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Funny you should ask this as I went through the same thing. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what it was coming from but I had them after every single weekend of jumping. I watched video after video of my deployments because I was scared that I was getting my arms in the way of the risers - never showed up on any of my videos. FINALLY, one day when I was walking back to the hangar, I felt that pain in that same area where I always get the bruises - turns out that it is from the side webbing of the harness and the 3-ring system of a nonperfect fitting rig - but it's from when I'm walking and swinging my arms back and forth - the inside of my arm was rubbing along the harness and causing the bruising. I would have never believed it if someone told me that is what it was - until I felt the pain and identified it right then and there. Weirdest thing ever. But, now that I know that, I make sure to hold my canopy up over my shoulder with one arm and that keeps it out of the way, and then I don't swing the other arm - or I use it to also hold my canopy - not a single bruise since then. See if this helps. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

This is a "silly" question from a newbie, but I'm going to ask it anyway. I have a collapsible slider that I never collapsed before. Last month, I had several people ask me if I was doing practice flares after opening - answer = yes, why? Seems as if my slider was rising up the lines during flight and not giving me the best flare possible as the slider would start coming down again when I'd flare to land. I took the canopy control class and had that instructor watch me. I also had another instructor fly around me under canopy. Both said that my slider definitely came down on my practice flare but eventually made its way up a bit during flight. They told me to collapse my slider to fix this. Ok, seems easy enough, I'll give it a try. However, I could not reach the darn thing for the life of me. I was told to hang on one of the rear risers and get it down a bit and reach up with the other hand and grab for it (if my air space was clear to do so). Didn't help...I spun around in circles chasing the slider - America's Funniest Videos, here I come. I consulted my instructors who told me to order shorter risers. So, a couple weeks later, new risers ordered and paid for, got them put on and made a jump this weekend - I still can't reach the darn thing. I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions are appreciated. PS - it's not like I have Tyrannosaurs arms but I am short. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

How are those training materials working out for 'ya? See you out there next weekend! E ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Oh yeah, I heard it. I also felt my left shoulder drop, then my right shoulder drop, then fall. And when I have dreams (uh, nightmares) about malfunctions, I hear that distinctive clinking. I told someone here that I heard it and he thought I was crazy. Thank goodness I'm not the only one! Thanks ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Personally, I'm glad I didn't see it until a couple jumps in. One, like others have said, I had so much information thrown at me, I would have been overwhelmed. But, mostly, when I saw that video, it honestly scared the crap out of me. Something about seeing that second fall, that sudden drop again, just made my stomach churn. From that time forward, I was absolutely terrified of having one because of that video. However, it was very educational and I think it's a great video - I just don't think I was ready to see if after only a couple jumps. The pictures in my AFF class were good enough for that point in time. I also recommend getting a student in the holding harness when practicing emergency procedures so they can actually feel the drop and the heart rate increase. Our practice harness wasn't raised, so I didn't feel the drop until I really had a cutaway - will never forget the feel of that or hearing the metal clicking on my shoulders. Now, I tell all my friends to get in the harness at reserve repack time and feel the drop - it helps. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Definitely. I've jumped with a minor sinus irritation and it was so extremely painful. During freefall, my jaw started hurting and it shot over to my ear quickly and was quite painful. Not worth the permanent damage it could do to you. Continue to go out there and enjoy the company and refresh your skills on the ground but wait it out. Best of luck. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Amen Chris! ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Robin - great advice!! Mentors can be found everywhere - just know that with every subject, people have different opinions and advice to share, so know who you;re asking - not just someone with a C or D license and assume they know what they're talking about. Hey Robin - when all else fails - just go do an AFFI again . ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I am needing to buy shorter risers. I currently have velcro and have no issues with them, am used to them, and like the way I store the excess brake line. My friend has tuck tabs and routes his excess brake lines in an odd way (odd because I'm not used to it) but really likes those as well. What are the pros and cons of each and which do you recommend? Are there any safety issues with one over the other that I should know about? Thanks for your help. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I am needing to buy shorter risers. I currently have velcro and have no issues with them, am used to them, and like the way I store the excess brake line. My friend has tuck tabs and routes his excess brake lines in an odd way (odd because I'm not used to it) but really likes those as well. What are the pros and cons of each and which do you recommend? Are there any safety issues with one over the other that I should know about? Thanks for your hellp. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Steve - agreed. I took blame in this as well for not making those minor adjustments, but I think we all agree to be more heads up after landing just in case. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I had something similar happen to me this weekend, but with a newbie, straight - in approach. I turned on final at 250-300ish feet and saw someone who had landed below, collecting his canopy. He never once looked up or around to see other canopies - that is the first thing I do after landing... Anyway, I'm heading in his general direction - he's still walking without looking around. He stops for a second to adjust his shoulder and begins walking again - not in a straight line mind you - a little to the left, a little to the right. Now, as a low time jumper, I still do straight-in landings and no turning. I do minor adjustments up until the "10 seconds of full flight before flaring" - but once I'm at that 10 seconds, I try not to do anything as I'm still trying to nail all my landings. It was during this full flight time that I realized that if he takes another 3 steps in the same time frame, I'm going to land right where he is. Now, GRANTED, I definitely could have done more adjustments to avoid the close call - I've talked to many people about this to know that I was at fault as well, so I know this.... So anyway, I'm yelling at the top of my lungs that I'm coming for him - it wasn't until the last split second he heard me, turned, saw me, and literally hit the deck! to avoid my leg kicking his head off his neck. I know I have blame in this as well, but for crying out loud - look around you after you land. Know that there are some newbies out there scared to turn coming in later than most. PS - we landed out in the student area, so it's not like I was trying to land close to the hanger or in the HP area as I was not. He was a more experienced, large jump number person who didn't make it to his usual landing area closer in.

