Deuce 1 #1 July 6, 2003 The swoop cord on my right wing. It's this kid's 18th birthday, he's tall and skinny and he's on our smallest tandem master. Great ground and plane fluff, red light on, set up low in the KingAir door.....Snap! I feel the tension go out of my right wing just as the pair's shoulders clear the door, I get a great exit shot, faces, plane in the background, and the drogue comes out and I'm falling out like a safe. I snap the left hand cord off and do the RW beachball and almost get back in it, but don't, get on my back and slowly separate until they open. So I've got ground fluff, plane fluff, a great exit and a landing. Virtually no drogue fall. This is my first malfunction of photo/video equipment in about 200 tandem videos, I've never had the cameras not get photo's/ video, and the damn cord failed just up from the bar-tack that holds it on. So what kind of a refund do y'all give in this situation? JP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cacophony 0 #2 July 7, 2003 Atleast, you have a good excuse for that accident. I've messed up a few videos. Some of them were stupid mistakes and others were due to weird equipment stuff. At our DZ we offer them a full refund or I wouldn't mind doing another jump for them for free. Either/Or I guess. What kind of suit do you fly? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHixxx 0 #3 July 7, 2003 Give them the footage and let them keep their money... -Hixxxdeath,as men call him, ends what they call men -but beauty is more now than dying’s when Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jt40ronin 0 #4 July 7, 2003 All least you cant blame your packer for that one right JP??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #5 July 7, 2003 ...yet another exit.."foiled" by the King Air's big time airspeed,,, at climbout.......do you think the stitching might have held??? if you were goin' out of an otter????........ a good reason to do a pre flight check of your suit,,,, as well as your rig.....and camera helmet... ..Partial refund,, maybe.. but remember,,, it should be about the skydive experience,,, NOT the video.. The video is just the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.... but certainly NOT the primary reason to make a jump... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdhill 0 #6 July 7, 2003 Refund... depends on their reaction... if they are happy with it then no... if they are not happy with it, offer alternatives... video their second jump for f**e (I find it hard to type that word let alone say it)... giving the money back is the last resort... but if you feel it is the right thing to do, then... Equipment failure happens, suits, cameras, yada, yada... its how quickly we recognize it and how we respond that makes the difference... now for the learning for your mishap... what kind of suit do you jump? What is the cord made of? Is there anything you could check for before hand? Since it broke on climbout, and you recognized it, was there anything you could have done differently in the jump? JoshAll that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pd190 0 #7 July 7, 2003 D, My standard answer is "Refund." But this is what I usually do..(not that I screw them up to much anymore, but man, when I first started....whew!) Give him at least the money paid minus the dough to cover your slot. Then offer him a choice of raw footage or a slightly edited version. Basically, don't spend the normal time editing that you would a good one, just add some music and some cool shots. Some of the other camera guys at my DZ would be happy enough with what you described, but its important to me to produce a good quality product for the person. If it doesn't fit to your own personal standards, than at least work something up for the guy. Just my opinion... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #8 July 7, 2003 I ended up charging the guy $20 for the footage we got, and we gave a discount on his buddy's video and used some of that footage. He was OK with it. That covered costs, no profit. It's a Tony suit with a custom very big "D" wing. I didn't visually inspect the attachment, so I don't know if it showed wear that would have alerted me to the problem. I felt pretty good about getting the other cord off, but what I should have done then was grab the cuffs of the sleeves and used them to fly the wings. When both cords were off and my arms were out in boxman the deflated wing pulled the sleeves up to my elbows. If I had grabbed the cuffs right away, I could have flown the wings that way. And Jason, my knuckleheaded packer-friend, did you get your shoulder reinstalled? Gosh, I had to pack that last one myself! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jt40ronin 0 #9 July 8, 2003 The Shoulder is back in place, Tim is gonna help me make a custom brace like his. I am pretty much grounding myself for the rest of the month to rest. Gave the main to Clay for a slider mod. As for your pack job, I'll repack pack it this weekend after you pay me for the pack jobs you owe me for LOL. See ya this weekend. Blue Skys Jason p.s. I need a link to your site. I might buy a couple of the photos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #10 July 8, 2003 Glad to hear you're better Jason, Tim should patent that shoulder brace of his, Freeflyz needs one too. As for the site, click on the red thing below that says American Boogie pics are up. I don't have the freefly pics of you up yet, though. Maybe tonight. Heal up! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhino 0 #11 July 8, 2003 I would give a complete refund. Especially if it is a first jump. Sorry bro?? Rhino Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #12 July 8, 2003 QuoteI would give a complete refund. Especially if it is a first jump. Sorry bro?? Rhino No worries. That was on the table, but the customer was happy with the deal they took. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #13 July 8, 2003 In addition to having the swoop cord break, you should also be prepared for a similar situation / flail session to happen if you one day climb out and for some wacky reason you have forgotten to put the loop on, or it for some reason simply pops off of your hand. Additionally, at some point you might also have to deal with the lower attachment point breaking or simply not being there when you really wish it was. Incidental contact on exit with another skydiver can cause this. Maybe a foot catches on the wing or something during a big-way exit -- who knows? Anyway, crap happens -- try to keep it to a minimum and deal with it the best you can when it does. Having only one functioning wing makes things pretty interesting, but you should get to a point where you'll still pretty much get the job done -almost- no matter what happens.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #14 July 9, 2003 QuoteIt's a Tony suit You know what I'd say.....---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #15 July 9, 2003 QuoteQuoteIt's a Tony suit You know what I'd say..... Yes, you mercenary bastard, you'd say "Buy some expensive shit at Square One" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #16 July 10, 2003 No, I'd say buy a highquality FliteSuit, from said dealer......---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #17 July 10, 2003 I already have a highquality Bomber Freefly Suit! You wanna make me a great deal on a BirdMan suit? Huh? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sneaky 0 #18 July 10, 2003 I have messed up on a tandem, I was employed by the centre and I offered not too be paid and refund the slot.They refused and said...hey shit happens. Refund them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
