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I have stalled several tandem canopies and never experienced this. My old 421 in my vector tandem use to stall like any 9-cell, fall off backwards with the end cells coming forward and touching. The Sigma 370 that I have now is similar, but tends to slide to one side or the other in a stall. The drogue usually bounces off the top of the canopy as it dives forward after the stall. blue skies, art

WTF? Personally, over 4 years and well over 2000 jumps since my last malfunction (2700 tandems and no malfunctions). Does this mean I am less prepared than the guy who is cutting away on a regular basis? Don't think so, just take better care of my gear and who packs for me! blue skies, art

Geez, after reading all of this comments I am not sure if I should post my opinon. But, here goes, I quit wearing a helmet on jump # 178 when a girl I was jumping with forgot hers blah, blah, blah. Anyhow, for years the only time I wore one was when it was required (during the world record attempts) or when the temperature on the ground was below 30 (not very often in Florida). Our four-way team once left a meet we had travelled to when they said we would have to wear helmets. Now though, I do wear a helmet when I freefly (at the request of my wife). Is it right or wrong, hell I don't know. Most of the srcatches on mine come from just handling it around the plane or on the ground, none from running into things. What do I recommend to my students, a quote from Tom Piras (who seldom wore a helmet) "if you are going to be stupid, you better be tough" blue skies, art

Pilot chute out, this should be a a check done when getting up........repack it and get a pin check. Container open.....close it. Have the pilot go around if you need an extra minute. Reserve PC out.....door stays shut and everyone rides down, no questions asked! d-bag out.....put it back in the container and close it, smae as above. If the jumper is unsure, ride the plane down, but still close the container before openning the door. freebag out......again no question...everyone rides down. Loose nylon in a plane is very dangerous, trust me, I have seen a pilot chute sneak out of the crack of a closed cessna door (catch me when I am drinking and I will tell you the story). Don't take it lightly, extreme caution, don't learn the hard way, listen to those of us who have been stupid in the past and were lucky enough the man upstairs wasn't ready for us! blue skies, art

Hey, I use to be partners with those guys. I will have to give them a call. blue skies, art

2600+ tandems and have yet had the need to use my reserve. blue skies, art

Whoops, missed the attachment......... blue skies, art

Let's see, two tandems on Saturday, very wet on the second one. Sunday was the nicest weekend day we have had so far this year here (little to no wind, in the seventies). Seven jumps on Sunday including this one..... blue skies, art

My my, I need to up the requirements around here with so many people giving sex away to get a license! blue skies, art

Dude, that is wrong...... blue skies, art

Bobby, you obviously have never heard my stories from the good old days. Like being accused of pulling low (for a change we actually had been sitting in the saddle around 1900'), then going out and actually falling straight up from the packing area (to make sure the DZO saw us), then making sure I waved as I went through 900' (didn't want to be unsafe, there could be someone above you). Now, the funny part is I didn't get in trouble for that stunt. It was not being at the drop zone (I was on the staff) a couple of weekends when I was off jumping with some of the current national champs (I had my prioirities in the wrong place). blue skies, art

Ron, I am right behind you. Got banned for life one time, I learned a valuable lesson.....never prove you are better than the drop zone owner, especially one with a big ego! blue skies, art

Great job on figuring it out! I think what may really be happening though reading your posts is your perception/attitude about landing. Most students are constantly trying to speed the landing prosess up. What I mean is, instead of letting the ground come up to you, you try and get down to the ground. This causes all sorts of problems by reaching for the ground which distorts how you are sitting in the harness. I think when you "sat back" in the harness you were maybe forcing yourself better into this mindset. blue skies, art

This is pretty easy, speed/terminal velocity is a factor of weight versus drag. A tandem has twice the weight, but not twice the surface area being presented into the wind. blue skies, art

If you want to know the truth, I think what Dave said is what happened. When the wind is gusting sometimes, it doesn't necessarily need an object up wind to cause rotors. Your landing is very similar to what we feel in the stadiums sometimes. You start floating, then all of the sudden the bottom falls out of it. Someone earlier talked about how you swing underneath the caonpy because of the surges, which is exactly what caused your hard landing. The way I try to explain it is in terms of energy. When the canopy floated/flatten out (about the time you are correcting to the right) it lost most of its energy (this was a product of the conditions, not your toggle input). The canopy tries to regain this energy by diving towards the ground, but when you flared it hadn't yet regained enough of that energy to react to the toggle inputs. Okay, now to answer the big question, what to do? Well, one is having a higher wingloading, as this tends to lessen the effects of these things on your canopy. Second, I actually front riser through this effect when jumping into the stadium, although at your level ~68 jumps, it is not really what i would recommend. So, I say just plan for it now on windy days, you understand how it feels when it happens, be ready to do a PLF, don't try to stand it up. Well, that was my two cents worth! blue skies, art

My favorite is not on there, although it may not be a "war" movie...The Great Santini with Robert Duvall. blue skies, art

Saying you are downsizing faster than an experienced jumper is true, but there is a diffference. But as a percentage to the size of downsizing, you may be doing something similar. Anyhow, downsizing is all about comfort (both in rig size and performance). Who can argue that a smaller and lighter rig is not more comfortable? But, herein lies the quandry, at what point the the performance increase overstep the level of comfort and confidence one has in the gear? I think Nightingale did the right thing at her level. If she is uncomfortable pulling the slider down (which i do before unstowing the toggles, usaully easier) get the stops put on. If you ever feel like a canopy is uncontollable at your level of expertise, it is no good, go to the second one, plane and simple. Shouldn't be any question here! blue skies, art

Dave hit the head right on the money here. I always tell them that if you look straight down the only thing you see is this airport which is just a lot of asphalt. Lots of things to see out there, you just need to hold your head up to see them. As far as helping video people out, it kinda depends on the rig you are jumping. Vector II's need to have the legs all the way up and arms out in front to make them sit up slightly for the better video angle. The Sigma's fly pretty flat. The Strong and Jumpshack rigs actually do the best at getting the heads up at a better angle for the video (these are all my experience with these rigs, others may vary). The biggest thing you can do is to read how the video guy is flying. If he is all stretched out and struggling, tighten up, arch harder and fall faster. If he is arching like a son of a bitch, spread out and slow down. Also talk to the video person every jump about hand signals and angles that the video person may be looking for, remember, it usually is a team effort when you get a great video! blue skies, art

Depending on the design, but the one most following was developed I believe by Roger Nelson at Skydive Chicago. The pouch that the pilot chute is in actually comes apart with the handle on the reserve side. This enables either JM to pull someone with a BOC pilot chute. blue skies, art

Don't qoute me on this, but I have done many AFF jumps and this is how we do it. With one jumpmaster he is usaully your side that positions himself still in the plane. So, on the King Air it will be on the mainside and out of the cessna it will be on the reserve side. blue skies, art

I guess I have been in one too many, I throw the drogue on the second or third time around. Let things settle down and then deal with what ever else may have arisen. As far as shitty thing to do, saving you and your passenger has never been considered shitty to me. blue skies, art

As far as percentages go, I would have to say ten to twenty percent. I remember one TM's student pulling as he threw the drogue, she saw that the altimeter was on 1000' and panicked! I remember an old saying "ignorance is bliss". I am not condoning not doing any training, what I am saying is to apply the appropriate amount of training to the situation. If someone wants to actually pull ("working students") then 30 minutes to an hour needs to be spent with them explaining everything and it's consequences. If someone just wants to experience this wonderful event we call skydiving, then less is sometimes more. Overloading someone with information they don't need, doesn't necessarily make them a better passenger. Making someone feel confident he your ability will do more to improve the jump than any skydiving related information. blue skies, art

The first thing I learned the hard way is it is the smaller people that you think won't be a problem are. I have been in a number of side spins (if you ever get a chance, watch Bill Morissy's video), everyone of them was with someone less than 145 lbs. I honestly think I was too confident that a small person couldn't do anything to upset the apple cart. Second, if you exude confidence, your students will be much more relaxed with you which translates very easily into an easier skydive for you. But, don't ever confuse confidence with cockiness. Third and foremost have fun with it! You will hear more absurd, funny and wild quotes from people than anywhere else in your life. Almost all of these will happen within about 10 seconds of the canopy opening. I use to have a mini tape recorder attched to the tandem harness, if I was into blackmail, I am sure I could have made a ton of money. Finally, never, ever ever take someone you are not comfortable with. Not only size wise but attitude or demeanor wise. Neither one of you will have fun and you will begin to wonder why you even do tandems. As far as women doing tandems, don't take this wrong, but there is quite a bit more strength required than a "normal" skydive. So just be prepared for it. blue skies, art

Here is my two cents worth....Years ago we were required to teach the whole nine yards about the jump. Even had the student wear an altimeter and give them a ripcord to pull. What happened....well easy enough, video of a peson staring at an altimeter with one hand on the ripcord, including several long canopy rides because someone wasn't sure of where they were at. This created some dangerous situations on the high end and some people with very poor videos on the other. What do I do now? I ask what they expect to experience on the skydive, do you want to flip, do you want to spin, etc. Then taylor the skydive to fit what they are expectations are. Not everyone wants to do flips, so why do one...? The basics are always covered, body position, legs and arms, freefall and landing wise. Exit postion and commands etc., but this can all be covered in ten minutes or less. After that communication is with the passenger is important, but it doesn't have to be about skydiving, it can be about anything. What kills me is the drop zones where the tandem master meets the student already briefed and dressed, walks to the airplane with them, gets in the plane then begins reading a book. About two minutes before exit, hooks them up, jumps, doesn't let them participate in much of the skydive including the canopy ride. Blames them for a poor landing ("you didn't have your feet up, like I told you"). Then expects a tip because he/she saved their life....c'mon people. This is not rocket science. Get to know your passengers, give them a chance to feel like they are participating in the jump. But, keep their involvement simple, don't overload them unless they ask the questions, and most of all act confident but not cocky. You just alter someone's view of life as a whole! Be respectful and grateful for the oppurtunity! blue skies, art

What about the ones in between? Some skydives I remeber very vividly, the first hundred-way in Deland, the two-point hundred-way, also in Deland and of course my very first one. It is funny, but I really don't remember much about the 200-way in Myrtle Beach, some of the other big ways I have been on either, although I do remmebr some hilarious jumps, like Wally bouncing around the base on a 64-way in Deland, hit four people before he finally eradicted himself. I do remember seeing some good friends get hurt/die (bad jumps). I also think good and bad is in the eye of the beholder. Some of your Sunday jumps may have been fantastic to some of the other people on the load. I have been in that situation many a time, when people on the jump landed hooting and hollering and me wondering what was the big deal. I think whether a jump is good or bad depends on ones expectations walking out to the plane. My dad use to tell me "any good landing is one you walk away from". Well to me any good jump is one that you get to make and talk about later. Some jumps are more memorable than others, but saying they are good or bad is the conotation that you put on it due to your expectations of it. blue skies, art