Bandanarama

Remember, blood pressure in arteries feeding the extremities is much greater than veins returning blood to the heart. In fact veins rely on valves and muscular contraction to move blood back to the heart unlike arteries (no valves and much thicker to compensate for the higher pressure). It's much easier to push blood away from the heart than it is to get it back. Throw in cutting/decreasing circulation from the extremities, high altitude, and physiological factors and it's possible... The best advice has been to visit the doc just to make sure all is well. He'll probably recommend the basics but leave Krisanne with a reassuring feeling of no serious problems. Good health Krisanne!

Yes, it wasn't the celebration I had in mind! Of course, it could have been a lot worse and I'm trying to remain optimistic. However, it still royally sucks losing my canopy!!! It kind of makes me wish I was at one of those desert or flat, treeless dropzones where you can see for miles and not have to traverse nasty fields with overgrown vegetation. It would have been really nice to just see it off in the distance and collect it real easy. C'est la vie... ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

On my second jump yesterday, I did a hop n' pop from 13k which has been a regular routine for me lately. That was jump # 96. I've been taking it easy on a recovering shoulder and having fun practicing canopy skills. Anyway, I did a 5 second delay and reached up to grab my risers and watch my canopy open. As soon as I grabbed my risers, I noticed line twists without the chute being fully deployed just yet. It was still sniveling and slowly filling up with air. My canopy opened with some tight twists towards the top of the suspension lines and immediately dropped its nose and went into aggressive turns. In the meantime I was trying to pull my risers apart and keep it from twisting up anymore. I succeeding in preventing anymore line twists but since my canopy was in an agressive turn already with the existing line twists, I wasn't having much luck untwisting by pulling apart the risers and trying to kick while I was being spun around. I was up really high and was well aware of this and elected to mess with my malfunction for I believe 8- 10ish strong spins. At which time, I figured I would only continue to spin and bleed altitude without much luck of battling my malfunction. I decided I was going to cutaway and practice what I had been taught. So, I looked down to see my EM handles and due to my t-shirt being full of air couldn't get a visual on both handles simultaneously. So as I continued to enjoy my carnival ride, I calmly and simply reached for both handles with one in each hand. Using my right hand, I first pulled my cutaway handle and ensured my cables had completely cleared which was evident as my canopy floated away. I free fell for another 2-4 seconds as I gained stability quickly. Then using my left hand simply pulled my reserve which opened gently and perfectly above me. I was under my reserve canopy at 8500 ft AGL if my recollection was accurate which for the most part I believe was now having time to digest the event. So I calculate 500 feet for my 5 second delay plus a normal 1000 foot snivel. I would say it was about 1500 feet before I decided I should cutaway. I would guess it took another 500 feet transitioning from a mental change in EPs from wanting to use 2 hands on my cutaway handle to a single hand on each handle. Throw in another 500 feet for gaining stability and pulling my reserve handle. Finally, it seemed like about 500 feet for my reserve to open up nicely and quickly compared to my main canopy opening history. Oddly, I wasn't as frayed as I thought I would be during such an event. I looked at my altimeter and did a quick canopy controllability check and then located my reserve pc and main canopy floating near by. I turned towards my reserve pc to have a closer look since at first I wasn't quite sure what it was. It kind of looked like a tandem drogue chute. I was right next to it floating in deep brakes trying to completely assess my situation. I had recollected incidents where people had died due to grabbing such items and my canopy had floated above my reserve to where I couldn't see it for a second. So, I gently turned away from them and was looking out for planes and checking my location. At that point, I decided I was going to fly to the student east field but do so slowly. I kept an eye on my canopy and reserve pc for quite some time as I drifed with the wind further westerly while trying to be conscious of my environment and altitude. I was facing easterly as the distance increased between me and my gear. I thought I saw roughly where my gear must have landed but I would learn how parallax views are very deceiving. I think I was still at 5000 feet when my gear appeared to land off in the distance. At that point, I practiced some flares and played around a bit under canopy. I ended up coming in for a nice landing pattern as all my fellow dive buddies awaited on the ground knowing something must have happened due to seeing a white canopy above me. In fact, one of our camera guys happened to be there and had his helmet in his hand pointing at me as I was on final approach. Seeing this, I flew right up next to him to geek the camera and get close to the bus that transports us back to the airport a few miles away. I landed nice and smoothly on both feet and jogged 10 feet over to him with my canopy above head and let out a cheers with 2 thumbs up. We had a short interview which turned into an entertaining debriefing. To make a long story slightly shorter.... I found my reserve pc and spent about 3 hours in an aweful field with weeds as tall as myself and stickers, etc., only to come up short finding my canopy. The only reason I even searched what I still feel is the correct field was due to a farming community member reporting the incident to Skydive Snohomish and calling 911. He initially thought someone was under canopy and must have been injured out in this large field. Summarizing, it was a good learning experience. I think I'm switching to a 2-handed EP with 1 hand on each handle. I'll start practicing that one on the ground from here on out. I think my malfunction was caused by leaving too short of a distance between my suspension line stows and my d-bag. I should have also put in my d-bag cleaner and paid more attention. I feel that was the culprit and caused my d-bag to spin up the lines before my canopy even had a chance to fully inflate. If it happened to me again with plenty of altitude to spare, I would follow my canopy leaving myself 4-5000 feet of altitude to pick a safe landing. I could have even made it back to the student east field I believe. I'm definitely going to pay more attention to my packing and have a packer/rigger review my suspension line stow and d-bag placement in my container. As of one day later, I'm still missing my Safire 2 189 and am contemplating taking a break from skydiving for a while. The reserve ride was nothing and I have no mental scarring. It was a rather frightless experience. It's the loss of my $1500 baby that hurts the most. I've just spent a lot of money recently on other stuff and need to let my bank account fatten up a bit. Short of being extremely lucky and someone finding my baby in the next few days, I think I'm going to put off skydiving for the remainder of the year. It's the old good luck/bad luck story that happened during the peak of the season in the northwest. I may be looking to buy another Safire 2 or Pilot during Christmas time if Aerodyne has another great sale like last year. Tomorrow I'll head to the DZ and grab what remains of my rig and drop off my rigger a nice bottle of booze. Thanks Todd!!! I'll probably leave some extra cash for the packer that I pre-paid for some pack jobs and have them buy their preference of beer. It's looking like another break for me... Eric ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

It's 9000 feet from what I recollect. You pay an extra $25 and double your free fall time. If you are there for a Caravan ride, it usually goes to 13000 feet. The TIs generally open at 5000 feet. 9000 - 5000 = 4000 feet of free fall. 13000 - 5000 = 8000 feet of free fall. Last I checked 8000 feet is double the free fall It's also not uncommon to go above 13000 in a Caravan load. It's a little marketing hype but not far from the truth.

You are welcome and have fun!!! ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

http://www.vipmodel.com/ Click on the url button before pasting a link and after pasting a link like above example and the following syntax altered slightly: http://www.dropzone.com

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=44352;search_string=accuracy%2045;#44352 Eric ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

http://www.cypres-usa.com/cypres08.pdf The maintenance fees are pretty much what you see but you can find replacement batteries cheaper by searching the e-tailors at http://www.dropzone.com/links/Gear/Dealers/index.html I think I recollect seeing them around $70ish. Cheers!

Yes, I'm a newbie but I'll share my thoughts and let you take it with a grain of salt. I have an Icarus Safire 2 which I haven't flown in a bit due to shoulder surgery (non-skydiving related) Anyway, my openings were always very soft with 700-1000 ft snivels which are on the longer side from what I've heard, seen or read. I personally like that and just open higher. In any event, I'm guessing other Icarus canopies such as the Crossfire2 are similar with regards to their opening characteristics. That being the case and the fact you can roll your nose or pack your canopy for longer/softer openings, I would tend to think its a non-issue. Factor that in with the newer technology available for suspension lines (i.e. vectran) and I think you are safe to bomb away. Have fun and enjoy your new canopy!!!

You might see if you can get an instructor, rigger or a very experienced certified jumper at your DZ to inspect it and perhaps jump it for ya. That way, they can rule out gear problems. However, if they inspected it and found a problem, they could recommend the best course of action such as a rigger adjustment/tuning or sending it back to Icarus. I don't think you should bother switching to dacron vs. vectran on a new canopy. Why spend the extra money on lines when you most likely have perfectly fine ones that may just need some tweaking? Besides, you can spend that extra $$$ on jumping. Good luck and hopefully you can get this issue resolved in the near future!

http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw214278.asp If you have insurance that covers your MRI 100%, then go for it. If not, you're looking at approximately $2300. Even if you have insurance, you'll be paying your annual deductable at a minimum if you take the MRI, arthroscopic surgery or physical therapy route. If the doc suggests and the pain is sharp (sounds like it is), then it is most likely a rotator cuff injury. If you have to pay for your own surgery or a 10-20% copay, it might be worth just going straight to arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopic surgery is still the surest method of revealing what damage has taken place in such injuries. An MRI may or may not reveal all the damage. Mine didn't a month ago when I had mine. I opted to go in for arthroscopic surgery and while scoping, the doc discovered I had a partially detached biceps tendon too. He ended up using a suture anchor for that. Additionally, he performed one of the most common procedures, a subacromial decompression. Check out http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/arthroscopic/tabID__3376/ItemID__162/PageID__1/Articles/Default.aspx for information on arthroscopic shoulder surgery. My history: I had 95% motion in my shoulder without problem. It was that 5% when I was fully extending my arm or stretching my shoulder that caused the sharp pain. I thought if I took off a couple of months from doing any physical activity, it would get better. It really didn't. So at 2 months I went in to the see the doc. I had the x-rays first, the MRI 2nd, and the surgery 3rd. It's been 3 and a half weeks since my surgery. My scars are barely noticeable. However, I still do feel pain mainly during my sleep when I move. I have about 30% of my range of motion back to date. I anticipate I will be hitting PT in another week and hope to have my full range of motion back by the 6-7th week. On average, strength usually comes back about 20% per month in most individuals. I'm hoping at 8 weeks from the surgery date to be back up in the sky jumping again. Each injury and person will vary slightly. I've heard of people taking anywhere from 3 weeks to a few months before they are back to their fun activities. Anyway, I hope that helps some folks out there who are contemplating arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Good luck!!!

Glad to see I could contribute to bumping up your jump numbers...

Correction, tendons are muscle to bone connections. Anyway, there's only 1 other thing I can think of - Severe constipation creating so much pressure to have pinched off your femoral nerve in the troublesome leg... Or, there's always my autosignature below... Eric ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

I have a newer version of Outlook but the same should still apply or at least you should be able to figure it out... Took it out of the Outlook Help or F1... Delay delivery of a message In the message, click Options. Under Delivery options, select the Do not deliver before check box, and then click the delivery date and time you want. Hope that helps.

Hello Weegegirl, I'm not a doctor but would guess that if you thought you pulled a muscle at Dublin, there must have been some sort of trauma, minor or major. I'm guessing you might recollect an imperfect landing or some other event that stands out. Tingling, numbness or losing a sense of feeling is associated with our nerves. It can be caused by nerves being pinched or damaged. Decreased circulation can go hand in hand in many cases. I can't think of any passages containing nerves in our body that don't have blood vessels traveling through them also. Sometimes those passages are joints or similar structures that also host tendons (muscle to muscle connections) and ligaments (bone to bone connections). When any of those structures become inflammed through the result of trauma, they can decrease the passage space enough to cause impingements or pinches or even tears. This could easily result in a numbness or tingling sensation. For the immediate future, I would recommend laying off skydiving or any other major physical activities until the problem subsides. I also suggest taking anti-inflammatories such as Advil or Ibuprofen. If you can isolate an area that you know is injured, ice would greatly help any inflammation too. http://my.webmd.com/drugs/mono-9368-IBUPROFEN+-+ORAL.aspx?title=IBUPROFEN+-+ORAL Search WebMd for symptoms and you'll find some useful info. You know how we always say talk to an instructor or get some coaching in skydiving? Well, it's definitely the way to go when it comes to your body. If the pain doesn't go away soon, you really should go see a doctor. There are clinics and alternate solutions that cost a little less. Good luck!

http://www.skydivesnohomish.com/skycontact.htm will provide you an email or phone contact for Skydive Snohomish. Since you are apparently from Russia and possibly your female friend, you might have more in common with Vladi. However, both Vladi and Tyson are fantastic! Tyson by the way, is the DZO. If you send email via that link and address him in the body of the email, he will reply. Skydive Snohomish is my home DZ and everyone there is great. I can't imagine too many places more beautiful to jump than there. You have an amazing view of the Cascade mountains on the east, Olympic mountain range on the west, 2 volcanoes - Mt. Baker to the north and Mt. Ranier to the south, the Puget Sound and tons of islands to the west... It's just amazing. Your friend will have the experience of a life time!

You're on track with your thoughts. Read http://www.dropzone.com/safety/emergencies/emergency_canopy_breakaway.shtml and basically the Safety link at the top of dropzone.com. A lot of the terminology such as cutaway and breakaway and using a knife to cut away are mixed all together at times and can be confusing for someone new to the sport. There is also a lot of debate about using a knife to cutaway because in the majority of emergency situations you might not have enough time to unstow your knife and locate the correct suspension lines involved in your malfunction. Many would argue it's better to focus on getting that reserve out period. Anyway, hope that helps and welcome to the sport! ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

Hmmm, Student from hell no longer... I guess that's true but are they calling you the certified jumper from hell yet? All I have to say is it's about time! All kidding aside, congrats Krisanne! I'm definitely envious that you are getting to enjoy this mild winter while I recover from my shoulder ouchie. Anyway, I wish you continued success in the sport.

Look out hot midgets! ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

Just trying to help out the ladies! To get inside a man's head can be just as challenging at times...

Princess by day, naughty vixen by night! Obviously, physical chemistry is very important! Also just like most women, we want someone who is going to be a little challenging at times and not so predictable and overbearingly nice or smothering. I love intelligent women who are for the most part independent and goal-oriented too. A woman who is self-confident and can establish a healthy trust in a relationship is key too! Another key ingredient to a successful relationship is a woman who helps maintain and positively influence a man's self-confidence. Make a man feel like he is a king and he will treat you like a queen. I think all of this is applicable to both sexes.

"You do realize that there are several different countries in GB and UK?" That was my point. You do realize there are several different countries in the Americas? Nationality can be interpreted in so many ways including many of the points people have brought up. Additionally it can include membership or citizenship... Are you American? Did you get your U.S. citizenship? If so, then ask yourself the same question. Why don't Americans say they're American? Why do multi citizens most of the time mention all of their cultural or national history? Perhaps a dual citizen from England would say they are English and American.... Which, I find perfectly agreeable... The Unites States of America is the largest melting pot in the world. You're obviously here for a reason. If you don't have a U.S. citizenship, I would suspect you try to get one in the future. Why not? The U.S. has the most freedom and opportunity out of any other country in the world. We also don't use the metric system either. Does it make it right or wrong? It's just unique or different. ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

Let's see... If you ask someone from your region of the world where they are from, they will respond with "England". Oh wait, "Great Brittain"... Ooops, sorry, the "UK"... Why do "English" people respond that way? Can't you just narrow it down to one? Am I starting to sound like you by stereotyping people? Pretty silly questions, don't you think? About as silly as your questions... Don't you have something better to ask in a skydiving forum? Are you trying to be positive or negative by asking such a question? ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

"But, what is the reason for NOT getting rid of them? Financial and convenience are the only one's I know." I'm a baby in the sport so take that for what it's worth but there can be valid safety concerns for not throwing certain RCs. Many rigs have metal D-handles for cutaway, reserve or both. If one tosses a metal object from up to a few thousand feet AGL, it could cause an accident below. That D-handle could potentially hit someone or a car windshield, etc., and that wouldn't be pretty. The odds may not be too high but then again, reserve rides and especially RC entanglement shouldn't be that high either. Anyway, you brought up some great points and I'm glad you shared. Hanging onto or releasing one's RCs both have merit. Whichever action someone prefers should be practiced on the ground in a harness to make it 2nd nature and thus not require additional thought during emergency situations. For those that have a change of heart and want to throw their RCs, just practice doing so on the ground and reform those habits. Just playing Devil's Advocate... ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller

Krisanne, Is this your first Rodney Dangerfield "Get-No-Respect" posting? What is the number one rule for skydiving firsts? See ya at Skydive Snohomish in the near future. Is anyone else thirsty? ___________________________________________________ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~ Henry Miller