danornan

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Posts posted by danornan

  2. Quote

    Quote

    Compared with the attention given to red zone work, (no) momentum docks, being on radial, etc. etc., tracking doesn't receive a whole lot of attention, does it?

    Not really. I did observe, however, P3 teaches the importance of tracking teams (which automatically reduces many kinds of tracking problems), so they are already more focussed on that than the cookiecutter 20-way camps I had been to for a long time. As well as other tracking aspects than other bigway camps I had gone to. I observed that video debrief attention to tracking teams at the Texas Winter Bigway camp was good, but that only covers the 180 degree turn, tracking team formation, and first few seconds of a track, and only in the videos that allowed such debrief. It hasn't been until I went to P3 for the first time in May 2008, that I learned the concept of the 'tracking team'...

    I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement though. It may be that there hasn't been a massive wake-up call lately such as this freefall collison fatality after a bigway breakoff. No kidding -- I imagine they ARE going to focus on these little details a lot more now with this fatality. Hopefully!



    I have been on several big way formations in the past year and a lot of time and attention is spent on break-off. Numerous walk throughs on the dirt dive; I.E., first wave leave at 6,000 track to X, second wave leave at 5,500, track to X. A lot of time is spent and numerous dirt dives in practice. THIS is not being ignored nor is it taken lightly. I generally have more clean air on a 100-way then a local walk up 20-way!
    Dano

  5. Kevin, You were a pleasure to dock on, (and use as a target) when you FINALLY figured out where you were supposed to be! Fun floating uh!

    What HE said as far as organizers and plane captains. Amazing how you can take 100-ways for granted! What a blast.......

    DanO
    Dano

  6. Quote

    Come on Dan!
    I do both without a helmet!

    Kinda like safe sex...not always the smartest thing to do, but DAMN does it FEEL GOOD!!!

    NO HELMETS THIS WEEKEND FOR BIKETOBERFEST!!!!!



    Naaaaaaa

    Mark, I left out the exclamation point!

    It's an individual thing and I'm for personal freedom. I've been riding since I was 16 and simply prefer a full face helmet. It is a lot quieter, saves my hearing, allows me to listen to music while riding. As far as safety, The jury is still out. Sliding on the pavement is definitely safer with a helmet, but it too can contribute to injury with weight on the head. Helmet and skydiving, definitely quieter and a little safer...... back to a personal thing......
    Dano

  8. From out in the thin air, waiting to dock, watching all of the radial being crossed, I'm surprised that there were not more collisions! Too many people were not flying straight in and there were too many cross-overs and cross-unders...... Basic stuff.

    Formation was one that has been done numerous times and everyone knew where they were supposed to be weeks ahead of time. The organizers did a super job weeks before the jump, there was lots of time to make a change if you were not comfortable in your slot and there was no excuse to not perform.
    Dano

  9. Having just gotten back from the POPS record attempt in Perris last week and reading through this thread, I agree with all that you have said. I would like to include another skill that has been hinted at but not exploited and that is to stay in your radial as much as possible and especially in the RED ZONE.

    I was out in the thin air and unfortunately, watched far too many unnecessary collisions. None would have occurred if the radial lines were followed.
    Dano

  10. Be sure to tell the company that you are interviewing with to not contact present employer. They will understand and that is normal. As soon as the company you are leaving learns that you are looking they will plan to replace you. That too is normal. Keep quiet until the new job is secure. Basic job quest 101.
    Dano

  12. Don't forget the water that you have in your 40-60 gallon hot water heater. Most have a valve on the bottom to drain/drink. Just be sure to turn off the power first and label it so that it is not turned on by mistake, burning up the coils....... Tip from Florida.
    Dano

  13. Interesting how Lehman Brothers upper management managed to pay out around 6,000,000,000 (that's 6 BILLION) in bones this past year! They knew what was coming and decided to raid the company. They were not the only ones and the public will pay the bill.
    Dano

  15. Best guess is about 20-25 minutes. The nice thing about the ride is that there was lots of room (as larges as a DC-3 inside) and easily 20 more jumpers could have made the ride. Back door stayed open the entire ride to altitude and opening is larger than a Cassa. Canvas seats on the side with huge seat belts that were easy to attach.

    Jump speed a little faster than the Cassa and OH WHAT A RIDE out the door. Floating was a breeze, Diving a blast. Too bad for those who missed it as it was a real treat. Thanks again to Paul for getting it set up for us.
    Dano

  16. I think we did 7-8 full loads. Ended the day with a real super slow fly-by! Hate to see it go and was surprised that a lot of people didn't show up. Probably never see it at the Hills again and too bad as it was fun to jump. Beautiful day too........
    Dano

  17. Great day jumping out of the Caribou. Thanks TK and Paul for setting it up. You guys are super and it was a fun day. Too bad we can't do it every weekend! To those who missed it today, that's allllllllllllll
    Dano

  21. Watch out for your shadow! (Hope this isn't a repeat as I didn't read all of the replies) On my first night jump it almost took me out. Kept yelling for it to move but it followed me all the way to the ground...
    Dano

  22. Quote

    Quote

    Have been in sport about year and a half and have 80 jumps or so. I was thinking about getting one of those Altimeter mounts for your shoulder strap(mudflap). Ive seen the Alti-mount and I think bonehead makes one. It seems like it would be great for freeflying and tracking jumps......



    Lookma has something you will like. It is made of webbing, so it can fold.
    http://www.lookma.de/Starting_Page/Products/_The_Wedge_/_the_wedge_.html



    I've been using Frank's for about 2-3 years and never had a problem with it. It's out of the way, there when I need to read it and never forgotten.
    Dano

  23. Lots of good suggestions and to me, IMHO, setting the pattern before boarding works best. I don't want someone changing the pattern at the last second.

    In general, the further I land away from the "spectator" landing area, the safer I feel. Too many people try to land/swoop/spiral as close to the peas as possible and as much as they think they see, they don't. I feel that there should be a separate landing area for anyone who wishes to make a so called swoop landing.

    I tend to open a little higher, come down a little slower and that gives me more time to pick a safe place to land. I personally feel that if you want to do something unpredictable, it should not be on the DZ. A predictable pattern will save lives.
    Dano