How often HAVEN'T you jumped

[jtval 0]

I was in a discussion with someone and I put itnto perspective that skydiving is a calculated risk that I feel I am in control of.
I had to explian to the finest detail that although things can and do happen that I dont become a drone at the dz.(until after the beer light is on)
what i mean by this is there are times (often) when I will not get on a load b/c of conditions.

for instance I do not like to jump in the dessert during the time I consider thermal cross-over. it seemsthat I see more dust devils in the mid to late after noon (2-5pm) so I choose to lay low during those times, unless I things seems smooth. that is one reference in what I am talking about.although vague its a reference I could type three pages of reasons why I wont jump etc but I wont


so my questions to you are
1-when do you pull yourself from a load?

2 What are your reasons?


and the BIG QUESTION is
3if you are in the plane and you get a report of ground winds that you think may be too much, do you ride the plane down?

4-how much is too much?



dont be afriad to give examples

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[CrazyIvan 0]

I pull myself off a load if I see that conditions are beyond my skill level, or, a GUT feeling is telling me not to do it or if a experienced jumper is suggesting it.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[jumprunner 0]

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I pull myself off a load if I see that conditions are beyond my skill level, or, a GUT feeling is telling me not to do it or if a experienced jumper is suggesting it.

Well, my gut feeling tells me not to jump out of an airplane in the first place. So much for gut feelings.

As far as dust devils, I was just wondering, what is the procedure if you get caught up in one? This is assuming youve already started to flare, then you unexpectedly hit one and it picks you back up, now what happens and what do you do?

I read about the last girl who had an encouter with one and dove face down because of it.

[lummy 4]

yeah, as a matter of fact... Just yesterday, I pulled myself off a load because the winds picked up to abour 26 mph... I was going to jump with GirlFALLDOWN and Boyfalldown when someone noticed a dustdevil. Jim and Shannon bumped themselves back a load to watch the winds for a bit and I followed suit. By the time that load took off, the winds were up to 26 so I pulled myself

When Clay cam out to Byron, the winds were above 20... I sat around all day and never did jump

Typically, I'll sit if it's over 20

I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. eat sushi, get smoochieTTK#1

[quade 4]

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1-when do you pull yourself from a load?

When it would be a violation of my personal minimums.

Nobody I ever knew said it quite as well as one of the finest flight instructors to ever fly right seat, Rod Machado.

http://www.rodmachado.com/Articles/samurai.htm

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2 What are your reasons?

See link above.

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and the BIG QUESTION is
3if you are in the plane and you get a report of ground winds that you think may be too much, do you ride the plane down?

Yes. Absolutely.

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4-how much is too much?

Only you can know that answer.

For each jumper and canopy it will be different.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Clownburner 0]

1. Anytime I feel like I can't get on, get out, and get down safely. Sometimes, just because they've moved the load up and I'm suddenly on a 5 min call and totally unprepared - packed, but not in gear. Since I'm a wuss and that doesn't give me time for a proper gear check, I'll scratch.

2. See above. It could also include people on the load I feel are very unsafe, or less-than-ideal wind conditions (happens a lot here in the desert, as you observed, especially in the afternoon).

3. Yes, I would. But I haven't had to so far.

4. The closest I got was just off student status (maybe 10 jumps after my A), we got a radio report of gusts to 20mph. I opted to jump, since I had landed in nearly that much wind before. It was a slightly hard landing but no biggie. I tried jumping in steady 20mph winds not long ago; at my current (very light - 0.93) wing loading I went slightly backwards when I flared (but landed OK), so I'd have to say that's my limit... And I'd think twice before jumping in those winds again.

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[Stacy 0]

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for instance I do not like to jump in the dessert

i don't like to jump into dessert either. whipped cream smells after a while!!

[Vertifly 0]

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1) When do you pull yourself from a load?

2) What are your reasons?

3) If you are in the plane and you get a report of ground winds that you think may be too much, do you ride the plane down?

4) How much is too much?

I have a general rule that is condusive to my skill level and my gear (canopy size and performance type). The rule is a simple HARD NUMBER that I will never go past. Right now it is 20mph on the ground.

When I was flying my Spectre, it was actually 25. I felt that the canopy was versatile enough to get me to the ground safely under those conditions. Anything more probably would have made me land backward anyway.

Since then, I have downsized quite a bit. I don't trust my eliptical canopy at 109sqr ft in 25mph winds. It is just too twitchy. 20mph is a safe number for its type and size considering my skill level and wing-loading.

Having a hard number set is a good idea for me. Because I make the decision and set the limit while not being under any pressure to jump - on the ground and on a calm day.

That way, when the time comes, there isn't any apprehension about what I am doing. I am a strong believer in that "Fear" brings your worst nightmare into reality.

[Clownburner 0]

Not to mention what happens if you get caramel in your cutaway housing!

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[Stacy 0]

or those little sprinkles!

__

[skydivexxl 0]

Once... couldn't fit into the R44 Helo. One should not weigh more than the jump aircraft!

Blog Clicky

[Mad47 0]

Once, when winds gusted from 10 to 42mph and than down to about 30. Several people exited but we decided to ride the plane down (and it was a fun ride). I jumped at 32 mph wind when I had about 50 jumps and A license. Today I can truly admit that it was one of the stupidest things I have ever done. My personal limit now is 30 mph if it is steady.

[yardhippie 0]

I have never pulled myself from a load, but probably should have. I didnt get hurt, but it was definitely dangerous.

If I have a choice, I will not ride the plane down. I saw my friends crash landing w/ the plane b/c of poor conditions (see my avatar) they all lived, but it was damn scary.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[tbrown 26]

Just a few weeks ago I was getting on a load with one other guy, we were going to do a warmup 2 way drill for our first jump of the morning. Somehow the plane was overbooked, there were 25 people for 23 seats. I told my partner, let's got off this load. We went back over to manifest, they admitted and apologized to overbooking the load. I asked if that meant we'd each get a $100 bar tab that evening and they said no, but they could guarantee us a flight in another twenty min. That was cool with us.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[Dumpster 0]

Winds are probably the biggest reason I've scratched from loads. Steady winds up to about 20 I'm OK with, but much more than that, I'll wait. We have a few terrain features that can make things interesting close to the ground. Very gusty winds make me nervous, and I'll sit out until things settle down. If I get to the DZ and I'm unsure, I will watch a load or two, and how people are handling the conditions, before I decide it's OK for me.

I've gone to the DZ and have had people push me to hurry up and gear up, the plane is on a 5-minute call, etc - While I feel flattered that people are eager to jump with me, I need some time to get myself ready, check my stuff, and get my head in the right frame of mind.

I have ridden the plane down in a situation where we had a storm front come in really fast - The ride down was challenging even for the pilot - I am very glad I stayed on board. (We all did-)

If the winds are much over 20, and/or very gusty, I will definitely sit out.

Easy Does It

[PhreeZone 20]

I sat out Sunday on one of my best friends at the DZ's last jump at my DZ (Shes moving to Deland... Brace yourself FL...) since the winds were'nt to my liking. I've jumped in worse, and the load before her's was worse and I jumped on it... but I've learned if something does'nt feel right, stay on the ground.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[wmw999 2,534]

I don't think I've ever scratched off something because it didn't feel right or got windy or anything (not that I shouldn't have). But I've definitely turned down going when others are still jumping. Only recently, though -- I'll admit I wasn't that smart when I was a lot younger

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Cornholio 0]

1-when do you pull yourself from a load?
- When I feel that I will be putting myself or others at risk of personal injury or death (other than the simple fact of jumping out of an airplane)

2 What are your reasons?
- It varies - unsafe gear, too many people in the sky at once, "unsafe" people on the load, weather conditions.

and the BIG QUESTION is
3if you are in the plane and you get a report of ground winds that you think may be too much, do you ride the plane down?
- Of course. Silly boy!

4-how much is too much?
- Well jumping at Byron, I get teased all the time that "jumping in this wind is nothing at Byron...blah blah blah" Bullshit. My rules are firm. If it's 20-22 and not gusting, I'll jump after watching a load or two land. If it's any higher or there is a delta in gust vs constant velociy of more than 8, I won't jump. Usually if the hangar doors are bangin', then it's too windy for me to be jumping. I have jumped in 30MPH winds ONCE - never again.

I've sat out many a jump at Byron due to the wind and it'll happen again.

Butthead: Whoa! Burritos for breakfast!
Beavis: Yeah! Yeah! Cool!
bellyflier on the dz.com hybrid record jump

[DivaSkyChick 0]

Oh man, when I first started jumping I used to scratch all the time because of over-manifesting the plane. One person too many? That's okay, Mandy will scratch! Of course, we're talking about from an Otter, and I was usually riding right seat, so I'd have to climb out over everyone, and this would be after ages while manifest and everyone on board tried to figure out who wasn't supposed to be there.... Sooooo embarrassing and I didn't do anything wrong!

