MakeItHappen

50-50-50 Dives That's right you heard it here first, if you didn't hear it from me at the DZ. 50-ways average age of 50 50th birthday celebration When: Halloweenie weekend 2006, Oct 27-29 Where: Perris, CA Who: old farts and young farts - we need an average age of 50 per 50-way Who is turning 50? Jay Stokes - the Most Jumps per 24 hours guy, AFF CD extraordinaire and all around nice guy Jay Henry - multiple World Record holder and all around nice guy Mark Brown - Perris LO extraordinaire, World Record holder and all around nice guy Jan Meyer - some obscure jumper in southern California and whoever else was born in 1956. So why the TWO year lead time?? I'm glad you asked that. See we only know the old farts. Maybe that should be we only remember the old farts cuz of our senility? To get the average age of each 50-way to be 50, we need youngin's. We know a LOT of old farts that can do 50-ways in their sleep, but we need some new kids on the load to keep us honest. Just letting you know in advance, so you can plan to be there. If you want on the loads (~3 50-way groups), let me know. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That would be an unsual claim against them. They have been know to give refunds, but only when customers make a big stink about it. As far as I know, every DZ working with SkyRide has been paid - sometimes a little late. Yeah right. Go to GA Corporations Search Type CASC, inc Your writing style sounds like Cary..... For your reading pleasure.... SkyRide Scam has been updated. This comes up first when you google SkyRide Scam and on the first page of skydive skyride . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

At least we agree on something. Lookie there. Another answer. Do it bigger and better than him, that's the "American Way"Put him out of business the way Wal-Mart is doing to businesses all over the country. Do it bigger, better, faster, and cheaper. That I can support. This is the crux of the matter. Many DZOS have the belief that SkyRide has taken all the top slots in keywords. Collectively, DZOS can take this lead back. We are not talking about the generalized whuffo replies. People are not throwing a fit because they claim to be Skydive Arizona and the dz is in Eloy. People complain about SkydiveDetroit.com or SkydiveSacramento.com web sites representing themselves as brick and mortar DZs in the area and then sending customers to DZs hundreds of miles away. Sort of like the customer, perhaps from SkydiveSacramento.com, being sent to Perris???? Man, that is it!! I'm jealous of the DZs making money. My motive has surfaced?!?!?! Actually, I think some of the marketing techniques used by SkyRide can greatly benefit skydiving. I would hate to think that all DZS would stoop to the 'hidden charges' technique. Ok, JP….I'm at quite a stand off point here. Earlier, you said you did not know what the dz was doing. Now you are saying my estimate is off by 3 or 4 times??? Correct me if I am incorrect, but I believe only my posts made mention of the amount of business that SkyRide brought to a DZ. . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Tim Easton's DZ is the original Skydiving Adventures DZ. Skyride knocks off so many domain names it is hard to keep up with them. Here is a list of Adventure Skydiving knock-offs, but it does not have http://www.skydiveconnecticut.com/ in it. Is your dropzone related to Skyride too? You seem to have the same logo as ASC. This is a statement of the problem. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am part of the community too. And I have put in HUNDREDS of hours on the SkyRide issue. I have actively sought out comments from DZOs that support and do not support SkyRide. I personally invited (via another BOD member that was on the 'right side of the tables') Melanie Conatser to the GM Comm. meeting at the last USPA BOD mtg to get her views. She attended the mtg and was informed about USPA activities that she was not aware of, such as letters to ASC/SkyRide. I am not on the GM Comm., but Jess ensures that I can attend the pertinent parts of the mtg that deal with SkyRide. USPA is not on a quasi-legal witch-hunt. Melanie's answer as to why they accepted SkyRide certificates was because she believed they were getting business that they would not otherwise get. Legitimate DZOs should band together to grab google and overture ad words to promote their DZs. This is a job for DZOS, not USPA. A collective DZO organization can create more business than a sole vested entity in Atlanta can. If there was ever a motivation for DZOS to band together, SkyRide has provided it and SkyRide has demonstrated the techniques that work. Heck, I'd even say I know enough about how the internet ad words work to say I could slam dunk SkyRide in lieu of real DZs. What is missing is the collaborative effort among DZs. It won't be until DZs start cooperating on an international level that we can put this puppy to rest. JP, you and others must come to grips with reality of the situation. There have been numerous documented instances of copyright violations. In order for cases to proceed, they must be filed in Atlanta, GA. In real life, Tim Eason of Canada and Paul Osbourne of Australia are not going to file suit from thousands of miles away. It just is not cost effective. US jumpers, who have photos used inappropriately, like Brent