CanuckInUSA

Tom ... yes I was aware that the deepest brake setting should be used only for slider down/off jumps and that a more shallow setting is for slider up jumps. But since my canopy currently only has one setting (and yes at some point in the future it will have deeper settings) should I use this current setting for slider up jumps? Not that I'll be needing to do any slider up jumps for a while (unless I'm willing to experiment at some point in potato-land). I'm just curious as to what should be done here with the default brake setting. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

To date the most awesome jump I have made was when I took a wingsuit out of a balloon on my 666th jump over Longmont CO (the video can be found on skydivingmovies.com in the wingsuit section). But my dream jump(s) are to take a wingsuit off of some European cliff, El Cap/Half Dome and/or El-Gigantee (sp?) in Mexico. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Awesome info Bryan. I am going to print out what you said so that I can make sure I remember it in the coming weeks and months. Not only do I need to dial in my brake settings before I start jumping the more dangerous stuff (like Moab and ultimately the cliffs in Europe), but I also need some much needed canopy control time (ie: hop n' pops) so that I learn how much riser pressure is right in correcting off heading 90s and 180s (of course also learning to fly the canopy backwards). I can learn some of this at the span, but I'm figuring hop n' pops are also the way to go. I'm just a little worried that getting my hands on a student rig at the DZ could be difficult what with summer being here and all the new students showing up at the DZ. But for sure, you'll see me 1-2 times a month in potato land this summer. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes my bad ... as I'm seen scurrying with my tail between my legs towards the door. I will always use time as my first gauge of exit separation. But I'm sorry I also have a habit of looking before I leap as well. Not to open any more can of worms, but time isn't always the same between every one as well. I was at the legal potato-land span this last weekend and the following transpired. A friend was planning on taking a 3 second delay and he was all happy that he thought he did this after his jump. But after watching the video, his delay was really only 2 seconds despite the fact that he counted to three. So while the environments and emotions are different, skydivers are too capable of making mistakes while counting. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

When I was new to this sport, Hooknswoop (even though he wasn't my instructor) told me to have selected a definite landing area you know you can make by 1000 feet (especially if you're not sure you can make your usual main landing area). And in that time, I have seen some accidents happen to others because they either weren't aware of this or ignored the advise. So please already have choosen a landing area by the time you reach 1000 feet and stick to the plan. Having some knowledge of the terrain below you isn't a bad thing to know ahead of time (like knowing there is that nasty skydiver eating ditch right next to the fence line, etc, etc, etc.) but always go to that for sure landing area instead of falling into that "I think I can make it ... oh shit" trap. Dang ... now how am I supposed to keep my DZ.COM post numbers down if I keep posting stuff like this. But it's important stuff to know and to follow. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You should know better not to jump with Tom. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Trying to rub it in are ya? I'm hoping to get a three digit number as well. But I have some work ahead of me (not sure when and where the B will be) and I may have to settle for a four digit number. By the way, any idea as to what numbers they're up to now? I guess we'll know when you get yours. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What do I look for when I'm at the door. Yes I look at my spot and how fast or how slow it changes. Yes I look for aircraft below me, yes I look at the cloud cover and yes I watch the group in front of me. But what does all this have to do with the topic at hand "Exit separation on a downwind jump run"? I'm done ... at least for now as I need to jump in the shower and get my sorry ass off to the salt mines (work) because "The Man" doesn't like it when I'm late for work. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Okay even though I said I was done (which I will be soon), you don't seem to quote me out of context so here's my take. Yes I agree that the 45 degree rule alone isn't right. So one is in the door and they count ... whatever it is they were counting to ... then do they blindly just jump or do they look and if they look what happens if the group ahead of them isn't really moving all that much ... well they counting so according to some of the people here it's okay to jump right? I say no!!! If time and the group ahead of you hasn't tracked off (say 45 say something else) you don't jump, you continue to wait. Vertical seperation doesn't really mean much if I have a reserve ride and fall in on top of the group in front of me. Horizontal separation is everything and this is a factor of time in the door and using our eyes to ensure that we aren't jumping before we should because we didn't really properly understand how much the aircraft might be tracking across jump run. People remember what the original poster was asking in this thread. How much seperation is needed on a downwind jump run. The answer is dependent upon the winds aloft and generally it's not as much time. I realize that some of you are just interested in making another "this guy doesn't know shit" argument because he mentioned the god-aweful 45 degree rule. But go back to the original responses and read what was said. Not as much time is needed when the aircraft is hauling ass due to low winds aloft and extra time is needed when the winds aloft are strong. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What part of the word combination do you NOT understand? And hasn't everything I said started with the word time? I am done with this thread and done with people who are quoting me out of context!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Once again people are accusing me of saying something I did NOT say. Temperature? Huh? When did I say that the temperature has anything to do with jump run and exit separation? As far as air speed is concerned (assuming the pilot flies by the numbers, which they should), the airplane is going to be flying the same air speed regardless of what direction the airplane is flying. The track across the ground is dependent on the winds aloft and how fast or how slow the airplane is making progress along jump run. I'm not really advocating that people give little exit separation when dealing low winds aloft, but I am saying that it's important to recognize when the winds are strong that extra time be given. That is why time and the 45 degree rule do work together. Yes I can see that the 45 degree rule alone has it's flaws. But unless people know how fast or how slow the airplane is tracking across jump run, they really don't know how much time to give each group. Now if you're talking about separation being dependent upon air apeed because on one jump you're jumping out of a slow aircraft (a Cessna) and on the next jump you're jumping out of a C-130 (obviously a much faster aircraft), well then you're talking apples and oranges and how often does that happen for most jumpers at their regular DZs (outside of something like the WFFC which has many different aircraft).

I guess you're not a very good reader are you? Since when did I say that one must solely rely on a 45 degree rule? I said time and the 45 degree rule can be used in combination when trying to judge a jump run one isn't used to such as a downwind jump run. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If the airplane(s) you are jumping from are equiped with a GPS (many nowadays are), ask the pilot what your ground speed is. Pretty soon you will learn what is fast and what is slow for the airplane and you will then have a better idea as to what sort of separation to give. This applies to the normal jump run as well. On calm winds aloft days, not as much time is needed between groups. But on strong winds aloft days, tons of time between groups may be needed. And in the cases where your airplane(s) are not equiped with a GPS, you can still check out the forecasted winds aloft by checking out an aviation website (like AOPA's) ahead of time if you are so inclined. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Think about this for a second. On a downwind jump run, is the airplane flying at a faster or a slower ground speed? It's flying across the ground at a faster ground speed (obviously the ground speed will depend upon the winds aloft) and thus not as much seperation is needed. It's still a good idea to combine time and the 45 degree rule, but not as much time is needed on the downwind leg as it would be required when the airplane is flying into the wind. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not getting a good visual as to exactly what you mean by "porpoising the brake set line through the steering line". I have an idea what this means, but I'm not going to do something like this without someone who knows what they are doing, shows me. Hey while I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box, I'm not dull either. Well at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I wrote my previous numbers down in my log book(s). But ironically I also remember them ... I think ... A-41467 B-25645 D-26396 But I couldn't tell you what my USPA number is if my life depended on it. Something like: 18XXXX Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've been doing a little reading here as well as on Blinc concerning customizing our brake settings, plus I also got to compare video of someone who's obviously customized their setting versus some of us who haven't at the potato-ville bridge last weekend and I'm really beginning to think that at some point I NEED to customize mine. So I'm curious as to how many people have customized their settings, how they went about it, do they have vents and valves and did that make a difference and what is their philosophy concerning how deep is their settings when jumping B & E (obviously low to non-existent head winds) versus A & S (usually tail winds right). I'm flying a big boat (which I like). It's a FLiK 293 loaded a few fractions below 0.7:1 and I have vents and valves. BR has delivered the canopy with only one setting and there's nothing wrong with my current setup for jumping at the potato-ville span. But at some point down the line, I will be visiting Moab which will be a whole different ball game. I realize that since I'm flying a big boat, my forward speed isn't going to be that bad, but based on the video I watched from my weekend, that until we've popped our brakes, I'm still flying faster than the fellow who's customized his settings. I've read that some people like to take their canopies up on hop n' pops and find their stall points, mark them and adjust the settings based on this. But I believe someone also mentioned that they thought this wasn't such a good method for vented/valved canopies. I've also read that someone likes to do a floater in zero to low winds at the potato-ville bridge with video to judge how much their canopies fly forward (this sounds like a good idea, but I'm not doing floaters yet ... but I may be doing them soon). And I've also read that someone suggested to have a whole slew of settings installed, test them out and go with what seems to work and undo the rest. Now I'm not sure exactly what's involved in changing one's brake settings. Is it similar to how the brake settings are modified on a skydiving canopy or are things different for the cats-eye on a BASE rig? Finally if I'm going to make my deep brake settings more deep than what they currently are (keep in mind once again that BR has only given me one setting, not two like some of the other manufacturers), then what's going to happen on slider up jumps? I know some people like to have different rigs for slider up and down jumps, so who knows what I'll do in the future (I am thinking of purchasing more than one rig once I become a tad more experienced). So what do some of you folks think? Have you customized your settings and if not, why? Plus if you are one of the manufacturers, I'd be interested to hear your opinions concerning the default settings. Thanks in advance for all those who participate in this thread. And ... I'm not sure how to say this, but I think I'm hooked. Weather permitting I'm seriously considering heading back to the potato-ville bridge again this coming weekend (a 10 hour drive from Denver) and if I do that will make 3 out of the last 4 weekends at the bridge. It makes for a rough day at work on Mondays, but I can't think of a better way to gain some much needed experience. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Actually having your "A" is a good thing. You are now no longer a student, you are licensed and can travel to different DZs. Of course all you needed really was your proficiency card signed off. One thing though is that you really don't need to apply for the "B" and "C" licenses on your way to the "D" (once you get there) as you really only need to be a given license "qualified" to do most jumps (like night jumps, attend the WFFC and/or water training). So all is not lost. Plus Tom Buchanan (S&TA at the Ranch) has mentioned a very good reason to get your "A" number in another thread found here and basically his point was that the number protects you should you loose your "A" license proficiency card. So while it's unfortunate that you have to pay your renewal and license fees at the same time. It's a good thing to do. Congrats on the "A". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The renewal and license fees are different. In otherwords you will have to pay for both. Sorry for the bad news ... but blame the USPA ... not me. When you get your new license in the mail, you can dispose of the old card you currently have. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Now who would be doing that? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

