betzilla

At my DZ, we're marking the handles that aren't affected as "CW03-01 does not apply."

The Richmond Boogie rocks. You should go -- even if you can't do student jumps there, there's a lot to see and learn. And the parties are awesome too.

Thanks Terry! You're a peach.

I need to know the square footage of the "Laser 7" reserve. Can anyone help? thx.

My sweetie says he did a 20-way tube out of a CASA once. He hasn't produced the video to prove it though... aparently once it got out the door, it tipped up on end and left the vdieo guy in the dust He said it was completely silent in there -- they could've held a book-club discussion

Add to that that each mfgr will want to thoroughly test it on their equipment before starting to sell it. They might want a few years field testing courtesy of jumpers who bought them for their V3's first, in order to keep their prices from rising, eh? I heard a rumor that Rigging Innovations has shown interest in licensing it for their rigs, though.

Exactly. S-turns really are great for losing altitude, when there's nobody else in the air with you. But when I see people doing really wide s-turns just to land close, when they're in a pattern with 20 other jumpers, it gives me the willies. I don't think they're intentionally trying to screw anybody else, or do anything unsafe -- I just think they haven't considered what it looks like to the other pilots in the air, and the pilots on the ground watching. As canopy preferences change, canopy practices need to also. We need to fly in consideration of the other pilots: where they are, and what they're flying.

You've got that right -- I'd want a few along, in that case.

I think of "erractic" as anything not easily predicable by the other jumpers approaching the landing area. At any point in the pattern, I think a jumper has a responsilbility to fly a personal pattern that other jumpers can predict and stay clear of. Isn't that the point of a pattern? For example, if someone is flying downwind, and is someplace between 200-500 feet, it's reasonable to assume that jumper will initiate a trun of some kind, in the direction agreed on, whether that be a 90 onto base, or a 180 onto final. When I was jumping at a smaller DZ (4 canopies in the air), I used s-turns to burn off altitude quite a bit when flying my pattern. Now that I'm at a big DZ, I just don't want to do something people aren't expecting, both as a service to other jumpers, and to keep myself from getting hurt. Being aware doesn't just mean knowing where the other jumpers are. It also means making it easy for them to be aware of you, IMO.

Somebody told me that Alti-2 now has the parts they need to build it. Maybe we'll have some in time for winter .

***After some experience, different disciplines, thinking, etc. I now know that a hook knife can come in handy for more than the above mentioned situation. Quote Here's the thing about that situation -- think about it: If your bridle is entangled with your ankle, it's FAR from your reserve container. Therefore, if you go straight for silver, you will most likely get a clean reserve deployment without ever touching your hook knife. If you cutaway first, you risk entangling your reserve with your main risers, which are still attached to you, since your main container never opened. I was taught not to waste time with a cutaway, if it won't separate me from my malfunction. If you start trying to cut crap with your hook knife, you're wasting valuable time as you pass thorugh your hard deck at terminal. I wouldn't want to go in with nothing out, but my hook knife in my hand. Maybe that's just me. Although I carry a hook knife, I will probably only use it if I have a reserve malfunction, to try to improve my situation as a last resort.

No, don't sweat it. When it's time for you to consider having one, your JM's will talk to you about it.

Next time you have that nightmare, try to change the outcome, when you realize it's only a dream. I had a dream once where I was about to go in. Then I thought, "hey, this is a dream -- anything is possible here." In 'lucid dreaming," you can take control of your dreams and change the outcome. I also try to look at my skydiving dream as visualization, of a sort. What did you do in your dream that caused the bridle to entangle with you? It's a chance for you to learn from mistakes without actually making them.

John, that is such a good idea. If we give people something in print, they can't claim they didn't know about it, and we don't have to feel like (or be perceived as) jerks for reaming them out. in any case, people deny fault in all kinds of situations where they screw up. That's a sucky part of human nature. Hopefully that doesn't mean they can't learn from their mistakes.

I used to pack crackers, baby carrots and fruit to sate me until dinner on long jump days. Now I'm lucky to be at a DZ with an awesome cafe, so I can eat if I'm hungry without having to plan ahead.

That sounds like a problem one of our local jumpers had after downsizing to a canopy smaller than the container was built for. there is a fix for it, involving a larger chunk of stiffener for the bottom main flap, I think. SunPath will hook you up, or it can be done by the rigger here (maybe any master rigger).

Yep. DO that. Solo rigs sit you in a better position under canopy -- one that won't restrict circulation.

twisted....

Students here are taught to cutaway only if that will result in separating from the main. In the case of a bridle entangled with some part of the body, a cutaway is not advised because the main would still be attached to them, only there would be a LOT morem of it flapping in the wind, trying to snag the reserve. I had never considered that there could be a time (other than a total) when I wouldn't hit the cutaway handle before deploying my reserve. But the fact is, if a cutwawy isn't going to separate your from that main, it's wasted time, and could cause more trouble for you.

Once, I dreamt that I had a giant catapult in my tree-filled backyard, that I could use to throw myself to altitude. I don't recall how I cleared the trees each time, but I catapulted myself to 10 grand over and over again

It's the Collins lanyard that does this. You can't get a Skyhook without a Collins, by the way. -Betsy

That's true. Although it was an intentional cutaway, the malfunction was not -- Kirk planned for days, coming up with ways to simulate spinning line twists. All his planning was pointless, because Pinky just gave him her normal opening. He was not only the first to have an actual spinning malfunction on a Skyhook, but the first in all RWS' years of intentional cutaways to ACTUALLY have a malfunction.. He said he never felt the harness lose tension, and he didn't have even the shadow of a linetwist.

After 520 jumps without correction (I wore glasses, and hated the way over-the-glasses goggles fit), I just got contacts. What a HUGE difference! Goggles were fine over them -- I didn't feel any wind in my eyes at all. I wear plastic goggles with foam around each eye, and have been told they are the best for contacts (although I'm sure most goggles would be fine as long as the vents are pretty small). Full face helmets work too, from what I hear. I've never jumped one, but i work in a gear store, so i tend to hear what people like and don't like about equipment. SO I don't think you'll need a new helmet with your contacts. Enjoy the great, in-focus view!

It's like driving a car. Driving a car doesn't in itself shorten your lifespan, but if you campare average age of death between those who drive cars and those who don't (if you can find any of those), the first group will die earlier, on average. It's not a health thing, it's life shortening through accidents. Same with Skydiving.

A really famous guy (I won't mention his name, because I don't want to make him blush thru his beard) said this to a very nervous freefall student at my DZ: "I still get scared a lot, but I always jump anyway, because I don't give in to superstition." I thought that was a great way to put it.