chuckakers

You're very welcome. As other folks have posted, the vast majority of the time proper separation can be calculated knowing only the upper winds. However I think it's important to have a true understanding rather than just following a stated procedure. Hope everyone's input helped. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

While technically true, unless the winds are really weird, the groundspeed chart is a pretty good approximation. Do you have a better method that skydivers might actually use? No I don't and you are absolutely correct that using the upper wind speeds only does typically do the job. However it's important for jumpers to have a true understanding of why things work the way they do or they can find themselves in a bad situation and not know why. Here on the gulf coast for example we often have winds in the winter that are opposing by 180 degrees and sometimes the wind speed differences are pretty big. Imagine using only the upper winds as the guide when the headwind at 14K is 70 mph and the deployment altitude winds are 35 mph in the opposite direction. We really do get that configuration here and failure to consider the deployment altitude winds in that scenario could lead to disaster. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I'm not sure I follow that, Chuck. Please elaborate for us Newbies? To explain it as simply as possible I will draw a scenario that isn't realistic but will illustrate the concept. For our example we will assume that the wind at all altitudes is in the same direction and we will say the plane flies directly into the wind at a constant airspeed of 50 mph. We will also assume that everyone will exit and fall straight down at the same freefall speed and deploy at the same altitude, and that everyone is jumping round, non-steerable canopies to remove the variable of canopy speeds that can affect separation after opening. If the wind at the exit altitude is 50 mph that would mean the plane has a ground speed of 0 mph. That could lead us to believe that no matter how much separation time is given it will never be enough because if the plane has a 0 mph ground speed it is generating no separation regardless of the time between exits. This is the fundamental misunderstanding I was referring to concerning the sign in the plane. That sign only considers the wind at exit altitude as the contributing factor in separation and that is only half the story. What if the winds at deployment altitude are also 50 mph? In that case each group would indeed open in the same place (remember 0 mph ground speed on exit means everyone will open in the same spot), but upon deployment each group will continue to move with the wind at 50 mph. If each group gives the group ahead 10 seconds of separation for example, the group before will have drifted at 50 mph for that 10-second period after deploying and would not be in conflict. This scenario is true regardless of the speeds involved. 60/60, 40/40, or whatever. If the wind speeds are the same, the separation will be the same for any given amount of separation time. This math works regardless of the speeds involved. If the plane goes 50 mph in a 0 mph wind condition, it would achieve a 50 mph ground speed for exit. If the winds at deployment altitude are also 0 mph, the separation would be exactly the same as in our first scenario where the plane had no ground speed at all. The only difference would be that the plane’s ground speed would create the separation rather than the winds at deployment altitude doing it. This math works the same way with the same differences in wind speed between exit and opening altitudes. If the difference in those speeds is 20 mph, it doesn’t matter if it’s a scenario of a 40 mph headwind on exit and a 20 mph wind speed at deployment altitude, or a 30 mph headwind on exit and a 10 mph wind speed at opening. If the headwind up top is 40 mph the plane would have less ground speed than if the winds were 30 mph, but the winds at opening altitude would also be faster causing the jumpers to drift more after deployment creating the same amount of separation as the 30/10 scenario. Higher headwinds on jump run of course inhibit the plane’s ground speed, but that only matters when the winds at opening altitude are significantly less when the jumpers won’t drift as far under canopy between groups. Some will contest this post based on real-world circumstances like variables in wind speed and direction during the freefall, etc., but I drew the scenario in the way that I did to simply illustrate the hard facts. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It's not confidence that matters. It's competence. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Without knowing what the wind speed and direction is at the deployment altitude, it is impossible to know what the acceptable exit separation time is. It's not the wind speed at the exit altitude (which translates to ground speed) that's important. It's the difference in the wind speed (and direction) between the two that dictates safe separation. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Here's a clue. When I walk by the aircraft hangar and see the mechanic turning wrenches just about every time I arrive at the DZ I think that's a pretty good indicator of good maintenance. Here are some others... - SPOTLESSLY clean birds on the flight line - manifest telling me I won't have a particular plane to choose from for load organizing on any given day because it's down for maintenance - seeing planes in the aircraft hangar for maintenance that are leased to other DZ's and on, and on, and on. Conversely if a plane looks ratty beyond skydiving related scars, breaks down often, takes way more runway than similar birds, is the target of jokes, etc., take the hint. This post could go on for pages. The bottom line is that there are signs of how well the maintenance is being conducted on our planes. There are many, many signs of maintenance happening - or not - that are typically visible to any jumper assuming they are willing to pay attention. Another way is to ask. If the DZ does proper maintenance the DZO or mechanic will likely be proud of it and will gladly explain in detail how they comply with regulations and accepted practices. Ever thought about asking??? We get what we deserve. Demand you DZ stay in compliance and demand proof. Any business person worth doing business with should be glad that you are helping them show the skydiving community what a great job they are doing. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Wendy has your back on this. The Spaceland program is second to none and they have the staff and planes to rock out 7 day per week. We do have frontal activity here in Houston in the winter so it would help if your schedule is flexible enough to make the trip based on the 10-day forecast. I've seen dozens of training programs over the years and can say without reservation that Spaceland's is the best I know of. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

...and 70's aircraft maintenance. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Or 10 jumps 9 years ago and 140 in the past year. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Canopies don't "age", they "wear". I would make a decision based on how many jumps it has on it and the conditions it was jumped, packed, and stored in rather than how old it is. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Look at the Tony Suit Pit Special and the Bev Suit Comp suit. They are nearly identical in design. IMO the Tony Suit is a bit more durable but in fairness it will be about 50 bucks more expensive given the same options. For a guy with your build I would go with the following. - Nylon front for speed. The back will be spandex to keep the body snug. - Spandex lower arms. - Small or medium grippers. Grippers create a lot more drag than many think, so keeping them small really helps. - No inside leg gripper unless you plan to do competition. They add drag and (arguably) they don't add much benefit in fun jumping. - Regular (small) booties. Booties create a lot of drag and mega booties can be a bit tough for younger jumpers to fly with. - Fabrics - beyond the nylon front and spandex arms for speed, your options are 4-ply or supplex for the cotton areas. This will be for the leg area. These two fabrics are very similar in strength and durability. Supplex is a slightly lighter fabric often preferred by folks in warm climates. As far as fall rate, there's no real advantage in either. - Bootie fabric - options are supplex, 4-ply, parapac, cordura, and ballistic nylon. IMO supplex and 4-ply don't create enough drag to be truly effective. For slow falling jumpers I like parapac. It's a "nylon-like" material with a weight closer to cordura (the stuff most rigs are made of). It's a bit less "grabby" than cordura and slightly faster. Gripper fabric - options are supplex, 4-ply, and cordura. Cordura will create added drag. Go with supplex or 4-ply. Either is fine. Options: Unless you have really small feet, I would get inseam zippers. Makes getting the suit on and off much easier. Be sure to get fitted by a dealer. Measurements for bootie suits must be accurate to make the booties work well. One last thing. Buy the Jack-the-Ripper hook knife option. It's only 20 bucks. Get it mounted on the thigh on your strong side - left if left handed, right if right handed. You may never need it but if you need it and don't have it you may never need it again. Message me if you have any questions. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I think you should post the threats. Might show the world her true colors. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Dude, you can bet she is already reading every post. Even the donkey stuff. Hell, maybe *especially* the donkey stuff. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I don't think the number of new A license holders listed in Parachutist is a good barometer for your statement. First, I think the mag sometimes limits listings when necessary for space and then lists more new license holders in a month than actually got the license when they have space to catch up. Second, you don't know what that 600 number represents relative to the number of people who started jumping and didn't graduate, so saying student retention isn't an issue seems to be made from a position of incomplete knowledge of the real stats. The raw number of new A license holders doesn't tell the story. Whether we have 6, 60, 600, or 6,000 new A's in a month, the truth of success would be in stating the percentage of new starts vs new A holders. I agree that we could do a lot better retaining students. I also believe that there's room for improvement in retaining licensed skydivers in the sport. Since 1994 when I got my A license there have been well over 50,000 new A licensed skydivers. As Gary pointed out, there are a whole lot of issues with retention that "we" can't do anything about, mostly external pressures. The "Sisters" program is geared to overcome some of the things that we can do to maintain female skydivers as students and as new A licensed jumpers. We're running a program at Skydive Spaceland that is doing great things in retention. We call it the "Transitions" program and it is available to any licensed jumpers from any DZ with 100 or fewer jumps. Each weekend we offer our noobs mentors that they can jump with 1 on 1 or in small groups at no extra cost. The mentors are all coach rated or better and jump with a camera for more effective bebriefs. Also, one weekend each month we host a "Transitions" event, with mentored jumps focusing on a specific skill area like flying the hill, launching exits, tracking improvement, etc. These events are also offered at no extra charge. The DZ picks up the tab for the mentors jumps and the mentors volunteer their efforts. The program has been a supreme success. Spaceland graduates an enormous amount of students and we saw too many folks fading away after graduation. The Transitions program has done a great job keeping the noobs engaged and excited about each visit to the DZ and the formal training is producing terrific skill improvement for them. These jumps are augmented with fun jumps with load organizers or with others to help the young folks feel like they are part of the experience jumper base. I know many DZ's aren't able to offer slots for such a program, but there's also a fantastic retention method I've been using for years - our time. I have found that young jumpers have a million questions that they don't ask or maybe don't know to ask. I try to spend as much time with our young jumpers as I can, and host impromptu seminars on every topic imaginable. Just last weekend I missed jumping with the Mayor of Houston because I was tucked away in the snack bar discussing aircraft weight and balance and the role of the fun jumper in aircraft emergencies and didn't hear the calls. As it turned out I had more fun anyway. By far the best retention method I've ever seen in skydiving is making people feel included and safe. We try to get and keep our newly licensed jumpers engaged and draw them into the social side of our community as quickly as possible after graduation. I have found that new jumpers are nervous about jumping in what they perceive as an unsupervised environment, and socially many of them feel intimidated interacting with the more experienced jumpers. We figure it's up to us to break that ice and help them get over the "noobie" hump. When a guy with 5,000 jumps approaches a noob and invites them on a skydive it makes their day. They just don't realize it makes our day too. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I don't think the number of new A license holders listed in Parachutist is a good barometer for your statement. First, I think the mag sometimes limits listings when necessary for space and then lists more new license holders in a month than actually got the license when they have space to catch up. Second, you don't know what that 600 number represents relative to the number of people who started jumping and didn't graduate, so saying student retention isn't an issue seems to be made from a position of incomplete knowledge of the real stats. The raw number of new A license holders doesn't tell the story. Whether we have 6, 60, 600, or 6,000 new A's in a month, the truth of success would be in stating the percentage of new starts vs new A holders. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

