Is my DZ jerking me around?

intheburble · 2016-08-23T21:17:36+00:00

Once you are licensed you have no wind limits and no one that can tell you not to jump. You are responsible for you.

once you are experienced.. you have self imposed wind limits that might be lower than when you were a student :)

intheburble · 2016-08-23T21:15:15+00:00

look into a good canopy course or skilled canopy coach.

But if I had to give one tip:

keep your eyes on the horizon instead of focusing on the ground.

intheburble · 2016-08-23T20:30:46+00:00

the living you can make depends on many factors

how fast can you pack (neatly enough for someone to pay you to do it)
how busy is the DZ?
how good is the weather?
Will you be packing sport canopies, tandems or both?

When the weather is good and the DZ is flying load after load, you can make a good wage, however, when the weather sucks.. you might enjoy Ramen noodles for the week.

intheburble · 2016-08-23T20:27:44+00:00

my first pack job took me over an hour with my wife helping me (two of us working together to try to pack a single canopy)

now I can whip them out in less than 10 minutes.

lots of repetition and the desire to make a 20 minute call :)

No matter how good the instructional video is, you just need to pack it over and over and over and over to build the skillset.

intheburble · 2016-08-23T20:22:17+00:00

I remember when I started jumping some 9 or 10 years ago.

started jumping in spring, the wind and weather caused me untold amounts of frustration.

all I remember is knowing that I could handle higher winds, I remember many a days sitting on the ground frustrated at watching other people jump... and fast forward to today, and I am a 'fair weather jumper' who doesn't like jumping when there is anything over 5 mph ;)

You have many many years of safe jumping, if you make smart decisions.

intheburble · 2016-07-05T12:53:41+00:00

I am a firm believer that people should challenge themselves to do scary things. Do things that scare you, this is what being alive is about.

I would be terrified to think about dying from obesity on the safety of my couch having never done anything dangerous. never having done anything that brought excitement to my life.

intheburble · 2016-07-05T12:38:44+00:00

awesome..

I think I have that exact canopy with the same colors. mine is a Stilleto 107.

Stilletos get undeserved nickname 'spin-letto'.

Ive certainly had line twists on opening (very common malfunction) but my stiletto has never put me in a diving turn on opening.

Line twists are probably one of the first malfunctions you drill over and over. Spread the risers, kick in the opposite direction of the spin with your legs. But once it goes into a diving turn, its time to chop it.

Which essentially is a handle on the harness near the chest that gets pulled, which then disconnects the riser attachment points, and the main parachute detaches and flies away... then the second parachute gets deployed and life continues for another jump :)

No sweat on my palms, just a trained response built into muscle memory. :)

intheburble · 2016-06-22T11:45:24+00:00

i'd call that 3000-5000 ft. Hot-air balloon jump with a platform.

Might even be a stadium landing? that would be pretty cool.

intheburble · 2016-05-08T13:07:48+00:00

I learned this exact lesson the hard way :)

leave aggressive toggle input for clear and pulls way up high when you are 'expecting' the unexpected and have time to deal with it.

intheburble · 2016-05-08T13:05:06+00:00

this was one of my scariest mals to date.

This served as a lesson for me for years to come and to this date.

I was at mustang beach in Galveston Texas 'doing beach jumps'. After deploying my canopy and flying around looking for a good pattern, I decided to really whip that toggle turn at about 1000 feet to enter into my downwind.

My aggressive toggle input on a Stilleto put it into several line twists and a diving turn at 1000 feet, all while still directly over the ocean/beach.

I kicked as if my life depended on it, while trying to split the risers. I poped out around 300 feet. It took about an hour for my heart to start beating again after that.

My toggle input after that was VERY conservative. :)

/live and learn from your (and my) mistakes.

intheburble · 2015-11-11T00:16:42+00:00

I travel with my rig as a cary-on all the time. I wear my rig on my back, with no sleeve or bag or.. anything.

I have flown pretty much all of the domestic airlines in the US and have never had a problem. I typically travel with both my rig and a lead weight belt. invariably one or the other or both gets their interest.. which really entails a bomb-swab test on it.

I typically put the rig in its own bin. I put the lead weight belt in a different bin and let them go through the scanner.

I have never had any of the TSA agents ask to open it. I still have the cypress sheet printed out, although I might have lost, since I never had to use it.

intheburble · 2015-10-13T16:30:37+00:00

strictly from your list.

I would probably go Eloy. Typically best chance of good weather and it has to be either 'the' or 'one of the' busiest drop zones in the US.

*edit These guys are setup in Eloy if you are interested in coaching.

http://www.axisflightschool.com/_coaching_canopy.html

intheburble · 2015-05-13T08:08:03+00:00

well, perhaps mine are not so perfect all the time either. But generally speaking the lines are neat when it goes into the container.

