kkeenan

Put a couple wraps of Spectra around their necks and then ask them to repeat their answer. It's not so much the material that matters, but the size. The smaller diameter lines exert a hugely higher pressure than a larger line. For example, imagine hanging by your ankles from clothesline or piano wire. I think the clothesline would be much more comfortable. Piano wire ? - not so comfortable. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Certainly not relevant, but the "Elvis" hair bouncing across the parking lot is sure a creepy touch in that video... Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

In case you have not encountered this principle already, let me introduce it to you: "Some skydivers are not particularly smart, and will make decisions based on reasons that defy logic." I doubt that anyone of avarage size who lands a 106 reserve in a tight neighborhood following an emergency would continue to jump that reserve. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

So, Mr. Cat, you have returned to these Sacred Forums. And you have returned not as a whuffo, but as one who has actually left an aircraft in flight. It's quite a bit more intense than reading about it on the internet, isn't it ? Congratulations on your jumps. In my opinion, S/L is a better training method for learning canopy control, which is really more important to survival in skydiving than freefall skills. It sounds like you have a good group of people at your DZ to look after you. Good luck with your future progress in the sport. Get used to finding bruises in odd places with no idea how you got them. It happens all the time. The time dialation thing is interesting. You will find that you are seeing and processing more with each jump. Thanks for the nice narrative. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm not sure what you have seen to make you think that is the case, but as far as I know, the Russkie CRWDogs jump conventional ram-airs. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Hey, you got into this sport for some thrills, right ?? Other than that painful hard opening, it sounds like you're getting your money's worth. Look at it this way, you've got twice as many good jump stories as the people you trained with. Some folks wait a hundred jumps to have cool shit like this happen. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

A few jumps from the Alouette. It's very cool to climb around outside and watch all those doo-dads in the engine compartment spinning and pulling and flailing around. In general, helo jumps are a novelty that is fun for a couple times, then not so much, when you consider the price. The exception was the Bell 412 that used to fly at WFFC. That was such a strong, overpowered aircraft, and the pilots were first rate. They would give a ride before jumprun that would curl the hair on Chuck Yeager. After that, the jump was almost anticlimactic. I never got tired of flying in that baby, I just ran out of money Just keep an eye on the video dudes in your takeoff area. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

You don't see them much at "mainstream" DZs, but DC-3s always seemed very soulful to me. Back when it was a common jumpship, there were several that had extra soul, like Mr. Douglas at DeLand. Radial engines, lots of fabric, funky sounds and smells - I think it qualifies. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

While it's true that the outside and center lines are the only ones that you're supposed to be involved with on a CRW jump, a wrap can get you intimately involved with many other lines. For that reason, I think that the spectra lines should be avoided. I don't like to sound pessimistic, but things happen. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

You might get better responses in the Swooping Forum. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

A lot of us are looking forward to seeing that video. I hope you bring a copy to Eloy. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

As you can tell by the variety of responses, it's not a simple question. The bottom line is that you should contact the DZ where you plan to jump, and find out what their requirements are. Best wishes on your return to the air. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I don't think that's true. There are folks who are all over the "Black Death" thing, and seem to live forever - then there are those who are happy smiling people and who get whacked right out of thin air. Knowing that you can have a horrendously bad accident at any time in this sport tends to keep many people focused and safe. It's all part of the package. If you want to enjoy the Blue Skies, you have to live with the Black Death. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4922 Here's a nice video of a 4-Way Diamond landind on the beach. This was at a swoop meet in Panama City, Fla. The event was a blast. It was a combination Skydive Boogie and Biker Convention. Lots of fun, and no matter what trouble there was, the bikers got blamed. We landed ths diamond on the beach twice. Both times went great and the crowd loved it. The landings were pretty hard, but the beach sand was very soft, so it was not a problem. Kevin K. Cape Canaveral FL _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Here's a visual aid to get you started... p.s. Happy Birthday, Chuck. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It's beyond me how people can justify counting Tandem jumps (as a Passenger) in a total of skydives. Based upon that logic, I should probably be logging hours in my pilot logbook whenever I'm flying in seat 69A on Delta Airlines. Or claiming freefall hours for tunnel time. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I agree. Too bad the rest of the world has to take our word that it happened. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

They are great people and their service is the Best !!

I agree. Also, not assuming that this is the case here, there are WAY too many people getting used to that type of landing as their standard. That sure won't work well in a Wal-Mart parking lot or a yard with sprinkler heads sticking out of the ground. I can just hear the conversation in the coffee room at the ER, "Jeez, Bob, you'll never guess what we pulled out of this skydiver's ass yesterday." Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That's a good idea, because, Elisha, you are coming off as just wanting to start a bunch of crap. You have muddied and derailed the thread just so that you can engage in some nit-picking. So, let's get over that and on to constructive stuff. This is a very valuable discussion, and we must keep in mind the higher objectives of keeping each other alive and away from canopy collisions. I do some CRW, and wraps can be exciting (in a perverse sort of way ) but a wrap at 100' will just plain kill you. It almost doesn't matter what the size of the DZ is. Most collisions occur because all of the jumpers are headed to the same general landing area. Sure, some land farther away intentionally, for safety, but let's face it, most don't. As they get closer, all are converging and things get more crowded. Additionally, as people get closer to landing, they are focused more on the target area when, in fact, they should be looking around more as the cone of seperation tightens. It's easy to understand Mr. Kallend's zeal for landing seperation. I saw him get clipped from behind on final by a fast-moving video dude, and only luck and good flying allowed him to walk away. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

2:1s simply pull down the front risers, so the last two are the same, just easier to pull with the 2:1s. B-Lines are very mysterious, mostly just kill off lift on one side without adding forward speed. Good for holding wings down. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Somehow, I think it takes a very sweet person to refer to Nazis as "icky" Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Take your fingers out of your ears and stop that humming. Just to clarify, I was wearing an extra reserve and was an employee of the Relative Workshop at the time. It was a test of an early RSL design. The cutaway worked just fine, but if I hadn't seen the risers sticking up in freefall, I wouldn't have known that bag was up there, that's how light the drag was. But, as I said, each bag / PC configuration can give a different drag result. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I know there are a lot of variables, but I did a test jump once with a baglocked main, and the drag was almost unnoticable. I stayed in a belly-to-earth orientation right next to another jumper. There have been reports of cutaways from baglocks that would not pull loose from the rings due to low tension from the bag. As has been said, a "streamer" was a round canopy mal, so named because of its long shape. Since this shape cannot occur with squares, I think this mal shoud have a new name, like a "blob", or something. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I think Mr. Cat has applied way more thought and circumspection to his choice of DZs than most prospective students. He has also stood up to a good deal of shit thrown by some of the members of this site. He has tried to explain himself and has hung around rather than telling some of these folks to fuck off. That probably deserves a bit of respect in itself. We get used to people asking dumdass questions here and (even worse) offering their opinions about things outside of their experience. That always gets people riled up. Mr. Cat has been a little different. He has stated his observations - that which he has seen through a whuffo's eyes - and asked about the meaning of some of these things. I salute Mr. Cat for for his perserverance and I hope he has a good time learning to skydive. Just remember, Cat, all of our internet voices should not count nearly as much in your education as good instructors who know your strengths, weaknesses, and habits, and can explain things in person. There is an expression in skydiving - "Blue skies, Black Death". It means that along with it's beauty, fun and wonderment, skydiving is still deadly dangerous to those who do not respect its hazards. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?