bclark

I haven't seen the Subaru ad in a few days. Now there is this TinkerBell ad. It is much less intrusive than the Subaru ad, in that it does not splash mud all over the screen. But it pisses me off more, because anytime I try to load a page, this is the ONLY thing that will load. Brand new computer, great internet connection, but all I can load is FUCKING TINKERBELL when I want to look at dz.idiots.

Exactly! I put it up for sale several times, no one was interested. I finally sold it for less that I felt it was worth. Rigs that are popular in a bigger market will be easier to sell, and will retain their value better.

I like RI products. Always have. The first new container I ever ordered was a Voodoo. I was happy with it overall. 2 things I immediately did not like. It did not come with any cutaway cable inserts in the risers. I had to pay for them afterwords. The Voodoo is advertised as a freefly rig. Mine came with a huge ( I mean HUGE ) RW style hackey that looked to me like a preemie waiting to happen. ( At the time a "freefly" handle was not offered as an option.) Other than that, I loved the rig. The 2 issues I had were minor, but I feel like for what you spend on a new Voodoo, it should be fucking perfect on delivery. Maybe these issues have been addressed. RI builds nice rigs, and I know that no rig is perfect. The final reason I sold my Voodoo is, there is a very limited resale market for these rigs. Unless you live in Arizona, California or a few other places. It is damn hard to get a decent return on a used RI rig. I was brought up on an "RI DZ", owned a Talon 2 before my Voodoo. My feelings now are that for the $$$, there are better rigs on the market that retain their resale value much better.

Oh SHit! NICE!

Didn't get to see this, but as i understand it AFFI made a "menstrual cycle" costume one year. (Involving a bicycle and lots of feminine hygiene products). Come on Mykel, you've got to have a picture of that somewhere...

A total by definition means that the main CONTAINER is closed. Thus there is no deployment of the main. A pilot chute in tow is a total. Whether you are taught to cutaway then pull reserve, or to go straight to the reserve DO SOMETHING! Personally, I will go straight for the reserve. I would rather deal with a two out situation that I have some control over than a cutaway main entangled in my reserve.

SHUT UP AND JUMP! 131 acres, 5 Otters, 3 Caravans, paved runway, bitchin swoop pond. And a DZO who puts profits back into improvements to the DZ. PRICELESS... Skydivers will find something to bitch about no matter what. Talk about losing sight of the spirit of skydiving. Y'all should be happy that there is still someone out there willing to put forth this kind of effort for you whiners.

Tandems are not pylons. Even the best make mistakes. In this situation, your mistake is going to take the lives of three people. Best case you OK'd it with the idiot TI, and the student is the only unwilling target. Worst case, you didn't talk to anyone and took out two innocent people. In my opinion, wingsuiters have no business ANYWHERE near tandems. P.S. I think wingsuits are cool. I would like to learn to fly one (responsibly) one day.

Saw the movie when it was still in theatres. I have always been a big fan of Sam Raimi. I liked it. Especially the ending. Lots of cool and somewhat corny special effects, in traditional Raimi fashion. And yes, she is very good looking.

This opens up a whole different can... BUT. Roughly 5000 of my 6000 of tandems have had toggles on landing. The injury I spoke of earlier is the only one in my career. Don't feel like the student having toggles had anything to do with it. (That brings us into another hot debate, the whole meat hauler vs. tandem instructor debate.) I think a good Instructor should be able to teach most students to assist with canopy control all the way to landing. Not taking anything away from the other camp, who may work in an environment where student participation is discouraged. Like anything, it takes practice.

Rubber bands are cheap and break when you need them to. Tube stows are expensive and may or may not break when needed. I like properly sized rubber bands.

I like the way the PD360R flies once the brakes are unstowed. The rock and roll openings are a bit unsettling if you are not prepared for it. The steering line / L bar hangup is also a concern. I hate to think about how that reserve is going to land an unconscious tandem pair with the brakes stowed. I would like to see the manufacturer put some thought into how to change these two design characteristics. How to change the reserve to withstand a terminal reserve opening at max gross. weight and not open in a stall. (Providing a more survivable landing for an incapacitated load.) How to change the steering lines / connector links to make controllability problems on brake release less likely or impossible. These thoughts based strictly upon the concerns of a TI, not a rigger / designer / engineer or manufacturer.

One student injury early in my career. Broken tailbone. Primary cause was a late flare, secondary cause was my incorrect sliding landing technique. Horrible. Still ashamed of it to this day. It was worse because I came in contact with the guy later, realized how long it took him to recover, and what an impact it had on his life. I learned correct technique for sliding landings. Many TI's (experienced and inexperienced) lift and fully extend their legs with their students in preparation for a slide. As the student naturally hangs slightly lower than the instructor, this allows the first point of contact with the earth to be the students ass. In the case of a late flare, or a vertical drop this exposes their tailbone and spine to possible injury. I learned from this that my job as a TI is to meet the earth with my feet first. Seated in the harness, Instructors legs should be only slightly extended past the 90 degree position allowing the Instructor to take any impact with their feet. From this position the Instructor can stand, slide on his feet, or take a couple of steps (If appropriate) and still be prepared to settle into a slide if needs be.

Testify! I have seen smaller TI's fight and struggle with their students, all the while they forget they supposedly knew how to fly before they got the rating. I have also seen TI's of the same size and stature fly big and aggressively, and rival the best of us "long" guys. And I will mention names: DONNIE LEACH. Too bad this sawed off bastard is not still doing tandems to show the rest of you whiners that it is a matter of skill over stature.

I have worked 7 years at a DZ that does 8000 tandems a year (SIGMA). We take students up to the 500 lb. TSO. I have never seen a bent lower connector. We emphasize proper harness adjustment on a wide variety of body sizes, and do not allow assist devices on the lowers. This leads me to believe that bent lower connectors are due to practices rather than materials. The upper connectors are load bearing. The lower connectors are to keep your student from sliding around beneath you in drogue fall. If you are tightening the lowers to the point that you need assistance unhooking them under canopy you are either over tightening the lowers, or running your vertical adjustments too long. (In other words you are loading the lower connectors rather than the uppers.) I know this will be a controversial statement, because I see an awful lot of TI's with lanyards on the lower connectors. But think about it. Uppers are load bearing. Lowers are to center the load laterally beneath you. Not saying leave them loose. They should definately be snug. But you should not have problems releasing them manually without assistance. I have hauled students up to the TSO on the gear, (which for me means a 300 lb. student) without problems with stability, and without needing assistance unhooking the lowers. I am not basing this on isolated instances, but hundreds of tandems with students 250 lbs. and above.

On some containers if you tuck too much bridle up under the right side flap (between the pin and the pilot chute), it can snag on the top right corner of the bottom main closing flap. I had it happen (caused it to happen) a couple of times on my old Talon 2. Gave me an awesome pilot chute hesitation. (On my first balloon jump none the less.) When I recreated it on the ground I could literally pull the PC out of the pouch and lift my rig off of the ground by the bridle without pulling the pin.

I agree that AFF is tailored for those who wish to learn to skydive. It is probably not best suited to a person 71 years of age who wants to jump once a year only. Not saying that it is unsafe, but that it places much more personal responsibility upon the participant. Not only to perform on the skydive, but to accept the risk of injury. On an AFF skydive your instructors will do everything within their powers to help you, but primary responsibility for your safety lies in your ability to follow the training that you received, and an honest evaluation of your physical and mental condition.

http://s709.photobucket.com/albums/ww96/Lucky123_Scott/Freeflock%20Utah%20Boogie%202009/?albumview=slideshow

I use much the same technique. During flare practice up high I tell them it is going to look like we are going fast. Then we practice hands up, legs out, and "bring your hands down with mine". I use this instead of "flare" because it is a simple instruction, rather than terminology that they have likely never heard prior to their first jump. I know alot of TI's have preconceived notions about letting their students land. Many of them never seriously took the time to practice several landings under canopy with their student. (because we all know death spirals and vomit are more fun. ) Many others can't land a parachute by themselves, let alone with someone else on the controls with them. (If you are one of these, please take a break from doing tandems and go work on your own canopy skills.) This topic has gotten a little off track. From students getting alti's to participation in canopy flight. Both topics are inter related because they both come down to whether you consider yourself an instructor or a human amusement park ride. I personally feel that being an instructor is much more rewarding to me as a Tandem pilot, and to my student who gets a little personal attention and an opportunity to participate and learn. I don't do too many tandems anymore. (having fun driving the caravan). But many threads in this forum come down to one question: Are you an instructor? -or- Are you an amusement park ride?

I think the phrase "standard practice at the DZ I jump at" explains alot of it. There is always a tendency to want to fit. Which in the case of a safety practice can be a good or bad thing. I think it is important for us to think about what we are doing, and the possibilities, and to form our working habits accordingly.

Seat belts on until I am at an altitude at which I am sure that an emergency exit can be succesfully made. (which varies with aircraft and where I am seated.) After the seatbelt is off, I hook up the lowers only. (Straddle or floor seating.) I think it is a bad idea to be hooked up on takeoff. I see ALOT of instructors do it. I think that if you are really high enough to make an emergency exit, you have a couple of seconds to make your hookups. I also agree that if you are incapacitated your student is unlikely to be able to free himself from you, especially if he / she is also injured.

Man, you think 2 weeks is bad. I now have not made a jump in 2 MONTHS. For the first time in years. I am having lots of fun flying the Caravan though.

If you are Facebook, become friends with Skydive Spaceland and check out the pictures from the "Limbs of Love" event.

Case by case. Many no, some yes.

At the limbs of love event i did a double amp (just below the knees), and my friend Ivan did one above the knees with no prosthetics. As Nathan Blood mentioned, they went surprisingly well. With mine, I carried her to the door, and had camera people help me sweep her legs back into a bent and behind her position. Poised exit and nice solid freefall. Ivan did the double amp above knees with no prosthetics. He didn't really have to do anything different. Just made sure the harness was properly adjusted. This kid was SCARED, but you should have seen the look on his face when we landed.