scottjaco

The more I think about this, it probably isn't as dangerous as I thought. Even if there was no slack bridle between the d-bag and canopy, most of the S-folded canopy would pull out, start opening and pop the d-bag off on it's own.

Yes

A lot of people do it. It's cheaper than buying a whole new pilotchute/bridle assembly.

French link itself was not broken. It just wasn't connected to the bridle. The bridle is two pieces sewn together with the kill line inside. the stitching that held the two pieces together was stripped for about 3 inches. The bridle itself would not have broke but it would allow the extra briddle to slip through the grommet, since the french link was no longer stopping it. The bridle was not "frayed". The stitching was just bad.

This is kind of a wierd problem I had yesterday at Perris. I'll try to explain.... When I normally cock my pilot chute, there is a french link inside the d-bag that is sewn into the bridle. This prevents you from pulling out extra bridle which needs to stay between the d-bag and canopy. Obviously this allows extra room for the d-bag to seperate from the canopy on deployment. After my first jump of the day..... When I went to cock my pilot chute, the french link was just hanging there. The kill line was threaded through the center of the french link. It was the only thing keeping it close to the bridle. The bridle was now split apart about 3 inches from the grommet. I can only assume that the french link broke off the bridle and "caught up" on the kill line which created enough resistance to not allow any more bridle to slip through the grommet. This would explain the 3 inches of split briddle. The french link was probably tearing the bridle in half as the pilot chute was pulling on my d-bag. My question is, if the bridle had continued to split apart and pull the remaining briddle throught the grommet, would there be no way for the d-bag to seperate from the canopy? There would have been no bridle left inside the d-bag to allow it to seperate from the canopy. Would this have resulted in a bag lock? Is this somthing that happens from time to time? I know we put a lot a pressure on the french link when we cock our pilot chutes. I would also like to add... this was originally a bungee colapsible pilot chute that I had converted to a kill line. Should I be mad at the rigger for bad work? I've only used this for the last 100 jumps! scott

I don't know man. Everyone deserves a shot. If you feel uncomfortable, don't jump with them. Skydiving might make them a better person. If they come to me and say they want to jump, I'll answer any question they have but I know most people who talk like they want to try it, never do. If they have any of the above traits that you mentioned, I know the AFF jumpmaster will straighten their asses.

I did some reading on the PD website and it said that all canapies weather they are eliptical, tapered or square 9 or 7 cell, all fly at the same speed. Assuming they are all the same SQ ft. size and wingloading. If you don't do anything aggessive below your hard deck, why is it so stupid to use it. I was thinking about renting a Stilleto 150 just to see what all the fuss is about.

Waiting until someone is sitting on the toilet before confronting them is pretty weak. What happened? There has to be more to this story... people don't just do that for no reason. I'm sure this incident had somthing to do with a guy. Have any of your male friends broken up with anyone lately? OR This is just a theory...please don't take offense Perhaps they see someone who has gone a long way in the sport in a very short time. I'm a little jealous! I wish I could afford to do half of the stuff that you have done. All the trips around the country to different dropzones. All the tunnel time in Orlando and Perris. Not to mention, you have a decent personality. There are people who have been in the sport for years that aren't as "well connected" as you are. A lot of skydivers are tweaked and have very intense personalities, myself included. I've known you since Taft, and I can definatly say that you don't deserve this kind of treatment. No one does. It really bothers me that this kind of shit is happening at my home dropzone.

Because it's a hell of a lot better than a Cessna

I love that one! It looks like they are around 5K until they go past the cloud cover which looks to be around 500 feet.

What do you normally charge for a repack? As long as the final cost of the repack is around $50, I won't complain. If the base price is already around $70 and you start nickel and diming me, unless I think you are an absolutely amazing human being and rigger, I'll probably look for someone else to do it.

website www.fireflysuits.com phone 515 280 6691

looks like the winning bid was $3,800. Almost enought to pay for that $4000 engagement ring.

I agree with Kbone. In my line of work, there isn't much loyalty. I wish you were right but I have been let down by so many bosses. I too have worked in managment. I will never do that again! I'm at the point where I just don't care anymore. If I don't like the deal, I walk. If they don't like my terms, they can screw me, and then I walk. I'll pick the faster. scott

I watched it. I had no idea they were going low until I saw the 2 canopies out. It was a total shock. What I like about this video is that it demonstrates how easy it is to lose altitude awareness. As I watched the video, I was fixated on the student just like the instructor and didn't even see the ground coming! I think every instructor should watch this video. Also, if you are that low, maybe it's a good idea to go straight for silver (especially with a cypres)!

http://boneheadcomposites.com/havok.htm Havok is 32 oz. Don't know about the FreeRZ (astonaut helmet)

There are a zillion place to land at Perris. You don't have to land on that tiny grass strip. Frankly, I let the swoopers have it when it's busy. Try the far end of the circle. There is a packed dirt road around the outside of the circle where Truck Dude usually picks us up. Really? I would think that chasing an Otter would be a much bigger danger to the guy on the bike than to the Otter. Which one is bigger and faster? Using a truck as weapon is uncalled for (especially with skydiver in the back) unless your life is in direct danger. Did motorcycle guy have gun? Let the cops handle it. scott

Ya, he helped me when I broke my leg a while back (on the grass). Thank you Mr. Truck dude! He doesn't usually hang around the grass unless there is a good reason.

I pay $154 a month in Southern California. Kaiser Permanente. I called them when I was on student status. They said as long as you are not an instructor, you are covered. When I broke my leg, I didn't have to lie about how it happened. Don't lie on an application. If you get hurt, you can bet they are going to know it was from skydiving. They read ambulance reports..ya know

How's the Coke problem?

12th slice? on a low carb diet? Give it up!

What altitude do you get from an ultralight? From what I've seen at Perris, they only look like they go maybe 500 ft.

The important thing is..... did your friend learn from his mistake? Does he now know how to identify and fix line twists?

thanks!! it worked! I was on Largest, now back to Medium!