SkySlut

Correct and that is why the largest groups get out first because they would have the right of way in the sky because they dont have any choice to track up and down the line of flight and they would be the lower group whereas a smaller group has that choice. See what I am getting at? "I'll jump anything!"

Slowfaller...do me and yourself a favor and call up PD and ask them if someone with 25 jumps should be jumping a stilleto at a 1.1+ wingloading. If they say fine...go ahead. You may be planning ahead for the jump, but I just had a friend go in...I am sure that he thought he was planning on what could happen but its the things that you dont expect that come with experience that could bite you...thats what happened to him. Do what you want to do, but please just do some research and get educated first. "I'll jump anything!"

Its a free world, dude...I wish you the best!!! Let me know how you make out. "I'll jump anything!"

I also would talk to some more people...I have 145 jumps, 0 biffs-all standups and there is no way in hell my dealer would consider selling me a fully elliptical canopy. I consider myself a pretty good canopy pilot too. If you were to try to buy a new Stiletto from a dealer they usually ask how many jumps you have and they typically dont sell ellipticals to people under 200 jumps I believe. "I'll jump anything!"

Take her to the DZ and check everything out...My family hated the idea of me skydiving but when they came to the DZ they really dug it and now they show up quite a bit to just watch. Knowledge is power, so load up on it and the fear will be gone. See if they are willing to take her up on an observer ride. That may help too. "I'll jump anything!"

If you were going to jerk somebody around intentionally...would you want to put your name on it??? Seems likely that they are just having a little fun at our expense. "I'll jump anything!"

Here are a few links that may help you. http://www.bridgedayassociation.com/ This is a good site to know so you wont have any suprises when you get to bridge day. http://www.afn.org/skydive/base/ This page had the article, but I dont know where it went. It was a good article so I put it on here just in case it comes back into service. http://www.houlahan.freeserve.co.uk/bridge1.htm This one has some pretty good info on conversion. "I'll jump anything!"

My thoughts on that would be that you would want to use your rear risers because they are going to slow the canopy down rather than speed it up when you use front risers...some canopies you can actually get to fly backwards if you use the rear risers properly. Of course that is very close to the stall point. I would imagine that you could do either, but I would rather have the canopy slow down rather than speed up. That is my understanding of why you want to use rear risers. I would imagine that it is going to be the same with toggle input as well, rear riser will be safer. Sometimes you dont have time to get to the toggles so risers are your only option. All of these ways would work and every situation is different. You are going to be the one underneath that canopy and it is ultimately going to be your decision. My suggestion would be to get to know the range of your canopy...know what it can do and how fast it can do it so when the time does come...you are prepared and can make the right decision. "I'll jump anything!"

Here is another good visual representation of exit order... http://www.omniskore.com/freefall_drift2.html "I'll jump anything!"

The purpose of perpendicular tracking is to not track into the line of flight, which I have seen happen several times...one that almost killed me. When you are turning to track away, they typically teach you to track 180 from the center of the formation, correct? Say you are on a 2-way and you are having a great dive, it comes to break off altitude so you turn 180 and track, you waive off and deploy, next thing you know...you have canopies opening all around you. How did this happen??? The group behind you waited 10 seconds and watched to see that your group was at a 45 degree angle before they left, right??? Well then why are there canopies all around me??? So what happened??? This is what can and will happen to you at some point if you arent aware of the line of flight. You exit in your 2-way and you are having a great time turning points & geeking each other but you arent aware of the line of flight so instead of having your 2-way formation perpendicular to the line of flight you are parallel so when you turn 180...one person turns back against the line of flight and one turns into the line of flight, thus closing the distance of horizontal separation. If that group above you pulls low...there are potential issues and if you pull low you could fall into the group that exited the plane before you. You tracked right into their airspace, which is a very bad thing. Its just an awareness thing. Good separation is both vertical and horizontal. "I'll jump anything!"

Dont worry about the whole tracking perpendicular to the line of flight if you are doing AFF. Your instructor should have you pointed in that direction during the dive. It is his responsibility to make sure you are safe. The only thing that you should be worrying about is your dive. But once you start jumping on your own, please ask someone about this! It will save you a lot of hassle and maybe more if you know about how jumpers fall in the air. It is kind of tough to explain without drawining a diagram, but if you would like I will try to explain it. Let me know if you want me to otherwise ask another jumper at your DZ. "I'll jump anything!"

Is it possible that when you tracked away from the jumper that you were jumping with, that you tracked into the line of flight??? That is another possibility. You should always be tracking perpendicular to the line of flight otherwise you are putting yourself into their airspace. It could have been the second jumper too. The solo could have been doing loops or turns and slid into your airspace. That happened to me once. I was on an 8 way and a solo nearly killed me. He was so close I could hear his chute opening as he passed me and I have a full face helmet. Scared the hell out of me. Just a thought... "I'll jump anything!"

