How my freind died.

[ForeverDive 0]

I lost a very close friend of mine just about one week ago, and it's been a very tiresome week for all his family and his friends. I'm writing because the way he went should be reported fully, so that we all may learn from his fatal mistakes. Other wise it makes his death less meaningful, and I don't want my friend to have died needlessly. My friend died for two reasons. The first reason he died is the same way we lose so many of our brethren. He downsized to quickly and without proper training or instruction.
WAKE UP PEOPLE. I keep hearing about how we should limit high performance landings and limit downsizing. Swooping is here to stay, and people are going to want to do it sooner in their career than people have done in the past. I'm not saying that it's a good thing, but whether we like it or not people are still going to do it. And it's killing people. The one thing I learned from TV when I was a kid is this:
You can build a fence around a pool to keep kids from swimming, but they'll still climb it and go swimming when you're not looking. So, what do you do? You teach them how to swim.
You can try to keep teenagers from having sex by preaching and calling it taboo, but they'll still do it. So what do you do? You teach them to do it safely.
SO, what we must do is teach people how to swoop and how to downsize. Then after they have all the knowledge they need to do it safely, then they can decide if and when they want to do it. We must have free will in our sport; it's the only way our sport will evolve. How do we do this? The information is out there about how to learn safely and efficiently. Brain Germain, John LeBlanc, and Bryan Burke all have seminars out there. The problem is that it's not getting to everyone who is downsizing. You have to have a lot of determination to go out and seek this information, and people's egos get in the way of doing this. "I've landed safely 300 times in the past, why would I need to learn how to do it more safely under a smaller canopy." This line of thinking is killing people.
Please, I urge those of you who have thousands of jumps, those of you who know how to control canopies, and those of you who know how to teach to develop canopies schools like the one in California. Places where people experienced or not can get real canopy training and eventually, incorporate this into student training. All I learned as a student was that you pull right to go right, pull left to go left, and pull both to flare. And this is the saddest part of all, that we don't train students in the art of canopy flight. To the few that do, I applaud you. Unfortunately, Evolution (the canopy school in California) is too far away and a little expensive for many of us to go there, so I have to seek information in paper form or pry it out of the experienced guys. Please, develop schools, those of you who have the resources, to train us to do this the right way instead of using the trial and error way. We are losing too many people under open canopies. Education is the key to stop this nonsense.
On any other day I'd be done here, and I'd leave you to ponder that. However, I did say that my friend died for two reasons. My friend had just sold his canopy and he needed a new one soon. He also had a very limited budget, so when he found a great deal for a smaller canopy he convinced himself that he could handle the smaller canopy. Seven jumps later the reaper came for a visit.
I think the moral of the story is clear. Don't let money make life-threatening decisions for you. This includes the price of training and the price of proper gear. I don't know how this sport got so expensive, but don't let this be the reason for your demise.
Justin
Carbondale, Illinois

[diverdriver 5]

So true. Very good post. You hit the nail squarely on the head. Forums like this do much good and are a resource to many jumpers. I imagine that more than one life has been saved by information that was passed on here. Problem is that not everyone reads here. Some can't. It's a tough question about what more can be done. But.....we are all adults. We all signed the waiver saying we were taking personal responsibility for our own actions and decisions. Each and every skydiver MUST seek out the information that will keep them safe. We can't say "We didn't know it was so dangerous." Man....look at history. When I joined skydiving in 1995 people were screaming about jumpers hooking themselves into the ground. That was 7 years ago. Much has been written, published, and broadcast about canopy flight. If you don't have information on how to fly canopies then you didn't try to find it. Plain and simple.
"We don't make new mistakes in aviation (skydiving included). We only repeat the old ones."
Chris Schindler

[riggerrob 558]

In 1995, the Australian Parachute Federation published an excellent pamphlet on high performance parachutes. The pamphlet is available free on their web site.

[kbell 0]

Here's the link to the APF document. Also, The Big Air Sportz Owner's Manual has a good discussion of high performance flight and the risks involved.

[bananna 0]

I couldn't agree with you more. People are going to swoop & do hook turns no matter what...they need to be educated. I hope for more canopy schools to open in other parts of the country, so that they may be more widely used. I for one, would gladly attend & be sure that my friends do to.
blue skies & safe landings,
anna

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

the Australian Parachute Federation published an excellent pamphlet on high performance parachutes

Just read it, thanks for the tip. Excellent reading.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[gale 0]

The link to the The Big Air Sportz Owner's Manual doesn't seem to work.
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[ForeverDive 0]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your comments. I know not everyone agrees with me on this, but for the most part our sport is changing over to HP canopies, and we need education people by means other than seminars and papers. It's much easier for a student to learn if he's spoon fed the information. But for the time being this is another great paper on canopy control.
http://skydiveaz.com/resources/book_canopy.htm
Justin Freeman

[rgoper 0]

Justin:
excellent post. sorry about your friend. i, to have lost a friend due to the same thing, it hurts. sad, but true, we learn from others mistakes, but we have to care enough to step on each other's toes sometimes to make a point.
Richard
"Gravity Is My Friend"

[drenaline 0]

Am sorry to hear about your friend dude.
I think you are right in everything, people must learn before trying, in the swoop forum I posted "teach me how to swoop" and I got very good input (and other posts from people telling me...), there is another stuff I asked that was "how to flare" and you can get good stuff there too.
"Life is full of danger, so why be afraid?"
drenaline

[Jasmin 0]

How many people have to die, downsizing before they have the skills to fly it, before we'll start waking up?!
I hate reading the fatality reports and seeing people smack in again and again, because they're on canopies they can't fly, or can't handle when conditions go from marginal to s***. People are downsizing because of jump numbers and not because of skill-level. I've been jumping for 3 years and I'm happy on my canopy, I'd like to downsize but when I can pull off that really nice swoop at the D-pit, consistently, in all conditions, I will. But there's nothing stupider than seeing THAT girl fly a Saber 120 in on half breaks because "its pretty fast"...that pretty girl later went on to nicely break her leg when she was forced to do a low turn, didn't quite pull it off and hit a fence....its not worth breaking bones over, is it? More to the point, its definately not worth dying over.

[DZDale 0]

Excellent article, I agree 100% what you are saying. Id just like to add that if you look at some of the best skydivers out there they are all primarily concerned about safety, what bugs me about this sport is people who are subject to DZ peer pressure, I almost lost a freind because he wanted to be COOL, wanted to look cool etc. Id rather enjoy the ride and progress slowly, because being dead is not cool.
Blues !
A man's dreams are an index to his greatness.
- Zadok Rabinwitz

[nws01 0]

Justin,
If you don not mind me aking will you post Webers canopy progression with the approx. number of jumps he had on each. What was his total number of jumps? I think some people could learn from this information.
Thanks for the post.

[78RATS 0]

_________________________________________________
the best skydivers out there are always concerned about safety
_________________________________________________
As a freeflier, I have been around some real experienced and safety concious jumpers. right equipment, altitude aware, breakoff procedures, 360s and barrell roll tracks to clear your air, ect.ect.ect.
Then they get under their kleenex and trade safety for something else
I know a great freeflier with stringent safety requirements to fly with him. He has broken his femur three times and continues to downsize - now from a 120 to a 78. whatthefuk
read the fatality reports that say low turn under canopy and look at what they fly. Just asking for it. Unfortunately they are my friends and I got to stand by and watch the aftermath
my 190 is fat and slow and I stand it up every time, whats wrong with that?

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

whats wrong with that?

Quote

my 190 is fat and slow

Just isn't some people bag.......
"Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[thrillseek 0]

Justin,
Thanks for posting this. I know our friend was always safety concious, and posted here often regarding safety matters. By printing out that info about canopy flight and making it available to others at our dz, you are being a responsible D-licensed skydiver. More people should take that sort of initiave and look out for their fellow skydivers.
Thanks again man.
A.T.