drosenberg

I recently made a very low 180 turn in high winds, I posted the issue on the safety and training forum (you might want to have a look), from my experience and reading your post I totally agree with froggie. Only you, being the guy up there needing to make the decision can know or evaluate the situation best. In my landing (which was perfect with a flare and all) people on the ground told me that I should have either turned earlier or landed downwind, but I did what felt right for me at the moment, and like in your case – It worked ! Blue Skies and safe landings, David

I made a very low 180 turn to land on Friday, which scared the guys at the manifest and in the landing area. The landing actually went very well, I flared in time and landed softly. The thing is that I never make low turns and I wanted to explain why I decided to this time. I have 69 jumps and use a PD 9 cell 170, loaded at around 1.1. The winds were crazy and at about 900ft the wind became very strong, around 20 knots at least, and as I made my downwind leg I started flying very fast. I actually thought that if I go cross wind and then up wind to land I might find myself flying backwards, so I decided to use my forward speed for the turn and the landing. I never did this before and usually I land very conservatively. So, at about 200ft I made a 180 turn slowly (not a hook or anything) using my toggles, got into the wind in time to flare and land. I know it was a stupid thing to do but somehow, when I was up there, this felt like the only safe way for me to land. Blue skies and safe landings, David

I think "Break Away" is very good, I don't have the other ones. If you are concerned about safety (who isn't?) "Break Away" is a must. It is the first time that I got to see real emergencies and hear from leading skydivers how to deal with them. Its not the same as looking at pictures or hearing a safety lecture. Even if you will watch the other videos one or twice until you feel you can pack etc. I am certain that you will watch "Break Away" every once in a while to refresh your memory. Blue Skies

flyingferret , I think your concerns are real and you should ask questions about the plane in any DZ you intend to jump and don’t really know. Here in Israel we had a crash that killed 4 and injured several others 2 years ago, the DZ involved has closed and a new one with new ownership and management and of course a new plane opened a year later (that’s where I jump). The accident happened before I started skydiving so I never jumped at the old DZ, but from what I hear there was some lack of discipline with regards to safety issues. So, I really think you should be able to ask any question you want that will help you feel better at the DZ. Blue Skies and Smooth Openings David

Yes, you must have one and before loading the plane, as part of the final rig check, the person checking you will make sure that its ON. Except for the part of it being expensive I don't think it bothers anyone. And in any case skydiving is very expensive here - $24 - $28 per jump. Smooth Openings David

I think AADs are very important as they obviously help reduce the risk of skydiving in some very rare cases, what people need to remember that rare cases and situation do happen and can get you in trouble even if you are the most competent and experienced diver in your DZ. In any case at my DZ AAD are required and you can't jump without them, and we also have a mandatory gear check before loading the plane. You might be surprised but even the hardcore freeflyers and skysurfers have gotten used to this and everybody is very happy with our good safety procedures. Blue Skies

I also bought a used rig from a friend, he didn't jump it for over a year so first thing I did was pull everything out and inspect it thoroughly. There is a document on the PD site with instructions on how to inspect your canopy. I would also inspect the rig - rings, closing loop etc. If you're going to trust this thing with your life I really think you should check it first. Blue Skies, David

I bought a used Hawkeye helmet and I have a sony PC3, after how many jumps would you say it's OK to start jumping with the camera? I have 50 jumps and I am pretty good in the air. Blue skies David

I also have a kid and my wife gives me some trouble some times over running of jumping on the weekend, so I got her a tandem jump, she liked it very much and would have probably wanted to take AFF but she cant at the moment. Moral of the story is - you don't know what its like until you try it. Blue skies, David

In my DZ - Paradive in Israel, gear checks are done at the manifest before every jump, and everyone is checked, from students to the most experienced skydivers. It just takes 30 seconds and can really make the difference. Blue Skies, David