P A R A C H U T I N G ' S N E W S M A G A Z I N E
Ask the Editor
Batch 3
Using Aftermarket
Components in U.S. Tandem Rigs
Retraining After a Lay-Off
One or Two Days for a First Jump?
Minimum Age for Skydivers
Stuck on 5-Second Delays
Health Insurance
Sources of Military
Parachutes
Static Line or Tandem?
High-Altitude Records
7-Cell vs. 9-Cell Canopies
DZs at Higher Elevations
Investigations of Fatal Accidents
Heavyweight Skydivers
Buy or Rent Gear?
The following questions were submitted by visitors to our Web site and answered by the editor of Skydiving magazine. .
To ask a question of your own, click here.
Using Aftermarket Components in U.S. Tandem Rigs
Q. I've jumped the new Icarus tandem canopy from Precision Aerodynamics. My opinion is that this canopy is the best tandem canopy at this time. The rig was a Tandem Vector. Is it legal to jump the Icarus in a Tandem Vector? What about insurance? What about USPA? I didn't get good answers from the Relative Workshop about this.
A. Briefly, it's legal to jump an Icarus main in a Tandem Vector.Parachutes and parachuting in the U.S. is legally regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an agency of the U.S. government. USPA plays a very important role in establishing safe procedures and convincing jumpers to observe them, but its rules are not legally binding. Most jumpers, instructors and drop zones observe USPA rules, however. (The rules make good sense, and it's better for jumpers to regulate themselves than have laws forced down their throats by
FAA regulations concern only the harness/container and the reserve assembly--not the main canopy. A person can jump any main canopy, even the proverbial bed sheet. The FAA does say that the main canopy must be packed by the person who jumps it or an FAA-certificated rigger. Insurance is not a factor in the U.S.; it's safe to say most DZs and tandem instructors have no insurance on their activities and parachutes.
Generally, the U.S. manufacturers of tandem equipment do not like the idea of "after-market" components installed in their rigs. Nor do they like other canopies being used in their rigs, regardless of who makes them. They're worried that the resulting assembly won't work correctly and they'll be blamed and perhaps sued for it. The concern is a valid one, unfortunately, as rig manufacturers sometimes get sued after an accident. The fact that the companies have elected to train and "certify" those who buy their tandem rigs makes the companies more vulnerable to lawsuits.
SKYDIVING asked the Relative Workshop about using other main canopies in its Tandem Vector. "We know that other canopies, such as the Parachutes de France Blue Track, the Icarus and a few German canopies are used in our systems in Europe and other places," explained T.K. Donle, who oversees the company's tandem program. "The Relative Workshop has never tested or checked the compatibility of these canopies for overall performance such as opening and flight characteristics, malfunction rate, toggle pressure, flare capability, overall landing performance, container fit and drogue compatibility."
The Relative Workshop approves only specific canopies built for it by Pioneer Parachute Company and Performance Designs. "If an accident occurs while non-approved canopies or components are used with the Tandem Vector system, the Relative Workshop cannot be held responsible for the consequences," Donle asserted. "In such occurrences, the proper authorities will be notified that untested, incompatible components were used without [Relative Workshop] authorization."
From Donle's response, it's clear the Relative Workshop feels it alone can determine compatibility and it alone can test components. This, of course, isn't true. Like airplanes, FAA-approved parachutes can be legally modified in the field, whether the manufacturer approves or not. The FAA gives Master Riggers the authority to make modifications to TSOed rigs; see Advisory Circular 105. The modifications they make are legal providing safety hasn't been compromised and the proper paperwork has been completed and signed off. Some equipment manufactures say modifying their products "voids the TSO" of those products.
But the manufacturer can't "void the TSO" of a rig it's sold to someone, anymore than an aircraft manufacturer can void the airworthiness certificate of an airplane owned by someone else and legally modified in the field. (The TSO means the rig has been built according to FAA standards and an FAA-approved quality control system. Once it goes out the door, it's up to the owner and rigger to insure it remains airworthy and legal.)
For instance, type-certificated aircraft are often modified in the field. The modifications range from installing different engines to changing the shape of the wings to adding fuel tanks and autopilots. Few of these modifications are approved by the aircraft's manufacturer--and for good reason. The manufacturer extensively tested the aircraft in a certain configuration, and it won't approve any change to that original configuration without more engineering and testing. But the factory-unapproved modifications are legal if the modifying entity obtained a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the FAA or, in the case of some changes, field approval ("Form 337") from a local FAA office.
The STC option makes it possible to install more powerful engines in earlier DeHavilland Twin Otters to make "super" Otters. Field approval allows jump-aircraft owners to install in-flight doors, even though the aircraft manufacturer does not approve the design of the door and probably doesn't like it installed on the aircraft it built. The situation with tandem rigs is more complicated because rig owners in the U.S. have a contract with the company that sold them the rig. Those owners have voluntarily agreed to restrictions and conditions beyond what is required by the Federal Aviation Regulations.
Q. I made my last jump about six weeks ago; it was an AFF Level 2. Will I have to take the first-jump class over again or will I be able to go and jump?
A. Since your last AFF jump was six weeks ago, you'll need some refresher training. But it probably won't be nearly as extensive as the training you received before your first jump. Then you'll most likely go aloft and do another Level 2. In other words, it's unlikely you'll have to start over and go through the entire first-jump ground school. But you might have to make another Level 1, especially if your Level 2 wasn't too hot. The decision will be based on how well you did on your previous jumps, the DZ's policies and your instructor's appraisal of your skills after a six-week lapse.
That's assuming, of course, you return to the same DZ where you made your previous jumps. If you go somewhere else, that DZ will take a more conservative approach because it doesn't really know what your previous instructor taught you.
Don't fret about repeating a jump; you'll learn something new on every skydive, even very "basic" ones. Try to jump often, but don't try to rush through your training. Don't be surprised if you feel jittery or even downright scared. That's normal after any kind of layoff.
One or Two Days for a First Jump?
Q. Should I take a whole weekend for my first-jump experience or is one day sufficient?
A. Devote a whole weekend to it. Call during the week for scheduling, arrive early Saturday morning and go from there. You're likely to jump that day, but if you don't (weather requirements for students are stricter than those for experienced jumpers), you'll have Sunday. It's no fun to be trained one weekend and have to wait a whole week to actually jump.
Q. A recent issue of your magazine reported about Jeff Mullins, an 11-year-old skydiver who made 50 jumps at the World Free Fall Convention. As a skydiver myself, I've always been told that you have to be at least 16 years old, and that being if the DZ will do it. Some won't let you jump until you're 18. My 12-year-old son read about Jeff and asked me about the age requirement as if it was just an excuse to keep him from his life's calling. As a father this frustrates me as I've always tried to share life's big adventures with my son. How can a 12-year-old go skydiving?
A. There is no federal minimum age for making intentional parachute jumps in the U.S. As far as the FAA is concerned, anyone can do it. The FAA requires that anyone who wants to solo a glider or balloon be at least 14 years old. He or she must be at least 16 to solo an airplane, rotor craft or airship.
But the regulations are mum about parachuting. Many years ago USPA set a minimum age of 16 years after Life magazine ran a big story about a 12-year-old jumper who died skydiving in, as we recall, Virginia. Some DZs have set 18 as the minimum age because that age (in many states) is the age of "legal majority" or "legal consent"--the age at independently set such minimums as part of their risk-management strategy.
Some states have or had minimum ages for skydiving, but the great majority don't. Setting minimum ages for activities such as skydiving, flying, driving and drinking is obviously difficult. People don't mature at the same rate, so one age doesn't fit all, so to speak. Since every child is different, his parents should decide when he's ready to jump, not the government. After all, who should decide when he starts scuba diving, rock climbing or hunting ducks?
It looks like you and your son have something to work out. The government hasn't yet preempted your parenting power. Enjoy that while it lasts.
Q. I am a novice skydiver with 31 jumps and have been in and out of the sport since 1994. Each time I progress as far as a five-second delay, I seem to have trouble progressing further. Any suggestions?
A. You have several training options: One is to keep plugging away at shorter delays like you've been doing. Get a good instructor and devote a day to it. Do plenty of ground practice.
Another option is to switch to the AFF training method. You'll need some retraining, but you'd have in-freefall help from a jumpmaster or two.Many students say they like the idea of having 30 or 40 seconds of time to work on their stability.
A third possibility is to make some tandem jumps, where you could practice your body position and procedures. Another is to go to a wind tunnel where you could do the same practice. But there are only a few in the U.S. (Las Vegas, Tennessee and Florida). Some students have trouble getting past short delays because their arch is so rigid and extreme that they start buffeting as they accelerate. Others have trouble because they panic and break their arch when they go to pull. We know several accomplished jumpers who made over 50 static-line jumps each before they "got over the hump." You can do it.
Q. I'm a British jumper who intends to move to California in a year or so. Could you name companies that provide health insurance and an approximate amount skydivers spend for health coverage?
A. Not really. Health insurance is complicated in the U.S. Some people are covered through their place of employment (either at no direct cost to themselves or on a cost-sharing basis) and others purchase the insurance on their own. The cost is a function of the extent of coverage as well as the age, health, smoking status, etc., of the person. Younger, healthier people pay less. Having said that, on the average, health insurance costs $100 to $400 per month. That's obviously a broad range.
Then, of course, there are people--about 16 percent of the U.S. population--who have no such insurance. They prefer to pay as they go. (There are no free lunches--you're either going to pay now or pay later.) It might be best to wait until you arrive in the U.S., when it will be easier to shop for the coverage you want.
Sources of Military Parachutes
Q. I'm with the 82nd Airborne Re-Enactment Parachute Team in Oklahoma. I am searching for military parachutes. Can you offer any help?
A. Contact Strong Enterprises for this type of equipment. President Ted Strong is an active member of a re-enactment team in Florida, and he can put you in touch with his group's procurement specialist. The company's telephone is (407) 859-9317.
Q. I'll make my first jump soon. I can choose between solo static line or tandem freefall. I want to make solo freefall. How many jumps do I need before being allowed to solo freefall?
A. Generally, a student must make five good static-line jumps before being cleared for short freefalls. He or she then does progressively longer freefalls. If you want to become a skydiver, make a static-line jump. If you just want to see what parachuting is like so you can log it in your book of life experiences, make a tandem jump.
Q. What is the record for the highest parachute jump without an oxygen supply?
A. There's no official record for "highest jump without bail-out oxygen." But the late Patrick de Gayardon made such a jump in 1995 from 41,300 feet (SKYDIVING #174). He breathed oxygen in the aircraft until the moment he bailed out.
Q. What are the control and overall differences between a 7- and 9-cell canopy?
A. Generally, canopies with higher aspect ratios (the ratio of the span to the chord--the front-to-back measurement) turn faster, glide flatter and stall more sharply than canopies with lower aspect ratios. Designers typically "add cells" to make canopies with higher aspect ratios because it's an easier way to create a smoother airfoil and minimize distortion. (When ram-air canopies were first introduced, cell size was limited by the width of available fabric, but that's not really the case anymore with today's smaller canopies and wider fabric rolls.) A clean airfoil is important for high-performance canopies that rely on lift for good landings.
For these two reasons, 7-cell canopies tend to be "boxy" and they tend to be more docile than canopies with 9-cells. Other characteristics of a canopy--overall size, aspect ratio, airfoil shape, trim and planform--play a significant role in determining how a canopy opens, flies and lands. It's certainly possible to design a radical 7-cell and a gentle 9-cell. Thus, the number of cells shouldn't be the main reason for selecting or rejecting a canopy.
