SkydiveMO

I see that email is going to be retired, but the why link is dead. Anyone have any info on the why and when?

Good to know, thanks

About a year ago I put together a POI list for drop zones in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. I did my best to research DZ listings, websites and even airport coordinates on Google Earth. If there are any GPS geeks out there who want to nerd out and help verify that any or all DZs have been properly listed I'd appreciate the extra help updating the list for 2012.

N/A

Video of PD representative introducing the Pulse at PIA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOnYA4WzLIQ&feature=channel_page

Dr. Potvin and Gary Peek's research and contact information are located at http://www.pcprg.com. They are the Parks College Parachute Research Group at St. Louis University.

That seems to be the popular view among the people I've spoken with. I was hoping for something more cryptic like the image I've attached. The sarcastic nonsensical response makes a lot more sense though. Thanks

A recent Frazz cartoon by Jef Mallet has really left me scratching my head. I've asked around and none of my friends have been able to get at what the joke is. Help? I have a guess for what he might have meant, but I don't want to influence first impressions. http://comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20080917.html

I think you may have too much of a guilty conscious. Many of the DZ’s in the Midwest are feeling the pinch from the loss of both student and regular jumpers. Where many drop zone owners had been able to support large turbines in the good ol’ times of the 80s and 90s, when jumpers were many and fuel and aircraft were cheap, they now are feeling the pinch of higher fuel and aircraft costs. Many are choosing to downsize back to 182’s and 206’s. This is a good business move but some are reducing their lift capacity but not reducing their student loads, be it tandems, AFF, static-line, or IAD. Now they try to cram as much profit as they can into a day at the expense of licensed skydiver slots. Is this wrong or right? Well, I’m not paying the bills so I can’t say. What I do know is that I can think of several places this could have happened to the original poster and that just makes the fun jumper in me sad. Rather than concentrating on the tandems, what concerns me is the willingness… uh, how to say this politely… of the DZO to paint a rosy outlook that the jumper was going to be able to jump that day. It’s quite obvious that there was a heavy student load and they could have said “we are very busy with students and you probably could get a jump in this evening but there is also a chance you might not”. The problem is that a DZO knows if they say that, you won’t come out to the DZ. So they tell you “sure come on out, it is sunny and 70 degrees out here”. If you show up and can jump great they’ve got your money… if you can’t jump it didn’t cost them anything.

Thanks for the pointers. Do you have the videographer get out first then back into the door and exit position or do they exit in chase?

Point taken, I really don't move in the aircraft other than to exit. This was an unusual case where the students age and lack of flexibility had me moving to help him. This was outside of my normal routine and I didn't properly protect the drogue handle.

In my skydiving career this is my fifth drop zone and the third I've worked at, one I even managed. I do understand your concern about DZO’s and gear maintenance compromises. I can assure you it wasn’t a factor in this incident as I know I pulled the drogue out moving in the aircraft. I had really shoved myself in the corner to assist my student turning in the aircraft, far more so than on any other tandem I’ve done. This was the rookie mistake of not protecting my handles while moving around the aircraft. A loose spandex pocket probably would have made it possible for me to shove everything back in properly, not that it would have been proper to do so. But as I said before events have made everyone take an extra hard look at gear and procedures at all levels. It is always good to review all parts of the process when trying to figure out why something happened, no matter how unrelated. That’s why I’m happy this discussion has remained open. Sadly, it often takes an out of the ordinary event to shock everyone into discussing how things are done. You can become complacent when everything goes off without a hitch weekend after weekend. That applies to many parts of life, not just skydiving.

I appreciate the support. I’m in no way happy with how Gary chose to address the issue, but it is what it is. As far as I’m concerned it’s a done deal and at this point I don’t think how the issue was raised really matters. Let’s concentrate on what and why things happened and how it could be prevented in the future. I think everyone can agree on that being best. We all make errors in judgment, sometimes knowingly and other times not understanding the consequences of an action. Knowledge is real power in this sport. It’s impossible to imagine all the scenarios with which you might be faced so learning from others experiences is critical.

After the incident the DZO, also a Tandem I/E, reviewed packing procedures for drogues with the packers. I reviewed my actions and the results with the other tandem instructors and the videographer who took the video. As far as rigging is concerned, I’ll have to agree the spandex pouches are looking a little long in the tooth on a few of our rigs. It hadn’t been an issue when we jumped a Caravan on a bench with minimal movement of the instructor and student. We recently moved back to a 182 and 206 where there is a lot more scooting around and chances to push on the drogue. It’s an issue I’ve raised with the DZO and after seeing the aftermath of a loose drogue I’m sure there’s going to be some sewing going on. Student gear takes a real beating compared to the regular gear. A more critical eye is needed when inspecting the high use and wear areas.

Why didn't I abort the jump run. I thought I had put the drouge back in the pocket and we were good to go. Did it occur to me that I could have landed the plane? Yes, had I not thought we were good I wouldn't have gone ahead with things... was it right no, I know that now but hindsight is 20/20. Have I ever landed with the plane? You bet your ass I have, it wasn't ego or an unwillingness to land, I truly thought we got the drouge back in the pocket. What I proved to myself is that I needed to visually insure that I had and that feeling around was in no way adequate. You can bet it won't happen again.