skypuppy

Is one of those near the potato bridge? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Canadian RW record is now 59 as of last summer. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I was happy to see Bill Brandon getting an award for doing a 'buttful of jumps' in the latest skydiving magazine. Brought back some memories -- from the haze in my mind that represents the early part of the 1980's. I seem to recall seeing Bill's 4000th jump at z-hills, probably in 1981 or there-abouts, probably the first year after they moved across the airport. Seems to me it was a 40-way dive from 2 DC-3s -- a take-off of the old hoop dives, where they built a 10-man star and the rest of them flew through the centre of the ten man star and then built a 30-way on the other side.... I wasn't on it but some of my buddies were. Maybe Skydive Jack can confirm the details -- his memory is undoubtedly better than mine. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Lots of times -- but then again I probably have over 20 reserve rides. Half a dozen from mals, half a dozen from crw and the rest intentionals (usually wearing a bellywart). Cutaway from a three stack once (the other two cutaway also) and we did a star before dumping our reserves.... (Well, two of us did, anyways.... Got grounded for doing rw below a grand.... Thought I might did on that one!) I once cut away my strato star because I was mad when it opened up and broke a steering line. It would have been fine to steer and land with the risers but I was pissed off because I'd been intending to do some crw after opening at regular deployment altitude (around 1800 back then). Cut away from the bottom of a two stack once to leave the upper guy in a GHOST PLANE -- that was fun. My last cutaway I may have been able to sort out but I dumped low and didn't want to try to fix it and then find it really wasn't going to work. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

From Xmas 79 If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I recall when an indiviual had about the same number as I have posted now and the next thing ya know there were 1,000+ more.... In their defense, maybe as you said, they didn't update their profile for a couple of years, and then they decided to! But that would only work once every couple of years. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I would say that's a fairly pessimistic point of view. There are a ton of places to go to get good solid coaching on accuracy without having to go to 3 individuals. Go somewhere they do it, or approach anyone on a national or even regional team. There is Skydive Rick's, Skydive Toronto, a bunch of guys in British Columbia who do accuracy, Arizona, people who know the principles are all over the place and can help anyone get familiar with the fundamentals. Check out styleandaccuracy.com If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

This will depend on whether it is just wind speed that is changing, or direction as well. Again, with wind speed you just have to try to anticipate, if you know the winds will drop off at 50-75 feet, you set up suitably behind, vice-versa if the wind speed picks up. Realize that even in competition, high-achievers can and do get hosed once in a while. However, for them to get hosed they might only miss the tuffet (or the dead centre), not land 100 feet away. For wind directions things can get complicated. Let's just say for now that it's a good idea to get comfortable with a sideways sort of approach, where you can crab toward the target from the upwind side until you're in position to set up. If you get right down to it, the side to approach from varies according to whether you're north of the equator or south, let's not get into that. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I believe the article was in Skydiving Magazine, and was also written by Bill Cole. I think I have a picture of the Ortner field B25 on the page I set up about Cole at http://hometown.aol.com/pricesmoneypit/myhomepage/extreme.html Yeah, it's on the right about half way down, right after Bill and his guys set an unofficial Cdn group altitude record of 21,000 feet while filming a beer commercial. This picture was taken at St Thomas airport in Ontario, I guess in 1969. The commercial, (Carling Red Cap) was available on skydivingmovies.com -- don't know if it still is. I'll have to see if I have the picture saved on a disc somewhere so I can attach it here. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Try to measure out various radiuses from the target and either use spray paint or chalk, or just pick an object at that distance from the target, then observe where you have to set up in order to land on/near the target. For instance, if the windsock is 150 feet away, and you set up over it at X number of feet in 10 mph winds,, then if you go to a new dz (or a demo), you should be able to pace off 150 feet, and that would be where you set up for those winds at the new target. Learn to try to figure out the angles. Lying on your stomach, put something on the ground under your nose. If you stand up without moving your feet, then looking at that spot is a 45 degree angle. If you can teach yourself to look down at this angle you will be able to tell if you are overshooting or undershooting the target in various windspeeds. Always do wind checks on the way down. I usually do one above 1000 feet, and another below (this may be subject to traffic pattern rules at your dz). Also, watch other similarly loaded canopies on their approaches. Try to see if their are different wind layers on the way down. Anticipate them, if possible. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

No, that's not it. This was some testing done by Irvin Parachutes for the Cdn. military on a haho ramair system. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I was reading some interesting data from test jumps done on a military skydiving system a few years ago that was really interesting, in that on some jumps, with asymmetrical loading with one riser getting 60 to 80% of the load. Typical opening shocks averaged about 4.5 g's, with a typical scatter of 1.5 g avbout the mean. (ie between 3 and 6 G average). However now and then, a shock of up to 9.0 G's would be encountered. Again, this is skydiving data and not that recent, so technology has changed. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Skydive Toronto is just off the 400 about 1/2 hour north of the 401/400 interchange (5 minutes from the Cookstown Outlet mall). We do have at least one Russian tandem master, Igor K., with over 3000 jumps. We also have a Hungarian and at least one Romainian (Spelling?) tandem masters. There are at least 5 past members of the Canadian Style and Accuracy team jumping there (Romainian and Hungarian included), so you shouldn't feel too out of place. The dzo has a lot of international competition experience as well, so he's familiar with the Eastern Bloc training. You could do worse than go up there to get back in to it. I know a couple of the Eastern Europeans paid for a lot of their jumping here by packing, so it doesn't has to cost you a lot if you're willing to do that. If you don't need the money, no worries. As far as renewing licences, they don't expire -- each dz probably would have its own idea of how to get you back into the sport in a safe manner. The only way you might need to get Canadian licences is if you decided to get a Canadian coach/instructor rating. You can call Skydive Toronto at 1-800-ONT-JUMP, or check the website at skydivetoronto.com If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Note that I said I truly believe that we had fewer broken bones in those days. It was strictly my opinion based on cursory personal observation. Whose opinion am I permitted to give? _____________________________________________ Re-reading your post, Mike, I see you did qualify that one statement, but most of your other statements, which I could argue with, were presented as fact when they were also just opinion, ie the old chutes packed simpler, etc. As for what opens faster, a 7-cell, base-type square will open MUCH faster then a round. For many reasons. One is that the lines, and the canopy is much shorter and therefore takes less time to play out. Another is that a square will open bottom skin first, and the square footage between round and square is dramatically different, it takes much less time for a square to 'open'. Then, if you're in freefall, there's the factor of weight -- a para-commander canopy weighs in at about 16 pounds, depending on model, material, etc. My skydiving rig weighs in at not much more then that, so the force required to lift a modern canopy out of the container (snatch force?) would logically be much less then the force to lift an older round canopy, especially at low speeds in a BASE environment. For an example of a fast square parachute opening, I think there is footage on the web of some cutaways performed sub-300' using the Relative workshop's skyhook which dramatically proves the point. Phil Smith and some of his crew (maybe Randy or Rick could comment on this) worked on a smaller BASE round for low water jumps, but I believe it was to be used only for water jumps because in order to open fast enuf they reduced it in size to somewhere around 10 feet or less, with correspondingly shorter lines as well. Rounds are great in certain applications, they obviously open well and ofter a malfunctioned round is still landable, or the military wouldn't be still using them in large numbers. But if squares had been around in the '60's I'm sure you and Brian would have been using them. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

_________________________________________________ No, but you did have problems with bent pins (death), with ripcord housings getting plugged up with mud (or pea-gravel) creating impossible pull forces, kinked ripcord housings, blast handles, etc. I know of one jumper who went in who's father was able to pick up the front-mounted reserve and swing it around in a circle BY THE RIPCORD HANDLE. No one would have been able to pull that. From the CSPA statistics between 1971 and 1976, as reported by CSPA safety officer Rudy Jambrich, there was one injury for every 40th CSPA member (which includes students) and one fatality for every 10,000 jumps (this amounted to 30 fatalities over the five years). There was a malfunction for every 280 jumps. CSPA is the Canadian Sport Parachute Association. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

his should be in history and trivia, not the base zone, but here it goes.... If anyone ever had a bridle wrapped around their arm or leg in those days, regardless of body position on opening, I never heard about it. __________________________________________ You obviously didn't read many fatality reports. ____________________________________________ I truly believe we broke fewer bones back in my days. _________________________________________ Show me your statistics. At my dropzone we switched to squares for students in mid-season precisely because we were having so many lower leg injuries. That year we did pretty half on rounds, half on squares. ALL the student injuries took place on rounds. There is a reason CSPA switched to mandatory square parachutes for students back in the '80's. A good landing under a round was often equivalent to a poor landing under a student square. People made fewer jumps on round canopies. I have nothing against rounds -- I jumped them when I started, and I went back and jumped one again this year, but you can't make sweeping statements like that based on your own anecdotal or subjective experience as a relatively low-experienced jumper. Show us some numbers to back it up! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Go to parachutehistory.com and look it up in the Cliff Winters article.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

We have a jumper at Skydive Toronto. Most people think he is a pretty big jumper, but after studying video and still photos, I am convinced that he is actually TWO LITTLE PEOPLE STANDING ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER inside a jumpsuit.... Eh, Sushi? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

It's not exactly just about the ground rush or the feeling of the freefall. Base is so much more than that. And you would know without a doubt if you were supposed to be here. Base is a 1/2 moon night with 1 or 2 good friends, a sketchy landing area and a scary exit point. No video or spectators and no one but yourself to make the next call. Base is many things to many people, but it's definatly in you before you ever begin. BSBD my friend. __________________________________________________ Wow. Well said. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I don't agree. I don't think currency has anything to do with it. __________________________________________________ This isn't rocket science. The Science and psychology of teaching, and the science and psychology of learning have been studied and understood well for decades. Any skydiver taking an Instructor course in Canada takes a coaching association of canada course that transcends specific sport and gets down to the science of bringing about learning. Much of that has nothing to do with specific skills, but as much to do with mindset. An experienced jumper brainlocking about what is the next point is a totally different thing to what happened here. Even someone reacting poorly to the high stress of a spinning or fast malfunction would be different than this. Brian's brainlock meant that he didn't even get the chance to use any emergency procedures, and was much more likely to occur because of a lack of preparation. Would it have definitely saved him? We'll never know. But it couldn't have hurt.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Bart Nothing I see there says you need ORGANIZED instruction. Just that you need to be able to identify parts, need to have packed 10 under supervision, should know how to inspect for problems, and do the packing test. How you get the information is left up in the air. That said, it sounds like instruction should be done by someone with experience so nothing is left out. But in many places that is done without a set course, and without money changing hands. Which is better? I don't know, but if my brother-in-law started up I'd just teach him myself. The sport in Canada is expensive enough now that another hundred bucks for an official packing course would probably not be noticed either way by a student. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Just to put a face to the name, I believe that's Jim Handbury in the orange suit beside Carl Boenish on the cover of Bud Sellick's book, 'the wild wonderful world of parachutes and parachuting', n'est-pas? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Bart -- the system you're familiar with is dropzone-specific, certainly no Canada-wide. As far as I know there's nothing in CSPA that says you have to take a course -- just that you need to get the endorsement to pack. before I went to STI 5 years ago I'd never seen anyone charged for a mandatory packing course. As far as standardization, that has to start from the top. Get all the dzo's to agree on pro-pack or flat-pack, get the all the manufacturers to make the same rigs, no poptops, etc. At least there's very few legstrap throw-outs or (gasp) belly-bands left now. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

From the BD fatility thread, I took this quote to discuss how skydiving experience is an impediment to base: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The skill sets for each sport are entirely different, and while an airplane can be used to practice certain things (i.e., canopy skills), skydiving is more of an impediment to a first-time base jumper than otherwise. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I acknowledge the skill sets are different and these are different sports. Can anyone with any real insight explain why it is an impediment to know how to skydive and then try base jumping? __________________________________________________ Frankly, Brian never got a chance to use any skill sets he might have had, because he suffered from sensory overload on exit when encountering an environment he hadn't experienced for 30 years or so. It's not just the skill sets your muscles learn, it's acclimatizing your brain to the environment it's going to encounter. Brian had too much experience to be a neophyte and too little to be comfortable, he probably fell into that category because of his own unique history, but here is someone who would have benefitted from a few practise jumps -- anywhere. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I just sent an article to Skydiving magazine about a gentleman I met who did several jumps during the war. In fact, after jumping into Arnhem, he went back to Europe to jump at the 50th anniversary and the 60th anniversary of the battle! Take a look at the trees in the attached photo. It gives you some idea of the height they were exiting at. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone