Rushing the load

[jaybo 0]

I gotta imagine this little safety point has been posted at one point... but why not mention it again for the new readers? Simply enough, Don't rush through your mental and physical (gear check) preparations to make a load!
Showing up for your first jump of the day and trying to make a 5 minute call is foolish. For instance, forgetting to turn on your AAD = a paid plane ride down (or at least it should).

[bmcd308 0]

There are those who would argue that if you would not jump without an AAD, then you probably should not jump.

They make good points. Search around.

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www.jumpelvis.com

[quade 3]

Quote

Showing up for your first jump of the day and trying to make a 5 minute call is foolish. For instance, forgetting to turn on your AAD = a paid plane ride down (or at least it should).

Depends on the situation and experience level of the jumper.

For a person that is not very current or experienced, an AAD might be a good thing to have on every jump. To someone experienced, it might not be all that important. In almost any case other than a person still on student status, it shouldn't be a reason for not jumping.

Do I wear one? Yes.
Do I make a habit of turning it on before the first jump? Yes.
Do I watch it as it counts down to check the battery level? Yes.
Do I check the final readout to make sure it hasn't found an error? Yes.
Do I check that it says "0'" before each subsequent jump? Yes.

Would I be willing to jump without it. Yes. It's just a backup.
Have I ever intentionally jumped without it turned on? Yes. It's just a backup.

Are there any jumps I would consider pulling off of if I didn't have access to a functioning AAD? No. It's just a back up.

It it a good idea to normally use an AAD? Yes, but it's just a back up.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[gerryfuss 0]

I've forgot to turn on my Cypres and it just so happened that the DZ owner was on that load and happened to ask me if I had turned it on . I stared back at him for a sec then said "No, I didn't". The plane hadn't started to take off yet so I loosened my gear and he turned it on for me. I didn't need the cypres for that particular jump but thats really not the point. I could have. Glad he asked me. Felt like an ass the rest of the day but I can live with that.

[quade 3]

And what was your experience level at the time?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Blahr 0]

I use one and would prefer to not go without.

The first 57 jumps I made were with no AAD, though, and the last 20 were WITH one.
If I discovered at altitude that my AAD was not on
I wouldnt ride the plane down. I'd jump and make sure it was on before my next load.

[MarkM 0]

This thread has been hijacked for you by... The Cypres Debate.

Brought to you by the same makers of The RSL Debate and the Is This Sport Safe Debate.

[quade 3]

Hijacked?

It was in his first post!

He brought it up.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[StearmanR985 0]

I think this is a nice reminder, especially for us NOOBies. On more than one occasion I no more than walk onto the DZ and manifest says "hey, want to go on the next load, the call is NOW." Um...well.....err....okay. Can be a bit intimidating walking to the plane and you still have to finish gearing up. When that happens, I request an 'extra thorough' gear check from a fellow jumper on the ride to altitude, just in case.

However, one should never feel bad about bowing out of a load if you are feeling rushed or uncomfortable. Typically I go for it but last Saturday I just didn't feel like rushing.

[MarkM 0]

Well, I thought the main point of the post was not to rush the load, but if you want to nail him to the wall on the Cypres coment... whatever. I'll be in the back loading up the nail guns for you guys to take shots with.

[DBCOOPER 1]

Early in my career if you consider 5 years a career,I rode the plane down after being rushed and climbing on with it not turned on.

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[quade 3]

Wow, if you think that's nailing a person to the wall . . . you ain't seen nothin'.

I believe I began my post with a statement something to the effect of, "it depends".

If a person with about 50 jumps wants to to ride the plane down because he forgot to turn his AAD on, I really have no issue with that. If someone does it with 1000 jumps, I kinda gotta sorta question what the heck they're doing.

Same deal with "rushing the load".

If a person with 50 jumps is running for a load, legs straps flapping and chest strap undone. Wow, we really need to talk to that guy.

If you see me doing it, it might just mean I'm doing a back-to-back load. I'll probably have at least the chest strap hooked up before we get on the plane. If we start to taxi still see it all loose, gimme a wink and a nod and remind me will ya?

