My recent injury....Yes, my canopy skills are lacking!

[steve1 5]

If anyone is really bored, I have a recent scary story to tell.... After a long winter of not jumping I went to a boogie last June here in Montana. They had a King Air that was brought up from Arizona. It landed on the highway at Chico Hot Springs, and this was our landing strip. What a beautiful place, right on the edge of Yellowstone Park, and it was the first jump of the boogie.

After some uneventful relative work that jump, I opened a long way from where I wanted to land. I ran with the wind until the last moment and then started turning to face into the wind. I knew a flat turn was in order, so that is what I started. About then I realized that I was turning way to slow. I was right over the highway and fence.

I'm not sure if it was muscle memory from my para-commander days or maybe I just wasn't thinking....but I made gave it way too much toggle and way too low of altitude. Next thing you know the ground is rushing up to get me. I pulled both toggles down about half way to hopefully bring me out of this. It didn't work. I slammed into the ground like a ton of crap. I mean the dust really flew and I wasn't sure how bad I was hurt.

Trying to be a good cowboy I jumped right up and tried to act like I was okay. About then the pain set in. I realized my left ankle might be broke and my right foot was bruised badly. The pain was really brutal at that point so I lay back down.

My only thought at that point was oh shit...how could I be that stupid as to make a low turn! After all I have over 700 jumps and I know better. Everyone must surely think I'm and idiot!....

So anyhow I ended up at the emergency room getting my ankle x-rayed. Luckily it wasn't broke. I've broken lots of bones and had several sprained ankles over the years, but none of them hurt like this one did. I was living on pain pills for nearly two weeks. Two months later, I'm still limping on it. It may need further surgery.

At any rate. There's some things I learned from this...

1. Number one is to keep a cool head when things go wrong. Never panic and make a low turn!
2. I hope to get further training in canopy control. I've got plenty to learn on this subject.
3. I recently read an article that stated that you don't always have the luxury of landing into the wind. I could have downwinded this one without injury.
4. Rigger Rob once stated that going to half breaks and then preparing to do a PLF might be a good option to save your bacon when things go terribly wrong. This would have worked in this scenario even if I was over the highway and fence.
5. I need to stay current. Taking months and months off without skydiving is not a good plan. Currency is important in canopy control.

Anyone else with more experience care to add to this list? I know a flat turn should have been used in this scenario. I started one but didn't follow through.

Another jumper was killed at this same little boogie a few years ago making a low turn. I wonder if he was doing the same thing as I, and trying to miss an obstacle at the last moment. I wonder how often this same scenario is repeated each year.

I still wonder if I had gone to full breaks instead of half brakes, if this wouldn't have brought me out of this arc into the ground. I'm no swooper...I guess I need to experiment with this up high.

I'd appreciate your advice on this. I also hope this helps others who find themselves in the same situation.....Steve1

[billvon 3,000]

>I still wonder if I had gone to full breaks instead of half brakes, if
>this wouldn't have brought me out of this arc into the ground.

It might have helped. Modern canopies are pretty good about giving you maximum lift with deep brakes no matter what situation you're in (full flight, halfway through a turn, flying in half brakes.) That's a bit of a change from older F-111 canopies. You couldn't flare them very hard after they had a significant number of jump on them; they tended to stall. You can still stall any canopy (of course) so it pays to play with the canopy up high to find out just how deep you can go without stalling.

[Amazon 7]

Uh... if that was a couple months ago.. just what the hell were you doing jumping at LP there troop...


Sheesh.. time to give it time to heal.. you aint as young as you used to be.

[steve1 5]

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Uh... if that was a couple months ago.. just what the hell were you doing jumping at LP there troop...


Sheesh.. time to give it time to heal.. you aint as young as you used to be.

Oh, I couldn't miss Lost Prairie! That's why my rig and jump suit were all covered with dirt....I was sliding in most landings to save my ankle.

And yes, it is getting harder to cowboy up after doing something really stupid. I keep telling myself that I'm still young, but my fat old body says not.

Congrats on your Water jumps this year, Jeane. I should have made one. My gear and I could have used a good bath....Steve1

[tustinr 1]

How about assessing your situation and choosing your landing site while you still have the altitude to do so and then landing there safely even though it may be a long walk back ? I.e. don't get yourself into a situation where you end up in a panic and screwing up.

Hope the ankle heals soon. Bummer mate.

Rich

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Everything that happens to you in life is your teacher. The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your life and be taught.

[Amazon 7]

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Congrats on your Water jumps this year, Jeane. I should have made one. My gear and I could have used a good bath....Steve1

That was some great fun. I jumpe the Papillion.. no way I am ever jumping a round onto Terra WAY TOO Firma again...just so I can still be jumping when I am 80.
Next summer we will do them again.. BUT its going to be a one time jump per rig.. I am NOT going to spend an entire day ferrying wet gear back and forth again.
I will have the rigs with me.. all set to hand to a rigger if someone wants to jump one, they will need to get the reserves packed up for thier jump or jumps.
I think next year I will jump the Paracommander MK II I have in the Pioneer 3 pin rig.

I know what you mean about the slide in landings.. That is why I slid in my reserve ride.. since its loaded at 1.55 to 1 I thought it would be stupid to try to stand it up.. it was coming in F A S T

[gus 1]

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Anyone else with more experience care to add to this list? I know a flat turn should have been used in this scenario. I started one but didn't follow through.

IMHO the more critical error was leaving it so late to pick a landing area. I've landed out several times when maybe I could have made it back, but why risk not making it and suddenly finding yourself low and still going downwind?

Gus

OutpatientsOnline.com

[Designer 0]

Your still responsible for where you are when you decide to get out of the airplane.If you don't like what you see,"Don't Exit"!Or break off high an "Track" and let everybody see you and do it safely!As far as Canopy Control goes,letting yourself not being able to finish our final turn is your own damn dumb ass fault.Getting better soon and learn for your mistake!

[darrenspooner 0]

I reckon there's only two kinds of skydivers - those that have done a low turn and those that are going to. I'm dreading mine, so I fly my canopy the same way as I drive on ice

[steve1 5]

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As far as Canopy Control goes,letting yourself not being able to finish our final turn is your own damn dumb ass fault.reply]

I hope I never become such a hard ass in life that I would say something like this to a fellow jumper. I've participated in lot's of dangerous activities over the years, but I've never once told someone with less experience that it was his own dumb ass fault he got hurt.

We all make mistakes and a low turn is an easy one to make. None of us are perfect. Ignorance and uncurrency, were factors that led up to my accident. Making a stabbing turn at the last moment was pretty stupid, but it's still done by lot's of jumpers sometimes with fatal results. I need to develop enough discipline not to do this again in the future. To tell you the truth I'm now pretty paranoid of the ground right now.

I think a big cause of this accident was not realizing how slow a flat turn can be. While you are slowly coming around you could be traveling, over an area you don't want to land in. In my opinion, some of this may be hard to guage by practicing only up high.

I truly think that training is needed in canopy control by a whole lot of jumpers out there. At the risk of being called a dumb ass again, I'll freely admit that I'm one of them....Steve1

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[Designer 0]

Point Taken.Sometimes I might be a little rough when I shouldn't be?I apologize.We have all done dumb ass things,I'm certainly no exception to that.My last hook turn hurt!(bruised Kidney)That's why it was my last "Hook Turn!"Plus the DZO reamed me a new one cause he saw me do it!Living and leaning for ours and others mistakes is part of our on going education.rabbit

[AlexCrowley 0]

I just took Scott Millers basic canopy course and he specifically talked about this exact scenario.

Thanks

TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I'm not sure if it was muscle memory from my para-commander days or maybe I just wasn't thinking....but I made gave it way too much toggle and way too low of altitude. Next thing you know the ground is rushing up to get me. I pulled both toggles down about half way to hopefully bring me out of this. It didn't work. I slammed into the ground like a ton of crap. I mean the dust really flew and I wasn't sure how bad I was hurt.

You pull on both toggles until you have zero vertical speed or can't pull farther without stalling. PLF when you fail to reach full brakes before crashing, pull too fast/far and pop back up, or are on the verge of stalling before you reach the ground.

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3. I recently read an article that stated that you don't always have the luxury of landing into the wind. I could have downwinded this one without injury.

You'll land slower with a cross-wind than you will down-wind. It's a nice compromise.

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4. Rigger Rob once stated that going to half breaks and then preparing to do a PLF might be a good option to save your bacon when things go terribly wrong. This would have worked in this scenario even if I was over the highway and fence.

Under a large canopy you'll pound in at full flight. With enough brakes and a soft landing area you can stand up without flaring. Under skydiving canopies at our contemporary sizes you will not be happy with less than a full flare.

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I still wonder if I had gone to full breaks instead of half brakes, if this wouldn't have brought me out of this arc into the ground.

It would have done you more good although it's still possible to turn too low to get the canopy back over your head or to pull out without a dynamic stall.

[steve1 5]

Thanks for all the advice. I've learned a lot from all the great people on this forum....Steve1