amy

He's still out there - I've gotten email from him regarding evey piece of gear I've got for sale, all within 2 days. Amy

It's not a big deal if you can find a (local) master rigger who's willing to sign off the alteration. If master riggers on the whole decide that they don't want to take on the liability for this, then senior riggers (and owners) may find themselves in a bind. Amy

Grant, I would advise against jumping that rig until you have a longer reserve cable. On most rigs the cable housing stretches on opening as the harness stretches and shifts and there's a very good chance that, with that little slack in your cable, it could easily deploy your reserve. Obviously no one here can see the rig on you, so take any advice with a grain of salt, but at the very least please have a rigger take a look at the rig while you're wearing it before you jump it. Having your reserve deploy while your main is opening could really ruin your day. Blue skies, Amy

Thanks! The Pepe address was the one being rejected by my email server, so I'll try riggingsolutions. Amy

I'm looking to buy a Rodriguez Brothers t-shirt (or two), and it seems the web site shop is down. The site directs me to an email address that is being rejected by my server. . . anyone know where I can get a couple of bumpy bros t-shirts? Amy

Pulling the slider in front of the nose will definitely slow the opening down. On my Pilot I just quarter the slider and leave the nose hanging (exactly what you described in an earlier post). I also found that when I got the canopy relined, the openings slowed down again. If the canopy is new, you may find that as it gets more jumps on it your openings pick up a little bit. Amy

Our servicemembers sacrifice enormous amounts every day, whether they are injured or not. Missing 6 months (or more) of your young child's life to be overseas, missing out on opportunites to watch your relationship with your spouse (or other loved ones) grow, missing the chance to teach your teenager to drive, see them go to the prom, or go out on their first date. . . All of the little pleasures in life that you and I take for granted when we are home with the people we love. That's a huge sacrifice. Amy

Well. . . a handle with a single attachment point (like a hacky or a monkey fist) probably could contribute to a problem like this because they're a little higher profile. And any loop of bridle that manages to get around it is less likely to clear because of the very narrow attachment point. PVC handles or freefly handles tend to be lower profile and attached to the fabric at both ends, which may minimize the risk (there is at least one exception, which is the freefly handle design by Wings, at least one generation of which had a single attachment point like a hackey). I've also heard it argued that if the handle is heavy, it could delay the launch of the pilot chute. Although that's probably not a major factor, it's an argument for PVC. I don't know of anyone with any data on handle choice that's not anecdotal or theoretical, so this is purely my opinion. I think the thing to realize is that handle choice is the tip of the iceberg - the best way to avoid this problem is to prevent the bridle from flopping around a hesitating pilot chute, and the way to do that is to keep your gear in good shape and get that PC into clean air. Amy

Although it's more likely to happen on a wingsuit jump due to the lower speeds, different angle of flight, and larger burble (all of which interfere with a "clean" deployment of the PC), this can happen during a normal belly-to-earth deployment as well. You can reduce the likelihood of this kind of entanglement by doing what you can to ensure a fast and clean deployment of your pilot chute: - Give a good hard "throw" with your throwout, making sure that your hand is all the way out to your side and away from your burble. - Use a pilot chute that's in good condition, with a kill line that's the appropriate length. - Avoid bungee-type collapsibles, which may work fine when they're new, but increase the chances of a pilot chute hesitation as they get worn out. - When you pack your pilot chute, stow the excess bridle inside the PC near the mesh, which keeps it away from the handle and will (at least theoretically) keep it contained until the PC starts to inflate. - Use a bridle that's appropriate length for your container, main, and size, and for the type of skydiving you do. - Let go of your pilot chute right away when you throw it out (see piisfish's Incidents thread for more on this one). You can't eliminate the chances of something like this happening to you, but you can minimize them by making sure that your gear is in good condition and appropriate for what you're doing, and by avoiding the dreaded "lazy throw." Amy

Yeah, but you don't want to think about what you're making on an hourly basis. . . Trust me on this. Amy

The Talon FS also has a center locking stow. It does not have a center finishing stow. Amy

I have a lot of customers who will listen very sincerely to my advice when they get their rig back, then not do a thing that I've advised. Four months later when they bring the rig to me again, their brake lines are more twisted than they were the last time I untwisted them, the pilot chute that they promised to replace (but didn't want to buy from me because they could "get it cheaper somewhere else") is still there, and their poor main closing loop is hanging by a thread in spite of my replacing it 120 days ago (and lecturing them about the dangers of worn closing loops). There are also skydivers who follow their rigger's instructions to the letter of course, but my point is that it's easy to get jaded about this stuff. I suspect that charging $10 to untwist customers' lines gets them to do it themselves every once in a while, and that may have been this guy's objective. Or he may have charged you just because he was feeling cranky. If your point is that he charged you for a service you didn't agree to beforehand, then you may have a valid point. Whenever I pack for a new customer, I explain to them that I'll do any necessary repairs or maintenance up to $30 automatically, unless they want me to call them first. That includes maintenance that the jumper could or should be doing themselves (I do this mostly because I figure that's the only way to make sure it gets done). Unless this guy had a similar agreement with you, I'd agree that it would have been nice to let you know beforehand. And I do agree that $10 is a little steep for untwisting the brake lines, but he may have been trying to make a point. Amy

Does anyone know offhand when Parachutes de France got TSO certification for the Atom? Specifically, I'm wondering whether an Atom manufactured in 1995 is TSO'd. Also, was the techno reserve ever TSO'd? I'm interested in the same manufacture year. Thanks, Amy

