fcajump

FWIW - Played around on a couple jumps this weekend - Flat/Stable/Belly - wrist (extended) showed ~1000' higher than the chest mount. Brought my wrist mount (Altitrack) into my chest and initially the difference was there, but then it 'caught up' to my analog chest mount. Extend the arm back into free air and it slowed way down until the difference resumed at ~1000'. I figured there would be a difference... just surprised at how much. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

I suspect I'm not showing you anything new, and not a water "program" as such, but... USPA has some guidance you could start with at: http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section6/tabid/169/Default.aspx#980 JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

(not aimed at JWest) I would also suggest that one should use those same minimums between adding complexity... i.e. we tell someone 200min for camera, and we tell them 200min for wing suit... great. But adding the camera and wing suit on jump 201, not so much. I'll let others argue whether the jumper should then have 200 wing suit jumps prior to jumping a camera WITH the wing. Just my $.02 JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Certainly... if you're willing to spend it. Does make the point that the 'value' is what the market puts on it... An Edsel had little/no value when being sold in the showroom as new, but much higher value on the market today. It would be my educated guess that few will pay $700(plus inspection, plus shipping) to purchase a PD160R of that age. But, I could be wrong.

Having gotten some feedback, the reason I ask... I usually wear a Altitrack (digital/recording) wrist and an old Altimaster III (analog) on my chest. While I would not be surprised by some variation, I'm getting almost 1000'ft difference. When flat/stable belly flying, the chest mount is ~1000' lower than the wrist. (Note, they read the same when on the ground, in the plane and under canopy.) While I tend to trust the digital more (newer tech, newer device, less influenced by mount position), when you're down in the 3k' range, that 1k' difference can be unsettling. My guess is that the chest mount is experiencing a higher pressure due to... as I tell my wife... bow-wave. I'm broad chested and tend to have a higher than average fall rate. Will have to find my old wrist mount for the Altimaster for comparison in a identical location. Thanks all, JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

"Wear two watches and you'll never know what time it is..." -unknown- Anyone else out there still wear a chest AND a wrist Altimeter? If you do, I'm curious as to any noted difference in reported alt between the two... (belly fly, stable) JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Over the years I've found that a good approximation of gear value (not firm, but a place to start): P=Current retail price A=Age in years D=depreciation for condition (for reserves, this includes deployments) V=Retail Value V=[(P/20)*(20-A)]-D IOW - divide the price by 20 years, multiply its per year value by the number of years left* and subtract some for notable defects and wear. *yes, I know... a 20 year old well preserved 'chute is still usable and more valuable to the owner, but on the open market it better be something special or the retail value will be low. And in your case, that seems to be in line with the prices of similar canopies in the classifieds. JW PS - I also would consider the costs of shipping and inspection by the buyer's rigger(strongly recommended). While these are usually (in my experience) paid by the buyer, they can be points of negotiation. Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

When I read that one I speculated to myself that he was concerned about pulling without being able to see the others around him. Commendable, but there are limits. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Just out of curiosity (and knowing nothing about them, can't get to their website from here)... if you're in the US and they're not US-TSO'ed... why are you a dealer for them? Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

I would like this method as it cures the issue of some components being out of date earlier than the 180/6mo/1yr inspection cycle. But in the US we have an additional problem... lawyers. If I say that the rig was inspected and packed today I take the position that it is legal and safe today. If we put "expires on" dates, I am sure someone would argue that I, the rigger, had "guaranteed" that it would be safe to use until that date regardless of how it was handled/stored/treated. Now, an observant person would point out that, by my logic here, a Cypres with 1 day left on its 12.5yr lifespan would be fine to pack in the rig as it is still in date today. This is when I fall back on the notion that jumpers in the US only look at one date. Repack+180(+some random fudge factor that they think they can get away with). So while I will inspect and approve based on condition as observed today, it is a rare rig that I will sign off on with components that go out of date before today+180. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Ahhh... understood. (damn... can't see the vid at work). He might be using it to ensure stability and/or pitch before releasing... will have to catch the vid at home. As to your cred... I'm from a C182/206 static line background myself At the time, the 'BIG' 9-place super-charged Twin-bo scared me ... come to think of it, the twin-bo off that short gravel runway with trees right off the end would scare me more now than it did then . JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Sorry... don't mean to be a smart-ass... but in 5 years and 400+ jumps, you've never seen a spring loaded pilot chute? You REALLY need to watch your rigger pack your reserve.

Airtek solved this problem, and we collectively have reinvented it. _MY_ take on this argument... First - the cypres expires at 12 years. But that raises the issue of a rig being 'in-date' with an expired AAD. So, the manufacturer has graciously permitted it to continue to be used for another 6mo so you don't have to pull it out until the next repack. But if you then want to argue with me that it should be in a rig being repacked after 12yr... tough... If its under 12yr, then of course I will, because that's what the grace period is for. After the 12yr mark... you got your money's worth and you knew the dates when you bought it. Will I work with a regular whose AAD is at 12yr and a bit?? A regular that I know will pull the rig from service while a replacement AAD is on order? Maybe, but that's not my standard policy. As to the question of "safer with and AAD that's out of date than without one at all"... well, if the plane is going down I'd rather have an emergency rig that's just out of date than not have one... but the FAA knows that if there is not a hard cut-off date/rule, many people will go years between repacks. At some point you have to say no more. As to the AAD being in the rig and disabled... nope. FAA is clear on that as well. No offense guys, but your convenience and getting the last few days of a grace period on your AAD is not worth the liability, fines and loss of my rigging license. Just my $.02. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Wish we could get folks back to wearing (also) a chest mount when doing RW (OK... FS for you young folk). Its NOT for YOU... its for ME when I'm facing you. Just like mine is for you to double check without having to break your stride to see your wrist (or own chest). As to relying on the actions of others for my own altitude awareness... the South Pole comes to mind. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

I saw the over dependence in play the first time I saw a two-out (cypres fire simultaneous with main deployment)... during debrief he indicated that he was in the habit of tracking at breakoff until his dytter sounded so that he could look for traffic without having to check his visual alt. Except that day it didn't work... Finally he glanced down and threw out because it looked too close (at ~1k') For me, I've simply set mine to: 1 - 6k' (tandem deploy or getting toward break-off) 2 - 3k' (usually sport deploy, my Tandem EP hard deck) 2 - 1500' (sport EP hard deck... might move this up a little this year) Just like with the altitudes on my visual, the meanings vary based on the dive type and plan/situation. But they are ALWAYS set to the same thing. Each tone means only one thing... you are passing this altitude. They are a reminder, but never to be the primary source of information. Early on it was impressed upon me that it's not too hard to verify whether or not your visual alt is working. But the only way you know if the audio is working during that jump is if/when it goes off... using it as your primary source and waiting for it is to gamble your life that it will work THIS time. Just some old foggy ramblings, JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

And yet, it happens every so often. Most cases I've heard of mirror's my own experience when I was

Assuming you're referring to the 3 recent fatalities, there's no correlation between those incidents and you comment. All three of the jumpers that died in the past 3 incidents were current and at least 2 of them - Jess and Walt - jumped in areas of the country where hibernating isn't even an issue (I don't know where the third jumper called home). Actually, thinking more generally about the comment "you'd think Safety Day would help" and the fact that it seems we have a spike of issues on that day each spring. I was not intending (or, honestly, even considering) any specific person or event. Sorry for any confusion. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Sadly it seems that Safety Day is an annual bump in the accident numbers. Don't get me wrong, I don't think its because of the seminars and discussion. I suspect its simply that we've now got a single weekend that attracts the hibernating jumpers back out for the spring. The safest thing that occurred at the safety day I went to (Chambersburg, PA) was that the jumpers all recognized the winds were too high and kept their gear in the cars. It was tempting for us to get the spring itch and try to will the winds into being OK... but there was way too much grey hair for that kind of thinking JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

I would _think_ that this policy (and enforcement thereof) would be directed at those who are turning for the performance landing rather than object avoidance. In years past I've seen TI's that routinely perform 180-270's to final. While I would hesitate to estimate their initial altitude, they certainly were turning much greater than 90 in the final 500' of altitude. Need a flat 120 because you had to extend for traffic and then avoid an obstacle... I'm guessing if you don't dive it and use your student for an airbag, that's not going to get you talked to. Just my $.02 JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Obviously this is not true. Local rules will have priority on non-USPA dropzone regardless to your membership. USPA thinks it is true for its membership. Obviously local (more restrictive) rules would take precedence. But if local rules allowed students to jump in 25mph winds with round mains and unsteerable reserves, a USPA instructor teaching there could loose his USPA-I and/or membership if he follows that local guidance. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Myth Busters did a sled test that was to evaluate possible injuries for airplane seats with and without seatbelts. The crash dummies showed likely leg and other injuries in a relatively low speed impact. Adam watched it, but didn't believe that things were actually that bad. So he decided that they'd run the same test with live staff members... (I am guessing Jamie wasn't there, or he would have stopped it...) BAD decision. And that didn't include multiple people stacked on each other, or flip, or rigs, or anything else... Worth watching and really thinking about the potential if you increase the severity of the impact. (I'll post if I can ever find it...) JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

First, in this day and age, one simply can not assume that there will be 'no video' of ANY (every?) jump/landing. Second, the BSRs also apply to USPA members & instructors when jumping at ANY dropzone, whether that DZ is USPA affiliated or not. Finally, as you (currently) must also be signed off by the manufacturer, if USPA doesn't get you for such infraction, the manufacturer can. Or am I missing something (always a possibility).

(Don't think the Bell 206 should have this issue, but throwing it out there...) Make sure from the pilot that you are allowed to hang/step on the skids. I've been told that not all small 'choppers are engineered for the skids to have weight pulling down on them. Have fun! JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

I'd suggest double checking your design for failure modes... (what happens if it fails "this" way...) Better to leak small shot than drop a weight (or bag of shot). Also, good idea to clear the airspace/ground below before deploying the flag if you're using a weight. I dropped one years ago and was REALLY glad it was into an open field away from the audience. For a 3x5 and 4x6 there are also setups that do not use a weight and allow for the jumper to recover the flag without dragging it. JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

Based on some of the international results... unfortunately, this may be true. I would suggest to those at DZ's ANYWHERE in the world... while the laws of government maybe different, the laws of physics are not. Please push for the installation and proper use of seat belts. As someone else mentioned, even cargo gets strapped down, and in a crash all you are is cargo that's going to crush or be crushed. We, the industry, have proven that they save lives. And we in the US (and elsewhere I'm sure) have proven that even hard-headed, independent rebels CAN adopt seat belt use. When it was first required at my DZ, they would "NEVER be used" and "NO ONE will use them!"... A year later, they were standard procedure. It can be done. If the price of knowledge is blood, OK. But can we stop please repeating the lesson?? JW Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...