tombuch

Your reserve needs to be inspected and repacked every 180 days (120 under the old law), and in order to properly inspect and repack the reserve, the main would most likely have been removed from the container. There is always a chance that it has not been reconnected properly, or that it has been flipped through the risers before being put back in the container. I hope your rigger didn't fully inspect the system with the main still in the container. Heck, part of his inspection and repack should have included disassembling and flexing the three ring release. So that's a good reason to repack the main along with the reserve. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

There is an interesting short story in the AOPA email news brief today about Larry Pennington, owner of Skydive Suffolk, who had a heart attack a while back. Larry was flying a 206 when he had a devastating heart attack, but he was able to land and get help. The story reports on his progress, and his successful effort to recover his medical certifiacte and fly jumpers again. The full story is at http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2009/090226bypass.html?WT.mc_id=090227epilot&WT.mc_sect=gan. The news brief pushed via email this morning is as follows: Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

A good rigger can address this issue as well. The reserve data card can include a note listing the battery and maintenance due dates for the AAD. That way anybody inspecting the data card can easily determine if the AAD is within service parameters. That's an especially nice thing to do for customers so they always know when they will be facing an expense item. The rigger is not required to list this information in a specific easy to find location, but it would sure make life nicer for DZO's, jumpers, and pilots. As an aside, it is my understanding that when a rigger does any work that would affect airworthiness, including the removal or installation of an AAD or AAD battery, that work should be noted on the data card. So, a DZO or customer could read the service history of the rig and determine when time critical work was done, and then compute when the next due date is. That assumes the rig has a data card with full maintenance history, but when a data card is completely replaced that history is lost. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Tom, you have been repeating that for years. Again, there are a number of cases where private pilots can fly skydivers and it is perfectly legal. Blue Skies, Ed There are very few situations in which a private pilot can fly jumpers. For example, a friend who is a private pilot can usually take a skydiving friend along, as long as he doesn't "create a hazard" under 105.5, there isn't any money being paid for the flight, and the extent of the operation is very limited. He may not "...act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying passengers or property for compensation, nor may that person, for compensation or hire, act as pilot in command of an aircraft" unless the operation falls under a narrow exemption listed under §61.113. The case we are talking about here involved a skydiving operation that claimed to be a club, but that "held out" to the public without limitation and took money from customers for the flight. It certainly qualifies as a commercial operation, as does almost every single established drop zone in the United States. The few cases where a private pilot may fly jumpers are very limited, and do not include the case we are talking about here. The pilot in this case is facing certificate action for conducting a commercial operation with only a private pilot certificate. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I didn't see or comment about the BASE rigs, and that element wasn't mentioned in this thread until after my post (reread the thread). If their BASE rigs were non-TSO'd I do have a problem with it, unless they had a waiver from the FAA. And it wouldn't surprise me (or bother me) if the FAA followed up. I'd also say that if the jumpers failed to completely inform the pilot about the type of equipment they were using then they should face the brunt of the violation penalty under 105.43. In the case of a stunt like this one the pilot can be placed in legal jeopardy (as can the jumpers). I do have a problem with the very idea of violating the FAR's with non-TSO'd gear, but it's slightly less troublesome if all the participants understand what the regulations say, and what the penalty will be. It would be a real travesty if these guys neglected to tell the pilot that they were violating the FAR's with his license on the line. I believe we should respect our pilots and the very minimum FAA regulations. And no, I would not have allowed jumps with BASE rigs from my airplane. You are correct that I have become a stickler for FAA regulations and that I strongly object to a private pilot flying jumpers, especially students. I believe in the concept of informed consent. We should follow the FAA regulations, but if for some reason a private pilot is gong to fly jumpers he should make sure every single participant understands what rating he has, and that he is violating federal law. And the participants should be well enough versed in aviation matters to understand what is required of a jump pilot, and how the training and testing of the private/commercial certificates relates to those flight skills. Many of the jumpers being flown by the private pilot had idea he didn't meet FAA regulatory standards. In the case you are talking about a student skydiver committed suicide by jumping from an airplane flown by a private pilot. The private pilot had been warned about the need for a commercial certificate in the past, and the publicity of the case was great. To allow that case to remain unprosecuted would have set a precedent that would have allowed other private pilots to fly jumpers. And that would have a significant negative impact on industry wide safety. The two issues are very different. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I thought it was pretty sweet, and a fun promotion for our sport. Keep in mind it did not happen at any official drop zone, and was clearly a stunt. The low pulls didn't appear to be that low, and heck, low pull contests have been around forever. I don't think any of those jumps would have beat my historical lows, and certainly they wouldn't have touched a naked low pull that earned me my only official grounding. The cut-a-way's above water were a much bigger deal, and I hope that doesn't catch on, but even there, boys will be boys and it was a stunt. Oh, and the 'fun with helicopters' component was terrific. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

