flyinchicken

Jump #19 The DZ was having some miscomunication amongst the instructors. I was told conflicting things about what to do when the pilot chute on my 280 manta went over the front of my parachute. I know now that I could have landed it as I had done a few times b4. jump#229 Bad body position on my new stilletto, won't do that again! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Well! What can I say? Bill you are a legend in the Canadian skydiving world. A thorn in the side of CSPA, and a hero to us newbies. Take care I wish you all the best. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

So where's the video? "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

You will be teaching my bf who has been making me very nervous with his 22 jump assessment of canopy flight this weekend. It will be very interesting too see what a newbie has to come away with, after your weekend course. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Hmmm Duane Weston... He thought he knew his limits...had thousands of jumps...ended up being meat sprayed all over a bunch of innocent bystanders. The level of experience required to handle a high performance canopy or w/l should be 100% Ten jumps swooped at x speed with x amount of distance landing in x. Think about it...I know people who 90& of the time can swoop in and not endager anyone including themselves....what about that 10% though? Just because you're good does not mean you are perfect From the stats that I have read from the USPA...seems to me like it is EXPERIENCED pilots under high wing loadings that we really need too worry about. Complacency and human error are the devils of skydiving not ignorance. We work hard to make sure EVERYONE is trained well. It's hot shotting and "I know it all" attitudes that are killing the sport. No more ...... no less. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

My first night jump ever.....pin pointed the landing area on the dummy jump run pass with the help of another lowtime jumper....didn't realise someone had corrected her just after she explained it too me. Turned out the green light that was sposed to be the top of manifest was a land boat storage yard. ended up doing a very tight landing pattern into a 300ft x20ft area surrounded by power lines right beside the highway. Stood up my landing with my nose inches from the barbed wire fencing. canopy went over the fence. Had to climb the fence get the canopy back over as it was the only way out. Found out an hr later that there is usually a guard dog in that storage lot! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Aha! Well, I'll work backwards. Jump #244 Tired and restless being at the DZ on a beautiful day and not jumping I got on a load even though the winds were still a little gusty(stayed on the ground for this reason most of the day). doing a solo last one out of the plane good 8 count cuz the pilot said the uppers were gusting 15 - 22. The spot was pretty long but figured I could open round 4000 and have no problems getting back. Well guess the two way ahead of me noticed the long spot as well and decided to open higher. I came out of my ff style series at about 6000 and saw two fully inflated canopies direclty below me, got all nervous and went right to my belly(did not track off) and pulled at bout 5500. Made it back to the DZ no problem but for some reason was so worked up about the peeps being directly below me(and the way I handled it) I landed like a moron directly on the runway! Was yanking on my canopy to deflate it and saw the plane coming directly for me. Ran INTO the wind with my half inflated canopy to get off the runway! Thank god the pilots saw me and I didn't end up as road kill. Everyone at the DZ was so cool with me but I was so pissed at myself I started bawling like a baby and have decided I need a LOT of RR before I decide to go skydiving again. Jump#103 Left my helmet on a bench with my alti inside it while packing, someone must have walked by and accidentally knocked it off the bench. Rushed my pack job to hit the sunset load grabbed my helmet and ran to the plane only to notice when I got on that the hand had fallen off inside my alti. Thought to myself "no problem I still have my dytter, and my eyes, all will be well". Was sick and tired of getting the really long spots because I was practicing freeflying and pulling a lil higher. I decided I wanted to get back to the DZ this time so decided I was pulling lower, then got in an argument with a bloke on the plane about who should exit first(as if it would REALLY matter). This guy is pretty experienced and has a MUch higher wing loading than I. Well, didn't reset my dytter because I was too busy trying to get out sooner....Decided to do a two way with another low jumper on the plane(just to get out sooner) get to the door I'm counting the other guy gets set up and jumps WAY too soon after a flat flyer. I watch him pass the flat flyer in the air then jump out after him still too soon! the whole sit jump watched the belly flyer drifting above us while trying to signal to the guy I'm jumping with that he is there. Decide to scrap it and track off as far as I can and dump. MY DYTTER DIDN"T go off! Seems the battery had come loose on it. Never got on the plane since without checking both repeatedly! Jump#19 Cutaway because of a spring loaded student pilot chute under my canopy, got so freaked out couldn't remember how to land went past the trailers and turned into the wind and went through a short bush and landed five feet from a trailor. Jump#13 I'm supposed to be spotting, a bunch of experienced guys on the ground tell me to look for the x on the ground(they have their spots marked) I decide that if it's that easy to not THINK and just look for the X. Door opens and I look down i see the DZ ahead of us and an X below us smile at my instructor and climb out. My instructor tried to grab onto me and I did a backflip off the strut. cut up my instructors hand unbeknownst too me. I have a spring loaded pilot chute go under my main It was pretty windy and inflating a bit but I had no control problems. Flew the canopy right back to the DZ shut off my radio and landed. I was grounded for two weeks. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

This is going to be very interesting. I'm sitting on the fence on this one. I'll be watching though. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

I do a lot of lurking here. Don't have a lot of jumps and have fucked up a few times due to overconfidence, just lucky it hasn't hurt me or someone else. Presently, I am afraid to get in the air because I know my real life has stressed me to the point that I cannot make wise choices and descisions in the air. Just so you know Ron, I pay a lot of attention to the things you say. This is a prime example of the mentallity I want to keep intact within myself when I hit that 1000, 2000, 3000 jump mark. Just wanted you to know I think ur pretty cool, and if you decide to cut up anything I post concerning my jumping it will be welcomed and I will still think you're cool! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

I am looking at buying a used Reflex. I had a site saved that had info on the container sizes and pack volumes. However, I can't find it anywhere. Anyone know where I can get this information? "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Three years ago today I was sitting at home on my computer doped up on as much pot as I could smoke and not pass out. I had switched jobs, and a month into the new one, I knew I had made a mistake. My best friend and roomie was sniffing coke and incoherent, another friend just killed himself and another died suddenly during a simple opperation. No money to pay the bills and my career was in the toilette(Let's refrain to mention the bf sleeping with my other roomie). Sitting on a chat cam site trying to make myself laugh....came across SkYfIlTh. He saved my life. I didn't have enough money to make a jump, but he decided to fly me to Cali in Aug of that year for my first tandem. I've been hooked since...I'm still here. Once again... Thnx Sedge You saved my life brother! Skydiving is the cure for all. Good luck jumper...BLUE SKIES "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Hmmm sounds like something up with the pilot chute of the reserve or the free bag too tight? I am not a rigger.. so this is just a thought. This sounds a little scarey considering the coroner's report. I hate to think of our DZ's being robbed of thier primary income because of this. I feel for the family of the deceased.....but he was skydiving. If you jump out of planes EXPECT something to happen to you. If you or the people you love cannot live with that... then don't jump! This does not mean that I believe that all skydivers should jump with a deathwish. It means that you should accept the dangers of the sport and make sure your family is completely aware of them. Not only will this make you a better skydiver....but it will protect your loved ones and the DZ if something does happen. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Yep remember a few of those jumps myself! Was thinking of changing my name to "flailingchicken". Start working on getting into a tight ball the second you feel you are unstable. RELAX and then "slowly" put yourself back into your sit position. Any fast awkward movements will just make the problem worse. Widen up your sit as well, a really wide slower moving sit is easier to speed up from. Hope that helps.

Sounds strange.... a reserve not coming out of the free bag? "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

I wish I had more information to share with you about the incedent. heard about it 2 years ago, remembered reading about it in the paper and hearing our CSPA rep talking about it at the DZ. I was under the impression it wasn't the DZ's fault. This article however makes it seem as if there was something "wrong" that happend. I am going to search the site of the paper, and see if I can come up with anything else from the archives. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

I had the same problem on my last sit jump. My partner on the jump was chasing me while I was backsliding away. I think I've spent too much time on my head and not enough practicing my sit so I'll be returning to sit jumps till I get the feel of it again. Been hearing a lot of the same things from some of the other people I jump with regularily, some of them have a hell of a lot more jumps than I. I'm sure a few good 2 way sit jumps with someone who has a cam will help you out, much like the tunnel but wayyy more fun. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

If you are an instructor in Canada you may be interested in this article: Toronto Star News, Friday, April 9, 2004, p. A13 Skydiver's death leads to call for regulation Leslie Ferenc All beginners' skydiving programs should be grounded immediately until the federal government adopts strict safety regulations for sport parachute jumping, a coroner's jury has said. That was among 12 recommendations following an inquest into the death of 38-year-old Gareth Rodgers. The Sutton father of three plunged 1,060 metres to his death while skydiving in August, 2002. His wife Lisa was videotaping the jump, his sixth as a student at the Parachute School of Toronto, which operates out of the Baldwin airfield in Georgina. He died 20 seconds after jumping from the Cessna 182. The inquest was told how Rodgers did all the right things, but his main parachute became tangled in his reserve chute, according to police. In its verdict, the five-member jury found Rodgers died of blunt force injuries because his main and reserve parachutes malfunctioned, but why that happened was "undetermined." During his address to the jury last week, Newmarket Assistant Crown Attorney Harold Dale urged the panel to bring in a verdict of homicide. "I suggest to you that the attitude of those at the Parachute School of Toronto reflects one of indifference, or a lack of reasonable or proper care and attention for the lives or safety of others as expected of a reasonable person," he told jurors. In an interview yesterday, he said there was not enough evidence for a criminal charge in Rodgers' death. Rodgers' family had been hoping for a verdict of homicide, his sister Melanie Tetlock said after the 21/2-week inquest ended in Aurora yesterday. She said that would have set a precedent, "as skydiving fatalities have traditionally been regarded as accidental." Outside the inquest, Adam Mabee, Parachute School of Toronto Ltd. president, said he will study the jury's recommendations "to see how operations can be made safer." He said the school has been operating for almost 30 years, with 170,000 jumps and four fatalities. Tetlock said Rodgers' family was "initially disappointed" by the verdict but understood the jurors had limited choices. Under the Coroner's Act, a jury has five options when ruling on cause of death: natural, suicide, accident, homicide or undetermined. The family is pressing the federal government for strict regulation of skydiving schools "so further loss of life may be avoided," Tetlock said. Eighty people have died parachuting in Canada in the past 25 years. The jury recommended that federal teaching standards and regulations be developed to safeguard novice and student sport parachutists, and that Transport Canada regulate sport parachuting, and shut down all clubs and schools failing to adhere to those federal regulations. Category: News Uniform subject(s): Investigations; Laws and regulations Length: Medium, 357 words © 2004 Toronto Star. All rights reserved. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Hmmm was just checking out a new rig. Listed as an option is "triple risers"? anyone who can fill me in on what that is? I have a funny feeling this is not something I want on my boyfriends first rig.... but am curious as to what they are and how they work. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

That is an GREAT idea! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Only problem with this is flat flyers have more freefall drift. a freeflyer heads straight down the tube with faster speeds less drift a flat flyer out after them could possibly drift over top of them, the larger the group of flat flyers the more drift. Some of the "instructors" at my home DZ decided that they would switch the exit sequence once without informing the DZO while we were in the plane. With just over 100 jumps I listened to my instructors and went out b4 a 2 way belly(I was doing a solo sit). One of the flat flyers went low and another jumper in the air, actually thought he went through my canopy. I watched him sail past me not 20 ft from me. The instructors were instructing everyone as to exit time and sequence. Makes me nervous exiting b4 anyone on their belly now. I know some Dz's have a dif system but after this happened makes me question it. I pulled this from the LakeElsinore site. One of my fave sites for info. Got my bf to study the AFF cartoon they have on there b4 he did his training. Helped him lots. ***Exit Separation: With reported upper winds of 0-10 knots, please allow between 5 - 7 seconds between exits (take into account the time it takes to climb out of the aircraft.) For winds of 15 knots or higher please use the following formula: Take Upper winds /2 which will give you the recommended amount of time between exits! Upper winds: 15 knots - 7 seconds between exit groups 30 knots - 15 seconds between exit groups 40 knots - 20 seconds between exit groups I was taught the 45 degree thing at my DZ but have never been comfortable about it. When I went to Elsinore and discovered this, I have taken it as my personal law. "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

My first cutaway was jump # 19! The spring loaded pilot chute on the rented manta student gear went over the front of my parachute and was caught in my left steering lines. I did a control check and because I was so new, the sluggish left hand turn that wouldn't stop scared me enough to make me cutaway. On the ground I got some "friendly advice" from the DZO that a slight problem like that was nothing to cutaway from. Now, I would deal with the situation diferently. But at the time, I respected what I "didn't know", and chopped. I 2 was worried I may hesitate when next in a situation. However my reserve ride last week at Gold Coast allayed that fear. The line twists, that were entirely my fault(bad body positioning on opening as well as uneven leg straps), sent me into a diving spin on my back. I tried to get out while counting to 3 in my head then chopped. Something I had always planned to do in that situation. The other thing that does worry me about my skydiving habits is, as I get more experience will I start pushing myself further? Next time will I ride it down lower and allow the cintrifical force to build up? Or will I use my "better understanding" of a canopy to land something that would be safer to get rid of? Your post has made me think............... Thank You Jan "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

Well I have been very busy with work the last week so I feel bad for posting this so late, but here goes.... Three of us Canucks travelled to Gold Coast for the annual Mardis Gras boogie. One, my bf Richard, wasn't a skydiver when we got there, but thnx 2 all the cool folks at Gold Coast he finished his AFF in 3 days of jumping! I just wanna say thnx 2 you all! It was pretty cool of you to allow our friend Ditch to try out his "new camera system" and tag along on Rich's jumps. (for those of you questioning Ditch has his AFF instructors rating). The fact that there was no concern from the camera guys at Gold Coast over losing money because Rich brought along his own was pretty much a theme throughout the week. It's good to see a DZ that is about skydiving and not just about making money! At the beginning of the week I had bought a bulk of jump tickets...the weather wasn't so great and a reserve ride on the Fri made it so I couldn't use them. Gold Coast refunded every ticket! The only down side to the whole trip was once again, I missed out on joining the Pink Mafia Despite the fact that a few members even offered to be dragged out of bed early on the Sunday morning to make the jump with me. We had a long drive to make and the guys wanted to get on the road. Well there is always next year..........

That jump to date has been one of the high points of my skydiving career. Thnx quickdraw, I can't wait to see those pics. Only thing better would be to be Amazon, who made that night load AND jumped on the beach at the end of the Mardis Gras boogie! I wanna b her. Craig you rock! Blue ones! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman