jump number 4001 was too exciting

[riggerrob 558]

There is so kind of karma about doing century jumps. If you don't buy the beer or get pied, then fate will catch up to you.
For example, my 4,000 th jump was "normal." I strapped on a tandem student and leaped out of a Cessna 182. I did not try to hide it, but it was a slow Thursday afternoon, so I only told the pilot, the PFF grad who was on the load and a photographer who had 1,000 jumps.
Jump number 4001 was way too exciting in comparison. Have you ever had a premonition that things were not going to go right?
My mission was to drop a first jump student. The guy had done a tandem and sat through the first jump course the day before, but when I quizzed him, he kept giving me wrong answers and asking irrelevant questions. I was trying to figure out if the guy was stupid or stoned. Eventually he started giving me decent answers, so we suited up.
Since I expected him to be slow, I told him to start climbing out early. He waited until I told him "GO!" for the fourth time, before letting go of the airplane. (Note: we had reviewed the climb-out procedure a half=hour before on the ground.) he did the usual Willie Coyote impersonation. Ho hum!
By now we were over the middle of the airport. The two PFF grads climbed out fairly quickly, but this left me at the far end of the runway.
Since I was so far from the target, I only waited a couple of seconds before tossing my pilotchute. After a three second pause, I began to wonder if it was inflating, so I glanced over my right shoulder. I saw a lash of black (d-bag?) then an inflated canopy overhead. Next thing I knew, my main was in a hard left turn, with line twists. It was on the horizon, turning faster than I could kick out of line twists. I tried kicking, but it only spun faster and I could see the ground getting closer out of the corner of my eye.
So I looked at orange, grabbed orange, looked at silver, grabbed silver and pulled more handles. I knew I was spinning when I cutaway, but did not dare sacrifice altitude for stability, Fortunately, the reserve bridle slid off my left arm and I found myself hanging under a beautiful, silver Amigo 172.Stuffed my handles inside my jumpsuit, then grabbed the toggles and looked around. Hum, I could still make it back to the end of the runway. Oh, there is my main above me, to the west and there is my freebag below me to the west. Hum?
I hate searching for freebags and I cannot afford to buy a new main, so I decided to follow them down into the tree plantation off the end of the runway.
A little half-brakes on final approach bled off some forward speed so I did not overshoot my freebag. I landed softly on a dirt road along the edge of the tree plantation. While the Amigo flies a lot like a Sabre 170, I still had to remember to do a full flare. I had a little sideways drift and almost ran into the ditch during runout. Ha! Ha!
I picked up my freebag and walked over to my main before the plane landed.
I was standing by the end of the runway - with all my pieces when the pick up van arrived.
Lessons learned, loudly announce your century jumps, buy beer, and keep your shoulders level when deploying small Diablos.

[dterrick 0]

Quote

and keep your shoulders level when deploying small Diablos.

...hmmmmm, I think I know where you're at with one. I was demoing a Jonathan @ 1.2 (first eliptical demos, did Sabre 210 and 190's over the summer on and off). FLY (?!?) the opening? I was on a 3000 foot hop'n pop (good plan, eh?) and dipped the left shoulder at 'check-000' - just at snatch. No line twists but my forward view was 'somewhat obscured' by a left-diving canopy. Weeee?

Straightened out with opposite rear riser and proceeded to remember what my 'first' canopy flight was like once again just what the hell has happened to me?!?!


Dave

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)