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.

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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.

All right Gary, well let me illuminate for you and everyone else here (since you want to do this in public) why you are an ineffective instructor. A real instructor on seeing a fellow tandem instructor with an exposed bridle would have walked up and said “hey man your bridle is hanging out a little, let me tuck that in for you”. I’d be a rich man if I were paid to tuck in drogues and bridles. As we move around or sit in the hangar waiting for aircraft sometimes the drogue gets pulled out a little. Now if I saw a pattern forming with an instructor where his or her drogue was always exposed I would walk up and say “hey man your drogue is out a little let me tuck that in for you and before you go up on the next tandem let me show you how I ensure that this doesn’t happen when I do tandems”. See how that works I’m not being critical I am being supportive and showing a willingness to provide solutions. Lets take a critical look at how you handle situations. You saw that I had an exposed bridle on one of my many tandems and said that it was dangerous and walked away. Did I seem flippant about this? Hell yeah! I’m wondering well then why don’t you help me frickin’ tuck the thing in? This tandem weighs a ton and last time I checked I couldn’t see my ass without a mirror. Then this situation happens, which I believe was more related to my movement in the aircraft than any bridle or drogue exposure, and yes it was bad. Did you provide helpful advice, which could have been appropriately more critical than the example above, or did you run to a public forum and commence with a public shaming? Now ask yourself if you think I’ll ever consider any instructional advice you give in the future. To anyone reading this thread think. When you provide advice to a fellow instructor, skydiver, friend, family member, etc. Don’t just be critical, no one gives a flying donut what someone who is always critical has to say. Explain that you feel what they are doing is wrong or how it might not be the best way to go about whatever they are doing. Then provide a solution and if at all possible personal experience you or others have had to support your advice. In skydiving provide assistance in the form of visual training. Last time I checked the point was to watch out for one another.

Gary Peek was the pilot so you'd have to ask him. I did what I thought best with what I was faced with... it was in no way good and I hope everyone can learn from it.

As the instructor in the video I would like to first state that what happened was very unsafe and I accept the criticism given. But, as is Gary’s style he has put this out without stating the circumstances and has left it out there for everyone to shit on the people involved (not the first time Gary has done this). As a regional director and lead S&TA I hardly see how anything is gained from putting anything out this way. After landing I reviewed what had happened and discussed it with all the other tandem instructors so that we could all learn from my F$#% up. That being said, I will now explain the events and my actions so that everyone can learn from my experience and some benefit can come from this rather than it turning into another flame fest. A little background on me, I am a current instructor with over 1,000 tandems and 3,000 plus jumps. I have nearly 14 years in sport now and am an S&TA at the DZ. I take safety very seriously, mine as much as any other jumpers. I have never and will never state that I am in anyway above making mistakes in this sport and lord knows I’ve made my share so far. But what I have never done is repeat a mistake and I’ve taken every opportunity to learn from others experiences so that I don’t have to repeat their mistakes either. Please read the following account and imagine what you would have done and please explore all that could have been done to avoid it in the first place, I know I have over and over and over again. I am 6’2” and it is difficult for me to kneel in the C-182. I find it much easier to work in a sitting position. I have done so out of the 182 on many hundreds of jumps and have always protected my handles and drogue with no issues. On this jump the student was an older gentlemen who was very inflexible and he had some difficulty turning around in the aircraft to hook up. To assist him I crammed myself into the back of the plane at which time I believe the drogue handle caught on something and pulled the drogue mostly out of its pocket. (At this point the jump should have been over, we should have landed the aircraft and the drogue properly stowed again). I had the videographer reach over us and put the drogue back in the pocket. He was able to get it mostly in and I was able, or thought I was able, to secure it the rest of the way. (Again at this point the jump should have been over and we should have landed to properly secure the drogue). On jump run I found all handles to be in their proper places and we proceeded with the jump as normal. As we moved forward in the aircraft I made several checks of the drogue and found it to be in the pocket. When the student turned and put his feet out of the aircraft the drogue fell or was snagged in someway and pulled out of the pocket. I found myself in the door with a very unsafe choice to make. Try and pull my student back into the plane or exit with an exposed drogue. I feared that in the attempt to pull the student back in I might cause the drogue to be pulled out the door. I quickly decided to grab the drogue and hold it on exit. I am very confident in my flying abilities and knew I could remain stable and quickly throw the drogue once clear of the aircraft. What I did not take into account was the length of the bridle. A portion of the bridle trailed in the door and had to slide out as we exited. This was very dangerous as it posed a very real snag hazard. In the video you can see I did clear the aircraft and throw the drogue while stable. The rest of the jump was routine. So what went wrong? When moving around the aircraft I snagged the drogue handle. I could have made a better attempt to protect the handle but honestly this was a stuff happens event. At this point I should have called for the pilot to land the aircraft and on the ground put everything right again. Instead I stowed the drogue blindly and assumed (like an ass) that it was in properly secured by feel and not by double checking by sight, again only possible with the rig off on the ground. When I moved to the door I did make every attempt to verify that it was properly stowed but as events have proved this was not adequate or in any way wise. As far as exiting with the drogue in hand is concerned, I am very open to thoughts about this. I was very concerned that at any point the drogue might be pulled out of the aircraft and with the student already outside I made the snap decision to exit ASAP. The drogue was controlled but the bridle was not, so it was an all around bad situation. Now that everyone understands the situation I am very open to any discussion of the events and the video and will answer any and all questions you may have.

Were the prizes ever sent to the competition winners?

There will be a Casa at Archway Skydiving May 10-11. Load organizing and evening events planned. No registration or organizer fees. Free camping on airport. Call or email for more information.

I say, let it all hang out when your jumping on your own. When you are acting as a tandem instructor you are the pilot in charge and responsible for the safety of your passenger. Wear a helmet! Never forget that a tandem skydive isn't for you it's for the student.

As one of the privileged few to take the new exam unaware of the changes, I must say I’m not against the new test but like many I am annoyed by the manner of implementation. Several of the questions, as has been noted in other forums, were simply too vague to answer. Others were not covered in Poynter’s Manual, which has long been the source for the test. Had there simply been an announcement that in addition to Poynter’s Manual questions would be pulled from Reid’s Handbook I would have studied this resource also. I agree that there is no need for a published test bank, as has been available up to this point, but I question the intelligence of leaving the old question bank up as if it were the soul source of questions given on the new test. When I referenced the FAA’s website for more information on the written exam had they simply not hidden the link to Reid’s Handbook (available in .pdf format for free if you can find it) I would have happily downloaded this resource and read it front to back. This is exactly what I did once I learned it was available. It’s an excellent resource and I actually used it as my main information source during the practical exam. I would also agree that a Senior Rigger should have knowledge of canopy, harness and container construction equal to that of a Master Rigger. As a Senior Rigger even though you may not be authorized to make major repairs or alterations you should be knowledgeable of what they are when inspecting and maintaining the equipment. I don’t know where I fall regarding the questions on advanced flight characteristics of ram-air canopies. Only because I had read Brain Germain’s book on canopy flight did I survive that section. I consider myself a veteran jumper and would like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about equipment. I was in an active Airborne unit in the Army, I’ve been a skydiving instructor for nearly a decade and have even assisted with parachute research for guided cargo systems. That being said, even though I passed, I wasn’t very happy with my score on the written exam. The questions, in my opinion, were too specific to Reid’s handbook and Rigging Innovations equipment rather than based on knowledge of parachuting equipment in its many forms and applications.

Depends what you consider too long. I still use my PowerBook G4 for editing but I just bought the wife a Mac Book (1GB memory). It's blazing next to my PowerBook, I sneak on it from time to time to render video. That being said, if I had the money I'd replace my PowerBook in a second with a blazing new MacBook Pro 2.6GHz processor 4GB memory. Where's Santa when you need him?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to my fair share of WFFCs. Quincy and Rantoul are only a couple hours away so I’ve been spoiled rotten. That being said, even I can see they need to take the show on the road and make it the “World” Freefall Convention. That’s something I’d be willing to travel for. A fresh start in Florida, California, Spain, France, Thailand, Australia… you name it. If they ever announce a 2008 WFFC I’ll be curious to see what has changed. If they hit us with the same tired event calendar with no vendors and none of the exciting aircraft the convention used to offer I think I’ll just spend my vacation dollars on another boogie. Everyone else seems better able to do what the WFFC was known for anyway. Amazing aircraft, parties, beer and skydivers out the whazoo.

I was just getting ready to ask the same question. I plan far in advance for any boogie so I can get the time off approved at work. If they go too long I’m just going to write it off and plan for some other event. The WFFC was going stale anyway so I won’t be heart broken if they don’t get things put together. The WFFC is dead… long live the regional boogie