for stalling it, but her toggles never went below her elbows. I say it's a poorly rigged canopy.[:/]

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There's a difference between an experienced skydiver and an experienced canopy pilot, that's the breakdown I'd be interested in.

Good point. That would be me. I've never done more than a 180 or jumped anything smaller than a 135. I don't know how to swoop, but I sure know what it looks like when it's done wrong.:S[:/]

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If (heaven forbid) you hurt yourself doing a 270 on a velo, would that be classed as an injury to an experienced or inexperienced skydiver. The core of my question is really to find out what the split in injuries is between people who follow "the progression" (double fronts -> 90 -> 180 -> 270) and those who don't. I'm strongly on "the progression" myself and am more curious about any affect the generally held "best way" has (or does not have) on the distribution of injuries. I'm not for a second suggesting that I don't want to be on the right path (especially when my mentors and experienced friends all agree that it's the safest path), just wondering how the numbers play out in the real world.

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well fuck you



You really should sit down and write a nice well though out "I'm not a prick and sorry for being an asswipe" type of PM and send it to NickDG & Nova and ask them to forgive you for being an asshat, once all that nicey nice shit is over with... maybe you could shut the fuck up and open your ears & brain cells a little and listen to what they have to say to you instead of flapping your yap, you might not only learn a few things from those cats, you might become a better jumper by doing so.

We all understand your the new kid in the hood and you feel the need to "puff & fluff" and let us all know how much you've learned in your short walk around the block, you not the first, you won't be the last..... but if you keep heading down the road your on attitude wise, you will not be viewed kindly by those who have long ago paid there due and seen and forgot more then you will ever learn in your short visit to the hood.


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sorry, id just rather turn "young jumpers" into "unsafe jumpers" or some other name that doesnt direct it at young people



FYI-Age never entered into his postings or anyone else's for that matter, the sooner you come to terms with the fact that you don't know shit yet as a young jumper the better off you'll be.

Yea I know......
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well fuck you


you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

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You are being compared to the late Ted Nelson, are you really too thick to see that?



And just how was I supposed to know whose profile that was? No name was posted.
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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