Q. What's the highest elevation above sea level that's still considered safe for a drop zone?
A. There is no "maximum safe altitude" for a drop zone, although raising the field elevation decreases the density of the air. This complicates parachuting in several ways: 1. Both the forward speed and descent rate of a parachute increase with altitude. Thus, a canopy that is sized right for a sea-level DZ might not provide acceptable landings at higher elevations. (The solution: a bigger canopy.) 2. Aircraft climb more slowly at altitude. Thus, aircraft that provide acceptable performance from low-altitude airports might not be acceptable at higher ones. The solution is bigger engines and/or turbo charging, but all aircraft powered by air-breathing engines have a "service ceiling" above which they barely climb. 3. The human body doesn't function well above 10,000 feet MSL for the same reason engines don't: not enough oxygen in the air (technically, the partial pressure of oxygen is too low). Hypoxia is the result. The solution: using supplemental oxygen in the aircraft and perhaps in freefall and under canopy (depending on the altitude). Mammals do a pretty good job of adapting to higher altitudes, but it takes time and has limits. 4. Opening shock is generally harder at higher altitudes. 5. It's colder up there, too. There are several DZs in the U.S. with field elevations above 5,000 feet. They're doing just fine.
Investigations of Fatal Accidents
Q. A friend recently died in a skydiving accident. According to reports, no handles were pulled except the "cutaway." Can you help me understand what this means? I heard he was experimenting with placing his parachute in "different locations" so perhaps he got confused.
A. Most skydivers wear a rig that has three handles. One handle deploys the main parachute, another deploys the reserve, and the third jettisons the main. On most jumps, the skydiver uses just one of the handles; he deploys his main canopy and lands uneventfully. But if he deploys his main and it malfunctions, then he'll use the "cutaway" handle to jettison it and then pull the reserve handle. The reason for cutting away a malfunctioned main is to create clean air for the deploying reserve. If the malfunctioned main is still attached to the jumper, the deploying reserve can entangle in it.
There are many emergency scenarios, however, not just the one described above. For instance, sometimes a jumper will have trouble locating his main deployment handle (perhaps he's wearing heavy gloves, or his goggles have blown off, or the handle has blown out of his reach). He's still in freefall, with nothing out. In that case, the best course of action is to simply pull the reserve handle, rather than cut away first. Cutting away is just a waste of precious time and altitude.
Over the years there have been many fatal accidents where jumpers have failed to pull either the main or reserve, or pulled the wrong handle at the wrong time--or pulled none. Some have inexplicably pulled the cutaway handle and nothing else. Investigators have attributed these accidents to a variety of causes: poor training, unfamiliarity with new equipment, suicide, heart attacks and more.
But the investigators usually don't really know what happened. Usually no one saw it clearly. part conducted by well-meaning amateurs. Many of these have a conflict of interest. Some might work for the manufacturer of the equipment or the drop zone, for instance. These conflicts can ruin their objectivity. And, in a sincere effort to come up with an explanation, investigators will often pick the most plausible reason as the cause of the accident, even though it could have been the result of the one-in-a-million scenario. Humans also like to explain things; no one likes to conduct an investigation and admit that he just doesn't know what happened. From what we heard about your friend's death, no one really knows what happened.
One could present several plausible explanations for the accident (he became confused, he was incapacitated, he was a suicide, he was simply reacting slowly) and we've heard of no evidence that clearly establishes the cause. This response sounds blunt and uncaring. We're sorry for that, and we're sorry that your friend died.
Q. I weigh 350 pounds, some muscle, some fat--just big as hell! I'm very active, play football, lift weights, etc., on a continuous basis. Can I safely skydive? Do I need special equipment?
A. You could jump; there are special parachute systems that can accommodate your weight. (The Relative Workshop allows its tandem rigs--those built to carry two people--to be used by solo jumpers.) Someone who weighs 140 pounds is going to have a tough time making it in the NFL, and someone weighing 350 pounds is going to have a tough time in sport parachuting. But we're not suggesting you don't try, nor are we saying it's unsafe if you do. Contact several drop zones in your area and discuss your plans with them.
Q. I've just started skydiving and wonder if I should buy my own jumpsuit and goggles, or should I rent the school's stuff? And is it worth wearing a helmet?
A. I would continue using your school's equipment until you complete your student training. A good jumpsuit costs about $250. Why put wear and tear on a new one now? You might want your own goggles, however, especially if you wear contacts or glasses. That way you can buy the style that fits you the best, and you can adjust the elastic strap to fit you securely yet comfortably. (Tighter is better, at this point.) Wear a helmet. Although the helmets skydivers wear aren't nearly as protective as those worn by motorcyclists, they seem to provide protection against the inevitable bumps all jumpers experience.
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