rapter 0 #76 December 17, 2006 couple of times around a grand. Only the good die young, so I have found immortality, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eule 0 #77 December 18, 2006 QuoteAnyway, once upon a time, it was a grey autumn day at the DZ. And you would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids that EXIF header! $ file evidence.JPG evidence.JPG: JPEG image data, EXIF standard $ jhead evidence.JPG File name : evidence.JPG File size : 79525 bytes File date : 2006:12:17 21:09:39 Camera make : CASIO COMPUTER CO.,LTD. Camera model : EX-Z120 Date/Time : 2006:11:22 09:17:34 Resolution : 418 x 495 Flash used : No Focal length : 7.9mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm) Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15) Aperture : f/2.8 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : program (auto) Of course, the picture could have been taken many days after the actual jump. On the other hand, the METARs for YYZ on the morning of 22 Nov do say things like FEW018, BKN009, FEW030, etc. [tinfoil]On the third hand, maybe you are just planting clues to lead us astray.[/tinfoil] EulePLF does not stand for Please Land on Face. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 261 #78 December 18, 2006 Eule: Yeah I knew the EXIF data was still in the photo (of post 69), but what the heck, that's an 'easter egg' for the truly curious! The weather was different on the 18th, by the way. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DougH 270 #79 December 18, 2006 Quote If you're going to go low then use the right tools for the job, otherwise it's foolish and very poor risk management. I never understand why people at a DZ will brag about going low and pitching below 1500' with a modern elliptical/semi elliptical ZP main which was poorly packed. So what are the "right tools"? I KNOW mine are the wrong ones, a pilot that snivels 800 feat regularly... The lowest I have gone is only 2500, since I just got my B license. And of course I was greated by the first time I have had line twists since AFF, about 7 of them lol. "The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall" =P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewGuy2005 51 #80 December 18, 2006 4000 feet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frynsky 0 #81 December 18, 2006 Messed w my buddy a lot on the way to altitude. When his low time girlfriend dumped at 3000, he fruitlooped me. 3 times. Got open at 800 ft, 20 ft below him. Vern Melancon, USPA president at the time, was on the ground and when we walked up he quietly said "Thats too low." And it was. And I am STILL the only man alive to beat Sonny Gros in a low pull contest!! BSBD. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #82 December 18, 2006 I once got open under my main at 700 feet... I had a legstrap problem that I spent almost too long to fix before dumping..."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerRamjet 0 #83 December 18, 2006 700ft also. Stuck altimeter and all 4 on the dive went low looking at the same one... Hooper was ASO at Z-Hills at the time and had a few choice words for us though they weren't really needed in my case since it scared the crap out of me ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #84 December 18, 2006 QuoteQuote If you're going to go low then use the right tools for the job, otherwise it's foolish and very poor risk management. So what are the "right tools"? I KNOW mine are the wrong ones, a pilot that snivels 800 feat regularly... Reserve quality pack job, large low-aspect ratio F111 seven cell with wide open nose, mesh slider, tail pocket, 9' bridle, and pilot chute appropriate for the delay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tornolf 0 #85 December 18, 2006 QuoteSo what are the "right tools"? I KNOW mine are the wrong ones, a pilot that snivels 800 feat regularly... The lowest I have gone is only 2500, since I just got my B license. And of course I was greated by the first time I have had line twists since AFF, about 7 of them lol. It depends how low you want to be pitching. For the skydive I used my BASE rig which I had tuned in for low openings. This was done completely legal in the US. For very low (pitching 300 and below) you need a system which will go from pitch to full pressurization in less than 200 feet at terminal. My setup averaged about 150', 200' if it snivelled at all. You also need to be very light and in good physical shape. I've PLF'd more than once after hitting the ground in the middle of a rear riser turn to avoid obstacles after low pulls. The speed on the openings will definitely injure you to a degree. I was going to a chiropractor if I did more than 2 or 3 low pulls in a short period. Weight is absolutely key. Just because I'm able to get away with dumping at 300' doesn't mean my friends who are 15 years older and 75 lbs heavier can do it. In this situation, physical attributes are just as important as gear selection if you want to be able to do it on a regular basis over hard land.A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #86 December 18, 2006 QuoteFor the skydive I used my BASE rig which I had tuned in for low openings. This was done completely legal in the US. Re: "completely legal", do you mean a BASE exit, or an aircraft exit? I was under the impression that aircraft exits require a reserve parachute, which BASE rigs don't have. Am I misunderstanding your post? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UDSkyJunkie 0 #87 December 18, 2006 Don't have any personal low pulls (so far I've kept it above 2000' except my reserve ride, still about 1800). But I've witnessed a couple... 1) Watched a newbie skysurfer chop, spend like 10 seconds unstable chopping his board, and dump the reserve at 750ish... we know the altitude because the very tip of the loop was cut (he beat the cypress, but by so little time that it fired and cut the very end of the loop as it was being extracted). Calculate the odds of THAT! 2) Watched a 1000' hop-n-pop from a Beech 18. One guy had a malfunction, tried to fix it, and dumped his round reserve around 400'. Then watched him disappear behind the trees. He got a fully inflated canopy at about 50'. 3) There's a video of two freefliers who break off real low, and the camera guy's on his back. Flips over, and all you see in the wide-angle lens is a house, a tree, and a driveway. He dumps, misses all three, and "lands" in the lawn with a half-inflated main but survives with several broken bones, and is still concious enough that you can hear him saying "I'm ok! I fucked up... I'm ok! I fucked up..." on the video. Saw all of those before I ever jumped. That's why I don't pull low!"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
recovercrachead 0 #88 December 19, 2006 main 1500 at 200 jumps open 1000 ( 5 way from 3500') res 700 at 700 jumps open 400Track high, Pull LOW!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 261 #89 December 19, 2006 Quotemain 1500 at 200 jumps open 1000 ( 5 way from 3500') Finish the story, will you! How many points did you turn? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 8 #90 December 19, 2006 Once chucked a pilot chute going through 1200'... didn't plan on doing that, but I figured it was better than bouncin'... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
recovercrachead 0 #91 December 19, 2006 QuoteQuotemain 1500 at 200 jumps open 1000 ( 5 way from 3500') Finish the story, will you! How many points did you turn? We built the 5 way and I track to long. Don't do it.Track high, Pull LOW!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #92 December 21, 2006 Why were you doing a nightime demo with only 112 jumps? Just curious. I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #93 December 21, 2006 Once early on I lost stability and statrted tumbling at about 4500. I was aware of what was going on and just knew that I could get stable again. If I wasn't stable by 2000 I was going to pitch anyway. Right at 2000 ft I got stable and threw out and was in the saddle by 1400. Way way low for an A license. Scared the shit out of me. Also scared the shit out of the friend that I had just finished a 2 way with. He watched the whole sequence from under canopy. I was wearing a helmet cam at the time and the film goes something like this. Nice exit. Nice uneventful 2 way. I backslide just a bit to film my friends deployment, and don't extend my legs back out, the ground sky, ground sky, ground sky, almost stable, oops, ground sky, ground sky. Oh YEA! Stable, throw out. Beautiful parachute. I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jedeisurf 0 #94 December 21, 2006 That was back in the old days at a outlaw dz. I don't think that would be going on any more with pro ratings required for most demos. David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kimemerson 7 #95 December 21, 2006 Main pulled @ 500'. Once. Exited the plane once @ 1,800' and once @ 1,500'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #96 December 21, 2006 Quote700ft also. Stuck altimeter and all 4 on the dive went low looking at the same one... Hooper was ASO at Z-Hills at the time and had a few choice words for us though they weren't really needed in my case since it scared the crap out of me A friend of mine was jumping at Quincy during the WFFC back in the mid-90's. He told this story to me. He was jumping Mullins King Air on one of those 21,000 feet jumps. On the ride up, he noticed his altimeter was 500 feet behind the others, so he adjusted it. Later several thousand feet away from exit, he checked his alti again, it was 500 feet behind everyone else. He adjusted it again. On top of that, he was a regular puller at 2000 feet. You do the math... He said he noticed something funny down close to pull time. His alti was reading close to 2500 feet and he was waiting for his pull time at 2000 feet... all of a sudden he realized he was seeing people walking on the ground and immediately dumped his main. He was open around 500 feet. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #97 December 21, 2006 QuoteThat was back in the old days at a outlaw dz. I don't think that would be going on any more with pro ratings required for most demos. David A few months ago I was doing a demo into an airshow. Cloud cover at 1900 feet meant we were getting out at 1800 feet. We all had Cypreses... Man that was a quick dump off the strut! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #98 December 21, 2006 Main deployment; 1800 ft right off the step. Many times. That used to be the common hop n pop altitude. That is also about as low as I have ever deployed a main at terminal. Reserve deployment; 1000 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chutebuilder 0 #99 December 21, 2006 well not me personally but i know someone who was saved by his old sentinel mk2000 auto opener at 375 feet!back in 78 we had the honor(?) of having a member of the 60s music group , "the dovells" , start jumping at a dz in new jersey. on this guys first freefall, he had a hard pull .instead of going for his reserve he continued to try and dump his main .opener fired at 375ft because the jumpmaster was hung over and calibrated the unit backwards( mk2000 had 2 l.e.d.'s. you had to turn the calibration knob towards whichever l.e.d. was lit first,then finish calibration by going from l.e.d. 1 to l.e.d. 2)..jumpmaster did it exactly backwards and went from #2 to #1. when we ran it in the chamber it fired at 375 feet.when we calibrated it the correct way it fired at 1100 feet. this guy ended up getting open at treetop level. 1 second reserve ride! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #100 December 21, 2006 Holy Fuck!! Talk about pucker factor!!! I guess that myth that people actually die one second before impact from the scare is busted... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
