ScratchTX

When I went to Skydive Deland this past March, manifest asked a guy to show me around and gave me the basic orientation. He said some simple sage things about skydiving that really stuck with me (ending with "Don't THINK about it so much..." which is basically my mission in life...) But I can't remember his name; I was too overwhelmed as a country dz bumpkin in the big skydiving city to catch it. He was in a wheelchair, white guy, maybe around 50 years old give or take 5-10 years... I'd like to have a name to hang this memory on. Anyone know who it might have been? Thanks, --Scratch

One other thing to consider -- my own experience at about 107 lbs. exit weight under a student 220 was that I really didn't get to learn too much about canopy input and reaction. I moved down to a 160 around 20 or 30 jumps and while that is still a light wingloading, I was able to actually notice much more response to my inputs (front and rear risers, full toggle turns, flat turns, finding the sweet spot in the flare, etc.). Things were just in slow motion under the giant circus tent canopy, didn't learn as much. Now I am a hulking 110 lbs. and about to radically downsize to a 150. :>) Scratch

This is kind of the opposite of the "line dump with loose stows" discussions here. Can Dacron lines significantly slow down a canopy's opening? Someone told me that it possibly could, because of the added friction of the lines and the bigger line bights. I don't really see that -- I mean, maybe by a fraction of a second. But it seems that, given the snatch force of a good PC, the "bag out" to "line stretch" part of the opening sequence wouldn't really be that affected by line type. And considering how small a part of the entire opening sequence time it takes for line stretch to happen, I just don't see really perceiving much of a difference there... Informed opinions/explanations on this? (I'm of course talking NON-high performance canopy here -- Spectre 150 loaded well under 1:1 -- in case that makes a difference... though I don't see how it would for opening speed) --Scratch

Hey, yours isn't symmetrical and there's a picture on the cover of Parachutist to prove it! Oh, I get it -- so THAT'S why you usually fly a wing slot... :>) Thanks everyone for some good ideas, tips and designs. Avoiding white in general but especially on the center cell is a good idea... my old canopy came back with a factory patch on the center cell. When I first looked at it, I thought "Why didn't they use the same color?! My canopy's center cell is cream-colored!" before I realized there IS no "cream color," there is only PINK which I suppose the center cell was, once... Now it looks like a hobo's canopy with a brilliant pink patch on a brownish-stained faded caucasian-colored center cell... And my canopy does occasionally touch the ground, sometimes not in the peas or the surrounding grass or even the surrounding fields... --Scratch

I've been playing with the computer canopy-coloring program ad nauseum, cutting up color swatches from PD and laying them out on white paper... I've hardly ever had the chance to buy something like this NEW before... all my "big stuff" (rig, canopy, cars, etc.) has always been used and color was unimportant. Now I'm buying a new Spectre and driving myself and my gf crazy with the endless "what about jade and blackberry, with an off-center stripe of... white? yellow? black? Or, wow, look at this magenta and black... no wait, green and blue look cool, but that's asking for a canopy collision or lost cut-away..." Any suggestions? I lean toward non-symmetrical, unusual/unique is good... even weird... but it's had to do that with just seven cells to work with...Plese post pics, designs, descriptions etc. of cool/weird unusual 7-cells! I promise to try to NOT just steal your colors, but rather, get inspired by them. --Scratch

Glad y'all liked the "turn, turn" song. It's part of my first jump/AFF progression story in verse. Too long to post here, though (4-5 pages.) Unless, maybe, if someone begged me to... :>) --Scratch

On every jump, turn, turn, turn There is a reason turn, turn, turn That the student keeps on turning in the heavens A time to turn right a time to stop a time to stop A TIME TO STOP STOP STOP GODDAMNIT!! left hip down, LOOK LEFT, counter it! STOP!!! DAMNIT there goes the jumpmaster again!!! STOOOPPPP!!!! A time to re-dock a time to pull yes lots of us are not naturals :>)

Harsh times for you; hope they get better soon.... "have not been myself lately..." I know that feeling, I call it "not in my skin." But really, it's just a tempting distraction from what's going on... uh, if I'm not in my skin, then who the hell is writing this...? But yep, I also have been really surprised to see how certain aspects of my life can influence others. The catch-22 for me is that while skydiving always feels great, I do find that feeling less confident and more stressed out (not to mention financially strapped) makes me feel less like going to the drop zone. And in reality, I have found I DO enjoy skydiving even more when I don't have any other stresses associated with it, or even when things in general are just going strong and well. All you can do is do what you can do -- that might be jumping, or it might be not jumping. What helps me is remembering: Life ALWAYS moves on, on way or another. "How can you be two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?" (a variation of "wherever you go, there you are") "the sky will always be there." and, also, "shut up and jump" pick and choose as you will...

Hey, these are all helpful replies. I've seen PTs for neck problems and shoulder injuries and I agree, they rock. But the docs are good for diagnosis. And with knee stuff, I think a good diagnosis is important. Especially since I remembered that about two weeks before this started, I had a kind of ugly landing on an asphalt runway, where I fell on my knees. Thought I just bruised them and blew it off. 2-3 weeks later did days of home improvement work involving waaaay too much squatting and kneeling for my age, and I thought the problem was from that.... two months later, it all is coming back to me.... !! Mostly all the tx is just ice, anti-inflammatories and strengthening, but I know the PTs were great about exactly WHAT to exercise and what NOT to exercise to get the best results. But, you can't get to a PT without a referral, and I don't really trust my GP's assessment so I guess I'll go with an orthopod first. Thanks for the help and "I can relates." It's a freaking weird problem --no pain at all for long enough that I start thinking I am just a wimp and nothing is wrong... then I bump it or climb on something the wrong way, and OH YEAH...!

I'm going to be getting a referral to a specialist for a minor but really nagging knee problem. To those of y'all well versed in the wonderful world of injuries and knees, what's the difference between a sports medicine specialist and a orthopedic specialist? Can one doc be both? My health insurance has the two categories listed separately so I am not sure how to approach my doctor for the referral. My feeling is that a sports medicine specialist would have a better attitude ("okay, so here's the best things for you to do to minimize additional injury or re-injury when you continue the activities you want to do"), while orthopedic surgeons are all about abstinence ("This joint has been compromised and you must not ever stress it again!!") Also, if anyone is familiar with patellar tendonitis (what my GP called "housemaid's knee," but I'm not sure that's right), any tips would be appreciated. It is an annoying, non-injury, stupid thing... can't squat or kneel or even gently bump the lump under my knee without seeing stars... but can walk around just fine. -- Scratch

Well, just about everyone I jump with is definitely in it for the fun, not for some grim competitive achievement or anything like that. It's just that some of these writings are definitely more out there, on a fringy edge... and I like that kind of fringe.

Just went re-reading some of Pat Works' stuff online, and found myself wondering where the whole "skydiving as a dance, as a journey; RW as art in the sky with friends" thing went... I don't get out much as I should, I know. And as much as I love skydiving and the people in it, I've encountered few that really seem to come to it from this perspective. What happened to all this? Did it fizzle, or get overwhelmed by the growth of competition RW or the birth of Extreme Sports? Or is it really just a state of mind and if I make it, it will be there; if I dance it, it will come; if I get my butt out of my comfortable home dz i will expand my horizons and find it? I know Skratch is still jumping and I have an open date to get up to Colorado and jump; where does Pat Works jump these days? --Scratch in TX

Just vouching for Skip -- he is a nice, easy-going guy. Hope someone can help him out, he is sorely in need of some skydives.

Just chiming in here with a reminder that it is even an option to continue jumping a canopy loaded LESS than 1:1, if that's appropriate for you. This discussion is usually framed in terms of 1.1:1 vs 1.3:1 or higher ... but it is perfectly reasonable to jump a lower wingloading, if it feels right for you and you're getting the performance/learning/fun you want. I did find that loading much lower than .8 to 1 does make it hard to really learn much about how canopies fly and respond to input. But after trying various smaller sizes and different canopies, I am now about to downsize from a .84 to 1 wingloading to a .9 to 1 (F-111 to ZP; square to "semi-elliptical"), and that is fine for me. (Of course at less than 1:1, getting out short on a windy day is a really bad idea... but that makes you a better spotter...!) --Scratch

Or, that your boss has decided that in order for you to get to work on time, you need to leave your house at 8:35 AM and take the freeway, or be fired. This is because some people were ticketed for speeding on local roads on their way to work and it was making a bad name for the company. So he installed a video camera in your car and it showed that yesterday, you left your house at 8:40 and took local roads... So even though you got to work on time and endangered no one on your drive there, you were fired anyway. What are the arguments there? Do you say "Well if you just leave for work on time and follow the requirements of your employer, what's the problem? It's his right to decide what he wants from you." Or "As long as it's not a requirement that all employers put video cameras in employee's cars it doesn't bother me -- I can get another job if I don't like it?" Where do you draw the line? (And no fair turning it into an argument about the recklessness of speeding on local roads, or the inaccuracy of speedometers, or the weak morals of people who sleep late...)

Sure, I think drug testing is an excellent substitution for talking to people, creating a culture of trust and accountability, and dealing with risky situations and people directly. Who wants to do THAT anymore, really? Saying that drug testing makes skydiving safer is like CYPRESes making skydiving safer -- it only addresses one specific problem but is sometimes treated like a panacea for all ills and dangers. I think it can give a false sense of security. Just to clarify things: discussing whether or not staff should be jumping high is an entirely different question than whether or not staff should be drug tested. DZ staff who are high at work should be let go, and I would not want someone to jump with an instructor who is under the influence. I would not want them to jump with an instructor who is overly cocky, hungover, sick, had an inflated sense of their own competency, was motivated more by money than love of teaching and concern for safety... etc. Random performance testing on the other hand, I would actually have no problem with -- with a flight simulator kind of skydiving simluation, or random check dives with anther instructor thowing unexpected wrenches into the works. But I think the obsession with drug testing is entirely the wrong answer. It does not ensure an instructor is safe, it only says if they have taken certain substances within a certain period of time. So, in skydiving, excessive drinking is well accepted; overconfidence is often tolerated, jumping after being dumped by your spouse or chewed out by someone is considered okay, but someone using illegal drugs on their own non-skydiving time must be stopped for safety reasons? The logic is just not there, sorry. And so I think the reasons are not safety reasons, but are CYA reasons, and that is a very slippery slope. So I think the Sk/cratches concur on this one. (And, FWIW, even though I hate that I even have to add this, I would have clean tests if I ever took one, I am not an instructor, and do drink alcohol, and am familiar with problem irresponsible drug use and associated issues.) (Oh, and I have a CYPRES, too) :>) --Scratch

I thought I wanted a low-profile reserve handle, too, until I tried on a rig with one... I didn't like having so little of the handle to feel, or not being able to see any of it (it's an anatomy thing...). I did replace my huge old D-handle with a triangular-ish one that's standard for Racers; it's lower profile than what I had and works for me at this point, given my experience level and the type of jumping I do. Scratch in TX

One more chiming in -- did two jumps on a Spectre 150 demo last weekend and on the second one (hop n pop subterminal) I had a forward surge on opening just like described here. Weird -- stable, on heading dive for maybe 2-3 seconds or so before recovering. I chalked it up to subterminal opening, slider not coming all the way down immediately since I was loading it very lightly (about .9:1) but now I wonder. I had gently stuffed the nose on that pack job, though, and rolled the tail pretty tight. I'll watch for it more next weekend and see what happens.

Also, weight training helping to increase bone density; especially important for those smaller women at or approaching menopause and at higher risk of osteoporosis/breaking bones.

Good thread, good comments. Thanks for bringing it over here to keep it going, Pammi. I don't have a whole lot more to add. Summarizing, seems like the main ideas are, really, that there are many factors to "safety." Some are independent of currency/frequency of jumps, some aren't. I still think that all other things being equal (that is, using good judgement re:gear choice and jump types; being consistent and thorough about gear checks, being ever vigilant about complacency, etc.) the person who jumps more frequently is likely to be "safer" in a difficult situation. For all the reasons already given here. But I do want to clarify what I said at first -- I think if someone is realistic about all the risk factors and takes actions to balance that, they can end up even. If I thought that I was really putting myself at signifcantly higher risk every time I jumped by having such low jump numbers per month, I'd stop jumping. (No I wouldn't -- who am I kidding?!?)

[frowning] Really? I'd always heard that, but I can't help thinking that *something* was different to make it happen. I don't know why though - I can philosophically accept "you can do everything right and still die," even though I know that fatalities are really usually from a chain of events... don't know why I can't accept "You can pack/deploy everything right and still have a slammer." Guess it boils down to personality -- how much of a control freak vs. accepting person you are... guess I know where I fall. :>) I really doubt it's inherent in my canopy, although I am planning on getting another one soon anyway. I never roll the rose and have never had anything other than soft openings -- fairly quick ones (I prefer it that way) but not hard at all. This was definitely an anomaly, HOPEFULLY not to be repeated.

Yeah, I watched someone do that yesterday. I does seem easier to do with a small, crisp canopy, than with my big old limp one that hangs down almost to the floor (hunh, that sure came out sounding weird...) when it is over my shoulder. As for prevention -- absoutely. I look at people who stay fit just by their genetic makeup or something, who can roll out of bed and go jump and feel fine at the end of the day, and I think "more power to them," but I know I just cannot afford to do that. When I do get really out of shape, and stop stretching, I know that even a normal day of jumping will leave me sore. That's why I'm kind of pissed off that this happened -- because I actually had been doing lots of strengthening and stretching. Other than my neck, the rest of me feels fine! Do you know what kind of herbs they are? Nah, I am not really concerned, just grumpy and a little whiney... :>) I'll deal. Thanks for the tips.

Thanks... Yeah, I was on a plan to up my jumping -- working out to increase stamina, finally back at the dz after a four week break, all set to make more jumps during the day than I usually do (when I am weak and wimpy). This happened on the first jump of the day. I do quarter the slider as you described, I usually don't roll the tail super tight but I do roll it. That is what would have come undone in my sloppy placing of the canopy on the floor. I guess that does make more of a difference than I realized. All I know now is that my neck is not a very happy set of vertebrae. I have been through this before (my neck's had problems off and on for years and years) and I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to spring for the $$$ at a doc-in-the-box place. Since its not an "emergency," it'll be a lot of money for someone to say "take it easy, use ice on it after activity, use moist heat on it, sure, massage might help, take ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, it will just take some time." But sometimes an Rx for muscle relaxants does make a difference, helps stop the muscles from spasming around the injured tissue. But, to get a few muscle relaxants, I have to pay a bunch of money for the exam, AND have a "skydiving injury" in my medical record... and I know from previous experience as a self-employed person that it is almost impossible to get good, affordable insurance if you participate in "hazardous recreational activities such as skydiving..." And I might be self-employed again sooner than I think. opps sorry this has gone totally off topic from gear and rigging.

funny thing... a few days before, I'd just skimmed an article about hard openings and thought, gee I'm glad I have a nice tame 7-cell F-11 canopy, Dacron lines, I never have really hard openings, I pack fine, don't like super long snivels, I don't need to worry about that... :-! HA! -- Ow, it hurts to laugh... :>) No equipment damage, my neck is badly whacked but that will heal. After talking and thinking about it, I recalled that I had done an unusually messy pack job after my last jump a few weeks ago. The canopy had really spread out when I laid it down to cocoon it and I even thought about starting over. But no, I foolishly carried on, after deciding that the lines were okay inside and I didn't think I'd likely get a lineover... Thinking/talking about what could have caused it: not slowing down prior to dumping - nope, this was a relaxed solo, on my belly. line dump - not too likely. I never make short stows, I was using the same small rubber bands as the previous few jumps, and none of them were broken; letting the nose get too exposed - most likely explanation, given my pack job. But I never roll the nose, I just gently stuff it and I used to even just let it hang, with no problems. So I am surprised this could have caused such a radically fast opening (we're talking FAST). slider down -- I bag the canopy by s-folding in the bottom last, and so usually re-check that the slider is all the way up right before closing the bag. But I often have to help my slider down after opening (lightly loaded canopy), and this time it was RIGHT there. So maybe it was down the lines some and I just didn't see it. it's just bugging me because I know something caused it, and that something was my packing, but I am just not sure exactly what. Can exposing too much of the nose, on this kind of canopy, really make that much difference? Or was it likely another packing error? --Scratch

I'm sure this is not a new question, but why do people consider Racers to be not freefly friendly? I have an old SST, and once I added walrus teeth tabs to the main flap I never have any more problems with the main flap opening in freefall. (It used to do that, but since it is a pull-out there isn't much bridle exposed to the wind at all, even then. Not that I am saying it's a good idea to skydive with an open main flap...!) Also, even though the riser covers are full velcro, I keep the velcro clean and have never had them open prematurely that I know about. (I'm replacing the velcro anyway, because it is old and getting weaker, but even so, it still holds now.) So, why would this container not be freefly friendly? What other things make a container not recommended for freefly orientations/speed? Besides it being kind of ugly and not hip at all? :>)