I would make sure that its not the dealer jerking you around and not wings...that may be what is happening. That is WAY TOO lONG of a time to be waiting for a freakin container!!! "I'll jump anything!"

Its only cheaper if you dont get caught...if you get caught on NPS land they can give you fines of $2000 and loss of gear. If you get busted other places you can have lawyer fees and jail time...Hank was looking at 6 months for that reckless endangerment stunt in Colorado. I think that guy that jumped of the St. Louis Arch got time too. "I'll jump anything!"

I know how you feel. I am experiencing the same thing right now. A good friend once told me "If you stay in this sport long enough...you will either see someone die or know someone who dies doing this sport". Well, it happened on saturday. One of the guys from our DZ got killed in North Carolina. He used to do video for our team on occasion. I didnt really know him very well, but he was a nice guy and we used to have a couple of cocktails and shoot the sh*t around the bonfire at the end of the day. He was one of those guys that used to ask you "how are you doing?" and actually mean it...which is nice. I will miss him. The thing that I am having issues with is the reality of this situation. It is usually so far removed when it it in the incident reports of Parachutist. I have thought a lot more about what skydiving means to me and the people that I have the privilege to jump with and get to know. Skydivers are the best people on the face of the planet. I know that accidents happen, but we should all strive to be the safest jumpers we can. We should know our equipment and our procedures, it will save our lives some day. The better prepared you are the better off you are going to be in an emergency. He loved the sport and we will be having a service at the DZ for him. I dont particularly want to go in, but if I had to chose a way to kick it...I suppose I would rather go doing something I love. It is a grim reminder of what we all must face at some point and everybody has to come to terms with it somehow. We all have our reasons and I will keep jumping but I will learn from what has happened and carry a little bit of Rich with me forever. God's Speed. It was a pleasure knowing you... "I'll jump anything!"

rolling on the floor i believe...i am so ashamed that i know that...what a geek! I think that I may have to kick my own ass. "I'll jump anything!"

Good one!!! Another FYI on the college binge drinker thing: There is something called State Induced Learning that happens. If you learn something drunk you remember it better drunk. "I'll jump anything!"

Yeah, I saw that...the thinking is that a herd of cattle can only move as fast as the slowest one and if you kill the weakest and slowest the herd & your brain will be more efficient and faster. As much as I would like to subscribe to this theory...my only question is what happens when you only have 2 brain cells left and they are fighting with each other??? "I'll jump anything!"

I was listening to the radio this morning and a russian scientist invented the talking liquor bottle. Apparently there is some sort of sensor in the cap that talks to you. I guess it starts out by recommending drinks and telling you how to pour the booze and then, as you get drunker, it starts to slur its words and you hear a woman laughing and a bunch of other silly stuff. The guy invented it so people dont have to drink alone. Now, that is funny!!! I dont know if they are only going to sell them in Russia or if they are going to make it over to the states, but I am definately going to have to pick one of those things up!!! "I'll jump anything!"

I was on the PD site and couldnt find what I was looking for, but doesnt PD have some sort of average number that says when a parachute will malfunction? I think that it was something like 1 in every 200 or 1 in every 500 jumps. I cant remember where I saw this statistic, but I am fairly certain that I saw it from a manufacturer. Anyone know? "I'll jump anything!"

Ever heard the saying "you have some old skydivers and you have some bold skydivers...but there aren't a lot of old bold skydivers."? Just a thought... "I'll jump anything!"

I met hank last weekend in Moab. Great guy!!! Good for him and the rest of the BASE jumping community. The guy isnt a threat to society and was certainly not out to endanger anyone. "I'll jump anything!"

Suggestion: before your next jump, do some muscle memory techniques on the ground. I would have your JM watch you to make sure that you are in the proper body position, but get on a creeper or on a packing mat and arch. Go over the specific moves, etc. Do that a few times and then do it again with your eyes closed and visualize the entire dive. Once you do that until you are too tired to arch anymore...Go jump! Then forget about everything while you are in the plane. You have already taught your body the moves, so you know them physically...now, what you have to to is let it happen. You can do it, but it could be a mental thing that is holding you back. Before you are about ready to leave the door, get a big sh*t eating grin on your face and say "this is going to be fun!". The dive will be much better. Give it a whirl and see what happens. If you let it happen your body will subconsciously take over. "I'll jump anything!"

The same thing happened to a buddy of mine. He was wearing a Javelin, BOC, & Sitflying. The P/C deployed right between his legs and flipped him right over. It wasnt as serious as your story, but he was banged up real bad... "I'll jump anything!"

Yep, if you can get the rings...they are way more comfortable and allow you to move more freely. The only thing that I have noticed with chest rings is that you need to loosen the chest strap a bit while you are under canopy to get comfortable. Worth the money though... "I'll jump anything!"