OnYourBack

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    239

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Posts posted by OnYourBack

  5. Quote

    Those that use Vector tell me Vector is better, those that use Strong swear Strong is the best.



    There was an instructor working at freaks this year who is an examiner for both Strong and Vector/Sigma. He had a Strong rig with a 366, and a Sigma rig with a Sigma 340. I found it interesting that whenever we weren't busy and he the choice of which rig to grab, he always grabbed the Sigma.

  8. Quote

    In light of last year's incident and that not all tandem rigs have yet to be "Y" modified - it ain't worth the risk to take a round bottom - period.



    Its not worth taking any student if you don't harness them properly. She fell out because she wasn't harnessed properly, not because of size or lack of a Y mod.

  12. Peek, I have respect for your time in the sport and your attitude toward creating a safer environment for skydiving but I just can’t subscribe to this notion that carnival ride tandems are doing damage to the sport. You make statements such as in the last post like, it will make a “big difference.” What proof do you have of this?

    A decline in our sport could be blamed on any one of a myriad of obstacles there are to becoming experienced in this sport. I think one could successfully argue that the more people you give a quick ride to (as long as it can be done safely), the more chance you have at coming across those individuals who are going to stick around and make a go of it. The more out of shape couch potatoes I take, the more of their friends who will see their video and say, “gee if he can do it so can I.”

    One could argue, if it hadn’t been for the advent of carnival ride tandems we wouldn’t have half the big planes, a lot of the little dz’s might not be able to stay open, and there might not be the amount of skydivers we have now. There might not have been the money to research and come up with all the new safety features that have been developed.

    I believe you should make information readily available to any who express even the slightest bit of interest in continuing but I think a person knows whether it’s a sport for them or not immediately. If a day full of training is all it takes to keep someone in the sport, then why don’t more of the solo students return?

  13. Quote

    Could it be that they intend this suit only for experienced skydivers, and training for wingsuits?




    Thats what I thought at first but then saw this:

    "With the Tandus even someone's first skydive could be a wingsuit jump!"

  14. Quote

    But it's their money. If a dude knows he's only going to do it once and just wants video of himself doing flips out of a plane, I'm happy to show him a good time doing it.



    Wuffos don't know what they want. You have to train them to want to come back. :S

  15. As evidenced in the thread regarding recovery, the consensus regarding stable exits and stable freefall positions seems to be more about what the instructor is doing and not the student. I think its a pretty huge leap to say that minimal instruction leads to flipping exits and freeflying tandems. I'm not saying these procedures are not more dangerous, but doing multiple flips on exit or flying head down with a tandem is about a bad instructor not how much training we give.

  16. Quote

    Flips out the door increase the potential for a side spin, or an unstable drogue deployment.

    Head down tandems, sit flying tandems and pommel horse type tandems place additional unnecessary stresses on the gear, and increase the likelyhood that a premature deployment of either the main or reserve would produce catastrophic results.



    How did you get from giving someone a ride with minimal instruction to flipping out the door and freeflying?

  17. Quote

    But I, and alot of others, would disagree that carnival ride tandems aren't creating dangerous situations.



    Wait. . .I have heard the argument that rides are leading to a decline in the amount of first timers that stick around numerous times. This is the first time however that I have heard they are "creating dangerous situations." Why are they more dangerous than a progression tandem?

  18. You aren't the first angered relative who can only see their deceased loved one as a poor victim. Like those others though, you probably won't make any real changes to the system. In the end, you will most likely just have wasted your own preciously short time on the earth dwelling on the past and neglecting the joy you could be sharing with the loved ones you have that are still living.

  20. Funny, I was just thinking about that in the plane this weekend. Students have no idea who I really am and they are trusting their life with me. I keep my license with me to show if asked. I have never been asked once. They often ask how many jumps or how long I've been doing it, but none ask for proof.

  21. I'm guessing CF means cluster fuck. And he is right, there were many links broken in that chain. I was just bringing her up because she got dinged by many people for saying she thought the reserve was 100% garaunteed.

    You're absolutely right though, using your reserve is a far better option than landing some malfunctions. You should have and respect a safe hard deck. Its just that hearing someone say a reserve is 100% is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I always feel compelled to say something.

  23. Quote

    As far as I am concerned, my reserve will function properly 100% of the time.



    Thats what Shayna Richardson thought about her reserve. She had a rude awakening when she opened it and it spun her all the way to a face plant in a parking lot. Proper understanding of your gear and what your doing is what should keep you calm and relaxed.

  24. Quote

    Some instructors have said, unless you pass a controlability check (including flaring), cutaway and go for reserve.



    I don't understand why people keep pointing out "including flaring." You can flare with your risers. You can turn left and right with your risers. Therefore, you can pass a controllability check without your toggles. Whether or not you have the skills or confidence to do that is ultimately up to you but one steering line gone is not an uncontrollable canopy. I have seen reserves fail more than once.