kkeenan

I'm wondering if modifying my pull technique would reduce the load on the shoulder. If, after grasping the handle, I put my elbow against the side of the container and then pull the pilot chute by bending the elbow rather than rotating the shoulder. I guess I need to try different methods to see what works. I don't want to go in because of doing some goofy thing to save wear on my shoulder. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Years ago, I had a round PVC handle, and on one jump, I put my hand on the handle and for some reason I delayed the pull for an extra second or two. I think someone was angling in and I wanted a bit more clearance. Anyway, it seems that my hand started playing with the handle on its own, and as a got ready to pull, I realized that I had stuck my index finger through the hole in the tube. I quickly got my finger out of there and tossed the pilot chute, but every time after that, when I jumped that rig, I kept my hand away until I was ready to deploy right away. It's true what they say about idle hands doing the devil's work. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I've recently had shoulder surgery to repair torn Rotator Cuff on the right side. Prior to the surgery, I was doing a lot of RW jumps and a lot of CRW. I'm having trouble seeing what would cause the stress that would result in this injury. Usually, it is caused by repetitive upward / outward pushing. All of the forces on the arms in CRW seem to be downward pulling of risers and toggles. The only force in the problem direction seems to be deploying a pilot chute from a BOC pouch. I'm wondering if very many folks have had issues from this. All jumpers, regardless of discipline, deploy pilot chutes. So, it would seem that more would have problems if this were the cause. It may be that carrying gear bags through airports causes more damage. When I showed my Physical Therapist the motion used to deploy a pilot chute, he thought that was the dumbest thing he could imagine, and said that some kind of handle on the front of the harness would make more sense. That cracked me up, and I told him that the method he described had been discarded years ago and the current method was considered a revolutionary improvement. Everyone has different physical makeup, and maybe I just have crappy rotator cuff muscles. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm not a fan of growing old, but it certainly gives one perspective as the years go by. Being an old belly flyer, I remember the emergence of free flying and the joy of the folks doing it. They proclaimed a New Age of skydiving, as jumpers would be free of the old constraints of "turning points" and "breaking records". People would now be allowed the pure joy of flying with their friends and enjoying the sky. "It's all good", was their mantra. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, VRW teams compete as vigorously as anyone for turning points and the quest for big-way headdown records is is as hard-fought as in the belly flying world. This occurrence, however, is a new twist. In the course of winning and losing skydiving records over the years, it has never occurred to me that anyone involved would display the lack of ethics to pull such a scumbag move. I guess it's not "All Good". Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

There is a group of CRW experts who will be working with the PD Factory Team to showcase the capabilities of PD canopies.

The word is that there is some awesome flying going on. This is going to be a spectacular event. I hope to visit this weekend. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Good work by Bill. Too bad about his primo Lake Amphibian. It's a beautiful plane, and its sad to see it so trashed. From his interview, it sounds like he was cruising pretty fast along the ground after touchdown. It is an amphibian, after all, with a pretty slick hull. He said he was concerned about going too far and hitting something. He may have kicked a bit of a turn. I've always been concerned about having an engine above and behind me if it came to a rough landing. I'm sure it's designed for a pretty good load in the forward direction - sideways, probably not so much. Glad he had such a nice out to put it in. Kevin K.

I sure thought, "Human Torch" was a pretty cool nickname. Too bad he didn't have it for long. Jeez, thinking back on those days, it's incredible how many are still around. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Cleveland Texas Now there was a DZ that lived fast and died young. Holy Stromboli did we have some crazy times there. Between the hallucinogenic local flora and the automatic weapons, it was destined to be a short-lived DZ. SCR #3022 was awarded to me there in October 1973. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

What can I do with a great Silly Suit with giant wings in really good condition ? Does anyone even collect stuff like that? I bet the Skydiving Museum has crates of them. I'd love to keep it, but don't have room for all the other old junk. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Shoulders, particularly Rotator Cuff muscles. Kevin K.

If by, "skygodness", you mean attention to detail, always being sure of what you're doing, and doing everything to avoid elementary, dipshit mistakes, then it sounds like something we should all aspire to. Usually, the term is used in a derogatory manner, not to point out someone who is properly careful. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Lots of video here: http://theworldteamblog.com/

The way I heard it, Dr. Ed was weighted down with some cylinders from an airplane engine he was rebuilding. Kevin K.

Has there been an announcement of services - time, place, etc.?

I first met Mike in 1977, when I came to DeLand as a 300-jump newbie. Mike was about my age, but was far more experienced. We've had so many talks over the years about so many subjects. In the mid 80s, I stopped jumping, due to business and family. I never stopped my subscription to Skydiving, however. For about 10 years, reading Mike and Sue's paper kept me up on news and kept skydiving alive in my heart. Eventually, I started jumping again, and I've always credited Skydiving with bringing me back into the sport. In his writing as well as in life, Truffer always called a spade a spade. As others have said, sometimes we didn't agree, but Mike would always listen to other sides of an argument, and it was always a friendly discussion. Not many of the folks I met in DeLand 36 years ago are still jumping. It always made me happy to see Mike at the DZ. He seemed ageless. Blue Skies, Mike. You'll be missed. Kevin Keenan

With the severe opening shock incident at DeLand recently, I'm wondering if anyone has looked into designs to mitigate an "extreme" event like this. I'm thinking of something like the fall-protection lanyards with built-in section of sacrificial stitching that gives way during a super-severe load. This would not come loose during normal use, but only give way to mitigate an extreme opening shock. I'm sure there are other approaches to the problem. Clearly, an opening like this can have devastating consequences. If there could be something in the force line between canopy and jumper which could mechanically intervene and spread out the impulse somewhat. Just curious to hear if anyone has seen any work in this area. Kevin K.

I just heard from a very reliable source that a ZHills packer definitely won the big jackpot !! http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/19/us/powerball-jackpot/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Attached is the first point of the attempted 2 Point 222-Way, which would have qualified as a world record in the new Big-Way Sequential class. Unfortunately, the 2nd point was 3 grips short of completion. This was the largest formation built since the WT 400-Way in Thailand in 2006. Still, an awesome series of jumps with lots of friends, old and new. I believe there were 27 countries represented. It was a memorable week. Kevin K.

Having had some recent experience with tracking teams on the recent World Team 222-Ways, the results were mixed. I have to think that what we were doing was the "latest and greatest" tracking plan, as WT is known for progressive ideas in Big-Ways. There were no accidents during the event and no really serious injuries - safety being another WT trademark. The Tracking Team method was explained in detail, and it seemed very good in theory. But some TTs worked better than others. A lot of variables were in play, especially if the formation was less than stable at breakoff or during particularly gnarly funnels. It's very easy to get thrown off at the beginning of the TT formation and never really get into position. Then, unless you're a very superior tracker, you don't really have the performance to get into place. The only thing to do is to stay as close as possible to your expected path, because other sections are all doing the same thing on different radials. The WT plan also called for sequential deployment altitudes throughout each TT. There was no shortage of close passes. The staggered opening altitudes made for some scary moments as people were tracking and pulling in what some may call "close proximity". In big-ways, some plan and the majority executes. This is the only way they can work. I think we all carried out the TT plan as best we could. There are a lot of theories. We tested this one. Maybe the planners can adjust and improve as they have in the past. Your post mostly concerned tracking seperation, but the breakoff also helped in landings. Landing safety is always a big factor in big-way jumps. This event was at Skydive Arizona. SDAZ is a fabulous place. There are, however, limited places to land that are not desert. The best landing in the desert is unpleasant and the worst is pretty bad. So, most people try for the grass. The WT breakoff worked incredibly well for staging the landings. The opening times were spread out so much that landings were pretty safe, if hectic. As the group worked together, the landings and traffic pattern became much more orderly - full but orderly. This was an event comprised of very experiences jumpers and all conducted themselves very professionally. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Plenty of like-new 150s available cheap on eBay. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

So true. You can't legislate rules at someone else's dz. At your experience level, your job is to keep yourself alive. If you're confident that you're staying safe, just stay out of the way of unsafe folks and keep your eyes open for the "lessons" you can learn by watching. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

As with many things in life, the lower your expectations are, the less likely you are to be disappointed. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Geez, I'd hate to think of our record lasting only 3 weeks. Kevin K.

This here is some futuristic shit. I don't care who you are. Kevin K. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?NR=1&v=MP1gvGcXcLk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3FNR%3D1%26v%3DMP1gvGcXcLk _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?