pms07

Congratulations to all the participants and thanks to Brian for sharing the photos. Well done!

Well done! Wish I could have been there...

Jarno, Video teaser looks great and I look forward to the full-length feature version. And thanks for organizing and flying with me at F&D. I learned much and had a great time! Pat

QuoteI'm sure it's possible to fuck it up but we all have to trust each other with main and reserve handles and we trust each other to do pin checks and maintain their closing loops so they don't break in the door and kill everyone. I don't see how customizing an AAD to your jumping behavior is more difficult or dangerous than many other decisions we have to make every time we go to the DZ... *** You have started your argument with an incorrect assumption; I don't do not trust you near my handles, doing a pin check on my gear, nor do I trust that you correctly maintain your gear. We don't know each other that well... And, I can point to lots of examples how each of the items you mention has resulted in a life threatening incident, multiple times. The reason you do not see how each jumper individually setting AAD operating parameters is potentially dangerous might be that you don't fully understand how AADs work and interact with a variety of skydiving variables. We do not know there are numerous fatalities attributable to AADs not giving a reserve time to open. Where is the conclusive evidence of that? "...why not change it so it works all the time..." The quote above tells me a lot about your opinion on AADs. If only it were that simple...

Are you talking about the 16-17 July weekend? I can probably be there.

Spot, Nice job on the PIA video interviews, as always! First class production and a great vehicle for those of us that cannot be there to see the latest gear and innovations. Thanks! pms

Skydiving is alive and well in spite of challenges from a difficult economy. Lots of adventure to be had, lots of people to jump with at hundreds of nice drop zones. More options now than ever in what type of skydiving you can choose to participate in; FS, VRW, FF, CF, S&A, swooping, wingsuits, whatever. There are more gear options than ever as well. You can find large boogies, small boogies, competitions, international events, big-way/records, coaches, multiple turbine DZs, zoo dives, tubes, high altitude, jumps with inflatible toys...and the list goes on damn near every weekend. Or you can simply go make a hop and pop if searching for a few minutes of solitude. Try not to be so negative...nothing is "killing" skydiving. Go out and make some skydives and maybe you will change your mind...

Quote01 - Scott Bland 02 - Macca 03 - Robert Pecnik 04 - Jarno Cordia 05 - DSE 06 - Tom van Dijck 07 - Butters 08 - Mike Miller (maybe) 09 - Skwrl 10 - Michal 11 - Kallend 12 - Ralph K 13 - Kyle 14 - Simon 15 - J-Sho 16- Jeremy Tyer 17 - Andreea (SuperGirl) 18 - Matt "You snooze, you loose" S 19 - Veno!! (copland007) 20 - Spike 21 - Jackie 22 - Mark "Birddoctor" Duber 23 - Scott "BSR" C 24 - Eduardo 25 - Christian "AirRebels" Waard (maybe) 26 - Stu Lange 27 - Kipp 28 - Smoothie. 29 - Eduardo G. 30 - Paul from Montreal 31 - Ben Knoop 32 - Pat S

True for many of the jumps. There were not enough Vectors or matching jumpsuits for for some of the larger jumps, however. Seems like there were somewhere in the vicinity of 25-30 rigs. There were more matching jumpsuits IIRC but on the larger dives, at Quincy in particular, some wore their own jumpsuit or rig...and I wore my own Talon on several of the larger dives. In fact I'm looking at a Norm Kent photo on my basement wall, 32-way open diamond done at the end of the Quincy camp, organized by Tony D; Guy let us use the rigs and jumpsuits but there were not enough to go around...and there are 6 non-matching rigs and 8 non-matching jumpsuits in that photo, including my Talon... With that said, the photo referenced in this thread does not look like one taken during filming of "From Wings Came Flight"...

Yeah, "worth next to nothing" really is a good estimate. Were the rig mine I would decommission it. A 20 year old rig and 25 year old reserve are not going to save you money in the long term and there are, potentially, issues that will need attention from a good rigger. And, you may have difficulty finding a rigger that will maintain this rig. Saving money on gear always sounds good but airworthy and safely compatible with the type of skydiving you plan to do are more important...

At the end of the day, how do you think emergency landings for buildings, trees, or powerlines should be different for a wingsuit vs a non-wingsuit skydiver? To me...the water part is quite obvious. The rest of it isn't. Looking forward to your input. DSE, Concur with your thoughts and I will say thanks for your efforts to spread wingsuit education. The articles you've posted are well written and thought out. pms

I would like to know the source of that information. I find it hard to believe that a jumper would be turned away, or even treated with anything but respect, at Z-Hills simply because they jump at the Ranch. If the jumper is in good standing with the USPA, and are for the sole purpose of skydiving and having fun, I'l willing to bet that they will sell you tickets, and treat you like everyone else. I would like to know as well. I also think it's unlikely that Ranch folks would have any issues at Z-Hills, assuming they just show up, buy tickets, skydive and have a good time. Hell, it's unlikely they would even be recognized as from the Ranch unless it's Billy R or one of several other "high profile" ranch hands. I've jumped at the Hills many times over the years (including being there the week the FFE Otters disappeared...) and I don't remember anyone ever asking where my home DZ is or caring...

No need for yelling but a question; have you ever seen a canopy collision in the pattern at a small cessna DZ? I have, multiple times. Lots of near collisions as well. Having no set landing pattern or policy to deconflict traffic is a recipe for disaster at any DZ...unless there is only one canopy in the air at a time...

For many the "self check" is much more extensive and might, more appropriately, be called a "pre-flight inspection". You start the pre-flight before donning your gear by doing at least the following; check reserve pin, AAD is on, main pin/bridle routing, etc. Once you have the gear on, check routing, handles, all straps and connectors properly fastened, check to make sure you have your helmet, audible and visual altimeter, all are properly set and on, etc. Much like pre-flighting an airplane. For some, the check of 3s might also be done 3 times; after putting on your gear, before boarding, and prior to exit. There are lots of variations. Recommend ALL always get a good gear check and do it the same way, every jump. If you prefer, do it as you learned as a student; it's good procedure. Gear checks can be done without assistance however, should you choose (and with proper training).

Well, recently perhaps. Check nationals results from 1984 and 1987. ;-)

Cosmobuddy (Fred) is a great guy and has been around Montana skydiving for many decades. I first met and jumped with him when I was stationed at Malmstrom 1978-81; there is no better source for information and advice about skydiving in Montana. Make sure you look him up! If you want to make a jump away from a regular drop zone and closer to Malmstrom, however, try to look up Roger Fultz in Fort Benton. We leased a 182 from him years ago and, last I heard, he was still available to fly an occassional load. It's been years however...

I plan on phasing out the barrel roll and looking over my shoulders on more break-offs. I knew there were quite a few people here that are anti-barrel roll and obviously some that feel that the barrel roll should NEVER be performed before pulling. I just wanted to find out why they feel that way and their reasons for not doing it. Some of the reasoning and feedback given I haven't heard before and plan to utilize. I'm not real clear on what ""phasing out" the barrel roll means. It almost sounds like you are reluctant to give it up even though you may have learned something here. Still, learning may have taken place... Okay, lets put this one to bed I guess. I'm sure the issue will be revisited though as it seems to be a recurring question in spite of the fact that barrel rolling to clear the airspace above you is, for the most part, a foolish, ineffective and potentially dangerous plan.

Sangi, Really, I am curious. What pleasure do you get in coming around here and posting foolishness like the above? Why the juvenile behaviour? Curious also, how many "real flying" jumps do have on a wingsuit? Anyway, I'm going with the classic...

In the military we always called these "A3 bags". I have no idea what "A3" is supposed mean. Anyone? Anyway, I have a dozen or so of these around the house that continue to hold up, a few in spite of 30+ years of wear and tear.

Marion, Sorry to see you go but wish you all the best as you seek out life's next adventure. You are truly one of the nicest people in the sport that I've met and I enjoyed flying with and getting to know you at Z-Hills and Elsinore. Thanks for sharing some wingsuit adventure and the sky! caw-caw! Pat

Gary Hannah. Greg Wirth, also an early-70s Osceola jumper, died in that crash as well.

Condor

Lots of us UNITED STATES skydivers live or travel overseas and have lots of international skydiving friends. Many of us also attend skydiving events with a significant overseas attendance in the states. Parachutist can be a good source of information about skydiving events in those locales. There are also many USPA members that are not residents or citizens of the US. To me, the limits you suggest seem kind of retarded... BTW, Lichtenstein rocks! pms

I can not think of a scarier malfunction of throwing out a uncock PC, besides maybe a horse shoe. By checking and doing it multiple times I am insuring that I will not forget it. Same can be said about checking your cypres and reserve pin before every jump. Nope you got it wrong. I never proposed not checking the kill line window (or cypres and reserve pin). In fact, as I mentioned, that's an integral part of preflighting your gear, every jump, before donning the rig. I do it every jump and hope you do as well. None of that is a waste of time and I never suggested it was. Cocking you pilot chute multiple times is however. The logic of your procedure is somewhat flawed. Rather, by cocking the PC once in a well thought out and systematic packing procedure, then properly preflighting your gear, you ensure the PC is cocked. With your logic, you could cock the PC a hundred times per pack job but in reality it need only be done once. I'm checklist and procedure oriented, habits learned as a pilot and and during a lengthy military career. As an example, when I preflight an airplane (that is much more complex than any skydiving system), I always check the fuel levels before flying...once. I do it the same way every time. I just follow the checklist or procedure, which ensures I get it correct. I never check the fuel level twice, waste of time. I transpose that methodology to skydiving, as do many. Still, if cocking your PC 2 or 100 times each pack job works for you, please continue. I just chafe at the notion that teaching cocking your PC multiple times is necessary, because it's simply not true...

I was pretty sure I was in a skydiving forum but this thread looks more like a fucking lawyer convention. When all you aspiring legal experts figure out the nuances of tax law and how it applies in this case, I'm sure you will let us know... Meanwhile, let's get back to talking about skydiving...