Richardhayden

Actually, BASE jumping started way before that........ Ever heard of a guy called Armand Firman.... well in 852 AD he jumped off a tower in Cordoba Spain... then there was Leonardo DaVinci's design in 1310... then there was Faust Vracics-Homovolans a Croatian 1n 1350's...... infact BASE is the oldest form of parachuting, as even DaVinci couldnt get his aerocraft to fly, so they had to use towers in those days. Its not such a surprise when you think about it! Blue skies Richard

Hay Cheryl, Balisky and Gay made me down one of those sodding eggs... I needed the Tequila just to wash the taste away.... but guess what, this year they wouldnt give me the bottle, just a little glass.... so you still hold the record for drinking this Irish guy under the table!! CRW Skies!

I am a CRW jumper and dont have a Cypres. But to the best of my knowledge (PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR AAD MANUFACTURER): Many AADs will fire between 750 and 120 feet if you are above a vertical speed of 35 meters/sec. I understand that to be a typical design tolerance. However, there is also the algorythem each AAD is programmed with, these are generally fairly secret (intellectual property), but they take into account such things as burble, time in burble etc., which affects the AAD´s "decision" whether to fire or not. But you know the old addage, if in doubt, check it out!

Regarding communication: Good point well made!

I am definitely NOT anti AAD, they just must be a considered a part of your kit. For the vast majority of skydiving, they are a risk reducer. Have you ever noticed how CRW jumpers havnt taken to AAD´s. Thats because of the risks of using one were considered from the outset. Downplanes can exceed 36 meters/sec, thus fire a cypres. I would hate to be in a wrap and find my reserve firing. If people exceed 36 meters/sec., while under a good main and under 750 ft, they just need to make informed decisions. Some countries such as France have made the use of an AAD mandatory for all jumps. Throwing broad brush safety measures around, can sometimes create som problems as well as solve others!

Cigarette manufacturers never told people about the "alleged" danger of tabaco, but they started doing only when forced to. Have you ever noticed how CRW jumpers havnt taken to AAD´s. Thats because of the risks of using one were considered from the outset. Downplanes can exceed 36 meters/sec, thus fire a cypres. I would hate to be in a wrap and find my reserve firing. I am definitely NOT anti AAD, they just must be a considered a part of your kit. For the vast majority of skydiving, they are a risk reducer.

I am not telling anyone how to jump. But I am pointing out that when anyone does a jump, they need to consider the implications for the Kit they are jumping. The issue was about a Cypres firing during a swoop, the speed of the swoop generated a speed which triggered the cypres. That is the sort of implication worth considering when one plans a dive, I am sure you would agree. Thus I am sure that your training programme would point out stuff like this to your students. Best regards

Manufacturers dont like to be negitave about them selves. Thats why they dont publish information. I was told by a manufacturer once that their AAD was good for CRW, so I asked, when and how did you test it.... after a while, I got a reply.... we didnt! I coined the expression canopy sport here to discribe CRW, Accuracy and Swooping.... all of which focus the dive on the canopy flight. If accuracy and CRW jumpers avoid wearing AADs (and the CRW safety brief in many countries who have a formal CRW safety brief) advises against an AAD, why arent Swoopers opening their eyes and looking to similar aspects of the sport and learning form that knowledge. How else do I say it.... you dont need an AAD when you have a canopy over your head. Yes people do have colissions doing hops and pops, but not very often! Look at the collision stastistics here. And that one doing a hopand pop was a team jump where all the team jump at once and deploy their canopys together..... very specialised, normally hop and poppers jump one by one, so this doesnt happen.

Also, what I mean by canopy sport, is the areas like CRW, Accuracy and swooping. Many years ago the wisdome in CRW suggested that it was stupid to do unplanned CRW after a freefall. In the old days everyone had a 230 sq feet canopy (the days before different canopy sized, just around the time before micro-lines started to appear). The conventional wisdome was, dont mix a jump. We seem to have lost that knowledge... now we are back to mixing freefall with swooping. In freefall an AAD is good for the risk of collisions, whereas in swooping an AAD is a potential risk as we see here. I know most of the worlds best swoopers... not name dropping, I just do know them.... and what I see is that when they swoop, they swoop and when they freefall, they freefall.... if you get my point. So yes Freefall is a canopy sport... its a lifesaver... but the canopy ride is not the objective of the jump! Viz, what I said earlier about mixing jumps.... dont do it unless you are very experienced at both aspects of the dive.... experienced and considerate of the implications.

Well there you go... they tested it for swooping.... so why didnt it work then?.... when did they test it... how often do they test them... how relevent are the tests... I started jumping with a round canopy, then a PC, then a triangular one then a 230 sq ft square... I went at a certain speed, then another then another then another... now things are different! The fact is that with canopy sports we travel faster than the AAD activation speed, but reduce that speed for landing, just like an aeroplane.... Why do you need an AAD for canopy sports when more than 7 fatalities clearly indicate that they are incompatable... or put another way... if I have a perfectly good main over my head, why do I suddenly want to be surprised by my reserve coming out when I am close to the ground? These things are not compatable with hop and pop jumping, no matter how you look at it.

The recent success of the "British Army's famous RED DEVILS" display team's CReW Seminar which saw an extended weekend filled with CReW, coaching novices to accomplished CReW jumpers the Red Devils introduced the Lightning to novice and expert alike. This canopy is a good solid and highly maneuverable canopy and a credit to its designers & makers; PD Richard Hayden