I am a low # jumper - 150 jumps - and I learned something new this past weekend. I'm on a newbie 8-way formation team, so we all have huge canopies and come in nice, long, and straight as we don't yet do any kind of turns on final. Several weeks ago, the logistics of why those w/ HP canopies come "cutting across our pattern" was explained to us - it made perfect sense. I won't begin to explain it as I could get it wrong. Perhaps someone else here can. But, it made sense. It's not that they are cutting us off - it has to do with how the pattern a HP canopy is different than ours. The new thing that I learned this weekend was from our camera person - he pulls higher than we do but has a HP canopy. I used to ride in on half breaks to enjoy more time up there, but he explained that we should not be doing this. Basically, because our wing loading is so much different than his, he is coming down faster than us and will be going through us even though we fell 1500 more in freefall than he. Again, I can't do it justice...but, it is physically impossible for him on his HP canopy to stay above us and wait for us to land - he is coming in fast. And, in order to land with intact femurs, he has to gain a certain amount of speed to get the proper lift to land, and he can't do that coming in like we do etc...So, me hanging in half brakes just makes the situation worse - which I now no longer do since he explained this to me. Anyway, perhaps someone better educated on the exacts of this can explain better that they are not "cutting us off in our landing pattern" - they are doing what they have to and what their canopies need to land safely. I'll try to ask that person who explained it to us to jump on here when she has some time. Thanks for listening - I hope this didn't confuse things. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I have 3 set for me. First is about 300 feet above predetermined breakoff. This gives me a second or two to smile bye, break grips, turn and burn. I want to be free of anyone's grip at breakoff time. Second is set for 300-500 above pull altitude (300 if doing a solo or small group, 500 if doing a larger group). This gives me time to stop my track, look for clear air, wave and pull. On the larger groups (right now, 8 is considered larger for me), an extra second looking time. The third is set for 1900 - my personal decision hard deck - if not under a fully functioning, landable main - go for silver NOW, no questions asked. Hope this helps. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

SkyCat - you're right - Marianne's son has 313 jumps! She told us that her doctor said that since her body under normal conditions has been skydiving, she could continue. If she hadn't been doing it, then she could not start. I think she said she jumped until her 6th month. Perhaps she'll reply here. Best of luck and just do what feels right and take your doctor's advice when they are properly educated about this sport. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