Of course, I would also get a free jump ticket for my troubles, so it wasn't too bad!

---
www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[dove 0]

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i don't like to jump into dessert either. whipped cream smells after a while!!
Stacy

Funny. My mind was in the same place - except I was thinking jumping in the dessert sounded kinda fun. Watch it wiggle....

Fall in dove.

[Push 0]

I jumped this weekend feeling weird, health-wise. I picked a different from the usual freefall task. It was very windy, in the 25mph range. The landing area has trees on a 180 degree arc around it. In freefall, immediately after exit, a lens in my glasses came off. This completely screwed me up mentally and I brainlocked and tried too hard to perform the freefall task, which backfired. On opening, the lens went into my eye. I spent about 30 seconds getting my eyesight back. During these 30 seconds, I was riding downwind. I was downwind of the DZ and moving backwards. I landed in maybe a 60 foot clearing with trees all around. Turbulence 101, plus the loss of wind at tree level caught me unprepared (If you're landing in front of a line of trees, the wind will drop to zero at tree height).

No injuries aside from my ego. The day after I found out that I have a pretty bad head cold. I'm just happy that my ear canals seem fine.

Lesson learned.

-- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo
Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you.

[NeedToJump 0]

I was talking about this with an S&TA this weekend while we were grounded due to high winds. We agreed that the maximum winds differ depending on where you are. At a small dropzone surrounded by trees or buildings and therefore lots of potential turbulence, the maximum winds I would feel comfortable jumping in are significantly lower than in a big open area.
A good rule of thumb is if you have to think about whether or not you feel comfortable jumping for more than 5 seconds, don't jump.

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com

[bluefingers 0]

Won't jump in anything stronger than 13 - 15 knots (loading a 210 Hornet at 0.6 ). When it's windy I go backwards. Have already landed in a tree once, on my 4th jump, don't care to repeat the experience


Also won't jump if the winds are very gusty.
And yeah, I would probably ride the plane down if the winds suddenly got dodgy.

Quite frankly, I'd rather keep both my legs intact and skydive another day.

Kerry

[D22369 0]

so my questions to you are
1-when do you pull yourself from a load?

When something unsafe catches my attention..... example:#1:: one of the dz's I go to (used to work at) has a bozo that comes out occasionally, he has done such silly things as pull out of a formation....(not planned), tracked WITH another jumper on breakoff and never veered away, the other jumper didnt see him till wave off at 2500' "right next to him" he has done many more things, the list could go on......... if he is on the dive, I am not.
example:#2..... if I see the pilot show up and notice that the preflight is non existent....(have seen this once) and havent been back to that dz
example:#3......same as you, when the dust devil activity is really active I will stay on the ground.
2 What are your reasons?
I value my continuing existence
I will not play with someone who is likely to cause an accident because of stupidity......... accidents do happen, we all accept that risk, but he is a walking catastrophy waiting to happen.......not preflighting the plane is stupid
and dust devils are serious shit!!
and the BIG QUESTION is
3if you are in the plane and you get a report of ground winds that you think may be too much, do you ride the plane down?
answer: YES......did it several times when I was around 40-200 jumps, and once last year ... we had a storm pass by, the winds which were howling dropped to near zero for 20 min, we figured it was safe and we could make one load before the next squall hit us......it hit us at 600' on takeoff, it threw the 206 completely on its side, the pilot managed to keep controll, *I dont think I was the only one who lost bladder function, he told us he was going around and we were to land with him, I wasnt sure of how well I would be able to handle 55mph gusty winds on a stiletto so he got no arguements out of me.....we fastened our seatbelts and said a few prayers..... we bought the pilot MUCHO beer that night........
4-how much is too much?
steady winds.......35+
gusty winds.....25+
There are many other reasons........ and all this depends on my confidence level that particular day, some days I may be a bigger puss than normal

Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[jtval 0]

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for instance I do not like to jump in the dessert

i don't like to jump into dessert either. whipped cream smells after a while!!

LOL nice catch!
if it werent for typos I wouldnt feel right.
Btw- I guess I should answer my own questions,now! BRB to do that (im at work)

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