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Reginald

First Night Jump?

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Okay, I have 75 jumps and will be obtaining my B license as soon as I can get water training next month. I am interested in trying my first night jump in May. I expect to have 100 jumps by then. I will be well within license requirements for a night jump. However, I thought I would ask how everyone feel about actually doing one. I know some people wait until they are trying to get their D license before they do night jumps. To me they just sound like plain old fashion fun! I’m a conservative jumper so I’m not some wild man wanting to push the envelope.

On a side note I will be traveling to another DZ in May when most DZ’s are planning night jumps due to the lunar cycle. I have jumped at this DZ before and it has a very large landing area with plenty of nice flat outs. Should I be more concerned about jumping there since it is not my home DZ that I am intimately familiar with?

Any good stories about night jump anyone wants to share…preferably good experiences?
"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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Good question and one I would like the answer to also. . .I may do a night jump in May also since my DZ is offering it. . .hmmmm.
________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

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You are absolutely right...they are a fun thing to do.

If you can carry a good light in freefall, it will make your depth perception on landing that much better.
There is no reason why you cant do one if you have 100 jumps or so.

If you intend to do any relative work, the light is also useful....I liked it when the other guys I was filming at night wore light colored jumpsuits...made them easier to follow with camera and easier to see.


Treat it as the same as a day jump with the lights turned off.

Good luck

Bill Cole D-41

Do it and enjoy it.




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All I can say is remember your landing pattern before you get in the plane and review it with everybody else in the plane or before you enter the plane, I think you need a blinking light on your left side and strobo light on your altiimeter but no right on top since the glare wont let you check how high you are, if you're with people on ff doing RW make sure everybody has separation vertical and horizontal, dont spiral down under canopy or rush to the ground. Ithink the minimun requirement is two strobolights and one blinking light but I got as much as I could, remember to bring transparent tape to tape the lights to your body and still be able to see them.
For the rest is just another skydive

Good luck
http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html

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Any good stories about night jump anyone wants to share…preferably good experiences?


I made my first night jump when I had about 150 jumps. The exit was absolutely terrifying, looking up at the square of light that was coming from the Casa tailgate as I dropped away. Then I looked down and it was awesome. An hour later I was heading up to do a 2-way. We were going to launch a chunk (because how could we possibly funnel a two way?), find the airport, then just do 360s and redock down to break off. Well, we funnelled it but recovered. Then we spent the entire skydiving staring at the ground because neither of us could find the stupid airport. As it turns out, it was directly beneath us. :$

An interesting side effect that I've noticed on night jumps and other high-tension jumps is that my accuracy is proportional to my fear of getting killed during the landing. First night jump: Turf surf across dead center.

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My DZ has mandatory S&TA briefings before the night jumps. If you do not attend you do not do a night jump. . .
________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

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If someone tells you that looking out the door for your first night jump is easy, they're lying. It's a totally new environment that is very fun to play in. I've got 10 night jumps now. First night one was done on Jump #51. There was a guy on the plane that was 'responsible' for making sure I got out the door safely. He spotted and gave me a whack on the should and yelled go. I just looked back at him with a 'you've got to be kidding' look. Rolled out the door and got stable and made sure I kept myself orientated with the airport. Opened at 5k per the dive plan. flew around a little bit and found the other two who followed me out. Ended up center of the peas right next to the beer that was waiting for me. It was very awesome to say the least. Thanks Bob @ Skdive Greensberg and Angie Kivett, the S&TA at the time for signing off after I passed the B test...
-----
~~~Michael

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There was a guy on the plane that was 'responsible' for making sure I got out the door safely. He spotted and gave me a whack on the should and yelled go. I just looked back at him with a 'you've got to be kidding' look.



ROTFLLAMF!!! For some reason that struck me as funny as all hell.
"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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hmmm. no where near getting to do one yet, but i can not wait!! I love new chalenges and that just sounds fun to me.


maybe im carzt, maybe not[:/]B|:)
--------------------------------------------------
Fear is not a confession of weakness, it is an oportunity for courage.

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one thing you have to remember though, I believe that your first night jump has to be a solo. And I haven't done one yet (but really really want to), and I've heard that you can't have too many lights near the landing area

MB 3528, RB 1182

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Reg,
I love the night jumps..my last one was at eoly @ midnight dec 31 out of the DC 3. That was one way cool jump. the best part was the entire new years eve party, about 400 skydivers, lined the landing area and cheered as each skydiver landed. Then still geared up me and my buddy poped our champagne and ploped on top our chute to kill the wine.
Don't be too concerned about the new DZ..it is mandantory to have a briefing from the S&TA. They should discuss lighting of the Dz and some sort of spotting/guiding lights. They will also probably pull cars out to the landing area if necessary. Do ensure you walk the landing area with no lights on to try to identify landmakes such as lit bridges, and towers etc so you can use them to gauge your location if you cannot spot the dz after opening. on the ride up..ask the pilot to make a tight circular climb and keep your eyes on the dz as much as possible..this will help greatly. and lastly have a great time
Craig

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I did a couple last year with similar jump #s...they were the most fun jumps I've done to date... Could see Chicago all lit up way off on the horizon...so beautiful and peaceful. Jumpers on the load before said they saw the 10:PM fireworks at Navy Pier.

Like others have said your first will probably be solo...and if you do additional jumps with other people you'll want to keep it really simple...

They had regulars spotting the loads I was on--even experienced jumpers I think will have a very hard time spotting without some familiarity with the way the dz area looks at night. I honestly had very little idea where the landing area was from 14,000 ft--but by the time I made it down to 6000 or so the landing area was obvious.

nathaniel
My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

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Nights jumps are incredible. Night solo, night RW, night water, night water RW, night CRW (landed off on that one -- just a bit worried until I found a well-lit spot to land). Seriously though, jumping at night is unbelievably beautiful, especially if you live in an area with lots of lights.


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If you are landing at a dropzone,arrange to have several cars placed in a very large circle with their high beam headlights pointing into the circle. This will give you a reference point, and a pre lit target area.

The circle can be about 300 feet in diameter.

I went out at 30571 ft over canada's largest airport. I thought the runway lights would indicate the area, but from above the runway lights, they cannot be seen. The runways themselves showed up as a gray area, so they could still be a visual reference.

Always carry a flashlihgt of some kind....you never can tell what is on the ground you're
' headed for.

Bill Cole D-41




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Your first one will probably be a solo. It is a wonderfully calm jump. You "may" be a bit more anxious than a regular day jump, but once you stepped out on the black velvet of night, you experience a sense of calm and beauty.

In addition to the lighting BSRs, my night briefings now include the recommendation of carrying a cell phone in one's jump suit for two reasons, 1) if someone lands off, they can call and tell everyone they're alright, and 2) if they are injured - we can search and vector in on the the cell phone ringing (make it ring on loud).

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I love night jumps even though I ended up kicking a mountain's ass at the end of one last year. A few Anvil tips, some echoing what a few others have said.

1. Do at least one jump that day at the DZ. Look around on the way up and ask an experienced jumper there what lighted landmarks will be visible at night. Pick the ones out you'll be looking for in advance.
2. It IS a different environment. Do your first one solo even if the DZ might let the requirement slide.
3. Your S&TA should tell you this, but in case he/she doesn't: the shadow you see coming down next to you is your own parachute. Don't freak out and do a low turn and hurt yourself!
4. If you swoop on your first night jump, you're an f-ing idiot just WANTING to exit the gene pool.
5. Do it when the moon is full or damned close to it.
6. Pay extra special attention to the landing pattern and keep a sharp, sharp eye out for other canopies once you've opened.
7. Obey the pull altitudes set by the DZ for night jumps STRICTLY.
8. Most important, have fun. Night jumps rock.

My US$0.02, for what it's worth.

Vinny the Anvil
Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

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Make sure you plan well and that you AND EVERYONE ELSE ON THE LOAD knows what the plan is.
Make sure you know what the spot is going to be and check it. Make sure that you open reasonbly high (and make that part of the plan). Make sure the plan gives everyone LOTS of seperation, both vertically and horizontally. A great thing to have are the red flashing lights cyclists have - wear a couple of them on you and people will see you coming. Make noise - shout, sing etc - to let people know where you are. Make sure there is lots of light on the landing area (car headlights usually).
Keep an eye on the landing area on the climb to height so you know exactly what you are looking for.
And love the experience - its such a strange place to be at night night! Visuals rock!!
Sorry if I have repeated what everyone else has said but I havent read the post, just giving my .02!


Hobbes: "How come we play 'War' and not 'Peace'?"
Calvin: "Too few role models."

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Oh, yeah, a second piece of advice I haven't seen here yet: read the SIM section on night jump procedures.

I'm not going to say the SIM is the be-all end-all to procedures, but I see some questions and advice here that this SIM section addresses.

Section 6.4 / page 123 in the 2003 SIM. (Don't know the 2004 location.)

Section 6.4.D.6.c notes something I would be concerned about - cars in the landing area are things you can run into. B| (OK, I could run into.)

6.4.C.2 mentions the shadow you might see and should not hook-turn into the ground to get away from. ;)

6.4.C.1.b - stuff looks different at night; known reference points may be useless.

6.4.F.1 - beer night jump should be solo.

6.4.G.1.a - (Group freefall) recommended for a full moon. OK, someone else said all night jumps are better on/near the full moon, and the SIM doesn't exactly say that, so I think the poster's advice is better. :)
6.4.E.5.b, .d - during day, find landmarks that will be visible at night, and on the climb to altitude do an orientation (presumably in the dark).

Won't a lot of this be on the "B" license written exam that we're supposed to pass before we do night jumps?

Obviously I haven't taken it yet or I would already know...

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

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>>Made my first night jump about a month ago and it was spectacular. As others have said you'll probably be going solo. One thing I discovered if you have a glow in the dark alti is that they (or at least mine did) lose their glow intensity after a time out of the light. From what I understand, they need light to "charge". So next time I do one I plan to hold a flashlight up to it for a while before I go out to get my night vision...being halfway through the jump with the alti jammed in your face wondering "does that say 4 grand?" wasn't my proudest moment :S

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w2g on getting readdy for your first night jump i made my 1st night jump on my 100th jump it is a hell of a rush but play it coolB| stay focused and just do a normal landing no turn's that are not needed till you get used to depth perseption at night. and on the matter of a diffrent location. if you know the area cool if not be carefull doing a night jump at a unfamiliar spot blue skies and bright night's to you. and you will do fine;)

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You already got a lot of advice from people much more experienced than I'm. I will just add a few points that, I believe, might help to get a maximum amount of fun from night jumping.

1) Plan you day in advance. Our DZ requires (and I believe it is a pretty common rule) that jumpers who plan to participate at night jumping make at least one "day" jump same day. If you did not get enough sleep the night before and than made 8 jumps during a day, jumping at night is not going to be fun and might even become a safety issue.
2) Get you night equipment ready in advance and do not rely on gear store. They tend to run out of chem lights right before you try to get one from them.
3) Make sure you eat your lunch and may be dinner before you start night jumps since your skydiving day is going to be much longer than usually.
4) Wear dark sunglasses during brief and preparation – it will help your vision to accommodate to dark. Do not stare at bright light when you prepare for dives.
5) Make sure you are absolutely familiar with landing area, pattern, exit order, break off and pull altitudes (S&TA will usually cover these issues during brief).
6) Before you board the plane, get out from the hangar, stay in the dark for a few min and look around – Where the moon is? Where the lights are? It will help you to find DZ when you are under canopy.
7) Do not do anything stupid under canopy and do not drop your lights – it will look like someone is going in and it will not be appreciated by those who organize the even.
8) The black guy chasing you when you are on final is you – do not try to avoid him by making an aggressive turn. Many people made this mistake in past.
9) Do not forget to let manifest or organizers know when you land so they will not be looking in fields when you are drinking beer.
10) If you plane to make more than one jump – pack ASAP after you land because the intervals between loads are usually short.
Have fun!!!
I am very new in sport and only got 8 night jumps under my belt but I can tell you – they are absolutely awesome!

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:)I did my first in 1974.. solo.... and that was so much fun,,, that i promised myself i would try to share them with others whenever possible... we did a night 4 way from a 180 in '77.. we used to fly maybe 5 or 6 loads,,,, whenever we did night jumps...
I tried to make at least one per season,,, during the late 70's..early 80's..... in 1981 we built a night 9 way... out of 2 cessnas @ 10,500 feet ....Eight of us earned night SCRs...B|
I did a bunch of 4 ways after that,,, with many many different friends.... We used flashlights, red blinking strobes, and often targeted for some degree of natural moonlight...:o......I then went quite a few years in a row where my jumping slowed down,,,( my kids were little and time was tight) and I did no night jumps.... BUT...
I celebrated the 25th anniv. of my first jump with 4 skydives , including a nite 4 way.... it was l997 and chem lights had been on the scene for a few years....We freeflew a 4 way,,, Pat Lowther,, Chris Miller, Toma Medbury and I ,,,and then we opened up into a line, and faced the moon.... Toma and Pat both had glowstick chem lights.... locked in their teeth :P like a Spanish Flamenco Dancer holds a rose...:D:ph34r:B|.. hahaha They looked so funny...... with their green faces...
Our club does a great job of advocating night jumps and we have EXCELLENT briefings and ground crew/lights.... I did another 4 way,, 3 years ago on which I retired my F111 7 cell Challenger240
main canopy.... It gave me 1150 malfunction free skydives,,, ( one new line set ),,, and the last jump on it was a sweet sweet night jump.....
I did 2 of them last year,,,,,,( I now have 17 ) and On THAT jump I and 11 other fellow POPS members exited the Otter 157 KM,,,,, at 11:45 PM,, and built what we have since learned is a world record Night POPS jump freefall formation of 12 ....
Sure they are fun fun,, a good learning opportunity, and a great confidence builder.... We ALL sometimes find ourselves on the last load of the day,,, the "post sunset" dive so to speak..:o... and sometimes it gets DARK in a hurry while we are climbing to altitude.... a bit of experience in low light conditions is very helpful when such a situation occurs.....So get a good briefing, have the right equipment, and the right attitude, and go out and enjoy an ethereal skydive....:D ;) :)This year we will build a larger POPS jump than last,,
and are planning night jumps, for at least once each month...On any night when i stay on the ground,,,, i surely enjoy the smiles and wonderment on the faces of my friends and fellow club members,,, who DO get to make
"a skydive in the dark"......:).............. jimmytavino SCR SCS NSCR1817...

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One thing no one has mentioned yet... You could have a malfunction... How are you going to find your main in the dark? Especially if it lands in a tree... It's a good idea to clip one of those little red blinking bike lights on to one of your main risers high up enough so the blinking light does not interfere with your night vision. That way if you chop it you'll have a better chance of finding it...
Green Light
"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."
"Your statement answered your question."

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