TommyM

The story that I was told was that the Stallion had an electric control system for the elevator. Jim had taken it in the week prior to the crash because the elevator control was going tits-up without warning. The mechanics at Perris checked it out and could not find any problems with it. An eye-witness ( flying an ultralight ) saw the Stallion nose over at about 1500 ft. He then saw it come up on level. Then he saw the door(s) come off of the plane ( apparently it had some device that the pilot could pull that would eject the doors ). It nosed over again and Jim did not recover it. It is thought that he was probably struggling to get out of the seatbelt harness when she impacted. He always wore a PEP when flying jumpers; it was one that he had built himself. This is the story that Elevator told me, except about the PEP as I knew about that rig. JerryBaumchen PS) This accident occurred on 30 Jun 88; Jim was 48 yrs old. This is exact story I heard from I believe Steve Mac, the former DZM of Perris, there were quite a few toasts to Jim in the original Bombshelter that week. Unfortunately when you spend enough time at the dropzone you end up knowing more than a few dead people.

I remember Jim Lowe and the Helio Stallion from Perris, I did more than a few jumps from that plane, it was a really good jump platform. This was in the days before seat belts and I remember standing up and looking over Jim's shoulder on one of his steep take-offs...very exciting. I jumped this plane just 3 days before it went in. I saw the crash site and was quite moved thinking about the pilot and plane. It was the first time I'd seen a crash site and was amazed at how little of the aircraft was recognizable.

Too many prophylactic (pun intended) rules bug me but I do understand the problems that can arise when the sticky business gets combined with the serious business, so it's probably not a good idea, but please no more rules. My 6 year old granddaughter should be named Deezee, as her mother was conceived with one of the school staff while I was on student status. Someday Grandpa will have a good story to tell her when she grows up. Think of that! how many jumpers owe their grandchildren to Skydiving! I really scored! --cap699

The girl/women you are referring to and in the photo you posted appears to be Dale Stuart, try looking her up. I remember George from those days. He also Jumped at Perris. --T El Cap 699

This reminds me of the time I could not find my wrist mount altimeter for the next jump, so I went up with out one but guess what zoomed by my head right after opening? I watched it plummet into the ocean taking my chagrin with it. I think they heard the dope slap to my head on the ground.

Ths reminds me why I like the American fighting man, he doesn't take shit from anyone! If we ever meet I owe you a jump just for your service.

One man can probably tell you more about this subject than anyone else in the world. His name is Al Krueger, saying he is an expert is an understatement. He is a skydiving living legend and all around great guy, enough said.

What was so horrible? You learned things that can't be learned on the ground. Most experienced jumper have plenty of those types of jumps in their log book, me included. I wouldn't give any of my bad jumps back (well..maybe a handful) because in hindsight I realized that a little adversity, danger and failure is what made me a well rounded, experienced and safe jumper. "Experience" is not just 100's of jumps at the same drop zone doing the same thing with the same people or lots of time riding in a hair dryer, it's throwing yourself out of the plane a bunch of times under different circumstances, some less than ideal....and screwing up. The sport will continually challenge you, that's why it's incredibly rewarding when things go well.

Another related story; I made my first night jump on my 56th jump. At that time I had a girlfriend that was just getting used to the idea that my weekend days were being dedicated to skydiving instead of her, so when I told her I was going to make a night jump she asked in the most pathetic sorrowful voice; "you mean your going to start doing this at night too?"

Night Jumps are cool, it's like stepping into outer space. Story: The drop zone had arranged for a car to be parked in the landing zone with it's headlights pointed in the landing direction. After opening I easily identified the car and begin to set up my pattern to land either right next to it or in front where the light was shinning. As I was on final something didn't seem right when the car drove away and I found myself very far from the landing zone and setting up on this random car on a dirt road. Fortunately I landed without incident but the spotter got hell from the entire pass.

"Don't Trick-Fuck Your Fellow Jumper" is one of the skydiving ten commandments. Did he even offer to buy beer? if not he broke another. He also forgot that Skydiving is fun but it's not a game. Guy deserves the dog pile.

Artemis, your asking the right questions, balloon jumps provide an opportunity to practice all sorts of atrophied skills such as judging landing sites, low exits, dead air exits, judging wind direction and speed, extreme accuracy, personal responsibility, making decisions under pressure, fear management. All these thing can easily occur on one jump. I just looked at my log book, I made my first one at jump #256 Watch out for whuffo passengers, they frequently don't understand what's going on at exit time and can really be a distraction, you might want to request that they not speak unless spoken to at the critical exit time. Passengers should also be briefed to not freak out when they watch a jumper falling straight down because it frequently looks like the jumper is taking too much time and pulling really low. I was on a load where the passenger started screaming that the jumper was not pulling and going to die, really distracting and scaring the shit out of the next quivering guy ready to leave....me!

I rode the plane down at Skydive Hawaii my first jump there. It was really cloudy, the guys spotting could just make out the DZ through a small hole... the ocean is large... so I stayed put. I got off the plane fully expecting to pay for my ride. The DZO gave me a clap on the back and said "that one's on me. I'm soooo happy that you decided to ride down since you don't know the area." Dillingham field right? a challenging drop zone to be sure, not to be trifled with. Your story is a familiar one, you made the right call. How did you like getting out so far over the ocean? this was really scary the first few times I did it, even with three flotation devices, vest, belly mount and a rubber ducky. A dangerous place to jump when you can't see where you are...GPS be damned, it could be broken, I ALWAYS eyeballed the exit point at that DZ.

I always accepted that you pay for the lift not the drop, it makes sense to me. The worst part is not the money, it's landing with the airplane. Just for fun, if you are in that situation, look at the faces of your fellow jumpers when the plane is on final approach, big eyes, dry mouths, everyone looks like first jump students. People get awfully quiet with helmets and seat belts cinched down, even the plane gets unfamiliarly quiet with the power pulled back to land, fearless Skydivers....HA HA I'd rather pay double than land with the plane.

Check out the poll results, Elsinore is ahead by a considerable margin, of course this could also mean that the Perris jumpers are at their favored drop zone instead of on the internet responding to polls. Really though, who has to choose when they are so close? they are both great places to jump. Don't choose, just indulge. At one time I lived 15 minutes away from Perris and 20 minutes from Elsinore, I just went to where the action was.

I had to do the exact same thing on a balloon jump. I had other outs but each one presented slightly more risk than the baseball field I chose. When I exited the basket I planned on landing in a dirt field but as I got lower I noticed power lines and other obstacles not seen from the balloon. The players were actually thrilled to get a free demo. Myself and the two other jumpers got free beer, hotdogs and ride back to the launch site. It's difficult to judge a jumpers safety decisions unless you're under the canopy with him/her....like cutting away, it's a personal decision.

I know this reply is not relevent to the intent of the OP question but I'd like to add to the description of a floating exit or the term floater. A floating exit is one where your goal is to meet a base that has left the aircraft after your exit. The most aggressive way is to hang on outside the fuselage facing the relative wind, then letting go and "diving up" or doing a delta into the relative wind, with the goal of reducing the true horizontal and vertical distance between you and the forthcoming base. When you transition from the hill and if your still below the base then you may need to slow your fall rate to "float up" but the trick is to never have to slow fall, it is to catch the base on the hill by "diving up" If your too agressive it's possible to even end up above the base at the transition point. A good diver can be a good floater.

Should you tip your packer if you have a malfunction and need to deploy your reserve? I've had two reserve rides, both with purchased pack jobs. One of them was a total, the pilot chute was locked up in the pocket. The other was a big sniveling ball of shit that I didn't have the time to see how it might turn out. I did get an apology both times from the packers, should I have asked for a freebie? Of course my rigger was recognized both times in the traditional manner. T El Cap 699

I think the puller got off quite easy, he must jump at Slack Valley, because where I came from that would have earned a permanent derogatory nickname. like "wrong grip" or "handjob" As long as I wasn't hurt, I wouldn't mind if that happened to me, having my handle pulled by my buddy, because I'd make him pay by buying me beer, packing for me once in awhile, bowing and scraping and generally kissing my ass under pain of reminding him and all our friends of his mistake.....all in good fun of course.

I'm not an active jumper but at one time I too needed to get current from a multi-year lay-off, I spent several hours with an instructor on the ground reviewing and drilling safety procedures, in the harness too, but I saw no need to make the first jump with an instructor...what would an instructor help me with in the air? I wasn't going to turn points or try new things and If I did have some problem, what was the instructor going to do? remind me to pull? scold me in the air for poor body position? I was so scared shitless on that first jump that all I could do was sightsee and do practice pulls for 10,000 ft. I probably had about a 2000 jumps, but it made no difference....I was really nervous and stressed out. The 2nd and 3rd jump I made that day felt like old times, on the 4th I was diving late and docking on a big formation. Of course this was different times and different attitudes with much less oversight going on. These are things each individual jumper needs to evaluate and decide what makes them comfortable. In hindsight I was pushing it a bit, but I wasn't exactly being reckless.

I stopped calling and believing the the DZ very early on because they always had rosy colored glasses on when reporting poor conditions..."Oh it's going to clear up real soon" really means "The ceiling is 500 ft, it's rainy and windy, but there was one sliver of sun that shot through a cloud about an hour ago" You can't blame them because if they discourage folks from coming out, and the weather really does improve, they won't have the customers. All that said, even though I stopped believing them, I would still come out to hang with my friends, swap lies, network, etc. Only the dedicated would show up on days like this so it made interesting company. It did help that there is a bar on the DZ... a most enjoyable way to spend a rainy day.

I believe your an Elsinore/Perris jumper right? don't forget that the very hot air temps found at those DZ's can affect your landings. Your canopy will take longer to react to inputs and not slow you down the same way in cooler weather...watch out for dust devils too! 85% of my jumps were done at these DZ's. Maybe make a several low jumps so you can focus the entire jump on flaring and landing smoothly. I''ll bet you can easily get someone to video your landing on one of those I phone thingies. I'd stop jumping while you body recovers and go to the DZ just to watch landings....make good landings a priority BS Tom

It will get better, you'll pack quicker and those safety checks will also get quicker when the instructors see your face all the time and know your serious. It's all about putting in the time, there is no substitute for dedication, and the experienced jumpers will notice and respect that. I've visited Zurich a few times, I sure wouldn't mind taking 2 hours to get back home to that ghetto, especially on a Swiss train, they are plush and you can bet your ass they are on time....to the second! _tm El Cap 699

3.5K of the 90's is about 5.5k of 2010 After following these forms for a few years I understand what you mean, but why is this so? Why has the current perception of "low" gotten higher? Do canopys open slower nowadays? Are newer jumpers less skilled at quickly getting stable? Is it current training that discourages low (2k-3k) altitude exit skills? Are folks dying more from low altitude exits? Is it use of AAD's? I was trained with the early AFF methods that required at least one low exit to graduate and I went on to do many low exits just for fun or for safety reasons (the plane was on fire at the time) I was not unusualy skilled, bold or scared either, it seems it was just more common to do jump and dumps then.

Attached is a photo of a jump I did over Perris Valley/Sun City circa 1990, it looks pretty high doesn't it? I can almost make out my altimeter, it looks like the needle is just at the edge of the yellow zone so this is about 3,500 ft. I probably had about 500 or so jumps at the time. How did I get face to earth and stable so quickly? I don't remember doing a front loop, but I'm amazed at how conventional my body position looks so close to the basket, too bad I didn't look up at the camera but I was probably so fricken scared I forgot about the camera boom. It looks like I'm wearing pajamas but it's a funky homemade jump suit I used to wear for fun. No helmet either...oh no! black death! --Tom in So. Cal.