3mpire

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Posts posted by 3mpire

  1. Quote

    The question is how or why is that skill a necessary requirement for someone who wants a TI or Pro rating but has no intention of ever doing night jumps.



    In my line of work there are a lot of literal tasks and projects that need to be done that don't at face value have much to do with things that your team mates need to do, but when you deconstruct the skills and analytical tools an individual needs to have in order to perform the required work, they are the same.

    The details of the execution may be different, but it's just taking the same skill set and implementing it in a different way.

    To me, the real question is when you deconstruct a skydive and you look at all the knowledge, judgement, and execution requirements, a night jump has many of the same requirements as any other "higher risk" jump.

    A "higher risk" jump to me is anything that isn't a jump under normal, optimal conditions. Whether it is a demo jump, a night jump, or a tandem, you are going to need to have proficiency in all the core competencies that when you put them together equals a jump.

    So I guess the question I would have is, if you don't like the idea of a night jump, what other mechanism would you like to see put in place to force a jumper to demonstrate that they possess all the required tools?

    The more I think about it the more a night jump seems like the perfect way to really test that, simply because it hits upon all of these core competencies at such little cost. No specialized gear is needed (other than a strobe and some chem lights). Plus it is a good initial requirement because later on if you want to specialize in demo jumps or tandem jumps, there are additional tests and whatnot.

    But a night jump seems like a good way to cover the pre-reqs, which is that you can get just yourself down safely in conditions that are not optimal. If you can find a better way to have a jumper demonstrate that that isn't a night jump, cool.

    But to say that a night jump doesn't have *any* relevance seems weird to me, unless you're only evaluating a night jump as some kind of super unique skill that doesn't have relevance to skydiving in any other context.

  2. Quote

    Back to the topic at hand, I do think the night jumps for the D is more for the old timers sticking it to the youngins cause they've had to do it when they got their D 20 years ago.



    Maybe I'm dense, but what is the problem with night jumps to begin with? Why _wouldn't_ you want to do them?

    I understand from the thread all the issues about whether it is relevant, etc., which is questioning their value, but is it just superfluous in the minds of those who oppose, or is there something about the night jump itself that is so bad? Depth perception was listed, but what else?

    I didn't find it to be that big of a deal so I guess I'm not understanding the passion on the "aginnit" side".

  3. I'm a lower time jumper, so this is just my opinion based on the perspective of a 200 jump skydiver.

    I recently did 2 night jumps and what I was thinking about in the preparation phase was that the activity required greater awareness of all aspects of the skydive. You had to understand the effects of the skydive without your traditional visual indicators, which requires a deeper understanding. It also requires you to be prepared to identify and handle any problems you may encounter, but without an easy visual reference.

    What does a malfunction mean in the dark? How can exit separation become a danger if you have a mal and don't know if the airspace around you is clear or not? You have to think about these things more than you do during the day time, and for some jumpers, they may not be in the habit of thinking about them at all. Having conducted a night jump, it is at least an indicator that you are aware of these things, and making it a requirement for a rating that says "i know what i'm doing" makes sense.

    By adding this to the skydive, you are forced out of your normal procedures and you can't fall back to your comfort zone to complete the dive successfully (and safely).

    While you could argue that a HALO jump or a wingsuit jump introduces similar changes to procedure that could serve as a substitute demonstration of skill/understanding, you have a lot more overhead and gear needs.

    All you need to make a night jump is a few hours of time after sunset to let the light conditions change.

    tldr; it isn't about the night jump, it's about forcing jumpers out of their comfort zone and making them perform under more difficult conditions than they are accustomed to demonstrate "mastery" of the activity.

  4. This was an incredible event! Both Mel and Nick are absolute professionals and their camp was not only instructional but a really relaxed and fun time. We were able to cover much more than I would have thought, so it was totally worth the investment. If you ever have the chance to attend one of these, DO IT. Don't miss out on a great opportunity to learn a lot, make some new friends, and get inspired :)

  5. Quote

    The weather is something like this

    http://www.komonews.com/...scott/119421644.html

    where the headline is "Seattle at 41 days (and counting) since last official sunny day."



    Don't believe the hype, lol. "sunny day" there is defined as 30% or less cloud cover. I don't know about any of you, but if I said "want to jump today" and someone said "no, only 70% of the sky is blue" you'd laugh your ass off on jump run while they sat on the ground.

    to each their own. If I were you (original poster) I'd skip college for a year and spend a month or two in a few of these areas to see what the scene is like. visit schools while you're at it. work odd jobs, be a DZ hobo, and pick up school the next year. figure out what YOU want, fuck what any of us say about where you should live.

    Or maybe that's just me being 30 and wondering why the hell I didn't take a few years off between high school and college. c'est la vie!

  6. Quote

    I have to support my skiing habit as well ! Hahaha.



    Check out any school in western washington. there are two turbine DZs in the Seattle area, and we have some of the best mountains (mt baker, crystal, stevens), too. plus, whistler is drivable.

    We ALSO have great universities. You could go to UW, Western, Seattle U. All great schools.

    edited to add: we also have a brand new 14 foot tunnel

  8. Quote

    Is it weird to ask for the same tandem instructor?



    "weird" is a relative term in the skydiving world. You could probably ask for the same instructor and say that he has to take a little blue pill a few hours before but there's a fat tip involved and it might not really phase them. But when you say "fat tip" make sure you're clear that you're talking about money. They might get confused.

  9. How does one know what their software version is? Is it accessible through the sys info menu interface on the AAD?

    Edited to add: what is the reason for the upgrade? A known bug/deficiency with the previous version? Increased features/reliability with the new version?