That's a tough one. The regulation says 180 days not six months, (see http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=ea5df3b27aa32c77eb7e8c1d4091a1e5&rgn=div8&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.3.17.2.9.2&idno=14) so I counted the days figuring February was a short month and you might pick up a day or two. You don't. By my count it still hits the 180 day mark on May 25. I think you will find confusion among riggers and the FAA about your question unless somebody has case law that clarifies. I think your best bet is to get the rig packed, or as an alternative contact the organizers of the event and ask them if they will accept your rig as meeting the requirements for the duration of the event. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Well, I won’t comment directly about my experience with weed, but there is a certain experienced jumper I know who was an S&TA at a large drop zone where smoking was somewhat common, even among the very experienced local swoopers. As I recall this former S&TA smoked quite a bit in his younger days, and back then he made just a few morning jumps with a lingering buzz from the night before. He didn’t really like jumping with that buzz ‘cause it made him feel paranoid. Back in the day he did enjoy a bit of coke before take off in the slow climbing Cessna, and was especially pleased that it made the climb to altitude go faster and wasn’t a big issue 20 minutes later. Of course he hated the addictive properties of coke and stopped using it in the late 80’s. He stopped smoking weed in the late 90’s (mostly), but still played around with bags of nitrous oxide on occasion. It’s my understanding that this certain former S&TA never minded when folks were smoking on the DZ, but he hated it when they made skydives when high, even though he understood some of the top local swoopers were super focused when they were high. He knew that while smoking dope worked for some of the jumpers, it left other jumpers as flubbering fools, and certainly added to the risk imposed on non-partiers. He was also aware that some of the jumpers, including at least one now deceased AFF instructor, were using much more serious drugs while jumping. He always shuddered when somebody went in, or almost went in, fearful that a blood test would expose the DZ to scrutiny by the very conservative local population, many of whom hated the DZ anyway and were looking for ways to shut it down. When he knew that specific jumpers, especially those in positions of responsibility, were jumping high he often felt that he was placed in a tough position, but kinda understood that the culture of the DZ was what it was, so he pretty much took a ‘whatever’ attitude toward weed. As I understand it, this experienced jumper is perfectly accepting of marijuana as a personal choice, but wishes skydivers would respect the other folks in the air and not jump while high. I don’t think he gets high very often these days, but there are times when he really wants to blow a super fat joint, and veg out to Dark Side of the Moon and a big bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes. Unfortunately he doesn’t have any marijuana available in his house when those rare occasions arise. Nor does he have any desire to jump while high, or to skydive with others while they are high. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

You are spot on that this person shouldn't have given the bowling speech. And it should be very rare for an instructor to actually give the bowling speech. Most of our students, like the one discussed here, can learn from their mistakes and progress to safe and fun skydivers who we will all enjoy sharing the sky with. Heck, they may even become some of our best instructors with a background that inspires empathy. I have never given the bowling speech directly. I think it just makes the student angry and resistant to feedback, and might well simply drive the person to another DZ, or perhaps another similar high-risk sport. I have had a few students who really are not cut out for skydiving, although that's not clear from a single error in judgment or mistake. Rather, it becomes clear after a period of time and direct contact with several instructor who concur that the person would be better off doing something else. My objective as an instructor has always been to help guide students to the action or conclusion that I want them to reach. I've found that's the best way to teach, and to build strong future decision making skills in the students mind. In the case of a student who isn't cut out for skydiving there should be a solid record of performance failures in the log book, and I've always found that a general discussion about historical performance will help the student to see his own strengths and weaknesses, and will drive the student to conclude that he shouldn't be jumping. That discussion should be broadly focused and not based on a single performance error, nor should it be held as part of a specific jump debrief, although it could certainly follow a conventional debrief. Always, however, the student should be removed from a "defensive" position and should understand the discussion is about his overall safety, and not a specific action. And wherever possible, the student should reach the conclusion that he shouldn't be jumping. Passing judgment is not easy, even for the most experienced instructor. And deciding to have the bowling discussion is even harder. But hey, that's what we get the big bucks for! Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

