tumbleroll

An organisation that catalogs each and every accident occuring on a DZ?? Including from 30 years ago??? Sounds pretty unlikely.

I generally dive, but did a poised exit on that occasion.

My problem wasn't so much that I wasn't able to get stable ... it’s that I threw before I was properly stable. it was an awkward exit and I was flailing a little at the point of deployment, obviously I should have taken the time to stabilise completely before I threw. I don't normally have these problems - I followed that jump with 2 more hop ‘n pops straight afterwards, and didn’t encounter any problems at all in this respect. Anyway, thanks again to those thast have provided constructive advice,

Thanks for the advice folks, its useful feedback and I appreciate it … thanks for the telegrams also. I don’t usually have problems maintaining stability. I arch well and maintain a stable belly to earth position all the way to deployment. It’s the first time I’ve experienced instability since my AFF. Drew -- you saying “…None of you should have had problems getting stable…” isn’t really meaningful advice on how to rectify the problem once it’s occurred. It’s sort of like someone bitten by a poisonous snake asking you what steps to follow, and you advising them to avoid snake infested areas. Anyway, yeh, everything that happened was my fault. I should have known the correct EPs beforehand, and I should have waited longer to stabilise before deploying. Shattering experience

Was participating in a canopy piloting course today, jumping hop 'n pops from 3,500 feet. My exit was woeful and I struggled to regain stability - haven't done low altitude jumps for a while and I was having all sorts of problems. While flailing around on my back like an idiot (not sure of height) I threw the pilot and the little f*cker snagged on my foot and tangled around my leg. Didn't really follow a plan after that, just sort of kicked my legs like crazy until (thankfully) it untangled after a few seconds, the canopy deployed and I was able to land safely (after sorting out some horrendous line twists). The whole episode sort of freaked me out a little. I asked people on the ground what I should have done. They said I should not have thrown while unstable in the first place and certainly not while on my back, which I guess is completely true, but not really an answer to the question I asked. Did I do the right thing - kick to disentangle? If this didn't provide a quick solution should I have cut-away instead, or simply pulled silver? Grateful for advice.

She lost respect for you becuase you want to take up skydiving as a hobby? She says you are choosing skydiving over her, and you haven't even made a single jump yet?? She sounds like a manipulative control freak, I recommend you dump that girl now. you're much better off without her. Maybe find a girl thats into skydiving, or one with the maturity to respect the decisions that you make in relation to your own life.

Scenario: Your right shoulder is badly dislocated during freefall, either as a result of an exit mishap or due to an impact with another jumper. Your right arm is completely useless, and can't be lifted or used, even a little bit. I'm interested to know how people would respond to this situation - how they would deploy, steer and perform the landing. I'm also very interested to knowing if anyone has heard about this happening before? ~ Tumbleroll

Meh, I reckon, rather than 'blacking out', the OP panicked, became disorientated and lost height awareness uring freefall.

Dude, How did you black out? As a result of the spinning??

thought you folks may be interested in the following information, provided to me by skydance. They offer solo Halo jumps, much cheaper than their competitors: "...We offer HALO Jumps twice a year and I believe our next ones will be in June, but I am not 100% sure. The requirements are as follows: must have a USPA C License(minimum of 200 skydives), take a FAA Flight Physiological Training Course--"A Chamber Ride" and have a FAA Class 3 Medical Certificate. You have to call the FAA to schedule the Chamber Ride and the number is 405-954-4837. The cost for a first time HALO Jump is $585 per person. We also ask that reservations be made at least a month in advance and we require a $100 deposit. I hope that has answered all of your questions. If you have any more please feel free to email us back. SkyDance SkyDiving..."

Sounds expensive -- anyone done one before? Think its worth the money? I assume its just like a normal jump, except a longer freefall!

wanker

"but they look rubbish' .. 'you will be mocked' Wasn't really the type of feedback I was looking for. I want to enoy myself and have goggles that are fit for purpose. If people don't think I look 'cool', then thats their problem, not mine. Anyway, I've received several private telegrams from people who have used them. Generally the feedback was positive, they have crystal clear clarity and are as resilient as anything on the market. Also, they keep the goggles de-dogged in the plane - which was my primary motivation in considering the puchase. Little concerned about bulkiness though, if they can't fit under my helmet they are no use to me. yeh, my kroops fogged under canopy. First time it ever happened to me. I'm pretty sure they have vents but will check. Thanks fot the advice about the drill, might look to do something like that!

No I'm not trolling, just looking for advice and feedback before I commit to buying a pair. Thanks for everyone's input. Thanks also for the recommendation of the square one tunnel goggles, will check them out.

99% of skydiving goggles on the market are cheap plastic throw-aways the turbo-fans, on the other. are state of the art merchandise. In terms of clarity and resilience that are top of the range. They are even used by special forces soldiers in combat. I'm not saying that this necessarily makes them good skydiving goggles,but you speak about the 'coolness factor, and I reckon that's got to count for something. In fact, I think I've talked myself into getting a pair.