You're probably not going to convince your dad that skydiving isn't dangerous, because it is dangerous. However, you're right that skydiving isn't as dangerous as most people probably think. Your dad may take more comfort in knowing that you're acknowledging the risk and taking steps to manage and minimize it, than by your attempts to convince him it's safe. My parents were also very worried about my skydiving when I started (I was a sophomore in college), but I talked pretty openly about it with them, from discussing some fatalities in detail to telling them all about my first reserve ride. Whenever we discussed skydiving I talked about what extra steps I was taking to stay safe, and when we talked about fatalities I always emphasized that the accident was preventable and what I was doing to keep similar things from happening to me. I think they might have tried to stop me (like your dad did) if my attitude hadn't always been so safety-oriented when I talked with them. It took some time, but they warmed to it. Now it's been almost 15 years, and my mom brags to her friends about the records and competitions I've been part of. I think in the end they could see how much joy skydiving brought me, and that I wasn't taking the risk lightly, and they accepted it. You may also have to accept that there's nothing you can say to "convince" your parents, and that it may be something that's hard for them to discuss rationally for a while. It may help if you don't see it as an "argument," and take their worry as an indication of how much your parents love you. . . Amy

Yes it makes sense, but my point is that USPA (but not IPC, as a competitor has pointed out to me) has decided that the camera person is enough a part of the team that they deserve a medal. The dynamics of your particular team may differ, but that's been the determination on the national level. It's also the reason we require the camera flyer to be from the US (there's a skilled camerawoman at Perris with that exact issue - she's from the UK and wants to pick up a 4-way team for Nationals, but her citizenship will mean that the team competes as a guest). It seems a little inconsistent to say that gender doesn't matter, but country of origin does. Just my opinion, of course. Amy (Edited for factual inaccuracies)

While I agree with you that it's cool that more people get to compete at the world level, using the all-female category to get them there seems a little unfair. The unintended consequence is that the bar is a little lower for women to go to the world meet than it is for men. If we want to make more opportunities for skydivers to go to the world meet, let's make it an equal opportunity for everyone by setting up an intermediate event, or allowing 2 teams from each country to go. Skydiving is one of the few athletic endeavors where women can compete on an equal footing with men. Let's not imply that we can't by having a "special" category for women. Amy

I've always thought this was kind of a strange argument. If a country with very few female skydivers asked to have a man flying inside center for them because "there just aren't enough good female 4-way flyers in our country," that would seem silly. We would expect that team to find a woman in their country who wanted to do 4-way, and train them as a member of the team. The same expectation should go for the camera flyer. As I recall, the decision to award a medal to the camera flyer along with the rest of the team was a recognition that they were as much a member of that team as the other 4 people, and that they deserved credit for that. If we still believe that, then the camera person on an "all-female" team should be female. Amy (Edited to remove my incorrect assumptions about cameramen and awards)

For any participants or Jump for the Cause supporters who haven't been getting her email updates - Carolyn Dufur's Jump for the Cause yearbook is about to go into print, and she's about to stop taking orders. Check out her website www.carolyndufur.com where she's got some sample pages. The books are available to participants and non-participants alike and will be way cool! Amy (Edited for Frenchy)

What he does with his thingie is no lens trick, baby! Amy

If you'll forgive me, I want to quote one of my favorite Jane Goodall quotes for you. It's quite long, but I'm arrogant enough to think that, as an introduction to the person you're going to meet tonight, it might help you. It's from her book "A Reason for Hope," and starts as she's describing an afternoon in the jungle observing one of the chimp families. Holy shit that ended up long! But I hope it helps since you don't have time to read the book. Amy

You might be surprised. Jane Goodall is actually a quite religious person. I'd suggest perusing her latest book, "A Reason for Hope" if you're interested in understanding her religious views. Also, her most recent work is primarily involved with conservation and preservation (althought the chimp research continues), mostly through education of African peoples. Check out http://www.janegoodall.org/ as well; they do some pretty amazing work with local populations on reforesting projects and the like. I think a lot of her world view and feelings about our need to be good stewards of the earth come from deeply held spiritual beliefs. She may not be the godless person you think she is. And have fun at this thing - she's really an amazing person. Amy

You feel weird? I was selling calendars at work the other day. Calendars featuring a photo of me in a rubber suit. How about having a local photographer take a shot of you in freefall, wearing a suit and tie? Then you could say: "Take the leap! Let me help you find your new home" -or- "I've got a jump start on the competition" -or- "I've got a fresh perspective on the housing market" -or- "Leap into your new home with the help of a true professional!" -or- "Just another day at the office!" (stolen from a similar photo in the Bombshelter) -or- ". . . so I said, 'how high?'" Amy

Hey! Who you callin' a bitch? Bitch! Amy

Although it looks like a bag of dirty laundry, I think it's a cutaway canopy (I puzzled over this all day on Monday. Clearly I should have been thinking more about 4-way). Amy

I had a similar problem with arching when I started (I was about as far from a "natural" as you can imagine!) What made it worse was the fact that I was in a static line training program, which meant that when I left the plane on my first freefall jump, there was no one there to help me out. What finally worked for me was spending five or ten minutes every night before I went to bed, lying on the floor in front of a mirror arching. I'd go through the dive flow right up to pull time, then rest and go through it again. I think it did two things for me - one, it strengthened my back muscles a lot (doing a good arch on the floor of your bedroom is a lot of work), and two it taught me muscle memory. I think the fact that arching on the ground is so much harder than it is in the air also helped, because I ended up in a very aggressive arch in the air since my muscles were so used to working hard at it on the ground. Practicing at home will help a lot with your confidence, too. Good luck! Amy