My guess is that since he has a bit over 100 jumps and a 176 reserve, he likely doesn't have a HP canopy, but I see your point on that issue. Yes, I know the altimeter +/- factor. This is actually the lowest hard deck I've had. I started at 2500, then gradually have been working my way down. I was at 2200 for quite a while after student status, but with 8-way formation, pulling at 3,000 - my snivel has been causing it to go off, so I lowered it just below snivel to at least give me time to do a quick SSS canopy check before freaking with that thing going off. Some at my DZ say I should have it at 1800, but I'm not doing that until I'm comfortable with it (or never). Thanks for your input. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I'm only asking to see what everyone else thinks - it's your own personal decision, but 2500 seems like a high hard deck once off student status. What do people with a little over 100 jumps recommend the hard deck to be? I have a little over 100 now and have mine set at 1930. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I, too, am a newbie, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. But, anyway, here's my opinion: I agree with what everyone has said about your right side, flaring too high, and please don't injure yourself by reaching to break the fall - I have one more thought...and I only say this because I was doing this for the first 50 jumps. A DZ staffer who heard me complaining of my landings started watching me and then came up to me and said - I can see your head facing down towards the ground and not out at that 45 degree angle. On this jump, if I see that again, I'm going to slap you. Although I knew this was the way to do it, it was true, I was not doing it right. So, on my next jump, I found myself looking down until I heards Bill's words in my head, forced myself to look up, and landed it great. It was very scary as it seemed like I should be looking where I want to land. Anyway...my point...it's hard to tell exactly from your video due to the full face helmet - but going frame by frame, it does look like you start off looking ahead, then at your too high flare, I see a small downward angle of your helmet, then, as your feet are reaching for the ground, you seem to look back up. My two biggest issues were - looking down, and stretching my legs out to reach for the ground - I was trying to hit it before it was time. I found that concentrating on really and truly looking ahead and not down made a huge difference. Also, because I have a depth perception issue anyway, I find that it helps to bend my legs - kneees up towards chest (not super high). That gives me just that extra foot before trying to reach for the ground. Ever since Bill got on to me, I've been doing much better - even in no winds days which were my biggest problem. Again, I'm a newbie, but hopefully something in here will help. Thanks for listening.

Good question. My Dallas rigger has us do that as well. He's the one that told me it was a good practice. I'm not sure why they would get mad about it, but mine encourages it. It is a good thing to do. I had my first cut away/reserve this weekend - it still took me two hands to cut, but I had practiced like that just in case, so all was good. Definitely do it at repack time. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

yes, I agree, you are right. I knew that I pulled before 3000 because my ditter is set to 3200 and had not gone off yet. (left that detail out, sorry) I know I was over 2700-2800 when I went for the stall. From there, it was mere seconds. I knew before I got under the canopy after the swing that I was going to chop - as my twists started on my swing back. I don't think I was back to vertical when I did chop. I agree that AA is a huge priority, but once you see the problem and know you are going to chop, taking an extra 3 seconds to look at altimeter is not worth it, in my opinion. Thank you for the reminder, it's a good lesson.

