Skydiving without an Altimeter

[FrogNog 1]

I wouldn't jump without mine because I'd consider it prima facie evidence that I screwed up on the ground big enough that I should not get in the plane and, if already in the plane, I should not jump out of the plane.

My personal rule is "If I get to the plane missing any major piece of equipment, I won't get in the plane / jump" - even if that means losing my money.

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Pull.

[Zenister 0]

my first 22 were no alti.. military static lines and i've done maybe 10 jumps since without (some with more intention than others) it is a tool, not a requirement...

i like tools. they help me to do things i cant do on my own... better instruments SHOULD equal better awareness...

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. Seems to be a 4way thing for the most part. Hardly anyone wears one (except camera).

definitely.. 4 way has the most consistent fall rates of anyone... that makes it for a much more calibrated internal clock than the sometimes continual fall rate changes in freeflying..

particularly when jumping with new people and with those just learning ff... one of the scarier things sights while ff was HD chasing an Anvil in a sit, and not recognizing how fast we were going... seeing 3000 while still HD wasnt a very bright moment.....

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Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Shark 0]

I wear either a Galaxy or Neptune on my wrist, plus a Wave on every jump; then again, I'm working.

[Cloudi 0]

Somewhere around my 20th jump or so (still going solo) my altimeter "malfunctioned" (eh, it was free, watcha gonna do?). I was thinking to myself, "Jeesh, it sure does seem like pull time, [looking at ground] and it sure does LOOK like pull time, it must be pull time!" My altimeter said I was at 6300 (if memory serves me correctly), but I think I was actually at around 4000 +/- when these doubts began to surface. Scared me a little, but then made me feel pretty good because my internal clock and visual references kicked in for me. Another time I just plain forgot to put it on. Derr! Same rules applied except I had my man jumping with me that time, so that helped. ANOTHER time, my reading didn't match someone elses and I adjusted it in the plane. Stupid newbie move (coming from someone who is STILL a newbie, just hopefully a little smarter!). As soon as I did it, I knew I might as well look at my Timex for my altitude, so once again, I used visual cues and my internal clock.

Each of these taught me to trust my visual cues because sometimes those handy little gadgets don't work the way they're supposed to. Depending on them is almost asking for it IMO.

Kim
Watch as I attempt, with no slight of hand, to apply logic and reason.

[diablopilot 2]

Pretty much didn't wear one when my last Suunto got stolen, till I got the Bonehead mounts and straped them to my rigs. Perfect. I almost never use them anyway, and they are there as required by our school when doing AFF Instructor jumps.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[peckerhead 0]

When I started jumping they would not let you have an altimeter until you had 25 jumps. The wisdom was not to fixate on the gadget and actually think!

But, we did get a stopwatch and we learned to count.

A 10 second delay was a 10 second delay.

Altitude awareness seems to be a lost art.

Nowadays you just wait for the "beep"

[bch7773 0]

I've jumped without any kind of altimeter once or twice. Since i don't use an audible, and lots of times I'm doing students, it would be stupid of me to not wear one.

p.s., an audible altimeter counts as an altimeter, so you are still wearing an altimeter.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[Peej 0]

I jump with an Altimaster on my wrist, a dytter in my ear and a Neptune on my left thigh for swooping. That being said i have forgotten one or all of them at one time and wouldn't hesitate to jump without them again.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[phoenixlpr 0]

I had one jump like that. It was a water jump. Hop'n'pop from 1000m and land in a lake.

[kelpdiver 2]

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When I started jumping they would not let you have an altimeter until you had 25 jumps. The wisdom was not to fixate on the gadget and actually think!

Does that practice explain any of the no pull fatalities common to the past?

[phoenixlpr 0]

Nope.

Altimeter was not really required with SL or small delays 5-8sec (jumping with a round main).

[Tonto 1]

I did over 1000 dives with nothing but a jumpsuit and goggles. No gloves, shoes, helmet or alti.

Since I've been doing a lot of AFF - the alti is good. I use it for debriefs, and on the rare occasion that a student's alti looks "off" in the plane (some of them get hammered on landing..) I have one to give the student and don't mind going without.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Belgian_Skygirl 0]

It reminds me of a funny story... I don't think it is true... but one never knows...

My husband came home with the following story: in Poland many skydivers jump without an altimeter. If they jump in group only one has got an alti and he gives the sign to break... and than they all leave... and pull...

The story sounded funny to me... but... I was told one day that in the early days of this sport, people had to count to 50 and than open...

But of course, I don't know if it is true... To be honest, I want an altimeter... it makes me feel comfortable. I had a problem twice with an altimeter: my AFF1: the altimeter did not work properly and I had change it with the visible altimeter of a jumpmaster. Of course this caused a lot of stress and yes... I failed my AFF1... The second time (during my 5th solo jump) my altimeter worked in the plane, but when I jumped it was going crazy... so I pulled as i didn't know how high I was. Back on the floor I told it to a JM... he took the altimeter and had it tested and yes... it was broken.

To be honest at htat time I didn't have my own gear yet and thus no auditive altimeter.... and... I cannot estimate how high I am during my freefall... so... I feel more confident to have a visual altimeter around my wrest...

I wouldn't want to jump without a visual altimeter, but I had one jump with a bad working visual altimeter and I would not recommend it to others. If one feels OK to jump without a visual altimeter, I don't mind.

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No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it?

[tsisson 0]

Jim Bohr once told me..."Jump without an altimeter, and I guarantee you won't pull low"

[psf 1]

only once on a high jump, but was in formation, and pulled in place at break off, but I have no problems with jumping low without one..........

ignorance is not bliss

[dgskydive 0]

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Dom - in context of your original question, isn't wearing an audible cheating?

I said I jump without a visual. I didn't say i am as dumb as a box of rocks.

Dom

[dgskydive 0]

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Each of these taught me to trust my visual cues because sometimes those handy little gadgets don't work the way they're supposed to. Depending on them is almost asking for it IMO.

Good answer

Dom

[EvilLurker 2]

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Somewhere around my 20th jump or so (still going solo) my altimeter "malfunctioned" ...

Been there, done that. The second time I looked at it and it said 6 grand, I figured out something was not quite right. Opening shock fixed it and I was at 2800 feet. It can happen.

[teason 0]

I'll remeber that ... next time I visit my friend's tome.

Sarcastic but not a joke.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[JohnRich 4]

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time to get your enternal clock set.

That internal clock is another time-bomb for you, waiting to go off, because you choose to jump without an altimeter.

Now and then, an early exit is made, due to high cloud cover for example. So, let's say you exit at 10,000 feet instead of the 13,500' to which your internal timer is set. What's your internal timer going to do now?

Put you into the ground.

[JohnRich 4]

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Of course, you'll need to look at someone else's altimeter to make use of this!

Or the one the pilot has on the instrument panel, if you can see it.

Can you trust that one? Is it set to AGL or MSL? The difference can be significant in some places - enough to kill you.

Don't trust in someone else to give you the correct information. Have your own source.

[dgskydive 0]

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Now and then, an early exit is made, due to high cloud cover for example. So, let's say you exit at 10,000 feet instead of the 13,500' to which your internal timer is set. What's your internal timer going to do now?

Happens all the time.

Dom

[peckerhead 0]

Does that practice explain any of the no pull fatalities common to the past?

[kelpdiver 2]

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Dom - in context of your original question, isn't wearing an audible cheating?

I said I jump without a visual.

oops, yes you did.

That doesn't seem too bad, just need to avoid that beeping dependency that many have found.

[homer 0]

I have on several occasions realized I didn't have my altimeter on on my way to the plain. I have only once jumped without it (again forgot it but plain was already airborne when I realized it) since then I have never had the problem again as I now always do an equipment check. I can say it was one of my top 5 accuracy landings I have had for a hit-n-chug.

CSA #699 Muff #3804