Again, it's all situationally dependant.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kflying 0]

Not to be rude to the AAD "hijack" of this thread, this topic is actually far deeper, worthy of a wider discussion.

Rushing to the plane can result, in among other things, altimeters or goggles left behind, winds not checked, pins or handles loose. Twisted or misrouted chest straps - anyone with a leg pouch pilot chute could get a trapped pilot chute bridle. How about the BOC handle that was stuffed in the pouch when the gear was stuffed in a gear bag?

Exit orders or dirt diving gets set missed.

Sometimes a plane gets overloaded - center of gravity or seat belt issues can result.

These are just a few of the things I've seen when people "Rush to make that load".

The Air Force use to have a saying that I have adopted: "Never run toward an airplane, but never hesitate to run away from one."

Take the extra time - do gear checks.

Quote

I gotta imagine this little safety point has been posted at one point... but why not mention it again for the new readers? Simply enough, Don't rush through your mental and physical (gear check) preparations to make a load!
Showing up for your first jump of the day and trying to make a 5 minute call is foolish. For instance, forgetting to turn on your AAD = a paid plane ride down (or at least it should).

A male pilot is a confused soul who talks about women when he's flying, and about flying when he's with a woman.

[bmcd308 0]

>>"Never run toward an airplane, but never hesitate to run away from one." <<

Words to live by.

If I show up and the call is NOW and they want me on the load, I give the pilot a couple of extra minutes to get the exhaust temp up while I put my sh!t on. I view it as helping out with the longevity of those expensive engines.

If he wants a buck for gas we can talk about it after I land safely.

It concerns me to see people run for the plane half dressed, even people with Quade's level of experience, and especially (Quade) camera flyers. Camera flyers have all kinds of stuff to look at when you are looking at their gear.

For example - "Hey, man, is that the way you always route your camera wing straps? It seems like one wing is just going to be trailing behind you. Aren't you afraid that chin cup is going to beat you in the face in freefall? Do you just flip your ring sight down after you exit? Most people with Sony cameras have a little red light on the front that is on when they climb out. Is yours different?"

And we have not even gotten to the fact that you are wearing your rig over your shoulders with no chest and leg straps yet, and we are at full altitude with the door open.

I have seen very experienced jumpers climb out with their chin strap undone and have their helmet blow off on the step. I have also caught some funky twisted up camera wings. The more stuff you strap on, the more likely it is you will miss something.

I guess my point here is that no matter how many jumps you have, if you don't have your gear squared away when you exit, you are at least going to have an interesting skydive. If you make a habit of running to the plane half dressed, it gets the people with whom you routinely skydive used to seeing your gear halfway on, and makes them less likely to say something. While that might be nice for the thousand jumps in a row where you manage to get it squared away on jump run, it will suck if you ever do not.

Sorry to pick on you here, Quade, but you were a convenient example.

Brent

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www.jumpelvis.com

[riggerrob 563]

Sure we expect junior jumpers to be clumbsy and slow getting dressed, but by the time they have a few dozen jumps, we expect them to have developed a routine for getting dressed.
Then they should review their dressing routine and break it down into "must does," "should does" and "could does."
"Must does" include tightening chest and leg straps.
"Should does" include deciding exit order before takeoff.
"Could does" include consulting their astrologer, sipping that third mocha cappuchino latte grande with a twist of cinnamon, pilates warm up and dirt-diving.
My greatest time-saving routine involves stuffing my gloves, goggles and altimeter into my helmet after every jump. That way I can simply clip my helmet on my chest strap as I trot towards the airplane.

[gerryfuss 0]

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And what was your experience level at the time?

I was at around 30 jumps I think. Didn't have my A yet.

[quade 3]

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Sorry to pick on you here, Quade, but you were a convenient example.

Go for it.

If you see me doing something that just doesn't look right, then I definately want you to point it out to me.

On a normal load, I'm pretty anal in how slow I gear up and in what order I put my gear on. Making sure not to touch my helmet for instance before my rig is squared away. My goal is to arrive at the mockup fully ready to jump at the five minute call. That's totally ready to jump with the exception of having my helmet on.

The exceptions, of which I'm totally aware I'm pushing it, are things like a 4-way camp where the jumpers are going to full altitude and I have to beat the plane to the ground, run to pick up my rig, gear up and run to get on the same plane to shoot another group. It's a freekin' hassle, especially because of our DZ layout, but it is do-able. My goal on this type of jump is to have my rig on securely before entering the plane. I feel extremely uncomfortable sitting on a plane without being able to exit in an emergency, so during taxi, I usually get everything squared away, but sometimes, that really has to wait until we can take the seat belts off.

It's a matter of priorities with "what's going to kill me next?" always the main concern.

At 6000, in any case, I always recheck my gear again, usually this is just a camera check. 9000 is the normal gear check altitude. 10,000 handshakes and one more touch of the handles. Jumprun, touch 'em again.

Camera flying is a lot to have to think about with regards to gear.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jaybo 0]

Thanks all for the feedback, we got a good number of views to this thread. Especially appreciate the words to live by.

Rushing was the primary focus, as far as the AAD goes, its a free country, do what you want, its your choice. There are no safety nets in skydiving, at least an AAD does offer some level of back up.
But that horse is pulp!

[DJL 232]

I think the bigger point is that if I realized that I forgot something because I was rushing then I would wonder what else I forgot. I wouldn't ride the plane down but would ask for a full gear check.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[vonSanta 0]

Good list, and good advice.

I gotta add that for a newbie (which I am), there's a pressure to get moving, coz it's costing the DZO money to have the plane running its engine.

I still don my gear, alti and all, before I start running towards the plane. Usually such a rush is my own fault - either first jump after I arrive or because I've been slow packing and people are waiting (small DZ, sometimes we're just enough people to fill a Cessna).

They know they can go without me and I'll still pay for my slot. Still, the urge to get on the plane is pretty strong and I am a bit nervous about say missing the chest strap on the ground, even though part of my pre-jump on plane routine is checking the chest strap routing.

Santa Von GrossenArsch
I only come in one flavour
ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

[skreamer 1]

This post and riggerrob's post further down are both sheer quality. Pity all the decent posts like these can't all be collated into one article or something.

Will

[AdD 1]

I am a dangerously absent minded individual. If I buy an AAD I'm going to have to get a tattoo on my hand that says "TURN IT ON" or something.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[quade 3]

It's really easy to just make a habit of turning it on when you first take it out of the gear bag.

As soon as you take it out, turn it on and watch it count down, note the battery level and continue watching it count down to zero.

For certain, you want to check it actually indicates zero and not some freeky error code.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[riggerrob 563]

Quote

It's really easy to just make a habit of turning it on when you first take it out of the gear bag.

As soon as you take it out, turn it on and watch it count down, note the battery level and continue watching it count down to zero.

For certain, you want to check it actually indicates zero and not some freeky error code.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Good point.
Frankly it is a good habit to turn on your Cypres, pre-flight your harness, stuff your gloves in your helmet. etc. as soon as you arrive on the DZ.

[EDYDO 0]

I form habits to reduce the chance of an error. For example my gear does not come out of my car until the Cypres and the Pro Track are turned on. In the plane I check 3 straps (2 legs and one chest) and I check 3 handles (cut away, reserve and main). I do that twice on the way up. My helmet does not go on "temporarily". If it goes on, the chin strap is fastened. These habit have served me well.

It's not just when rushing a load that these habits help, but also when in a new environment. For example, when visiting other dropzones. I seem to feel rushed on my first jump at new places even when I have plenty of time simply because they do things in unfamiliar ways.

I guess some people would say I am obsessive. That's OK with me. I feel really confident EVERY time I get to the door that my gear is right.

Ed

Quote

I gotta imagine this little safety point has been posted at one point... but why not mention it again for the new readers? Simply enough, Don't rush through your mental and physical (gear check) preparations to make a load!
Showing up for your first jump of the day and trying to make a 5 minute call is foolish. For instance, forgetting to turn on your AAD = a paid plane ride down (or at least it should).