Lesson Learned.

[Calvin19 0]

Me and the boys decided to do our monthly 3 way at the dropzone, and decided to do our favorite, Crew. Amature crew.

not terrible bad amature, I have about Crw jumps, the other 2 guys, 10 each.

wanted to get the best out of the jump, exit from 18,000, 12,000 agl. decided to do a quick exit, as fast as possible. we are used to our BASE canopies being on heading maybe. took 2-3 seconds between jumpers. not bad, but we are useing sail sliders, on 1.3 loaded sabers and saber2s, order was alex, nick, me.
I must have exited at 3 seconds, and nick, well he snivvled, A LOT. I fumbled with the dump as well.
while keeping canopy on heading through snivvle, i glance up and right, to see nic coming at me, fast. not to fast to dock fast, but the kind when 2 FAST canopies are coming at eachother, in full flight. nic had a 180.

I went for my hook knife chest mount, and got myself ready go through his lines.

had i impacted his body, there is no doubt in my head i would have either killed him or put him in the hospital for a long time.

from the first time i noticed him to the impact was about a half second.

I fealt the right riser tension up, and the canopy got jerked back behind me, and i realised i had not gone through his lines, amazing, i was sure i would.

then, the canopy came back above me, spun once, and re-inflated. I had only hit the righ half of my canopy on the right half of his, took us both out for a few hundred feet, but thats it. lady luck i might say.

Holy Shite.

just a story, but still.

Lesson of the day, either 4 seconds, or mesh sliders.

We continued the jump, got a few docks out of it, and almost landed out as usual.

I have not been that close to going in since last year this time.

[BillyVance 34]

Stagger your delays, and be ready to grab your right rear riser for an emergency turn if you see an imminent collision coming. And always do your best to keep your eyes on the plane and on everyone coming out of it after you.

I nearly had the same kind of collision years ago. We staggered our delays but the guy after me sniveled down to my level and spun almost right into me. We both did right turns out of the danger zone.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[faulknerwn 38]

I never watch my canopy opening on CRW jumps. All I do is try and stay on heading and watch the 3-5 people exiting after me with my hands on my risers. More than one person has been killed on CRW exits by concentrating on things other than the people following them. Have your hands on the risers and watch the others...

[crewdog2 0]

As has been said, be aware of others around you even as your canopy is deploying. Be prepared to make a hard riser turn and pull your legs up to avoid a strike.

Leave the hook knife in its pouch until you actually need it.

If an impact with another jumper, or going through his lines is unavoidable, I put my hands up to shield my face. As I do this, I pull my arms in close to my sides to shield my handles.

Stay safe.

[TVPB 0]

As per Wendy's post - sounds a little bit like what you would do on a BASE exit!!!!!! You know what I mean calvin19...

As you get more experience, you should feel what the canopy is doing without looking at it. On BASE openings, I amp up my peripheral vision. That way I know where the rock is. It is the same thing for CRW as Wendy said. The only difference is that the rock (ie. other jumper) is mobile, so it is that little bit harder to maintain awareness of them. They are a little less likely to hit you, but when they hit, the impact can be worse a/c speed.

That is why CRW is one of my prerequisites for BASE.

The other reason is that it is just plain fun.

Glad you made it out alive.


Some CRW Info

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[Calvin19 0]

yeah, usualy in BASE our openings for a 2 way, slider down or up are very well staggered and reliable (NO weird snivvle) but, these skydive canopies we were un-current on dont do that.

i wasnt really looking at the canopy for opening, i was looking at horizon, and i was last out, so i couldnt watch anyone. i had about a 90' left,

hands were down to harness the second i saw him, he was only in view for about a half second.

still scary to have that close of a call without a wrap.

we did have another near-wrap later in the same jump. but, just normal fun stuff.

lesson learned though.

after 400ish jumps, the only fun i can have anymore is wingsuit or crew!

[stratman05 0]

I found that after 200 jumps

But doing RW/FF with family is fun too

[TVPB 0]

Quote

after 400ish jumps, the only fun i can have anymore is wingsuit or crew!

May I suggest some creativity???

How about swoop landings in weird locations (under bridges, on city beaches, past the McDonalds drive through whilst ordering, etc.)
How about novelty locations (on top of buildings, your backyard, during events and demo's).
Hard core competitive skydiving. Fast and furious.

PARABATICS?????? CANOPY FREESTYLE? Canopy obstacle courses, etc.

Yeah, CRW is a shit load of fun. Rotations is like dodgem cars. Sequential takes a lot of flying skill.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[faulknerwn 38]

On a CRW jump - your hands need to be on the risers the INSTANT the risers are off the container. Forget the hook knife - having control of your risers will save you hundreds of times over rather than a hook knife.

And steer with your body as well - I got used to doing that jumping tiny ellipticals. Harness input can keep my Lightning on heading 99/100 times. It works well....

[Calvin19 0]

Quote

May I suggest some creativity???

hey man, i got yo ass beat for creativity skydiving. ever heard of a DR bill? a mr. frank?

ever done a downplane with a 70' rope between jumpers? ever had 3 people under one canopy?

IMHO, swooping is sketchy. more so than BASE or ROPE jumping. it is super dangerous. i swooped for about 50 jumps on a stilletto 120, and it scared me. maybe i was just no good at it.

but, i like doing bandit loads into crazy tiny LZs in the mountains i live in, and rappelling from a Mr Bill, and geting swung around, thrown up above the canopy.

swooping is sketchy. people go in swooping. what is the breakdown?

90% fatalities are swooping. the other 10 percent being the other stuff?
i dont know the break down, so i made that up.

[TVPB 0]

Touche!

yes, no, yes, yes, yes.

r.e. swooping - I agree, can be scary. I tried some the other day. Went too far too soon. I am getting back on my Learners and starting again. I am also giving myself much more time than I originally allowed. If there is one sport where you really need to be current and VERY careful, this is one of them (Aside from BASE of course .

r.e the mr bill in the photo, we repeated that jump later with rope attached, abseil, swing, and then "cutaway". Chase rope, connect, down plane and parabatics around the rope. . . . . . .

There is lots to do.

It's all good.

p.s CRW is shit hot. You should try the competitive stuff. It is a cut above the fun stuff. But it does take time and commitment.

Have Fun

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[Calvin19 0]

this is fun...

i would never compete in CRW, or any other skydive things. I think competition is, well, backwards for skydiving.

IMHO

but, i see how competition brings money into the sport, but, from all the people i have been around, and experience i have in cool sports (read not human fetch.-IE football), the coolest people competing in free skiing, etc think the comp is just a way to get money.

but, I would go do a World Record CRW formation, big way. that would be sweet.

we are working on doing paraglider CRW from 18,000' right now. imagine, instead of a 10 minute crw jump, you could be doing crw for 3 or 4 hours.

already have the wings set up.

cool pics though.

i like.

i want to hear more about the mr. frank (rope abseil/rappel mr bill)

[Calvin19 0]

oh, and im putting my old dagger mesh slider on my saber2.

[TVPB 0]

Comp? Money? Skydiving?

Oh, you mean the organisers....

Competition is where you go faster, higher, stronger, better. When you want to outdo your latest escapade or exploit, , , , , you are competing!!!! With yourself of course.

When you compete against others you learn more and get better faster. Smashing through 3 canopies in 4 seconds and then catching the next guy who slams an almighty dock on you.

Who can do the most somersaults from 480 feet. Who is the most technically proficient a aerials as measure by his/her peers.

All good. Freestylin and solo is great too. If you there for the experience and the lifestyle . . . . .

It's all good.

If you don't like competition, that is your choice.

If I do like competition, that is my choice.

Neither of us are wrong. And maybe neither of us are right.

As long as I'm having fun, that's all the matters at that point in time.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[Calvin19 0]

totaly agreed, and i think im just no good at anything, besides maybe thinking new fun things up.

boredom is dangerous

[TVPB 0]

Quote

and i think im just no good at anything

\


Oh, I think that is not quite true.

We all have talents. Some people just don't have much luck finding them.

I am still looking for mine. Have you seen it???



CYA

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[Calvin19 0]

Quote

Quote

and i think im just no good at anything

\


We all have talents. Some people just don't have much luck finding them.

I am still looking for mine. Have you seen it???

how is this not it?

Quote

Challenging thought processes. Providing a balanced perspective to any/all arguments. Sometimes just presenting the opposing view for the hell of it!!!

-SPACE-

[Calvin19 0]

just so you know, I did a paraglider Dbag from 18,000' yesterday...

had a 40 minute flight, most of that altitude being lost in Acro maneuvers...

[CReW 0]

Well, yesterday was probably a better day for paragliding then for skydiving anyway.

[Calvin19 0]

Quote

Well, yesterday was probably a better day for paragliding then for skydiving anyway.

not really... the uppers were cooking. I had a wing that decends at a shade less than 1m/sec with a top forward speed of 48km/hr. uppers at dbag altitude were about 80km/hr.

I landed out after a 40ish minute Acro paraglider flight. way out.

just more proof of concept. i hope to be jumping a canopy with a 9/1 GR every jump from now on.

imagine... instead of 6 min to practice crew, haveing an hour and a half.

[bes 0]

p.s CRW is shit hot. You should try the competitive stuff. It is a cut above the fun stuff. But it does take time and commitment.

Quote

Oh!! anytime I am at the top of the stack eyes on the horizon, not looking down to not to get scared while doing rotations, I ask myself what the fuck am I gonna do when thrillseekers below shout me to go:)

• Quote