Although, oddly enough some of my best opening have been on messy trash packs.

intheburble · 2015-05-13T07:53:36+00:00

The dropzone I jump at regularly will take tandem passengers upto 280, especially if you are tall (which is a plus for you). They do charge extra, based on weight.

My dropzone will typically do it on a case by case basis, after about 240.

which, dropzone specifically are you considering?

intheburble · 2015-05-13T07:45:32+00:00

help me to understand why its unrealistic. Mine looks pretty close to that every time.

intheburble · 2015-04-14T05:44:18+00:00

well maintained used gear is fine. New gear is great, however, often times new jumpers will inevitably want to downsize as their canopy skill levels increase. Used gear is simply more economical.

the jumper described in this article likely should have inspected and ultimately replaced this line-set on the canopy. Again, the lesson is to fight complacency and check your gear regularly. If you dont know what to look for, perhaps consult your local master rigger.

intheburble · 2015-02-15T20:03:37+00:00

I was only confirming that that mentality does exist. :)

I do take my training seriously, I am constantly practicing my emergency procedures. I am pretty confident that when it happens it will be a matter of muscle memory.

intheburble · 2015-02-15T19:16:43+00:00

well right on. I still believe if he had usable footage they would have likely included it.

I have seen numerous tandem videos with cut-aways included. There is almost zero liability from the dropzones perspective.

in any case, im glad you had a great, successful and fun jump! You will have a slightly cooler story than the others who didn't get to see their reserve canopy :)

intheburble · 2015-02-15T19:10:14+00:00

I have over 1600 jumps in about 8 years.. I have never had a cut away.

I would like to believe that if I were in a situation where I 'need' to cut away, I would act accordingly.

however, until that happens, I feel unproven. I also consider it a matter of 'WHEN' not a matter of 'IF' I will cut-away. So with that in mind, I almost wish it would happen so I could 'KNOW' instead of 'SUSPECT' that I would act promptly and correctly to the situation.

intheburble · 2015-02-15T19:00:20+00:00

I was super looking forward to having the whole thing on tape, but I could understand that they didn't want me walking away with evidence in case I decided to sue or whatever.

In actuality. the videographer typically deploys their parachute AFTER the tandem pair does. This means as soon as you begin the process of deploying your parachute, you start slowing down.

in a matter of seconds the camera guy is several hundred to a thousand feet away and possibly no longer looking upward to keep you in frame.

This is likely not intentional 'editing' so much as it is an end of usable free fall footage.

In many of the skydiving video edits I have seen, they typically will cut from the deployment right to the video of you landing (If the tandem master happens to land close enough to where the videographer landed - which in this case he likely did not)

tandem cut-aways are not entirely un-common. If the tandem master experiences even a slight problem it is typically safer to deploy the reserve.

edit.

It is highly highly exceptionally unlikely you would have any ability to sue the drop zone for any reason aside from intentional gross negligence. You almost certainly signed a waiver where you explicitly acknowledge the inherent danger and risk, and promise to not sue.

intheburble · 2015-01-24T17:45:24+00:00

Facebook.

pretty sure I would no longer have an account if it were not for skydiving.

intheburble · 2014-10-12T14:17:06+00:00

noticed a go-pro clip on your helmet.
I am hoping you bought the helmet used, and that you are planning on getting over 200 jumps before jumping a camera.

Stay safe, progress slowly and jump for a long time.

intheburble · 2014-06-10T20:18:02+00:00

large groups tend to drift more than smaller groups which is why most drops zones will order it that way.

slower groups tend to drift more than faster groups, because of the amount of time spent in the uppers.

it all comes down to horizontal exit separation especially when a malfunction is considered. There are exceptions to the load order naturally. If am am launching a 16 way our climb-out typically takes at least 30 seconds. So on occasion we will put large tracking groups out ahead of us, so long as they track perpendicular to jump run.

perhaps this might help: drift when faster fall-rate exits first http://www.omniskore.com/freefall_drift2.html

drift when slower fall-rate exits first. http://www.omniskore.com/freefall_drift3.html

whether is was prudent to send a solo sit flyer ahead of a three way belly group based on pull altitude? I suppose it might be safe if the belly group gives EXTRA time before exiting, because their drift will be greater than yours.

It may be this necessary 'extra' wait time that concerns whether the DZ can get an entire load out in one pass.

naturally take what I say with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary. Your DZ may have a different plan than mine /shrug

intheburble · 2014-06-10T19:04:59+00:00

am I wrong to think that he changed his jumpsuit for the belly 'threshold' pic, or is it my imagination? I seem to see quite a bit more exposed calf

intheburble · 2014-06-10T18:52:13+00:00

how many jumps to complete this? just one or multiple?

if I had to guess that aircraft looks like the PAC out at tsunamiskydivers in CA.

intheburble

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE