skytribe

Not that I'm saying the BPA is better/worse but at least they have addressed basic skill levels and coaching in most of the disciplines. Other countries have more than the A-D license. To compete in international competitions or record attempts a separate sporting license is often required. As far as I can tell its just an additional money-making exercise for the organizations in both UK/USA. I have no problem with certain skills being required for licensing but consider all disciplines. The USPA has made the instructor/coach licensing so simple that virtually anyone can become a coach - leading to a lowering of standards. 100 jump coaches are often barely able to fly themselves ket alone giving good advice. The FF/FS requirements are OK - except when you turn around an say AFF jumps can count towards that. Little definition off what is "success" - 4 people can hold each other for exit and that counts as success irrespective of if it funnels or not. As that was all they briefed and attempted. So if its a measure of skill - actually define a standard - such as more than 5 points on a 4 way or larger formation. At least set a standard. And this is not specifically directed at USPA but more to the FAI/IPC. If the change is simply about licensing for competitions - then make this endorsement available to competitors who meet a standard.

And you would be wrong. I did. I was competing in crw competitions with 45 jumps. And what about accuracy and swooping. They don’t count either. Perhaps instead of just doing what pic says how about representing a viewpoint of many jumpers who have no intention of international competitions. And in order to do that you need a sporting license which is issued by NAA in USA. How many jumpers as a percentage of uspa membership actually compete in international competitions.

Guess what I dont do FS ? I don't want to do FS? I've been to two world meets and multiple world records for CF. I don't think making me do FS makes it any more useful for me to be able to compete at an international competition. Yet you seem to think an AFF jump as a student seems to be so much more useful for a qualifying license requirement jump. IPC/FAI/USPA all should get there head out of their ass and realize there are different disciplines.

And this is the farce, AFF jumps count but you can have a national champion who has done CRW and chooses that as a discipline doing some complex multi-point jumps that don't count. You don't require a D license to compete. The ease at which licenses are gained is in some part due to the ease at which some instructors/coaches sign off on items. I'm all for increasing quality of jumps but lets not just bias it to FS/FF disciplines. People do other things now and set a standard. An AFF jump is a training jump - the person in the middle does next to nothing apart from arch, remain altitude aware and pull. Perhaps a tandem will also count if they hold hands ?

USPA does not hate small dropzones and everyone on the Safety and Training Committee that is responsible for this sort of action is well aware of the value of our Cessna DZs. This action was taken solely to bring our license requirements in line with the IPC/FAI "Certificate of Proficiency" which is the world recognized standard for skydiving licenses. Had we not taken that action, it is possible that USPA licenses may not be recognized internationally, especially in international competitions. For the C License, I personally do not think that having to do 10 4 ways in 200 jumps or having for the B License to do 10 formation jumps with, 5 of them being 3 ways, is particularly burdensome. BTW, AFF jumps count as formation jumps, so anyone doing AFF probably has 3, 3 ways, and 4, 2 ways after completing the AFF program. Here is the complete list of the Certificate of Competency (world license requirements): ‘A’ Certificate: ‘Parachutist’ 1. 25 freefall jumps. 2. 5 minutes of freefall time. 3. 5 formation skydives involving at least two participants OR 5 freefly jumps under the supervision of an instructor. 4. Demonstrate control of the body in all axes (backloops, turns, barrel rolls etc.) 5. Ability to pack a main parachute. 6. Demonstrate ability to land a parachute within 50 meters of a target, on at least 10 jumps. ‘B’ Certificate: ‘Freefall Parachutist’ 1. 50 freefall jumps. 2. 30 minutes of freefall time. 3. Successful completion of ten formation skydives, OR ten formation freefly jumps, at least five of which, in either discipline, must involve at least 3 participants. ‘C’ Certificate: ‘Experienced Parachutist’ 1. 200 freefall jumps. 2. 1 hour of freefall time. 3. Successful completion of fifty formation skydives, OR fifty formation freefly jumps, at least ten of which, in either discipline, must involve at least 4 participants. ‘D’ Certificate: ‘Senior Parachutist’ 1. 500 freefall jumps. 2. 3 hours of freefall time. Mike Mullins USPA National Director So do CRW jumps count? as you appear to specifically call out freefly jumps. Define "successfully complete"? Survived, achieved a physical number of points. And really if you counting AFF jumps then you are stretching things a bit to count these as formation jumps towards a license ? IT is also possible that the earth will crash into the sun - however that is not that likely. So the threat the license would not be recognized at international competitions is pretty hollow.

Be careful what you wish for. FAA safety inspectors knowing something about parachutes may mean they become more involved. More bureaucracy and more oversight.

Agreed chuck, but the problem with RSL shackles becoming dislodged during opening has been reported. Hence you could check the RSL prior to leaving the plane and it was secure and upon opening with a malfunction it now is not. Do you check the RSL is connected after opening - especially in the event of a malfunction. Nothing is perfect and clearly the shackle was demonstrating this. Also there has been reported problems with RSL and the two rings setup on some container not always allowing a clean release of the main - especially in the case of a 2 out situation. This was detailed at a PIA symposium presentation. In a two out situation, Time permitting (disconnect the RSL) before cutting away the main. Its not as though its helping if both canopies are out but is just another point connecting the main to you. Also Strong tandem Risers/RSLs are constructed differently with the Shackle on the riser and the lanyard simply being a loop. I know of at least one incident personally where a cutaway occured and the main did not release and got hung up. So yes tandem gear is different but nothing is perfect. Know your gear and practice your emergency procedures until they are 2nd nature. In the event of a malfunction, this is not the time to be trying to remember what you need to do. You need to know and have regularly practiced your emergency procedures and Act accordingly.

Jumpsuits will help. But, the better course of action is learning good fall rate control technique. We can adjust our fall rates with relatively small body position adjustments. Then when we are in the same ball park range - additional weight (belts/vest) can also be used to fine tune to fall rate. Jumpsuit material and the design/cut of the suits can also help or make matters worse. Having a badly fitting jumpsuit be detrimental to what you are trying to achieve. ie. skin tight suit trying to fall slowly or baggy suit trying to fall fast. These examples are ones of bad fit which will make you life much harder. Dress for success. Depending upon who you are jumping with and what you are doing you may have multiple suits. As your skills get better you can then increase your range depending less upon jumpsuits.

You shouldent be in freefall with an RSL. On that point, has there ever been a case of a properly connected and functioning RSL failing to open the reserve container after the malfunction separates? I've been looking and so far I cant find one single case. The only thing I can think of is if the mal does not produce enough drag to extract the lanyard and pull the pin (e.g. horseshoe). Well yes there has. VSE Service Bulletin ( http://www.velocityrigs.com/media/manual/airsportsservicebulletin.pdf ) was because the shackle although checked had become dislodged. I believe someone else had posted something a while back similar. Hence the RSL was checked on the ground and during the jump it became disconnected. Cutting away would have resulted in being in freefall and not having the RSL pulling the reserve. Hence pulling the reserve is part of the emergency procedures whether you have a MARD/RSL or not. You also also appear to want to get into the ins and outs of one hand on handles or not and want to save yourself a second on the pull yet the original post was about giving an extra second to look up and confirm risers gone etc. The best course of action is to follow well practiced emergency procedures. If changing them practice them until they are 2nd nature. The harness can shift significantly during a malfunction so locating the handles in especially important. By feel alone is a recipe for failure. Ladies may not be able to see the handles clearly as they may be obscured by their boobs. Practice in a suspended harness rather than simple standing on the ground. Arguing about the little differences makes less difference than properly executing the procedures in a decisive and timely manner. The altitude loss difference between a MARD and an RSL is little significance if executed at appropriate altitudes.

A Skyhook / RSL is a backup system and does not negate a need to pull the reserve handle. Both MARD/RSL have failures as well - small though they may be. I don't see a problem in confirming your malfunction by looking up but then looking down to locate the handles and acting accordingly. As for looking down - if your a two handles on each handle sort of person then looking down is required to locate the handle. Even if your a one hand on each handle sort of person then locating the handles requires looking down to locate them (they can move into a completely different position than standing on the ground). Once you have made the decision to activate your emergency procedures and have your hands on the handles - looking up/down becomes somewhat irrelevent - you need to pull the handles. Anything else is indifference. If you are so unsure about doing your emergency procedures you need to refresher training and re-evaluate whether this sport is for you.

On top of that the PC has been redesigned since this happen. But no safety bulletin has been issued - so many of the rigs in the field may potentially be effected.

Spare parts from the manufacturer are not that expensive. As to what you mean by the drogue release and which system specifically. Some parts may look simple to fabricate but using the manufacturers parts is always the best route. Manufacturers may produce an approved list http://www.strongparachutes.com/library/Documentation/Tandem/Approved%20DHT%20Components.pdf or simply state that only manufacturer approved parts are acceptable. As the TSO which the system was certified may pre-date the latest TSO and the main is not part of it either then it may be legal - however I would agree that it is unwise and you would definitely open yourself up to liability if anything were to happen. I can think of at least one tandem fatality caused by an incorrect ripcord used.

http://www.uk-skydiver.co.uk/cms/

The DZ I jump at has had 3 female tandem instructors. We make no special exceptions for female instructors. Our limits are 220 for below 6 feet and 240 for above 6 feet. So be prepared to take any of those. The dropzone previous to the current one had one female instructor and again no special exceptions for her. The manifest were simply assigning names to instructors. We jump a caravan and a 182 and use Icarus 365 tandem canopies. The previous DZ used SET 400's

Isn't that the excuse bars were using for Ladies night.

It’s clearly too big to fit suitably. Why do people have the manufacturers sizing info in front of them and still question it ?

Yes that is the issue - but its more than simply the RPC design.

I'm not sure about how secretive they are. Considering the information is in an obvious place that takes a single click from main page. Located info within 5 seconds of opening the wings web site. http://skydivewings.com/parts/reserve-boost/ Is included in there rigging manuals documentation. http://skydivewings.com/rigging-and-bulletins/rigging-manuals/ in the various configurations for new or older rigs. That said this is really the only significant change to the wings design and its an option (Just like the RSL is) . The problem that has been identified and been discussed numerous threads still remains.

Unless you wanna a container that closes like the attached. And no - this is not free-fly friendly. ;-)

That's why I said "properly cutting away from a bag lock." He was not cut away from a bag lock. You can manually pull the risers off your shoulders and it's part of a correct cutaway procedure to visually check the risers. But yes, an inflated drogue will break a rubber band without hesitation. As the previous poster noted the drogue was likely collapsed. My thought exactly. However, my 2nd thought is, was the packer a rigger following the gear manufacturers instructions or was it a packer who was not being appropriately supervised. At the DZ I jump at packers are observed/tested to ensure they pack the way that is standard at the dropzone. So all are packed in a consistent manner. Any rogue openings are tracked/recorded so we can observe any trends (whether canopy/packer...) After the 1st bag lock, was the packing/gear investigated to determine cause and prevent a re-occurence. Tandems are different from normal sport rigs. Strong tandems have some bungee cord stows. They need to be tight and even though the drogue stays inflated until canopy is open there is no way it will break bungee cord. These stretch or if broken and you let packers make a replacement they will make them longer to make it easier to pack - however they then fail to do what they are intended to do. For tandems, ensure that they are packed/used in accordance to manufacturers instructions.

But people still do that.

This is definitely one possibility but also the RSL being disconnected at the riser end - although less of a possibility can happen. Another non-tandem manufacturer recently had a recall on an RSL shackle because of this occurring. And then depending upon where you are in the world, it appears that some tandem instructors intentionally disconnect the Skyhook/RSL's. So the thought that its always connected and always will work are really the case. Hence executing the correct procedures and not some deviation from them.

So is that what they are teaching tandem instructors now - don't bother pulling the reserve handle because the SkyHook/RSL will beat you to pulling it ? Please find me one reference to not pulling the reserve handle after a cutaway in any of the manufacturers manuals. And perhaps lets throw in the lack of a full handles check once out the plane. Perhaps we can take that as optional as well (Sarcasm).

I just went on there web site and chat with them.

Its a shame there product line is seriously dated compared to the others manufacturers. Just like Flight Concepts as a manufacturer. I remember when PD, Precision and Glidepath/FCI were the 3 dominant manufacturers. Oh how things change but both Precision and FCI appeared to not have updated there designs much at all in many years.