Does everyone use their Altimeter always??

[AndyMan 7]

Keep in mind that a some of the more advanced skydivers are switching from standard altimeters to wrist-watch "Suunto" altimeters... They're very common at my DZ among those with more then a few hundred jumps.

To someone who doesn't recognize them, they may look like a normal wrist-watch, and you would think they are not wearing an altimeter, when in fact they are.

http://www.suunto.com/pls/suunto/suunto2.pubproduct.prod_view?in_product_id=328&in_prodgrp_id=164

I switched to a Suunto watch about a month ago, when I realised it'd been more then a month since I'd even looked at my alti-3 in freefall. Now I use my Suunto predominantly only while setting up for a swoop.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[Jimbo 0]

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Keep in mind that a some of the more advanced skydivers are switching from standard altimeters to wrist-watch "Suunto" altimeters...

Is it advanced skydivers, or skydivers with money and a cool new toy?

Anyhow, I looked on their website and I couldn't find the sampling interval for the altimeter. Altitude goes by pretty quickly on a skydive, not so quickly on a slow climb. How accurate are they, in freefall and under canopy?

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[PhillyKev 0]

It appears that you can set the frequency that it checks alti

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For a fast sport activity like biking you need to choose a short recording interval to detect all altitude changes. If the recording interval is too long, the cumulative values will be smaller than the route you really made. The right recording interval depends on the type of activity, terrain and the wanted duration of the logbook. In the Observer the recording interval is fixed to 10 seconds, which is quick enough for all kind of sports.

[AndyMan 7]

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Anyhow, I looked on their website and I couldn't find the sampling interval for the altimeter. Altitude goes by pretty quickly on a skydive, not so quickly on a slow climb. How accurate are they, in freefall and under canopy?

It updates about twice a second once it figures out you're moving. It updates once every 5 seconds when it thinks you're stationary. The switch in modes happens after the first 5 second update.

As to being a expensive toys for yuppy skydivers, you can find them for $125, which is comparable with the cost of a new alti-3.

I would not recomend these to anyone who has less then 500 jumps. The numbers are small and I have dificulty reading them while freeflying - my wrist buffets too much in the wind. They are not for people who depend on instruments for altitude awareness.

Also, Suunto makes different models, and some of them are more dificult to read in direct sunlight.

At altitude, I have found them consistent with new alti-3's, and a newly installed altimeter in a King Air.

On the ground, I've seen it off by +-50 feet which changes throughout the day. Even though the weather doesn't appear to change, I do attribute this to changes in the air-preasure.

Conclusion? It works well for me, and most of the instructors and vidiots on the DZ. Not for student or novice use.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

I always jump with at least one visual alti, but I don't look at it until breakoff on most occasions. My "internal closk" works pretty good, even with the incredible amount of disparity between the "work" dives I do and my BirdMan flights. I always wear an audible now and rely on it to as great a degree as I dare. I have never been caught low due to an audible failure, but that may be because I generally err on the side of caution. I can't afford to get caught low on any work dive or wingsuit dive, so therefore I always seem to be the monkey looking at his alti towards the end of my RW formation dives as well.

Chuck

[slotperfect 7]

I always wear a wrist altimeter, and on 95% of my jumps I wear an audible.

I do have a built-in visual altimeter (ground-rush), but that varies greatly with the terrain below. Free falling and opening over a large body of water (demos on lake Michigan and Lake Erie back in the day) or over the desert changes the appearance of my altitude.

I have jumped without altimeters before, when mine have broken or when I needed to give mine up to a student because his broke. Now when I do AFF I wear two for that reason. When I do tandems I always put an altimeter on my passenger as well.

Arrive Safely

John

[kyros1 0]

I always wear mine except once that I forgot it but I was wearing my audible. So the proper order is

audible is a back up to altimeter which is a back up to eyeball

[lazyfrog 0]

I always wear mine, except when I am going to jump in water...

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Fumer tue, péter pue
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ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

[BBKid 0]

I'd really like to try jumping without one, but I'm a student, and besides, in the UK you have to wear one. One of my JM's wore it on a legstrap though, and he was just the Daddy (anyone else met Sooty?)

Nick
---------------------------
"I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

[ladyskydiver 0]

I always have my altimeter on. I don't have an audible, yet. I don't look at my altimeter as much as I did when I first started out. But, at my home DZ, I'm pretty familiar with the way the ground looks and am usually within 300 ft. (higher) of where I think I am when I look at my alti. At a different DZ, I check my alti more frequently due to the fact that I'm not familiar with the terrain.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[lazyfrog 0]

well, you could just NOT look at it... but it is not a good idea... a bit like not using the brakes on your car... mmmhhh... seems a good idea...

NO RISK, NO FUN

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Fumer tue, péter pue
-------------
ourson #10, Mosquito Uno, CBT 579

[Vertifly 0]

Dear Skyvixen,

Do us all a favor please... Were it and use it.

Thanks,

David

[mr2mk1g 10]

Its iligal to jump in the UK without a wrist or chest mounted alti. Audiables dont count.

Ive only jumped once without one, at perris this easter (accident) - didnt find it a problem and to be honest I rarely look at mine.

Wouldnt like to jump without one deliberately though. You never can tell what might happen up there - its a safety device like any other. This sports about minimizing risk not eliminating it. You might not need it every jump but you'd kick yourself if you ever did and you didnt have one.

That said, I cant really think of a situation where you would need one and jugement alone wouldnt cut it... perhaps if your short sighted and lose your glasses... yes if your short sighted and are prone to loseing your glasses then always wear one.

[vonSanta 0]

Had a weird experience on my 12th jump (solo)

Checked my newly acquired altimeter and compared readouts with my sis - everything seemed fine. Jumped out and tried to get into a sit-fly. Basically I was tumbling a lot . At any rate I checked altimeter and it read 1500 meters so I went into a box position. Then saw some chutes at what appeared to be level altitude, maybe 300 metres horisontal separationfrom me- altimeter reads 1200. Tapped it once, decided 'fark it, better safe than sorry', waved off and checked over shoulders and pulled.

Checked altimeter when under fully inflated canopy - 700 meters. Had a slow opening, but 700 meters is too low for me to be comfortable with at this stage. Thought I was gonna get scolded (seems newbies are often scolded LOL) but no one seemed to have noticed. Brought it up with my instructor and he said 'slow openings happen'.

Can the needle get 'stuck' so to speak? Next jump I'm borrowing my sisters dytter AND her altimeter and I'll just be in a box comparing readouts.

I suspect that either my eyes were fooling me (sis said something that even though canopies look like level to my own altitude, your eyes can fool you) or I am being anal and the 700 metres reading was a result of a slow opening (Sabre 190).

Gonna get me a Pro-Track as soon as I can. Then I got a) my eyes b) my altimeter c) a dytter and d) an AAD to help keep me safe.

Santa Von GrossenArsch
I only come in one flavour
ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

[Steel 0]

I have more than 700 jumps without an altimeter but 95% of these jumps were hop&pops and I always make it a point to look at two different altimeters just before getting out. I hate wearing an altimeter because its bulky and gets in the way when I am picking through front risers, rear risers and toggles, if need be. I have also had an altimeter get jammed in the door on the bar for a scary second on a freefly jump. On a couple of occasions I was on RW jumps with no altimeter because for some reason I couldn't find it. I made it a point to have atleast two people signal me at 5k incase one forgot I had a second alert. This of course in combination with looking at the ground ofcourse. I have jumped out alone from full altitude without one but when I do this I try to pull by 5k just incase my judgement is off by 1000 feet I am still at 4K. Someday I might buy and audible but I wouildn't want to rely on it.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[jimmytavino 16]

....more than 700 jumps w/o an alti....
then why does your profile show your # of jumps at 20.....,,,, unless you mean Twenty Hundred.....??????
If there are certain items of equipment which help assure our safety.......maybe we ought to be using them......

[Steel 0]

....more than 700 jumps w/o an alti....
then why does your profile show your # of jumps at 20.
---------------------------------------
20 jumps just referred to how many jumps I had on my new canopy when I edited my profile last.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[Jimbo 0]

Quote

....more than 700 jumps w/o an alti....
then why does your profile show your # of jumps at 20.....,,,, unless you mean Twenty Hundred.....??????
If there are certain items of equipment which help assure our safety.......maybe we ought to be using them......
j t

You would be wise I think to ignore what people put in their profile and instead pay more attention to the advice or experience offered. The profile is voluntary and not likely to be accurate. If my profile read that I had a low D-license number and 10,000 jumps would you be more likely to listen to me? What if I had the low D license number, high jumps, and gave out what you thought to be terrible advice? Would you still listen to me?

Ignore what people do or don't put in their profile and evaluate what you find here on it's merit. If you're unsure, ask.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[jimmytavino 16]

yes. yes. good advice... and "ask" is what i did..
I saw a contradiction between what a User wrote, and what they volunteered in their " profile "..
Apparently it is unrealistic to expect that people would complete their profiles with accurate information,,,
You have opened my eyes to the possibility that some information included in the profiles may be bogus......... Now,,,, can you explain any rationalization for THAT???......
As for advice.. it should stand or fall on it's own merit..and the forums are a place where many 'correct' yet differing views can share the spotlight...
....As for an accurate, and honest profile......I think it can represent the credibility of the poster.... How tough is it to answer the few profile questions, accurately????If a person prefers not to complete a profile section, , fine,,,,
but "silly replies" & "humorous" answers
are distracting, and could hurt a posters' credibility. in my eyes........ because,, yes I DO sometimes
check to learn something more about a person who has posted a reply...where they are located, what their level of accomplishments may be. etc. etc.
work for Peace,,,Peacefully. jmy A3914

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

My ideas on that topic:

I have been skydiving over 22 years and have every instructional rating I need to make a living as a dropzone school manager. I am not ashamed of that fact, nor do I have anything to hide to the masses who frequent these forums. Personally, I don't understand why anyone of prominence in this sport would chose to hide their qualifications from others who are clearly trying to sort through the rubbish. In my opinion, this is one of the simplest ways for a newbie to this site to do so. Oddly, I have only ever come across one person who exagerated his qualifications and was found to be an utter fraud (Spectre230). So, that said, yes, there are some incredibly experienced skydivers on this site who chose to stay pretty anonymous, but what sucks is that there are exponentially more less-experienced skydivers on here who would lead you to believe that they are authorities, just due to their post numbers. In closing, I would just ask that all truly experienced skydiving instructors/coaches/organizers on this site AT LEAST fill out their qualifications in their profile. I don't need your name or your home address, but if you don't do so, please don't get pissed when your thoughts are scoffed or ignored. Believe it or not, most people on here DO look at profiles as an indicator to your "real" experience.

Chuck Blue
D-12501
AFF/SL/TM/BM-I, S&TA, PRO

[Steel 0]

I would just ask that all truly experienced skydiving instructors/coaches/organizers on this site AT LEAST fill out their qualifications in their profile.
---------------------------------------------
As for my jump numbers I am not sure what they are exactly. I only know I have logged just over 1400, so I know have more than that. A more meaningful number is that I have over 1000 logged at above a 2.9 wingloading, over 700 above 3.1 over 200 over 3.4 and about 30 above 4.0. I guess all that means is I am Bruno, still alive and having fun. I am also a USPA rated coach but there is no slot for that in the profile.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[kallend 1,644]

Quote

My ideas on that topic:

I have been skydiving over 22 years and have every instructional rating I need to make a living as a dropzone school manager. I am not ashamed of that fact, nor do I have anything to hide to the masses who frequent these forums. Personally, I don't understand why anyone of prominence in this sport would chose to hide their qualifications from others who are clearly trying to sort through the rubbish. In my opinion, this is one of the simplest ways for a newbie to this site to do so. Oddly, I have only ever come across one person who exagerated his qualifications and was found to be an utter fraud (Spectre230). So, that said, yes, there are some incredibly experienced skydivers on this site who chose to stay pretty anonymous, but what sucks is that there are exponentially more less-experienced skydivers on here who would lead you to believe that they are authorities, just due to their post numbers. In closing, I would just ask that all truly experienced skydiving instructors/coaches/organizers on this site AT LEAST fill out their qualifications in their profile. I don't need your name or your home address, but if you don't do so, please don't get pissed when your thoughts are scoffed or ignored. Believe it or not, most people on here DO look at profiles as an indicator to your "real" experience.

Chuck Blue
D-12501
AFF/SL/TM/BM-I, S&TA, PRO

Instructional ratings are only one form of "qualification".

I regularly jump with people who have thousands of jumps, USPA Nationals medals, have been on FAA world record skydives, have years of experience organizing RW skydives, and have no instructional ratings whatsoever. I would trust their advice over that of a freshly minted coach with 120 jumps or instructor with 300 jumps any day.

What people write in their profiles here is not verifiable.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Actually, what people write in their profile is almost totally verifiable, at least to me when it comes to skydivers in the USA., as an S&TA who works for a regional director. That, or simply making a call to the person's dropzone.

The point of my post is there are both types of problems on this site: people with an incredible amount of experience in one discipline or another who put nothing in their profiles yet get pissed when people call them on something they have written; and others who have not the qualifications, who type incessantly, read the site, and try to pass on what they have learned here.

You don't have to convince me about the people walking around with national/world championships yet no ratings; some are my best friends and wear black and gold jumpsuits. Still, theirs, in general, is a very defined skill-set. Because a person has a wealth of knowledge in one little area of the sport does not mean he (or she) has any idea about other disciplines. Anyone ever see Cheryl Stearns try to land the Stilletto in her style rig? It's ugly.

[slotperfect 7]

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The point of my post is there are both types of problems on this site: people with an incredible amount of experience in one discipline or another who put nothing in their profiles yet get pissed when people call them on something they have written; and others who have not the qualifications, who type incessantly, read the site, and try to pass on what they have learned here.

I also know many mega-experienced skydivers that are leery about broadcasting their quals and jump numbers. There are a few registered on this site that I know as well.

I won't begin to try and understand their motivation, but I will speak from personal experience specifically regarding my history in these forums.

First, I don't define my experience as a skydiver by my jump numbers. I have 2773 jumps of varied types. I have extensive experience in some areas, and have only dabbled in others. I have met people who would not take advice or coaching from anyone who had less than X amount of jumps. I can only say that he is really missing out on many opportunities to learn. I keep an open mind and open eyes for new techniques - I can learn those from anybody.

Also, while jump numbers do serve as a rudimentary measuring stick, they do not speak to the true quality of performance in a skydiver. I have skydived with some folks who were blessed with natural talent for this sport and were flying circles around me with very low numbers. I have also jumped with high number jumpers who could not fly their way out of a paper bag.

Second, I am not my ratings, either. I don't wear my ratings on my sleeve (although I do have a PRO sticker on my car), but I don't hide them if asked, nor am I afraid to throw them out there in a conversation or post if it contributes to the discussion. Ratings require even more open-mindedness from me to ensure I am giving my students the best possible instruction so they will become a contribution to the sport instead of a liability.

Third, I believe that one's profile here on DZ.com provides initial credibility that opens the door for those low-time jumpers who are seeking advice and coaching, which I am happy to give. I am careful not to beat my drum and force my opinions on people, although there are some points that are life-or-death related which I do get rather adamant about. There are thousands of strong opinions in our sport, and I believe one is best served by listening to all of them and creating their own out of bits and pieces of what they have gathered, coupled with their own experience.

The information in a profile (if specifics are listed) are easily verifiable. I was selling a rig for a friend through eBay, and a discerning buyer did some deductive reasoning, figured out where I jumped, and called the gear store there to ask about me. The result was a successful sale of a safe rig to a new jumper.

I choose to list accurate and updated information in my profile, freely share my ratings and experiences in conversations when it contributes to the discussion and the sport, and remember that there is always someone out there who has more experience and knowledge than me.

Respectfully,

Arrive Safely

John

[Designer 0]

Hey,stuff happens.Alti breaks,we jumped on.Made many a jump without 1.Keeps the mind focused on time.Lately,been doing freestlye until 8,000.Been hitting it damn close,if not right on.Being dependent on an instrument that can fail will certainly hurt you sometime down the skydiving road.