Bob_Church

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Posts posted by Bob_Church

  3. A few years back (amazing how much time that can cover, isn't it) we had a jumper come into the hangar talking about how close he'd just come to cutting away. His right toggle had stuck in the toggle keeper and he couldn't break it free. It finally came out on his one last tug. I told him that the trick to that was to reach above to the top of the riser and hold that while tugging on it with the other hand. He said he couldn't, his canopy was pretty small and anytime he released the left toggle it went into too much of a spin. I said that at that point you hold the left toggle with your teeth. You may still have some turn but not enough to be a problem. He said, and I kid you not, "put the toggle in my *mouth*" and made it clear he would never even consider it.
    I just lowered my head and walked away.

  5. Back in the early 80s during my fourth malfunction I would have bounced without Pat's advice. While the USPA was saying "always look at your handles before you pull them" he had written "if you have to look you'll get killed when you get ground rush." After I read that I always practiced without looking. I was at Z-hills and me and some one I'd just met took a 2 way to 1500 feet then I had a total. Going through a grand at terminal was just like he'd warned. While my eyes were hypnotized by ground rush my hands did what I'd kept practicing and got a my reserve out. I was head low and terminal when the 20 foot SAC opened. I woke up under canopy, but I woke up.

  6. I got a break Sunday when the air show started an hour and a half late due to weather. We still had a great show, it was amazing, sold all the chicken dinners and everything, but there wasn't time for a Santa jump with the candy drop. I hate doing the Santa jump. I got to open the show jumping smoke but left The Suit in the bag.

  7. timrf79

    ***You might want to tack down the loose parts, like the vest. Just a few loops of nylon thread to keep things from flapping around or feeling like handles at the wrong time.


    That is a good thought. I will look into that.
    Was thinking the opposite, making the loose parts "cut-a-way" friendly; meaning they come of easily if needed to.

    I will look at the costume when it comes in, might just be saved for halloween.

    A couple of hook knives might be good. One high (chest strap) and one low, (knee pocket). When I'm doing CRW I like a third one laced into my shoe laces. Hopefully if all goes wrong you'll be able to get your hands on one of them.

  8. I've only got three or four actual night jumps but my log books show several "dark jumps."
    Those are the ones where you haven't got lights or anything but people screwed around so long that it was dark when we finally got to altitude.

  9. jumpsalot-2

    Real Water Jumps. That is something all jumpers should do. I do have one. Unplanned. I learned a lot swimming and dragging my cut away canopy to shore ......... just grab the tail and swim ...... [:/]



    I got seriously lucky on my first water jump. I got invited to do a demo for the Sternwheel Regatta in Charleston Wv. Instead of paying out money for repacks and stuff I got the jump free, the cleaning and repack free (my rigger was the one who invited me), a free t-shirt and $25 for the jump. And of course we got fed. And talk about safety, when I bobbed back up out of the water I saw the local Coast Guard crew zooming in on me in their boat.

  13. JohnMitchell

    ***
    Since the pilot we usually use seems physically unable to do a correction of less than 30 degrees

    :S Not a very good pilot, in my book, sheesh. :D

    To paraphrase many many other people under various circumstances "I get to altitude with the pilot I've got, not the pilot I want."

  15. "I have given 90 degree corrections in the past. "

    We had a pilot at the airport (not a dz) that wanted to learn to fly jumpers to help out at the air shows. The first time he took us up the wind was coming straight down the runway. A couple of days later he took us up and used the same flight path, figuring "hey it worked last time," and I finally got to say "90 right!"
    Even with regular pilots that have a little jump experience I've learned to navigate completely differently. Since the pilot we usually use seems physically unable to do a correction of less than 30 degrees I get him going in the general direction but set it up so that I can give one big correction that puts me over the spot. Since I can't control the direction of approach I just make sure I'm ready to go as soon as he is over it.

  18. We have an airshow this weekend but I told the weather gods that if it had to rain at one but would leave the other dry then to rain on us. And it's starting to look like maybe they listened.
    I hope this doesn't get me kicked out of the skydiving club, but here's hoping for a nice day for you.
    Having had three of them I'm kind of sentimental about wedding days.

  19. One time, and one time only, I found microwave popcorn with butter but no salt. At home, for us, it's strictly Orville Redenbacker popped in a dedicated sautee pan with melted butter poured over. I know, I know, I always believed that you'd be paying a lot more for just a fancy jar but one time they were out of the other non-microwave popcorn (they had walls of different microwave but two versions of non-microwave, the little plastic krogers sack or Orville) so I had to get it and I've never gone back, it's worth the cost.But anyway, microwave is handy at work, the airport, everywhere. But they always put at least three times as much salt as I like. It's very easy to keep a thing of popcorn salt and add the amount I like, but adding butter when I'm not in my own kitchen would be more trouble than it's worth. This stuff was perfect, so I never found it again.

  20. DrSher


    Hi guys!

    I am looking for a new main canopy. I have decided for a Vector rig with a Swift as reserve.

    My preference is a 7-celler that doesn't have forward speed of a NASCAR (no PD, Mini-Surfair or other super-fast stuff) and doesn't give you hell if you push it a tad too much. At the same time, I am not looking for a Para-foil either, but it would be good to have something you could steer away from rivers and stuff. Throughout the years, there was way too many DZ's close to water.

    Final criteria is something with quick and reliable openings that doesn't hurt too much. Prefer to pull at 2000-2500.


    What is best option at this time?




    It sounds like you're ok with older gear. Call Ralph and see if he has any of those Hornets left. The hornet is a nine cell zero-p canopy. My 210 reminds me for all the world of my Cruiselite, which I still consider the best canopy experience I've ever had.

  22. I think it's worth knowing what your instructors say before and then after an event. In 1978, on my 9th jump, I had a high speed malfunction and had to use the belly wart on my student rig. I tried to do a plf but hit butt first, hard. I mentioned this back at the dz and was told "oh, yeh, when you use a low mount reserve you have to pull yourself up into the lines."
    He told me this AFTER the jump, and it always sort of modified my outlook.