More than being ok, hanging at the DZ is encouraged. You can learn a bunch just being exposed to the environment and experienced jumpers. Also, be sure to introduce your self to DZ management and explain your situation. There are countless odd jobs at most DZ's and you may able to trade some work for jumps! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I'm no rocket surgeon, but that sounds like a coach can get in the act anytime beyond the first hop n pop. Do 10 second delays come after a single clear n pull? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Hi Chuck, Do you know which year Sandy made his tuck tab riser covers? The earliest rig having those I've seen is an Atom from '89. The Talon Tongue (main pin cover closing tab) was introduced in '86 or '87 and the concept was adapted for riser covers a short time later. Pretty sure Sandy holds the US patent for parachute tension-type locking tabs. Not sure what all it covers. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

1. A deployment of EITHER canopy at tandem terminal could prove to be a problem. 2. Tandem belly terminal = 135/140 mph? Sounds a *little* slow 3. Why would you advocate slowing down to belly terminal first after being head down and then tossing the drogue? The drogue can be deployed as soon as the tandem pair is belly-to-earth and doing so would result in reaching drogue-fall terminal much quicker. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Yes. From USPA website as of 12/29/14... Richard Winstock USPA Member # 114434, D-19054 National Director [email protected] 65 Ridge Rd. Hackettstown, NJ 07840 (310) 750-7767 (908) 850-1047 (fax) Committees: Membership Services, Safety and Training (Chair) Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

My operation was ramp checked several times. In our case the fed knew exactly what he needed to see and was pretty well-versed in skydiving ops. Always checked a handful of cards and seals, and then focused on the pilot, the plane, and documents. Our feds always enjoyed a ride in the right seat too. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You can.... Just you can't pay someone else to do it for you. You personally can jump with a garbage bag or bedsheet for a main, if you install it and jump it yourself. That's the catch. I don't think that's correct. As far as I know there are no FAR's regulating the manufacture and sale of main canopies. Hey regulation hawks, is that correct? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Awesome, a Christmas day rehash of this age old argument about who can do what to a main canopy. After that maybe we can rehash the theological discussion of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The reality is the it matters not one tiny bit what the regulations say if there is no enforcement of them. Please, anyone, cite one small example of any legal repercussions to anyone making any modifications to any main parachute at anytime, anywhere. No theoretical examples of what COULD happen, but real world examples of what DID happen. We live in the real world, not in an FAA circular. I wasn't talking about enforcement actions. I simply said that every fed I've ever worked with stayed strictly with the FAR's to reach conclusions about any particular subject. As we know, there's often a mile-wide gap between FAR violations and enforcement actions. BTW if you have something better to do than rehash age old arguments on Christmas day, knock yourself out. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Maybe to you and me, but I have yet to meet a fed that would agree with straying from regs. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I don't think we can guess the motivation behind any particular reg. The FAR's are filled with parts that have been changed, tweaked, removed, added, and twisted, often to patch a previous version. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX