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bochen280

1st time tandem landing, broken ankle, would solo landing be easier?

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It was funny at first, and had some good points on both sides - now it is just distraction [:/]



Best point made in this thread so far.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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Why is there not (maybe there is, but I've looked and found none) 3d/cg animation that shows frame by frame how skydiving really works.



I guess it largely comes down to money. Someone could put hundreds of hours (and/or lots of money) into a making a professional video but where's the return for them?

There have been the occasional commercial skydiving videos over the years on how to fly one's body for relative work (formations), or how to sitfly, etc. And a very few well organized, big DZ's may have little videos on aspects of their student jumps. For example, Skydive Elsinore has little computer graphics / cartoon videos of each of the AFF levels, that anyone can watch on their web site. Most DZ's will just have printed procedures taped to the DZ wall or in a booklet. Another example is packing: There are paid videos out there, and free videos too (eg, from gear company PD) on packing. Yes it is hard to find things like that on one's own and know whether a source is any good for you, if you are new to all this.

Not to say that some further consolidation or standardization can't happen.

In a way it is like other learning: You can learn physics by picking up books and self teaching. But for most people (other than the top 5%) it sure helps to pay for classes, and have a professor and teaching assistants to help you through the process. When you have the framework provided by interaction with experienced humans, then it is really beneficial to also 'hit the books' and do some self learning.

And where physical skills are involved, whether skydiving or learning to machine metal, then it is even more important to learn from other people and practice and be critiqued, as such things just can't be learned from a book.

If you want to see if you can learn about skydiving from a book, try reading the USPA SIM (available for download free). Lots and lots of info there, but trying to process all that without interacting with instructors may be tough.

Another point is that a lot of programs are designed for some 'average' person and adjusted from there. Some DZ's may want everyone to do a tandem first, to avoid those really nasty level 1 AFF's where a student just can't cope with it. Maybe you aren't in that bottom 5%, and it is a waste of time for you personally, but there's no way the instructors can know ahead of time that you are in the top 95% or indeed the top 10%. Over multiple jumps, if you have great skills, then sure you'll progress quicker and spend less money than someone having problems. So you'll still come out ahead, even if that one tandem did nothing for you.

If one does a tandem, with the intention of continuing on, one should tell the DZ & instructor, so they can add in some extra learning -- for example, you can get some good coaching on how to fly the canopy to evaluate winds, approach the DZ, and fly the circuit.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roXURlkRzhU

Pay close attention to his "impact".



Nice video, thanks for posting. This man is great and so is his TI.

BTW: They seem to have sort of toggles on the pax's jumpsuit so the pax can lift their legs more easily by pulling them high? Nice idea, especially if someone is a little older or weaker.
They have something similar at Skycentre Spa, IIRC.
The sky is not the limit. The ground is.

The Society of Skydiving Ducks

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If they just let students watch a video and go skydiving without any formal instruction from an experienced instructor they would literally have to hire a paramedic crew and coroner on staff. Most people wouldn't just get it like you think you would. I don't think I'm really exaggerating. It would put others in the air at risk as well.



You can go skydiving without having to take any sort of course. All you need is a rig, a plane, and a pilot. :)
Actually, if you could figure out how to take off in a plane from a video, and you don't care about doing a second skydive, I guess all you need is a plane.

Even Johnny needed in air instruction on how to use his legs...


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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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If they just let students watch a video and go skydiving without any formal instruction from an experienced instructor they would literally have to hire a paramedic crew and coroner on staff.



maybe if they watched it several times they would be fine. I've heard of packers that could practically be TI's just by watching certified TI's at work!

Some people are just gifted i guess ;)

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Meh, I'll giver a go!


For enough money anything is possible... ;)

Edited to add:

PS: No fatties please. That actually looks hard.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

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PS: No fatties please. That actually looks hard.



They're actually pretty stable, gravity works in your favor.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

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For solo landings, how does one "know" the timing of the flare,


For students the flaring usually starts at about your body length from the ground.
Don't know if it's different with tandem progression though. We don't have that in SA.
With AFF and Static Line Progression an instructor is on the ground showing the student when to turn and flare with batons. It works pretty well.. IF the student is watching the baton man. They sometimes forget.. and then they end up in a tree somewhere in town. :)
In the end, if you're skydiving you're gonna get hurt some time, just sucks that it happend on your first jump. Now rest the foot and get back in the air!

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I'm not fat or rotund, just heavy...

...that coupled with the fact that I've never been a very flexible person (in terms of legs, stretching, arms, etc).

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So...you're overweight & out of shape.

...but then again,~

The harness was too tight, the helmet too small, the goggles too loose, the TM too short, the altitude to little -:o

~Lucky ya survived at all! ;):ph34r:



lmfao

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If they just let students watch a video and go skydiving without any formal instruction from an experienced instructor they would literally have to hire a paramedic crew and coroner on staff. Most people wouldn't just get it like you think you would. I don't think I'm really exaggerating. It would put others in the air at risk as well.



I agree. I can't believe no body posted this sooner. Landings were the hardest part of the course for me... probably bc I realized what could go wrong.

The same way you don't realize how fast the freefall time goes you may not be as good at timing your landings as you think.

If it doesn't look that hard, it is only bc you are not the one doing it.

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....Landing didn't seem a big deal at all until I hit the ground and broken/sprained/fractured my ankle really badly...



I hope your ankle is better now, but just out of curiosity, was your ankle sprained or fractured? They are not the same thing. I am guessing it was not so bad that you had to seek medical attention.

Also, did you ever jump again?

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His last login (and the last post in this thread until you bumped it) was in May, I don't think he's going to be responding any time soon.



I'm also pretty sure it was an experienced jumper and poster having some fun.:ph34r:
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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Im a Tandem Instructor and there are a lot of factors to consider here. The positioning of the harness (in your waste area) can either help or make it more difficult to lift your legs. Most of the time, position the hip sections of the harness closer to the front of the passenger. This puts them in a naturally seated position and makes lifting the legs much easier. There are however downfalls to this approach with people that have thicker legs or for lack of a better description a big ass. If you have thick legs or a larger sized rear end I typically slide the hip sections further towards the sides of the passenger. This makes for a better fit for these types of passengers, but certainly does make it difficult and sometimes impossible for passengers to lift their legs. Without seeing a video or photo of how the harness was positioned it would be difficult to tell.

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Was 182/206 DZ for the most part up until they got a King Air last year...



......................................................................

When did Abbotsford get a King Air?

The last time I jumped in Abby, their runway was barely long enough for a Porter????

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... IMO, and my disclaimer is that I am not an instructor. However I did work for one of the pioneers of the sport who invented IAD (Instructor Assisted Deployment ...

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..................................................................

IAD was invented in one of the Southern States (Georgia?), about a week after Bill Booth invented the throw-out pilot-chute.
"Parachutist" magazine published an article about IAD, circa 1977.
Gananoque started doing IAD in 1979, then they sold some IAD student rigs to Waterville, Nova Scotia circa 1984 and by then Claresholm, Alberta was doing IAD.
The last major "bug" of IAD was perfected in Beiseker, Alberta around 1990.

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