AndyMan

And Ron is hardly unique, either. While working full time, I've accomplished similar goals including AFFI, TM, PRO, Rigger, Multiple US Nationals, video for teams and tandems, multiple 100-ways. The most I've ever taken off for skydiving is 2 days to make a long weekend. I agree the USPA D License should mean something. If you're going to be claiming the top-most license in the sport, you'd better have an interesting skydiving resume to back it up. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Dumb question. Why jump during the day? A: Because it's fun. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Also - if you don't know your serial number, a quick call to your rigger should quickly resolve this. Most riggers log serial numbers of most (if not all) of your rig components. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Thanks for passing this along. Farmer touched many people in his life. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I asked previously if either the lead or trailing canopy were flying in brakes, but nobody answered. I suspect that the lead canopy in brakes creates an ever larger wake, and equally - the trail canopy in deep brakes is even more susceptible to the effect of the turbulence. The latter may be more true with cross-braced canopies with their very small open cells. This would create the double-whammy when a canopy pilots first instinct is to slow down. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Half the organizers exceed that recommendation. They're not going to make it a requirement. Actually, of the few bigways I've done - having a wide variety of wingloadings helped spread out the landings in time. The higher wingloadings land before the lower ones do. As long as you've got adequate separation at pull-time, having a wide range of wingloadings is one way to reduce the risk of collision. Even my docile canopies are loaded on the "heavy" side. I was surprised to see all the organizers beat me me down the last time I was at a p3 camp. __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Two questions - were both canopies velocities? Or was the lead canopy something else. Secondly, was either canopy in deep brakes at the time? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think as expert jumpers, we owe it to everyone to consider the person asking for the advice. In this case, the jumper has 75 jumps. I have to say that I'm not sure I understand the relevance of your personal history, as I can guess you were at this same stage of jumping in 1980. Attitudes have changed since then, but more importantly the gear has too. A Skyhook is not a normal RSL. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I would think safety features should be a consideration. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

There are many rigs on the market, and the availability of the latest safety features is just one of the criteria you should be using in your evaluation. Are you looking at other containers? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You didn't say what level he's on, but the cure for instability is simple: Arch, Legs, Relax. Depending on level, he should be trained in rollover, and countering the turn to stop it once he's already relaxed. It sounds like he's probably stiff, both mentally and physically and getting his lack of relaxation under control is key to his progress. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

In the rigging course I studied under, they taught that any bend from an RSL activation could not be repaired, the ripcord has to be replaced. Personally, I've never seen this standard applied in the field. I've seen plenty of bent ripcords straightened back into shape and installed without any sign of issue - ever. Is this rigger new? I'm all for high standards, but this standard seems a bit too high for me. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

So, my question was: Is it common to see this failure while table testing? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I was pulling on the pilot chute. I was expecting the skyhook to release the RSL, and the bag to come from the container as if during a normal terminal reserve opening. I observed the single pass of seal thread holding the RSL and skyhook together. Then the skyhook pulled the RSL, the RSL pulled the collins which in turn released the left side cuttaway. The seal thread did not release on the RSL until after the left side cuttaway had already disconnected. I suspect this is an indicator the left yellow cable is too short, but wanted some opinions. A real life scenario would be during an accidental reserve activation with the main already deployed, the pull on the pilot chute could cause the left side to cuttaway - similar to the accident at Skydive Chicago a few monthes back, but without the rig damage. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Unfortuantely UPT closes early on Fridays, so I couldn't get them directly. Riggers: Quick question - during a table-test of a Vector with Skyhook, the collins lanyard completely pulled the cuttaway on the left riser before the seal thread on the skyhook broke. The right riser did not release. Is this common? Seems like it could make a low accidental reserve release a bit more interesting than normal. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Karel may be an ass, but the instant I saw this was an pre-SB cutter, that was the end of the story for me. And ending the investigation at that point seems reasonable. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Using clamps on sport mains is rare, but in a few cases its required by the manufacturer. Strong Tandem reserves require them. I never use clamps on a main or reserve, as I know in the past such techniques have killed people. As a principle, I avoid putting anything into a packjob that will prohibit the parachute from working, whenever possible. There's no need for clamps on a reserve, certainly never any need on a main. Base-jumpers do their own thing, but personally I wouldn't do that either. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Some of the differences in statistics are easily explained. For example, USPA does not consider fatal plane crashes to be skydiving related, while they are included in the dropzone.com numbers. Additionally, USPA does not consider fatalities attributed to military jumps under orders, while dropzone.com does. Differences in reported numbers does not mean the data is questionable, simply that different groups use different standards. Regardless, in both cases - the trend is remarkably clear. Skydiving fatalities continue a long term trend downwards, even as the sport continues to grow. Amazing, really. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

No. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You've already admitted that you don't know what you're talking about, you aught to just stop there and shut the fuck up. seriously. Go to http://www.skydiveidaho.com/ a website, designed and built by - get this, SKYDIVE IDAHO. Notice the small link "click here to skydive". Notice the super slick reservation system provided by proskydiving. Now tell me how that takes ANYTHING away from the DZ, or hurts the buyer IN ANY CONCEIVABLE WAY. Or, better yet - don't tell me. Go tell someone who cares about what some piss-ant internet troll like you thinks, because for gods sake I sure as hell don't. Drop this torch you're carrying, because every time you post another slanderous accusation, you just make yourself out to be an even bigger ass than before. Or better yet, find out what the hell you're talking about, then come back and apologize. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You're carrying a torch for this guy, it's just poor judgement. He runs a business, sells a good product that his DZO clients love, and the jumpers are always treated with respect. You reward this by chasing him all over the internet and flaming him every chance you get. Not only do I seriously question your judgment, ethics, and frankly - intelligence, but also your motivation. Serious lack of good judgement going on here. Since you admit you don't know the area very well, I'd suggest you keep your opinions to yourself and STFU. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Not sure what you're trying to suggest, but I'm in Rochelle right now and there's a wind tunnel parked about 50 meters away from the parking lot. It's a portal outdoor one, I understand it used to roam around Michigan, but I could be wrong. It looks to be about 10 years old, so 2001 sounds about right. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

USAirnet posts the same information is a much easier to understand manner: http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/Winds/Aloft.cgi _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'd be a lot more interested to hear from people who do not teach multi-stage flares. I'd also love to hear from people who use gear that doesn't benefit from such a technique. What decade was the canopy made in? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

CSC teaches a 3-stage flare in the first jump course using lightly loaded Navigators. It works well, our students usually have pretty good landings (relatively speaking, of course.) I've jumped these canopies and find the 3-stage flare to be very effective. I like that we're teaching techniques that the jumpers can carry forward as they grow in the sport. I can't think of any reason to NOT teach a multi-stage flare. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.