samlee

The jump was a scrambles competition. 1 experienced jumper (1000's jumps) and 3 less experienced. Approx 30, 60 and 100 jumps each. The flyer that went low was actually the one with about 100 jumps. It being a scrambles, it would have been well briefed and prepped by the experienced flyer. I wasn't there but know the experienced jumper. That's all I know - definitely a few lessons to be learnt here and I believe this video should be shown around so people know the importance of tracking and having a good plan for people going low / in cloud / losing sight of the formation.

It's a pretty crappy situation for all but that's quite exception customer service, kudos!!

If you're based in the UK, you'll need your Formation Skydiving (FS1) qualification to jump with others when you get back to the UK. The quickest and easiest way for you to do this is to crack on with 1on1 coaching straight off your Consols (assuming you are doing an AFF course with BPA instructors for a BPA A-Licence). Are you going out with British instructors? Have you spoken with them about coaching?

Awesome video!! Great edit...

Yes mine did that when I first received it back in 2008 I think. Unfortunately this was AFTER the rigger had installed it! Was sent back to Vigil and a new one shipped out right away. However, I think Vigil only offer a 12 month warranty (possibly?) so not sure what the situation will be with an older one. Sam

Yes it does work with the CX410. A friend of mine has one and has been using it with the Hypeye. I've just snapped one up myself and will be using it with a Hypeye once I've figured out how to modify my camera box to fit the damn camera in! (It's a bit bigger than the CX115!)

As a UK jumper who has recently got into filming tandems, the only advice I can give you is speak to the person who runs the tandem camera pool at the dropzone you intend to film tandems at! Some DZs are happy with Go-Pros, but most still require CX style cameras I believe. They may also want you to do some practice first to ensure you are able to get the right shots, but this might be limited given your jump numbers although it will still depend on your ability. Worth noting that CX cameras are hard to come by now, as the CX105/CX115 that are most popular stopped being made years ago. The CX410 is another good one that has a great optical steadyshot but is also now discontinued (I just snapped one up on eBay). Most of the newer Sony / CX range are not suitable due to the type of steadyshot they have, new software which is incompatible with Hypeye's or no way of attaching a wide angle lens.

Had this done to me as an April fools a few years back when I had about 100 jumps. Was actually really funny and to be fair to the rest of the guys on the jump they even chipped in to cover my jump ticket!

I think we need to update the thread title. According to his profile he now has 416 jumps and a velo 103...

You think that's bad, Airtec were taking up to 3 months last year!!

I've seen a post on facebook about disqualifications for GBR and AUS teams.

Ok so some places also do it a little differently where you must sign next to your OWN name to say that someone else has checked you. This allows those that really arent bothered about a check to just sign for themselves, but encourages everyone else to get a proper check. The DZ is then covered showing that they do what they can to make sure everyone is checked and to keep a record of it.

He is being sarcastic. This is exactly what we do in the UK. Everyone must get a gear check, and everyone is taught flightline checking (i.e. the key things to check) as part of their B Licence. Students must be checked by instructors, and A licences must have a visual check that their AAD is on (compulsory for A licence and students). I've caught a few chest straps over the last few years, although funnily enough most of them were when jumping abroad and gear checks weren't as common, I just happened to be doing random visual checks which is something I do on every jump.

Sibson's landing area isn't quite flat if you are landing a bit further out, and so depending on the landing direction you can be landing slightly up-hill or down-hill.

Same in the UK. All incidents are reported and discussed monthly at a Safety and Training Committee meeting which is made up of all CCI's (UK equivalent of S&TA) in the UK. These meetings are open for anyone to attend (occasionally things are discussed in private when relating to specific individuals etc) and the minutes published e.g. http://www.bpa.org.uk/assets/Minutes/STC20120607.pdf

I'm sure you enjoyed your rant, but best read the original post properly first

There's an issue with a certain batch of vigil controllers which causes this fault. Contact vigil and they'll get a new controller sent out to you very quickly. Your rigger will be able to swap it over quite easily.

I have a few: - Age: 10 - I was collecting Conkers from underneath a tree when I was suddenly collapsed on the floor as my sister had thrown a large rock up into the tree to knock a few more down...and it had hit me right on the head. 2 staples in my head for a week for that one - Age: 15? - I was running late for rugby at school and tried running out of the changing rooms with only one rugby shoe on, slipped on the tiled floor and kicked the wall with my foot that didn't have a shoe on. It hurt like hell but I put the shoe on and played an hour of rugby. Later found out I broke the toe! I think I then spent a weekend hiking the following weekend but was on so many pain drugs I can't really remember it. - Age: 14? - I was climbing up a tree when I slipped off the branch and through the tree. Unfortunately some of the branches had recently been cut back and a rather pointy branch end pierced my armpit! I had a hole in my armpit about the size of my palm! One operation and 20 stitches late I was in one piece but with a mystery bit of wood left in my arm (they could see it on the X-ray but not find it when they operated). It eventually worked it's way out of the arm a few years later. Got a pretty impressive scar from this one! - Age: 21 - Managed to partially dislocate my shoulder (subluxation?) in the wind tunnel taking part in a tunnel twister competition - I was basically using the walls to stop and then pushing myself back into the middle of the tunnel - an awkward angle and a tight jumpsuit later I was in agony. I did complete the rest of the flight though and still managed to come 2nd! - Age: 23 (about 4 weeks ago) - I was peeling potatoes when I managed to take a huge chunk out of flesh out of my thumb. It bled for a few days and was very slow at healing. The scab has only jsut gone away now and it looks like I'll have a decent scar from this one! There are more but I should really get back to work!

In the UK EVERYONE needs a gear check before boarding the plane: - students get checked by instructors - A licence and above can be checked by anyone with JM1 (Jump Master qualification which includes flight line check training) and A licence also require a visual AAD check to confirm the AAD is turned on and set correctly - Tandems need to be checked by a TI (or someone familiar with the systems?) All checks and confirmed usually by a signature from the person who checked you, or by signing for yourself to confirm you've been checked (apart from students obviously).

You clearly haven't been at Cark when they've been busy then! I was there for a 4-way competition a few years ago when they completed the entire 6-round competition with about 15 teams all in one day out of 1 aircraft, and even managed to fit a few tandems and fun jumpers in as well. I think they managed 35 lifts that day. The Pac750XL will dive freakin fast when they want it to! Yes on a day-to-day basis they can occasionally be slow, but as you say that's just the laid back nature of Cark. And in my opinion it's an awesome place to jump!

Legal or not, if they don't pay out you are screwed. Call them up and ask for clarification - they will happily tell you their definition of skydiving. I spoke to one that said they would only cover parachuting, no freefall was allowed, and yet it was called skydiving on their website! Pay the extra and get a company that'll cover you.

Please help us with this! Weston has been closed for over a month now already and any further delays will only make it harder for it to survive if it does reopen! One of the largest and best dropzones in the UK is being destroyed because of the greed and selfishness of someone high up in the RAF. Help us to put pressure onto them to allow it to reopen!

UK - 6 months.

Maybe what is needed in the USPA is a system similar to what we have in the UK, where someone wanting to be an AFF Instructor has to first become a Basic Instructor (AFF BI) and be an active BI for at least 6 months. The BI course can be up to a week long in itself. As a BI, they can teach groundschools (supervised), and jump with students beyond the instructor jumps (i.e. basically be a coach) but not actually do student jumps. During this time they also do lots of practice jumps with instructors and instructor examiners, and have a proficiency card with certain skills they have to have demonstrated. Between 6 months and a year after getting their AFF BI rating, they then attend a full AFFI course (normally one weekend) on which the 5 evaluation jumps are performed, and needs to be signed off by TWO Instructor Examiners. AFF(B)I's also need at least 1000 jumps, 10 hours freefall, and a Canopy Handling coach. Not only does the course require commitment and determination (thus weeding out those people that aren't actually that interested in being a good instructor), but it means that by the time they do their actual AFFI course they have already got at least 6 months experience of teaching groundschools, they know the syllabus really well, they have done the practice jumps and have been taught the necessary skills, and generally they will be a much better all round instructor.

Poor cutter design in the first place? They don't have to be defective to not work if they weren't designed well.