tbrown

I once considered a pullout, but they have their own set of problems. Technical arguments aside, I think the market has already made the decision, with well over 90% choosing throwaway after more than 30 years, myself included. Throwaway can be alright for those who choose, but I'm not one of them. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That's one other thing I've been thinking about. Somebody on these forums once called the cutaway handle "the handle that won't save your life" in earlier PCIT forum discussions. If I had decided to cutaway first, I would have had to take the time to grab, peel and pull the red handle first, and burned off hundreds of feet doing so, before pulling silver and ending the skydive. My hard deck alarm would've gone off for sure. My main bridle would have still grabbed and destroyed my freebag. It might have made a difference if the freebag hadn't cleared the bridle But that's the heart of the problem with PCIT's - they're a crapshoot malfunction whether you cutaway or not. Anyone who survives a PCIT is lucky, no matter what they do. The only real solution is another evolution to our gear and I don't know what that would entail. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's a tricky situation, no doubt. Best thing is probably to avoid the PC-in-tow completely through good equipment maintenance. With spring and Safety Day coming, this is a good topic for a bumpy. Besides which, it finally happened to me, two weekends ago. After tracking off from a 10 Way formation dive (Perris Rumble Rules Meet), I waved off and tossed just as my pull alarm was sounding at 3 grand. To my great disappointment and dismay, I found myself continuing to lie flat and stable. Looking around, I could see nothing. Reached back with my hand and could feel nothing, though I knew it had to be back there somewhere. The reaching around rolled me on my side, which might have cleared the p/c, but didn't. At that point, I decided I'd had enough and went straight to silver, getting a really quick, clean, and surprisingly soft opening from my PD193R (God bless PD !). I was opened on a level with the rest of my team and my hard deck alarm, which I set for 2 grand, never went off. My reserve was no sooner open than my main decided to come out and play. As it was behind the reserve, I checked my main & reserve risers quickly and decided I could safely cutaway the main, which I did before it was fully inflated. A friend on my team happened to catch my cutaway after opening on his GoPro. Back on the ground, my rigger, who also happened to be our team's camera man, discovered a nasty black burn on my freebag, which actually cut right through the bag material. The reserve canopy was not damaged, but the freebag was junk. My main bridle had apparently snagged the freebag, causing a very intense friction burn. I'm just glad I never saw any of this as it was happening, while my reserve deployed in barely more than one second. Addressing a number of issues; I have always maintained that the best way to deal with a p/c in tow is prevention. I still believe that, but inspite of everything I've done, it still happened. My p/c is a factory spec Sunpath F-111 fabric p/c sized for a 190 ft canopy. It's much larger than most ZP p/c's, so large that people tell jokes about me doing CRW with it. I DEFINITELY cocked the kill line, I remember doing it (I do my own packing and routinely check the kill line at two different points in the process). The kill line was getting short enough that I'd scheduled it for replacement with my rigger, but it was not short enough for immediate concern - I could still see slack in the kill line next to the p/c centerlines, which were taut. I had also just replaced my main closing loop. This was only the second jump with the new loop, but it was no tighter than usual and my previous opening had been same as always. I think the likeliest candidate for what went wrong, was a "lazy throw", in quotes because I'm not lazy about that either, but somehow I think the p/c managed to flip over my back and collapse in my burble. That could explain a dancing bridle trying to snag my freebag as well. I have come in for some criticism about going straight to my reserve without a cutaway. I am one of a minority who have believed in pulling the reserve without a cutaway for a PCIT. As yet, USPA doesn't endorse one method or the other, only that you make your plan and stick with it, which is what I did. However two skydivers who I deeply respect, Jim Wallace and Dan BC, were both of the opinion that I should have cutaway first. Because I respect them as much as I do, I am seriously reconsidering my EP procedure should this ever happen again. But honestly, I don't think a cutaway would have changed anything that happened. My risers would have stayed contained under their covers either way, and the main bridle would have grabbed at the freebag either way. The only difference I can see is that the main would have departed on its own as it belatedly tried to open. The truth is, people with PCIT mals have lived - and died - with or without a cutaway. But again, I am reconsidering my response in the future. I am very leery of "tossing" a p/c. No matter how hard you toss, the upward blast of the air around you is going to take your p/c UP a lot quicker than any distance you think you can toss it. In the old days when hand deploy was new, we would pull it out to arm's length and let it go. I'm not talking about leaving it hanging out there either, but a smooth pull, full arm extension and release. I do know another jumper or two who now do that after having had their own PCIT malfunctions (and one is a rated AFF Instructor with over 9000 jumps). Bottom line is, you can do your best to prevent a PCIT, but they can still happen to anyone, so BE PREPARED - make your plan and stick with it ! I hope this lengthy discourse will stimulate some discussions on Safety Day. Blue skies to all and let's be safe up there ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Hey, if it's ok to elect a brutha, it's ok to elect a brutha-hood. Then again, we haven't been so keen on Hamas being elected in Gaza. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So what ? Have we gone so far to the right that there's no room for lefties to even speak or be heard ? Also, it simply doesn't follow that she would "loathe" her son. Plenty of parents still love children who make life choices other than what the parent would've wanted. She still lost her son, she IS entitled to grieve, isn't she ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I love the Skyvan exit but hate the door. I don't mind the ramp and have no problem opening it (I'm 6'3") either. And I totally love the exits. But there is something just a little freaky about the whole back end being wide open like that. It's nothing like a side door. Makes my instincts go "yipe !" just a little bit. I think that's just part of the fun though, just like the rest of this sport. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Airspeed deserves every bit of praise they get. I would like to see a team (like Fury) stick with it though. I am sure Josh has his reasons for making the switch. Personally, I would want to stick with what I started though. Try to create my own legacy. Fury has the potential to do that. Or I should say "had" the potential till Josh made his move. Fury will continue and be successful with Todd though. No doubt about that. It's always tough when you see a key person move on to another opportunity. But on the bright side, look at it this way - Fury only has to replace one member. Airspeed has to build up a whole new team from scratch. I'll be rootin' for Fury to open a can o' Whup-Ass at this year's Nationals ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So how does the church "beautify" a dead guy ? Do they dig him up and do some kind of a makeover on his corpse ? Weird.... (Actually, as an ex-Catholic, I'm just being a smartass.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

He jumped in the dark, below a grand, carrying over 100 lbs of extra gear, with flak shells and tracer fire aimed at him. Under a little 28 ft. round canopy made of silk. Blue skies forever Major Winters, you've earned it. We can live the way we do because of you and many others who never even lived through that night. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

As bad as 30 years is, he at least didn't go to the chair or get the needle. Unlike the 150 death warrants George Bush never lost any sleep over because he "knew" they were all guilty. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So sorry to hear this. Some songs carry you straight back to a place in time. Baker Street takes me back to the 1978 Nationals Boogie in Richmond, jumping from Mr. Douglas, followed by my first days arriving on the west coast. BSBD Jerry & thanks. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I, uh, sort of swooped on a first jump student nearly 31 years ago. Couldn't believe how beautiful she was. It took a few more weeks before we started seeing each other, but we were both pretty sure about each other within a few weeks. We have two grown daughters now and will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in April. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And that's a FUN game to play. Just like playing teacher & schoolgirl, rich bitch & pool boy, professor and student who need an "A", arrested & molested by a sexy cop, etc, etc. Gives us all a chance to let go of a few inhibitions and feel as "dirty" as we want to be. Not the same as the real thing, not like doing the first ugly rude stranger with the money. Not like being beat up if you don't. Not like having the money taken away from you by your pimp, being arrested, or having your passport stolen and being sold in the underworld. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just got done reading an interesting piece at Yahoo, about some possibly human bone fragments found on the island where Amelia Earhart may have gone down in 1937. The University of Oklahoma is going to attempt DNA analysis, but is cautioning everyone that the fragments might be from turtle bones as well as human. This is the same island where remnants of a woman's shoe from a 1930's style was found, as well as an aluminum panel and a piece of plexiglass the exact thickness and curvature of a Lockheed Electra window. They're excavating the remains of a campsite that gives clues of western people, and not islanders, having lived for some time. These people, whoever they were, apparently brought shellfish ashore before cutting out the meat, while islanders apparently do it in the water. The water off the reef is 1000 - 2000 ft and they're still trying to raise $3-5 million to finance a deep sea search for the wreck of the plane. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

"Enchanted April", "Bridges of Madison County", and "Like Warter for Chocolate" (which I always thought was about food & sex, until some idiot informed me it was a "chick flick"). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

My wife has squeezed two kids out of her body - is there ANYTHING I shouldn't do for her ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

My daughter, when she was in England last year, saw monuments to martyrs who were publicly burned at the stake by their fellow Christians over doctrinal disputes. In Russia, people were burned at the stake over the way they blessed themselves with the sign of the cross. In America, religious fanatics feel free to plant bombs in Planned Parenthood clinics, as well as to shoot doctors in their homes and even in their churches - during Sunday services. Religious fanaticism is not confined to the Muslim world only, though it surely does exist there as well. As the man from Bethlehem once said, let us remove the plank from our own eye before we criticize the mote in the eye of another. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think he looks like the "cell block sweetheart" in what the movie "Office Space" referred to as "butt slammer prison". Hope the little shit enjoys himself. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you're going to buy a new container and need a new reserve, you should get something that's going to make you happy for a long time. We'd all like to save a few hundred bucks, but if you're already commited to the price of a new rig and need that new reserve, spend the money and get something you're going to love. You can for sure get some really good PD reserves on the used market, with a rigger's inspection of course. And it's a great reserve, the one time I've used mine I was really impressed with how it flew. But everything I hear about the Opti is so much better - so why not have the BEST ? I mean it's YOUR life the thing is going to save. Then if you need to, sell your Pilot and order one in ZPX fabric for the smaller fit. Bottom line is a.) first it has to be safe, and b.) you want it to keep you happy for years to come and not wishing you'd bought something else when you had the chance. Bite the bullet and get the Opti. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

To suggest that I don't belong in skydiving because I prefer to pull at 4,000' is a very narrow-minded, elitist view. My hard deck is also 2,000', but unlike you it is HARD. When that alarm goes off if I still don;t have a good main I am chopping. People have died because of "it's just one more line twist". I am neither narrow minded or elitist, nor have I suggested you don't belong in skydiving. But except for solo jumps, an insistence on pulling at 4 grand limits the other people on your dive, as well as people on the same jump run, who now have to keep an eye out for an open canopy while they're still in freefall. To a certain extent we all have to trust our gear - if we can't, then we shouldn't be jumping it. We should also be trusting our own abilities to use our gear. Anyone who can't trust themselves or their gear down to 3 grand needs to ask themselves why not. I don't like 2 grand one little bit, but I know from experience on one hybrid jump gone wrong that I can take it down to 2 grand and open without firing my Cypres. And that was 5 years ago, with no repeat since. That was the jump that caused my wife & kids to buy me an audible. To call me elitist is pure bullshit posturing. All of skydiving is elitist, get used to it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

With the holidays coming up, the thing to do is to orchestrate protests with people willing to go to jail for maybe overnight. They'll need to buy a ticket too. then all they have to do is strip naked at the security checkpoint. Put all their clothes in the basket. It will be a sure attention getter and focus plenty of heat on this issue. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And how many canopies were sold with stains of undetermined origin on them? Sparky Mike, are you referring to the PROPER way to break in any new canopy ? A new canopy was not considered safe to jump until it had been fucked in, or at least that's how I remember it. Geez, and I thought you wuz a rigger.... ;-p Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Not the earliest by a long shot I'm sure, but on Saturday evenings in 1979 the sunset load at Otay Lake would often land naked up on Otay Lake Road, overlooking the dropzone. Then they'd casually stand around and drink beer, nekkid as the good Lord made them. Sometimes whuffos would pull their cars over to join the party. You had to be there to believe it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I remember those rigs. I had a Hanbury rig myself, which had the same kind of p/c storage, between the back pad and main container, with a velcro lead to the pud handle. As the velcro got old, the handles could get loose and be hard to find. had a few reserve rides myself for the same reason. Also had some friends with Racers who had their own pud problems. By Thanksgiving 1980, which coincidentally was the only time I ever met jeanni, pud totals were so endemic that manifest at Perris (Jack Ballard to be exact), lost his temper and promised to ground the next pud total, after something like 3 of them had happened in one afternoon. I still rmember him yelling on the PA, "You people get those damn things fixed !" I converted to a Hank Asciutto p/c system the very next week. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A lot of students would never have got into those training harnesses if they had ANY idea of what went on in them after hours !! No joke, either.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !