VideoFly

jtiflyer said it well. Pay attention to that kind of advise and don't be in a rush.

After being sucked down low filming a low opening during my early video experience, I learned to have no problem deploying when planned and telling others that their error in judgment cost them the shot they had hoped for. If they want the right shot, they have to play their part as planned. Their bad; not yours. Just make sure you don’t deploy a sniveler directly above a faster opening canopy.

OMG. Next, we’ll strap students to them and place the lens out on a boom.

Did I miss something about the kite flying?

Where was the S&TA, the DZO, or other experienced skydivers who should have said NO, you are not getting on the plane with a plan for a stunt like that in mind? The jumper is lucky to have survived, and with others on the jump, it could have been much worse. What has happened to JUST SAY NO?

What could possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately for some, “no margin of error” is what many find enticing. It is interesting that using a parachute for the simple purpose of saving your life following an exciting airplane exit and freefall has become boring. We must realize though that with the redesign of high performance canopies, a somewhat new sport has been invented and for many, high performance canopy flight is as exciting, if not more exciting than freefall. In fact many do hop and pops to eliminate the need for freefall and move directly to high performance canopy flight. To each; his/her own.

I think it’s an inevitable generational and sports thing. In all sports, windows are continually being pushed to the limits, with greater risks, talent, and records being broken. Unfortunately, as the antes are raised, failures to perform become more and more expensive. The quad spin in skating, rock climbing without ropes, deeper scuba depths, higher horse power in cars and motorcycles, and longer ski jumps. All made possible by greater athletes, with greater peril for those who emulate them (and for the experts themselves too). In all sports, equipment gets more responsive and aggressive. In all sports, failure to perform to higher standards carries greater penalties. I would imagine that when large square parachutes were first jumped, many “old” military farts with experience on rounds thought Paracommanders and the like were crazy too. As to raising the risk for other more conservative jumpers sharing air space with high performance flyers, the same stands in other sports. In auto racing, they won’t even let granny on the track with the pros. It is kind like separating varying performance landing zones. But on the big-boy tracks, professionals still die, just as amateurs do in street racing. The bottom line is that the current observed culture and climate may be inevitable. Do I like it? No, but I'm an old fart. As to being potentially lethal; yes, skydiving is just that.

Sell the boards and buy the rig you want and/or need.

A Jack the Ripper on my left thigh and a smaller metal hook knife on my chest mount altimeter, which is accessible to both hands.

Have options. Get the cutaway plus at least 2 hook knives. Helmet wraps may not be a simple tangle on gear, pulling upward, just waiting to be cut away. I had a bad helmet wrap where the risers twisted across the back of the helmet and up to lines around the cameras. With everything tightly wrapped, my chin pinned to my chest, my left hand and glove tightly wrapped in the risers, while spinning on my back, a helmet cutaway was not possible. The helmet could not open. Keep your options open. As far as a chin cup goes, the chin and the opposing back top of the helmet control your camera direction and video stability. Tight chin support is essential.

A cheep but nice light childrens' ski suit. They are great jumpsuits and can be found cheep on ebay or a used sporting goods store. Most kids wear them a few times and outgrow them by the next season.

It is typical for garage door openers that age to have the two plastic gears strip and it is surprisingly easy to replace them for about $35.00 in parts. The gear change is probably easier than changing the hole unit because everything but the gears stay in place during the procedure. If you open the case and see a pile of plastic powder, you will know that’s the problem. There are lots of directions on lineincluding Youtube videos showing the procedure.

I live in an area that’s loaded with draw bridges on most of the main roadways. The roads have light-up traffic notice signs to let drivers know what the traffic conditions ahead are. My problem is that the signs confuse me because the draw bridges are often under repair and the light-up signs let you know if you can or cannot travel over draw bridges. However, my confusion comes when the signs say that the bridges are either open or closed. In my mind, if the sign says the bridge is open that means that you can’t cross because boats are moving through the open bridge. Conversely, if the sign says the bridge is closed, I think that’s good and I can cross it. It gets even more confusing when the bridges are open to let boats through and the signs say the bridges are open. So which is it? The bridge is open so you need to wait for boats or the bridge is open to travel over? The bridge is closed because it’s being repaired or the bridge is closed because the boats are done traveling through and the bridge opening is over? The signs are so confusing to me that I often wind up taking alternate routes with no bridges.

Canopy collapses in “wonky winds, irregular gusts, etc.” is why we shouldn’t and many of us don’t jump in those conditions. I had one canopy collapse at 80 feet and fortunately caught some brakes at about ten feet and stood the landing up. On the other hand, I’ve had a couple of low collapses without recovery; one sending me to the hospital. You have to imagine vertical rotors that may strike your canopy from above, forcing it to the ground. Additionally, turbulence may come from a variety of directions; collapsing your canopy in a variety of ways. If you don’t want to feel the pain resulting from a collapsed canopy close to the ground, the best bet is not to jump in choppy winds.

Use it as a teaching aid for students to see and feel what a freebag is. Why even question if it is airworthy and use it? For me, if I have any doubt about equipment, I don’t use it to save my life. Also, if you ever sell your gear, I would not want to buy a rig with a freebag that sat outside for so long. So if you do use it and eventually sell your rig, please state that the freebag sat outside for so long. You might be surprised that the rig doesn’t sell so easily. As we often let others make their own mistakes in this sport, maybe you should be asking “Would you buy and use a rig with a freebag that sat outside in a corn field for 2.5 months?” Even if I bought the rig with the plan to change the freebag, I would worry about any potential contamination within the material leaching into the container’s cloth.

My 170 opened, flew, and landed beautifully. My 150 opened quickly and soft. It also flew and landed great. My 135 slammed me on openings. It was more like a double slam side to side. All in all, I think the Sabre 1 was a great canopy.

$450.00

It was an idea, but I never said it was a good idea. Also, The canopy was hooked up backwards so it was easier to keep an eye on what was going on above as it trailed above and behind us. We did it and got the T-shirts and I would certainly recommend not to try it.

I've always heard that it shouldn't be done because it is too dangerous, but what else is there to do on a windy no-jump day with a 254 Sharpchuter and an old Wonderhog laying around?

In reference to harness grips on a student, I was told during my coach course, not to do it.

I was knocked out once while videoing an unexpected tandem exit (front flip toward the tail of the plane with my hand holding the tandem rig at arm’s length and the TI’s heals cracking me on the head). Upon realizing I was going in and out of consciousness, at about 12,000 feet, I deployed my main in case I went back out. Once under canopy, it took a while to get my act together. Upon gaining consciousness low, clear thought may very well be elusive. I’d probably shoot for more fabric out and deploy my reserve in addition to keeping my main, even though the reserve may not fully deploy.

I have over 1,500 skydives after having two discs removed from S1, L4, L5, and a double laminectomy with few problems. After breaking my neck wearing cameras with a hard opening, I had C5, 6, and 7 fused with hip bone and a titanium plate. I’ve jumped about 100 times since then with very few problems. However, after being rear-ended in a car accident, it appears that the fused area of my neck may have acted as a lever and I had my spinal cord torn at C8, leaving me paralyzed in my hands and parts of my arms. I recommend that you speak with a sports doctor about your fused area, but also about the areas above and below your fusion in respect to potential damage to those areas.

I've had a full set of upper dentures throughout my sydiving career. However, I've never jumped with them. Instead, I leave them in my car or gear bag when skydiving. I often jump with an open face helmet or with no helmet at all and I am almost sure that if I left the plane with my dentures in, I would not land with them. Also, when jumping with cameras, I found that bite switches were far less effective than a blow switch.

What could possibly go wrong????