listening to music while freefall and under canopy is it safe???

[stayhigh 2]

i drive better with music on for sure,,, could same logic apply to skydiving,,, ill find out tommorow,,
what do you think about this,,, have you tried it???

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[floridadiver81 0]

There was a thread about this posted like 2 months ago. The general consensus was that its not safe becasue it distacts you from the other canpoy traffic especially in the landing pattern.

"Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie
"Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye

[PhreeZone 15]

Not just that but to be loud enough to overcome freefall and canopy noise you are geting to the range where you can cause hearing damage.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[floridadiver81 0]

There were numerous reasons...thats just the one i remember most. Ill say the same thing i said in that thread......this is already a dangerous sport...let not do anything to increase the danger level!

"Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie
"Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye

[tdog 0]

Quote

i drive better with music on for sure,,, could same logic apply to skydiving,,, ill find out tommorow,,
what do you think about this,,, have you tried it???

I once almost got in a canopy collision on final. A guy I was jumping with was so fixated to setting up his swoop he was not looking where he was going. I made an evasive maneuver at a few hundred feet while yelling his name at the top of my lungs. He never saw or heard me, however we were damn close.

That being said, music would not have changed that outcome...

But, I have landed and a second later heard someone yell "turn around" and I saw I needed to move quickly. In that case music would have changed the outcome...

So this goes both ways.

I really don't have a problem with music on the way up (because you should have your safety systems in place, like checks of threes, at a specific altitude - because often there is going to be distractions other than music).

But I would not recommend it on the way down...

Possible exception. If you do a sunset high pull, and you are the last out, and no other planes are flying... It is easy to know where everyone is and have the airspace to your self... Then, I would feel comfortable.

[aloneinthesky 0]

i know 2 people at my local dropzone who use SHURE noise canceling headphones which are air-tight during freefall. they claim they can hear a dytter too

[g2gjump 0]

Just My 2 cents To everyone. When is skydiving becoming so boring that you need music to add to the enjoyment? For me there is enough thrill to keep me going. I think music would just add distractions to the mix.

When I drive sometimes music makes me speed up. What would happen if some hotshot listening to some sort of heavy metal, and decides they want to speed up on a canopy in various ways. Such as low turns, Spirals, etc. etc.

[tdog 0]

Quote

i know 2 people at my local dropzone who use SHURE noise canceling headphones which are air-tight during freefall. they claim they can hear a dytter too

Be careful.

SHURE is a brand used by professional musicians.

How the professional systems work... "In ear" monitors are made from a mold of the ear canal by an audiologist. After the mold is made, a plug is made that fits only your ear. That plug has a speaker installed in it. You can actually "screw it in" as it looks like a cork screw about an inch long, just like your ear.

The whole design is to cancel out noise in a way that all frequencies are canceled equally, so the remaining noise that comes thru is a fair representation of what would come thru without the plugs installed, just quieter.

Now, why do musicians use these? First, in case you are not in the concert music business - a history lesson.

Musicians used to use (and some still use) stage monitor speakers. These monitors are speakers facing the musicians so they can hear the other musicians on stage - or especially with instruments that need amplification (like their own voice or an electric keyboard) - they can hear their own work. Typically what comes from these speakers is not at all what audience members would want to hear, but just a few instruments that the musician requests. Drummers might use bigger speakers and want the kick drum to knock them off their stool.

I just did a very well known band over the weekend. Lead vocals both had "in ear monitors", but the rest of the band used typical monitors. In this theatre, the monitors on the stage were so loud that the main speakers for audience were barely turned on. If the entire band had "in ears", the stage would have been very quiet with no speakers, and the audience engineer would be able to mix what the audience hears from a blank slate without the noise from the stage. This also makes for a better audience experience.

What are the benefits for wearing "ears"?

Well, historically band members get deaf.

Q. "How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?"
A. "Huh?"

Well "ears" are such a tight fit that they filter the very loud stage and only let a limited bit of the stage sound into the musician's ears. So the musician can dial in just what he wants to hear. He will tell the monitor mix engineer "Give me a bit of myself, some of the backup vocals, and a touch of the keys."

So, now days musicians are not getting deaf anymore. They are able to dial in just enough noise into their ears that they filter everything else.

History lesson over...

Now to reality. Shure and others are selling less expensive "ears" to garage bands who cannot spend $1,000 for a custom fit system, but with nearly as good sound canceling technology. These "air tight" shure systems are just like their big brothers in eliminating noise.

What does this mean for skydiving... You are not only adding music to your experience, but reducing the amount of ambient noise. So, your ability to hear someone yell to you is reduced somewhere between 50 and 90% with these "noise canceling" systems. Makes it worse (in being able to hear others) than perhaps just wearing the cheap Ipod factory buds...

Note - I have tested my cheap factory ipod buds, and at low volumes, I can wear them in my car and hear just as much from the outside world as if I was not wearing them and had my car stereo turned up.... But, wearing "ears", I can't hear the engine, or a siren....

[wildcard451 0]

Quote

i drive better with music on for sure,,, could same logic apply to skydiving,,, ill find out tommorow,,
what do you think about this,,, have you tried it???

the last thing we need is another person jamming out under canopy rather than being devoted solely to the task at hand.

/stupidity continues to amaze me

[droquette 0]

I used to listen to music the entire time.. on the ride up.. in freefall and under canopy.
Once I was in the airplane and i was the person dealing with the door. I could not hear the commands from the pilots or my friends on the load. I decided from that day on that having music is really cool but not worth the added risk. All I had to do was rip the earphones out of my ear to hear them but i just tried to picture something like that happening in a real emergency.

just my $.02

HISPA 72 ----- "Muff Brother" 3733

[AggieDave 6]

There's been more then two lengthy threads about this topic already. One was as recent as in the past few months. Try a search for a lot of answers and opinions.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[tombuch 0]

If I'm on a collision course with somebody I'll often do my best to avoid the collision, but also shout out to get the second person involved in preventing a double fatality. I'd really hate to die because that other person is listening to music. Plus, if the worst does happen and we do collide, we will need to figure out what to do in a super hurry. I'd rather not have to shout above his headphones to communicate.

Skydiving and parachute flight are plenty of fun without music as a distraction. Be here, now.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[csbrady 0]

something that i was thinking! is it even worth listening to music these days. the ride to altitude and then freefall and canopy ride is pretty "quick" (unless in a cessna). your looking at what? 2 songs? and a whole lot of trouble if "shit hits the fan". i dont want to be under my canopy when someone else is rocking headphones.

[vortexring 0]

I know a bloke who'd listen to AC/DC on HALO jumps.

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[d123 1]

I've listening 2 times to music under canopy and it was awesome.
While I do understand all the risk that you guys talked about I think that under certain circumstances it may be OK to do so. Let me explain this better.

I'm from a small Cessna dropzone. Most of the time I'm the only one dumping at 5500 feet while the others are opening at 3000. I jump BIG ones NAV-300 NAV-260 and I usually exit last (4-ways before me, etc). A couple of times after we did a radio check my friends from the ground would play some music that they knew I enjoyed in my radio. I use to have time for one song before beginning my pattern. I really, really loved it!

Also, lots of times during my ride to altitude some of my instructors from the ground were singing songs into the radio. Yes, really lame songs interpreted way too serious by untalented voices who sang off-key. And not just one song, a couple of them. I've loved it a lot. We use to share my helmet just to have a good laugh in the air.

I know that is not the same thing as listening to your iPod for the canopy ride but is still music under the canopy. I think that in this case it's OK to do so.

Cheers,
Jean-Arthur Deda.

Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls!

[tbrown 26]

Too much distraction. Skydiving's not like driving, it's faster, more intense and far less forgiving. You can't pull over if it gets too intense.

I love music, listen to it all the time. I'm listening to it right now. But not when I'm jumping.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[FallingDuck 0]

On your way up is ok, if you know the DZ and other jumpers well. Freefall is fine since you can't hear anything ells anyway. Under canopy, especially close to the ground gets a little dangerous. Good luck

[dharma1976 0]

I will do it sometimes if I am on a hop and pop by myself or with one other person who I know very well...

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[FlyingJarhead 0]

this is stupid to argue about.
if people want to use noise canceling headphones while skydiving, they are going to. its either music, or the sound of air passing by. i dont blame the guys using "shure" and i dont think its a big deal to listen to music during freefall, its not like you can hear anyone screaming at you anyways. and as far as repeating threads, who cares.. its a forum, its going to happen. id like to listen to music during freefall, itd be like being in my own music video :D i believe i dont have the skills yet to do so but as soon as i do i will be investing in these noise canceling headphones as well as a small ipod. seems like an awesome idea, once under canopy, id probably pop 1 ear, or both out depending on the ammount of traffic. music isn't anything to worry about as long as the jumpers know what they are doing and pays attention. i've seen quite a few guys jump with music, and i plan to once i get an appropriate ammount of skill level.

[stayhigh 2]

tried it out,,, having to work your mp3 player in crampt environment did not feel comfortable,,and music underneath the canopy didn't feel too comfortable either,,,,
i wish there was cordless earphone,,,

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[Miami 0]

Quote

Not just that but to be loud enough to overcome freefall and canopy noise you are geting to the range where you can cause hearing damage.

I have a pair of cheap in ear headphones that were actually still audible in freefall while at a low volume...about the same volume as I listen at when I run.

In general I liken wearing music on a jump to wearing video...you have an added distraction that can cause complication. The times I have worn music on a jump (maybe a half dozen times total, mostly on the occasional tandem), I wear it the same as when I'm pedaling...in one ear only and at a volume that is comfortable on the ground.

Miami

[billvon 2,400]

>its not like you can hear anyone screaming at you anyways.

I think you'll be surprised. One day you'll open and hear someone screaming and look over to see someone 50 feet from you. Listening to music isn't a great idea when you're jumping with a group, although for solos at small DZ's there's not much problem with it.

[FlyingJarhead 0]

yes i understand the concern, my home DZ is small, im often doing the screaming :0 but im still going to listen to music. infact, ill probably pick the best 60 seconds of music i can find and edit it so the entire track is only a minute. regardless, its pretty cool i hear..

[morten 0]

How about the minute waltz by Chopin - save you a lot of editing

[aguila 0]

I would not do it. Wind is music to my ears

Gonzalo

It cannot be done really means I do not know how to do it ... yet