I don't like the look or feel of CurvZs to be honest. In terms of clarity and resilience the turbofans are really second to none. They are also extremely lightweight and have a very wide field of vision. I see the turbo fan itself as a bonus extra, especially for the way up on the plane when my goggles tend to get foggy. IN fact they tick all of my boxes, except for the bulkiness, I'm not sure I could fit them under my helmet.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/ess-profile-turbofan-goggles.html For those that asked – here is a link to the product. Yeah so I put on my goggles right before I jump, but they usually fog just before I leave the plane and I often find myself giving them a final wipe with a lens cloth I keep tucked up my sleeve. Occasionally they fog while I’m under canopy as well. I wear a helmet so it’s not always a simple thing to remove them if this does happen. I thought the turbofan might solve some of these issues. I’d also add that the turbofans have, apparently, much better clarity than other goggles, they are also more resilient and have a much wider field of vision. Point taken about the shape and bulkiness, I was worried about this and wasn’t sure if they would fit properly under my helmet. I’m not too worried about cost, but it does seem rather pointless buying an expensive pair of goggles if I won't be able to wear them!

Hey folks, I'm thinking of buying some ESS Profile TurboFan googles for skydiving. I've struggled for months to find a pair of googles that I like. Previous pairs that I've owned have tended to fog on the way up to altitude. My new kroops also got foggy during my landing approach last weekend, so I ditched them. Anyway, I'm quite frustrated! and am now considering investing in a pair of fan googles to ensure the fogging issue doesn't happen again! Apparently the turbo fan goggies are used by soldiers in the military. They are powered by an AA battery which draws fresh airflow in through the lower edge of the goggle frame and forces humid air out the top at around 15,000 rpm. According to the product blurb, even when perspiration or temperatures are extreme, this two-speed system will exhaust humidity and prevent lens fogging for over 150 hours of continuous operation (low speed). I was wondering if anyone had any experience jumping with fan googles? Or if they thought it would be a good idea? If they think these goggles will be capable of withstanding the rigors of freefall and if they might solve my fogging issues? Cheers! ~~ Tumbleroll

The 'fear' ... does it ever go away or just it diminish into the background over time? The first time I ever jumped (a tandem) I was absolutely terrified. I was 100% determined to see it through, but I was in an total stupor for the entire time - all the way and up and all the way down. The next couple of jumps weren't much better, but the truth is, over the following months, as I continued to jump, the fear receded into the background - replaced by butterflies in the stomach, and eventually by a more subdued tingling anticipation. Anyway, I took a month off jumping recently, and upon making my first descent after this layoff, I was suprised to find that I became quite nervous on the way up! This led me to wonder - all of those people who have made 100s and 1000s of jumps over many years, do they ever get pangs of fear? Or have they now conquered this primal (yet completely natural and understandable) emotion, and is this fear entirely gone and never to return? Interested in views!

I live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, my nearest DZ is in Syd - about 3 hours drive away

I've made 60 jumps, and although I have now met all the requirements for my B license I have yet to complete my A license exam. They way they do it in my country is give you a bunch of questions and ask you to go off and discuss them with people at the DZ until you have all the answers. Unfortunaterly, I live many hundred miled from the nearest DZ. So what I have done is use dropzone.com as my 'virtual DZ' . I've put a couple of questions out there and have got some great responses back, Its been extremely useful - At the DZ someone might say. 'X is the right answer', on these forums I'll get a few different answers, some at odds each other, others variations on a theme - its up to me to compare the feedback and work out the best answer myself.

so ... if you cant use the rear risers because toggle movement causes the canaopy to stall, and as you say the front risers aren't any good to land, then the best option would be to cut away - unless you had no height, in which case you'd make the best of a bad situation - maybe glide the canopy into a landing approach against the wind and prepare for a PLR - ouch! Is this right? This is basically what I said the first time!

He never gives me a straight answer to anything. Last week he posed a scenario - "your main canopy looks like its opened OK, he says, "but begins to stall at the smallest toggle movement - how would you react? what would you do?" So naturally I say: "If I have altitude I would cut-away!! If not, I would use front and rear risers to steer and land the canopy, preparing for a parachute landing role!" Well, he didn't seem to think much of that answer. He told me to spend some time thinking about my answer, which I did, and I still can't see why that was wrong!

It was my 25th jump I think. It was a cloudy day and started to rain on the way to altitude. We decided to jump anyway. During freefall my googles got so many drops of rain on them and I couldn't see a thing! Under canopy I took off the goggles. I was wearing spectacles under my goggles and these quickly became blurry from the rain as well! I took these off but then really couldn't see anything! Meanwhile, while messing around with my glasses, I'd drifted off-course and was a fair way short of the DZ. On retrospect, at that point I should have found a safe place to land, but instead I decided to go for the DZ come hell or high water! But with my blurry vision I really couldn't find my bearings and I ended flying directly into a barbed wire fence on the edge of the DZ, lol! Fortunately I only suffered a few cuts and bruises and the canopy was completely unscathed! I thought I was done for - I was lucky!

To be quite honest I'm not sure why one wouldn't automatically reach for the reserve - if its a faster deployment and there's less chance of having 2 canopies out! The reserve handle isn't difficult to find? its just a matter of reaching for the handle and giving it a good yank! ... right? Also, some guy said earlier in the thread that in this situation he would reach for his mate's pilot chute. Think he was kidding? Is this realistic in practice? If it was within reach would you try this?