chuckakers

Much of that is built into the protocols by default. More experienced jumpers (heavier wingloading) tend to be with larger groups, exit early, and deploy low. Young jumpers in small groups or going solo exit next and deploy above the more experienced group, then AFF and tandems in the same way. That order also happens to correspond with routine descent rates. All that being said, it would not be very practical to predetermine exit order or deployment altitudes in routine DZ ops. There are too many variables on one load and in any single group.

Horizontal separation is irrelevant if vertical separation is maintained. Skydivers who are never at the same altitude at the same time will never collide.

Many drop zones discourage spirals and some even prohibit them as a way to reduce collision risks. I'm ok with spirals above pattern altitude as long as the jumper has cleared the air around and below. From pattern altitude to the ground I discourage any turns not required for reasonable accuracy.

Greg - your post made a couple alarms go off in my head. A 10 year break for someone with 65 jumps is a loooong time. You didn't mention where you live, but if it's in the U.S. we have protocols for returning after layoffs. I suggest going to the DZ before making your first jump back and discuss things with an instructor. The DZ personnel can walk you through everything.

:O

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/roger.reynolds.3762584

Yep. I met Roger at my home DZ in Indiana when I first started jumping. Cool guy. Incredible story.

If the hop n pops are from a balloon or hovering helicopter, but BASE launches are completely different than launches from moving aircraft because there is no relative wind.

Pony up the cash for a plane ride to Skydive Arizona. If you're standing at manifest when they open, you can get as many jumps in a day as you have the energy for.

Post your request on the San Marcos page. https://www.facebook.com/spacelandsanmarcos

I was speaking with John LeBlanc from PD a few months back. He said getting fabric of any kind was a real nightmare. Covid shut downs, supply chain disruptions, etc. Great time to be in the used gear business, I suppose.

I concur. Chris Bickerdike and another guy landed a downplane years ago at Raeford when they couldn't release their suicide strap. Big hospital bills and lucky they didn't die. Definitely seek advice/training from folks with a lot of experience before trying it.

Many drop zones put students on digital altimeters from the first jump. I was using digitals on first jump students at my DZ in 1997 (yes, there was a digital back then). As for full face helmets, many DZ's approve of them after a student is no longer using a radio for canopy control assistance.

If skydiving was easy, the boring people would do it and we'd go do something else. Think less, fly more.

You might check with the folks at the International Skydiving Museum. They have collected a lot of items for the museum and may have some things they don't need.

Wendy makes some good points. RSL's and MARD's have definitely helped. Note that every year we record fatalities that would likely not have happened if the jumper used an RSL or MARD. There are jumpers who remain steadfast to their opinion that these devices are dangerous, but the data says otherwise by a big margin. More and better canopy training has been very effective in lowering our canopy injuries and fatalities by number, although the overall percentage of canopy-related fatalities each year has remained about the same for quite a while. About 50% of our annual fatalities come from flying parachutes into the ground, either from intentional low turns (swooping) or unintentional low turns (confusion, mis-judging recovery altitude, avoidance turns, etc.). By the way, the vast majority of intentional turn canopy fatalities involve male jumpers with less than 1,000 jumps and rapid downsizing. That pattern will only change when we change it. Better training doctrine and techniques have been effective. Drop zones take ongoing training more seriously than in the past, as do most jumpers. Students graduate from training programs with better skill sets these days and that leads to fewer mistakes. The same holds true with more and better information. I do think our changing demographic has contributed to better numbers. Skydivers are older on average than in the past, and that has probably led to fewer poor, testosterone-fueled decisions. Same goes for income. We are wealthier on average than we were years ago so more jumpers can afford state-of-the-art gear, audibles, training courses, etc. They can also afford to maintain their gear better - fewer mals means fewer EP errors. Looking at just about every calendar year, we are losing the bulk of our jumpers from the same causes. Flying fast canopies with too much ego and too little training Failing to utilize equipment that will save us when we can't or won't Performing EP's improperly or too slowly Not following landing priorities Just my 2 cents #projectzero

Ordering

Same here. I suggest using a large-handled knife (like the Ripper) and placing the pocket on the front of the thigh on your strong-arm side.

I have no idea if Luke has a degree of any kind, but I do l know his body of work and it's loaded with engineering - the verb, not the title. You guys can pee on the parade all you want. Luke has proven his abilities over many years in skydiving, aviation, stunt coordination and performance, film work, and project consulting (including Baumgartner's record jump). He's as solid as they come, and people in his industry know it. He's in a risky business. If you think he's foolish, so be it.

Wow, you're a real bucket of sunshine today. I've actually seen some of the training jumps and they make it look easy. The planning included the FAA, so I'm sure they have a specific location with wide margins for a possible empty-plane crash, much the way the "car skydivers" get specific location permission from the feds to let cars smash into the turf. Yes, this stunt has an element of danger. So does your next skydive.

My snark alarm is ringing. Sounds like you think Luke is foolish or naive to the dangers involved in his stunts. He is not, and he accepts the dangers as a tradeoff in his chosen career. Luke is a meticulous engineer, does everything by the letter of the law, and never cuts corners. We all have our own acceptable levels of risk. Yours is apparently somewhere short of Luke's.

It is skydiving. It is not parachute landing. lol I know Luke very well. He's a brilliant stunt engineer and an amazingly talented guy. I have no doubt he and Andy will nail this one.

All - Getting word about some Ukrainian instructors who had to flee and leave their gear behind. They are now in Slovakia but can't work until they get gear. Asking for gear donations!!!! Rigs and reserves must be less than 20 years old. Anything else just needs to be air worthy. Husband and wife, and probably others soon. Contact Tatiana Radchenko if you can help. She is https://www.facebook.com/taniarukr on Facebook. Cash donations can be made via Paypal to [email protected]. All help appreciated for brothers and sisters over there!

No emotion. No fear. There's a flow chart. Follow it. Think less. Fly more.