Scary Stories from the 2000 decade :-) - Mick Evans

[mickey1982va 0]

Back in i think May of 08.  I was flying a triathalon 220.  I was at skydive temple, texas.  It was a little windy that day, between 15 and 17mph gusts.  So i was making my landing pattern coming in, however i somehow end up coming in downwind.  At least 25 to 30mph.  I was to scared and thought i was to low to make any kind of turn to go back into the wind.  So i said screw it, here i come and brace for impact.  I barely miss the RV's, and the main building by inches, not to mention a line of cars in the parking lot.  I luckily managed to dodge all of that and slide in the dirt parking lot.  Fortunatley for me the parking lot was dirt and not asphalt.  My friend willy and walt were looking up and of course the rest of the DZ was in awe, literally.  Walt said he had his finger on the send button ready to call 911.  So when i hit and slid in, i just layed there.  In shock i didnt break anything!  Here come willy and walt running fast!  Hahaha.  I felt like the guy on fandango!  Angels!!! :-D. Another jumper there mark small was there to bandage my hand up.  Yeah, just a scratch.  And needless to say, i went ahead and did another jump that same day :-D.  Lesson learned:  flat turns come in handy!

Mick Evans

Mick Evans

"Blue Skies"

[airtwardo 6]

I jump with n00bs weekly...and don't RSL or AAD it ~ beat THAT for scary!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[mjosparky 3]

Quote

I jump with n00bs weekly...and don't RSL or AAD it ~ beat THAT for scary!

I've jumped with you. Now that is scary!

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[raftman 12]

That wasn't scary. At no point in your story was there a "No shit there I was, thought I was gonna die."



Try again.

[mickey1982va 0]

Geez dude, chill !! Just b/c your a d license skydiver doesnt mean you have to down someone else!

Mick Evans

"Blue Skies"

[patworks 5]

In about 2000 I had to chop my main. Open over 1,000' + Being Bored, I did CReW with the balled up mess. Did good. Caught it with my feet, I did. It did a quick grab-wrap around my end cells giving me a fast spinning high-G canopy wrap with my own main. Lovely. Genius me.
Being quick, I thunk, "Self, you are probably gonna live but you are gonna get Way Busted up big time when the ground arives." Yes I was scared. ... like a 4-stack w/ mojosparky. Sick-scared but also pissed at my stupid self. Working the options, I messed with turns and etc. At about 300' the wrap lost its grip, freed up cleanly and i land soft. Less scared; still disgusted with me, I walk in mumbling at my idolt self.
Only good thing about that scary jump was that I was way out over the nursery at Ethanac Rd. and no one saw my dumb-ass moves.

Works, you got more lives than 2-cats.

Pat Works nee Madden Travis Works, Jr .B1575, C1798, D1813, Star Crest Solo#1, USPA#189,

[topdocker 0]

I end up being the genius that gets to test jump a new CRW canopy right off the drawing board. We plan several intentional cutaway jumps as we are unsure of its flight and landing charecteristics. I get the local rigger to loan me a rig set up with two mains and a reserve.

After we have done five or six flights with this canopy, I'm getting pretty comfortable with it and feel we can land it, but we felt one more cutaway would be smarter, just to make sure all the bugs are worked out.

As it would figure, when I manifested to do the test jump, I hadn't realized the gear wasn't quite set up and packed, so we ended up hurrying a little to make the load, I really wanted this last cutaway jump out of the way today, so I could rig to another container overnight and do landings the next day.

Off I go at 8000', fly that bad boy around, stall it, spin it, do whatever I can to it- rock solid the whole time. At 3500', I dock underneath my best friend, he hooks in, and gets the p/c to carry the test canopy back and drop at a lower altitude. When he is ready, he signals and I go for the intentional cutaway, just about 3000' and all hell breaks loose!!There is a handle on each riser that you pull to the cutaway of the test canopy, and the left one came out and relesed, but the right one did not...*&%*&*@@!!!! I am ripped out of the top guys grip, spinning wildly on my back and am trying to figure out the best course of action.

My pea brain decides chopping the second main will help the most, since the test canopy risers are attached to three rings on the second main risers. After I chop the second main, I can throw out and release both of them. But after a while I realize I can't reach the cutaway handle with my right hand, because the slightly too large harness has rotated enough that the reserve handle is in the middle of my chest. With my left hand I reach around behind my right armpit and use my right arm to pull my left even further onto my backside, I managed to just get the cutaway handle out. Video confirms an eight second spin.

The spinning stopped, I fell a short bit, the spinning started just a bit and then I was back in freefall. By now I'm starting to get a little groundrush and just fire the reserve. The reserve opens cleanly and a whole crapload of lines land all over me!!!! The second main is in the dbag still in the pack tray, but the test canopy pulled all the lines out when I cut them both away. Its a freaking mess, but at least its flying and steerable!!

Managed to stand up the reserve in the peas, and drink a whole bunch of Jack that night.

Outcome: Landed a beautifully flying test canopy the next day. My wife banned me from using the intentional cutaway rig anymore (like I was planning to do that AGAIN?). All testing is done way higher now!

No such thing as a routine test!!!!

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[airtwardo 6]

Quote

Quote

I jump with n00bs weekly...and don't RSL or AAD it ~ beat THAT for scary!

I've jumped with you. Now that is scary!

Sparky

~there I am packin' for a demo and after watchin' me intently you ask...
"You really gonna jump that?!"

you a highly qualified rigger & well respected demo jumper walkin' away rollin' his eyes... ~now that's kinda scary!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[mjosparky 3]

Quote

Quote

Quote

I jump with n00bs weekly...and don't RSL or AAD it ~ beat THAT for scary!

I've jumped with you. Now that is scary!

Sparky

~there I am packin' for a demo and after watchin' me intently you ask...
"You really gonna jump that?!"

you a highly qualified rigger & well respected demo jumper walkin' away rollin' his eyes... ~now that's kinda scary!

I had never seen a parachute folded, not packed, quite that way. I had flash backs to the way my ex-wife folded the laundry.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[diablopilot 2]

Hmmm..... how about the Tandem AAD that fired while I was sniveling open on my main? I'd always wanted to try a pre-planned canopy transfer, but I wouldn't have picked a tandem for the first one.

Or the riser failure on a tandem? Know how much force it takes to pull a breakaway handle after the yellow cable on the broken side has experienced "suck through" on the riser and housing grommets before the locking loop failed, leaving you spinning on your back with one riser of your main attached? I do. Brings new definition to the term "pulling handles with renewed vigor".

Or the what goes through your mind when a AFF student hangs onto the handle, only to let go of it and have it horseshoe under their armpit, and when you grab bridle in an effort to fix it, you manage to pop the pin and drag the bad into the slip stream, only to find yourself with a student harness in one hand, bridle in the other and bag and lines 2 feet over your head?

I'm still here.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[airtwardo 6]

I'm still here.

Yeah but 1/2 the equipment ya touch isn't!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Peej 0]

This one happened a few months ago and is more funny than scary.

After breaking a line on my Velo on a camera jump, I grab my TI's rig, which is the same canopy, only a smaller reserve and go up on the next load.

We're the last out and are miles from the DZ. The jump goes to plan, except this time i pitch and the canopy opens into a violent spinning mal. I fight her for a few seconds and then chop.

Now here's the funny part: the tempo reserve opens so hard that it splits the jeans and boxers that i am jumping in from crotch to waist band. So i approach over a field full of cows with my bare ass hanging out of my pants.

And, despite doing numerous flares up top and reminding myself not to flare the reserve like a sport canopy, muscle memory takes over and i miss time the flare, and don't PLF, resulting in me crunching in on my bare ass.

So now i have a bare, bleeding ass and a looooong walk home. Thankfully i found the main but the free bag was goner

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[mjosparky 3]

2 things. Rushing to make the next load and using browed gear while rushing to make the next load. Never has been and never will be a skydive worth it.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[topdocker 0]

I hear that on the hard reserve openings!

In 1997, I had a reserve open so hard it bent the grommets on the slider resulting in a grounding of my reserve, until I could get a new slider sent!!

I remember the opening being so hard I actually looked down to see if my shoes stayed on...

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[Peej 0]

Quote

2 things. Rushing to make the next load and using browed gear while rushing to make the next load. Never has been and never will be a skydive worth it.

Sparky

You make a very good point. I kind of let my responsibility to my tandem operation get in the way on that one.

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[skycop 0]

Not a scary story, but probably my coolest story.....hope it counts.

In 2000 I was invited to jump with a certain military demo team, mainly due to the fact I sponsored them for a demo related to my civilian job and I had a USAF reserve ID card. I took good care of them (free Hooter's food and beer) and got them real good hotel rooms.
We were jumping a Blackhawk at a civilian airport, I spotted a load at 13 grand. After some really crappy RW work I tracked and pulled. I had a hard opening and a couple lines broke on the StarTrac I was jumping (their gear). I chopped it and landed about 2 miles off the DZ. I landed on a farm with a long driveway leading to a farmhouse. After rolling up my reserve I started walking to the house to use the phone. While walking I heard a unique noise, looking up there is the UH-60 Blackhawk circling at about 1000 feet. I figured they were just seeing if I was okay, just then you could see the helo setting up a landing approach FOR THE FARMERS DRIVEWAY!
The pilot executed a flawless approach and landing in the farmers driveway. This area has alot of helicopters flying around (hint, hint) so the farmer didn't even flinch. He just looked down his driveway and waved. They picked up the somewhat chunky USAF reservist who had driven his police cruiser to the drop zone. Of course they made fun of me as we looked for the free bag and the main. After flying around a while we found the main in a tree and the freebag in a nearby field. again we landed in another farm field with the locals barely noticing,
My first cutaway was truely a unique (not particularly scary) experience!

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[Peej 0]

Sweet! Funnily enough i've seen blackhawks on movies and stuff recently and have been thinking how cool it would be to jump one!

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