deadwood

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In the US, maintenance and alterations do have a place they are required to be documented (your rigger logbook) . However, that doesn't do the next rigger much good. Just an observation: In places like the US & Canada we have nothing like a Harness/Container logbook, so any mods or repairs to the rig are undocumented. That's not ideal. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Why not just unhook your PG harness and roll out of it? I've seen it done a few times. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Did my last tandem today. Took up my boss, a Lt Col in the United States Air Force. She brought the champagne! My First one was Aug 2nd 1991. Never hurt a passenger. Only two cutaways. Why did I stop? In two months I’ll turn 60. To me it just doesn’t seem right for someone to come out to the DZ for a tandem jump and be strapped to a 60 year old man. Experience will help compensate for age, but only to a certain extent. I can feel myself slowing down. It’s getting harder to crawl around in the back of a narrow body Cessna 182, get 200 lb guys out the door and do landings at a high altitude DZ. (5200 MSL) Could I continue for a few more years? Probably. But I just want to end it on my terms and not have my buddies trying to decide who should be the one to tell me it’s time to quit. So I made my last one on a nice warm fall day with a standup landing 5 ft from the disk with someone who I wanted to share it with. It was a great run. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

I jumped it last weekend in New Mexico. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

More mental masturbation: Ok, so say I get my Class III and it says I need glasses for near vision when “exercising the privileges of my certificate.” So I now have a Class III medical, but I don’t wear my near vision correction glasses when doing tandems. Am I in violation of something? All the USPA says is I must hold a current Class III Medical which I do. They don’t say I must meet all the restrictions on it when jumping. As far as the FAA is concerned, I am not exercising the privileges of any certificate (as defined by the FAA) when doing a tandem. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

The Cypres worked as advertised. You must've been mistaken, that could never happen with a CYPRES, they're perfect. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

I saw an incident once where the reserve opened when the jumper was walking back to the van after a jump. We looked and the cutter had fired. He was an experienced jumper jumping a student rig with a student Cypres. Turns out he got a little “enthusiastic” with his canopy work on the way down and managed to exceed the student cypress firing parameters. Due to the rig size/configuration and closing loop length, the reserve stayed closed until it got bumped on the ground and then it opened. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

What type of rig? He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

A C-9, but with skirt reefing. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

One that was past its battery life limit failed to fire and led to a tandem fatality. As to the unit life limt. I don't know. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Real Photo. It looks like a Block 15 A model with a PW220 engine. It can put out as much a 24,000 lb Thrust but doesn't need to in this situatuion, even with two bags of gas. The nozzle is closed so he is somewhere below MIL power. Also look at the leading edge slats, they are deployed, futher indicating slow speed flight. It also looks like a Dutch tail flash. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

So I was starting to repack a reserve today and for some reason I got curious. Its a 1993 PD and as you all know it is required to go back to PD for a check out after 25 jumps or 40 repacks. The data plate showed 5 boxes left to be checked, meaning he had 5 more repacks before it had to go back. I then counted the number of repacks on the packing data cards. Counted 3 times. Its been repacked 43 times. I'm sending it back as I believe the packing data card is the official document I should go by. Lessons Learned: Always mark the dataplate when you repack a reserve. Never believe the dataplate when you repack a reserve. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Depleted uranium should do the trick. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Do you know who made the canopy? He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

http://www.flytec.com/Products/Variometers/6015.htm He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

What is the position of all the various manufacturers of leaving them unhooked for landing? He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

I say again. I have yet to hear a reason for leaving them disconnected that results in a significant improvement in safety. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

As I said, I had one bad landing experience many years ago with the lowers disconnected. We hit some nasty sink and turbulence outside the target at about 100 ft. We hit hard with some side motion and rolled. We ended up with our feet pointing away from each other and a 180-degree twist at the upper connectors, twisting my passenger’s harness at her shoulders. This could have easily resulted in some neck and shoulder injuries for her. Had the lowers been connected the separation and twist would not have occurred and I could have better protected her with my body during the landing. Fortunately, there were no injuries. The purpose of this forum is to have an exchange of information. We can see what problems and issues others have had and hopefully learn by them. So this is an experience I had and the reason I have the lowers connected for landing. Everyone else can take it or leave it. If you are sure it will never happen to you, good for you. But if it does, don’t say you never heard of it being a problem. I have yet to hear a reason for leaving them disconnected that results in a significant improvement in safety. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

(If you think connecting your lowers is going to help you when you; 1, are cut off. 2, make a mistake on landing. 3, are thumped in, by turbulance. You sould reconsider being a TI.) After a bad experience (the aforementioned hinge problem) with a turbulent landing with the lowers disconnected, I now always keep them connected. In some circumstances, they won't help. In some they might. I keep them connected for the “might” help situations. There have been several reasons given in this thread for keeping them connected. What are the safety reasons for leaving them unhooked? He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

[As for high pivot point, if you are smashing your landings you should reconsider being a TI. If you think you will never run into turbulence during a landing, never have anyone ever cut you off, or never ever make a mistake during a landing, then you should reconsider being a TI. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

I had to cut the same canopy away two times in three jumps, but it was a Delta II Parawing, so that was about par for the course in those days. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

In 40 years I’ve had two near freefall/airplane collisions (that I know about). Lets also not forget the commuter and the jump plane that collided over Colorado many years ago. Don’t wait until you open the door to scan for traffic. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

Quote: " Ray Ferrell has an STC to install them on there with I believe just one guide ring." I always wondered how the FDSO justified this. How can you have a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) on something that doesn’t have a Type Certificate? He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division

I do about 15-20 HangGlider and ParaGlider reserves a year. He who hesitates shall inherit the earth. Deadwood Skydive New Mexico Motorcycle Club, Touring Division