AFFI

Dont do it man! Dont make that first jump - it will cost you thousands!!! 3/4 of your paychrcks forever - JUMP JUMP JUMP, it is going to rule your life. You have been warned - have fun dude... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I have been planning for an early retirement but I havent been saving any money...

IMHO - Continued training concerning emergency procedures for canopy malfunctions and canopy piloting situations are grossly neglected by skydivers that I have been subjected to over the years. I have seen people have accidents resulting in serious injuries and fatalities as a direct result of a lack of continued and continual training. After student status, continue to train as if your life depends on it. There is much more to skydiving than being able to do cool maneuvers in freefall. If you do not first and foremost get a parachute over your head, then land it safely and remain unharmed then it is very difficult to get on the next load. I cannot recall a single ascent in an airplane when one of the skydivers onboard who were preparing to skydive had their femurs showing… Who is responsible for your safety when you decide to skydive? The DZO? Your Instructor? Your parents? Of course you are responsible for your own safety – but who will be affected if you are seriously injured or killed? Do you have family? Children? Are there others who are counting on you to be as safe as you can be? Perhaps everyone has varying answers to this question but the fact remains; you are responsible to acquire the knowledge and training to better ensure that you will get to go home and eat your dinner and hug your loved ones at the end of the skydiving day. There is an old saying that “you pay your money and you take your chances”. Personally, I really want to go home tonight and kiss my dinner and eat my wife, and sometimes shit just happens BUT I will do all I can to reduce the “chance” that I will be in a mishap whilst skydiving by training thoroughly. Besides, training is fun – my favorite part of military service was Boot Camp. Many of us hate to pack but wouldn’t think of jumping an unpacked parachute, like training, isn’t packing a form or preparation? So the choice is yours, you can either chew your dinner tonight or be fed through a tube… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What we teach our studdents: Below 1500 Ride Plane Down in crash position. Above 1500 Bail on Reserve 1. Reserve canopy inflates faster and more reliable that main. 2. You are below you hard deck of 2500. 3. Exit the airplane looking at your reserve handle, hands free, as soon as you clear the plane deploy your reserve (minimize chance of reserve comming out in plane). Above 2500 Bail on Main 1. If you bail at 2500' and you have line twists do you tinnk you have time to correct the problem? Either you have a good parachute overhead right away or initate emergency procedures for a partial malfunction promptly. You will not have time to fix a problem this low to the ground. 2. If you have an emergency exit at a higher altitude you may have time to deal with a fixable partial, remain altitude aware and use the hard deck to establish your proprities. Right wrong or indifferent, that is how our DZO has us teach emergency exits... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What if they panic and deploy the reserve into the plane? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Holy Crap! Who would have thunk to ask someone qualified and physically there? Lummy has the best advice in this string... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

IDIOTS – our sport needs them because sometimes we need a sacrificial lamb to remind those of us still among the walking that we are not invincible… Remember your Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

There are dead skydivers whose deaths may have been prevented had they gotten a visual pin check before exiting the airplane – I have NEVER read an incident report about someone being injured or killed because they asked one of their fellow skydivers for a visual pin check before exit. Just because I do not know someone, I shouldn’t ask them for a pin check? That notion is absurd! I have asked strangers and even someone who doesn’t like me at all (and has told me so) for a visual pin check, after all, we are all skydivers right? We should trust each other, on the plane personal issues should not be a concern. I believe in teaching the importance of visual pin checks so much, I even have my AFF students pin check me, a trend that has caught on with other instructors at my DZ. If I am doing my job, my students should know how to give a pin check. First couple of solos the student gives a pin check under the direct supervision of another skydiver (prefer an instructor or seasoned skydiver), upper level students check my pin unassisted and unsupervised. If they have to make an adjustment I will have it double checked of course but I jump a Vector, am a very meticulous packer and have yet to need an adjustment to my gear on the airplane. I only have 3200 skydives so I am still young in the sport (I say that humbly and sincerely); eventually someone may spot a problem with my gear during a pin check and save my life. I really want to have a steak and make love to my wife tonight so I will do all that I can to ensure my survival. On the way to altitude I check my gear and do visuals on those around me repeatedly (have caught misrouted chest straps before), After I get a visual pin check from another skydiver, I always reach back and finger-check my pin as well just before jump run. So my answer to your inquiry is YES, get a visual pin check before each skydive. You want to have a nice dinner this evening right? Do all you can to ensure your survival. Train a lot, then when you have it down like second nature train some more and then when you have thousands of jumps, train some more!!! Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Sometimes there are no wrong/right answers, I have seen someone cutaway far below 1000 and get the reserve out in time, of course they didn’t even have time to un-stow the reserve toggles, pounded in hard - drinking beer at the fire later that night. Ideally - get a parachute over your head before hitting the ground. Don’t cutaway below ground level??? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What the hell is a meter???

Maybe the best suggestion posted so far - Ask your instructors... Hmmmm, What a concept...

When you throw your pilot chute start counting, yes. But in a nornal opening how long does it take before you start feeling something?

How do we change heading low to the ground in order to take evasive action when avoiding an obstacle? When pulling a single toggle down we will turn and dive creating a pendulum effect - when landing, the ideal position in relation to your body is to have the canopy ABOVE your head. Slow Flight/Flat Turn, keeping the canopy over your head is the proper way to avoid obstacles low to the ground right? After witnessing a jumper in the middle of a flat turn to avoid an obstacle impact the ground, make a good PLF then get up and walk away as opposed to others I have witnessed loose their lives because they pulled a single toggle down at 100 feet AGL trying to avoid, the choice is clear. I know instructors who do not know how to stall their canopy; many jumpers think it is too "scary". Braked approach and landing is on the U.S.P.A. A License Proficiency Card for a reason and too many jumpers just get “signed off”. Personally, the thought of stalling at 50 feet while flying in brakes to avoid a ground obstacle because I do not know the stall point of my canopy is much scarier than learning how to stall it properly at a safe altitude - say above an altitude I am willing to cut away from? Learning to stall what you have over your head does not mean you have to fully deflate your canopy. I have made literally hundreds of stalls at a safe altitude in preparation for the day when I have to make a flat turn low to the ground while taking evasive action low to the ground. Many more jumpers loose their lives taking evasive action low to the ground than over-stalling their canopies at a safe altitude. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

This is incorrect - the correct quote from the USPA SIM is stated above - the bigguy with the beard has it right... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Streamer: High speed partial malfunction. When your parachute comes out of the deployment bag it looks a lot like a streamer malfunction and can be very deceptive because it looks like the beginning of a typical opening, but it is stuck. The slider is stuck high on the suspension lines, not allowing the parachute to inflate fully with air. This is a high speed situation, it’s important to recognize promptly and take corrective action. •Right when you throw your pilot chute, start counting: One Thousand, Two Thousand, Three Thousand, Four Thousand, Five Thousand – Six. You should definitely have a recognizable parachute over your head by the time the word “Six” comes out of your mouth (recognizable dosent mean fully inflated, remain altitude aware). •If you have a Streamer malfunction - Initiate emergency procedures for a partial malfunction promptly as this is a high speed situation – Cutaway & Deploy Reserve. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

This is how we teach it at my DZ, straight out of our book - Of course the best method is avioding the situation all together... 2) Horseshoe Malfunction High speed partial malfunction. The definition of a Horseshoe malfunction is that your container is open and the parachute is connected to your body somewhere other than the risers. 2a) Out of Sequence Deployment: (Throw Hackey, if necessary-cut away, deploy reserve) A Normal Deployment sequence is: Step 1) Throw your pilot chute. Step 2) Container opens and parachute comes out. Step 3) Parachute opens and inflates. In an Out of Sequence situation the container has opened but pilot chute is still in the pouch – essentially, Step 2 has happened (container is open) but Step 1 has not. • Attempt to locate and deploy your pilot chute. The main container tray is opened and the parachute is potentially out so the bottom flap (where the BOC hackey handle is located) may not be where it normally is. Place your right palm on the back of your thigh and feel your way up your leg to the bottom of the container in an attempt to locate the hackey handle. • Keep in mind to maintain an arched body position and your hand kept facing palm skyward to prevent a potential entanglement with the pilot chute bridal. • Remember, this is a high speed situation, you are loosing altitude fast. The USPA SIM 2005 states: Premature container opening in freefall (hand deployment only): • Attempt to locate and deploy the pilot chute first (no more than two attempts or two seconds, whichever comes first). • If the pilot chute can’t be located after two tries or if deploying the pilot chute results in a partial malfunction, cut away and deploy the reserve. 2b) Pilot chute bridle wrapped around arm/leg, the parachute is out: This is a preventable situation by maintaining good body position and keeping your palm skyward during the deployment of a throw-out pilot chute BOC system. • Two attempts to clear the entanglement by presenting the extremity with the bridle caught on it skyward, away from your body and into the wind. • If you cannot clear the pilot chute, now you have to find out if the pin has been pulled or not to determine the type of malfunction you have. Total or Horseshoe (partial)? MAke a visual assessment by looking over your left shoulder. • Remember, you are loosing altitude fast. • If your pin has been extracted and the container is open you have a partial (Horseshoe) malfunction, Initiate emergency procedures for a partial malfunction, cutaway (making sure the 3 rings have released thus clearing a path for reserve deployment) and deploy your reserve. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Well put! Procedure # 3, manually pull the pin. Surprised it wasnt mentioned before - possibility of extremity entanglement with bridle or lines?Prevention is the key I think, perhaps adding 30 seconds to my pack job. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What is the safest way to deal with a Pilot Chute in Tow? If a cutaway might be the best response in some situations, what situations are they? Does anybody know where I might be able to find some accurate information on this issue? The USPA SIM 2005 states: For a pilot-chute-in-tow malfunction, there are currently two common and acceptable procedures, both of which have pros and cons. An instructor should be consulted prior to gearing up, and each skydiver should have a pre-determined course of action. Pilot chute in tow procedure 1: Pull the reserve immediately. A pilot chute- in-tow malfunction is associated with a high descent rate and requires immediate action. The chance of a main-reserve entanglement is slim, and valuable time and altitude could be lost by initiating a cutaway prior to deploying the reserve. Be prepared to cutaway. Pilot chute in tow procedure 2: Cut away, then immediately deploy the reserve. Because there is a chance the main parachute could deploy during or as a result of the reserve activation, a cutaway might be the best response in some situations.

The Mediocre Instructor: Some do it for jumps; they don’t care about the student, only about themselves. The law of averages are on the mediocre instructors side that their student will survive this jump. The mediocre instructor doesn’t wear appropriate attire, just free-fly pants and a tee-shirt so after his (or her) Level 5 spinning student saves them self (because the mediocre instructor either won’t even make an attempt to save his student or cant in his free-fly pants or just plain old lacks skill) the mediocre instructor can then go free-fly with his buddy flying outside camera. The mediocre instructor doesn’t properly prepare his student before the jump and takes his students out in unsafe conditions. The mediocre instructor goes and swoops the ditch instead of observing and talking his (or her) student down safely. I have strong opinionated names to label the mediocre with but will refrain because I have better things to do with my time and besides, it won’t make a difference to them, they only care about themselves. They are MEDIOCRE… The mediocre instructor gives the job a bad name. The Quality Instructor: Some do it for the passion, because the quality instructor understands that he (or she) is dealing with a HUMAN BEING that may one day need the foundation of skills their quality instructor is TEACHING them. The quality instructor is teaching a solid foundation of skills and safe practices. The quality instructor cares more about teaching (doing their job) than making jumps and making money. The quality instructor is the opposite of the mediocre instructor. Quality instructors are the minority (IMHO). Given the rampant number of mediocre instructors in the field, it’s no wonder the pay sucks but personally, I think it pays too much. I would and often do it for free… Passion… If anything, the USPA should have made it harder to obtain the rating. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Quote Quote: "your vocab should be about 10 key words...max..." Quote The radio has been one of the most challenging aspect of skydive instruction for me. I speak in a clear consice voice and use as few words as possible and I observe other instructors radio students to learn. It would be great if there were a comprehensive tutorial on good radio skills but it seems that experience is gained through doing in this arena of our disicipline (instruction). The "10 key word max" statement is a very good piece of advice, at least one of the best I have been exposed to so far. Another is to walk out (time permitting) to student landing area whilst on radio and walk your student back in and ween them off the radio ASAP. My commands are as follows (if everything goes well): 1) Practice Flare (establish communication) 2) Turn Left or Right (prefer North South East West if student has moxy) 3) Fly to holding area 4) Start Pattern at 1000 5) If needed - Start Base Leg, Start final 6) Feet and Knees together (as soon as they turn on final - DZ policy where I work) 7) Hands up and Focus 8) Start Flare - 1,2,3 9) Great Landing - Good Job! 10) Watch for traffic landing as you walk back to the hangar. Something like that... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

You really have to watch solar activities – after huge solar flares gravity may be affected so make sure you stay altitude aware and remember to expose your gravity vents, (sometimes called hard housings) to control fall rates… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

QuoteI haven't used it yet, nor even seen them http://www.raredynamic.com/default.htm Follow the link to check em out... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Our DZO is considering freefall instructor/student communication devices in helmets… Looking for some feedback from anyone having experience with this. Will the "voice" take away from mechanical concentration in a high speed environment? Strict guidance to instructors....what can and can't you say to your student? ie cutaway, PULL, spiral etc??? Good under canopy? Any shared experience and perspectives are greatly appreciated… Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

A container made by the Relative Workshop??? Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…