Finley's, also have a monetary obstacle to overcome. It is not until these groups of individuals and corporations band together that they will have an economic incentive to pursue legal action against SkyRide. USPA cannot be this agent for these copyright violations. The agent must be an appointed representative by the people and entities that have had material stolen or abused by SkyRide. Go look at LASkydiving.com - staff That is the small version of this Brent Finley pic The people in this picture are: Back row:Ted Wagner, Mike Netzel, Kiwi Steve Woods, Julie Sessing, Mick Nutnall, Derek Thomas, Tyre Wilde, Tim Monsees, Mike (CANADA) ??, Nick Furchner 2nd Row:Ellen Thistle, Janie Jicha, Mary Traub, Beckie Thompson, Deb Henry, Ellen Monsees, Jan Meyer 1st row: John Coffman, George Jicha, Jack Farrell This photo is also used on TN I dare you or anyone to contact any of the above named jumpers and get a real reason that their photo is being used on two web sites that portray themselves as 'legitimate' dzs. The people in the photo have never been staff at LASkydiving or Skydive TN. This is only one example of SkyRide's misuse of skydiving images. Skydive Arizona's fleet photos are used on a number of SkyRide's sites. TK Hayes' student manual has been knocked off. People do sometimes show up at the wrong dz. That is not what people are complaining about. Jim Wallace told me of a customer that got a SkyRide Certificate via SkyRide. The customer specifically asked for 'Jim Wallace Skydiving School'. SkyRide said the certificate was good there. The guy shows up at Jim's school. Jim said he did not accept the certificates, but Perris' school did. The guy did a tandem jump, but part of his first jump experience is how he was 'duped'. That (the being duped part), in my book, is not good for skydiving. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well then - why did you say Thanks for speaking for the "community".??? Last summer Perris staff told me they got 30-40 tandems per month via SkyRide in the peak (summer) season. About how many of those would you have done as a TM or photographer? Do you think claiming ignorance in this situation is a prudent response?? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Hey JP ---- Can you tell us how many of your tandem passengers, er-- I mean students, and how many of the tandems you may photograph come to Perris via a SkyRide certificate per month??? - on average or peak and valley will suffice. If you also state how much you get paid per student and as a photographer, then the rest of us can do the arithmetic to figure the vested interest. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Al Krueger will be presented with the USPA Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct. 9 during the USPA Formation Skydiving Awards & Banquet 7:30 pm to 9pm at Perris Valley Skydiving. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

from thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=1275773;page=1;mh=-1;;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC These would appear to be conflicting or at best confusing... wouldn't you agree mjosparky. If you are going to continually flame me via PMs days and days after this thread reached it logical conclusion perhaps you should unblock my messages so I can respond in kind. Please read page AFF 1, Section B in IRM Essentials It's page 16 of 27. Many DZs wrote and still write an instructional manual that was specific to their operation. That is what Al did at Skydive Chambersburg. Roger Nelson did it for Sandwich. Tony Frost did it for Marana. Rick Horn did it for Coolidge. etc etc etc..... I think your confusion is between the AFF program adopted by the BOD in Oct. 1981 and the implementation programs at specific DZs. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Prior to the summer meeting the S&T Comm. reviews a draft version with changes. At the summer meeting additional changes are often made. These additional changes are added via a motion. This year we also informed the full BOD that an interim action would be made to adopt the new canopy section after the BOD meeting because we wanted to make corrections to section 6-11. The version we had at the meeting had some technical errors and had several parts that we did not add. Instead of being rushed at the meeting to correct 6-11, we took another week or so to rewrite what has been published. There were many minor changes: typos, grammar etc. You can see the minor change list as Motion 30 in the Summer 2004 Minutes. The action regarding Sec. 6-11 is in paragraph 7 in the S&T Comm. section. Happy reading! . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I have been in many positions for big-ways: player, plane captain, organizer, support person, go-to person, ringer, substitute for someone and whatever else. I have done every exit position (floater, diver, base - lead, left and right trail) on ~100-ways. I have over 500 jumps on 100+-ways and ~60 jumps on 300~+-ways. I will say to the people that have only done the player positions [even if the player position covers all the exit positions], your perspective on big-way dives is limited. It is not until you are involved in the organization these types of dives that you fully understand what all goes into making the dive work. There are different philosophies about how to get 100 or more capable and qualified people on the load. I have been on +100-ways that had someone walk on at the last minute and do the dive to successful completion and I have been on dives were everyone was present and participated from the get go. Years ago, just getting a 100-way was a big thing. Now we have ~100-ways almost every weekend in the peak season. That contributes to the problem of having some sort of 'record' dive. People's money and vacation time get stretched out so they can only do some of the ~100-ways. Getting and staying on a big-way load (not a camp type load) has several paths. You can do try-out camps or demonstrate abilities in competition or other big-way events. I personally have never done a try out camp to get on a big-way load. The occasional camp I have done was only because nothing else was going on at the dz. Posting-interuptus has cut my reply down, but if you do want more info on how the big-way dives work from the organizational side let me know, I'll reply within a couple of days. One thing I want to mention is that boredom (aka not enough challenge) would be the biggest reason for not having enough people on a big-way load or why the experienced jumpers do not participate, more than jumpers are 'old geezers'. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

So, if you went through AFF and did PRCTs, did you cutaway and pull reserve then?? I doubt that. The only reasons I can see for teaching a cutaway-pull reserve technique for a total malfunction is that the instructor thinks the jumper is a simpleton and cannot handle skipping the cutaway and going directly for the reserve or it takes more time to teach the go for the reserve right away for a total. What purpose does cutting away a total have? The justification of cutaway-pull reserve for a total is that the jumper does the same thing for both total and partial malfunctions. That is 'dumbing down' of jumpers. That is a bold conclusion. There are just as many fatalities or entanglements with or without cutting away a pilot chute in tow. It's split pretty close to 50-50 crap shoot over the years. There have been many more instances. Cutaway-pull reserve giving entanglement. Pull reserve giving an entanglement. It's split pretty much 50-50. You are not supposed to have multiple responses to the same scenario. You are supposed to know exactly what procedure you want to do if such-n-such scenario presents itself. I like to see new jumpers like thelem ask about several versions on how to respond to a situation than see a blind faith in all that is taught. Some teachings are derived from expedient pedagogy. Yes, I met Al in 1993 when he paid our entry fees and gave us a Skydive Chambersburg T-Shirt for taking first in Intermediate 8-way at Nationals. Say 'Hi and Thank-you' to him for me. I doubt Al goes around claiming to have authored the AFF program. I believe he did serve on the USPA BOD when the old SIM Sec. 3-3 was converted to the ISP, Sec. 4 of the current SIM. Maybe he was talking about authoring the ISP text in the SIM? Next time you see Al, you might ask him to show you the first couple of pages of the IRM AFF section. Section B is what you want to read. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There are conflicting methods about teaching students to deal with total and partial malfunctions. The idea about teaching 'one way for all emergencies' surfaced in the early to mid 90s. This concept is still taught today at DZs, but not at the majority of DZs. Most DZs teach 'cutaway-pull reserve' for partials and 'pull reserve' for totals. I think the 'one way for all emergencies' is a new-age dumbing down of jumpers. To help you decide what method you plan to use, should the opportunity present itself, consider this: Suppose you have a total. You cannot find the handle or cannot pull the handle. You are supposed to try 2 times or 3 times (the number of times also varies across the country, and is always 2 or 3). An A licensed jumper is supposed to pull his main by 3000 ft. An A licensed jumper is supposed to decide by 2500 ft whether or not they have a good main. If you start your main pull sequence at 3000 ft, try twice or 3X (whatever your personal choice is) for the main, what altitude would you be at? Historically, jumpers forget to count how many tries they do on the main and get distracted from checking altitude. Would you want a procedure that gets your reserve out as quickly as possible or one that has you eating up valuable altitude performing an action that has no life saving consequences? Would your answer depend on whether you ended up trying 4, 5 or more times for the main and found yourself much lower? Years ago I saw a guy's body disappear behind the nose of the DC3 as he was getting line stretch on his round reserve. He lived. He had a main total on an ROL system. He never knew the try 3x and then reserve rule. (or maybe he forgot it) He pulled his reserve because he glanced at the ground. A cutaway-pull reserve procedure in this case would have meant a fatality. It turned out that this jumper was not really graduated off student status. He only had 18 or so jumps, but claimed around 100 on the wavier and had a bogus logbook. I had a main total once. I had around 1000 jumps at the time. I tried exactly three times for the main and then pulled the reserve. I was open around 1500 ft. Main pull altitude was ~2000. I run into a number of jumpers that do not completely understand how an RSL works. The misconception comes from thinking that 'the RSL pulls the reserve.' This is only true when the main completely separates from the jumper. In a total malfunction scenario, the main does not separate from the jumper. The RSL is non-functional. In a horse-shoe malfunction scenario, the main may not separate completely. The main riser with the RSL may or may not extend far enough to pull the RSL. There may not be enough force is the separated riser to pull the RSL. In a total malfunction situation the RSL does absolutely nothing to help your survival. FYI Point: Ken Coleman is credited with developing the AFF harness hold program that was adopted by USPA in Oct. 1981. Several other pockets of harness hold jumps were done in the late 70's and early 80's by jumpers in California, Casa Grande, AZ, Michigan (were Coleman jumped) and in FL. The most famous early harness hold jump was when Bob Sinclair took Johnny Carson. [Carson used to host the Tonite show.] Your muscle memory for touching your handles is not the muscle memory for actual pulling of handles. Muscle memory for pulling handles comes from real EPs or practicing EPs. At every repack, every jumper should simulate a main malfunction [ON THE GROUND], pull the cutaway (peel and pull down) and then pull reserve (pull down) or practice a total malfunction [ON THE GROUND] with whatever procedure you intend to use. I even had a section added to the SIM about this practice because it is very valuable in learning the proper pull techniques, pull forces and enhancing muscle memory. To simulate a main malfunction [ON THE GROUND] I have someone stand on a table and hold my main risers up and shake me about. Then I pull the cutaway and pull the reserve. I do this at every repack. MOSparky has assisted me on several occasions. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

JP - we need to talk! Take a look at LASkydiving.com staff and AZ Challenge oops I meant this pic smaller pics I am in the staff photo for LASkydiving. I can tell you that I have never, ever worked for LASkydiving. That DZ does not even exist. Several of Brent Finley's pics and other photographers' pictures have been used without permission. Several websites have been knocked off entirely. Paul's Parachuting in Australia and Tim Eason in Canada. The SkyRide folks have been stealing from the rest of the skydiving community for many years. In order to sue these people the lawsuits have to be placed into an Atlanta court. In reality, it is difficult for a foreigner to do this. There is a growing group of US based people that have had their work stolen that may band together to file suit. I'll tell you of one example that illustrates the 'bogus' deception of the SkyRide folks. [Many other similar stories are available too.] Customer shows up at School A with a certificate bought through SkyRide. The DZO of DZ A says they do not accept those certificates. The customer laments that he specifically asked for School A because his buddies did jumps there and had a great experience. DZO of School A says he does not accept those certificates. He mentions that School B does accept those certificates, maybe they can take you??? Customer goes to School B, a few feet from School A. The customer does a jump and has a great time. The customer also has a 'how I was hood-winked' story that reflects poorly of School A and B as part of his first jump story. Ok - so the jumper never makes another jump. But the stories he tells about his experiences are tainted by this deception - all manifested by the SkyRide folks. JP - tell me how the sport benefits from that?? I can see how the DZ (School B) benefits in the short term money flow benefits. How does our sport benefit with deceptive practices like this? JP- I can personally introduce you to the person that told me this story. I also know that School B has cut back on advertising money for first jump students. All I can say when SkyRide flies in their AC to a nearby airport to open the SkyRide DZ, is that I've been telling this story for years. If School B wants to finance the startup of other nearby DZS, that is ok, but I think School B might be out of business in the future. On the other side of the country, a DZ that once admonished SkyRide practices are now participating in them. This east coast DZ used to say 'no hidden charges', now it purports a $30 gear rental fee, so that it's initial look price is lower. Maybe this is also an indicator of what happens after a SkyRide operation opens up in the neighborhood. 1-800-SkyDive is an entirely different business model. Real DZs buy rights to area codes for 800 skydive. The calls go directly to the REAL DZ in the area, not some Atlanta based mumbo-jumbo organization. There are lessons to be learned, but most people seeing the easy money up front right now, today, do not see the downside. Time will tell. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

It is a vague wording, but the intent of the dive is what is addressed. A pre-planned tandem buzz job is frowned upon (when the passenger is not licensed). A pre-planned buzz job by a CRW formation, where everyone knows that will happen and accepts the risks is ok, provided everyone knows and agrees. Adding a specific distance would not change the intent of the recommendation. How would x many feet separation be measured? The SIM section cited above is NOT a rule. It is a recommendation. It is on the same level as 'wear a helmet, AAD, altimeter or beeper' recommendations. I do not always wear a helmet, AAD, altimeter or beeper and have no problem with USPA recommending these items. I do realize that not following a recommendation may increase risks. Part of the reason for adding recommendations is to educate jumpers about the risks. In the case of buzzing tandems, risk is added to the passenger. In the case of me not wearing a helmet, AAD, altimeter or beeper, risk is added to me - no one else. Therein lies the difference. Buzzing a tandem with a student passenger is increasing risks for someone (the student) who generally will not know that the risks are increased and may not be covered by the waiver. Waivers do not protect the DZ, instructors, pilots, staff etc from negligent actions. A savvy attorney could argue that the recommendations represent industry standards and claim negligent actions if jumpers were buzzing tandems. There have been a handful of birdsuit buzz jobs by fixed objects that have resulted in collisions (and the death of the birdsuit jumper). These fatalities were by 'supposedly' expert birdsuit flyers. They supposedly could tell what their trajectory was. They, of course, were dead wrong on that account. The collision risk increases dramatically when the buzz object is also moving. If a birdsuit jumper miscalculates a buzz job by a tandem, there is a possibility of a triple fatality. There are strong indicators that this scenario may happen. One of the CRW formation buzz jobs had a birdsuit jumper come closer than what was expected by the CRW jumpers. USPA is aware of birdsuit buzz jobs. Most of these fall into two groups: tandem buzz jobs and buzz jobs by a group of experienced jumpers. The recommendation addresses each of these groups. Close calls between the flocking group and the regular freefall groups? or only among the flocking group? 'Wing suit jumps should not be made in the proximity of experienced jumpers without prior coordination with those jumpers.' and a proper flight path plan would cover the first aspect. Proper tracking after break-off would cover the second aspect. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

FYI New SIM Section on Flybys with Wingsuits J. Flybys 1. Wing suits should not be flown by or in the proximity of any student jumps. 2. Wing suit jumps should not be made in the proximity of experienced jumpers without prior coordination with those jumpers. ... student jumps include tandems with unlicensed passengers. This almost became a BSR at the last BOD mtg. [See Motion 30 when the minutes are published.] The S&T Comm decided to put it in as a recommendation. If buzzing tandems with non-licensced jumpers as passengers continues, it probably will become a BSR. There is support for this, both on the BOD and from DZOS and tandem mfgs. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I find that most 'sponsored' teams or people tend to be very shallow in their product endorsements. One 4-way team went around to all H&C mfgs until they found one that would give 1/2 priced rigs. They did not even like the rigs and said so, straight out. They said they got the rigs and could sell them at the end of the season and make money. I recently met one member of a local team. I didn't know who they were because they never socialized or interacted with any other jumpers. I didn't even know they were local. They have a BUNCH of sponsors too. They kind of did their jumps and disappeared. Nothing in promoting the sponsors' goodies. OTOH, I met a FF team sponsored by Aerodyne. The team Adria was on. This one day I was just 'wandering the DZ' and they asked me if I had seen the Icon. They actually got me to try it on - even tho I told them I was not looking to buy a new rig and was a long time Racer jumper. If you ask me, that's the type of people that should be sponsored. I do not think they won bunches of national or world titles, but they were popular locally and did promote the sponsored product. They were proactive, pitching the gear to a flat flyer, they did not even know, too. A few years ago, a helmet mfg sent me a helmet for use on a high profile event. This helmet did not fit right and I sent it back. I wasn't going to promote something that did not work right. Another year there was another helmet sponsor, still did not work for me, so I used my ADI helmet - one I bought. I think the best promoters of products are the people that jump xyz product year after year after year without any compensation. One year I had a choice of sponsored rigs from two mfgs or buying a Racer. I bought a Racer. Real endorsements come from the people that buy their equipment and jump all the time: the instructors, local LOs and local 'nobodies' that do a lot of jumps. Sometimes you have to ask 'what would you buy today….', but even if that is a different rig or canopy than what they have, you'll get a real answer and not some superficial 'I got it for free (or 1/2 price) answer.' Bottom line is that sponsored team 'endorsements' mean absolutely nothing in my book and may even be more negative than positive. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I talked to both jumpers involved on this dive. They both understand that they lost altitude awareness. The instructor/coach (not an official USPA type, but a well-recognized FF instructor) definitely admitted 'I fucked up.' The 'student', a jumper with about 200 jumps, was very upset and scared about the jump. Both of these jumpers have been humbled and appreciate the importance of pro-actively maintaining altitude awareness. Many years ago I said 'I do not plan to go in.' to Bill Deli. His immediate reply was 'No one ever does.' This immediately crystallized the concept of 'Plan to survive' in my mind. IOW, do things and have actions in the dive flow that enhance your survival. It is not enough to have a plan to leave when you hear your audible go off. You have to do altitude checks, via an altimeter or ground check within the dive. Your plans must be something positive, eg 'I will do an altitude check.' as opposed to a negative 'I will not go low or lose track of altitude.' Pro-active measures will enhance your survival. Events on a dive can also be used to gauge altitude. See Survival Tip The concepts in this article can be applied to FF too. When I jump with newer jumpers or organize loads, I tell others never to trust me for break-off altitude. I try to convince people that I am totally clueless, but nothing could be further from the truth. I build in altitude checks for myself as well as the new jumpers. I was recently 'caught' doing an altimeter check (third from right - top row). Someone told me about this photo. He thought I was geeking the camera, but I was really doing an altimeter check. There seems to be a number of two-ways going low recently. - Atlanta - Amy & friend - photographer and FF jumper for a photo shoot - Cross Keys - the two jumpers in this thread That's five within the past few months. Two-ways have to have both jumpers doing altimeter checks. The leader or more experienced person should take this responsibility very seriously. When I do an altimeter check in front of a new jumper, they follow by doing an altimeter check. This reinforces what the ground looks like at each altitude and develops an internal clock. These are survival skills. More experienced jumpers should also realize that different exit altitudes will screw up your internal clock. After returning from Thailand with jumps from 23K, the short 12.5K jumps were over very quickly. Differences in terrain color and visibility can play tricks on your altitude awareness too. Browns or greens or 5 miles visibility vs. 60 miles visibility give you a different perspectives. Build in altitude checks to learn what the ground looks like at each altitude. As to whether or not you can plan to pull reserve once you know you are under a grand - that is something you can mentally practice and hopefully never have to try out for real. Altitude awareness is extremely easily to loose. You have to be pro-active in maintaining altitude awareness no matter how many jumps you have. For completeness, the one and only time I put complete trust into someone else for break-off altitude is on world record or special big-way dives. But - and there is a but here - if I believe they busted the break-off altitude I will leave if I'm in the first wave. This happened on a 50-something-way recently. The person docked on the pull out person did not release the grip on the pull-out person, so the break-off signal was a bit low. I left when I saw the pull-out person frantically trying to shake-off the person docked on him. Then again, there was the time where a first-wave pull-out person had a 5 sec pilot chute in tow. Everyone in the first wave stayed until the person was extracted from the formation. The 2nd and 3rd pull-outs came quickly. Break-off sequence was pretty close to normal, but at a lower altitude and the 2nd and 3rd waves were packed closer together. The trade-off is increased and orderly separation from other jumpers at the expense of a lower break off altitude. Plan altitude checks to enhance your survival. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Lighten up on JRock. You might be interested to know that 'Demonstrate the understanding and use of an automatic activation device.' is a specific requirement on the A license proficiency card. It is also a TLO for Cat D. JRock is right that the newly licensed jumper should know how to operate the AAD. [Let's assume that the NG had the same type of AAD on student status.] The thing is that people will forget some of the things they did know while on student status. A week or month goes by and some of the info is forgotten. If you are faced with a NG asking this same question, do not fire up the AAD for them. Show them how to do it. Let them press all the buttons. Teach them to fish, do not give them a fish. For the CYPRES, the turn on/off procedure is deliberately obtuse. Helmet Cloth wanted a device that could not turn on or off easily. This was because previous AADs were inadvertently turned on/off and the most inappropriate times. The CYPRES activation method is something that does not relate to everyday experiences. Most other devices have a simple on-off switch, like the light switch on your wall. Since the CYPRES has this complicated procedure and new jumpers do not know about the history of AADs and their problems, one can expect an occasional new jumper not to remember how to boot up the CYPRES. . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

You know, Bill von is a really heads up jumper. He is very safe to be in the air with. He obviously did things to land safely, but if things had gone contrary to what actually happened there might have been a tragic outcome. In Bill's account of the jump, I have a few things that would lead me to not give the dive a 'Nice Job!' rating. Bill says: Killing the slider or removing booties or anything on that order is definitely frowned upon on big-ways. Bill never mentions looking at his canopy at this time to see if it is good. Maybe it is just me, but I always look at my canopy after opening - even if it passes a controllability check. Bill says: This says to me that Bill's priority is landing close, not safely. He put himself into the pattern before he even realized that he had a less than perfect canopy. What does that say about his awareness (on this particular jump?)? What does that say about his concern for the safety of others? [BTW - the pattern of people landing in the grass area on both the POPS loads, the weekend before and the K&T loads was much more congested than the 300-way or the 357-way loads and any other +100-way I have done at Perris or anywhere else. I was not on the K&T loads, but did observe landings from the ground on Saturday and the first two loads on Sunday.] Bill says: It is really nice that Bill's actions fixed this problem. But what if it did not?? Would we have seen Bill doing a canopy transfer in the middle of the pack or a really low cutaway?? What Bill did on this jump was a valid solution because he landed safely. I would not recommend the action to anyone else. I think Bill was very lucky that the canopy worked itself out and he was able to land safely. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That would suggest that the new rig is narrower (shoulder to shoulder) or the housing on the left riser is shorter on the new rig. Pull out the housing from the mud flap to compare. This could be a design change in the Racer or maybe they put a cutaway handle for a larger rig in your system. Contact JumpShack to get the real answer. The cables are supposed to release risers differentially on most rigs. Racers have a two riser RSL system, so the risers should release simultaneously. IIRC, RWS rigs have RSL on the RIGHT riser, so the left riser should release before the right. This means the excess is longer on the right than the left. Rigs with a Collins lanyard may be different. Most other rigs have the RSL on the left riser. Those rigs should release the right riser first and then the left. This means the excess is longer on the left than the right. The difference should be an inch or two, but check with the rig mfg. My Racers have always had about the same amount of excess cable on each side. [Racer jumper since 1981.] . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Dives are going great. We even almost completed the 90-what-ever-way from 12,500, when we could not get full altitude clearance. Saturday, we have more locals appearing that had to work Thurs & Friday. Three special, guest POPS are making travel plans to be there too. We might even ask the POPS camera folks to dock.??? In the meantime, I'm learning everyone's name. I should be at 80% accuracy for 90% of the load by the end of Sat. Funny, there was one guy, my head kept saying 'Cooper' as his name. Corey Parker Co P er Is that wild or what??? Now that I know this - his name is easy. Sky and Betty are doing awesome jobs. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I could write a long novel in reply to your posts. I hope to keep this to a shorter novella. First off - this jumper, Jan Chandler, my friend, someone I knew and had jumped with did not die because a brake line got caught on a Slink tab. Secondly, Jan had the same malfunction about a month earlier and cutaway and pulled her reserve to complete a successful skydive. Thirdly, a jumper that was on the dive a month earlier with Jan told me directly that Jan was teased by the 'vastly more experienced jumpers' about cutting away from a 'malfunction' that could be 'fixed'. Fourthly(?), Jan decided to not execute emergency procedures by her decision altitude (whatever that was - assume 1800 feet or there abouts) or she lost altitude awareness during that part of her descent. Fifthly(?), Jan was definitely in a state of loss and total unawareness of her altitude when she was close to the ground. Her canopy had one stowed brake line and one released brake line at the time of her landing. This configuration can be landed safely with proper brake and riser inputs and a really good PLF. Since I knew Jan and knew of her jumping experience, I believe that if Jan knew she was 50 feet off the deck, she would have taken life-saving actions and performed appropriate canopy inputs that would have salvaged the landing. Since she did not do this, I conclude that she lost altitude awareness under her lame canopy. This is very easy to do. A jumper looks up to the canopy to try and fix something. The jumper does not check the ground or an altimeter often enough and whammo-bammo - the ground appears. I knew Jan well enough to know that she was intelligent and a pro-active person. She was also a pilot and had additional visuals from that aspect of her life. I know that if she had looked at her altimeter or the ground when she was under 1000 feet AGL that she would have responded with canopy control actions that would have saved her life. Apparently, she never had that altitude awareness under 1K or even at the higher end at 1,800 feet. She got distracted by a toggle hang-up. Jan Chandler died because she did not execute proper emergency procedures for a canopy that did not exhibit proper handling characteristics by her decision altitude and/or complete loss of altitude awareness under a lame, but could be controlled into a safe landing, canopy at lower altitudes. The specific problem of a brake line hung up in a Slink is really immaterial. It could have been the brake line half-hitching around a glove finger-tip that could produce the same scenario. For you to say (in effect) that loose Slinks ought to be banned by some regulation misses the mark in how to prevent these types of fatalities. Tacked Slinks will reduce the probability of this happening. But did you know that the Slink should only be tacked to one side of the riser - not though the riser? Someone that has Slinks tacked through both risers may see a toggle hang up when the tacking breaks. Just last weekend, someone asked me about Jan's riser and brake stowage problem. [I got first-hand info from the rigger that inspected Jan's equipment, so I definitely know how the brake line was stowed and how it hung up on the Slink.] This other jumper had her Slinks tacked through both risers, not just one side. The problem with the two-sided tacking is that the tacking cord may see some of the line stretch forces and break. In a one sided tacking, there is no force that is propagated through the tacking. I told this jumper to keep an eagle eye on the tacking for breaking and to ask her rigger to replace it with a tacking to one side of the riser only. Back to the question at hand on how to prevent fatalities. Re-emphasize decide by your decision altitude whether your have a controllable canopy. Execute emergency procedures of cutaway-pull reserve. Many years ago I wanted to 'put an end' to these repetitive deaths. I started Sport Parachutist's Safety Journal. Many jumpers have said over the years that something they read saved their life. This is how you prevent the fatalities and injuries. Write about it and talk about it. Legislation by the FAA or USPA will not and does not work. The guy that went in at Xkeys recently violated a BSR of not pulling by 2K. You think that RULE saved him? No way. Things like Altitude Awareness Survival Tip would have saved him. I really have much more to say about your posts, but do not feel like typing all that in right now. Maybe later. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Put up the signs etc. My lab, Katie, got loose one day and was hit by a car. The guy that took her to the pound put up signs and I got her back. Katie lived 9 more years before succumbing to lymphosarcoma, a very deadly and aggressive cancer. If your dog doesn't take to her, I think my dog, RePete, would. I would take to her if she's closer to short hair than long hair. I still am looking for a buddy for RePete. Let me know. I can also put you in touch with a north SD county kennel that found a home for Cleo, an abandoned dog that I took in last summer. They have a no-kill policy. The owner is married to a jumper. Cleo and RePete didn't get along that well. They didn't fight, but they also didn't play together. It was like having two single dogs. In the longer run, if you decide to keep her because you can't find the owner, give it time. I talked with Doc Sherry about Cleo and RePete. Six months is a minimum to test their friendship. When dogs go thru something tramatic, it's even longer. Cleo was abandoned for at least a week before I took her in. It took her a month to 6 weeks to feel 'at home'. After 9 months was when I finally had to find her a new home. I also have a skydiver contact volunteer that works with www.arfdogs.com. They specialize in retrievers. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am sure this is just an omission in your account, but how did the reserve open? pulled reserve handle, RSL or AAD fire??? Emergency Procedures for partial malfunctions are cutaway - pull reserve. cutaway - pull reserve cutaway - pull reserve cutaway - pull reserve Ok - that's a bit anal, but I have yet to find an instructor that only teaches 'cutaway' as an emergency procedure. It is cutaway - pull reserve. EPs can be 'Look red - grab red - look silver - grab silver - pull red - pull silver, but in a nutshell it is cutaway - pull reserve. I am a great believer that everyone should be pulling their reserve handle even if the RSL or AAD beats them. There was another thread(s) where a jumper(s) did not pull their reserve handle because the RSL beat them. To me it says they are behind the power curve, so to speak, in EPs. You should be pulling the reserve handle as the RSL pulls the pin. Remember both steps and physically practice both steps when you get a repack. Do not count on an RSL or AAD. Every year there is someone that dies because of improper execution of EPs. Remember that an RSL will not work if your main does not separate from you or the shackle is unlatched or not hooked to your main riser. An AAD may not work for a variety of reasons. cutaway - pull reserve cutaway - pull reserve cutaway - pull reserve . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker