to cypres or not.

[billvon 2,995]

> I can show you at our DZ a guy with several "hundred" that should
>never jump without one.

Yikes!! Please don't tell me that. Someone who should not be jumping without a cypres should not be jumping at all, at least in my book. There's already been one fatality due to dependence on a cypres, when someone asked more of the cypres than it could deliver.

[mjosparky 4]

Shawn,
"I can't afford it" is a cop out. Any one who can afford to jump, i.e. buy gear, jumpsuit etc. drive to the DZ, buy lift tickets at $20 each can come up with cost of an AAD. If not buying one in not high on you list or priorities then just say so.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[faulknerwn 38]

Quote

Shawn,
"I can't afford it" is a cop out. Any one who can afford to jump, i.e. buy gear, jumpsuit etc. drive to the DZ, buy lift tickets at $20 each can come up with cost of an AAD. If not buying one in not high on you list or priorities then just say so.
Sparky

When I started jumping, I earned $800 a month. AFter rent and food (lots of cheese sandwiches) I skydived. I couldn't afford much, my first whole rig - round reserve and all, cost <$1k. My first jumpsuit and altimeter combined I bought used for $50. I couldn't afford to do many jumps a month even though I wanted to.

We have a lot of enlisted soldiers who jump at my dz when they're not off in Iraq. Do you know how much those guys get paid? Not a lot.

I know people that can only afford to do 4-5 jumps a month at most. If they had to put a Cypres in their old, cheap rig, most of them couldn't afford it. Its a large chunk of change to these people. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean everyone can.

W

[skreamer 1]

Good post Ron. Something else to bear in mind is the people who would be alive if they hadn't been using a cypres equipped rig - losing altitude awareness then dumping the main out and cypres deploying reserve resulting in entanglement. How many people have had two canopies out because of pulling low?

Can this be addressed by practice on the ground? (ie break the muscle memory that makes you go for your main when you should be going for silver). As has been mentioned before, your instinctive reaction is probably going to be the same as it has been on every other dive - dump your main out. Everybody knows you *should* go for silver if you go low, but this doesn't seem to happen very often. I learnt quite a good safety tip from Adrian Nicholas. Every time you break off start saying "main/reserve main/reserve" continually. Then make the decision to use your main, even though you are still pulling at your usual altitude, you are deciding every time which canopy to use. I also learnt to use this main/reserve game in the plane on the way up, I look out the window, check the altitude and keep reassessing (in aircraft emergency would I stay in plane, if not up to which altitude will I get out on my reserve).

Will