craigbey

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Everything posted by craigbey

  1. craigbey
    A little bit of kicking, but getting the twists down to the risers saved the day. Have fun at the Keys!
  2. craigbey
    Getting my hands above the twists helped on this jump. Heck, there was no room BELOW the twists.
  3. craigbey
    Don't lose any sleep over your perceptions of his attitude or lack of courtesy. This cuts both ways... I have seen very experiened skydivers wander to the loading area or hop on a load by themselves and ask others if they can get in on their skydive. In one example, the skydiver was a recent US Nationals medal-winner and was asking to get in on a planned jump with others while on the ride to altitude. We politely said no. The jumper took it very well and simply hit up another group. Ironically, it was one of his team-mates who was on the plane at the time who made a snide remark about our response. Far too often, low-timers get excited about the chance to jump with these more experienced skydivers and throw their plans out the door. You did approach them far enough in advance that they may have been able to change their plans to make it a 3-way, but have some respect for their plans.
  4. craigbey
    When do you know for sure? Trick question ... the Triathlon will always be a 'worse opening'.
  5. craigbey
    Did the line twists start before the snivel/inflation? Did the canopy continue twisting during the snivel/inflation?
  6. craigbey
    A 200+ jump wonder at one of my favorite DZ's did the same early this summer, but broke his back. Another injury that went unreported and therefore is not part of the statistics (maths?) used in some of these discussions. He's been trying everything to get back in the air including lying to his doctor, family and friends. The DZ (this includes many people -- staff and regular jumpers) has kept him on the ground ever since the incident. I hope he feels a small amount of physical pain until he gets back in the air next spring. Given the damage that was done to his back ... he will. Why?
  7. craigbey
    I don't think the USPA is in a very good position to mandate something in this arena, anyway. You already have many USPA members jumping at DZ's that are operating 'outside' of the USPA bubble or other jumpers who don't 'need' to follow USPA training guidelines or recommendations.
  8. craigbey
    Good point and it brings up another question for those at DZ's that regularly use the FMD rule... How often is a standard pattern used by the FMD at your DZ? Is it mandated?
  9. craigbey
    As I said in my prior post ... Again, if it works for your DZ, that's cool. Most other DZ's -- and many people -- will get better results using a pre-determined landing pattern and landing direction.
  10. craigbey
    I don't think the FOD rule works at small DZ's either. FOD may be OK for a few very unique DZ's that have stong and fast variations in wind speed / direction, but how many DZ's are actually like that? How often do these conditions really mandate the use of the FOD rule -- or eliminate the possibility of using a pre-determined landing pattern and landing direction? Those are honest questions for anyone at a DZ that uses the FOD rule. If it works at your DZ, that's cool. I'm perfectly happy following the local rules at any DZ and landing in the direction of the FOD even if it means changing my flight pattern or landing downwind. But for most DZ's, establishing a pre-determined landing pattern and landing direction is more appropriate.
  11. craigbey
    Dude, you said... And now YOU are mis-quoting yourself... 2 different things and incorrect use of the word 'risk'. You don't seem to understand what it means. So, why did you give up on the Katana? Could it have something to do with 'risk'?
  12. craigbey
    I see your profile has changed and you now have 20 years of experience. Does that mean that you've only been able to get 10 jumps / year? Not very current, but your natural talent will cover it.
  13. craigbey
    FAIL The guy with 4000 jumps and 4 injuries does NOT have a higher risk for another accident.
  14. craigbey
    Great pics! Thanks for posting here and on Facebook. I saw some pictures of a few gentlemen who normally do not pack for themselves at the DZ. Did they remember how?
  15. craigbey
    Whatever you say, Dano. http://skydivemidwest.com
  16. craigbey
    Who are these people and/or where do you jump?
  17. craigbey
    3 months is NOTHING! As another poster already mentioned, some of us have downtime during the winter that lasts much longer than that. Stay on the ground and take the time to learn some new tricks or simply enjoy a different pace. And savor the flavor of that intense desire to jump again. The sky will always be there. Perhaps you could hit a tunnel during the break?
  18. craigbey
    Put up or shut up. Post some outside video of your landings. Someone in these forums might have the right combination of experience and patience to help you. The rest of us would appreciate seeing someone with 200 jumps laying down some phat swoops on a Katana.
  19. craigbey
    TheCaptain is right... Funny ... DocPop got the same response from another astute observer almost 1 year ago... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3669089#3669089 DocPop, stop talking and post some video.
  20. craigbey
    Hi Sandy, Here are a couple of sample search results... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=4chewnate http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=4chewnate&sb=score&mh=25
  21. craigbey
    Never assume that you're the only canopy in the sky. You may be at a small DZ, but there WILL be others in the air with you. Sometimes, you may not see the other canopies, so the best you can do is fly a predictable, conventional pattern (downwind, base, final) to help them see YOU. This does NOT mean spiraling down directly over the top of the landing area -- or anywhere else in the pattern. Oh... and don't land on the same runway that's used by those contraptions with the fixed-wings and spinning metal blades. Hashem will get mad if you break his airplane.
  22. craigbey
    1 hour to a good DZ is nothing! It is also straight up I-15 from Vegas. Easy drive. Some perspective... Skydive Chicago is in Ottawa, IL Chicagoland Skydiving is in Hinckley, IL For many people in the Chicago area, it can take an hour or more to get to either DZ. It's 3 hours for me and I'm very happy to make the drive. Both DZ's are great. Too bad about Meigs Field. Could have been an urban DZ with a beach landing area. Damn you, Daley! I guess we all need dreams, even if they're stupid.
  23. craigbey
    200 jumps, a Katana 135 (@ 1.5) and unnecessary input on the risers during the opening sequence... Good Luck.
  24. craigbey
    Viso II
  25. craigbey
    Practice your accuracy by flying a conventional pattern and consistently hitting your altitude check-points at each leg of the pattern. If you can consistently hit a target after flying a conventional pattern with pre-determined altitude check-points, you're probably ready to speed up your landings. This may sound very basic, but it's a skill that too many jumpers seem to forget when they want to swoop. Some people get hurt simply because they did not put themselves in the right time and place to initiate a high performance landing.