Bergen

Anybody have any resources they use to do a night jump brief. I've searched the forums and checked out the SIM, but I'd like to read some more. Thanks

I'm 195 lbs and 5-10. Shooting mostly tandems. My range seems pretty good with a medium wing, but I'd like to get my hips much lower than my shoulders. I'm going to be ordering a new suit and would like to hear recommendations about jumping a larger or smaller wing. Thanks

Perhaps your first mistake is trying to pursuade someone your theory is true before the theory has been properly tested. Calling a sport safe or unsafe represents a misunderstanding of the concept of safetry. Safety is a usable concept when describing a set of operating practices and determining whether they are designed to minimize injury, damage, or risk. Perhaps a better thesis for your paper is that most skydiving mishaps are avoidable and are the result of human error. While this is true for most high demand endeavors (60-80%,) the perception out there may be that most skydiving injuries are the reult of catastrophic equipment failure.

Just wondering what you are teaching new students about a downplane under student gear? One of my buds swears that a downplane under a student canopy is no big deal. Another says that it should be pretty easy to get them back together. PD doesn't distinguish between student gear and sport gear in their report. There are risks to a cutaway, and students might not have enough juice to get them back together. Thanks

I can't figure out how to ask this question, but I am a little confused-please bare with me. The IPC dive pool shows sidebodies being built with the point and OC facing north and the tail and IC facing west. (I know these heading references relate to the page, not the compass.) Could you build the formation with the point facing south and the OC facing north? I know the rules say you can build mirror images, but I would imagine that refers to the whole piece, not just one individual. Thanks

I was wondering what you guys think are the easiest 4 way exits and easiest 40 way blocks. Thanks

I'm a relatively new instructor and while debriefing a student the other day, I am positive I smelled weed on his breath. Since I don't partake, I really don't know much about it and I could use a few answers. Can you smell it on somebody's breath? Does it impair your judgement and motorskills like alcohol, or does it only give you a feeling of wellbeing? How long after smoking a joint do the effects wear off? After you think the effects wear off, can you jump? Do the effects get worse with altitude, like alcolol? I've seen a few people lighting up am wondering--Any other real world info about skydiving and pot would be greatly appreciated. How common is it? What are the effects? I told the DZO and our head instructor about it. The DZO gave the guy a copy of our rules -- which prohibit jumping under the influence of anything. The student didn't protest or deny that he'd been smoking and left quietly. One of our post-jumping recreational users told me that the student would have protested it he had not been smoking. I don't know if he is coming back. Thanks

I spoke to Jennifer today. The suit is on its way. I'm really looking forward to it because my last suit from her was a good one.

I ordered a Zute Suit in early April. Jennifer cashed my check, but I have been unable to contact her by phone and she hasn't answered 3 emails sent over the last several weeks. Does anyone know her or have any information? I was very pleased with the last suit I purchased from her and am surprised by the silence. Thanks

I've never flown jumpers, but I have been a professional pilot for 25 years. I've also been an accident investigator and done research into human factors in aviation. There are 3 essential skill sets a pilot must have. How good he is will be determined by his ability to master those skill sets AND practice them every second he spends operating his airplane. It is my belief BTW that most of what follows applies to being a good skydiver. The first skill set involves the pilot's ability to complete the common tasks of operating the airplane. Knowledge of systems, regulations, procedures, and good operating practices are essential. This also includes the basic airmanship skills that make someone smooth and efficient in the air. (Yanking and banking.) Specific types of operations would require somewhat different skills in this category. A jump-pilot flying a C-182 requires different set of skills than a Naval Aviator flying F-18 night missions in the Gulf. I spend most of my time looking out the window, monitoring the autopilot, and drinking rancid coffee. But every now and then I have to land an airplane in a 20kt crosswind on a short snow-covered runway after a 14 hour day. Different operations have different demands. I'm not going to list all the specific skills required. Yes, you do have to be able to do a takeoff, but you also have to ensure the electrical system is functioning properly. Which one of those skills is most important probably depends on which angel is manning God's operations center that day. The second skill set that is required but not often used is an extension of the first. It simply involves the pilot's ability to respond to unusual situations when they occur. Unusual situations run the full range--minor system problems, (hydraulics,) major system failures (engine failures,) and hazardous meteorological conditions are good examples. This is a more interesting category because it not only involves an extension of the basic skills required in the first category, but it involves the pilot's ability to recognize potentially dangerous situations and make decisions to resolve them. The final category is the most interesting, most complex, and most important in my view. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to minimize the ability to land the plane, but landing is a relatively simple (not easy, simple) skill to master. A pilot must have the ability to continually make good operational decisions to keep him out of trouble. Bad decisions and lack of situational awareness are responsible for over 2/3 of all aircraft accidents. Being 50 kts fast ten miles from the runway is no big deal. Being 20 kts fast 2 miles from the runway just might be a big deal. This category is equivalent to a skydiver who decides to land in the middle of the landing area on a windy day versus the skydiver who decides to land near the hangar. Who is the better pilot? (And we never have a parade for the guy who sits it out.) You never hear about the accident that didn't happen. You usually don't know how it was prevented. How's that for positive reinforcement? This is a very personal category, and it is by far the most important. This is the category where honesty and personal integrity come in. Can I admit I screwed up? Can I admit I should be somewhere else right now? Can I admit that the safety margins are not satisfactory? This is where neurosis, peer pressure, ego, fear, denial, hesitation, stubbornness, rigidity, showing off, and complacency show up and ruin our day. I'll take an honest pilot (or skydiver) over the ace of the base, any day. Fall in peace. Bergen ATP SA-227, DC-9 (80), 757/767

I'm not sure what kind of advice you are looking for. When you say help me get down, are you talking about calming down, or some tips to make you a better jumper? Your AFF instructor(s) will help you with the skydiving part. Their job is to keep you alive long enough and give you some tips so that you can teach yourself to skydive. Listen to others==but also listen to yourself. I think the best word in the English language is patience. The world only spins one way, and it spins in its own time. We can make believe that isn't true, but it is. You can find lots of people who don't believe that. You can usually spot them from across the street being very neurotic, unhappy, and trying to control things that can't be controlled. Patience requires faith. Faith that the universe works in a consistent manner and faith that you can handle adversity and uncertainty. How did you handle difficult situations in the past? How did it turn out? But adversity and uncertainty breed anxiety. That's where courage comes in. Courage isn't about being fearless. Courage is about making choices between what you want, and what you are willing to do to get what you want. Don't ever confuse courage with denial. Ignoring danger is not the same as facing it. Finally, there are some cortical and sub-cortical processes at work you should be aware of. We are wired to fight or flee when faced with anxiety. But the part or our brain, sub-cortical, that is responsible for activating that response only has access to limited amounts of memory and cognitive processing. Deep breathing, meditation, journaling, and talking with a good listener will push the process to your higher cortex, which will do some calculations, analysis, and recall. Those functions will bring the internal discussion to a more realistic level. If you do that, and your guts are still in a knot, maybe you have to give yourself some more time. Otherwise, its time to jump. On the other hand, maybe you were asking how to do better on your first AFF jump. Definitely, Arch and Relax. Fall in peace.

I have 3 pieces of advice that really hepled, or would have helped out team out. First, pair up and do some two-way. One new guy with one veteran. I'm not sure what kind of airplane you are using, but if it is an otter, you can launch a sidebody with the new guy being the top of the T and the vet being the vertical part. Start with the new guy goung out head first and parallel with the wing. After you nail it a time or two, have the new guy backing out and kicking his legs up to get horizontal. This drill is good for teaching timing, body position, and presentation. Two way exits are simpler and are good for teaching the basics. Second, a good two way drill for beginners, start with a two way star, have the new guy drive forward to a closed accordion, swing around to a cat, pivot back to another closed accodion, and slide back to a two way. Repeat on the other side. The vet just falls. The vet can vary fall rate after a few jumps to add excitement. My last tip is to rotate the captainship and team responsibilities each week. This will ensure that each team member is fully invested in the team and has additional investment in the process. Specifically, each member should be responsible for briefing a dive flow. The new guys might need help at first, but they will learn a-lot from being in the hot seat. Good luck Warmth comes from the fire, not the smoke. The light knows where you are.

I'm defenitely not teaching a student to chop a reserve. I reread the post you are referring to and can see where I wasn't clear. My concern is that if a student bails out at 2,000 on a main, and the deployment doesn't go perfectly, there is a risk of a Cypres fire. The policy at the DZ is to use the reserve below 2,000 and the main above 2,000. That's what I teach. But it sounds a little low to me, so I started this thread to find out what other DZ's use.

Does it matter? Yes. Tell me why it matters

Does it matter?