MC208B 0 #1 April 22, 2001 Hi all. Just got back from the zone. Went up with 3 other jumpers in the 182. To make a long story short, one guy doing his 45th jump damn near went in. I was in freefall and watched him exit into a bad spin. I deployed and watched him go past me tumbling and spinning. I thought I was watching a deadman! He didn't pull anything at all. His FXC12000 worked and he was on the ground maybe 10 seconds after his reserve opened. I give this guy a ride home from the zone and he just said he was trying to stop the spin and lost altitude awareness, damn near cost him his life. And in light of the other FXC12000 failures this year, he is lucky to still be here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffermoose 0 #2 April 22, 2001 pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft!!!!as they say "if in doubt arch arch arch and pull every thing possible"ttfn Allan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #3 April 23, 2001 How do you have 45 jumps and are not able to stop a spin? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybitch 0 #4 April 23, 2001 Gotta say, you'd expect spin-stopping to have been a wee bit earlier on in his skydiving career...Maybe he spent a lot of those 45 jumps on the rope?Skybitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skreamer 1 #5 April 23, 2001 Yeah, there was a guy at the DZ Saturday, he was very proud of his new FXC, with the On/Off switch and cute little red light. Somebody asked him why he didn't get a cypres instead, his reply : because the FXC was £50 cheaper!!! Of course nobody said anything, but I immediately thought of that fatality at Shreveport earlier this year where the FXC (definitely turned on) failed to fire and the student went in without pulling anything. Then of course there are the premature firings you read about. About his spin, it's bad enough he couldn't stop it, but how does that account for losing altitude awareness???I'm glad I wasn't him when the CCI sat him down for a little chat! (When will he be doing jump nr. 46 : AFF level 1 - altitude awareness and PRCTs?)/s Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #6 April 23, 2001 QuoteAbout his spin, it's bad enough he couldn't stop itI dunno. I've gotten myself into some nasty spins practicing hard center turns but I've always been able to re-stabilize (knock, knock). I just arched like mad & dropped my shoulder in the direction opposite the spin. Now maybe there are some real bad ones that are unrecoverable, but it seems like if you just work a turn in the opposite direction you'll come out of it.------------Blue Skies!Zennie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pammi 0 #7 April 23, 2001 QuoteI dunno. I've gotten myself into some nasty spins practicing hard center turns but I've always been able to re-stabilize (knock, knock). I just arched like mad & dropped my shoulder in the direction opposite the spin. Now maybe there are some real bad ones that are unrecoverable, but it seems like if you just work a turn in the opposite direction you'll come out of it.Perhaps leg positioning also? My main issue, and apparently a fairly common one, was the legs-up-ass syndrome which sped the spins up a lot. The extremely violent spin I got into I had to track out of first then re-arch. It's pretty scary if you get going that fast...but ya know, first rule is pull, regardless. Even if you're spinning, just get it out. Be careful out there guys!Pammi"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." -Joan Borysenko Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #8 April 23, 2001 QuoteHow do you have 45 jumps and are not able to stop a spin?On my 41st jump it took me a couple grand to gain stability. The pant leg on my jump suit had come undone and unzipped so I had what was basically a big heavy flapping streamer off my right leg. Talk about frustrating, I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong but finally got it. (so I sewed the zipper shut and got my SCR and my Eagle on the next dive :)AggieDave '02-------------Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!BTHO t.u. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MC208B 0 #9 April 23, 2001 Skreamer. I think that maybe you're thinking of an FXC Astra (which is what I have) has a green light! I have every confidence in it if I should need it (and I hope I never do). The student gear he was jumping had the FXC12000 mechanical AAD, thank God it worked! As for this guys 45 jumps, yes, he has been back on the "dope rope" a lot, has no relative work yet and maybe he should take up a different sport. He is grounded at the moment and the DZO might make it permanent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #10 April 23, 2001 Quote....yes, he has been back on the"dope rope" a lot, has no relative work yet and maybe he should take up a different sport.Ummm.......I hate to come off as "slow".......but.......I dont get it, what does "the rope" (as mentioned earlier) or "dope rope" mean? I would assume hanging harness, or the guy likes to smoke dope prior to jumping? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #11 April 23, 2001 dope-on-a-rope = static line------------Blue Skies!Zennie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #12 April 23, 2001 Quotestatic lineAaaaaah, I see......Thanks , now I understand!!! Thats actually kinda funny!! Its kinda too bad, I mean, if the guy has 40 plus jumps, its obvious that he really wants to jump. By 40 or more jumps, you kinda know that jumping is something you really want to do, maybe he should spend some time in a wind tunnle and work out his freefall issues and then come back. Maybe a Skydive University school could fix him right up!! Just glad his AAD worked, he may want to invest in a Dytter or Pro Track, maybe if he had an audiable, he could have avoided the entire stunt!!Greg A-37958 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffermoose 0 #13 April 23, 2001 Now i'm no expert but the dytter or pro track is a "back up" if you give him one of those he is just going to rely on that all the time and not on his primary (chest or wrist altimeter).which might make the matter worse!!!just my thoughtsttfn Allan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg 0 #14 April 23, 2001 QuoteNow i'm no expert but the dytter or pro track is a "back up" I coudnt agree more, thats exactly what it is, a back up. But I think in this case, this guy could have used a back up, he certainly was not using his primary!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miked10270 0 #15 April 23, 2001 Hi there,The point is that an audible IS purely a backup - it shouldn't be uesd until the guy shows he can use altitude awareness from ground appearance, time sense & a visual alti.I can't argue with his keenness, but if he's "an incident looking for a locus" then perhaps he's better off grounded before he kills himself or someone else.Mike D10270. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloud9 0 #16 April 23, 2001 I'm like you guys 45 jumps he should be able to stop a spin. Or better yet avoid one that is not intentional. Maybe a couple of 5 or 10 second delays would help out.The DZ I jump at recently had a guy with over 800 jumps who couldn't find his pull out and kept trying untill his cypress fired. Saved his life. I not knocking it shows it could happen at any level. The sad thing is it really shouldn't.Some fun eh! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
