Accurate Jump Numbers!!!

[tdog 0]

I am pretty bad about it...

Once a quarter I pull a manifest print out and compare it to my protrack and paper log...

Last time I did this, my protrack said I did two hop and pops for the life of me I can't remember...

Turns out the first was a tunnel gone bad incident where my protrack read the pressure changes...

The other, I must not have been awake for, because I assure you it never happened... But the paperwork says it did...

Pretty bad, huh?

[MarkM 0]

My Neptune logs my jumps. Every now and then I just toss them into my paper log book so I'll have a decent number count if my Neptune dies.

Plus anytime you go to a new DZ they usually want paper logs.

If my computer had an IR port, I'd probably just use logbook software and do away with a log book altogether.

[PhreeZone 14]

Unfortuantally at a few DZ's they won't let you go paperless if you are new to them. Dallas for example last year did'nt trust my Protrack and since I did'nt have a logged (and signed, they needed it signed ) jump in the last 400 jump or 2 years... lets just say it was a lot of headaches for me to finally get to jump there.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I have spoken to a couple of jumpers in the last year who when I casually enquire as to how many jumps they had made, replied that they had lost count, and no longer logged them. Or if they did log them they were rather random about it.

Obviously being new to the sport and secretly wishing I was an accounts clerk in some government office, keep very accurate details of each jump.

I was wondering if that is how we all start, until Homer Simpson like laziness overtakes us to the point that we make guesstimates and then scribble a bunch from memory ( assuming we don't have an audible with a log)

Any thoughts?

["I did a speed reading course recently, I read War and Peace in 20 minutes. I think it's about Russia" ]

1) We're all different and what's important to one person is meaningless to another. My DZ.COM profile usually contains a pretty accurate number when it comes to my jumps. But it's true that we can get lazy when it comes to paper logs. My log book is now up to date, but last summer when I was doing a lot of jumping I went several hundred jumps without updating my paper logbook. Then when I did make the effort to catch up, low and behold the ProTrack only keeps the details of the last (what is it again?) 100 jumps. So I lost the details of many jumps and thus there isn't a whole lot written in my log book concerning those jumps.

2) Now that I'm over 500 jumps (my first 500 jumps were all signed as 500 is kind of the magic number to get most of your instructional ratings), I no longer worry about getting each jump signed. So to me the details of my jumps are pretty brief. But one of the pieces of info I like to log is which canopy I jumped. I own multiple canopies and it's nice to log what was used on each jump. This way if/when I sell a canopy, I've got a pretty accurate number to pass onto the potential buyer. I've had people tell me that the canopy I purchased from them only has 100 or so jumps on it, but when I compared the wear of a similar canopy where the actual number of jumps was known, I'm pretty sure that the original number quoted me was wrong.

3) Going back to point number one about us all being different. This doesn't happen all of the time, but for many of the people who don't keep good records of their jumps, they tend to have inflated jump numbers. Is this good or bad or does it really matter? I know if I told people that I had 500 jumps but only had the skills of someone with 200 jumps, to me this is more embarassing than trying to get people to think I've got more numbers. Wouldn't you much rather have people think that you had more jumps than you actually did as opposed to what usually happens. But in the end, it doesn't really matter. Jump numbers are an decent indicator of experience but not a good indicator of skill and we all jump for different reasons. If you want to keep an accurate account of your jumps you'll do this. If you only want to guess as to how many jumps you've made, you do this. But the important thing is that we all stay in this sport as long as we can and jump as much as we want to jump. We're all different and what's important to one person is not important to another.

Now will you people stop the ####### rain dances and give me some nice weather to jump in. I've been hovering around this sub 1400 jump figure for much too long now. This Pacific Northwest weather in the winter ####### sucks.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Ron 7]

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I use the student logbooks and lots of ditto marks, up to ten jumps per line. Don't know, I just still like to count them. (4628 after this weekend.)

I still log student jumps....It helps me keep a record of how many studnents I jumped with for my invoice.

Also I record Demos to show currency.

I "try" to log team jumps....But the last few years it has been one entry that says something like "170 jumps, 15.7 at Nationals, 7th place, Perris"

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Dolph 0]

I keep count of my jumps but am pretty bad about actually putting pen to paper.

Since I'm going abroad this summer, this has become somewhat of an issue. I've jumped virtually all jumps either with the same persons (freefly) or with the same persons in the plane (hop n pops). Getting signatures won't be a problem.

Logging jumps 164 to 900 will be time consuming even with the aid of my Neptune and Protrack.

Laziness in logging jumps is a pissing-in-the-pants solution. Warm here and now but just adds more work down the road.

[steveorino 7]

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They weren't going to let me jump, despite the fact that I had a D license, over 1600 jumps and an AFF/I rating!

I wonder what they thought would be easier to fake -a new log book with one entry on it numbered 1601 or a USPA card with D License and AFFI rating! Some people! I'd left too.

BTW I log my jumps even though I only have 900+. All be it they are briefer descriptions. You neverknow ... in your old age you may want that award.

steveOrino

[JohnMitchell 14]

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I wonder what they thought would be easier to fake -a new log book with one entry on it numbered 1601 or a USPA card with D License and AFFI rating! Some people! I'd left too.

Absolutely! I know one person who's first jump was a 4-way from a Twin Beech from 10,500. No, not AFF, just a really stupid RW jump. But he had over 50 jumps faked in a logbook, with a little help from his friends. He almost bounced.

I know another jumper who suddenly declared he had 999 jumps and his next jump would be his Gold Wings, which he received. Later found out from his old DZ that it was highly unlikely he had made even 700. The guy didn't keep logbooks.

[brianfry713 0]

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If my computer had an IR port, I'd probably just use logbook software and do away with a log book altogether.

You should be able to pick up an IrDA/USB adapter from your local electronics store or online that works with a Neptune/Paralog for about $40.

BASE 1224, Senior Parachute Rigger, CPL ASEL IA, AGI, IGI
USPA Coach & UPT Tandem Instructor, PRO, Altimaster Field Support Representative

[tonyhathaway 0]

I showed up at a large dz last year with a partial logbook ( just to not travel around with the whole book) I couldn't jump until the dz got a fax from my dz saying i was current. I log all of my jumps. I only had the last sheet from my book. My D license wasn't good enough. They wanted a bunch of numbers in a book. A few numbers on one page wasn't good enough! -Tony

My O.C.D. has me chasing a dream my A.D.D. won't let me catch.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Its quite full. You have to have only the last 100 jump in your logbook in Hungary. So there are places that you don't have to carry a library with you if you want to jump.

[mjosparky 3]

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I have to say that this is one of my biggest pet peeves. Because it seems that once people stop logging, they start making hundreds more skydives a season!!
I still log, I don’t write the long stories like I use to, but I definitely notate each jump.

Two things. Your avatar is sexy. And you are right, "I don't log anymore" is horseshit for I cheat.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[PhreeZone 14]

I don't log anymore, but my Protrack is dead accurate

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[mjosparky 3]

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but my Protrack is dead accurate

Which means you log.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[TrickyDicky 0]

I write down all my jumps and get them signed at the end of the day. Its only a 5 min job before you head in the bar for a beer.

As Im only doing FS at the mo, all my logs consist of are number, exit height, freefall time, who I was jumping with, the dive we had planned to do and the number of points scored. I also add any interesting comments if anything interesting/scary/funny happened, else its just the letters (we're just a junior team) and points.

I dont see how people see logging as a hassle. It becomes a hassle if you do 30 jumps and then try and log them 2 months later. BUt logging 4/5 jumps at the end of the day isnt that much of a bother.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[matthewcline 0]

I log all my jumps.
It depends on how busy I am on when and how, but I do long all of them.
Since it is my hobby and a part of my military job sometime in my "hobby" log book it may say something like "8 jumps from TM III manifest" and I will add all the data to the 1 entry and carry on from there.

I still log so that it will help (hope fully) get me the post retirement job.

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[Squeak 17]

did they know who you were, by name i mean, So you know "hey look here's my Drivers license I am the REAL Tony Hathaway

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Merkur 1]

I still log. In fact I have three different logbooks:
1) a paper version, where I also write some debriefs or intersting things that happend - this is fun, when you read it after some months. I also draw the formations in there (up to 16 ways, anything bigger I try to get a print out) and on interesting jumps try to get the signature(s) of people involved. For example some in japanese writing during a Bigway Camp in Perris.
2) the JumpTrack logbook which you can buy for the protrack. This is in order to log freefalltime.
3) an excell spreadsheet with some automated statistics (see attached screenshot of the frontpage) like number of jumps out of aircraft XY, number of night jumps, time in days since last jump, number of jumps in actual year, ...)

In Perris they required to show them the logbokk with at least the last 20 jumps signed.
In Germany you have to make 12 jumps a year to stay current, so some dropzones look for the last 12 jumps.

M

vSCR No.94
Don't dream your life - live your dream!

[scrublink 0]

Not all people that neglect to log jumps "cheat". I have never been much into logging so I just report the ones I write down. I log for currency only. Easier to keep my ratings up that way. I never understood the big deal about jump numbers anyway. After you get your ratings and licenses you don't need to keep track of all of them for any other than personal reasons. Of course I do get a lot of wuestions about my total after the time I have in the sport, but that isn't that big of a deal for me.


Ed

[Ron 7]

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did they know who you were, by name i mean, So you know "hey look here's my Drivers license I am the REAL Tony Hathaway

Funny story...I actually used a picture taken by Tony that was on the cover of "Parachutist" to get to jump once.

I showed up at a DZ when I was in the military. I didn't have a logbook, USPA card...Nothing. I showed up with a borrowed rig, jumpsuit and a pair of goggles.

They were not going to let me jump. The manager said he had no way of knowing that I knew how to jump. I saw a copy of "Parachutist" that Tony took. It had a face shot of me and in the description inside it clearly had my name listed as on the jump.So I picked up the magazine and handed it to him and said, "Thats me on the cover, it lists my name clearly inside".

He turned to manifest and told them, "Put him on the next load."

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[RevJim 0]

As Elvis once told me, "If you didn't log it, you didn't jump it, period."

Take that one to the bank.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Tonto 1]

I log every jump.

I now have 4817 dives in my logbook. When I travel, I carry only the last 1000, but I also keep awards numbers.

Example. I present my last 817 skydives in my logbook. to the DZO.
He wonders where the 4000 previous ones are. I quote Triple Diamond wings # 676 for 4000 dives and Triple Diamond Freefall # 714 for 48 hours of freefall. That at least means that an S & TA checked to that point, and I don't need to carry around 21 years worth of logbooks.

It's worked well for me so far. Perris wanted a signature on my last logged dive. My GF (A D licence) signed, and all was well.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[DanglesOZQld 0]

I still log them but have always been like that ;)

When flying I would log absolutely everything I did.

With invoicing I also do it EVERY day we jump, not at the end of the week like some of the other guys.

JUST ME!!

BSBD!! -Mark.

"A Scar is just a Tattoo with a story!!!"