gimpboogie

ROD MACK (D422) made this web page: Adaptive Skydiving Manual http://www.jagworksdesign.com/html/Para%20skydive%20manual.htm with input from Peter Chapman and Angus Smith. (my former coach Angus and my rigger Peter Chapman) I MUST ADD.... Peter (South Africa-AFF instructor Tonto) did at least 30 AFF jumps the first 10 of which he said he was like in a washing machine... before passing the AFF portion. Dale (New Zealand) who followed after me and Peter-is now on his 11th or 12th AFF and they let him go in FF on his 6th (he tossed with his head down-but didnt complain of the opening upon landing-he's pretty happy!-youtube search Dale Elliott).... The thing is, that if a student with lower limb disabilities ends up on static line then that's how you turn them into B.A.S.E. jumpers! TOSSING gimps on static line-were never going to get through the TTO's the exit is not 'gimp friendly' on static line to begin with-add the TTO's and we go buy B.A.S.E. gear! want to keep them in the skies? GO THROUGH THE AFF WITH TWO INSTRUCTORS and analyze each video seriously and with scrutiny. After the AFF came to an end-I found from scrutinizing the videos two critical issues that went completely unrecognized when it was happening-as there was not sufficient debriefing of these videos. to try to analyze frame by frame what went wrong. (i.e. the 1st AFF its simple to see-'let go of the pilot chute!' the 2nd AFF shouldn't have ever been attempted with one instructor-too early to understand the dynamics that were taken away with the 2nd instructor gone-DO NOT ELIMINATE THE 2ND INSTRUCTOR TOO EARLY!) IF there is difficulty in reaching the pilot chute-FIGURE OUT WHY! frame by frame- you may find out! and possibly correct it.... static line the gimps too soon and they will always be stuck there and start looking for ways to jump without that plane-heck no one ever lets us out low enough as it is! so the "skydive" becomes B.A.S.E. training-packing for it, training for quick toggle grabs- on heading openings- and doing 'what ever' with your canopy skills above 2,000f to practice for..... "what ever", until you enter that dreadfully high 1000f final pattern, which would be interesting if it began at 400f-BUT we have CSPA(or USPA ETC.), and FAA, and DZO's, and other skydivers who frown upon BSR violations for this is skydiving after all- ALL the rules apply... the cliffs start to look good-which is where i;m headed-the antenna's were great \9even with the broken ankles with an off heading opening bringing me to the rock clifs rather then the frozen ice i had hoped to go t0-but what the heck-i too the casts off and went skydiving anyways-being a gimp whose gonna care of know if they are broken) so now ALL my skydiving training is for BASE situations-sure my DZO has yelled at me with a "were you trying to make me sh*t my pants' -NO-just trying to practive for the ONLY world I can jump in- AND HAVE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL-TILL i go in... I KNOW this is not a B.A.S.E. forum (which IS where I 'lurk' now all the time), BUT I THINK tHAT THE EXERIENCES of both DALE AND PETER show that we=the individuals with "lower limb" disabilities MUST have the chance to do MORE AFF jumps then 'typical' because IF NOT we may very well be driven out of skydiving, and turn to the 'dark side'. enough siad-take it seriously.\IF YOU PLAN ON TAKING ON A PROJECT LIKE THIS-GIVE IT TIME, GIVE THE STUDENT AS MANY 'INSTRUCTOR DEPLOY' JUMps AS NEEDED, AND have video for ALL jumps and dont just look at them casually,\serioulsy deconstruct them frame by frame.\\I think what DALES instructors are doing is EXCELLENT! i.e. the webbed glove-the chest mount altimeter I CAN SEE makes a difference- and many other 'little' things \9i.e. after my wind tunnel experience-i never jumped with the leg braces-it was decided that they were not necessary-well a wind tunnel turned down to 80mph is very different then the actual experience of true freefall-it gave inappropriate feedback-and thus ended up in having too soon the 2nd instructor taken away (on the 2nd jump onward I had only one instructor-had \i been able to be in the tunnel with proper wind speed simulation some of these 'issues' would have revealed themselves-not to mention going through the 'practive deploy' situation, \i'm sure that at 120 mph i would have flipped upside down in the tunnel-and we would have had to try to understand WHY.... and hopefully would have figured it out...\ MAYBE i would have become a 'skydiver' but as it stands now-I am a B.A.S.E. JUMPER who uses skydiving skills to hone in on BASEa skills-which I THINK the skydiving world in general would not have wanted to end up being the end resullt for any skydiving student.\ enough said. \ UNLESS something new and interesting happens in the skydiving world-this MAY be the last post here in regards to skydiving-and since this is not a B.A.S.E forum-whatr business do i really have here...|?.... To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

agreed! we got enough problems with even experienced jumpers not spotting anymore-just waiting for the green light! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

im new-and NEVER had a HARDer opening the base canopies with no sider n 42 inch pilot chute BUT we got an instructor whose shoulder is permanently in a brace-type-thing because he hung from the wing strut dispatching students-and had a 'hard' sudden fall off it--not even a hard opening... this stuff seems possible at several moments. i've seen a 'bumb' to someones chest (Chris Colwell of Deland) end up in C4/C5 paralysis=while 270 @ 400f and a 'bounce' of several earth hits-turn into a torn jean.... so- think of ALL the risks, like any skydiver... then ADD your personal ones... and see what your total comes to... weight it to what your willing to risk... and do accordingly To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

that;s the spirit Dale! when the weathers bad GO TO THE DZ and LEARN something! or scout out things to jump you dont need a plane for) NO STAY AWAY FROM THE DARK SIDE DALE! stick to skydiving.... go for the dream-seriously dude- you've got the public personality to DO IT. me-IF i live that long, will be just as likely to say "who the FCK are YOU?' out my school bus window parked at A DZ where i live till i die, as greet the media..... GO DALE! PLEASE,..... its a dream worth making it reality. and show those blokes who think gimps should stay home n wait for our butts to be wiped... that we got a life to live, not time to wait for them to serve themselves to a paycheck To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

