Nullified

John, if you pitched immediately, even with the engines cut, you'd be pitching into the prop blast and it should've been enough to extract. Sounds like your stability was the issue. Even with a good horizontal toss, you might have rotated back directly in front of the pilot chute and placed the burble in front of it as well. Do I understand you correctly that you were holding on to Kim, as well as deploying? Is that commonly how it's done? That could've contributed to you becoming unstable. Maybe have her hold on to you next time? So, do I get to fly around you next time?? Stay safe, Mike If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

My experience regarding paperwprk for the licenses has been that Once it's faxed, it's pretty much no longer an issue. Especially if it's faxed from the DZ. If you're jumping at another DZ, have your paperwork with you for them to inspect, and it shouldn't be a problem. I don't know the policies of every DZ, but as stated above, this has been my experience. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Personally, I'm afraid of RSLs. I'm trying to come up with some intelligent explanation of why not to disconnect an RSL, but this is all I can come up with; Why would you?? The price of a repack? If you've made the choice to jump with one, it's obviously for safety reasons. And now, you're weighing your safety against a $40 - $60 repack? Shit, if it's that windy, wait until tomorrow. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Why you would want to disconnect your RSL in a two out situation? What's the point? you already have your reserve out.. Because the RSL is just something else the reserve can catch and hang on? I asked Rusty Vest about this last year. He's done some two-out testing and found that with the reserve already out, the main doesn't always provide enough drag to free it. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

I had a difficult time with level 6 also. My instructor drew a smiley face on the side of my altimeter, and every time I went to check my altitude, I chuckled to myself and relaxed a little. It helped me. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

So, am I to understand that Z-Hills has no regular CRW activity? Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

I heard you hold down on the front risers and don't let up till you're scared then flare? I'm a straight in kind of guy when it comes to landing. Carving in helps a great deal, but you can nicely land it straight in. I've only got about 30 jumps on a Lightning, and most of them have been straight in with no input until the flare. Start your flare a little higher than usual with a nice stab to about 1/3 - 1/2 brakes, and then a moment later finish the flare with another quick stab. Carving it in does make for an easier and more graceful landing, but I can consistently land softly on my Lightning straight in. You can, too ;-> Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

I don't think that anyone thinks that jumping with a cypress is wrong. I sure don't. I think that people are trying to say that jumping with a cypress for the wrong reasons is bad, it sets up a situation where a person will die because the cypress fails. If I realize on the ride up that I forgot to arm my AAD, I have no problem exiting the aircraft, doing the skydive as planned and not giving it another thought. For what it's worth, I've done it several times. I won't purposely though, leave my AAD unarmed. It just doesn't make sense. I know there are a handful of people, the (once again) "It's ok, I've got a Cypres people." out there, and I'm pretty sure that we all agree regarding these people. Believe me, I'm not being lax trying to insure that I don't become unconcious, with or without an AAD. The AAD may get my reserve out in the event that I'm incapacitated, but it won't steer me away from a tree, or the side of a hangar, or a moving prop. It also won't do anything to keep me from breaking my neck upon landing in the peas if I'm unconcious. There are those people who just don't get that, but again, I think that only a very tiny part of the people who jump with an AAD, --including those who won't jump without-- fall in to the idiot catagory. Maybe the numbers are greater than I think, but still, you can't lump everyone in to the same catagory. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Well, here's my technique; Normal pro pack, but I don't roll the nose. Rather, I take the 1st and 7th cell and just kind of fold them over cells 2-6. Lay it down and squeeze the air out of it. Stow my lines, pulling the rig towards the canopy. Once my lines are stowed and I've shut the tail pocket, I pick up the canopy and flip it...so that the risers are laying in place and the canopy is "Upside down." I pull the rig a little towards the canopy and neatly stowe the line slack. Pull a little more while holding the tail pocket, and place the tail pocket in the container. Then, I Slip my right arm beneath the canopy near where the bridal attaches to the rings, and curl my arm around it. Sort of like I've got the thing in a choke hold. I place my left hand like a knife on top of the canopy, just above where the tail pocket is laying in the container and begin to S-fold it in to the container. That's pretty much it. It's MUCH easier than squeezing a canopy in to a D-bag. With this method, I've found that I can make the pack job as neat as I want, but...and I have no explanation...every time I pack it neatly I get slammed and the canopy searches for a heading. When I just close the thing and leave scary amounts of nylon sticking out the sides, I have incredibly beautiful, dead on heading deployments. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Roger Nelson? I'm not sure what you mean by, "Roger Nelson?" If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

There certainly are a lot of different methods and tricks out there, and you'll have plenty of time to investigate and experiment with different techniques. Most of the people I know, their biggest complaint about learning to pack was that too many people explaining it too many ways, making it difficult to grasp. I think the best thing to do is to have one person teach you without anybody sticking in their 2 cents. This will make it much easier to learn. Once you've got it down, you can try different techniques and find out what works best for you. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Hey, I'm planning on visiting FL for several 3-4 day periods over the winter. Just wondering, is there fairly regular CRW activity at ZHills? During the week as well as Fri & Sat? ...Don't die! ...Please God, don't let me fuck this up! Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Ron, I truly respect and admire you for that. I'm feeling burnt out on this AAD debate, probably because we all seem to be saying the same thing over and over. There are a group of AAD users who I think we all agree upon. I just don't agree that everyone who won't jump without an AAD is one of them. For what it's worth, I've jumped without and I'm sure that I will again. As long as I have a rig with a function AAD though, I will turn it on every time I show up at the DZ...unless I forget to! Stay safe. Best, Mike If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

QuoteComparing a CYPRES to a seatbelt is soooo off. When I drive up I-5 3 hours to the DZ, I'm trusting my life to Hundreds of thousands of other drivers. reply] Yeah, but would you get behind the wheel of a formula racing car and push it to it's limits with a dozen or more other drivers all doing the same thing, and not wear your restraining device or a helmet??? Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Aren't you able to survive a mal because of your emergency life saving reserve? Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

I remember thinking that I'd never be able to see anything more than fabric and lines, just as you described. What I found was screwing me up was trying to identify everything that was hanging in front of me. Try this and see if it helps; Have someone help you pack, preferably with a canopy that has it's colors symmetrical, and make sure that they DON'T point everything out to you..."These are the blah blah lines and they should be here, and these are the blah blah lines...et cetera." Just pay attention to what it looks likes right before it's time to grab your death tag. If you know what it's supposed to look like, you'll be able to pick up a just jumped canopy and SEE what has to be done to make it look like what you saw. Learning to identify all of the lines is important, but I found it musc easier to learn packing when I wasn't concerned with what was what, and was just concerned with making it look correct. Once you've got that down, being able to identify the lines just kinda' happens as a byproduct. At least that was my experience. As for the S fold, I never really had an easy time with that so I bought a Lightning! Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Well, I'll do a hop 'n pop without an alti or hook knife, but you sure as hell won't catch me doing CRW without either. Just because you will or won't do certain...especially extreme...jumps with or without certain equipment doesn't mean that you're dependant upon that equipment. For some people, yeah I agree with what you're both saying. But MY point is that not everyone who does or doesn't do something does it for the same reasons as other people. For some...SOME, it simply means recognizing a significantly greater risk attached to a particular jump, and making sure that they are as well prepaired as possible, in the equipment department as well (Hopefully) as the training department. So, I gues you could say that I do and don't disagree with you. It depends upon the thought process that brought a particular person to a particular decision. Not everyone thinks alike or does things for the same reasons, and you shouldn't pretend that that's not the case. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

One time on the way up getting ready to do a hop 'n pop I asked someone, a jumper with over 5000 jumps to give me a pin check, and his response just about floored me. In front of 20 other people on the plane, mostly students, he chastised me for requiring a pin check. His logic was that If I'd gotten a proper gear check before boarding, there shouldn't be any reason to need one on the plane, especially since I was only doing a hop 'n pop. I guess he's got a point in that I'm going to be deploying right away anyway, but still, I think that to bitch at someone for asking for a safety check is ridiculous, especially in front of students. I had someone else check it for me. Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

And no offense but this is a view from someone of the "CYPRES Gereration" Which I am not. To not be willing to jump without a CYPRES is a sign of DEPENDENCE. If you told me I had to jump without a reserve I still would jump, and in fact still have jumped. ---Ron, I know that there are people out here who do depend on an AAD in the way that you're describing, and I also agree with your feelings towards those people. But, I feel very strongly that not everyone who won't jump without an AAD falls in to the same category as the people who will say things like, "...It's O.K., I've got a Cypres..." I know people who won't even do a low alti hop 'n pop without an altimeter. I personally think that's ridiculous, but if it makes them comfortable...and I'm talking comfort, not complacency...then they're free to focus more on what they're doing than worry about what might happen, and I think that makes them safer to themselves and others around them. I absolutely under no circumstances will jump with an RSL. I rarely do anything but CRW, but even before I was doing CRW, and now when I occassionally break out the Sabre2, I would not / will not jump an RSL. I'm not bashing RSLs, but I'm personally more comfortable without one, and that comfort keeps my mind clear to do what I need to do without hesitation due to a fear which may or may not be irrational. Wrong or right, I trust myself to get my reserve out in time more than I trust an RSL to not fuck it up, depending on they type of mal. People can throw all sorts of statistics at me, but THE bottom line is, the more comfortable I am in a bad situation, the better I'll be able to deal with it and no device can replace that. Anyway, my point is, if you're not comfortable jumping, for any reason, you shouldn't. Refusing to jump without a certain level of added protection, whatever that level or its means, is not something that anyone should be criticized for. At least one life is on the line everytime someone exits the plane, and there are just so many things tha can happen. If someone won't exit the plane without an armed Cypres, well, look at it this way; there's one less person who may end up hurt, and one less body in the air who may end up hurting someone else on that load. So again, I recognize that there are those, "...It's ok, I've got a Cypres..." sayers out there. Please, recognize that not everybody who won't jump without an AAD is one of them. As for jumping without a reserve, I'd only do that if it were a choice between that or jumping WITH an RSL Stay healthy, --Mike If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

is this REALLY fun? were you being sacastic? if it is in fact "fun", how recoverable is it? sounds too advanced for me i am sure. It's a lot of fun. With a larger canopy like you're probably flying, you may need to wrap the brake lines around your hand to be able to truly collapse the canopy. Do it slowly, and make sure that you're pulling down on both toggles evenly. You'll feel yourself 'fall' backwards slightly, and then you'll be falling straight down. To recover, GENTLY and EVENLY let up on both toggles. If you let up on one significantly more than the other, you'll spin your lines up. What I'll do is keep the heels of my hands against the sides of my body and legs as I'm braking in to the stall, and bring them up also against my legs and body while recovering. It's just easier to keep things steady that way. It's fun and it's safe, but you are still collapsing your canopy, so don't do it too low!! Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

I saw video of one even better than that. Tandem exits the Otter at 13.5k, TM throws out the drogue. As pre discussed, the TM then pats the student on the shoulders, indicating to the student to bring his arms out from his chest. The student glances at the alti and deploys. I also witnessed another student...around 13 jumps... cutaway a perfectly good canopy. When asked why, he replied, "I don't know, I just panicked." Stay safe. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Just under 500 jumps now. I've had a couple lineovers, a bridal wrapped around my arm and one pilot chute caught in my burble but ended up clearing them and not having to cutaway. Only cutaway so far was around # 400. My friend went through my lines, my canopy collapsed and wrapped him. a moment later I was in a violent orbit around him. He was immobilized, wrappend in my nylon and lines. The incident occured at 7500' and I was under my reserve at 6500'. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.

Looking at the wind indicator is never a bad thing, but you should be discussing and settle on a landing direction with everyone on your load before any of you step on to the plane. Then, do your best (within safe limits) to adhere to that landing direction. I know there's a lot of debate currently...stick to the direction regardless...follow the first person down...whatever. Just be sure that whatever the plan is, it's discussed, understood and agreed upon before boarding. Sort of along these lines, I like to keep something in mind before I manifest and while I'm walking to the loading area...No matter how consistent the winds are and how obvious the landing direction may be, I won't get on the plane if the winds are such that I wouldn't feel comfortable landing down or crosswind, because no matter how well you plan something, you never know what's going to happen. Stay healthy. If you're gonna' be stupid, well, then you're most likely stupid.