Making an extraordinary skydive

[SkydiveMO 0]

My last malfunction got me to thinking about skydivers, boredom and how the two don’t mix well. After years of editing video of RW, Freeflying and student jumps I thought it would be nice to collect footage of something else for a change. First there was wing walking on the Caravan... OK more like wing crawling. Then there was the roll of toilet paper that we dropped then shredded by flying canopies into it. Finally we tried jumping with stuffed animals. Each jump was planned out and we tried to consider all the bad things that might happen on each. In the end though it became obvious to me that you just can’t plan for everything and trying something outside the norm can really bite you in the ass.

For the wing crawling stunt we tried to consider all snag and catch points to be avoided. However, one of the jumpers slid of where he wasn’t supposed to and skinned his shoulder, on closer inspection he was lucky he didn’t nick his riser or lift web. So, crawling on the airplane is out. Next we made toilet paper jumps. Actually those went really well and we can’t think of any dangers other than a jumper chasing the TP below 2,000ft and landing off airport in a tree or power line. The last in the series of odd jumps was made with stuffed toys… why? Well, I had this song that made me think of skydiving with plush toys. We did several uneventful jumps with the small plush toys so we decided to graduate to the large ones. On our last dive we took the largest of the stuffed animals we had collected. John jumped the large monkey which put him in a pretty good spin so he dropped it around 6,000ft and opened with no problem. I took out a large dog which I couldn’t sit fly with as planned but was able to belly fly near pull time. I thought I was plenty stable but didn’t realize the dogs butt was sticking up so high that my main bag would strike it when I pulled. The canopy twisted up and put me in a spin. I tried kicking out but the dog was between my legs. At this point I had planed to let the toy go and move on with emergency procedures but the spin caused the stuffed dog to stay in my legs. After cutting away, the dog remained pinned to me as I rolled over and regained stability. I wasn’t able to clear the %&$# dog until after reserve deployment. We planned to break and pull high but as you can see from the video things happened fast. I pulled at 3.5 rather than the intended 4.5 and this didn’t leave me time to free the dog before pulling the reserve.

Now I’m a very safety conscious skydiver and am actually a Chesley H. Judy Safety Award recipient. However I do realize I’m not too good to make stupid choices in this sport. Often we want to make extraordinary jumps to separate ourselves from the other skydivers or to push the limits of our sport but the danger is often not worth the reward. Before you decide to throw yourself out the plane with something other than the regular gear consider the risks involved. Consult with someone who has already made the type of jump you are about to make (for example with a sky board, raft, or tube) or at least someone who has made a jump somewhat like the one you are about to try. They could offer some pointers or warnings that could either keep you safe during the dive or keep you from making the jump at all. Don’t be over confident about your abilities to deal with every situation. A fast type malfunction is just that FAST. Adding toys, boards, wings, cameras and what ever other distraction you can think of may just be what keeps you from saving your life. I am not against jumping with any of these items nor will I cease trying new things in the sport. What I would like is for everyone to step back and ask whether they are ready to try the odd dive before doing it.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Are you depressed?

Risking your life for a stuffed dog???

You should ground yourself as long as you work this out.

[SkydiveMO 0]

I don't see what my depression has to do with it

And I was trying to loose the $#%& dog it just wouldn't let go

[chrismgtis 0]

Quote

I don't see what my depression has to do with it

And I was trying to loose the $#%& dog it just wouldn't let go

I don't think you should really be experimenting like that. Doesn't sound like a good idea at all. If you're getting bored, don't jump for a while and come back maybe?

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[popsjumper 2]

You boners, chastising Jason....LMAO. He's probably forgotten more than you'll ever learn. Buttheads, he's teaching you something and it goes right over your head.

Did that loud "WHOOOOSH" hurt your ears?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[SkydiveMO 0]

Quote

I don't think you should really be experimenting like that. Doesn't sound like a good idea at all. If you're getting bored, don't jump for a while and come back maybe?

It’s cool, I remember standing in the landing area at the DZ with 50 jumps or something and asking the DZO why everyone was buying these new Stiletto things? Why would you go elliptical if it meant line twists and dangerous landings? Shooting accuracy with my PD210 was working just fine for me. I swore I’d never jump elliptical… well the last canopy I bought was cross-braced and I’m not going to mention the wing loading. I do still have a huge Falcon for shooting accuracy and it’s nearly as fun as swooping.

The fact is, as you progress in your skills you’ll want to take on new challenges. The question is are you ready for them or should you put in a few more jumps first? To name a few disciplines that require a level of skydiving maturity before starting there is Free Flying, Camera, Swooping, and CRW. These are what the cool kids are doing at the DZ so naturally the new jumper wants to play too. Often there are jumpers in these disciplines willing to teach jumpers before they are ready. We should look out for everyone’s safety and make sure your fellow jumper is progressing according to their abilities and not their wants.

Now as to whether my friends and I should be experimenting like we have been… well, you’re right we shouldn’t. That’s why I made the post. After taking a step back I realized we’d been lucky there were no injuries. Skydiving is dangerous enough without adding a few extra unknowns to the equation. If we all didn’t have a certain level of invincibility built in we wouldn’t have made our first jump. The trick is keeping a bit of sobering reality around to keep it in check… but not too much because skydiving is way too much fun to quit.

All skydivers do stupid &^%$. It is just part of the sport. None of us are immune. So, think about the challenges before you take on a new discipline and help keep everyone safe.

[Ron 10]

Quote

Now I’m a very safety conscious skydiver and am actually a Chesley H. Judy Safety Award recipient. However I do realize I’m not too good to make stupid choices in this sport. Often we want to make extraordinary jumps to separate ourselves from the other skydivers or to push the limits of our sport but the danger is often not worth the reward. Before you decide to throw yourself out the plane with something other than the regular gear consider the risks involved. Consult with someone who has already made the type of jump you are about to make (for example with a sky board, raft, or tube) or at least someone who has made a jump somewhat like the one you are about to try. They could offer some pointers or warnings that could either keep you safe during the dive or keep you from making the jump at all. Don’t be over confident about your abilities to deal with every situation. A fast type malfunction is just that FAST. Adding toys, boards, wings, cameras and what ever other distraction you can think of may just be what keeps you from saving your life. I am not against jumping with any of these items nor will I cease trying new things in the sport. What I would like is for everyone to step back and ask whether they are ready to try the odd dive before doing it.

Bravo....

Those of us that did stupid things and lived, would like the rest to learn from our stupidity before it might kill them.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[tomvailco 0]

raft jumps look so freakin cool I can't wait till im sliding out the door on a inflatable!!

[rasmack 0]

Point taken.

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[GreenMachine 0]

DUDE, those were great little flicks, thanks for sharing. The scene at the end of the 2nd one where you kick the dog a half dozen times had me cracking up!!

Yeah, when I had 20 jumps I said I would never, ever swoop....now I am waiting for my 120 to arrive. I've also taken things in freefall with me, but I usually try to test them first. For example, I built a tube out of material intended for kid's bed sheets. Once complete I had my wife drive her convertable at 50 MPH to see how it reacted to the wind.

You are right, we need to be careful and think of the problems but having fun is all part of the ride for us jumpers. Thanks again for sharing -- great stuff. Can't wait to do the TP thing...

Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

[Hayfield 0]

lmao, lololol
how long ago was that too?

"Remember the First Commandment: Don't Fuck Up!"
-Crusty Old Pete

[pinkfairy 0]

Thanks for really good video, and for the reminder!

Looks like that plush dog deserved a good kicking. And that you were happy to see your reserve, but I guess that's how people generally feel about their reserves

Scary see to something as innocent-looking as a plush dog become dangerous.

Really nice. Educational and entertaining at the same time! Thank you!

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?