I know it's hard to speculate on something you didn't witness, but I'm hoping I can provide enough details that perhaps someone can provide some input. If not, I understand, but maybe I'll say something in here that will lead to some insight. Sorry if long, but I want to provide as much as I can: I'm not 100% percent sure as some of it is a bit fuzzy and I don't know exactly what caused it. I'll tell you what I can and maybe you can help me with some of the logistics of what may have caused it. It was my 70th jump, and I learned a lot of lessons from it. First of all, please know that this was not an equipment malfunction - it was something that I caused. Here's basically what happened: I was testing out a new canopy - so I pulled higher than normal - good thing # 1. It opened fine - it had a small right side drift before going for the toggles. Turns out there was a tension knot in the right brake line (determined after inspection on the ground). Got the toggles, did a flare - seemed to straighten out the right side drift. All was going well. I was testing the responses to turns (this was a Sabre 2 135 as I've been jumping a ZP 145 - trying to determine if I could downsize). Next, I wanted to stall the canopy to get a full-flare point. I pulled the toggles all the way down and it slowed down but didn't do a full stall. I was just beginning to roll my wrists a bit to add more length (I have short arms). I either pulled one side too much or let up one side too much or something along those lines to where the stall snapped me and swung me out to the left. I thought I had broken a line, but I had not. It seemed like it stalled and then snapped me afterwards. (I am told from someone one the ground that I was facing into the wind on this maneuver - could this have been an issue? What is the best direction to be facing when doing a stall?) I'm just not sure. After the swing to the left, I swung back to the right and put myself into a spin causing line twists. Now, normal line twists I can deal with (and have before), but this was a little different. Somewhere between the snap and the swinging pendulum and the twists, I either slipped, or let go of the toggle or something causing the brake line and the toggle to get mixed up in the twist. I don't remember doing this, but I can't imagine how else it would have happened like that. When I looked up, I saw the line twists but also saw my toggle in there. I don't recall letting go of it or not having it at that point, but one of the instructors tells me that it couldn't have been caught up in the twists unless I had let go of it, so I'm relying on his expertise on that. Within an instant, I just knew that I would not be able to undo those twists, and my rule is "if even a shred of doubt, go to plan B immediately, don't try to undo it if you think you might have problems." Now, normally on line twists, I've only had them upon opening and I will immediately go for the risers and begin pulling while looking at my altimeter (before even having the toggles in my hand). Because I knew instantly, I didn't look at my altimeter so I don't know how high I was or how much time I had, but I figured I was well over my hard deck altitude. I likely could have made an attempt or two and had plenty of time, but I didn't bother. The risers were so twisted up that I couldn't look down for my handles - the riser was burning my check. So, at the exact same instant that I looked up and said "nope" I had my hands on my handles. Lesson # 1 - when they say PEEL not pull - they really mean that. I tried pulling then had to peel, duh! Once I got the Velcro undone, the tension in the risers made it very difficult for me to do with one hand. So, I had to let go of my reserve ring and use both hands to pull. That motion put me in belly down position - great - grabbed my reserve and fired it off. (I believe even before the RSL took it). Everything else went off without a hitch - nice reserve ride, sweet landing, all is well. Got the main and the reserve free bag. Lesson # 2 - I now know that I am capable of reacting quickly in a malfunction and doing what needs to be done in the order it needs to be done, in the time it needs to be done. I kept a level head and everything was fine. After opening my reserve, I flew it nicely and landed great - all was fine! Lesson #3 - next time, I'm holding on to the handles if I can remember - I let go of the D-ring and it went bye-bye - that's a $40 mistake I'll try not to do again :) Now, based on that, can you provide any insight to me? What would have caused that "snap" making me swing out? Is there any other way that toggle could have gotten caught up in the twist without me letting go? I just don't remember the fine details of it enough to tell you the exact sequence of events. All I do know is that looking up from the swing, I just could tell immediately that it wasn't worth trying to get the twists out. As it turned out, I saddled out in the reserve at about 1500-1700, so I likely didn't have as much time as I think I did at first. I had intended to pull at 4500 when our group broke off and tracked, but they waved it off a bit below 4500, people turned and tracked, I waited for everyone to clear my way before pulling, so I likely didn't even pull until 3000-3500. Given that I had time to play with the canopy a bit before this happened, I was likely closer to my hard deck anyway, without even looking. So, I'm glad I did what I did. Everyone at the DZ who I spoke to said I did the right thing. Any insight or suggestions you'd like to provide would be appreciated. Anyway, just wanted to share. Have a great New Year!

I have Brad Cole (Senior Rigger) do all my packing for me at SD Dallas. He is great! I sent in my cypress directly to SSK and had them send it to Brad. When he got it, he installed that and packed my reserve for me - along with some other minor fixes. He's super friendly, funny, time considerate and does a professional, no complaints job. He doesn't fudge on the prices, he is very reasonable. If you haven't jumped at SD Dallas yet - I highly recommend it - the staff and jumpers there are all great people! ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

thanks everyone - great information! ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

I've read forums on suggested masks to where while in cold weather - thanks for the advise. Now, I'd like some opinions on good winter weather gloves to get. Something (obviously) that will keep me from getting numb but will also allow the dexterity to do what needs to be done. Brand name, style info appreciated! ~ ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)

Just started in July and will have between 50-100 this year. Hopefully will get in a lot more next year now that the most expensive part of it is out of the way. ------------------------- "If you've never jumped out of a plane, the best way I can describe it is it feels as if you've just jumped out of a freakin' plane." David Whitley (Orlando Sentinel)