skydiveoc 0 #1 June 14, 2006 Ive been taking quite a few single amputee tandem students lately (Iraq war veterans) and am now being asked by double amputees to jump which I have declined. Any TM's with double amputee at or above the knee student experience? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Skygirl 0 #2 June 14, 2006 I am of course not an instructoer with my few jumps... but I have a question... you declined some double amputees. Is it that hard to fly them? I can imagine that having no legs could influence the freefall, but I am curious... is there a reaon those people should not do a tandem? You know, I once taked to a lady with 2 amputed legs and she wanted a skydive and she said she probably couldn't do it... it skipped my mind until this thread...------------------------------------------------- No dive, like skydive... wanna bet on it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,535 #3 June 14, 2006 Secure harness fit might be an issue, depending on how high the amputation was. 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) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky15 0 #4 June 14, 2006 My husband took one twice (same guy). He also is a rigger, and he did some extra rigging with the man in the harness, so it took a long time before and after (to get him out). All went fine and my husband is the MOST safety concious skydiver I know and I have no doubt this passenger was safe. PM me if you want details from him I can have him email you. I jumped with this man on his first jump and still have video and after their landing it was amazing. This man said after yelling with excitement almost brought us to tears as he said he "felt like he could walk" at that moment. It was truly wonderful. They did plan to just sit down in the peas for landing with two of us there to help support the TI. They ended up easily standing up. This student was incredible and climbed a ladder with his arms and got into the Queen Air with no assisitance. They were a little head low part of the skydive (also he jumped a Vector rig) but it wasn't a factor really but just so know you that could happen, I did decide to dock my husband's ar.m instead of the passenger though due to the position. This guy had just stumps for legs, not much at all. It can be done safely but needs to be done with the right TI and some extra "rigging" on the harness. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiveoc 0 #5 June 15, 2006 my concern is the leg strap(s) coming over the knee during exit or opening. ive been having the sinlge amputees wear their prosthesis and haven't had any issues with it coming off. my worst case scenerio was with the double that both prosthesis came off allowing the leg straps to slip over the knee. I am trying to cover all angles obviously following the tandem tradegy of two weeks ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psychoswooper 2 #6 June 22, 2006 "Super Dave" Garrett has taken a double above knee amputee at our DZ. I believe his inseam was about 10 inches. He was about 3'8"tall & weighed about 160-170 if my memory is correct. When he first called the DZ he mentioned that he was handicapped. Then went on to say that he was a double above knee amputee, missing part of one arm, the other arm didn't work & he couldn't see out of one eye. I laughed & said, "yeah sure, come on...who is this?", thinking it was a friend joking around. But he was for real & we were able to do the jump after spending a great deal of time (hours)figuring out if and how we could do it safely. Several of the TMs at our DZ had experience taking quads & paras, always adding additional straps. We added a few additional straps to keep things in place ( legstraps & shoulder area) & the jump went very well. I will try to obtain the video from the cameraman (it was a few years ago) & make it available to help others. In light of the recent accidents, I would not recommend attempting this by any but the most experienced TMs who also have extensive experience taking lesser handicaped individuals. Even then, you must be 100% sure that the harness and or additional straps will contain the passenger for the duration of the skydive. And that the helpers (because you will need them ) also thoroughly understand how the harness must be situated at every point & how their movements can affect the harness positioning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
