Divalent

While I would agree with your advice, I know that one of the recent examples of a delay was a rig that was packed with a reserve of the right size for the container. (i.e., not a reserve size listed as "tight", but one listed as the size it was built for). So while an oversized reserve might be one cause of reserve hesitations, and one that a rigger might notice at pack time, it is not the only one. It could be a poorly designed or poorly mfg'd PC, some quirk of the reserve compartment, something that might develop after packing, some condition (body position, etc) at deployment time, or some other thing that would not be plainly evident to a rigger at repack time. So my question is mostly trying to get to whether there are things a rigger might do to improve extraction even when there is no reason for you to suspect there is a problem. Mcordell's reply seems to suggest there is little one can do in terms of distributing the pack volume in the container. Is that absolutely true? I only pack mains, but I know that from pack to pack, there is some variation in how my main is stuffed in the baq (e.g., wide vs narrow; even distribution vs more material in the center, etc.) Maybe small things could play a role. (But I'll again admit my ignorance of packing reserves, and so must trust what you guys say.) Edited to add: I will also mention that perhaps there are things a rigger does that slightly deviates from the mfg's recommendations that might seem inconsequential, but might be important. (Again, I'm not a rigger, so this is an example from ignorance, but it maybe illustrates where I'm going: suppose a rigger doesn't exactly follow the mfg's description of distrubuting the pack volume, but instead pushes some off to the side to allow more room for the PC.)

Packing a reserve to improve extraction? Is it possible? There have been several examples discussed in this forum of reserves not being timely extracted following a successfully PC launch and bridle extension (including some with video's proving the delay), and there may have been some fatalities where a delay could have been a contributing factor in the outcome. I am wondering it there are things that a rigger could do when packing a reserve that might help ensure that the freebag is more easily extracted once the PC has been launched. Maybe things like variations in how the canopy is distributed within the bag (is that possible?), or where the excess bridle is stowed (to occupy space so that the freebag is forced to remain lower). I'm not a rigger, and so am not familiar with the details of how they are packed and the container closed, and so I don't know what latitude a rigger would have in how it is packed. Obviously whatever is done would have to otherwise follow the procedure specified by the manufacturer. But just wondering if you riggers out there have thought about possible techniques to help improve the forces needed to extract the freebag from the container. [Note: I'm not interested in restarting a "container war" discussion. Given that a customer owns a rig and needs a repack, might there be things you can do when packing that rig that might help, given what is in front of you in your packing area. So mostly looking for generic techniques that might work on most containers, but okay if you have specific things for specific containers you know of.]

Greetings fellow Farm Animal! As long as your budget allows it, I don't see why you couldn't finish your A license in the 3+ months before StPatty's rolls around. But in any event, the Farm staff will be down there and you'd be able to do just about anything at the boogie that you'd be able to do at the Farm to finish your A. (Although you might want to get your packing skills completed before hand; packing space is at a premium, and whoever is helping you learn might not be able to give you the amount of time needed.)

FYI, this weekend I filmed 3 canopy-course students exiting on a hop-n-pop (although from about 5-6 K, so no rush to pull right out the door). The first was (IMO) just about right (immediately out the door she had her belly facing the direction of the plane in a stable arch), the 2nd was typical of what I see students do (which is why I like to watch 'em exit ), and the third started out like the second, but she managed to keep from flipping on her back and eventually got into a good orientation. IMO, the launch is the key: are you jumping out in a position and with momentum to keep your head up and your belly presented to the relative wind? (which is coming from where the airplane is going.) Or do you make the mistake of going belly to the ground? (Which means the relative wind is hitting you from the side, and so very likely to flip you on your back.) http://youtu.be/LmqIF4PPlQI

In an attempt to steer the discussion back to dealing with this specific incident (as I am a Wings owner, so am concerned about this): Someone asked about about the details of the container. In the YouTube comments to the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyjpgURZVuA) the jumper said "The container is a Wings W-30 if I remember correctly. The reserve is a PD 253. It is the original reserve that came with the container." If this chart (http://www.garlyn.co.nz/wings/Wingsizingchart2.html) is accurate (it's not from the Wings site, but apparently that of a Wings dealer who hasn't updated their web site since 2009, but it reads as if it was written by Wings), a W-30 is rated to hold a "PD 253R, a Raven-M 282, or a PD 281R (tight)". So if the sizing chart and the information provided about this particular rig is accurate, it appears that the reserve was the right size for the container (as opposed to a "tight" fit). And so a chop from above 2000 ft or so from a low speed mal and a nearly instantaneous reserve handle pull (resulting in a rapid PC deployment to full bridle extension) but left him in the saddle at ~600 ft and fired his AAD(!) is a bit unnerving for me to contemplate. If this is container-specific, should I: - incorporate "pull on reserve bridle to extract reserve" as a necessary step in my EPs? (As that appeared to be required in this reserve deployment: http://youtu.be/VKVAtjfGjp0?t=1m33s)? - Get a new pilot chute? - Get a different container? - Get Wings' MARD option installed? - Downsize my reserve? - All of the above?

I think you were thinking what I was thinking. Ya, I think its pretty apparent she's really a lawyer for the Crown Prince and looking to stick it to PD for the mental anguish he suffered in that recent near death experience.

When you solely depend on DZ.com / internet fatality lists ... My comment was mostly on the relevance of the "camera incidents" thread linked to by a prior poster with respect to the issue that the OP raised here. For that particular entry in the "camera incidence" thread, it linked to the DZ.com thread in the incidents forum. So that was all I have to go on. If you have a link to the report, it would be very useful to post it in that thread (and here too), as that particular incident thread has very little information about what exactly happened. Or if you could provide a summary if there is nothing on line, that would be helpful too.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3894693 In the context of the subject of this thread (the risk of helmet mounted GoPros), the list of incidents in the thread you linked to doesn't really support the notion that the method of mounting and the presence of a cutaway is a prevalent safety concern. I spent the time cataloging what is in that "incidence" thread, and here's the results: (the numbers refer to the "incidents" as they appear in that list, although they aren't numbered, and I may have skipped a number) Distraction (maybe scary/dangerous but no actual serious harm) 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, 17,18,21,22,23,24,25,28,29,30,32, 33,34,36,37,43,44,46 (so 32 of 46 incidents) Distraction (maybe scary/dangerous and moderate injury like sprain) 5,7,45 Distraction (Scary/dangerous and some serious harm like broken bone or worse) 19,20,38* (see below) Camera's physical presence caused problem (snag, etc) but no serious harm to jumper 26,27,31,35,39 Camera's Physical presence harming another None listed (but there was that one where a gopro ended up deploying the reserve of another that wasn't listed in the thread) Camera was or alleged to be involved in serious injury or Fatality 41*,42* (see below) "NOT AN INCIDENT" (photo/video of bridle near, but not catching, on a camera) 40 For the incidents listed with an asterisk (*), heres some further information: *38: Fatality. No mention of camera or snag at all in the actual incident thread. (wingsuit, chopped: hard landing under reserve) so the link to a camera is unclear. link to the fatality thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4381398 *41: ~200 jump swooper had toe mounted camera; pounded in sustaining serious injuries in a deliberate HP landing attempt. Some experienced jumpers speculated in the thread that the camera might have been a distraction. In any event, this was not a helmet mounted camera and not affected by the mounting method link to the injury thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4378030 *42: Apparently jumper's main snagged on camera mount, and the (very experienced camera flyer) spun his main all the way to the ground (speculation is that he was incapacitated by the helmet snag upon deployment). Link to the fatality thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4386002 So with respect to the physical features of a camera and it's mount (and helmet types) over the last 5 years, I don't think the number of serious incidents are all that many, relative to the number of jumps being made world wide. The issue of distraction is always at play, but that is there even if you have a snagless mount on a cutaway helmet (or a chest or foot mount).

Miscellaneous observations/comments/speculations I'll toss out: - I'd estimate the percentage of fun jumpers with a camera to be ~50%. That percentage is much higher in the population of jumpers that have been in the sport for less than ~7 years (but long enough so that DZ's allow them to wear one). Not many of these cameras are on helmets with cutaways, and even fewer attached with a snag-resistant mount. - GoPros are usually mounted using a sticky tape attachment (not bolted on), and so can theoretically be detached in the event of a snag by hand, and as a first guess I'd say this could probably be done with nearly the same time and effort as it would take to activate a dedicated helmet cutaway. (My point is not that it is equivalent from a safety standpoint to a dedicated cutaway, but just to note that a snag on a typical GoPro camera is not that same as one on a camera of yesteryear solidly bolted to the helmet). - Should a cutaway be a standard feature of any new helmet? - If you were forced to jump with one or other, which would you chose: 1) A nakedly mounted GoPro on a helmet *with* a cutaway, or 2) a GoPro on a "snagless" mount on a helmet *without* a cutaway? - From my first observation above, a rough ball park is that there are almost certainly in excess of a million fun jumps a year with cameras throughout the world, very few of them mounted such that they are both snag resistant and with a helmet cutaway. Relative to the number of jumps made with cameras, there are relatively few serious incidents reported. And even fewer serious incidents where a camera on one jumper resulted in serious injury to *another jumper*. (I'm talking about incidents that occured because of snags or the physical presence of the camera; not mental distraction issues.) - Assuming that the jumper is educated in the special complications of cameras, should the desire to capture the experience with a camera be considered a legitimate way for one to seek enhanced enjoyment from the sport?

Best preparation (plan A) is to get an instructor to go over the exit technique, and then practice that a few times when you exit from a higher altitude (do everything as you would on a HnP, but just do a handle touch). Or you can just do what most people do, which is to forget about practicing and just do the real thing the very first time, deploying after some crazy flips. (Plan B) Particularly if you've chosen plan B, make sure you tell someone in the plane that has a camera that you are doing your first HnP so they can film it and post it here. They are always entertaining (unless they aren't).

Did you try the Dropzone locator here? (Link in the blue menu strip at the top of the page, between "Safety" and "Gear") Here's a direct link: http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/

We have the winner!!!!!!!!!!! But how do you know your rig does or does not pass a TSO test? Anyway, here is the same jumper's 1st cutaway, which occurred a few weeks prior to this one: http://youtu.be/kuBCPt_ZyZc Same rig and reserve. Note that the reserve opens without any obvious hesitation. However, in this first one he delayed about 3 secs after pulling the cutaway handle, and he was on his belly or maybe even a bit head down when the reserve PC pull the canopy out of the compartment. On his second cutaway (the one linked to in the OP of this thread), he appears to be mostly in a standing upright position.

You have to click the "Show More" in the "About" tab on the YouTube page. He wrote a very long description of what happened (his ADD fired!), so it was clearly a long delay. But you only see a few lines of his discription (and nothing to clearly indicate he wrote more). Ah screw it: I'll copy/pasta the thing: "Published on Sep 29, 2013 2nd Chop ( please pardon my 5:00 A.M. ramblings. I've been sitting and thinking and writing this since somewhere around 3:00 A.M. this morning ) Let me preface this by saying that I'm not interested in pointing fingers in any direction or saying that the decisions I made were the right decisions. I am simply sharing an experience for anyone that chooses to read it. Had a great day of jumping with friends to be topped off with a sunset load doing a high pull. Exited the plane around 14k, stable with about a 3 second delay and opened into a line over with a hard left turn. Having recently had a cutaway in which I couldn't find my main and free bag for 3 weeks, I didn't want to chop it too high if I could safely ride it to a lower altitude and minimize the drift of the main and free bag. I released the right brake to see if I could counter the left turn. By using right toggle input only, I was able to minimize the left turn and somewhat maintain the position I wanted above the DZ so that when I chopped it, the wind would carry the main and free bag toward the DZ. Too much right toggle and the canopy wanted to stall, so I just kept it in a slow left turn. Since I had altitude in which to cutaway from it if it got too much out of control, I decided to ride it down to 2500 and then cut it away. As I got to 2500 I looked down and there was another canopy passing below me. I wasn't going to cutaway above someone else, putting them in danger, so I decided to ride it for a few more seconds before chopping it. I know it all happened quickly, but it seemed like an eternity passed as I looked at the cutaway and reserve handles in my hands and felt nothing happening. I knew the cutaway cable was out because I was falling again, and I could see that the reserve handle was out but I wasn't getting that warm fuzzy feeling of a canopy opening and slowing me down. As I looked at both handles a felt nothing good happening, two thoughts passed through my mind in quick succession. One questioning whether the new pillow reserve handle that had just been installed was bad and had broken and the other thought being "well, I'm f#€ked" I looked over my left shoulder and could see the reserve pilot chute and that beautiful, wide reserve bridle streaming out about 12-15 feet behind me and thought that it must be hung up on me somewhere, so I changed my body position to try to clear it or get it in better air. As I moved my body and looked back toward the ground, I felt everything start opening. My AAD fired, so I don't know if my different body position is what caused the reserve to go ahead and open or if the AAD firing is what ultimately released it. By the time I got open and saddled out I would estimate I was around 600 feet. I made an uneventful landing and walked with slightly shaky legs to the truck waiting to pick us up. 20/20 hindsight being a great teacher, I am compelled in my mind to look at what I would do differently in a similar situation. I would still decide to ride it to a lower altitude if I felt I could safely do so, but I would cut it away at 3500 feet instead of 2500 feet. I might try unstowing the both brakes to let the left side of the canopy try to fly. THAT might have been the better option. I will be discussing this with my S&TA and my instructors to try to be better prepared should I find myself in a similar predicament. Regardless of the altitude, I would still delay the cutaway if I could see that I would be putting someone else at risk. My free bag and canopy both landed on the DZ and were recovered quickly. I made a less than pretty landing, but one I was able to walk away from. I got to go home with my wife with nothing more than a good scare and a situation to sit back and spend some valuable time reflecting on. When it's all said and done, there is a risk to skydiving. We all signed that waiver acknowledging that we understand that risk and choose to partake in this activity. I will continue jumping and enjoying the camaraderie of the wonderful people that I get to hang out with."

Ya, dust devils form when there are little or no winds, as otherwise they would be unable to sustain their vertical structure. So they are not something you would expect on a day when there are other wind conditions that are causing you concern. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on them, and notes the conditions that favor their formation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil From that article: Certain conditions increase the likelihood of dust devil formation. - Flat barren terrain, desert or tarmac: Flat conditions increase the likelihood of the hot-air "fuel" being a near constant. Dusty or sandy conditions will cause particles to become caught up in the vortex, making the dust devil easily visible. - Clear skies or lightly cloudy conditions: The surface needs to absorb significant amounts of solar energy to heat the air near the surface and create ideal dust devil conditions. - Light or no wind and cool atmospheric temperature: The underlying factor for sustainability of a dust devil is the extreme difference in temperature between the near-surface air and the atmosphere. Windy conditions will destabilize the spinning effect (like a Tornado) of a dust devil."

I can help her there: sundevil777 - Sund Evil (from Sweden (777 just a # 'cause its common name there)) stratostar - Stra Tostar (from Turkey I believe) skyjumpinfool - Skyj Umpinfool (Canadian probably: they wierd up there) RM1 - Ar Emwon (Ethiopian, right?) theonlyski - Theon Lyski (AKA, the mad russian)

How about contact lens sunglasses? They would block the light, but leave the rest of your eyeballs visible to the instructor flying near you, as it would only be your pupil and iris covered by the lens. http://www.cosmetic-lens.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=17&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Note: I'm not an instructor! When I was in my post-AFF pre-lic stage I tried to have a plan for every solo jump: an exit plan, something to work on in free fall, and something to work on under canopy. Talk to an instructor to get ideas, but here are some suggestions: 1. Exits - have a plan for how you want it to go (and then see if it does). Typically on a diving exit you intend to be oriented back up jump run, chasing after the folks that just exited. Whereas on a poised exit, or your hop-n-pop exit, you generally want to be facing forward in the direction the plane is going. - practice your hop-n-pop exit (see my post above) - diving exits: try to exit in a dive without flipping/tumbling, as well as keeping the heading you intended. - floating exit: again, try exit with complete stability as you watch the plane fly on. 2. In free fall: - getting big to slow down ** (even to the point of a somewhat reversed arch) - getting very small to speed up. - turns using just your legs, and then with both legs and arms. - restoring stability after flips and rolls. - tracking technique. (be careful when intending to track so that you don't head up or down jump run) 3. Under canopy: Check the A-card for tasks you need to master. (And I'd suggest getting real comfortable with rear riser turns and with flat turns once you got all the A-card items checked off.) I like to think of it as analogous to learning to be comfortable in a swimming pool, or on a bicycle. When first learning those activities, it's not a familiar environment, you have to consciously think about what you need to do, and you need to learn where the limits are. And you need to learn that if you get unstable, you are confident in your ability to recover yourself, and to get to the point where doing so is an intuitive thing, not something you have to think through. The prior poster had good advice, which is to communicate with an instructor before and after when possible. ** note: even though you may fall slower than most, there may be times where you are below the formation and need to get back up (because someone exited late, you overshot on a dive down, funnel on an exit, etc). So don't assume that's a skill you won't need.

A good exit to practice when you solo (or even if you are on a coached jump, if the exit is not essential to the rest of the dive plan) is the one you will have to do on your hop and pop. Practice exiting by jumping out the door facing into the relative wind with your head up (so you keep an eye on the plane at all times), and then doing a practice touch to your PC. It's a useful emergency skill you will need if you ever have to exit a plane that has mechanical issues while low, and (of course) you'll need it to pass your hop and pop. If you can master that exit, you will have no trouble with your hop and pop. Otherwise, you will be like half the students I see doing their first hop and pop: stumbling out the door like a drunken sailor and frantically deploying while unstable. BTW, if you are planning to do a solo, look over the A-card and see what things you might be able to get checked off on in the canopy category: those things you normally are doing on your own (with advice from an instructor on how to do).

a) you are jumping from a hot air balloon or b) there is a huge windshear just below jump run altitude: the head wind the plane is flying into sits just above a tail wind immediately below it. The speed of that tail wind exactly matches the ground speed of the plane.

I don't think any single fatality, in any sport, will serve as much of a reminder of how dangerous it is, because all sports have them. Who's to say this particular incident wasn't just a one-off fluke. New skydiving fatalities occur about once every 2-3 weeks, but no single one of them tells you the overall risk of the sport. Better is when the data are aggregated and presented in a way that drives home that point. Here is one attempt for wingsuit proxy flying: First watch this video, one of the best (IMO, the best) Wingsuit proximity flying compilations ever made. (Aside: this video was my inspiration to restart skydiving training after a 37 year pause.) http://vimeo.com/18150336 Incredible stuff (and a well made video). Stop the video near the end when the credits display the names of the 13 wingsuiters that were shown in the video. These are 13 of the best of the best in the sport at the time. Now cross reference those names with the BFL. You'll discover that 4 of those 13 "best of the best", 30% of them, are now dead from accidents jumping off of mountains (3 in wingsuits, 1 tracking). Mirko Schmidt, Ted Rudd, Eliv Ruud, and Florian Pays. All in a span of about 27 months. In a typical recent year the USPA loses about 0.06% of it's members to fatal incidents. In this group of the most skilled and experienced wingsuit proxy flyers in the world, the rate has been greater than 10% a year. Sobering. BTW, find the title of the soundtrack song; it's listed in the credits below the video. I thought of that title when I saw the video of Kovats' fatal flight.

This ^^^ Scan to a PDF and email. (Or, as someone mentioned above, take a photograph of it.) Works for membership application and for license applications. (And bonus is that the scan is an electronic copy in case something goes missing, or if you visit a new place and need to prove things between the submission time and when you get your card.)

... and the same eenie weenie landing area. (FYI, the original video was taken down but the OP uploaded an audio-free version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvVzIs3KfZM )

Or more accurately, you get stupid when confronted with data that seems to (but actually doesn't) confirm your biases (whether you be lefty or righty). A very interesting study: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/new-study-politics-makes-you-innumerate

Dang! Sorry to hear about your main and freebag. (At least your reserve worked.

So I'm not seeing how this works, exactly. It appears that pulling on the loop compresses just one side of the release mechanism on the male part, but not the other (i.e., it pulls in the side of the male part that is oriented towards the front of the helmet, but not the side that is facing towards the loop attachment point. ) I didn't make one, but when I try to release the buckle on my HR2 (which I think has the same buckle mechanism) with my fingers by just compressing one side far enough so that it no longer grabs, the whole buckle does not release; I need to compress both sides inward in order for it to become narrow enough to slip out of the female piece. Unless the loop cinches when you pull on it. (Does it?)