dragonfyr

Sounds like fun Gary! Come on up to Chicagoland and we can fly ours together. I got one several years ago and pull it out every once in awhile. I was laughing reading your post remembering my first couple jumps with it. Forget flocking dives, let's get some Kruger dives going! Don Moffett

We have a pretty good Water Training presentation we use at Chicagoland Skydiving. If anyone would like a copy to use for their own purpose or for their dropzone, just drop me a line. We're happy to share some of the presentations we've put together. We also have presentations for Night Jumps and High Altitude Jumps. Don Moffett S&TA Chicagoland Skydiving

So if Sunpath can make alterations to the design and get it approved under the existing TSO via a Minor Change, or no change at all, why doesn't Sunpath just file for acceptance without the lanyard? Seems like them getting the system TSO approved without the lanyard (which is not permanently secured anyway) would resolve most of these issues. Is there any reason Sunpath is not trying to be part of the solution here? Seems like they could easily solve this for their customers instead of stirring up all the problem and washing their hands of it. I also don't understand why a Master Rigger is required given the lanyard is not permanently secured. Removing the velcro and ring I can see, but not the lanyard. I'm sure this has to do with modifications to the container and the legal aspect instead of common sense, but why can't Sunpath just authorize this as well? If they are standing firm because they think RSLs are safe in all situations, they're going to lose even more credibility and respect IMO. They are going to lose a lot of customers if they don't become part of the solution quick!

Many years ago there was an incident in the Chicago area where people went above a cloud layer, spot got really screwed up and they ended up breaking through the cloud layer to see nothing but water (Lake Michigan). I believe they all died. It's always good to know for a fact where you are getting out.

As a good rule of thumb, if you are wanting to try something new that you think might be risky, get some advice from your local S&TA or an instructor. They should be able to help answer these things. A lot of the posts here have some good advice. One of the big things is to make sure you have a good gear check before doing it. Chest straps should be secure, but if they are tight, the freeflyer may have difficulty getting it. You should check this on the ground to make sure the straps do not get loose under tension (it's a bad thing having a chest strap come undone in freefall). Good gear checks before exiting is also critical to make sure handles and pins are secure and in place. For the dive itself, there are lots of things that can go wrong, but every skydive has this to some level. Talk to some experience freeflyers and get some advice from them with hands on discussion. Overall, you did the right thing. However, if your group gets some advice, I don't see any reason you can't try it. Don

I just wanted to get this active again to see if anyone has any comments on the training slides. I would really appreciate any critiques or comments to improve the training. Thanks! Don

I just wanted to get this active again to see if anyone has any comments on the training slides. I would really appreciate any critiques or comments to improve the training. Thanks! Don

Hi everyone (again), First, I want to thank Tom Buchanan and The Ranch for making this post possible. They were nice enough to post the briefing on their S&TA webpage. http://theblueskyranch.com/sta2.php Tom also provided comments on the briefing that made it that much better - Thanks Tom! The first time I was asked to give a night jump briefing as S&TA, I started researching sources to get information. The S&TA manual has no details, the SIM has some good basics, but most of the detailed information was gained from people who had done a lot of night jumps or who had been in the sport for a long time. In order to give a consistent briefing at our dropzone, I decided to build a presentation to gather all the tidbits of information and put it into a logical flow. Most of the information is straight forward, so no speaker notes were included for this one. We are sharing the briefing here for two reasons: 1) To find out if anyone has additional comments or points that we missed 2) To share this with anyone who wants to use it. Obviously, the CSC logos are off limits, but please feel free to use any or all of the briefing material at your dropzones. It was designed for use with a projector, but it can just as easily be printed out in slide format or handout format (4 to a page). If you have any questions or comments you don't want to post, please feel free to PM me. Donald Moffett S&TA Chicagoland Skydiving Center P.S. A water training presentation is also located on the site and in another post.

Hi everyone, First, I want to thank Tom Buchanan and The Ranch for making this post possible. They were nice enough to post the presentation on their S&TA webpage. http://theblueskyranch.com/sta2.php Tom also provided comments on the presentation that made it that much better - Thanks Tom! The first time I was asked to give a water training as S&TA, I started researching sources to get information. The S&TA manual has no details, the SIM has some good basics, but I found most of the detailed information was gained from the collected wisdom of people around the sport with years of experience. I could not find any source that had the details most of us talk about in training. In order to help facilitate the training at our dropzone, I decided to build a presentation to gather all the tidbits of information and put it into a logical instructional flow. I also provided speaker notes to help clarify the use of some of the photos. We are sharing the presentation here for two reasons: 1) To find out if anyone has additional comments or points that we missed 2) To share this with anyone who wants to use it. Obviously, the CSC logos are off limits, but please feel free to use any or all of the training material at your dropzones. It was designed for use with a projector, but I have given it twice so far with the slides printed out in slide format or with 4 slides to a page for the trainees to follow along and take home with them. If you have any questions or comments you don't want to post, please feel free to PM me. Donald Moffett S&TA Chicagoland Skydiving Center P.S. I'll also post the Night Jump briefing we just completed.

I agree with Derek. Sounds like you pulled the toggle down too far. I do 720. 1080 and more on my Stiletto at a WL of 1.7 using toggles and never have a problem. When you start a turn, you should never have to bury a toggle. A proper turn should only have the toggle down 1/2 - 3/4. Once you are in the spiral, you can pull a little more, but should never have it buried. You should also do it gradually and never yank the toggle down fast thinking it will give you a more "radical" turn. Also, if you switch directions, you should be even more aware of not burying the opposite toggle. Next time, try initiating the 360 pulling only half way down. As the canopy starts to dive, then gradually pull down more (careful not to bury fully). As you play with this more and more you'll feel where the limits are of how fast you can pull down. Don

Actually, the only reason you would have to pay for them is if you wanted the actual license for that level. Once you have your A, you could wait until you have all the requirements for your D, take all 3 tests, and then just apply for your D. You would only have to pay for your D-license and none of the others. I personally skipped my B license and only have A, C and D. Never paid for the B since I never applied. Don

If I was at the door and saw what the video showed, I would have tried one of two things: 1) Drop to my stomach and put my hand out to the guy to try and help him get leverage. I would have tried like hell to haul him into the plane, but I'm sure the wind would have made that quite difficult (but I would have tried). I'm actually surprised everyone just stood there watching with almost nothing done for that period of time. 2) Tried to position myself closer to where it was hung up and try to free it at that spot. However, I think this would be nearly impossible givent the weight on the riser. Cutting the riser would have been the last thing I would have done, only after trying everything else and figuring out what I was cutting. I mean, once the gear is cut, it's not like it can be put back together in the air. Then again, all of us have time to watch this several times and think about it versus the snapshot of time it took for it to happen. Don

230 out the door is not bad at all. I'm about 265 out the door, but I know others that are larger. Our normal 4 person base on our weekend big ways is over a 1/2 ton without gear! Don

On a jump several years ago I had a very hard opening. It was one of the hardest ones I ever had so I spent extra time checking my canopy looking for broken lines or damage. I didn't see anything outright but noticed a slight "flutter" at the tail of my center cell that didn't seem right. I continued to fly around and noticed the flutter kept occurring, but I couldn't seem to spot anything else. Did controllability checks, no problems. I continued to check my canopy and then the sun got positioned over the top of the canopy to show a huge tear in the top skin of the center cell (about 3 feet long and across the whole cell) with material flapping all around. All I can say is THAT is an unnerving sight. Checked my altimeter and was at 1400'. I decided I did not want to try and land with it in case it decided to fold up on me or tear further near the ground so went to the red and silver. If I didn't notice the flutter, I probably would have landed it without realizing it until I got on the ground. Chances are pretty good I could have landed it just fine, but I didn't want to take the chance. Don

For the past several years our dropzone has hosted an MS Boogie as a fundraiser for people with MS. Each year there have been people with various degrees of MS who have jumped. One in particular had little to no use of his arms and legs, yet he has now made over 5 tandems. The comments John made are spot on. Controlling the legs and arms (if needed) are critical not only for stability in freefall, but to minimize injury to the tandem passenger. For several of the individuals we used straps, but for the one guy we actually used duct tape for added securement. Keep in mind this requires a very experienced tandem instructor to do this as well. The added instability in freefall is a major factor for safety, but the comfort of the passenger once under canopy is also important. There is a lot for the instructor to handle, especially if something goes wrong. Best of luck, and if you ever want to visit our dropzone and use some of our guys for it, pop on over. PM me if you would like additional information. Don