Gary73

Can anyone recommend a source for black vectran suspension line in 1,000- and 1,500-pound sizes? Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Since the yarns in the line weave back and forth, if necessary you can just run two passes of straight stitch about two inches long. Done it many times now; never any problems. Keep tension on both ends of the line and help it feed, and with practice you won't even need the tool mentioned above. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Bill, Yes, most DZs require some kind of refresher training, but standards vary for both the time delay and the extent of training. Most seem to leave it to the Instructors, most of whom just kind of wing it, since they lack a formal list. Ozzy, Glad to hear that your students are already getting all of this! Unfortunately that's more the exception than the rule. Part of what I'd like to accomplish with this is to increase the number of reviews, especially for nuisance/malfunction training in a practice harness and canopy essentials. ISP only calls for two reviews after the FJC. From what I've seen of student retention of EPs and such, that's just not enough. I sincerely believe that every student should review all these items every day, not just at specific levels or after long gaps. Another thing is to standardize best practices so that every Instructor has a specific list of review items. The lazy Instructors with money-grubbing DZOs will continue to ignore such practices, but at least they'll be out there for those who actually care. And maybe having them be part of the official USPA program will give good Instructors at mediocre dropzones some of the ammunition they need to push things in the right direction. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If you're stuck on your back, arch, then bring one hand in over your chest. It will roll you onto your belly very quickly. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Thanks, yeah, that's the idea. BTW, love your profile pic. Had a Papillion just like that in 75 - 76! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Right. There's also a lot of level-specific stuff that isn't listed. These are just the Instructor's and student's generic checklists. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

For all its virtues, it seems to me that the ISP ignores a critical aspect of the learning process: time. Many, if not most students string their training out over weeks or months. As a result, when they go up for a jump, it's often been quite a while since their last thorough review. It seems to me that a review of basics should precede the first jump every day, regardless of what level they're doing. If the student knows the material, it will only take 5 - 10 minutes, and if they don't know the material, then they needed the review, regardless of the amount of time it takes. Here's what we cover each morning: First-Jump-Each-Day Review Checklist Student: Sinuses, medications, blood donation, dental work, scuba Freefall: Unstable exit Loss of Instructors (Pull vs. AIR, Roll out of bed, 5-second rule) In cloud in freefall In cloud at pull time Lost/broken/unreadable altimeter Pull priorities: Pull Pull at planned altitude Pull at planned altitude while stable Pull reasons: Pull altitude JM gives pull signal JM pulls Equipment Emergencies: (use training harness) Trouble finding main handle Square, stable, steerable Controllability check Nuisance vs. malfunction Common nuisances, multiple nuisances Decision altitude Reserve-only altitude Total/partial/horseshoe malfunctions Canopy/Landing: In cloud Distance from other canopies Collision avoidance Turbulence Accuracy trick Landing priorities: straight ahead (wing level) open area follow landing pattern flare at 10 - 12 feet prepare for PLF into the wind Off-field-landing priorities and procedures Drag prevention and recovery We then cover other need-to-know things like hand signals before every jump, as well as the level-specific things: Every-Jump Checklist Ground Prep: Logbook Hand signals (all!) Do review items, new material, and TLOs from AFF/TP section Watch video Practice dive flow Winds aloft, surface wind, landing pattern Fill out Canopy Flight page in logbook Wing loading / rig choice Gear check Manifest 15- or 20-Minute Call: Gear up Dive flow in full gear Student and Instructor(s): SHAGGRR Instructor: JMPI before boarding On Plane: Before takeoff: Seatbelt, helmet, all altimeters on zero Landing pattern (everyone) 1,000’: Seatbelt off, check handles, helmet through chest strap Pull altitude: Student: pretend W.O. and pull, cross-check altimeters Instructor: JMPI and radio check Dive flow Hand signals (all!) Playground Canopy TLOs Landing pattern 10,000’ : Goggles and helmet on and adjusted 12,000’ : Check of 3s: 3 handles, 3 buckles, 3 rings Cross-check altimeters Jumpsuit zipped up Instructor: “Are you ready to skydive?” Then, after AFF is completed, we do the reviews on the two-page A-license form. So anyway, what I'm proposing is that instead of tying specific reviews to specific Categories, we require a thorough review before the first jump each day, regardless of level. Thoughts? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

1. I really don't see that this was a problem of such urgency that there was no time to discuss it with the membership. The Board should be ashamed of itself for doing something as far-reaching as this in virtual secrecy, and right before the new SIM goes to press, no less. 2. Did the Board even discuss the implications to the AFF program? To give students the same oversight from their Instructors, we'll have to move all their altitudes up by 500 feet, including the minimum exit altitude. 3. I really can't imagine that either this change or an AAD change will suddenly impart altitude awareness to those who lack it. Cutting away at 200 feet will still kill you, BSRs and AADs notwithstanding. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

N/A

It's not unusual for jump pilots to wear bailout rigs, but does anybody know of any cases in the U.S. in which one has actually been used successfully? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

There are specific criteria that Coaches and AFF-Is have to meet. If there are CE/IEs who are giving ratings to people who haven't earned them, then those would be bad Examiners. And if there are DZOs, S&TAs, and Chief Instructors who are allowing crappy Instructors and Coaches to work at their dropzones, those would be bad DZOs, etc. Likewise, if an Examiner is doing things that deny ratings to deserving candidates, that's bad, too. The Romans had the saying, "Who guards the guards?". Our equivalent is "Who examines the Examiners?". The only corrective mechanism we've ever had is for DZOs to fire bad Instructors and stop hosting courses with Examiners who are too hard or too easy. I don't even know what else we could do. Suggestions? Oh, I'd have to disagree about splitting up air and ground training. Both Coaches and AFF-Is need to be able to do both. And if they can't, they need to either learn how or find something else to do. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

In suggesting the change I wasn't tying to minimize the Instructor part of the role, just trying to simplify the terminology. I keep hearing even experienced IEs use terms like "Coach Instructor Examiner" and the manuals are full of expressions like "I/E or C/E", so it just seems simpler to shorten it to "Examiner". Andy - Don't condemn all IEs because of the bad habits of a few. Or even most. There are some good ones out there, too. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Even back when there was only one kind of Instructor Examiner, the title always seemed rather ungainly to me. Now that we have four different kinds of IEs (or is it "I/Es"?) and Coach Examiners too, it has become even more ungainly. So I've been wondering how people would feel about shortening the title to just "Examiner" for the general case and then adding the type as a prefix when it's necessary to be specific (e.g., "AFF Examiner"). "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

In response to complaints about awarding medals to operators of Unmanned Aerial Systems, the Department of Defense has decided to continue issuing the medal, but with a slightly revised format: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

When I re-did mine I did the following: Walls: Stripped the interior and glued on carpet, capping all the sheet-metal edges with rubber U-channel. This gives a good mix of elbow room, comfort, noise reduction, and rig protection. Floor: Made two panels out of plywood, covered with 1/4" padding and carpet. They fit snugly enough that they don't need to be screwed down, while raising the floor to the level of the door, making exits easier. Comfortable and easy to remove for maintenance. Ceiling: Fitted three pieces of fiberglass panel at the level of the interior frames. That cuts down on the headroom, but dramatically reduces the chance of head injuries. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'll try to remember to get some photos next weekend. Check with your A&P. Make sure that all materials are approved for use in certificated aircraft, that the work is documented in the airframe logbook, and that you get and keep the "burn certs" for all the materials. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Thanks for the list! Atlanta Attachment Company has helped me out a few times: http://www.atlatt.com/ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The videos are now available on YouTube: S&P Ops http://youtu.be/UyT1eQHGu1w FFS Ops http://youtu.be/Bvnx3bJVEK0 One note: the "Jumpers on the ground" call is no longer used. Sorry about the video quality; no one seems to have the originals in digital format, so they're both transferred from VHS tapes. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Some years ago, USPA and FAA created two videos: Skydiving and Parachute Operations, an introductory video for pilots operating at airports with jump operations, and Flying for Skydive Operations, a how-to video for new jump pilots which focuses on C-182 flying. Those videos are now available free: http://www.filefactory.com/file/5fvqn6bz7r0f/ http://www.filefactory.com/file/4cpmdaxrbnfv/ No copyright issues as long as you don't edit out the FAA info at the beginning. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Here are the links to "Skydiving and Parachute Operations": http://www.mediafire.com/?3oi67um6cq5dcrk http://www.mediafire.com/?supy33syqjbqyqd Mediafire has a 200 MB limit on file sizes for free access, so I used HJSplit to break them up. You can re-join them using JZip or most other similar archiving programs. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Gary, Thanks for the link. That's the video for pilots flying at airports with skydiving operations, and is a good intro for that audience. The one I was referring to is "Flying for Skydive Operations", which was also developed by USPA and FAA around the same time. It's intended for new jump pilots, and focuses on C-182 operations, since that's where they mostly start. USPA used to sell the videos on VHS, but never made the transition to the digital era. I copied the tapes to my PC and sent USPA copies last October. I was kind of hoping that they would make them available as free downloads, but no luck so far. If anyone's interested, FFSO can be downloaded in four parts from: http://www.mediafire.com/?zndfx2b1fnv72wd http://www.mediafire.com/?yvfmnfdmepvo3zu http://www.mediafire.com/?m9xtic6olnor8oh http://www.mediafire.com/?iljtq7qbf79s61k I also have the other video in, well, as high a res as a VHS conversion allows, if you'd like that. No copyright issues for either video, as long as you don't edit out the FAA info at the beginning of the video. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Found the Flight Operations Handbook. It's available at: http://www.skydivingmagazine.com/clearance.htm#Books-on-Para "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Correction: I was finally able to get the Group Member "Skydiving Aircraft OPERATIONS MANUAL" downloaded and it wasn't what I was remembering. Just a bunch of very general stuff. I do have a copy of the old USPA/FAA video on DZ flying that focuses on the 182. It's 630MB, though, so I can't e-mail it. Are there any file-sharing sites left to which I could upload such a large file for free? "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If you're a Group Member dropzone, you can download a decent Ops manual from that area of the USPA website, though I haven't had much luck with downloads from the site lately myself. Para-Gear used to carry the same manual in printed form, but I don't see it in their inventory anymore. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Should have been more specific, I guess. It fogs anytime it's cool and I have the visor closed. I close the visor right before exit, then open it as soon as I know I have a good canopy. Previous lenses have not had this problem; it's just this new one. I found Cat Crap on Amazon. There was only one review, and it was negative, for what that's worth. Likewise with C-Clear. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I've used Z1 full-face helmets for years with little or no lens fogging, but after replacing the lens recently I've had it happen way too often. I e-mailed the manufacturer, but they haven't replied. Any suggestions? Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan