brianfry713

You should always know your altitude before jumping. It doesn't matter who's fault it is, it's your life on the line. It sounds like you were wearing an altimeter. Most airplanes descend on jump run for a number of reasons. If you knew the student in front of you only got 3k, then you should realize that you'll be getting less. It's your decision on whether to get out or not. If you don't have as much altitude as you want either ask for more or ride the plane down. Altitude awareness is probably the most important skill to have in this sport.

As a swooper, I try not to release my breaks until the slider is collapsed, below my toggles, behind my head, and my chest strap loosened. If your canopy was mostly inflated and the slider hang up was about half way down the lines, I would pump the rear risers to get it to descend completely. I would also use harness or rear risers to steer the canopy and stop the spiral. The only time I release the toggles before dealing with my slider, booties, and/or wingsuit is if I have a toggle fire. In that case, I'm already pulling down the other rear riser past my shoulder to stop the spiral. I always stow my excess brake line and then take an extra few seconds to make sure my hands are clear of the line and I have a good grip before releasing my toggles in the method that works best. In your case, depending on altitude, I would have used as much harness input to the left as possible and then alternate between pulling down my left steering line, toggle, or riser to stop/slow the spiral and trying to release the release the right toggle with one or both hands. It is much easier and you have more time to work the steering line problem when you are not spiraling. Upon nearing your decision altitude you should make the decision if you think you can safely land your main or not, and then make an attempt to clear the entanglement possibly using a hook knife. If you don't want to try to land on rear risers or without one or both steering lines, then cutaway. I would probably stick with my main unless there is a malfunction besides with the control system if I feel I could safely use the other controls I had to land it softly. Otherwise, go to the reserve. I would not want to cut away when I was entangled with my main unless I had no other option and I was running out of altitude. If you have new risers and toggles they are probably okay, just be careful and make sure you are stowing them correctly.

With today's gear, IMHO 4,000 is the minimum safe breakoff altitude for very experienced RW jumpers. If you choose to breakoff then, you'd better be quick. There isn't time to waste. You need to know your altitude immediately, turn quickly, track hard for a short period of time, and pull without hesitation. If you are still new to tracking or skydiving, you need to break off higher. You should know you are around 1,000 feet lower than breakoff when you pull if you do this quickly and get adequate separation. If you find you are low at breakoff, you need to rush it even more. You should quickly consider the risks of inadequate separation with your group and the planet and choose which one is your main concern. Ideally you are far enough away from the group and the Earth before you pull, or you need to work on that before the next group jump. If you have to you can sacrifice one for the other, but either one can kill you. One more reason to look at your altimeter before you pull if you know you are low, is to avoid a 2-out. Depending on your gear, If you are already below 2,000 feet, you should consider going straight to your reserve to avoid AAD activation before your main has a chance to slow you down. Yes you can check your altimeter during a track. Just twist your left wrist and look at it. There is no need to stop tracking. Go practice.

I wouldn't buy it as I can't choose from enough different colors.

Don't forget to schlare the tarp before you pound in. Yes canopies can open hard, but with proper packing and body position most modern canopies will open softly most of the time. Openings hard enough to damage gear or the jumper are rare unless a major error was made. http://www.crmojo.com/adobepdf/protection.pdf "Dress for the crash not for the ride."

You can, but why would you want to? I would rather have it in a bag to protect it, or if I had to I'd just wear it on my shoulders without the leg straps on and then stow it in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of me. If you actually wanted to wear it while sitting down in a seat, it might not be the most comfortable flight. If you just want to wear it for shock value, I would think that most people either wouldn't know what it was, wouldn't care, wouldn't say anything, or would realize that you're not going to be able to safely bail out of a normal large jet airline. If someone was smart enough to know what it was and dumb enough to think that you were a threat, personally I don't think it would be a lot of fun to cause a scene and hassle the TSA and airline/airport employees.

I read the thread title and thought, "Yeah, I've been there a few times, and it sucked". I wasn't going to say that, because in the OP it sounded like you were moving there, but I guess everyone else agrees with me. I used to live up in the mountains in Arnold on Highway 4, so Modesto was the closest big city. I'm not really into big cities, so I didn't go there too often.

President Skroob: What's the combination? Colonel Sandurz: One, two, three, four, five. President Skroob: One, two, three, four, five? Colonel Sandurz: Yes. President Skroob: That's amazing. I got the same combination on my luggage. Prepare Spaceball 1 for immediate departure! Dark Helmet: Yes, sir! President Skroob: And change the combination on my luggage!

I probably just kept jumping that day and didn't even notice my total numbers until I went to log it months later.

I think a better idea would be to have a section for each state or country, and locals can sign up to receive messages about their home jumping areas. The locals information and usernames should not be made public. Use of any part of the system could be by reference only. When a jumper wants to meet locals, they post a message that gets copied to everyone who signed up as a local for that state. Bigger states could get split up. I think it's a little too obvious when someone posts a public message saying I'm going to be in this city on this date and I'm looking to make a BASE jump at this time. If a cop reads it and cares, they could probably figure out what objects in the city are jumpable and make a bust. Even worse is when someone posts asking about a specific object and then a few weeks or months later we read about a bust there.

I would doubt that Paragear sent you a bad box. Either throw it away, or go complain to the shipping company. Get a gear bag of some sort to carry the helmet in.

I signed it. The danger that most people are talking about is that the fees won't stay at just $25 for long. This bill will allow the FAA to charge whatever they want in the future. Once there is a system in place that charges user fees soon there will be charges for every stage of the flight, and the costs of just collecting these fees will cause increased fees. The aviation fuel tax is already in place to charge based on usage, but if it triples then jump ticket prices will skyrocket overnight. Just think how it will affect you if your jump tickets rose to $50+ in October. The USPA is already involved in this battle.

I too start to get worried when I haven't jumped in a week. If you want to jump, go to your DZ and jump. I don't always skydive just for the rush, it's fun just to fly and have fun with cool people. If all you are looking for is a rush, there are other ways to get it, either by trying something new skydiving or doing something unrelated.

A Cessna 152 does not qualify as a LSA. Yes it has two seats, but it has a max takeoff weight of 1,670 pounds, which is over the FAR limit of 1,320 pounds for LSA land. You need at least a FAA 3rd class medical to solo a 152 in the US. Cessna is talking a lot about making a LSA in the future, but right now there are a number of other aircraft that qualify. Besides, if the OP is considering a career in aviation or even serious about learning to fly and have the time, money, and desire, IMHO you should skip the sport pilot and just go straight to the PPL. If you went to a college or something like that you could probably also do the instrument, commercial, and more at the same time. If you're impatient you'd probably want to get to at least the commercial stage ASAP, so an accelerated program may be the way to go for you. Flying an average of maybe once a week I took about a year to get my PPL. YMMV.

I jumped a 143 packed as a main at terminal last weekend after a freefly jump. The opening was hard but it didn't really hurt too bad. It was an on heading and smooth opening. The material is slippery but spills air quickly while packing and is very small once in the bag. The toggle response is quick and the front riser pressure is very light. I did a 270 to landing and was able to keep it diving nicely. I had to run it out more than on a 9 cell, and it didn't have as much flare as a swooping canopy, but it was still a fun landing.

I thought it was kind of funny. Like they said, they're not going to try it again with each other. I can't think of any scenario where the hangar should panic and deploy. Like you said, that would make a bad situation much worse. Some possibilities for a fun dismount are a canopy transfer to downplane or a pilot chute assist.

I'll challenge you to a boat race Marcel. In my prime back while I was still an undergrad I was doing 3 seconds flat. Walden is a fast drinker as well. I can't wait, it should be a good time.

I seem to remember on the waiver before getting into the tunnel it states something like "I've never had any previous shoulder injuries or dislocations". It's probably best to clear it with the tunnel management and instructors first before going in the air, but we don't always follow all the rules. You could always do shorter 1 minute sessions if you're splitting the time with a group, and let the instructor know not to pull on your arm to correct your awkward flying style that favors the bad shoulder. Let us know how the surgery and therapy and brace work out.

NPS Management policies 2006 http://www.nps.gov/policy/mp/policies.html#_Toc157232902 8.2.2.7 Parachuting Parachuting (or BASE jumping), whether from an aircraft, structure, or natural feature, is generally prohibited by 36 CFR 2.17(a)(3). However, if determined through a park planning process to be an appropriate activity, it may be allowed pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit. (See Appropriate Use 8.1.1) This is the cited law: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/12feb20041500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/julqtr/36cfr2.17.htm Sec. 2.17 Aircraft and air delivery. (a) The following are prohibited: (3) Delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies involving public safety or serious property loss, or pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit.

I think you may be getting confused between the different types of insurance. For a demo jump, you'll probably need a C or D license or a PRO rating, and special liability insurance to cover that event. As a USPA member, you get 3rd party liability insurance included during normal skydives at a drop zone. I don't think life insurance companies would care about how much skydiving experience you have. I have life and health insurance as a group member from my employer, so there are no exclusions or extra charges for any high risk activities.

I went to Vegas a few years ago in July and had two friends that wanted to do tandems. I went to the wind tunnel for the first time and had fun despite it being around 130 degrees outside. I called around and even made a $100 deposit at one of the local DZs which I never got back, but none of them would allow us to come jump. We drove out to Mesquite instead and we were welcomed and we all got to jump later that same day. The fastest jump plane I've been in is Greg Nardi's King Air in Monterey, but I'm guessing the Perris Jet might be a little faster. "Only SLV guarantees Your Exit Altitude. If you Pay for 2 miles, you get 2 miles." And on the pricing page: "**Restrictions pertaining to aircraft, altitude, weather, temperature, weight and other factors may apply **All sales final Lodi is also open 365 days a year, with longer hours than SLV. Hopefully they're not the only DZ that hasn't killed or injured a student. I imagine some of these may be aimed towards the other LV DZs, but they just said "Only SLV".

If you read the PD article, the main was a Velo 79, and the BASE canopy was a Black Jack 240. It looked to me like he was wearing a empty harness to attach the main to with an easy grab cutaway handle made by Asylum underneath his BASE container which I believe is a Perigee Pro. The Perigee Pro is legal to jump in Germany, and you can could a front mount reserve if you wanted to. Jonathan's setup would not be legal in the US without an FAA waiver, but it was well suited for the stunt. A BASE rig and canopy is more reliable for freefall well under 730', and his setup didn't interfere with his BASE deployment. Attaching a front mount reserve or having an extra container to deploy the main would get in the way. At the low altitude he deployed his BASE canopy, having an extra reserve wouldn't usually help. So the direct bag was necessary to work with the standard BASE rig on his back. When he didn't plan on cutting away at around 730', he wore a standard Javelin but still did the direct bag for practice for the final stunt and then he could still land on the bridge or at the bottom of the canyon without cutting away. It's playing again tonight at 11pm on the Discovery Channel where I live.