itllclear

About 1,500 from a helicopter at night over a drag strip for a demo. I could hear the PA system while I was in freefall. Wasn't really that scary -- had the light turned off on my altimeter. Micahel told me "Turn off the light on your altimeter. It will only scare you." "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

When my wife to be announced to one of her girl friends (who knew me) that we were engaged, the girl friend looked me squarelyi in the eye and asked: "So what are you going to do next, buy a boat and a plane?" "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I was part owner of a Tri-Pacer in the early 80's. Our goal was to land a skydiver at Fran's Star Ranch in Nevada, and return him safely to Long Beach. MIssion accomplished may times. Removed the back left door and seat back from the right seat. Could carry 3 jumpers (very cozy) \Blue Skies! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

No Problem- with the Tiger-- Get both feet outside the plane and dive for the wing tip. That will get you outboard of the horizontal stabilizer. Actually, the downwash blows you below it. Remember that the jumper on the wing is like a big spoiler, and expect at least a 500 fpm descent, even at Vy. Have fun! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I first saw "Proof" at a party at Pat Moorehead's house with about 30 other jumpers. We were not told what to expect. By the end of the movie, most of us were laughing so hard we coulnd't breathe! Since most of us had started jumping in the late 60's and early 70's, the movie wasn't simply comedy, it was nostalgia. The freefall sequences were filmed by Dave Blattell at Cal City, not Perris. "And that's the way it was." Blue Skies! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I'll give you three reasons. 1) You want to avoid getting hurt. 2) You want to live. 3) You don't want to hurt anyone else "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Lori- From what you were telling me last weekend, I guess you don't feel the need to bid on this one? Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Different DZ's, with different landing area configurations and wind conditions, may have differing policies. However, each DZ should have some policy. If you don't like the policy at the DZ at which you are considering making a jump, don't jump there. I admit my attitude is influenced by the fact that I've been standing around waiting for the coroner a couple of times due to canopy collisions. BSBD Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

As long as there are no other jumpers in the air, do whatever you want. If there are other jumpers in the air, you have to decide which of these would hurt the least: 1) A head on 40 - 50 mph body to body impact just above the ground. Probably will get a post in "Incidents." 2) a canopy entaglement resulting in a downward velocity of 50 - 60 mph on landing Probably will get a post in "Incidents." 3) A downwind landing with a vertical velocity of 5 mph, and a PLF tumbled out landing with maybe some grass stains on your container. Probably no post in "Incidents." Remember that choices 1 & 2 involve taking at least one other jumper with you. If you are the one not following the established landing pattern and survive, the other person or his friends may make you wish you hadn't. OK folks, did I make this simple enough? Maybe this should go over to "Safety and Training." Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I'm not so worried about the FAA as I am about local governments. As a result of a string of accidents at a single DZ in Nevada, the State Legislature got involved and passed laws regulating skydiving in that state. With some lobbying by Ed Scott and others, the law now only requires that jumps be made in accordance with USPA BSR's, but it could have been a lot more restrictive. We may not be so fortunate next time. The other issue is the cost to each of us, not only the DZO and Tandem Instructor, if there is a claim for injuries to a jumper without a waiver. When a lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff normally names as a defendant EVERYONE who might have been involved, from the Tandem Instructor to the gear manufacturer to the gardner who mowed the grass on which the landing occurred. Even if the individually named defendant had NOTHING to do with the injury, there will be a cost of defending against the lawsuit. That cost will be passed on to each individual jumper in the form of higher gear prices and/or jump tickets. The existence of a well thought out and prepared waiver usually significantly reduces those costs. Bill Booth has, in the past, often shown no hesitation in giving his numbers to anyone who really cares. The question then becomes; "Do we each want to pay higher lift rates and gear prices because an individual DZO or Instructor wanted to take a student up without a waiver?" Right now, the thought of 1) Having to pay prices any higher than I already am, and/or 2) Having to drive or fly to another state to make a jump doesn't appeal to me. Blue Skies! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I still think Perris -- Stalsis would have been a good description of fluid body motions! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

It was! Blue Skies! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

I took the photo. We were in the Northwest for one of Dav3e Ruckert's Cessna formation loads. Michael Burt in the Center, Steve Van Cleve on the tail. Blue Skies! Harry Leicher "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Be careful of the seats on a C-130. A couple of years ago, one of the video guys at the Boogie in Ecuador was running for the door, with his bridle trailing behind him. The hacky was caught in the webbing of one of the seats. A couple of alert jumpers tackled the guy before he got to the door. Can you imagine the premature opening from a plane moving at the spped of the Herc? Ouch! "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

The handle will be in the same place unless 1) Your leg straps aren't exactly as tight as they were last time 2) Your opening wasn't the same as it always has been, and your harness shifted or the leg straps loosend. 3) You don't have exactly the same amount of clothing on under your jumpsuit, causing the harness to fit differently 4) etc., etc., add your own. When the you know what is hitting the fan, you want EVERYTHING possible in your favor, including being able to find the handle. Why not just get a rig that's tan, gray, and dark red. Make the cutaway handle any of those colors. The name of that color scheme is "Bounce and Blend." "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

If you plan any jumps with sandals or bare feet, remember that sand can get HOT in the middle of the day. You're all cool after a freefall with the breeze between your toes, and your feet land on the HOT sand! Ouch. Have fun! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

That's the point. Most of these incidents could have been avoided if the DZ's had a policy that kept the swoopers separated from other jumpers. Ask your DZO about the DZ's policy. If you don't like the answer you get, vote with your dollars and jump somewhere else. There will always be some jumpers who don't give a damn about anyone else. The DZO's are the only ones who can enforce any policy. Not enforcing a policy is, in fact, setting a policy. Maybe we just will have to see some DZ's shut down because the coroner doesn't want to visit as often, or a relative of someone with political power is injured or killed. Right now I just don't see that the DZO's think this is enough of a problem to take any action. If they manage to stay open, and business keeps on grwoing, maybe they're right. BSBD Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

This almost makes too much sense. As much as I hate more "rules" this concept of separate landing areas for different types of landings requires a DZO who will enforce whatever policy the DZ has. Bryan Burke at Eloy, and Jack Gramley when he was at Perris come to mind. They have no reluctance to let someone know that their actions in the pattern were unaccceptable. In the absence of an enforced DZ policy restricting pattern antics, the "main" landing area by default becomes othe one in which the swoopers want to show off. If enough sensible jumpers tell the DZO that they want the main landing area, it will force the DZO to make a decision, one way or the other as to what is allowed in the main landing area. If we can't convince the DZO to move the swoopers elsewhere, we then have to anticipate that the main landing area is the swooper zone, and have to make a decision whether we want to place ourselves in the line of fire. It's no different than refusing to get on a large load when the organizer has some people on it you consider unsafe. Is the peer pressure great enough to make you put yourself in harm's way? If so, and you get hurt, it's your fault as much as the other jumper's. For my part, I plan to land safely, and to continue to give Tim a good tip at the end of every day of jumping at Perris. BSBD Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Unfortunately for us, the DZO's seem to care about swoopers more than us sane ones. Until we win the lottery and open a DZ which has a separate, safe, grass landing area for sane jumpers, we have to decide whether the longer walk or longer drive to the alternate DZ is worth our life. BSBD. Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Mike- It takes two to have a collision. If you know where the swoopers are doing their thing (usually in the main landing area so everyone can see them) don't land there. Tim will get you in the truck. If you don't like landing somewhere else, talk to the DZO about setting and enforcing separate landing areas. If the DZO won't, you have two choices, land out safely and walk, or jump somewhere else. Bill asked: "Harry, why did you land all the way out there. Nobody else did." Harry answered: "Bill, your second sentence answered your question." BSBD Harry P.S. Doesn't the Ghetto need another bird bath? "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

DZO's have never been shy about banning or grounding people they didn't want jumping at their DZ's for any reason. I know people who jump at Elsinore because they can't jump at Perris, and vice versa. If the DZO's believed that it would be more profitable to have people land safely than to hook themselves in, intentionally or unintentionally, they have all the power in the world to say "You're not jumping that little thing on my DZ. Go somewhere else and bust yourself up." Since we see these incidents continuing to occur, what other explanation can there be but to assume that the DZO's think it's more profitable to go to funerals, lose customers to injuries, and have to shut down for a while on a busy weekend while the medivac helicopter comes in, and possibly shut down the operation due to local pressure because the ambulance was busy picking up the pieces at the DZ, and late getting to the mayor's mother with her broken hip. If you don't like the DZO's way of dealing with the problem, vote with YOUR dollars and let the DZO know why you are jumping at the competition. The DZO will get the message when he can't get enough jumpers to turn the plane. Your other option is to land out, safely, and simply piss in the crater as you walk back in. Of course, if the DZ is good about providing transportation back from landings in the outer limits of the DZ, you can ride in comfort as you pass the emergency vehicles. Of course, it may be that most jumpers like to play "Another One Bites the Dust" on the jukebox!! As long as the fatality is on the DZ, and the paperwork was in order, we probably don't have to worry about the FAA. They're to busy working with the TSA to make sure that people don't do pattern work in a C-152 29 miles away from where the President is speaking. BSBD. Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Those are pretty honest estimates. There are things you can do to make the best use of every training dollar. The most important is to arrive prepared for the lesson. It's hard to remember everything that happens on a training flight, just like it's hard to remember what happened on a skydive. I plug a tape recorder into the intercom to help jog the student's memory. You could even rig a camcorder looking over the student's shoulder at the instrument panel. My wife has a video of her first solo! The lowest hours of any of the primary students I sent for a checkride was 55. He flew with me twice a day. Before each flight, we went over questions he had from listening to the tapes. If you get your training at a quiet airport, and do most of your flying in areas with few airspace restrictions and communication requirements, it might be possible to shave off another 10 hours. Only problem with that situation is that after you get your license you'll need some additional instruction before you'll be comfortable flying into airspace like the area around Los Angeles. Harry Leicher 2004 CFI of the Year FAA Western Pacific Region "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Granted I'm an old fart... but why jump a parachute you CAN'T land standing up EVERYWHERE? Whart he said!!!! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

Don't forget the "half price" early birds. If the plane was "wheels up" by 8:30. I remember Bruce Markel sleeping under the manifest window in January with a load full of tickets for the early bird load on 817. Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."

"Itll Clear" Famous last words of the overly optimistic skydiver looking up at a ball of trashl Also refers to the weather and my checks -- I used to work for a bank!. Blue Skies! Harry "Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question."