Track for safety, not the DZ

[thrillseek 0]

Ok, first off, I am not posting this for everyone to give me a "shame on you". If someone else can learn from my screw up, then it wasn't for nothing.

Anyway, this past weekend, I was doing a 2-way with a friend and everything was cool until about 5,500ft when we decided to break off a little higher than planned. Instead of turning 180 degrees and tracking, i decided to show off for the guy (who has just over 50 jumps) and drop into a sit. When i did that, it put me waaaaay lower than the other jumper. He was unable to see me for some reason. The end result was that when we looked at our positions relative to the DZ, each of us started tracking for it, as opposed to our pre-planned 180 degree deal. When i opened my main and was looking up at it inflating, i noticed my friend right next to and above me. This is the closest to a canopy collision i have ever experienced.

The lessons:
*stick to the plan.always.
*even thought the lower jumper has right of way, if you collide with someone else, you are just as dead.
*take the time to roll over on your back at 4000ft and actually LOOK at the sky above you. The life you save will be your own.
*resist the urge to fixate on the dz when in a track...if you land off, so be it.
*hang out until your preplanned breakoff altitude...even if the dive has gone to shit, hang out and wait.
*horizontal distance is far more valuable than vertical...track, and track well.

[PhreeZone 20]

I agree with almost every point here except:

>*take the time to roll over on your back at 4000ft and actually LOOK at the sky above you. The life you save will be your own.

Rolling on your back and maintining heading, tracking velocity and flatness of the track is damn hard to do. I've watched people roll over only to drop like a stone, others when they roll end up on a new heading and that leads to more issues then its worth.

On belly jumps as long as you track flat and long... you should'nt need to ever roll over.

As a side note on the tracking towards the DZ, you cover more distance under canopy in 200 vertical feet then you will in 700 vertical feet tracking.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[thrillseek 0]

my thinking is that the back track is a fairly simple manuver...when done properly at 4000 feet, you still have tons of time to roll back over, re-check heading and then wave off and deploy. I have got to be one of the most prolific "wave-offers" i know, and the guy still didn't see me. If i had been able to see him, I could have altered my track for a couple of seconds and created some distance.

[jurgencamps 0]

"hang out until your preplanned breakoff altitude...even if the dive has gone to shit, hang out and wait"

Why?

[petur 0]

I think thrillseek's point here is that it's critical to see the center of the formation (even if it has become $%"!!!!'up during the dive) to be able to track away from the center and create as much separation as possible between jumpers.

For example, if the first one starts tracking at 6k' and the last one at 4.5k', chances are that some might have lost sight of other jumpers when they decide their tracking direction.

---
P.
"It Hurts to Admit When You Make Mistakes -
But When They're Big Enough, the Pain Only Lasts a Second."

[billvon 2,990]

"hang out until your preplanned breakoff altitude...even if the dive has gone to shit, hang out and wait"

>Why?

Two reasons. One, if you hang out, everyone will know where you are, and everyone can break off together being aware of each other. Two, if you start tracking at 7000 feet, you may just run into the next group.