  12. Talk to your instructors, they can tell you all you want to know about the basics of canopy flight that will give you the building blocks you need to be able to apply your knowledge to your flight. It's up to you to speak up if you don't know something, that's why your instructors are there. Talk to more than one of them asking the same questions. They will all answer them in their own way, so if one explains it and you don't get it, another instructor might frame the same information in a different way that makes more sense to you.

    you aren't going to really learn what you're seeking from a book or the internet. It just takes time asking questions and then doing jumps over and over and really studying how your canopy flies. It's one of those things you just have to keep doing before it clicks.

    But really, your instructors is where you should seek your answer. That's what you need.

    As for that low reserve deployment video... fuck. that. shit. :P

  13. I found someone to fly Friday night but still looking for someone to share time on Saturday.

    Melanie posted details on facebook:

    https://www.facebook.com/notes/highcommscom/ifly-seattle-tunnel-camp-november-18-19/232452623482348

    Quote

    It's officially official!! Nick Grillet of Arizona Airspeed, Carolyn Chow and I (Melanie Curtis :)) will be leading an FS tunnel camp at iFly Seattle, Friday and Saturday nights, Nov 18-19! Just shy of a month away, Nick and I will be doing 4-way 2-on-2, and all three of us will be doing 1-on-1 with whoever is looking to sharpen their belly flying skills. For those peeps looking for basic freefly/sit-fly coaching, I can accommodate you only during 1-on-1 sessions, but if that's what you want, let me know and we'll try to get you covered! :)

    All slots of course include all pre-flight prep, in-air and in-chamber coaching, and video debrief. The flying is also late-night flying times starting at 10pm each night so everyone can get done with work, get jumping during the day, then fly at night! :) Sweet.

    If you already have a partner you want to fly 2-on-2 with, definitely email me to let me know and of course I'll pair you up.

    I will be organizing all the slots, times, and payments for this camp, so if you are interested, have questions and want all the details, just email me here, or at [email protected].

    Right on, slots are first-come, first served, so as soon as you know you want in, drop me a line and you got it!

    Yay, fun! Super stoked to finally get up to Seattle to fly with you all!!

    Mel :))

  14. sweet!! That site is awesome, thanks john! I don't rent cars much so I was just using the various rental cars web sites and it was crazy how the air fare was less than the car rental!

    Thanks everyone for your help, it saved me some serious cash :)

  16. is renting a car the best way to get from ONT to elsinore? is there anything else -- shuttle or something?

    i'm flying into ONT on a friday night and need to be in vegas for work the following monday morning. renting a car fri-mon is pushing 250 bucks. renting a car to drive, turn it in right away, then renting another car to get to vegas seems like a pain in the ass.

    if i can get from ONT to elsinore, i could rent a car for one day to make the straight shot to vegas after sunset load on sunday.

    that's the best plan i can come up with. anyone have a better idea??

  19. They have released PSB-8 which supersedes PSB-7.

    I can't find it on their web site but they embedded it in a note in facebook:

    Quote

    Please find attached our Vigil PSB–8. This is an update that replaces our recent PSB-7. Vigil PSB-8 includes better guidance and compliance requirements, as well as expanded serial numbers to be checked for October 07 cutters.

    Only those cutters found with an OCT 07 manufacture date on the cutter itself must be replaced. We have received some cutters with Sept and Nov 07 dates. September and November 07 cutters would only require the magnet test be performed.



    https://www.facebook.com/notes/vigil-aad/product-service-bulletin-8/301421876540881

  20. https://www.facebook.com/groups/seattle.tunnel.fliers/

    This group is a place for jumpers to network and find opportunities to fly in the new Seattle wind tunnel. This group isn't officially affiliated with iFly Seattle or any DZ.

    basically you can find people to share time with here.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/265991880085418/

    This group was made by iFly. this is a good place to go to get answers that you want ifLy to weigh in on

  21. Interestingly I just got off the phone with my rigger, and I don't have to worry because my cutter was already replaced due to a prior recall. it's not clear to me exactly *which* recall it was. It might have been PSB-5 which recalled all cutters made in december of 2007. I'm not sure if the DOM of the AAD is in november of 07 if that means that it's not possible for the cutter to have a DOM that is a few weeks older.

    Which brings up an interesting question. I know that the only thing you're required to put in the reserve repack card is basically the serial number of the reserve, right? mine happened to have my AAD's serial number, but not the DOM or s/n or part number of the cutter.

    General question to riggers: why not just always put that relevant information into the card so that when these things come up you don't have to pop pins just to see if you're affected?

  22. Thanks for the feedback everyone that was helpful. I'm going to call my rigger today and see if I can't bring it in ASAP just to make sure.

    Just because I could jump without an AAD doesn't mean I should, because why take anything off the table that can make the numbers game a little more in your favor.

    If it is missing it's cutter than obviously my last 175 or so jumps prove that I can jump without one :P

    but that doesn't mean I want to make it 176!

  23. I saw the vigil recall and checked my repack card for my s/n and it says the DOM is wk 46-07, which if my retarded math skills are correct, puts me in the middle of november. i have no idea if it is the original cutter, according to my pack card it was added to my rig in 2010 and I've only owned it for about a year.

    their bulletin says that if it isn't on the list but was made in or before 2007 to have it inspected at next repack. i *just* got my repack on september 17th.

    my s/n is five away from some of the s/n on the list, so it kind of seems like mine is as close to being on the list without being on the list as you can get.

    i'm going to ask a few of the riggers about this when I'm at the dz this weekend but i'm curious what the masses would do if they were in my situation.

    should i just let it be and have it checked in six months, or should I just spring for the repack and have them check it over?