RedBaron

I'd be interested to know the best tips on how to recover a main / bag after a cutaway...but would it really take a BOOK? How about posting your "Top 10" tactics for revovery here for review, and that would give us all a much more educated choice in voting for a book on the subject. Then, you would get meaningful feedback on what seems best / worst / reasonable / etc. Good feedback to start with I think! Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

I searched this topic, but didn't find the answer I was looking for - so here's my direct question (medical professionals please feel free to give your needed opinions). I recently broke my right Femur. The break occurred about 4 inches below the ball joint / pelvis connection, and has been surgically repaired with a rod / screw fixture system. The surgery took place 2 weeks ago. Here are my key questions... 1) What time frame have you experienced as reasonable before skydiving "normally" with full range of motion / strength following this sort of injury? 2) What was / or is likely to be - the opening shock impact on the broken femur? Because my break in the femur is very close to where my leg strap attaches to my leg - what should I expect relative to opening shock? Would it be strong enough to cause further damage, or aggravate the damage already done? 3) What is the likely healing time needed to keep from suffering any further damage? I've been told by my doctor that 3 months is the target date for "walking normally" again, and that a full year should pass before any serious strenuous use. I think these estimates are very conservative, and include a large pool of patients... I believe walking in 4 - 6 weeks (it's already been 2 as I noted above), and jumping again in 4 - 6 months should be easily attainable. What are your thoughts? If you've suffered a femur fracture in the past, and have experience with the re-entry and opening shock impact, or if you are a medical professional...please reply and give me your input. Thanks in advance for any information you can offer. Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Welll...I think Skydiving is a BARGAIN!!! Just completed a weekend of roadracing (motorcycles). Not cheap...especially when there is an incident over the weekend...easily $8 - $10 grand a year. Keeping a boat? Not cheap either...roughly $7 - $8 grand a year for moorage and maintenance. Even kart racing can put some in the red quickly... I think Skydiving is the cheapest, most fulfilling "bang for your buck" sport around. Scuba is fun too - but more expensive. If you want to learn and jump for a fair / low price...Lodi, CA is the place for you. Open every day of the year, and you can get AFF certified (S/L) for $500.00. Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Isn't it spelled "drogue?" Just want to be sure on this one. Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Recently received my Optima, and in 3 words...I LOVE IT!!! The settings are VERY accurate - moreso than my digital wrist altimeter (as noted by my Parasport Italia GFX which read "68 ft" when after I'd landed on the ground... The sound is crisp / clear, and the ability to set the pitch is excellent. Also, it's sturdy (I bought the "Protektor" plastic casing for it - even though I don't swoop near water...to protect it from perspiration in the helmet, etc (I have a RAWA freefly helmet, and the audible must be tucked inside a pocket right next to my ear). I believe that this unit's LOW SETTINGS are the single best feature of the audible (after the PRECISE warnings). It has changed the way I fly and complete my landing pattern, and made me MUCH better in a VERY short time. The ONLY negative to this unit is that it doesn't shut off automatically, forcing you to remove, turn off, replace it every time you use it. If you are considering an audible - BUY THIS ONE! For the extra $30.00 or so...it's SOOOOO worth it.

----------------------------------------------------- Yep - this is another good example of those in the sport assuming that a very important piece of equipment (or training) is "overwhelming." Poor decision making I believe. An altimeter is one of the most important pieces of equipment, and I believe should be worn by every jumper every time - from the first time. Just understanding what objects look like at different altitudes (which can only be verified by an altimeter) is very important, as well as defining key landmarks / landing patters etc. There is NO GOOD REASON NOT TO WEAR ONE...in my opinion. ---------------------------------------------------------- Wow, hold on there. No one is saying we dont teach S/L students altitude awareness. Just because they dont jump with an alti, doesnt mean we dont teach them altitude awareness. Brief eg. They shout/count "arch thousand two thousand....five thousand check". By "five-thousand check" they should have something above their heads. From there normal canopy checks, canopy control and Ep's if necessary. Malfunctions that can be rectified like: closed end cells; slider stuck; line twists, the student has a time span to rectify. Normaly 5 seconds. ---------------------------------------------------------- Great process - but I still believe an altimeter should be worn at all times - from the first jump...for the reasons stated above.

OK fellow skydivers...after my first really scary incident and landing, I've confronted a subject with myself that I need to share, and get other opinions on... HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED... I was at my local DZ 2 weeks ago - jumping with a friend. I had made one jump, and was on my second. The jump went perfectly, including freefall, deployment, and canopy flight to within 150 feet or so of my landing... BUT - at that altitude, a MAJOR wind gust lasting several seconds literally turned me 45 degrees - pointing me away from the grassy alternate landing area I was headed for, and changing my path to land directly on a cement runway. I pulled my right toggle (to turn back INTO the wind) as aggressively as I dared (heeding all of the "no low turn" advice from my AFF training), but to no avail. The wind was so strong that I couldn't counteract it enough to make a difference in my heading, without pulling unreasonably on the toggle. So, I accepted the situation, and settled in for the landing. I tried to make the best flare and PLF (if necessary - which did happen) that I could. Nothing but scrapes, bruises - but it could have been a LOT worse...and really got me thinking. HERE'S MY QUESTION... Why don't we even 'DISCUSS" the process for completing low / flat turns in the AFF course? Right now - the accepted teaching in the AFF program is "NO TURNS BELOW 500 FEET - PERIOD." You can cover a LOT of ground in 500 feet... This is a good practice (staying away from low turns), but the reality is that conditions (or other jumpers) can create a situation where a student MUST make a turn at a lower altitude. Knowing what I know now (after a still admittedly low number of jumps) reinforces that this is a subject that we should PREPARE students for...not just leave them hanging. Leaving AFF students to fend for themselves without so much as a mention on this topic is dead (sometimes literally) wrong. If we KNOW people react instinctively to pressure situations, why wouldn't we want to give them the education to use the RIGHT instincts? If we are teaching people how to CUTAWAY a main and deploy a reserve (the most extreme preservation act), why wouldn't we want to teach them the very simple and easy process of turning a canopy at 30 or 45 degrees to avoid a major hazard? I'm not talking at 50 feet - I'm talking at 200 or 300 feet or any other altitude that would be reasonable. If a new jumper finds themself in a situation where they need to avoid another jumper, a building or other hard object, or in some cases (my DZ fronts a major FREEWAY) a major ground traffic issue - why aren't we preparing them? IGNORING this simple procedure is a mistake, in my opinion. Indeed - I believe it should be REQUIRED as a demonstrated SKILL in order to graduate AFF. One review of the "Incidents" forum on this site and the statistics related to all incidents (including fatalities) will show that this is one of the most important skills in terms of avoiding potentially hazardous situations. I've read those statistics, and what I know now is that people with thousands of jumps have died from low turns, and in one instance a woman on her FIRST EVER jump died from a low turn. She did it wrong - because the SAFE procedure wasn't even DISCUSSED. I'd say this topic warrants discussion. After I graduated AFF, I felt like I had most of the tools to begin pursuing the sport in a reasonably safe way. While I'm only a short timer in the sport now, that feeling has changed. I feel that I'm woefully unequipped to handle SOME instances that will LIKELY happen under canopy. I know that there is no cure-all that can cover all issues, and prepare you for all incidents... That said, I belive that this is the single area (teaching the simple process for completing a SAFE FLAT TURN at lower altitude) that is the biggest miss in the AFF education scenario. After I graduated from student status (January of this year) I began to make regular jumps. I practiced what I'd been taught, and have progressed at a normal rate - to the point where I'm about to send in my "A" license card. I'd heard the term "flat turn" before, and heard quick explanations of how people do it. Some do it with "minor" downward pressure on one toggle, while the more effective and common method seems to be getting 1/4 to 1/2 way into the brakes, and then letting up slowly on the toggle in the OPPOSITE direction of the way you'd like to turn. BOTTOM LINE: This could be taught in a matter of minutes during the AFF course - with the restriction that it would only be used in case of REAL EMERGENCY and in order to avoid a potentially hazardous situation. The same way the EP's are taught. If I board a plane and sit in an exit row - I'm taught how to extract and discard a MAJOR OPENING on the fuselage. In about 10 seconds... Are we missing something here? As I think back on my education in other sports (advanced SCUBA, expert motorcycle road racing, etc.) I can think of many scenarios that were planned for (evasive / preventive actions). Some were noted to be used "only in severe emergency situations"...but they WERE taught. Just saying "no turns below 500 ft - period" is risky. Unless the student immediatly searches out an instructor that WILL share this skill with them (as I did after my incident - and getting LUCKY in a dicey situation) they will never be fully prepared. Just saying "it's the student's responsibility to seek out ALL knowledge" is a COP OUT. No "NEW" student knows ALL of what to ask. It's the age old saying..."You dont' know, what you DON'T KNOW!" Because this issue can present itself on the EIGHTH jump (first after AFF) that a jumper makes...we owe it to new jumpers to share this skill. Why don't we share this knowledge now? Are there any really GOOD reasons why we don't, and why by NOT doing this - we keep reading about people yanking down on a toggle at low altitude, and winding up in the "Incidents" forum...? Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Hey Gas... I know what you are feeling, and I've seen it around me and even felt a bit uneasy myself at times... I can remember friends meeting me at the DZ on a day that we'd planned to jump. I was all excited, and ready to go, and they said "I'm not feeling it today" or something of the sort. Then, simply decided not to jump. There is NOTHING wrong with this. If you are comfortable - JUMP! If not - be honest with yourself, and don't do anything you are not ready for and committed to. I recently had TWO hard landings. One - I believe was because of a lack of proper training) which I'll address in another thread in this forum soon, and the other was simply because of conditions. Unfortunately, they happened ONE AFTER THE OTHER! After the first one, I REALLY had to reach down and WANT to overcome any mental obstacles to jumping. I was SO DETERMINED to go back and get it right...I wanted it badly. I went back to the DZ to jump the next time (last week), and had the second hard landing - which was caused by a freak gust during final...which slammed me into the ground, and wrenched me backward far beyong the "full arch" position. It hurt - BAD. As I've thought about it this past week (and this weekend during which I was roadracing motorcycles, and facing other fears), I've re-committed to myself, and the sport. I WILL NOT LET ONE - OR EVEN TWO - INCIDENTS SCARE ME OFF. These things are going to happen occassionally, and that's part of the sport. In road racing motorcycles, I've crashed 8 times in the last 5 years - 3 at over 100 mph. Believe me when I say, you really need to do a reality (and gut) check when you get back on the bike for the first time - with those around you going just as fast and aggressively as they did BEFORE you crashed. What you do in life has a lot to do with the CONFIDENCE level you have at different activities or pursuits. That's natural, and most humans will generally choose a "comfortable" path. That said, just remember this...people often make decisions in life for 2 reasons. 1,) Desire for gain. 2.) Fear of loss. The natural human instinct is to "protect what you have" which is the focus of those making decisions based on Fear Of Loss. BUT - true fulfillment can often come from gaining a new "something" in life. New experiences, new feelings, new CONFIDENCE (that's the main one). Forget material possessions, and all of that. These are the things (feelings / accomplishments) that will truly change the way you look at yourself, and the way you live your life. Gas, only YOU know what is right for you. If you take the advice given earlier, and decide not to jump - nobody will ever criticise you. BUT, if you DO muster the courage that you must in order to jump, you will once again have that feeling of overcoming something that will build a HUGE sense of accomplishment. This is a win on it's own, but as it permeates into all facets of your life (personal confidence, etc.)...it only gets better. I hope you do what's right for you! Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

So what happened!?!? The toggle slipped out of your hand? How come you didn't think to reach back up and grab it. I'm all not for judging some one else but there was one at my DZ a couple of weeks ago where the lady explained after LANDING a LINEOVER that she didn't want to pay for the handles because she was afraid of dropping them. You must be the opposite if I understood your "malfunction". EDIT: mine was jump 163 on my stiletto 120. Yep - the left toggle came COMPLETELY OFF in her hand... Even if she could have steered the chute, landing it would have been a different story...for someone with 6 jumps. Bill Dause - the owner of The Parachute Center in Lodi, CA said she did everything according to plan, and her training. WAY TO GO KP!!! Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

DZ'ers, I've recently completed my AFF training, and I was wondering - based on your knowledge and learning...WHAT IS THE SINGLE BEST BOOK ON SKYDIVING TECHNIQUE AND TRAINING? Please chime in! I know I may get different answers, and I may wind up buying several books, but extra knowledge never hurt, and I want to do this right. Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Many thanks to you all for the warm welcome. I think I'm going to enjoy skydiving in a way no other sport has ever gotten to me. Amazon, do you ride / race sport bikes? Ed, thanks for making the linky clickable. How do you do that with this forums program? Also, looking forward to meeting you at the DZ soon. I think I'll be down there "regularly"... Skymama - you're right. Doing this training with a friend made it much more fun. It's a special experience that you just can't "EXPLAIN" to people if they haven't tried it. So many people on the Kneeriders.com forum have asked me what the experience was like...and I find myself at a loss to "accurately" describe it all. I just say..."come out to our next KneeJump on April 15 (appropriate day I thought), and experience this first hand! I think we'll have many more converts soon... Wazymota...I had to chucle at your remark. I'm afraid I'm just giving them ammo to reinforce their belief that I'm already over the top! Thanks again to you all for the warm welcome...I'm looking for gear as we speak, and I'll soon be doing this often (and hopefully, gain a level of proficiency quickly). Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Yo KP! Glad to see you are here! Like MX, Mikey, Dave, Bill, and Jimmy were telling us over at the Parachute Center...there are lots of resources here, and what seems like a lot of great people. Looking forward to jumping again soon - next week? RB Red Baron www.kneeriders.com

Hi all, Just got certified, and I'm really hooked on the sport. Did my certification with a couple of friends at the Parachute Center in Lodi, CA. You can read my entire review of the AFF program at the link below... It is on Kneeriders.com (a sportbike / road racing focused forums board that I own)...and we now have a "Kneejumpers" section in our forum! http://www.kneeriders.com/forums/showthread.php?p=42226#post42226 I know I'll be asking lots of questions and doing lots of reading on this forum, and my thanks to all in advance for any information you can provide. RB Red Baron www.kneeriders.com