P A R A C H U T I N G ' S   N E W S M A G A Z I N E

Letters to the Editor

Safety at Boogies

Many skydivers show up at boogies excited about jumping from larger aircraft, but they sometimes forget basic safety procedures. Last year, we attended a small boogie that featured an Otter. This was a good chance for people from many of the smaller drop zones in the area to jump a larger plane.

Unfortunately, we once again witnessed the same problems that we have seen for the past 10 years at different boogies:

1. Throughout the boogie, very few people got up for gear checks prior to exiting.

2. Tandem masters were not given enough clearance to safely hook up their students.

3. Jumpers routinely took too long in the door (longer than recommended by the pilot).

4. Jumpers did not follow the instructions of the pilot.

5. Jumpers did not follow landing patterns and directions.

6. Several people were freeflying with rigs that were not freefly friendly.

Several jumpers landed in areas requiring them to walk across the active runway to return to the hangar. If we landed in these areas, we were instructed to not walk across the runway. We were told to wait for a vehicle to drive out and return us to the hangar. But people chose to walk across the runway anyway. The boogie was held at a tower-controlled, regional airport and the authorities were threatening to shut the operation down because of the lack of awareness demonstrated by some of the skydivers.

In another incident, a jumper was near the door to exit when a friend noticed the jumper’s container was open and the deployment bag had fallen out onto the floor of the plane. Our friend grabbed the deployment bag and another jumper closed the door. After the jumper with the open container was secured at the front of the plane, the pilot performed a go-around and the remaining jumpers exited.

We are responsible for our own safety, but we must also ensure that we do not threaten the safety of others. Because of their frequency and severity, many of the problems that we witnessed at this boogie threatened the safety of all the skydivers who attended.

To our fellow jumpers who follow basic safety procedures, whether at home or at a boogie, we commend and thank you. Some of you were at this boogie and noticed the same problems.

To others who may disregard such basic safety procedures, we can only say: Watch out, you are going to injure or kill yourself. Please don’t take anyone with you.

Our recent experiences at this boogie gave us more reason to very carefully choose whom we jump with. The experience also provided an incentive to avoid that boogie in the future.

Names Withheld

FAQs at Website

I may have good answers for a couple of the questions at your FAQ page.

Difficulty breathing in freefall: I believe this a drowning survival reflex. Immerse people’s face in cold water and they stop breathing to prevent them from drowning. Fast moving cold air stimulates the same response, as sometimes does entering clouds in freefall -- providing a visual stimulus, much like entering a body of water.

Passing out under canopy: Under extreme fear, before the sympathetic nervous system activates the fight-or-flight reflexes, there is a short period of hyper-parasympathetic activity (the opposite system kicks in momentarily to empty the stomach, etc.). During this period, blood pressure drops, the bladder can empty -- all parasympathetic functions. You are correct about the leg straps; they may prevent resumption of normal circulation after this initial period.

I hope this is interesting. It comes with no guarantees of accuracy!

Kuno van der Post, Osteopath
England

Airline Travel With a Rig

For out of state boogies the question arises as to how best to carry a rig aboard a commercial airline. Some say carry the rig aboard with you. Others say put it in a bag and check it as checked luggage. Does it make any difference eight years after 9/11?

Stand Shepherd
email

When I’m forced to travel via the airlines with my rig, I check it, and I often buy additional insurance on it. I just buy the minimum amount.

The additional insurance isn’t so much so I’ll be compensated if my gear is lost or damaged. From what I’ve been told, insured luggage gets more attention and must be accounted for if any plane changes are involved in the trip.

Pack your rig in a hard-shell suitcase, if you can. A suitcase will provide better protection than the typical gear bag.

These days I wouldn’t plan on carrying my rig in the cabin without first checking with the airlines and airports that I’d be using for the upcoming trip. I wouldn’t want to get to the gate with my gear and run into a problem that I might not have time to solve.

Some jumpers take their CYPRES card with them. They also carry copies of letters from the TSA and some airlines that clarify the issue abut parachutes, that they are permitted as both carry-on and checked baggage. — MFT