MotherGoose

That's exactly what had happened to me. I chewed the eyelet back over the knot with my teeth. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

You have an impeccable talent for manipulating the words of others. You really should take the time to ACTUALLY READ people's posts and not just focus on gassing up your flame-thrower as soon someone types something. He used an analog altimeter to verify the accuracy of his digital altimeter. At no point in time does he mention a comparison between the two. At no point in time does he say that analog altimeters are no good. He is simply adding his experience that digital altimeters are a great alternative to the analog altimeters. Once again old man, I got your back. I'll be here for your translating needs. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

That's enough out of you, ya big ol' fart. We're done, we moved on and we're talking about altimeters and GPS's again. Catch up, we'll wait for you. Digital wrist altimeters work great and are just as reliable as analog altimeters. GPS functions are useful for post-jump analysis and sometimes for spotting. There, you're all caught up now dad. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I am happy to engage in a thoughtful discussion about the use of GPS in skydiving. From my experience, I don't know anyone using GPS during a skydive - seems asinine. If you are open under your canopy and you glance over at your fancy alti-watch that ALSO has an arrow pointing to a pre-set waypoint (dz), then I can see how that can be a bonus feature. Perhaps in the plane on jump run for the cessna dropzones without pilot GPS, this can also be a useful tool. ANYONE STARING AT THEIR WRIST FOR MORE THAN 3 SECONDS DURING ANY PART OF A SKYDIVE NEEDS TO GET KICKED IN THE ASS. I think we can all agree on that one. SIDENOTE : This weekend I was asked to verify someone's analog altimeter because it was "acting up". I jumped it with my Suunto Vector and there was in fact about 400 feet lag by the time we got to altitude. Verified by all altimeters on board. My first analog altimeter also stopped working one day without explanation. Personally, I'll stick with a Vector any day, either that or a VISO. They both work great for freefall. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

And here is a special gift from me to you. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Exactly what did your diatribe contribute to "Suunto Ambit for Skydiving"? Go start a thread in bonfire called "waa waa waa nobody ever listens to me even though I invented skydiving". In that thread, you have every right to hop onto your pulpit and lament the future of skydiving in the ungrateful hands of thankless pukes like me. In this thread you are doing nothing but embarrassing yourself by changing the subject completely. In all actuality, you sir are the one putting down others with your snarky sarcasm and cynical response. I don't even know the OP and I sure as hell don't jump a GPS, but I was interested enough in the topic to read and learn. I didn't come on here and flame a guy for his choice in technology while skydiving. That's rude my friend, deal with it. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

"Back in my day.... blah blah blah, we jumped with umbrellas, these fancy parachutes you kids use are for wussies... blah blah blah". Obviously the GPS option is more for in-plane and under canopy use. Why do you dinosaurs feel the need to come out of extinction to wag your finger at others. Stay in your cave T-Rex, simmer down. It's a discussion forum. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

On the contrary, my experience has always been the old-school lifers are the ones that like to suck it low especially on larger dives. Also, if everyone were to carefully select people they jumped with - skydiving in large groups wouldn't exist. If you don't want to pull lower then ask for a higher break-off. If you're in a large group and break-off is established at 4500 ft, then it doesn't make much sense to be locked in at a pull altitude of 3500 ft. Taking into account a decent track separation then a flare to reduce forward speed, its no wonder some people are opening in traffic at 3500 ft. Back to the topic.... I would like to add my insignificant vote to the "no barrel roll" group. Strong track, look left, look right, huge wave off and pull. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

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Just realized this one question was not addressed. There was no change in descent from my perspective. Something like that would have alarmed me. I honestly shrugged it off as a line trim issue or even an uneven harness issue. I will be more diligent in the future if I have a built in turn. Can't say that I will be able to see a torn topskin but at least now I know that it can be the culprit. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

What is "taking paying guests up for a tandem jump?" I'm not sure what you are talking about, is this some sort of new discipline? You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

The toggle loop itself was also partially caught up in the "kink" which increased the pressure for sure. I would like to add, for everyone's information, that I have had 3 tandem chops (albeit a couple years ago now). There were mumblings and grumblings that perhaps I was not taking the time to assess a problem before chopping it away. First of all, those people can kiss my ass, second of all I am not implying that now I have some sort of bravado issue with chopping so I take additional risks. All three of those chops were tension knots that could not be cleared and with Sigma elliptical canopies you find yourself spinning on your back with a tandem within seconds of opening. When you have your first tandem mal, you react FAST no doubt. By the second one, I took the time to really look at the tension knot and pump it a few times. The third one unfortunately was extremely fast and the most violent so I also got rid of that one fast. Anyhow, just wanted to highlight that its hardly my "first rodeo" and I'm amazed at how much more this crazy sport has for us to learn all the time. I hope this post provides others with some knowledge or info as well. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I wish I had the opportunity to make that call... Unfortunately I could not SEE the tear from underneath. I could only detect a problem, but I did not identify the problem until I got on the ground and people rushed up to me and said, "NICE TORN CANOPY". I had to fly it with my right hand just less than half way into a full flare to keep it straight and without seeing a major problem, I decided to keep it. We all make decisions and we have to live with them, not saying that I made the right one, but I stick by my assessment and decision. Regarding the tear, Peter summed it up nicely, I think the only other question was about the line type and it was Dacron. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I hear that, I'm currently working out of C182's myself and they are narrow-body !! I find the worst wear and tear on my body is getting up on my knees in the plane from the seated position. The day before I also had a student shift on exit and my knee smashed right off the step, got a bruise the size of a cantaloupe just above my knee now. This shit is not for the faint hearted. I'm 6ft 220lbs and when I get a passenger similar to my size we need to tie an anvil to the video guys leg just to keep up. My protrack has clocked some of my tandems at 145 mph. Good times. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Last weekend I was huckin' meat as normal when I experience a few incidents that made for an interesting day. First tandem of the day I had a torn topskin on one of my cells (sigma 370) right on opening. Canopy pulled to the left but I did a flight control check and decided to land it without incident. Later in the middle of the day I had a normal opening, pulled on my toggles and only one came out (left side). Right side stayed locked in place. I asked the student to hold my left toggle while I investigated the right toggle (approx. 4500 ft). I undid the snap and pulled on the toggle a few times with both hands - nothing. I pulled the riser down to my face level and looked closely, the toggle was stowed into the eye of the line but was forced through all the way past the grommet and the brake line "knot" (for lack of a better term). See Attached diagram. With the force of the canopy pulling from above and the weight of the tandem pulling from below this thing was cinched SUPER TIGHT. I could not get the loop around the grommet/knot by hand and after countless hard two handed pulls I was exhausted and had to stop. I remembered a recent chop that a friend had from this very problem and so now I was mulling over the idea that I likely had to chop it because the landing would be way too risky for both the student and I. I looked at my alti and was just starting to cruise below 3 grand. I decided to give it one last effort and then get rid of it, I don't know how I came to this but as I grabbed the riser I pulled it down to my face level again and then some kind of childhood (or other) instinct kicked in and I stuck the line eyelet in my mouth. I found the line with my teeth and began positioning it and pulling on it to get it around the knot and grommet. I would say it took less than 10 seconds and then it popped right over the knot and came free. Normal canopy flight after and landing was great. The last tandem of the day puked on me as if to top off a bad day. Anyhow, just wanted to share my experience as I am sure some of you may experience something like this again. Talk to your packing team, make sure they pay attention. We have a great packing team and this was a freak occurrence for us. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Onto my 9th canopy since student status and I think I've found my home. 1250 jumps flying a pilot 140 at 1.8WL. Fast and fun yet safe. Great landings, even a nice turf surf can be achieved (not competing in canopy piloting world championships any time soon). Great on demo jumps, decent on long spots and practically packs itself, even brand new ZP is easy peasy. Will be hard pressed to switch to another canopy.

Can't help but think that this is the first of many to come. As everything gets smaller, lighter and higher def, the flying tripod becomes obsolete. Today is a sad day. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

I have not really enjoyed my Stiletto since I bought it a year ago (250 jumps). The openings are so unpredictable and can go from completely perfect on heading one jump, to gnarly spin on your back off-heading line twists the next. I have almost 1000 jumps and this is my first full time elliptical. I have borrowed Kats, Xfires, Mamba's and even an FX so its not my only experience. The fact is, for camera flying and for big way flying, I'm looking for something that is way more predictable while still having fun flight characteristics. I will be going with the Katana at the same WL for my next canopy. My advice, skip the Stiletto and go straight for a Kat. That is of course my personal advice and everyone has varying opinions so try to make an informed decision and definitely take one of these canopies out for at least 10 rides before buying one.

Pitch a tent at the DZ and steal a spot on the packing mat. I packed my ass off for my first 2 years in the sport. Oh and VISA, graciously paid for some of it. Seriously though, packing all day works great. Jump on the first load and again on the last load. The rest of the entire day . . . PACK PACK PACK !! You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

BIGGEST TROLL EVER Congratulations, you get the bold colored font. It took time to write that so appreciate it. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

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I humbly and whole-heartedly agree 100% with you. 890 skydives is absolutely NOTHING. It's less than nothing. I just started to understand how to manipulate the relative wind with my body. I just started to grasp stability and movement on a sub-conscious level. I started jumping camera at about 600 jumps and I am just tipping the iceberg on framing and maintaining the frame from exit to break-off. The more I jump, the more I realize I don't know FUCK ALL. The difference between me and some others, I can admit that (and I do on a regular basis). I am very much still learning. Also why I come on here and read these forums. LEARNING. I've had to work hard my whole skydiving career but sure there are some natural skydivers out there. I know one or two, but don't expect anyone to believe you when you try to convince them that you've made that prestigious list. Enter the 200 jump blanket. The finger-wagging comment was in reference to your opinion that old fogies just stand around and wag their fingers at the new guys when there are actual international guidelines for these things and so few of us actually have the balls to stand up and enforce them. Can you show your coaches, peers and DZO in 200 jumps that you've treated this sport seriously? (after all, you are one bad move from death on every jump) Have you set video flying as your goal and chosen discipline, and let everyone know it ? Have you approached the experienced video flyers at your dz and asked them 1001 questions ? (preferably at the bonfire) Have you watched and observed skydiving videos with the intent to learn from them, not just watching them? Have you spent hours upon hours on video streaming sites searching for skydiving videos gone bad just so you can pound these scenarios into your head in an effort to avoid them from happening to you but if they did happen, you may be better prepared to deal with them ? (BTW, this all applies to any discipline-WS/CP/FF) This is not directed at withoutwings, just a random rant. I feel its a disrespect to the sport to have people burst into the sport trying to do everything they can before 100 jumps (horribly I might add), and then when they realize that it takes a lot of hard work and money to get good, they just fizzle away like a bad smell. Almost always, the ones that actually do stay with the sport, end up with 1000 jumps at some point and they start to pause and reflect. Before long you find them on here trying to prevent the next guy from being the same dumbass. There will always be the career cowboys, but luckily there aren't that many out there. Thankfully, almost everyone that survives this sport to 1000 jumps, ends up learning a thing or two about humility and catharsis. My only final question is, why the hell does it take so LONG !? As for you withoutwings, I'm not telling you what to do but it takes a big man to fill out his profile before posting on here. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Don't twist this thread topic into a finger-wagging. When you have little experience you think the whole world is against you. Why won't everyone just leave you alone and let you jump your camera, wingsuit and Velo ??? Sheesh, everyone's just one big fun-nazi aren't they ?? Skydiving deserves RESPECT. Every asshole and his brother bursts into this sport and expects everyone to trust their abilities and realize that they're not like the last guy who smashed in or collided with someone else in freefall. 200 is not a magic number. When quantifying skill or experience, organizations like the USPA, CSPA, BPA, etc., need to pick a number that is reasonable for the collective. You live in a society which means that you have to abide by the laws that govern the collective, not the individual. In this case, no one is policing fun, the rules are there in order to allow you to develop a healthy RESPECT for the sport. Just because you survived your first fall from an airplane, doesn't make you a skydiver. There are countless aspects of this sport that most people below 1000 jumps can't even wrap their mind around (most will even admit it). Not putting a camera on your head has very little to do with snag risks. It has more to do with respecting the sport and truly being a student of the sport. Learning how to fly your body AND fly your parachute PROPERLY before moving on to cameras and wingsuits and handkerchief-sized canopies. So many noobs cry about how the higher jump guys are always wagging their finger and trying to prevent fun or "progression". [edit by moderator] Obviously if organizations around the world have come together and decided that certain minimums should be in place in order to promote safety, learning AND fun . . . well maybe those thousands of skydivers before you with hundreds of thousands of skydives are just all wrong then ?? [edit by moderator] Every new _________ that comes up the pipe pissing vinegar and shitting lightning bolts MUST obviously know better. You wanted to make this into a finger-wagging . . . well there you go. You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

Turns out tandem mals are WAY more common than I expected. Thanks for sharing this info guys. I was a bit phased but back in the saddle quickly after the first one. The second one really bugged me though, I slowed down and jumped tandem way less for a while. Then a couple weeks ago, I was in the plane on the ride up telling my camera guy that I was wigged out for a while but I'm feeling better again because some time had passed. Don't I mal on that very load AGAIN. Worst one of them all too. I hope Im not overreacting but its bothered me a lot. If I can't have fun on a tandem because all Im thinking about is that damn canopy ride and if its going to open right, then Im not going up. That being said, I plan on doing some this weekend and getting back at it. I was hoping that my string of bad luck would end at 3, because the tandem mal rate sits at around 1/1000 I was told. But hearing how many mals some of you have has got me thinking ! I'll be talking to the rigger on the mat and making sure everyone is untwisting brake lines regularly ! You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.