Stupidest thing

[riggerrob 558]

At a DZ long, long ago and far, far away, we had been on wind hold all afternoon and I was tasked to take the first load of students up after the winds subsided.
After the crepe paper wind drift indicator malfunctioned, I had to "eye ball" the spot. My first static-line student landed in a large, grassy field south of the runway. Not our normal landing field, but still on airport property and still safe.
After I adjusted the spot, my second student landed just south of the runway.
I adjusted the spot a third time and my third student landed beside the target.

Back in the packing area, another instructor loudly and angrily - in front of several other students - called me "An asshole for landing students so far from the target."

By then the sun was getting low.
Then he took a load of students up, all of whom landed south of the runway.

By the time the chief instructor took off with the last load, the sun had set. As I packed my gear into my car, I heard some one organizing a search party to retrieve students from the forest ... a long way south of the airport.

Note: the North side of the airport had numerous obstacles, like houses and trees and roads and wires.

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

This is more "Stupid Stupid" then "Stupid Scarey"...

Gal borrows boyfriend's rig. Goes up, does a skydive, opens, looks up at the main... boyfriend had had a rigger put aftermarket dive-loops on the front two main risers, rigger had happened to use red webbing & the risers were the typical black type-8... gal mistakes the "red loops" on the front risers for the steering toggles and "thinks" the main is hooked up backwards... so... she cuts away and deploys the reserve... lands under reserve... comes into hangar and bitches out pakers, rigger and boyfriend for hooking the main up backwards on the rig she just jumped... after a brief investigation... packers, rigger & boyfriend explain to her the difference between toggles and dive-loops, yellow vs. red and the nose vs. the tail of the canopy... rigger repackes reserve, boyfriend and paker hook-up main (correctly)... packer repacks main... gal borrows rig again and goes up again... skydives... opens... looks up... dang if those red dive-loop steering toggles aren't still on the front risers... still thinks canopy is hooked up backwards... cuts away again and shoots the reserve again...

... she was a Static Line Jumpmaster that had gotten out after putting out her students... did this twice in the same day.


This is NO SHIT... rapter can verify.

[quinny 0]

Burn out will certainly make everyone grumpy....I infact think that Riggerrob is one of the hardest working people I have ever met and he has been doing this for a very very very long time.
I know how it feels to be burned out and have experienced what its like not to enjoy the sport. I took a break and worked for myself and found the enjoyment and feelings of excitement for myself and others that I had when I first started.
Riggerrob I certainly appreciate the huge amounts of work that you do and also have never found you to irretable to help anyone without a smile on your face.
Thankyou and all the other burnt out people who continue to make other peoples days and jumps a great experience
Quinny

[mattaman 0]

I'm laughing so hard right now! Don't work for assholes Rob, it only encourages them. Sorry you had to put up with it, I've met some real people in this sport, I encountered some disasters too, that story about the chick and the dive loops, wow, thanks folks

Those stuck in maya, seek to be seen.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

"thinks" the main is hooked up backwards... so... she cuts away and deploys the reserve...

In other words, even if it was hooked up backwards, she'd have cut away a perfectly good, backwards flying, canopy? That's another mistake. And from a Jumpmaster, as well.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[darkwing 4]

more than 30 years ago I saw film an instructor was showing of him putting out a reluctant first jumper. The student was sitting on the door edge, ready to exit (not a 182, but some small plane withough a wheel/strut outside the door). The student looks at the instructor, vehemently shakes his head "no" and the instructors boot appears in the middle of the students backpack. I've seen worse exits that didn't get booted.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[lekstrom10k 0]

I would give them practice "Three two one flare" in the air and see how well they responded Then adjust. there is a DZ about 23 miles away that had a no flare injury because he was a judge. His response while moaning and groaning was "You dont tell ajudge what to do" Heard he lost the suit too. We had an egotistical AFF-I that thought he was the only one capable of talking anyone down .He would pull after his part fly down to a radio and then try to salvage where the student drifted to.. Another place I flew at had you call in before student drops so some one was always ready. So much for the ego method.

[Jumpah 0]

This one will be funny for a long, long time.