ABSOLUTELY DALE YOU DO ROCK! IF ANYONE TELLS YOU, AND ITS LONNIE- YOU FCKN ROCK THE WORL.D! ok-back to reality- Dale consider it a dream-A REALITY-to put together a group of 4 'paralympic' possibilities-folks with 'disabilties' ALL jumping into these ceremonies one day/ GO AFTER THE BIG BUCKS-VISA sponsors both olympics and paralympics (red bul wont do-their caffeine levels wont pass the freakn drug tests!) get some 'typical' olympic sponsors-put together a good proposal-go for the big bucks! you NEED COACHING WITH HELMETS WITH TWO WAY RADIO for the accuracy on to the stadium-training tons of jumps-its all got to be in the budget. hell these folks throw away tons=-to be prime sponsors for such world class events./ go with ther 'theme ' of we make the impossible happen in your life' WELL PUT THEIR MOUTH WHERE THEIR ADS ARE- LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN-we got the skydivers. Dale-'s gonna go for it, John may go for it to represent the 'deaf community', and that army dude wqith the prosthetic leg will go for it -to represent folks like him (although I dont think there are too many folks like him spefically) and aybe Lonnie might join as a 2nd para-unless the dark side draws us in so deep we cant leave it-we could train for this stuff-\but Dale -STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!- and the dark side-kus if you venture there-you wont come out0there you will stay till you die.) hell if they can stand up 500 people skydive to a birthday party why not get 4 gimps to a stadium for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEIPNmizMAg&feature=channel To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

It's Peters gear that I'm flying now.... here in Canada for a video of my 1st jump on that gear here's a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZOJQuIDlro&feature=channel_page THANKS PETER for the great geal! amazingly well kept... some day another para will fly it I'm sure of it, BLUE SKIES FOREVER TONTO! I OWE you BIG.. each time i jump i salute you, and remember to say thanks for getting us 'gimps' in the skies-your the pioneer of it Tonto To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

i guess i should add that my gear came with some of these options-preferred by many- soft pilot chute toggles, 'FF Friendly' gear-'matching' handles on front-colours, as well as being fabric-why not get the sticthing of names as well.,.,... my thoughts were=that since it came with these options-it will be ready for me-when i am ready for those options-which i will only be-once my DZO and Angus agrees with me-that I'm ready-until then I stick with what I KNOW BEST.\ not because it 'student gear', 'adva\nced', or what ever=-brands, logas etc. at this point,as a person with less then 250+ jumps (it's A figure I decided for myself-for discipline-i dont care if i think i am 'ready' for something earlier-i also thought i was 'ready' to do a 180 DEGREE TURN ON A windless day to end up going down wind for some 'fun' to slide on the wet grass...[shocked]) and with the 'butt slide landings' I need to do the landings are the factor that will decide what I fly (size wise)... seeing as I'm not expecting to start walking anytime- my canopy size will remain fairly stable for that reason.\ Other options-such as the pillow soft cut away handle (at least these are two seperate colours-rather then merely worrying about the colours matching my canopy), and my pilot chute-will follow suit. Right now safety is the ONLY consideration. I don't think I would ever recommend a fairly 'newbie' jumper to buy gear anyways-'other items' i.e. altimeters, helmets etc is something one could invest in-while they are learning more canopy control skills... since canopy sizes seem to change fairly often in progression of a 'newbie' jumper. for any skydivers with any 'special issues' to consider- I would think safety is always #1.... in the end of the day, after spending $ on 'downgrading' my container slightly by making these few alterations, I know I'm jumping something I am familiar with, and luckily have the option to change things later. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

I finally decided to venture out of the one forum I've been sitting in for over a year. I got 'new' [to me] gear recently. that is-6 months ago! and I began to jump it regularly finally now. My gear came with puffs, and on my inspection I requested the metal Dring -kept the nice puffy for later use, and the pilot chute is very nice freefly friendly soft handle, but I still want to have the plastic handle I'm used to.... for a bit more. I had reasons to wait=which I reveal as I write. wanted to mention a few things-as a student-as well as a skydiver who has some 'different abilities/dis-abilities' 1) My new gear came along with many things that I truly like and believe are safety conscious for me. (I'm a partial quadraplegic skydiver with a couple of yrs skydiving now soon and am most interested in staying in this sport for life). 2) my gear: a 285 main and a 250 reserve. now this is a purchase-commitment to these sizes-for two reasons: a)there was one jump when my mind entertained the idea of what I WOULD like to do with a smaller canopy-knowing that it is 'pushing' the envelope of safety-and honestly stopped my brain-and self chastized myself for entertaining other things during a canopy ride-other then skydiving that moment-and the type of thoughts-pushing the envelope and wanting to try something for the 'how cool would that feel' b) My choice will lock me into flying this size canopy for a longer time-giving me tons of time to get used to some difficult situations-experiences that may come along-rather do it with this canopy-then with a smaller faster canopy-and more likely newer to me-then [i hope] now-meaning that i will have several hundred jumps before i try to downsize. I remember clearly-the day last august when I had this revelation that i needed to make a commitment to this canopy size range. It turned out that i was lucky. there came a main, container, and reserve for sale which was an exceptional 'deal', beautiful combo-looks nice, is in great shape-and very well kept (only 110 on the main and none on the reserve in 2 yrs). so I got lucky on being able to have it. Sure it was hard to 'wait' to jump it=which I DID.. because I did not want to do winter jumps for the first time in my life- on new gear i have not become accustomed to -I just felt too many variables that were new to add together increasing risk factors. I'm not sure if this is a 'typical' student/ 'newbie' attitude or not.... but i do not think it is being stupid, or wrong-maybe 'overly cautious' -but how is that exactly defined in a sport like skydiving... as it was said,\we jump out of airplanes and fall towards the ground at 120mph or more, control sheets of material over our heads to land ourselves upon the ground -what ever the colours etc. in my mind does not add to the 'cool' factor... Certainly I understand the desire to have colours one likes, matching, or following 'trends'-even though personally I don't give a hoot about those things, I can see they mean something to many others. regardless of being a 'newbie' if I want to be involved in a sport such as this, I have the responsibility to familiarize myself with the gear I am using-wether its my own, or the DZ student gear. in the end=responsibility is mine-regardless of wether i am looking cool, want to be, or look like the left overs at the bottom of the 'good will' bin of skydiving gear- safety extends from myself-to each person in my load and on the ground upon which I will be landing on-that IS critical=the looks are optional. Simple. All the cool kids have them. I think most of them don't even consider the safety aspects of their new gear - looking cool is all that matters. Guys, we're jumping out of frickin' airplanes, for god's sake! How much cooler can you get? Yes, my gear matches too - but the matching colours were a coincidental bonus of being unable to find the main I chose second hand..I reasoned if I had to shell out fourteen hundred euros for a canopy, it could damn well have the colours I like. But that doesn't keep me from looking like an idiot when I botch a landing in my matching gear... In skydiving too much emphasis is placed on looking/being cool and too little on safety ("So-and-so has trouble standing up their landings, even at twelve jumps.." "Dude - you still using that POS analog altimeter?" "I don't need an AAD!") Buying gear custom and new, not for the perceived technology/safety but because 'everyone does it' and for the matching colours is plain stupid... so are soft reserve handles, a small main canopy (who'd want to fly a 190 sq ft 'boat'?) with an even smaller reserve....I think some people lose track of what it is we're actually doing. Sure, it's fun and maybe even relaxing. Let's go grab some wind! Just don't forget what the consequenses will be if you fuck up. Stupid hurts. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

actually watching it again and again.... it seems that also during deployment your hands sort of went into a 'chicken wings' type of position-with the knees so tightly tucked-the hips so far down,-angled so steeply-looks almost a 90 degree drop on hips-which might be something to think about-if you are able to stretch those hip flexors-our hip flexors typically shorten so much due to our continous sitting position-that its extremely important to keep ourselves as flexible as humanly possible.... stretching them may give you enough flexibility that naturally the hips will start to streighten out a bit more- also perhaps (this I just do not know how to make it-a hinged type system with a bite switch would be best actually for the hips-sort of a situation where your hips would have a brace of some sort which would keep them straighter while in FF but then you need the hips back up into the sitting position under canopy-so the brace cannot be such that it stays in your FF position-so definitely a bigger project then I can wrap my head around-luckily for me i had done tons of training for adaptive rowing which leaves my hips very flexible-giving me fairly straight legs from hips downward). Anyways, maybe some of this rambling is worth something.... To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

I was just showing your video to our coaches etc.\and someone mentioned that perhaps you can compensate for that head down situation during deployment to put your left hand further straight out-rather then so much the way we typically are taught to put it on our foreheads.... hhhmm... talk it over with your coach-see what he thinks of that. Like I said on your youtube, this is now truly going to be a reality for you-i can see you flying completely on your own very soon. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

well yah and sorry for the underlining-didnt notice till it was posted. yah I kept mypacking video on a small dvd player beside me while learning to pack also My DZO let me borrow an old torn up canopy to practice with-while away from the DZ that 1st winter- and I went to the YMCA gym where I had a membership and they acvtually gave me a corner to use during the kids 'running around' hour [aka kindergym]...which was cool kus the kids whoseparents were obviously forcing them to attend-but werent really interested in the whole 'gym' thing would gather around and watch-giving them intro to packing AND to the sport and just as importantly gave them the perpective that just kus were in wheelchairs doesn't mean we cant do these things-the older ones were really interested. gave me lots of room to practice packing-i just needed the parachute and D bag. Maybe your DZO has old parachute hanging around that's torn n worn n of no other use except to lend it to you to practice. That's what the rainy days are for- seminars, packing to get your endorsement. also don't forget-you can take seminars which aren't necessarily in your progression right now. i got my night and water jump endorsement cards signed while it was crappy weather at the DZ, but the jumps themselves are nowhere in my sights as of now (to actually be allowed to do a night jump or an intentional water jump) BUT learning is always worth itregardless of what aspect of the sport your learning. I may never get the licence required for a night jump but got the endorsement card signed . I don't know of your area-by the video's it doesnt seem like there's water anywhere close by-but if you ever plan to jump elsewhere later-it's definitely worth it to take the seminar. We have a river close enough that if things went real crazy for me I could potentially end up in it-very small chance-but knowing what to do is essential for ALL potential situations. It was during that seminar I learned that because of the crotch panel i would not be able to front fli[ out of my harness leg straps being held up by the crotch panel-so now I jump with a hook knife on my right leg strap-for that small 'just in case' potential. It also occurred to me that regardless of water or not IF i was to land badly-breaking a leg-[lets hope never] that hook knife will be helpful to cut the crotch panel off-and make it easier toremove my gear ASAP under such a circumstance. Dale- I've been thinking-seriously that a potential exists for a demo jump into the 2012, or 2016 (?) paralympic opening ceremonieS.-seriously. Sure we don't have our licences now-but with a good marketing proposal to a company like VISA whose typical commercials state how they help make the impossible dreams happen-this type of 'jump' would really fit that concept of 'impossible' becoming reality.... they got bucks- and IF they went for the idea-which I don't see why they wouldn't-they could provide enough funds to help you train for that exhibition licence needed for such a jump. Even more impressive would be to have several different people with varying disabilities jumping together- from all continents. We have a great deaf skydiver here in Canada, there is a few amputee divers around-we'd just need to get Peter from SA to jump again (which i think is not going to happen ) It would certainly be a great 'wow!' moment-BUT more importantly- showing that skydiving is not such an 'out there' sport that it is inaccessible. Would also be good to have the International flavour of jumpers with varying disabilities from (hopefully) all continents participate. Biggest draweback I think would be the unpredictable 'wind' effects inside a stadium setting-potentially a NOT so good situatrion- but maybe an open field can be found to do it in. sorry- off on a tangent again-thinking of that 'dream' of mine to see such a jump in such an event. Yes I agree with others- dALE YOU wil BE ABLE TO DO THIS! get yourself solo out there-then the fun really starts. nice to see you sticking to it..... makes it worth every minute writing about what worked and what didn't. (as for me- I'm moving to the DZ next month-to persue this dresam seriously.). I can truly see this happening for you- it's going to be a day of celebration here in Canada when you get yourself through that AFF-I will buy a case a Australian beer for the DZ here and show everyone your graduation jump video. keep on going Dasle-this is yours for sure-I believe it-it will soon be a year when you 1st contacted me-we have to celebrate! somehow.... a special jump simultaneously (realizing the time difference we cant do it exactly at the same time but I will scan through which day in Aug. 08 you contacted me-and that will be the magic hour n min. combo.... let's do a special jump for each other that day.... real proud of you for for working so hard for this. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

great work Dale! Keep on flying.... ok packing... lol it aint going to be fast. BUT this is what I do. NOTICE-THIS IS WHAT I DO-NOT THE TYPICAL SKYDIVING GEAR PACK JOB-BUT IT GETS THE JOB DONE. CAVEAT- I AM NOT A RIGGER-DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR THIS-CHECK ALL INFO WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR. 1) I do not use my leg bag- rather the 'bedside" catheter bag-inside another pouch which I tie around my ankle (found the leg bags would too easily either disconnect, crack open etc. while dragging my butt around). this way I never have pressure on it-it drags behind me in a bag tied to my ankle. I CHOOSE TO BACK BASE style (contact snakeriverBASE.com for info if you want to learn this way-perhaps he has some ideas for you-or send you a video for what ever he charges for it these days). NO I'M NOT STEERING YOU TOWARDS BASE jumping but I DO FIND THIS PACKING METHOD SIMPLER*except ofcourse getting it in the D bag is a step that you have to find your way to do-i will share what I do. The clamps make it SO MUCH easier for me to keep the line tension as well as symmetry-while i scoot around on my butt-I used to mess up my packing jobs and had to start over way too often before I started packing like this. Clearly I flat pack, and despite everyone's preference for pro packing, flat packing you get to clearly inspect your gear and really get to know it well. TOOLS I USE THAT HELP ME: 12 clamps. 2 stakes (unless I'm indoors) 2 pull up cords. 4 bungee cords (again IF I'm outside) to help with line tension-which is easy to do for the pro-packers but us paraplegics dragging our butts around we easily loose that line tension while flat packing. I find it easier to pack with my gear on a tarp under a shaded area (do not expose your canopy to sunlight as much as possible avoid it) 1) I take my first pull up cord and tie them through the slots-NOT the rings (which do not necessarily stay stationary. (outside I put a stake through the big rings to keep the container there-inside I use the leg straps on hooks on a wall-and no stakes needed,) 2) I lay my canopy down flat as can be. 3) Go back to the container-and shift your body in between the lines-sitting with your back to the container and facing the canopy-as you know stay off the lines-(another reason for the leg bag issue-I do NOT want it to bust while I'm doing any part of this, but especially when I start to straddle the D bag to close it-it's the biggest chance to burst my leg bag and I really dont want the contents to leak on my canopy - slide the lines in your hands up to the canopy-just like the pro-pacers do. 4) I try to have a step stool to get myself to sit on so I can shake the canopy to make sure I dont have any obvious problems and i can make sure the canopy hasn't looped/flipped around-give it a good shake down-which is why dragging your but up on the stool is good idea-leave the stool there-you will need it stilll. 5) go back to the risers. taking the rear risers in my right hand, front risers in my left hand, and drag my butt up to the canopy (it can be done the other way also no difference-I prefer this way, so the canopy is laying as if its going to be flying left.) shake the canopy again-from sitting on the stool and now your nose is to the left. 6) back to the risers- find the left lines (left risers)scooting forward to the canopy again checking to make sure there are no other lines crossing over them. ALWASY AS YOUR SCOOTING AROUND MAKE SURE YOUR KEEPING AN EYE ON YOUR LEGS-WHICH IS WHY I DRAG MY BUTT BACKWARDS-LOOKING AT MY LEGS TO MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT MESS UP ANY LINES INADVERTEDLY. 7)Flaking the tail then scooting my butt back down to the risers, untwisting the control line o the toggle. 8) then i set the left toggle. This gives me the confidence I've checked the line, toggle and riser for any irregularities. (stowing the excess line and making sure there is proper tension on brake line.) Stowing away the excess line. 9) repeat this on the right side. Front risers on the right hand, rear risers on the left and scoot your butt back to that stool by the canopy and lay the canopy down. Again scooting back to the container with the control line untwisting anything that maybe twisted. Once your at the riser-set the brakes on the right side. making sure your checking your finger trap-If its coming out ask a rigger with a finger trap tool to put it back in. This is important to note that the left and right control lines are even in length or else your canopy will start to spin. (just what happened to me recently) 10) flake the top skin next. scoot back to the canopy (did you get a workout yet ). this is where I start using clamps. laying them across the top of the canopy (not ON top of it, but on the floor above the top-where the packing tabs are) 11) Count the nose making sure you have all 11 cells-putting a clamp on it once its laid our flat and all cells are together-clamps help keep it together-scooting our butts around so much we can accidentally drag a foot over a section and look back to see all your work gone and needing to start again. 12) go through each set of packing tabs, counting them and making sure the canopy material is laying flat. 13) check that all lines are tight, and this is when I shift the whole canopy to my right- (since I got my A lines on the left)-and make sure I place my A lines directly straight up from the container, and begin to dress the nose. (this is where I do it differently then other flat packers- i am interesting in trying to make sure I have on heading openings, SO what I do is roll (literally like rolling paper towel back into its roll if you took out too much)outside 5 cells to the outside. Getting the center cell out of the way I then roll the outside 5 cells to the outside and literally tuck those rolls into the outsides of the center cell -I dont think skydivers typically do this... so make sure you know which colour your center cell is, and at that point both outside cells are inside the center cell-which is only one exposed now (I hope this makes sense-a video is much better-but you need a professionals video-I did use the PACK LIKE A PRO video and did the typical flat packing-till I learned this method-and it is perhaps closer to what a reserve is packed like_although I haven't seen anyone packing a reserve in real life-it is the way BASE canopies are packed-and this is where I learned this method. This should help to ensure the inflation is through the center cell only because it should prevent the spinning which happens if the outside cells open earlier then the center cell. Reclamp that nose now-for the line tension! 14) this is where it helps a lot to pack outside in the shade-you can put a stake in the ground above the whole canopy (I hope you know what I mean by 'above') putting one bungee cord from that nose clamp to the stake. - for ensuring I keep my line tension 15) I usually at this point find something heavy to put on top of the nose clamped tensioner bungee cord and stack the rest of the lines on top of the A lines clamp.Grabbing the nose of the B line cell groun and placing my hand in the center cell between the A and B lines I use one hand to bring the B lines over on top of the A lines-splitting the center cell evenly between the two sides of the canopy. Basically this maintains symmetry by splitting the center cell evenly between the two sides. At one point i was thinking I should do a 'gimp packing video=but honestly I DO NOT THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA -I am NOT a rigger, coach, instructor ect. so I do not want to get messing with anyone's packing-just sharing how I pack mine-which is why I had decided to not do such a video-it scares me to think that someone may follow my movements to a T and without understanding the opening sequence, they will more likely then not pack themselves a mal -I'M NOT GETTING INVOLVED WITH THAT. (in fact I was reluctant to share this with anyone in the first place but I also know it is tough for us to figure out how to pack on our own-so getting feedback from others of us is good. ONLY IF EVERYONE READING IT UNDERSTANDS THAT YOU DO NOT GO OUT THERE AND DO THIS WITHOUT CHECKING IT WITH YOUR COACHES 1ST. NEVER DO THIS WITHOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR FIRST LOOKING IT OVER, TRYING IT WITH YOU AND SEEING HOW IT OPENS-easily enough-once your packed, but before you put the D bag in the container just grab your pilot chute and roll on backwards in your chair pulling it to see what the deployment would look like-before EVER TRYING IT FOR REAL, making sure your coach or a rigger is watching this, so they could tell you what was going on as you unpacked the canopy-as if during deployment. 16) Then take a bungee cord and tie it to the B line clamp to the stake-again for tension. Then just keep going the rest of the canopy to C and D lines the same way. always splitting the center cell evenly between the two sides of the canopy to maintain symmetry-and tensioners in place from each clamp to the stake (which depends on how long your tensioner-bungee cord is-12 or 14" is plenty enough) Because I cannot use my legs to keep the 'stack' of A.B.C & D lines together I place something heavy on the bungee cords. (Often there are heavy mats laying around that the riggers use to repack reserves-scoop one and place it on the tensioners-OR a carton of heavy parts etc.) the tensioner-bungee cords to make sure this stack doesn't shift-symmetry and line tension is at stake here. 17) now all of your lines are stacked up neatly on top of each other directly above the container-straight with line tension. But only one side of the top skin is done so then its necessary to dress the other side of the top skin. Flaking the opposite side -for that symmetry-by starting with the cell closest to the ground and continuing through all the cells. Now the top skin should be all dressed to the tail. 18) flaking the bottom skin is next, by pulling the tail up to either side to expose the bottom skin of the canopy. At this time you should easily see all the lines getting quite nicely together in the middle. Time to flake the bottom skin. 19) scooting your butt back to the risers, make sure that the risers are on top of each other because they will be spread beside each other right and left to the canopy. 20) grab the slider- and scoot your butt (now your not anymore scooting in between the lines because they are close together-choose a side-which ever works best for you) up to the canopy with the slider in hand. AS you scoot forward keeping your eyes on which side is left and right as you go along and check the lines-making sure that all are still in proper place-they should not have moved because of the bungee cords and stake holding tension (this I find SO useful I had such a hard time keeping the tension and the lines properly lined up prior to learning this method). Once you have the slider up at the canopy nicely place the grommets on both sides on top of each other (both left ones on top of each other as well as right ones on top of each other) and gently place the slider up inside the the canopy. nicely like a hankie in a mans pocket wearing a tuxedo-(I don't mean folding it that way, but with the same care-as if your going to your wedding and you want it to be looking good-this is for safety not for looks though ) Making sure there is a nice clear channel between the left and right lines for that slider to fit into beautifully. 21) flaking the bottom skin, is basically finding the A line attachments, the B line attachments,placing your hand in there flaking it out. This is where it starts to get tricky. Abs are working for sure-you need to be sitting on one side of the lines and canopy-left or right, and leaning over looking into the middle of the canopy without falling over into the lines and or canopy. This is where it helps to have a different colour on the center cell. Thus when you see the colour of the center cell. If you see other colours it means you haven't finished and need to keep flaking till you see that center cell. Then do the other side, between A and B, lines and between the C and D lines. I', not going to get into detail as to what I do with the final pull up cord, but basically now you should be ready to.... 22) Lay down GENTLY on top of the lines, gently and carefully fold the top cell around the canopy to create a sausage. This is done carefully-and keeping your body very still-good idea to have someone watching the first few times to make sure you've placed your legs nicely straddling the lines-not literally on top of them.... but keeping them between your legs so as to not move them. Create your sausage like any other flat packer. Finish off the folding of the canopy into 3rds (again like anyone else flat packing). THIS IS WHERE THE WORKOUT STARTS. Getting that folded canopy into the D bag is going to be challenge. Basically, you need to experiment and find your own way. My way is to lay there and on the end of the canopy attached to the lines and start carefully pushing the rest of the canopy (folded into 3rds of course) into the D-bag. That is easier said then done. to practice for the 'balancing act' try working with those excersize balls-and sit yourself on them...using your ab muscles is the key here. Legs are of no use and infact for us in this case get in the way. Making sure that your legs remain on both sides of the lines and not on them-to not mess them up, keep on shoving the canopy carefully as deep as you can into the D bag as you can before you have to start getting yourself up to a position where you will place your legs under you (like sitting on down with your knees bent, and but on top of your ankles.) This eventually will get to the point that once your canopy is inside the D bag-the real fun begins! (did you think the workout was over ?) Here it is important to stretch your hip flexors a lot-go to physio of what ever you need to do-but hip flexors get tight in paralysis easily (were always in a sitting position-which by the way also affects that potato chipping and pitching your head downward while deploying-I was just talking about that with Peter H. today-about hip flexors being tight and the culprit in the head down pitching feeling-so start stretching now-as often per day as you can!). try your best to straddle the D bag and end up sitting on top of it, as you are tying up the elastics. I dont know how else to explain it, but for me straddling that D bag with my canopy in it is truly like having a bowling ball between your legs and you are now trying to balance yourself on it... all Ab work... and hip flexors must be loosened for this to work well. after that its just a matter of getting the D- bag into the container like anyone else. TONS of scooting around back and forth between the container and canopy. Which is why its best to do it without your shoes on-less potential for snagging on the lines then with shoes on, having a mirror to your side to glance at yourself-to see where your legs are in relation to where your lines are while packing is good idea but a friend is just as good... to help you get used to making sure the legs stay away from the lines-they can get complicatedly messy fast otherwise. Final point is that the worst and most difficult part is the D bag closing, until you get to the final stage of closing your container. getting the D bag in the container and starting to close the first two flaps are ok but after that it gets tough. If straddling the D bag was tough, now you have to straddle the container-start stretching your legs as if to the sides *sorry for the comparison but sort of like spreading a babys legs when changing a diaper-lots of loosening of the hips needed*. I sometimes turn the container on its side, once I know that the D-bag is in there properly etc. and Ive allready closed two or three flaps on the container. That last one really is a tough one to do. Sometimes it just helps to do it as much as possible, and then start again. This helps for the D-bag and its canopy inside to start forming itself into the shape of your container and will make the second or third attempts all easier to do. Eventually you will stop sweating buckets, stretching your muscles into spasms and will start to findit easier to do.... give this to your instructor and go from there. dont take my word for anything other then a gimp sharing how she packs. AGAIN A FINAL WORD OF WARNING. DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR OWN, ANYONE-THIS IS NOT INSTRUCTIONAL INFORMATION, AND IS PRESENTED ONLY AS A METHOD OF HOW ONE GIMP PACKS HER CANOPY-FOR YOUR LIFE'S SAKE DO NOT FOLLOW ME WITHOUT CHECKING THIS WITH A RIGGER AND OR YOUR COACH. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

hey, if your still on the hunt, chasing your dream give us an update... please. it would be good to hear from you.... even if things haven't gone the way you had hoped/expected. It's ALL a learning experience and we all learn from reading what's going on with others. Did you find a tandem master? did you do any tandems? how about the DZ hunting, if not a tandem yet? and if you did, but weren't able to jump, would you mind explaining what happened, why etc? I think it's IMPORTANT info for others following in these flight paths. this is a sport where all info is relevant. (that's why the incident forums even) Don't get me wrong, if things went sh*t for sideways and you didn't get to jump- I'm sorry to hear that... , but sharing with us why that was would be a real good lesson for others coming on the boards looking for similar info. thanks for posting back... if you do. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Glad you asked! This is an important request, and its good to see folks stepping up to the plate to help a fellow out. I have ALS (and started skydiving in 2007 as a paralyzed wheelchair vert. ramp junkie_another story for another thread), and would do anything possible for your request-so as it is now, all I can say is that check out youtube for skydiving and ALS. I've even seen a video of a guy a vent. with air tanks strapped to his chest doing a tandem (he also had ALS). There are a few such videos out there. Please don't give up, it looks like this will be a great possibility-I can feel it in my inner soul something wonderful is going to come your way, and your brothers grin will be seen all the way down to the ground from 10,000f! PLEASE keep us posted on what happens.... hopefully someone will offer a video for him. I HAVE come to see that skydivers are propably the most kind hearted, generous individuals I've met in any sport I have been involved in. It must have something to do with the great element of trust we put in each other-despite not knowing everyone on our load of divers. We literally trust each other with our lives, right from a pack job, a pin check, proper separation on a dive to landing patterns. (stuff you dont need to worry about-but it just is shared to show how many steps along the way-and many others not mentioned- are a matter of trust for each other-and each of those could cost a life or a limb if did not respect each other and our sport so much). SURELY the love of this sport will shine through and your brother will have a great dive soon! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Here's the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZOJQuIDlro&feature=channel_page As you may notice, I'm not speaking any more like I was last summers videos.... ALS is starting to show itself a little more.... ( I had to turn up the volume on the video quite a bit to hear myself clearly enough-although at the end of the dive I was screaming [my screaming -so no it's not my Bogart imitation) BUT who can complain, March 28th I left the SCU after battling sepsis (a central line in my jugular pumping dopamine and kick-ass antibiotics kept my heart rate and blood pressure high enough that after 6 days doc was going to send me to a 'step down' unit- to which I replied that it must mean HOME!... reluctantly he said 'ok, when do you want to go?' NOW! I replied [at 8PM]-his thoughts were more like in a few days-but I got my way and was home just before midnight ) and 22 days later-there I am flying like it never happened... except my voice-well who needs to hear me anyways, I've been told more then once that I'm the most verbose person these folks had ever met... but now I have a new 'voice' that I'm learning to use: DYNAVOX "communication device", which is just a seriously expensive ($8,000! god you can get some NICE gear for that!) hard drive (and only 60 gigs at that ) WITH a touch screen... but it can do some pretty cool stuff-like detect my retina movements, so if I decide to hang around long enough to be a statue in an electric chair-I can just use my eye movements to drive this new beast they gave me-yah I got the electric chair-they insisted saying that 'it wont be long now.... blah, blah,"... yah it wont be long now till I jump off a bridge and live to tell about it. IT'S a matter of mind over matter, as long as I keep believing... I will keep on living.... I BELIEVE SO ANYWAYS and you cant convince me otherwise till I'm gone To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

lots has changed since last posting here. had another systemic infection (ALS seems to be determined to get me -but I'm more determined to get away each time i feel death dripping on the walls-laying there with a central line in my neck wasnt pretty-in SCU it was a visit from Lonnie that reminded me there is much living left to do! -thanks Lonnie for stopping by-that was a VERY long trip for you and your visit mean a HUGE deal to me) OK PETER the video will go up in a day or so on youtube-of me flying your gear. i will try to get some photos up here once I re size them. initial assessment= * this canopy is sweet to fly! I LOVE IT! line twists from risers to slider- and 3 more above the slider-but they just started to untwist on their own.! nothing to do but watch her doing her job. She responds to minimal input, very easy to use rear risers-again responds well and actually doesn't take as much effort as the reg. student gear I've been flying (solo 270's mostly or navigators) -I would choose this xp285 over either of them. Also the container fits beautifully...like it was made for me. leg snaps are easy for me to put the gear on but for safety's sake my JM wanted quick ties closing the snaps (he felt there was potential for them to come apart-and for me to fall out=this was OK for me-having the quick ties, just makes it so i need to carry cutters to take them off on landing...) any feedback from anyone on this? flare is beautiful-smooth. what a treat to fly this canopy. As you said, this canopy does penetrate the air well and has more speed then expected-then i ever had from the other two canopies used (or that big boy rig-manta yuck!) To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

great JOB ! came by just to see what was up with you-hadn't heard much lately-so stopping in certainly was worth it. looks like your getting the hang of it... yah the landings in 10 knots are beautiful for us para's but mind you i like no wind landings better-but its a preference... i've been experimenting jumping without my legs pulled up-just gently placing myself on the ground-sort of like a stand up except as soon as my legs touch the ground -thats it i fall on my butt... not too serious-never got hurt-but i do like the legs up version better. im needing to do some work on the pants for this summer season (winter jumping is over for us now-this weekend we get helicopter just to keep the divers going with some altitude withdrawl kus our runways turn to mush until the spring thaw is over with.) and soon in may we will get the worlds fastest caravan for skydivers. our DZO went for the upgrade on the engine (instead of a custom paint job0-good choice!) SO it seems that there are only 10 caravans with this 900hp engine-and this is the only one in the world used for dispatching skydivers... im really looking forward to that short ride to altitude-so short no one has time to plan a fuster cluck dive even-just a short moment and up we are... that is going to be a highlight for me. im moving to the dz next month=until the caravan leaves... am i hooked on skydiving-? i guess you can say that lol but yah im really looking forward to your next video... i was worried about that potato chipping you were doing but if you figured out how to fix it-thats what matters... how about a chest mount alti? if looking at your alti sends you rocking again... just a thought. keep on at it... its coming your way! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

a little info on the leg braces. please do not think 90 degrees is 'the formula' it isnt. for me, 90 degrees would have me backsliding so much there is no chance to do anything other then what i saw Dale doing in his last video-potato chipping the farther he went into affa,. i can F for 20 secs or so without any troubles without leg braces for that matter, but with my legs stuck at 90 degrees i will 'die' without my instructor deploy fior me-well i wont die necessarily because the AAD will deploy for me just depends on what body position i may end up by then-fli[pping around like in a w3ashing machine in FF isnt that easy ior safe for the instructor to keep up to. Angus can affa like anyone, he's been in the 400way world record-its a tough thing to get invited to even try to fit in there. he can be the point man, oor the last one to get in, it dont matter Angus can outfly anyone i know of in tracking-he has world record, over 10,000 jumps over 72 hrs FF time, jumping about 30 yrs now... and HE wanst comfortable with the amount of issues... so, i want to stress that DO NOT TAKE ADVICE FROM PEOPLE LIKE ME N DALE OR ANY OTHER PARALYZED DIVER BEFORE CHECKING IT OUT WITH PEOPLE LIKE ANGUS OR FUZZYDAVEA. PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE,A GOT THE EXPERIENCE! im sorry it sounds harsh but this is NOT A SPORT TO TASKE LIGHTLY, yes i believe Dale can do it, do i believe every para can do it? NO. there IS a limit to everything. WE ARE NOT THE EXPERTS. (we being the 'students' here... its those instructors who are the experts- and one with a few thousand jumps is not one who can take on a project like this without putting you at risk... all i know is that i wont trust my life in the hands of anyone other then someone like Angus, TK in the USA, and im not familiar with other countries... so find the equivalent of such instructors in BARITAIN... IF THEY CANT BE FOUND, EVEN MORE CARE IS TO BE TAKEN. I THINK ITS SERIOUS FOR US-STUDENT DIVERS-TO GIVE ADVICE. IM LEARNING THAT AS I GO,A I DO NOT EVEN CALL MYSELF A SKYDIVER YET DESPITE OVER 30 MIN. FF TIME ND OVER 100 LANDINGS WITH AS PARACHUTE OVER ME [AONLYBROKE MY ANKLE ONCE-BUT NOT WITH AS SKYDIVING CANOPY OVER ME-TOO SHORT CANOPY RIDE-I DIDNT HAVE TIME TO FLARE PROPPERLY IT WAS ABOUT A 5 SEC CANOPY RIDE) so aplease be carefula. and please notice that the experienced para's are LONNIE AND RUSSELL.... IF IT ISNT FROM THEM, OR INSTRUCTORS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH PARA'S.... BE CAREFUL ITS YOUR LIFE, NOT OURS. I REFUSE TO GIVE 'ASDVICE' NOW THAT I KNOW IM THE IDI*T KID OF A IDI*T FATHER (DESPITE HOW MUCH SOME PRESIDENTS CLAIM THAT TITLE LOL) ALL I NOW KNOW, IS THAT I REALLY KNOW NOTHING. ASLL I KNOW HOW TO DO IS FALL AND FIND MY WAY BASCK TO THE GROUND WITHOUT KILLING MYSELF UNTIL THE DAY COMES THAT I MESSED THAT UP SALSO... JUST HOPE IT ISNT DURING SKYDIVING. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

PHOTO2 To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

photo attempt1 To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

WINTER SKYDIVING UPDATE & MODIFICATIONS [from experiences to myself-this MAY be helpful to anyone preparing to dive in the winter, as the previous posts on this topic shows] Last months Canpara had an article, somewhat prompted by this discussion, on nWINTER SKYDIVING. There are thousands [nit sure of #'s-guessing]of skydivers around the world who dive in the winters. Having said that, same here in CANADA-MORE 'POPULAR' in some locations and DZ's then others. Although many shut down for the winters-financially perhaps best to do so [:?] but some, like the PARACHUTE SCHOOL OF TORONTO stays open, and Adam flies his plane for a handful of us perhaps for free at times, to help us 'skydiving addicts' to come out and put ourselves through experiences which I've seen left people puking, and crying in the cold of their fingers-to people who admit 'it's damn cold UP THERE, I'M MANIFESTING AGAIN! [as soon as their fingers warm up :)] I'm one of those paraplegics who would be up in every available load if my health permitted it. Yet, I got up there a bit this winter-and if some miracle happens, perhaps again before the winter is over/ (perhaps my last, and first winter skydives, who knows-or cares-its TODAY WHAT COUNTS, for its ALL WE TRULY HAVE. So here are some of the MODIFICATIONS FOR ME, FROM MY 1ST PLAN. 1) MY PANTS, I knew I needed them larger-to fit more layers of warmth under me-for those potential OFF DZ LANDINGS [ODZL from now on] I'm NOT talking of ANYTHING under there, SPEND THE $ ON QUALITY EXPEDITION QUALITY underwear. IT'S $ OF A JUMP TICKETx2, BUT WORTH YOUR LIFE potentially. I haven't heard of anyone dying from OFF Dz landings due to hypothermia, but im not ba about to be the 1st on that-if i can help it. with paralysis there is GREATER RISK of frost bite for we feel not areas which easily get back n drop off-toes or fingers :( . [that's life 'suck it up princess' is what my diving friend says to me- and i love him dearly for it] I Went with TEMPORARY for now,PAINT BALL PLAYERS PANTS. REASON" TOUGH MATERIALS, PADDING, WATER RESISTANCE, TOUGH 'WEAR N TEAR' POSSIBILITY- THEY TAKE A BEATING-better then that pink bunny with the batteries. BETTER THEN SKI PANTS, SNOWBOARDING PANTS ETC. due to the above measures, and CHEAPER. BUT, I MUST MODIFY MY LEG STRAP SYSTEM-FOR ALL MY PANTS [summer or winter], BECAUSE THE CURRENT METHOD IS STILL A SNAG POTENTIAL I DO NOT WANT TO CONTINUE WITH. If I have a high speed mal. for some reason-its possible off static line-i saw a guy hanging from his feet' off the risers spinning pretty fast off a static line-bad exit-but IF I FALL OUT, as I almost felt like i would once, but my JM REASSURED ME HE HAS ME HELD [and if he can fireman carry me up several flights, i trust he can hang on to me from my harness as i position myself with all this bulk against a wind which feels SO MUCH STRONGER-I do not know why, but it does-i'm not imaging, i felt it each winter jump-it was harder to position to exit and each exit was not as good as my summer exits were-strap modification for ALL PANTS IS A MUST. PANTS MUST have MORE PADDING-obvious reason-landings on potentially rock hard frozen earth-in my case preferably then deep snow- obvious reason being the difficulty in getting myself out of there -if i truly had to- i can pack my gear in plastic bags n roll to roadway to wheelchair, but LUCKILY I HAVE THE PST SPARTANS coming to grab my gear, bring my chair n drag me back to the warmth [my DZO even passed me 2nd pair of hot packs once when was shivering lots.-skydivers are such beautiful people in their hearts, why is there such a 'out of control addicted to adrenalin, risks their life for it perspective out therein the public who do not dive? I do not understand it, had no thoughts what so ever of skydivers, as a group, before became one. anyways, tangent-sorry for my hit in the head problem popping up-say too much, in more ways then one. PANTS MUST ACCOMODATE MORE CLOTHING underneath, due to the layers required to keep yourself warm for those 'just incase it goes to hell' landings that we all dread-but are inconveniences of a 10 min. car ride for the walkers-but could be so dangerous for a para-i may be 'too safety concious' in the eys of some, but its better then saying, yah go out there, have fun, wear your nicest/coolest/what ever the hell your 'thing' is clothes and do the highest FF YOU THINK you can handle and just while your added get used to new clothing, new methods for flying the openings, new eerything right down tothe flare- so safety-as much as i can think of-others help me think of more-thank to such as Farmer-for his \true watchfulness of my flying, and landings-talking like a debreif to me-he is respected by all at out our DZ and him tlking like this to me-when its time giving me shit he does that too-i love folks like farmer. okso to m,y situation, an update & GENERAL INFO FOR WINTER DIVING CONSIDERATIONS FOR SKYDIVERS WITH PARALYSIS: -pants, as discused. my jacket is a hunters orange jacket with 'gimpgear' written all over it with the hopes that it wont disappear. [whjo wants one of those lol]. the safety gear which i discussed previously, incase of ODZL needed to be put inmy pants pocket instead of the jacket. in the jacket it was too bulky just below the handles for cut away and reserve so i did not want to risk them to a factor in not finding my handles in a highspeed mal situation, which is possible even of static line. My intention is to change the leg lifting straopping sytem -we still do not like the snag potential with them the way they are] so i did not put any such permanent modifications on my winter diving pants-which are paintm\ball pants. The method I tried to use initially was to have ready made loops in each pocket of the pants and under a functional canopy, after which i would tape out these ready made loops out of the pockets and lift each leg up with my hands placing the loop above my knee and clipping it onto my chest strap. this became evidently too difficult to do while flying in such cold temps. windchill would have made my hands a danger to me had i taken off myh gloves to do this-not to mention god forbid i drop a glove-then i would definitely have trouble flaring with totally useless hands. THUS I HAD TO LAND WITH MY F\LEGS DANGLING DOWNWARDS. I HAVE SLIGHT CONTRACTURES ON MY KNEES WHICH HELPED to keep my legs in a semi-bent position. this means a totally new klearning curve to flare. ineeded to flare like a walking person, and gently aplfa myself onto the ground. this was fine, but i also had to make sure i landed on the runway. first time i had the dificulty that i needed to bled off altitudfe due to the cold temps and needing to get down faster. by the time i was reaching my landing approach at 1000f i was slightly off to the east of our intended landing area-the DZ lol this means i needed to get back home and use what i got out of my hands for a flare. i was unable to put my hands completely into the toggles needing to use very new landing technique, with slightly limited grip became a challenge. I got back home, and landing on the runway is the only optiion for me to land in the safest place. its always smootest, and clear of snow hyet makes my landings more critical due to bneing totally no cushion from snow, and hard frozen ground. modifications were: -pants -landing pattern and -landing itself the flare had to be relearned in harness and soimulatuion on our DZ simulator online game. very realistic since it is put on top of our DZ map exactly as you see it. -must keep orange jacket for visibility but must put safety gear in pant pockets to l\keep jhandles visible. i will try to post some photos after i resize them for posting. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

fly well n have fun, cya bring back some video pls.... if you do, i will To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

nicely done Dale! I THINK YOU CAN DO THIS! serious. you rocked a lot more then I did (that same rocking I had, but a lot less then you infact during some tandems with my crotch panel as it is, i rocked both Angus and i -not to mention I always felt like i was in a head down 45 degrees orientation when pulling) which looks very much like my rocking, your doing there. we did not go to a more porous panel yet anyways... but then again, right now im focussing on pure accuracy, and learning such things as quick toggle grabs, on heading openings right now... critical skills for me, in what i need to focus on. BUT, your video is very nice Dale, i have a lot of confidence you can do it. Yes i think the rocking will be a bit more intense when he lets go-i do think it will be-but i see that in FF you are completely able to (so it looks anyways from my eyes) reposition yourself. Maybe what is happening, like I felt-that if I did not try hard to bring my chest n head back upwards they were going down to make it a head down dive (although surely fun for me, but not Angus, and then not me either once I see how he looks after witnessing it)... BUT you HAVE the ability to compensate for the rocking with hands when in FF, in the moments when reaching to pull, i see your head starts to go down like mine did also (that was where i felt like i was going to go into a head down dive-but somehow i twisted my body at the core to bring my right hand to reach to pull and simultaneously dropped the left shoulder-so i fliped upside down-you do not look like you would flip upside down-and you can reach and accurately pull in a timely fashion, before you end up going head down-that is what i base my thoughts that you will do this Dale... but who am I to say, im NO expert lol BUT, i see you finishing your A, (i mean for all of us paras who try this, before we get there-its all an experiement to even see if we can get there) and moving on BIG with this.... with your marketing skills, i can see it be, in the future you will jump into the paralympic ceremonies.... im getting excited just thinking of that Dale, I mean, this is special to me and surely Angus and Fuzzy, your AFF instructors, and a few of us jumpers.. surely look on with great anticipation for you to show us the video of your A licence dive-that will be history! to know i have lived in this era to see this happen, a bit of a paradigm shift, or stereotype shattering is always a good thing. JUMP ON DALE! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

some changes, on recommendations from one of my coaches, and the airport owner-operator where our DZ is located - regarding: The ORANGE bags are BETTER. VISIBILITY IS BETTER. ALSO SOUND CARRIES FARTHER, USE WHISTLE. It was suggested that winter or summer, using a Fox40 safety whistle is a good idea, it carries farther then me yelling, and it does not get tired and worn out like my voice will. Wearing something Orange is not a bad idea. Sure, this is not a fashion affair, or else i would be on a different runway... but safety and comfort are keys to skydiving wear. then comes weather appropriate in there with the safety category. Winter diving wearing ORANGE like hunters, is a good idea. If even a orange vest to put on when you need it, (along with those hotpacks to keep me warm) its the least i can do, to help myself remain as safe as possible so my DZO knows I can take care of myself, and not to panic if I am off on landing. this will help not just me, but all involved in looking for me, and the future of paraplegic solo skydiving-if i fck up its looked upon in a different light then any other student...un fortunate as it may be, it is the reality and we must admit-we ARE different skydivers then the typical. Finally, the airport owner suggested a MIRROR. to SIGNAL during the day, but also in the night time at least if i can see them coming i can signall when th=== The mirror, is good for all skydivers, and all seasons. For those of you who have some colours to your canopy *(mine is white with two blue cells on the top skin so not the best colours for this in the winter)* it will make an excellent target for the searchers to look for, and also provide you shelter from the winds. i cant use it, my lack of colours is the reasons for me having an orange garbage bag to put it in, with some orange hunters jacket i should be visible enough. hung up in a tree off DZ could be tough to see otherwise. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works