Wings Level

[sangiro 4]

Heya all,

Those of you who haven't seen it yet, I just added Skratch Garrison's article "Wings Level" to the Safety & Training section. Go read it, bookmark it....

http://www.dropzone.com/safety/Landing/

If you don't know who Skratch (skr) is, ask around.

Safe swoops
Sangiro

[kai2k1 0]

Excellent Article! Thanks for posting this HH! I plan on reading this whenever I head out to the DZ.

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[mjosparky 3]

Thank you Skratch for a very insightful article on how to survive one aspect of this thing we call skydiving.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[riddler 0]

I use "wings level" every time I work with students. It makes sense and the students understand what it means with little or no elaboration.

I think "wings level" every time I land. It works for me. Now if I can just learn to flare a little higher ... I also still think "eat the carrot" when I land

I hope this isn't inappropriate for this thread, but Skratch also has some good words of wisdom for coaches and prospective coaches that has helped me:

http://indra.net/~bdaniels/ftw/cc_coach_handout.html

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[tombuch 0]

Quote

...I hope this isn't inappropriate for this thread, but Skratch also has some good words of wisdom for coaches and prospective coaches that has helped me:

http://indra.net/~bdaniels/ftw/cc_coach_handout.html

Thanks for posting the link to another great feature by Scratch. I especially liked the first part:

Quote

Without going to far afield here it seems odd to me that we coaches, who are supposed to be dealing with human nature and learning and teaching, are furnished a program by USPA that focuses on the dry technical skills and completely ignores the most important aspect of the whole deal.

Reality is people and airplanes and sky and ground and feelings and friends and stuff. The license structure is like a transparent overlay on certain aspects of that.

We have to honor that overlay because it's a little piece of reality too, but it's not the reason people come out to skydive, and it's not what keeps them coming back.

I also teach snowboarding in the winter and we use a three point teaching plan to keep focused on what is important. The plan is simple and only three words deep: SAFETY, FUN, LEARNING. That's it. Be safe, target fun, then add learning. If the students are having fun, learning becomes a breeze. And, one of the easiest ways for the student to have fun is for the instructor/coach to look like he is have fun. So, I'll add to the Scratch coach piece a suggestion for coaches to relax and have fun. Smile, and share the good times with your student. All that technical stuff is really, really, really important, but we should strive to make it transparent. Let them see the fun, and then slip the technical in almost unnoticed.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor (AFF, IAD, SL, Tandem)
Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[Shark 0]

I concur. It's a great piece!

Quote

If the students are having fun, learning becomes a breeze. And, one of the easiest ways for the student to have fun is for the instructor/coach to look like he is have fun.

This is often ignored, whether it's an AFF or Coach jump. Our attitude can influence the outcome of a student's progression.

[HRHSkyPrincess 0]

It's been printed and now in my personal skydiving reference notebook! Thank you kindly.

*****************
Attitude is everything!

[catfishhunter 1]

Wish I had read that before I went to the Mesquite boo-gie this last weekend! A full flair in high winds absolutly picks you up slams you, then for shits and giggles sees how far you can be dragged before you can pull your toggle in. ( still debating if should post my series of bad decisions in the incident forum. Road Rash SUCKS!)

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[jlkilpatrick 0]

That piece has been sitting on my desktop for over a year now. I occasionally re-read it before I go to the DZ.

At my (low) experience level, I figure it's a good a thing, like practicing my emergency procedures.

Thanks Skratch! And thanks again Sangiro, for DZ.com!

Luke

Don't just eat a hamburger, eat the HELL out of it!
-Ivan Stang