1. Whats your name? Steve 2. How old are you? 40 ... but I look and act much younger. 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? I just love being in the air. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Single 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? '89 Toyota Supra and '99 Jeep Wrangler 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Yes ... Sunshine gave me mine 8. Where do you live? Boulder Colorado 9. Do you have any pets? Yes ... Scratchy my cat 10. How many jumps do you have? 705 airplane / 14 BASE 11. What color eyes do you have? Hazel 12. What is your nationality? Canadian 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Yes 14. Favorite Movie? Too many to list 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Work and play 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? Yes 17. If not... do you want to? n/a 18. Do you have siblings? several not all from the same mother and father though 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Europe to jump off of cliffs 20. What's your favorite color? No real favorite 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Vancouver BC Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Kelli ... you are not at all like my co-workers. You are much cooler even if you're not jumping as much as you used to. At least you and Hook get out every once and a while to hit the mountains skiing/boarding and/or climbing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

In fact I found it too quickly which caused my body to slightly rotate 90 degrees to the right and I experienced my first 90 off heading opening. But that's why we do our first "X" number of jumps at the safer confines of the bridge right? To learn from our mistakes. Good stuff I tell you, but you already knew that. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don't even need to take the test to know my job is bullshit (I did score a 56, but that's only because I've changed over the years to no longer care, otherwise I would have scored higher). I just came back from lunch with a few of my work colleagues and I serious wonder whether I should ever do this again. Let me summarize what myself and a few of my work colleagues did this weekend. I made 9 BASE jumps at the Perrine bridge this weekend. Had I not gone BASE jumping, I would have been at the DZ doing roughly the same amount of skydives. Work colleague #1 (married male mid 30s) worked on setting up some Solaris computers all weekend. Nice guy and all, but definitely a geek. Work colleague #2 (single male about 24 years old) spent the weekend watching TV, working in the garden and reading up on more computer technologies. Work colleague #3 (single female about 27 years old) spent the weekend at the Malls buying ... oh what was it ... nine outfits, three pairs of shoes, a bunch of candles, lamp shades ... oh you know the rest. This girl is attractive and all that, but is so high maintenance it is not funny. She always shows up to work with a new outfit and is always late to the bullshit morning meeting only because she likes making dramatic entrances to get comments about her outfits. Oh and don't even get me going about her, her TiVO and her reality TV shows. Aie-karumba I say (and I don't give a damn if they read this). So who is more messed up? Me for putting my life on the line with my 9 BASE jumps? Or these people who's only purpose in life is their careers, their image and status symbols and their stupid TV shows. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Have fun ... but don't forget to go for quality ahead of quantity. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over