Tito.J 0 #1 December 3, 2006 I was curious how far can one track with respect to jump position from the plane. Say I start tracking as soon as I jump perpendicular to the airplane, how long could I track sideways. Is there a possibility to get way far off from the airport? I'm a new flyer, and I want to practice my tracking a bit further during my next 5 jumps tomorrow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dweeb 0 #2 December 3, 2006 A guy at my DZ was (and plans to be again soon) the record holder for tracking speed and distance. We actually discussed this very thing earlier today. You need to obtain a GPS unit that refreshes its location. The one he currently has refreshes every 2 seconds. He said that isn't accurate enough and he needs to get one that refreshes his position every second. I'm sure that's on the extreme end, but I guess if you want to accurately track your speed and distance, that's what you need. At least from what I understand. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #3 December 3, 2006 Have a look here.-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #4 December 3, 2006 It's going to be very dependent on skill, body type and what you're wearing. Here's a BASE tracking video with someone wearing Gore-Tex: http://www.tarsis.org/vids/karlskraaura.wmv You can cover some decent distance. Whether you could track off the airport would depend on the spot and which way you fly. Talk it over with an instructor the day you want to try it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elisha 1 #5 December 4, 2006 QuoteHave a look here. Go Sudsy!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orribolollie 0 #6 December 4, 2006 Id say dependant on skill , suit, body position you can track a surprisingly long distance. From being last out the plane I have made up some pretty big distances to get back to the drop zone. Saying that I have landed out to. I only have a few hundred jumps but Id say tracking dives are excellent body position practice for people of every skydiving discipline. If your doing this type of dive definitely let the jumpmaster know, (as you dont want to be tracking accross the path of jumpers). One of my fave ever dives: 21 way tracking dive from the Skyvan at Sydney Skydivers. Loo roll, streemers, carnage!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tito.J 0 #7 December 7, 2006 Ugh, I did the tracking away for a while, then upon stopping, I started to swirl around like a vortex has gotten a hold of me, then after that I was totally unstable and could not find my rip cord at 5500. At 2000 I got some kind of stability and pulled it, Just to land on a fence and breaking my right ankle and scratching my arms deeply. I was rushed to a nearby hospital by helicopter and had ankle surgery and about 20 stitches to my arm. It was a painful experience. Ah well, I'll do another jump when I get better after this leg casing and crutches go away. However, I did skydive from 13,500 to 2000 free falling in between other canopies. Lucky I didn't strike any of them. I was just so unstable I could not get a hold of my ripcord. Not sure what got a hold of me to make me so unstable. The freefall from 13,500 to 5500 was so smooth and playful, after that everything went to hell. Anyone experienced something like this before? It felt like a small tornado taking control of me and shooting me sideways flying in every ways possible... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigdad510 1 #8 December 7, 2006 Glad you're "ok". I've read and I'm sure you'll understand, that tracking dives shouldn't be done by low number skydivers. At our DZ you have to have a minimum of 100 jumps to participate in a tracking dive. Give it some more jumps than talk to an instructor before trying it again. It took me a while before I could track really well, come out of it and be stable exactly the way I wanted to, be careful, be safe! Blus SkiesBrad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tito.J 0 #9 December 7, 2006 QuoteGlad you're "ok". I've read and I'm sure you'll understand, that tracking dives shouldn't be done by low number skydivers. At our DZ you have to have a minimum of 100 jumps to participate in a tracking dive. Give it some more jumps than talk to an instructor before trying it again. It took me a while before I could track really well, come out of it and be stable exactly the way I wanted to, be careful, be safe! Blus Skies Indeed, when I get better and heal, I'll talk to an instructor about the tracking so I get it explained fully. Stopping from a tracking was more difficult for me than I thought it would be. I just got caught in a total swirl and turn upside down and all. I arched, relaxed, and could not seem to regain control. It was scary, and needless to say, painful, but yet a learning experience. I thank to god no one else got hurt. I could have died that day. But still can't wait to skydive again. Once your heart learns the need to skydive, it's hard to get it out. It's such an adventure... ~Blue skies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigdad510 1 #10 December 7, 2006 I understand the need for skydiving. I don't want to say I was in a hurry to do things, but I kind of was. You get blazed on here quick by doing things before it is recommended, and it's understandable from statistical standpoint. When I came out of tracks in the beginning, I was always in a turn. I just talked to alot of people, teh DZO, instructors and kept trying in smaller groups. We all learn I guess, glad to hear you're learning and taking the right steps to get better. Recover quick, we all know the "itchy" feeling of getting back in the air again! Blue SkiesBrad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #11 December 7, 2006 QuoteGlad you're "ok". I've read and I'm sure you'll understand, that tracking dives shouldn't be done by low number skydivers. At our DZ you have to have a minimum of 100 jumps to participate in a tracking dive. News to me. I starting doing nothing but tracking right after AFF at two different DZs, one of which is very conservative(Homestead). Now a "tracking dive" at your DZ probably means tracking with other people, sort of like a wingsuit flock. I can see there being some requirement for that. But just doing a solo tracking jump as a newbie isn't that big a deal provided you're aware of the flight line, have an instructor plan your flight and the people on the load are aware of what you're doing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigdad510 1 #12 December 7, 2006 Sorry, should have been more specific. 100 jumps for a tracking dive in groups.Brad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #13 December 7, 2006 You can probably blame the instability on some part of your body not being where it was supposed to be when you exited the track. I've experienced a similair thing in a wingsuit for the same reasons, so don't feel bad about it. Consider it the sky's way of telling you you need to practice getting stable at altitudes higher than your pull altitude But don't spend the rest of your life trying to get stable or searching for your main handle. 5k to 2k is 15 seconds and you probably shouldn't be spending that much time trying to deploy something over your head. Also, aside from going over the above with your instructor, really brief up on how you should be tracking. You shouldn't be falling through canopies at the end of your track, it sounds like you tracked down the flight line instead of away from it. If you don't know what the flight line is on any particular jump and how you should be tracking relative to it, don't do a tracking jump that dive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orribolollie 0 #14 December 7, 2006 Oh my goodness...now I wasnt expecting to hear this. Glad your ok but what a shitty thing to happen on landing, poor you. I can only imagine you have tumbled and span having come out of your track position. If you panic at this point the opposite of what you want will happen. Your body will stiffen and this for sure makes your spin worse...(any stiff limb leg or arm or both) will make your spin speed up. Like a falling sycamore seed if you can picture that. When your body is out of control like that; relax, press your hips to arch and you will be back under control belly to earth. Even if you dont know which way is up at that point, the arch will bring you right. Id say youll need to practice this when you get back. Regaining your compusure quickly and without panic is vital...and great fun. Obviously youll need to go through this story carefully with your instructors. Hope your back on your feet soon and dont let it get you down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites brianfry713 0 #15 December 8, 2006 Yikes. Sounds scary. Of course, on my 9th jump, I got stuck on my back unstable for about 20 seconds after attempting a barrel roll. I kept an eye on my altimeter even while I was tossing about and still pulled on time after recovering. I knew that if I reached my pull altitude, I would have to pull unstable. It took me a while to realize that I was on my back, and that arching was only making the potato chipping worse, and that I needed to roll over to get belly to earth. Go ahead and practice tracking solo or with a coach/instructor. Make sure you get some advice first and after you're done return to a normal stable freefall position. If you start to spin, turn the other way, relax, and make sure your legs, arms, and hips are even and symmetrical. Make sure you track perpendicular to the jump run, and don't get so far off you can't make it back to the LZ. You can turn 180 degrees and track back the way you came. You should avoid doing anything radical towards the end of your skydive, in case you get unstable and need time to recover. You should be able to find your ripcord even if you are unstable. Practice touching it. Remember the priorities of the skydive are pull, pull on time, and then pull stable. Don't spend the rest of your life fighting to get stable. Next off, you shouldn't be free falling close to other canopies. You either didn't give adequate separation to the group(s) in front of you, or moved towards them in freefall. Luck has nothing to do with it. Finally, even after pulling low, unless you had no other outs within range, you should have been able to find a better place to land then a fence. Another reason for pulling higher. At 2,000 feet or higher, you need to know where you're going to land, and fly a pattern to land in the center of a big open field. If you're not sure you can make it back to the LZ, find another spot right away. Talk to your instructors, study the SIM. Learn all you can while you're healing. Have fun when you get back in the sky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Tito.J 0 #16 December 19, 2006 Yes, I think the end of my track was the cause of my instability, I rolled over forward twice at this point and then started turning to my right, I guess I did panic at this poing and then arched and relaxed but stability didn't happen till 2000 feet. I just have to remember what you say and what the instructors say. Pull, pull at right altitude, and pull stable in that order. I saw a field of open grass surrounded by nothing but big trees, so I aimed for that spot to land, unfortunately when I saw the fence it was too late to do a maneuver to try and avoid it. I thought to myself, hey, I've heard stories of serious injuries or deaths from just doing a turn at the last moment (since turning under canopy makes you fall faster). So I said "Sh*t" as soon as I realized I had no exit, and just crashed on the fence. I was just cursing the fence out at this point, which now amuses me because I wasn't even thinking or knowing that I had a broken ankle or lacerations on my right arm from the top of the fence scracthing me. Well it could have been worse. I'll practice all this again as soon as I get back in the sky, and for now since I don't have many jumps, I'll keep every maneuver to above 7000 feet, after that I'll just relax and remain stable till pull time at 5000. It was a low drop as well, the plane didn't go up above 12000 feet that time, not sure why. Maybe my altimeter wasn't calibrated right or something? It's one of the altimeters that they lend you at the drop zone. I just can't wait to get back in the sky. This is really frustrating for me. I don't mind the pain, but the fact that I can't do the things I could do for a while really gets to me, but I'll get over it. Thanks all for your replies. Another question, would have it been better to land on trees? I didn't think so at that point. If I turned I'd have landed on trees instead of the fence, that was the only open spot around the area I found safe to land on. Had there been no fence, I'd have been totally fine, but maybe the trees are a better bet. Also next time I"m getting a helmet that covers the whole face just in case. I don't want my face scarred all over from a bad landing say something happens again. My arm doesn't look that bad, but if those scars were on my face, I'd have been worse than scarface Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jarrodh 0 #17 December 19, 2006 QuoteIt was a low drop as well, the plane didn't go up above 12000 feet that time, not sure why. LOL....If im lucky my DZ will break 10,500 in its Cessna. I wish 12,000 was my low jump. In all seriosness though i was glad to read you got out of that situation relatively OK and are ready to go jump again.2 BITS....4 BITS....6 BITS....A DOLLAR!....ALL FOR THE GATORS....STAND UP AND HOLLER!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ms.sofaking 0 #18 December 19, 2006 I was thinking the same thing as jarrodh, we only go to 9500 on most of our jumps.I'll leave tracking and canopy advice to the experienced jumpers as I am not. But in regards to your altimeter, we always check ours against each other on the way to altitude.Then if yours isn't matching the others you know you have a problem with it before you exit. Glad you're OK"I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, except I'll die in the end, she said. So what could really go wrong? -----Brian Andreas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites yoink 321 #19 December 19, 2006 Scary stuff. Glad you're OK. The best way to learn to track, as with any discipline is to get some coaching first. Lots of people seem think that a solo tracking dive is fine, even with no experience, but there's still a lot of potential for things to go wrong. We tell newbies not to try head down on their own due to the potential to move up and down the jump run, but seem to be OK with people trying tracking for the first time... Simply getting 1 jump in with an experienced tracker who can video and debrief you will give you a great basis to develop on your own from. If you really want to learn to track on your own, make sure you absolutely understand where the jump run is, and get a solid reference point to track off it. Using the sun is a personal favourite. Do a standard belly to earth exit, not a tracking one and when you're stable turn to your reference point. From there you can gradually put on some speed in a track. Doing it this way will ensure that you don't disorientate yourself if you blow the exit. Practice flaring out of a track several times on your way down. There's no need to track all the way - you're not going for any distance records and you'll be better served by getting practice at the fundamentals. It's unlucky you got hurt on the landing, but when it gets low enough that it's a case of a fence or a low turn, you made the right choice I think. It's definately worth asking an instructor about how to flat turn your canopy though. A search on here will turn up lots of info too. Next time, don't let it get that low! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Andy9o8 0 #20 December 19, 2006 Quotewould have it been better to land on trees? Depends on whether it's your canopy or a rental. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites el_chester 4 #21 January 16, 2007 QuoteMake sure you track perpendicular to the jump run, and don't get so far off you can't make it back to the LZ. You can turn 180 degrees and track back the way you came. At the original poster's experience level (and probably at most people's), I'd STRONGLY recommend against trying this. If you turn back more or less at the middle of the skydive, you'll end up opening more or less over the flight line, but chances are you will have shifted up or down the flight line into another group's airspace. Scary. To the original poster: please discuss any advice here with your local instructor/load organizer/STA before going and trying these things on your own. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites fallman 0 #22 January 17, 2007 QuoteHad there been no fence, I'd have been totally fine, dam fences always meddling with skydivers! GO SUDSY GO! Just not any further than me! woa....that was cool.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites anewempire 0 #23 January 18, 2007 the other day we did a tracking dive and got pretty far away from the airport. we got dumped about 1/2 mile passed our spot so we could work our way back but the guy leading it accidently went the opposite way and we ended up probably 3 miles away before we pulled. i think all of us but the leader knew we were going the wrong way. only 3 of us stuck with him. it was a sick track though. the leader was completely flat on his back and has around 1000 jumps and i was sure doing my work to keep up. fun times. some people barely made it back and others, including me, didn't. i ended up landing in a cow field where i just barely missed a wire which is really scary to think about. i land in the middle of this huge field and when the parachute falls over my head it never hits the ground and i realize its because its on some random wire in the middle of the field. that could have been real bad. plus right when i finally got my parachute off of it a bull led a pack of other cows after me and that was seriously extremely scary. i was running as fast as i could and thankfully they never picked up more speed than i was running. so lesson of the day... if you're going to track too far from the airport know a safe animal friendly field to land in that doesn't have random wires in it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kallend 1,635 #24 January 18, 2007 Quotethe other day we did a tracking dive and got pretty far away from the airport. we got dumped about 1/2 mile passed our spot so we could work our way back but the guy leading it accidently went the opposite way and we ended up probably 3 miles away before we pulled. i think all of us but the leader knew we were going the wrong way. only 3 of us stuck with him. it was a sick track though. the leader was completely flat on his back and has around 1000 jumps and i was sure doing my work to keep up. fun times. some people barely made it back and others, including me, didn't. i ended up landing in a cow field where i just barely missed a wire which is really scary to think about. i land in the middle of this huge field and when the parachute falls over my head it never hits the ground and i realize its because its on some random wire in the middle of the field. that could have been real bad. plus right when i finally got my parachute off of it a bull led a pack of other cows after me and that was seriously extremely scary. i was running as fast as i could and thankfully they never picked up more speed than i was running. so lesson of the day... if you're going to track too far from the airport know a safe animal friendly field to land in that doesn't have random wires in it Why did you stick with someone that you knew was going the wrong way? If everyone had abandoned him, he would probably have realized his mistake.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites anewempire 0 #25 January 18, 2007 i didn't realize we were going to get as far away as we did. 2 people made it back but me and other guy just barely didn't. we thought we would be fine so thats why we stuck with him. plan the jump; jump the plan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. 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brianfry713 0 #15 December 8, 2006 Yikes. Sounds scary. Of course, on my 9th jump, I got stuck on my back unstable for about 20 seconds after attempting a barrel roll. I kept an eye on my altimeter even while I was tossing about and still pulled on time after recovering. I knew that if I reached my pull altitude, I would have to pull unstable. It took me a while to realize that I was on my back, and that arching was only making the potato chipping worse, and that I needed to roll over to get belly to earth. Go ahead and practice tracking solo or with a coach/instructor. Make sure you get some advice first and after you're done return to a normal stable freefall position. If you start to spin, turn the other way, relax, and make sure your legs, arms, and hips are even and symmetrical. Make sure you track perpendicular to the jump run, and don't get so far off you can't make it back to the LZ. You can turn 180 degrees and track back the way you came. You should avoid doing anything radical towards the end of your skydive, in case you get unstable and need time to recover. You should be able to find your ripcord even if you are unstable. Practice touching it. Remember the priorities of the skydive are pull, pull on time, and then pull stable. Don't spend the rest of your life fighting to get stable. Next off, you shouldn't be free falling close to other canopies. You either didn't give adequate separation to the group(s) in front of you, or moved towards them in freefall. Luck has nothing to do with it. Finally, even after pulling low, unless you had no other outs within range, you should have been able to find a better place to land then a fence. Another reason for pulling higher. At 2,000 feet or higher, you need to know where you're going to land, and fly a pattern to land in the center of a big open field. If you're not sure you can make it back to the LZ, find another spot right away. Talk to your instructors, study the SIM. Learn all you can while you're healing. Have fun when you get back in the sky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tito.J 0 #16 December 19, 2006 Yes, I think the end of my track was the cause of my instability, I rolled over forward twice at this point and then started turning to my right, I guess I did panic at this poing and then arched and relaxed but stability didn't happen till 2000 feet. I just have to remember what you say and what the instructors say. Pull, pull at right altitude, and pull stable in that order. I saw a field of open grass surrounded by nothing but big trees, so I aimed for that spot to land, unfortunately when I saw the fence it was too late to do a maneuver to try and avoid it. I thought to myself, hey, I've heard stories of serious injuries or deaths from just doing a turn at the last moment (since turning under canopy makes you fall faster). So I said "Sh*t" as soon as I realized I had no exit, and just crashed on the fence. I was just cursing the fence out at this point, which now amuses me because I wasn't even thinking or knowing that I had a broken ankle or lacerations on my right arm from the top of the fence scracthing me. Well it could have been worse. I'll practice all this again as soon as I get back in the sky, and for now since I don't have many jumps, I'll keep every maneuver to above 7000 feet, after that I'll just relax and remain stable till pull time at 5000. It was a low drop as well, the plane didn't go up above 12000 feet that time, not sure why. Maybe my altimeter wasn't calibrated right or something? It's one of the altimeters that they lend you at the drop zone. I just can't wait to get back in the sky. This is really frustrating for me. I don't mind the pain, but the fact that I can't do the things I could do for a while really gets to me, but I'll get over it. Thanks all for your replies. Another question, would have it been better to land on trees? I didn't think so at that point. If I turned I'd have landed on trees instead of the fence, that was the only open spot around the area I found safe to land on. Had there been no fence, I'd have been totally fine, but maybe the trees are a better bet. Also next time I"m getting a helmet that covers the whole face just in case. I don't want my face scarred all over from a bad landing say something happens again. My arm doesn't look that bad, but if those scars were on my face, I'd have been worse than scarface Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jarrodh 0 #17 December 19, 2006 QuoteIt was a low drop as well, the plane didn't go up above 12000 feet that time, not sure why. LOL....If im lucky my DZ will break 10,500 in its Cessna. I wish 12,000 was my low jump. In all seriosness though i was glad to read you got out of that situation relatively OK and are ready to go jump again.2 BITS....4 BITS....6 BITS....A DOLLAR!....ALL FOR THE GATORS....STAND UP AND HOLLER!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms.sofaking 0 #18 December 19, 2006 I was thinking the same thing as jarrodh, we only go to 9500 on most of our jumps.I'll leave tracking and canopy advice to the experienced jumpers as I am not. But in regards to your altimeter, we always check ours against each other on the way to altitude.Then if yours isn't matching the others you know you have a problem with it before you exit. Glad you're OK"I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, except I'll die in the end, she said. So what could really go wrong? -----Brian Andreas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yoink 321 #19 December 19, 2006 Scary stuff. Glad you're OK. The best way to learn to track, as with any discipline is to get some coaching first. Lots of people seem think that a solo tracking dive is fine, even with no experience, but there's still a lot of potential for things to go wrong. We tell newbies not to try head down on their own due to the potential to move up and down the jump run, but seem to be OK with people trying tracking for the first time... Simply getting 1 jump in with an experienced tracker who can video and debrief you will give you a great basis to develop on your own from. If you really want to learn to track on your own, make sure you absolutely understand where the jump run is, and get a solid reference point to track off it. Using the sun is a personal favourite. Do a standard belly to earth exit, not a tracking one and when you're stable turn to your reference point. From there you can gradually put on some speed in a track. Doing it this way will ensure that you don't disorientate yourself if you blow the exit. Practice flaring out of a track several times on your way down. There's no need to track all the way - you're not going for any distance records and you'll be better served by getting practice at the fundamentals. It's unlucky you got hurt on the landing, but when it gets low enough that it's a case of a fence or a low turn, you made the right choice I think. It's definately worth asking an instructor about how to flat turn your canopy though. A search on here will turn up lots of info too. Next time, don't let it get that low! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #20 December 19, 2006 Quotewould have it been better to land on trees? Depends on whether it's your canopy or a rental. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
el_chester 4 #21 January 16, 2007 QuoteMake sure you track perpendicular to the jump run, and don't get so far off you can't make it back to the LZ. You can turn 180 degrees and track back the way you came. At the original poster's experience level (and probably at most people's), I'd STRONGLY recommend against trying this. If you turn back more or less at the middle of the skydive, you'll end up opening more or less over the flight line, but chances are you will have shifted up or down the flight line into another group's airspace. Scary. To the original poster: please discuss any advice here with your local instructor/load organizer/STA before going and trying these things on your own. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fallman 0 #22 January 17, 2007 QuoteHad there been no fence, I'd have been totally fine, dam fences always meddling with skydivers! GO SUDSY GO! Just not any further than me! woa....that was cool.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anewempire 0 #23 January 18, 2007 the other day we did a tracking dive and got pretty far away from the airport. we got dumped about 1/2 mile passed our spot so we could work our way back but the guy leading it accidently went the opposite way and we ended up probably 3 miles away before we pulled. i think all of us but the leader knew we were going the wrong way. only 3 of us stuck with him. it was a sick track though. the leader was completely flat on his back and has around 1000 jumps and i was sure doing my work to keep up. fun times. some people barely made it back and others, including me, didn't. i ended up landing in a cow field where i just barely missed a wire which is really scary to think about. i land in the middle of this huge field and when the parachute falls over my head it never hits the ground and i realize its because its on some random wire in the middle of the field. that could have been real bad. plus right when i finally got my parachute off of it a bull led a pack of other cows after me and that was seriously extremely scary. i was running as fast as i could and thankfully they never picked up more speed than i was running. so lesson of the day... if you're going to track too far from the airport know a safe animal friendly field to land in that doesn't have random wires in it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,635 #24 January 18, 2007 Quotethe other day we did a tracking dive and got pretty far away from the airport. we got dumped about 1/2 mile passed our spot so we could work our way back but the guy leading it accidently went the opposite way and we ended up probably 3 miles away before we pulled. i think all of us but the leader knew we were going the wrong way. only 3 of us stuck with him. it was a sick track though. the leader was completely flat on his back and has around 1000 jumps and i was sure doing my work to keep up. fun times. some people barely made it back and others, including me, didn't. i ended up landing in a cow field where i just barely missed a wire which is really scary to think about. i land in the middle of this huge field and when the parachute falls over my head it never hits the ground and i realize its because its on some random wire in the middle of the field. that could have been real bad. plus right when i finally got my parachute off of it a bull led a pack of other cows after me and that was seriously extremely scary. i was running as fast as i could and thankfully they never picked up more speed than i was running. so lesson of the day... if you're going to track too far from the airport know a safe animal friendly field to land in that doesn't have random wires in it Why did you stick with someone that you knew was going the wrong way? If everyone had abandoned him, he would probably have realized his mistake.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anewempire 0 #25 January 18, 2007 i didn't realize we were going to get as far away as we did. 2 people made it back but me and other guy just barely didn't. we thought we would be fine so thats why we stuck with him. plan the jump; jump the plan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