One of the other variables is the placement of the AAD. Activation is dependent on air pressure, and the air pressure around our body will vary in freefall. Thus, the AAD may sense deployment altitude higher or lower based on where the unit is located on the jumpers body, and the position the jumper is in as he moves through the air. An AAD is never 100% reliable, and shouldn't be thought of as such. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Another problem is that the winds aloft forecast is just that, a forecast. It is calculated at various altitudes and is not always accurate. Plus, many drop zones have a small number of preferred jump run directions regardless of winds, perhaps because of landmarks, multi-airplane tracks, or avoidance of congested or unhealthy landing areas. Sometimes a DZ will even eliminate a full section of the compass from consideration for exits. In the civilian world we are always jumping over the same known location, so it makes more sense to identify the forecasted winds, build a paper and pencil spot, and compare actual aircraft track with the proposed jumprun. Then real live humans can make the needed corrections based on all the things computers don't quite grasp. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Many drop zones operate on public airports that require the business to follow USPA BSR's and to maintain third party liability insurance. Many privately owned airports also require USPA group membership or USPA third party insurance. Most of these businesses would not be able to operate without that insurance, and confirming the coverage of every individual jumper through homeowner policies would be unmanageable. While your DZ may choose not to be a group member or to require individual membership for insurance, many drop zones do not have this option. The loss of USPA oversight and insurance would devastate the industry, and directly impact just about every skydiver in this country. Likewise, the USPA commitment to BSR's, instructional programs, and other safety initiatives has allowed many of our states to step out of regulating the sport, and others have easily yielded to the regulations of the national organization. The loss of USPA oversight at the federal level would surely result in the increase of regulation at the state level. I doubt any of us want a 50 state patchwork of regulations. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

First, S&TA is a volunteer position, generally given to a very experienced and responsible jumper who takes safety seriously. They have no meaningful responsibility for safety, other than the responsibility the other jumpers choose to bestow upon the S&TA. And hopefully they aren't "chewing people out" but rather helping to educate them, and setting an overall tone of regulatory support, and a group approach to looking out for each other. That's really a matter of helping to define and direct the culture. I handled that job for six years at a large multi-Otter DZ, although back when I was younger I was stupid crazy. It helps to have had those experiences, and that made me a better S&TA. I agree that for the most part skydiving is pretty well managed, and we do respect each other and the risks of the sport. There are still some DZ's that are out of control, but overall we do care about risk management and we respect the danger of our sport. It hasn't always been this way. Back in the day it wasn't at all uncommon for jumpers to smoke weed in the airplane, perhaps do some blow on the climb to altitude, or otherwise get really messed up before jumping. There is a hilarious old-school video someplace of a naked jumper being helped into a Twin Otter because he is too drunk to even walk. 20 people are cheering him on. That doesn't happen very often anymore, and it the maturity of the sport that created the change. Skydiving these days involves expensive airplanes and DZ owners with a lot of financial exposure. Plus most of the folks who have been in the sport for a while have watched their friends screw up. We know how much that sucks, so we look out for the younger jumpers. And, we have terrific communication through our publications and this site, and that helps us identify and discourage problems and builds a solid base for our improving safety culture. We aren't perfect by any means, but our sport is far better than it once was, and our culture has grown to discourage the kind of activity you speak about in the river world. When I was S&TA at The Ranch I maintained a web blog of safety topics. It is still on-line at http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. Two articles that you might find interesting are: Article 3 "What is An S&TA? Article 17 "A Safety Culture" Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Check out the inflation calculator at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis at http://www.minneapolisfed.org/ According to the calculation, $33.50 in 1991 would be worth $53.03 in 2008 (the most recent year the software can calculate). There are many ways to calculate the value of a dollar over time, but this one is easy to use and reasonable, and well worth including in your bookmarks for quick research. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Me too! That was a terrific deal that assured I would get the magazine well into the future. The check for my renewal was written and envelope stamped, and it was just waiting for a trip to the post office. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I would wait until it warms up, and hopefully until you have sufficient funds. Experienced jumpers can tolerate the cold by layering, but that creates additional problems. Those layers restrict your movement, and limit your ability to feel the air pressure against your body. Gloves can reduce your tactile sense and make grabbing ripcords less effective. Neck gators reduce head movement and visibility. And the cold will still get through, especially on any exposed skin, and that makes your body tense which is itself not a good thing. So, given where you are, I'd wait at least long enough for it to warm up, and as others have noted it would probably be better to wait until you have your tax refund in hand. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

I am not aware of any specific USPA regulation or recommendation as to how an instructor signs the logbook. I use the FAA model and add my license number so it is easy for USPA to search for and confirm my authorization through their database. So I would sign "Tom Buchanan D-8514, I-12/09." Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

If the jump is required for a specific rating or license I sign with my "D" number and "I" with expiration date. If it's just a signature for another jumper who wants the line filled in I switch numbers and use my "A" or "C", and sometimes my BASE number, or one of my many other numbers. When I was an S&TA I enjoyed signing with both the BASE number and S&TA, something that would have drawn a serious negative response from the USPA hierarchy years ago. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

When I'm on a jump I want the other players to do one thing at the end...track fast and far. The breakoff should be predicable with no surprises. If I saw somebody doing a barrel roll I'd be pretty confused and annoyed. It would attract my attention, and distract me from my primary task, which is flying fast and far. If you have any intention of doing a barrel roll at break off make sure to fully discuss it with the organizer prior to the jump. As others have said, on many big way's it'll get you cut in a heartbeat. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Good operation that has been in business for a long time. Nice and friendly people. UPSA affiliated with certified instructors. Give them a call or visit the DZ to check them out. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

That's number one, two, and three. Check your line continuity and everything else will be alright. Number four would be remembering to set your breaks, five is lines in the center, six would be set your slider and pilot chute (if collapsible), and finally proper container closing sequence. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

See "Survival Strategies," an article I wrote as S&TA for The Ranch web site. It is available as Article 16 at: http://theblueskyranch.com/STA.php. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Your approach seems reasonable to me. The Internet can be a shady place to do business, so selecting a middleman that you both know and trust is a good idea. You should be able to verify the identity of the rigger, or alternatively select somebody else such as a DZ owner. It's certainly reasonable for you to ask for a copy of the check, and for some way to confirm the rigger is who he says he is. He should be willing to send you a copy of his certificate, or otherwise help you confirm his identity. One option is to check the FAA Airman Database at http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/interactive_airmen_inquiry/. That's the official FAA database that includes all certificate holders who have not opted out of disclosure. You do need to enter information about yourself to gain access, and then you can search by name and address/state or other criteria. It's also a good way to confirm the licenses issued to your DZ pilots. Be cautious, however, some pilots have opted out, and some may be listed by a more formal name. As an example, I'm listed as Thomas Buchanan, not Tom. If you do a national search you will find 26 Thomas Buchanan's, and would need to know my middle name or that I live in Vermont to correctly identify me. So I'd say work with the seller to find a third party you can both agree on, or decline to make the purchase. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

There has been lots of good discussion about this topic in this thread, and on other threads. I covered the issue of risk, specific to student jumps, in my book "JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy." The book was published by McGraw-Hill in 2003, and is now out of print, partially because I wanted the manuscript updated and they didn't want to spend any more money on a second edition. The original book is still available as a used book from many vendors, or Skydiving Book Service appears to have new copies in stock. And it is still available as an e-book or a Kindle edition on Amazon. In any event, I have attached a copy of the Understanding Risk chapter as a pdf. Please note this is the draft version from the original manuscript, and not the edited version. You will find lots of statistics and a means of evaluating risk. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Thanks for killing a few minutes of my time. I went back to the earliest post of mine that I could find on dropzone.com (2002), and then traced even further back to the rec.skydiving days by searching for my name and a few search terms on Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/?safe=off). Good stuff, including some really old posts of mine dating back to 1994 on rec.skydiving, rec.juggling, and even a few gems from rec.sport.pro-wrestling. Heck, I even found some dated material from obscure listserves that I had long since forgotten about. Nothing on the web ever really dies. Rec.skydiving served as the origin of dropzone.com. The wreck actually goes back to the early 1980's, and was a solid newsgroup until the noise level became unbearable, and dropzone.com sprang to life. It's worth checking out. You will find many of the same topics and questions discussed here on dropzone.com, some even being addressed by the same people. Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy