kevino

This is actually a true story and I have since used it many times. About 2 years back I took a 65 year old lady for a tandem. She had the biggest pair of boobs imaginable. The time came to tighten the pax harness and in trying to be professional, I said to her: "Apologies if I am touching youe boobs by mistake but I have to be sure that harness is properly secured." Her reply was "You can do that to me anytime because nobody has done theat to me for a long time!"..... BS

Well done Chad! I now have 500 tandems and in my experience the 2 most important things are: Check your gear Have a stable exit Things could hve gone horribly wrong with an unstable exit.

I endorse Karl's comments. The Tempo was a great reserve canopy for a long time but the Smart is even better. I have had 2 Tempo reserve rides, no problem, and on Sunday had my first Smart reserve ride. The Smart is a much improved canopy that is called progress. Having said that, I have equal faith in both canopies because both will bring me to the ground safely. The Smart does fly and land better. KevinO

do not even think about a baglock "slowing" you down. when it happens get rid of it immediately! my first mal was a baglock, I took longer than I should have to react to the situation and before I knew it, I was spinning horizontally. The G forces were pretty extreme and took all my strength to do the cutaway. A baglock is a high speed malfunction and there is no time to think or debate the issue. I have been there. KevinO Chief Instructor Johannesburg Skydiving Club South Africa

Tandem side spins. I had my first, and only, tandem sidespin on my 10th tandem jump. Very scary. Doing a hard arch did nothing to sort out the problem. LUCKILY I was drogue up, tossed the drogue and got stable. Doing a track to get out of the sidespin makes a lot of sense to me. The key to avoiding a sidespin is a good exit. KevinO

This is a tough one. tonto was one of my mentors and if I ever had a safety query he was the first person with whom I would consult. He was Mr Safety personified. Outside of skydiving he had a briliant sense of humour and often kept us in stitches with his stories. Rest in peace my brother you had many, many admirers. KevinO CI Johannesburg Skydiving Club

My first mal was a baglock also on around jump 15 or so. I waited too long, maybe 6 to 8 seconds and by that time I was spinning horizontally. It does not take long to build up a very high speed spin and you are most likely not going to be hanging vertically under the lines and bag. I have had 9 mals to date but that one was my worst. Make sure to react quickly to avoid building up too much of a high speed spin. It is scary shit! Kevin

I have just taken delivery of my new A2 tandem main and did my first tandem jump with it today. After 200 tandems, all on old canopies, this was my first on a new generation canopy. Great opening, flies very well and with minimal toggle pressure. Good work Aerodyne - nice user friendly canopy.

I am not the most experienced TM out there - just over 150 tandems now. I agree with all that has been posted and add 1 more comment - a relaxed instructor makes for a relaxed student. Make the pax feel at ease and it makes the TM's job a lot easier.

I have now done 70 jumps on my Pilot, loaded at 1.4. For me the most pleasing aspect of the canopy are the conststent openings - period. Whether it is a Birdman jump, a subterminal hop 'n pop, or a regular skydive, the openings are always good. This is a great conficence builder. The canopy is very stable, even in turbulent conditions with light toggle pressure and the landings are fine. If there is one con(?) that is a lot of pressure is required to perform a front riser turn. Prior to my Pilot, I did about 500 jumps on a Hornet, which is the Pilot's predecessor, and also a great canopy. However, the Pilot is certainly a great improvement on the Hornet. Good allround canopy.

I have had my Icon Sport for about 3 months now. It is great to wearand looks good. The shortcomings are leg straps that keep coming loose no matter how they are tightened. This has led to some off heading openings. The riser flaps in the container are a great idea but they take up space where the D-bag should be inserted on packing. This creates creases in the main cover flaps and just looks untidy. Finally, all the materials used in the manufacture of this harness appear "lighter", that is less robust than the materials on any of the other rigs I've used. This may well be modren technology, but whether this rig is as durable and long lasting and can take wear and tear remains to be seen

Had my first chop on my fifteenth birman jump, probably because my arms were not symmetrical immediately after opening. This caused a line twist which was quickly becoming a high speed spin. Performed the routine cutaway reserve procedure without cutting away the arms first. Dumped main at 4,000 and was under reserve, with arms and legs unzipped by 3,000. I have had 3 previous mals and certainly did not feel any restrictions on my arms during this cutaway.

Hi Newbie, Umm al Quwain is a cool DZ and is definitely worth the visit. They don't hassle too much about filling the loads and will happily take 8 skydivers to 12,000 in their LET 410. Go for it!