Stupid things I have done

[PeteW 0]

On jump 12 I was doing a 5sec delay. I panicked pulled wrapped the pc around my arm. I tried pointing to clear it and flipped on my back and got the bridle wrapped around my chest. I pulled the reserve. During the opening I found the main pc and shoved it in the harness. The reserve was a round and the landing hurt pretty bad.

Jump 23 was my stall for my solo. I wrapped the brake lines once or twice. Pulled the brakes down, felt myself start to fall. Watched the canopy kinda go into a funny shape. I was ok with all of this then my brain farted and I let the brakes up all the way. FAST! I went into three right turns. On the third it cleared up and threw me into a half line twist. Scared the crap outta me.

[Lawndarth 0]

Got my shiny brand new Heatwave 150 on jump number 35. Jumping at 4500 ASL 'cause I know what I'm doing. Did a LOW 180 degree toggle spank on jump 45 and hit the klip...three somersaults through the risers and compressed fracture of t-12 in two places. The ground does not move at all.

[wmw999 2,439]

This is still a fabulous thread.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[sgt_ludy 0]

1)
@ jump 200-something: i was for one day on a DZ and had left my gear at home. went partying and drinking the night before. some guys decided to make a high altitude oxygen jump (22000ft), and i couldn´t miss the opportunity, so now we have:
unknown DZ, borrowed gear, alcohol, lack of sleep, high altituden & oxygen (doesen´t mix well with alcoho, btw...).

on the (loooong) climb i was really feeling physically bad and was really worrying about the problems of oxy with alcohol...i had signed and read the waiver, but decided to jump and had a really nice 2+1cam jump. oh yes, i forgot: no audible, no alti. damn. what a mess!

2)
180 front riser turn below 300ft, because of an unexpected canopy in my flight pattern. no plan B. broke L-5/L-6 (yes i have 6...)

3)
floating up at pull time while filming a tandem to get a nice shot of the deploying canopy... from above . too damn close.

4)
all the big (=more than 3) freefly formation jumps i did, with bad freefly skills.

[pinkfairy 0]

Well, I haven't done anything really, really stupid yet. I mean, apart from jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Repeatedly.

But I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances in the spring.

The scary thing is that these people who do these horrible mistakes skydiving, are the same people who drive around on normal roads in normal cars making the world unsafe for other people.

But as all people are likely to make mistakes, no one is safe.

And it doesn't help to stay indoors behind closed doors. That just leads to heart disease...

Well, oh, and the canopy I'm getting in the spring isn't that big. But if it is stupid, we'll see then.

Great Thread, BTW!

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?

[jsaxton 0]

we took a 12way out when the ground winds were 30 knots yesterday

[Zing 2]

Hell, I took out a 30-way once when the winds were hardly blowing.

Zing Lurks

[Andy_Copland 0]

It seems everytime i post about my jumps i get flamed but here goes.

=====================================
1.) My biggest jumps being 3-way at the time i was asked to join an 8-way + camera. New DZ and 7 complete strangers.

2.) Jump 21 i think and new DZ. I was still in a serious state of "listen listen listen" and if an instructor asked me to light myself on fire before exiting i would of. So when a TM turned around and asked me to feel my "rip cord" on the lift i turned to my buddy and said "Hmmm, rip cord. Better hold onto this." It was actually throw out so had a brief moment of "oh shitters"

3.) Going head down on jumps 62 and 63. For a good 20 minutes before the lift i was looking at my hired kit saying "Make the right call" and i knew that was to not FF in that shit, it had holes in it .

So off we went the ramp and fucking stuck these two 3-way head downs (linked) bloody well.

=====================================

We are skydivers and i think we all have a little something in us that can make us prone to make mistakes by taking risks and maybe act a bit foolishly.

Edit: Oooo forgot to add that i tracked away from a freaking 3-way and still managed to be going the same way as the other jumper after a bit of burble foreplay just before break off. Involved my foot nearly taking his head off too Canopy openings where a bit close

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[parajesus 0]

On my first jump with hand deployed pilot chute I forgot to release the pud.
Even if I've been told hundred times as the most important thing to release that "little thing" I grabbed it as a handle for pull out.
After a few seconds (and feets later) I felt that something is wrong and I was changing position as I thought my pchute got stuck in the turbulence on my back. Then I noticed some weird very unusual colored thing was dancing in my sight. (My pchute is fortunately pink…) Turned away and realized that I’m still carrying the pilot chute in my hand. I threw it away as it was burning :)
I had an open canopy around 1000 feet lower then excepted, with no malfunctions on rig.

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[astleysean 0]

A little off topic but -
Started skydiving in July in UK, 60 jumps by December, completely hooked, got my own rig. Then UK winter arrived. High winds, closed DZs, black skies, constant rain, utterly miserable and depressing. I'm missing it and the tunnel is no substitute.

So I went and bought a Kawasaki ZX10R for £8000 and I can't afford it.

[Zing 2]

" ... High winds, closed DZs, black skies, constant rain, utterly miserable and depressing ... "

Under those conditions, I expect riding that there motorpickle wil be almost as much fun as skydiving!

Zing Lurks

[aguila 0]

I tried to convince our jump masters for years that tandems should exit last

Better that wasting time is allowing much more space behind a tandem no matter how unpopular you become

In the mean time I was about to collide a tandem with its canopy open while I was en FF last Sunday

Gonzalo

It cannot be done really means I do not know how to do it ... yet

[rehmwa 2]

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I tried to convince our jump masters for years that tandems should exit last

Better that wasting time is allowing much more space behind a tandem no matter how unpopular you become

In the mean time I was about to collide a tandem with its canopy open while I was en FF last Sunday

that's not something stupid you have done.
It's something REALLY stupid your tandem masters are doing.

Stick to your guns, show people the threads here on exit order and Kallend's exit order/separation info on his website. It might help. Unless your TM's and DZO are assholes.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[aguila 0]

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I tried to convince our jump masters for years that tandems should exit last

Better that wasting time is allowing much more space behind a tandem no matter how unpopular you become

In the mean time I was about to collide a tandem with its canopy open while I was en FF last Sunday

that's not something stupid you have done.
It's something REALLY stupid your tandem masters are doing.

Stick to your guns, show people the threads here on exit order and Kallend's exit order/separation info on his website. It might help. Unless your TM's and DZO are assholes.

Thank you! I got the zip file! Excellent!

Gonzalo

It cannot be done really means I do not know how to do it ... yet

[pds 0]

#21 - my first jump at eloy, my first jump with a license, first time anybody ever handed me a container and canopy seperately. my first canopy hookup. didn't really know how to hook up a canopy but, hey, i think for a living, shouldn't be too hard. right.

it opened quite nicely and flew fine.... backwards. i knew immediately. argghhh. so i let mcgowan get a few more frames of me flying backerds, cut it, and landed out.

i got to meet a lot of people that day who really wanted to teach me how to hook up a canopy.

#504 - never was fond of packing even before taking a few years off. it took a few times through for it all to come back. almost. packing for the third jump of the day dude says 'you have stowed your lines backwards'. sho nuff. stowed down towards the opening instead of up the flap. oh yeah. that's right. my question is: did i just have a brain fart and had stowed them correctly on the previous jump or did i just get lucky? either way, i probably won't make that mistake again soon.

shuddup, i heard that. i said that mistake.

namaste, motherfucker.

[sundance 1]

Around jump 150ish I had friends from work at the dropzone going out for their first tandems. The TM and video guy both agreed to let me lurk one of co-worker - friend's first tandem jump, as I had done before with other friends. When the TM waved off I turned and tracked away, knowing that the video guy would be filming the opening and then opening himself shortly thereafter. Well, I didn't track long enough or had brain fade or something. I recall turning around and looking up at the open tandem canopy above me and then pulled at about 3K and had an uneventful ride down to landing. I'm back in the packing hanger, when the video guy comes storming up to me (he is also a TM, AFF Instructor and Rigger). He was pretty hot and worked up, proceeding to explain that after he pulled he saw me right below him. As his canopy sniveled and inflated he was holding his breath and filling his pants and even lifted his feet to miss flying right into my canopy (though he admitted this was more of an "oh shit" reaction than being truly necessary... he just felt awful close). Obviously it scared the bejesus out of him. I had no idea we came that close during the skydive, but I listened to him, apologized profusely and thought long and hard about it afterwards. I have lurked tandems since and you can bet your ass I track away when the TM waves off like a coyote in the gunsights. I was dumb lucky and the video guy, considering the situation and scare was really pretty damned civil about it. He should have tore my head off. I was surprised he ever jumped with me again after that, but he did. LOL. Luck fell our way that day, but I realize you can't count on luck in skydiving.

One of the surest signs that intelligent life exists in outer space is that none of it has tried to contact us.

[sonofsimp 0]

At 25 jumps I bought a full set of gear on Ebay and took it to my rigger to inspect. It wasn't until I was in the hospital recovering from surgery on a broken elbow 25 jumps later that I found out my main was a 135, not a 150 as adverstised. I never read the label!

[elias123 0]

Wearing a sweater whilst doing sitfly.
When I pulled at 3000ft I had a pilot chute in tow.
I went for my reserve and saw that my sweater was tucked over my reservehandle, so I couldn't immediately pull it.
I frantically tried to clear the handle for a few seconds.
While doing so I went headlow and the main openend.
I bought freefly clothes the next day.

[GrabGrass 0]

Dumped my reserve at repack time without ever going for the main.

~ "Pack Fast, Pull Low... and Date Your Riggers WIFE!" ~

[phoenixlpr 0]

How about flying through clouds with wing suit in icing conditions? That's my contribution for today.

[airtwardo 7]

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How about flying through clouds with wing suit in icing conditions? That's my contribution for today.

Hummm....Leading Edge heaters for wingsuits!

My God, I'm gonna be RICH!

Okay, your idea, I'll cut ya in for 10%!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[phoenixlpr 0]

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How about flying through clouds with wing suit in icing conditions? That's my contribution for today.

Hummm....Leading Edge heaters for wingsuits!

My God, I'm gonna be RICH!

Okay, your idea, I'll cut ya in for 10%!

I had an icy visor too. I might need electric heating for that.

[Rory81 0]

what about doing a wingsuit pull, but wearing a t-shirt and shorts? without the drag from the wingsuit i was soooo fast that i got the hardest opening ever...

I really learned the lesson tho

[airtwardo 7]

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I had an icy visor too. I might need electric heating for that.

Okay Okay...20%...But THAT'S final!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[durandt 0]

Student from RSA and curious if reserve opened ok as it sounds as if you had a lot of unwanted parts all around you. Did you chop and clear main before reserve pull [durandtg@telkomsa.net]?