Gary73

Here's what I post when I announce a Coach course: Before attending the course, candidates must have: current USPA membership, at least a B License and at least 100 freefalls, observed and assisted* with one complete First-Jump Course, a Skydiver’s Information Manual that's less than 2 years old, an Instructional Rating Manual that's less than 2 years old, become familiar with the relevant SIM and IRM sections, become familiar with all A-license (yellow) card items, and completed the Coach Written Exam (in the IRM). At the course, candidates will: Attend a day or so of class and conduct training sessions to teach several basic skydiving skills. At or after the course, candidates will perform: two or three** simulated ground preps, two or three** coached jumps, and one or two** debriefs of the coached jump(s). Upon receiving the rating, Coaches can: teach the general portion of the First-Jump Course unsupervised*** (with DZO approval), make regular or coached jumps with students who have completed AFF, verify (but not sign!?) A-license card qualifications, and work toward qualifying for AFF and/or Tandem Instructor ratings. The course fee is $75 plus slots for yourself and your Evaluator for two or three jumps**. Start time: 9:00 AM, Friday,. Be sure to bring your: USPA membership card, Most-recent logbook, SIM, IRM, notepad and pen / pencil, IRM pink card with FJC signed off, completed Coach exam, and course fee (cash or check) * Level of assistance is whatever the candidate and Instructor are comfortable with. ** Last one only required if candidate gets an unsatisfactory grade on a previous one. *** Additional observation and practice with an experienced Instructor are normal before a Coach is cleared to teach an FJC unsupervised. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

14 pounds per stone, so 16 stone = 224 lbs. A rig that size is going to weigh 25 - 30 pounds, so yeah, exit weight around 254, which is about as much as most containers and reserves are certified for, by the way! For what it's worth, USPA recommends keeping your wing loading at less than 1.0 pounds per square foot until you have at least 200 jumps, and then they recommend that you downsize by no more than 30 square feet at a time. How many total jumps do you have? At 1.1 PSF you may already be above the recommended wing loading for your experience level, in which case I wouldn't recommend downsizing at all. There's a pretty good article by Bill von Novak in the Safety section. Don't downsize until you can comfortably do everything in the list on your current canopy. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47 Having said that, I hear good things about the Pilot, Sabre2, and Silhouette, with appropriate wing loadings, of course. As for the last question, yeah, you can swoop 'most any canopy, but don't expect to compete on the canopy piloting circuits until you're at a wing loading and flying a type of canopy that puts you one or two toggle-inches from disaster. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Mark, Thanks for the info; I guess I saw something that wasn't there. I honestly didn't think a canopy like that would twist up with just a single turn. Glad you got out of it okay! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Thanks, everybody! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Cartainly almost anything can get you hurt, but there are usually checks along the way to reduce the chances. Low, hard turns are preached against literally from day one. Packing is done under supervision. Checking closing-loop tightness should be taught from day one, also. The A card reads: "...perform a maximum-performance 90-degree toggle turn, followed immediately by a turn of at least 180 degrees in the opposite direction...". Note the word "immediately". The SIM describes a more gradual approach to learning the limits of how quickly you can do turn reversals. The A card should reflect that. I'm not sure how a maximum-turn-recovery flare could kill someone. I'm referring to being in a steep toggle turn and bringing the other toggle down to stop the turn, level the canopy, and slow down with the minimum altitude loss. As for front-riser maneuvers, I think that there are just too many ways for those to go bad. Look over the incident reports and ask yourself how many people we've lost because someone pulled fronts without having sufficient situational awareness. And remember that most canopy collisions seem to be caused by a front-riser-pulling swooper hitting someone flying a standard pattern. I really don't think that the few benefits of front-riser maneuvers come anywhere close to justifying the inherent risks, especially for newbies. If experienced jumpers want to push the limits that's their choice, but students and novices should stay in safer territory. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

As mentioned above, jumpers never do the required maintenance on the three-ring system, so I consider that to be part of the I&R. I've also found several rigs with dangerously worn components on the main risers, including the webbing just above the medium ring, the retaining loop, and of course, brake lines. I wouldn't have found those problems if I had left the main in the container. I prefer to receive the rig fully packed, since I usually take them home to I&R and have limited space in my car. I always return them that way for the same reason, and charge an extra $5 if I received the rig with the main unpacked or the owner wants a main I&R also. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I've never liked that particular A-license requirement, precisely because it can cause line twists. And there's a huge difference between a deployment line twist with both toggles evenly stowed, and an induced line twist, where there might be a five-foot difference between the toggles. The former is easy to handle, and so common that there's no need to create one. The latter may be unrecoverable. Personally. I'd prefer to have this requirement replaced with a maximum-turn-recovery flare. That's something that might save a jumper's life. And don't even get me started on the requirement to do front-riser dives and turns. No one should be doing front-riser maneuvers until they have at least a C license, and even then only with competent instruction. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hi, I have a couple of cousins near Sacramento, CA who are interested in making Tandem jumps. I don't know the area, so can someone recommend a fun, friendly, safety-conscious dropzone for a couple of first timers? Thanks "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I watched the video linked above by BlueHaze several times, and what I saw was: Normal main deployment. Release brakes. Canopy flies normally. Hard left toggle turn around 360 degrees. Immediate right toggle turn, without waiting for the canopy and jumper to return to straight flight. Canopy flies into line twists. Jumper tries to kick out. Jumper decides that it's time to cutaway. Jumper cuts away. Typically fast SkyHook reserve deployment. Normal reserve flight and landing. (Though I'm not sure I would have made that left turn just before landing. Looked a little low!) This problem can happen even on lightly loaded student canopies. Any time you're making a hard turn, let the canopy return to straight flight before turning the other direction. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hi Beth! Interesting timing: A couple of weeks ago, C.G. brought in some of his dad's old Parachutist magazines from 1988-1990. One little article mentioned that the Army was starting to test replacements for the T-10. Sounds like they got a good product, but jeeze, twenty years? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

http://www.collegeskydiving.com/ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

You can estimate the value of a used CYPRES with the calculator on SSK's Web site: http://www.cypres-usa.com/usedcypres.asp For "CYPRES Cost" enter the current cost of a new CYPRES, which was $1425 a few weeks ago. The calculator doesn't account for shipping costs, either from the seller or to/from SSK if maintenance is needed, but you can fudge that by adding 30 to the maintenance cost. The calculator isn't perfect, but it's a lot more accurate than assuming a straight-line depreciation. As for finding a used CYPRES, yes, you'll have to check the Classifieds frequently and act quickly, and even then it may take a few weeks, but it'll be time well spent if you ever need the thing. Good luck! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If I had to choose just one kind of skydive to do for the rest of my life it would be AFF. Nothing else is as much fun for me or as beneficial to the sport. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Got a friend with an older Eclipse on which the riser covers often come open, even when belly flying. The tuck tabs are the right size and seem to fit okay on the ground. I'm thinking about sewing a layer of cordura over the tabs to thicken and roughen them to maybe keep them in the slots a little better. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If your phone tells you that you missed a call from someone you know, but they didn't leave a message, what do you do? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Charles, The new spacer foam leg pads from Sunpath are pretty good. Give them a call with your rig's serial number (17627, I believe) and your thigh circumference (don't worry; not a clue there!) and they'll hook you up. Any rigger can remove the old "pads" and install the new ones. Take care, Gary "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Thanks, everybody! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

It's for sale, but the closing-loop grommets are 4-9/16" on center. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Can anyone identify what kind of container this freebag belongs to? It's made of a heavy, ripstop fabric and is about 10" high by 16" wide at the mouth. Manufacturer didn't put any markings on it. Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Students should have a wing loading between 0.6 and 0.9 pounds per square foot, depending on wind conditions, general physical fitness, previous performance, and total experience. At 0.9 PSF, a student's max exit weight for a 230 would therefor be 207 pounds (0.9 times 230). A student rig, helmet, etc. will weigh around 30 pounds, so figure around 175 for the max student weight without gear. Yeah, the USPA licenses correspond fairly well with the distinctions among student, novice, and intermediate. In fact the older USPA publications referred to the A, B, C, and D licenses as Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master. Actually I would say that there are wrong answers to your questions. Too many jumpers get injured and even killed because they jump canopies that they're not ready for. The Incident Reports in Parachutist are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to injuries. No one likes to be told that they're not good enough to do something, but it's pretty clear that more people do need to be told just that. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Interesting problem. ROL or belly-band mounted PC (like the original Wonderhog) could solve the reach problem, but would require a BSR waiver (full board, no less). If you swap over to ripcord and spring-loaded PC, the rig manufacturer may recommend/require a D-bag with a kicker plate built in. AFF could be a problem; SL or IAD might work better. Stitching an S-fold into the lower portion of each riser would leave the brake settings and canopy trim pretty close to normal, but would require an STC or something for the reserve risers. A small canopy doesn't require the toggles to be pulled as far to get a full flare. A more experienced jumper could jump the canopy and check length and estimate pull force required. You could set up a toggle going over a pulley to a weight to check both. (Good way to build strength if necessary, also.) Best of luck to all concerned; let us know how it works out, please! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Like Bigun said, plus: Yes, 100 kilograms = 220 pounds, but I think you'll find that with a rig this size your exit weight will be more like 260. For what it's worth, USPA recommends a wing loading of less than 1.0 pounds per square foot until you have a C license, namely 200 jumps. In other words, they and I would both recommend that you get at least a 260 main and reserve, preferably a little bigger. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I asked SSK about this myself a while back. They said that a battery pack has a shelf life of three years after the manufacture date that's stamped on one side in MMYY format. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but if I see something that will benefit someone I just tell them about it. I don't expect or even want to be paid for something that costs me nothing more than a few minutes of my time. Would you guys charge a newbie to change a closing loop or explain where to expect turbulence in the landing area? I don't expect people to do everything for free, mind you. I charge $45 to do a reserve I&R (including any minor repairs), for example, but this DZO was asking the equivalent of four I&Rs just for the few minutes he spent online. He wasn't even going to pay for shipping. Seems like a pretty outrageous hourly rate, not to mention a pretty large finder's fee on a $1,500 sale. As for the comparison to selling things on commission or consignment or something, in that case there are expenses and risks involved, not to mention paperwork and taxes. In this case the DZO had almost none of that: he was certain that he had a customer. I'm not a saint or a communist. I believe in Free Enterprise and making a fair wage. But a lot of good people donated a few minutes here and there bringing me into the sport. When I get the chance to pass that on it makes me feel better than anything that a few bucks could buy me. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

A few weeks ago I had a rig for sale in the Classifieds section. I got a response from a DZO who wrote that the rig would be perfect for a new jumper at his dropzone. "Hey, great", I thought, "a DZO who's looking out for his newbies!" Then he asked me to sell it to him for $200 less than the asking price so that he could make a profit by selling it to the newbie at full price. (I'm not speculating, BTW: he actually told me that.) I was pretty disgusted, but just wrote back that I'd rather not drop the price. Never heard back from him, and later sold the rig elsewhere for the asking price. So anyway, what do you guys think? Was the DZO acting in an ethical manner? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan