Unexplained bruising

[darrenspooner 0]

I've done about 30 camera jumps now and since starting on camera I have been getting severe bruising on the underneath of my right forearm, the outside of my right thigh and on the inside of both lower thighs. I'm talking huge black and purple bruises sometimes 8 inches round with dark black lines in them. I am not aware of any impacts after exit, I feel nothing at all, no one I've jumped with has said I've collided, and its only when my wife notices the next day I've got them that I know about it. I'm clearly hitting something but no idea what. Some jumps are filming two-ways or solos, and I'm following with a diving exit. Some jumps are tandem videos with a rear float, but instructors won't go until I let go so they can guarantee I'm always below and out of the way when they throw the drogue. All I can think of is that I'm pushing off from the plane violently or else my thighs are being squashed flat between two tandem instructors at the bulkhead between the pilot. Its pretty crammed getting 15 in a standard caravan. Any ideas what I can do to work this out.

[ficus 0]

It's almost certainly happening on climbout.

Either keep yourself tight to the door as you climb around to the outside, or far away from the door until you're out, then make your way to the back. I'm willing to bet you're hitting the relative wind outside the airplane a few inches away from the door and it's bumping you back against something bruisy made of metal.

Even knowing this, I am an idiot and do it all the time. No Monday is complete without an enormous bruise on my left inner thigh.

[diablopilot 2]

It's a door bite.

Stop "swinging" out on the camera step, and climb out in the door way first, THEN step back to the step.

The bruise is caused from letting the wind slam your body into the side of the A/C.


Oh, and reconsider jumping with tandems. Work on other video, and develop your technique.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[darrenspooner 0]

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.

As for filming tandems, I appreciate your comment and I know this is potentially hazardess or catastrophic. I never try get close enough at any time to be a problem. I've discussed this with the instructors and they really do give me plenty of time to be 100s of feet below them before they even let go, and I'm not attempting to get any closer than that. I'm just adjusting fall rate relative to them, but nowhere near close enough to ever cause a problem.

[dragon2 0]

Then what the heck is the use of jumps like that? You're not learning anything, you're not making any remotely decent video, and you're still potentially endagering students. Learning to fly camera using tandems should be banned Learn to fly camera using at least A-licensed jumpers, filming solos, 2ways, 3ways, 4way teams, whathaveyou will make you a much better cameraflyer than "practicing" like what you're doing now. With regular jumpers you WILL crash on them on exit, maybe also during freefall, feel the burble, learn how to frame video, learn to deal with the distraction of camera flying, all without the danger of hurting an unsuspecting student where they pay a lot for the jump and now have the added distraction (for them and certainly for the TM) of watching out for you - would you want an unknown newbie anywhere close to a family member's tandem jump?

Learn to film experienced jumpers, pay your own jumps for a while then you'll see you'll get your slot covered once it's known you want to film and are decent at it, then go film experienced jumpers some more, and then try your hand at tandems, you'll be much safer having twice the number of jumps you do now with most of them camera flying and then you have a good chance of shooting decent video from the start.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[chrismgtis 0]

Quote

Oh, and reconsider jumping with tandems. Work on other video, and develop your technique.

I second that.

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.

No problem. I wish I had a photo of the ones I got when I was starting out. The first day I jumped an Otter.....it was a beaut!

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[jacketsdb23 45]

I bet my bruise is bigger than your bruise!

all kidding aside, like everyone has said its from climb out. I get them all the time on my left leg. It never hurts while jumping - but Monday's suck!

Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen
God is Good
Beer is Great
Swoopers are crazy.

[darrenspooner 0]

I know you're pretty much right on every count here. I'm paying my tickets, I'm not filming for cash. I'm just getting used to flying the camera suit in distant relativity to someone else in the sky. Not much chance for much else most of the time. I'm not bothered about what's on the screen at the moment. I'm bothered about knowing how I'm flying. I've had camera coaching jumps, been checked out, and all the instructors (including instructor examiner/CCI, who is perfectly happy for me chase him in tandem) at my DZ are totally happy for me to do what I'm doing. I've also had quite a bit of tunnel time. If my instructors are happy for me to do this, and they have jumped, monitored and trained me for a number of years, then that's good enough for me.

As an analogy, would I be happy for someone to drive my kids around straight afer getting their license? Well, I wouldn't judge it on how long they'd been qualified or how many hours they'd driven for, I'd judge it on how competent and mature a driver they were

My only other comment is this - I'm either safe in the sky or I'm not. Tandem student, A licenced jumper or 4-way? I'm either competent enough or I'm not. A tandem instructor has no less ability to get out of my way if I'm a liability than a 4-way team. A tandem student is a person same as everyone else. Either I'm competent around others in the sky or I'm not