SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

I went to Skydive Deland yesterday to get some pics. The sky was devoid of clouds so the pictures were not what I was looking for so I decided to see what I could do with Topaz to make them a little more interesting. I tried to set the P900 on my tripod but that proved impossible to follow the jumpers so I went hand held. Today the sky is more interesting so maybe I will go back. Comments welcome.

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jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nice shots

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

Thanks Jerry.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Nice, your photos brought back some nice memories. Though, I never jumped that kind of parachute.
--Bob

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

Very good shots, Jan!

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

I didn't jump one of those either. I jumped a T10 military canopy modified for sport parachuting. It was a dog compared to today's rigs. Still it provided me with some nice memories also.

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

Thanks for looking and the comment.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

That's what my first sport parachute, a modified T-10. After a few jumps, I purchased my own reserve and a bit later a 32' Lo-Po flat. I still have them, but don't know if they'd be useable after all these years. It's still fun to take them out and repack them from time to time.
--Bob

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

Flash from the past Bob. I still have my rig also. The reserve is gone though. Interesting story about the reserve. I had a rip-stop nylon reserve with the spring pilot chute. I never had to deploy it myself. One day I went with some friends to watch some sky fallers in Eustis, FL and one of the guys that I had known for a while needed a reserve so I loaned him mine for the jump. Now it gets interesting. There were about 6 jumpers in the load with Coz (the guy I loaned the reserve to). I was on the ground at the DZ watching when they exited the aircraft. I heard the Pop Pop Pop as chutes opened, but Coz hadn't opened yet. Now these guys were all experienced jumpers, but on this day they got careless and didn't go through an equipment check on each others rigs before they jumped. As it turns out, Coz had put his chest strap through the D-Ring on his release. He wasn't holding out for effect, he was trying to deploy his main. All of us on the ground knew that something was wrong, and we were yelling: Pull! Pull!, but nothing, and he was getting dangerously close to the ground. I think he was about 500 Ft. when he rolled over on his back and deployed his (my) reserve. It opened and he gyrated once and then hit the trees. The reserve was destroyed but Coz was OK, although understandably shaken. The moral is: Always check and double-check your gear. I still have my rig also. I wouldn't jump it any more, but it holds a lot of memories.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I had one malfunction during my jumping. Just opened badly and tangled. I cut away from it, rolled back to earth and dumped the reserve, a 28' ripstop. The opening was rather harsh and compressional fracture of a lower vertebra. It was painful, but I didn't realize how badly hurt I was. I even tried to go up again for another jump, using the school's main and reserve. I just couldn't stand the discomfort when I tried to stand up straight with the equipment on.

The next morning, I had to call a friend to help me get out of bed and to the emergency room. 13 xrays later the damage was assessed and a lace-up body cast was in place for the next 6 weeks. The day before my final doctor visit, I did another jump, with my now repaired main, from 5000. I figured that was high enough to get stable and pull. All was good and the doc signed me off the next day. So, my reserve has only been used once, but still in re-usable condition. I packed it and had it certified and sealed.

The guy who ran the DZ was former U.S. Army Airborne and a licensed master rigger. He watched me pack the reserve before certifying it. I also pack the student loaners the school owned, all T-10s. Lots of good memories. One of the best was the jump plane was a Howard DGA-15. What a great airplane that was. The school finally sold it to a collector and we started using a Cessna 180.
--Bob

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Post Fracture You Can See the Repair Patch

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SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

I never had to use my reserve myself. That's a good thing right? I trained at Fort Knox Sport Parachute Club. We had to pack our own mains but not the reserves. That was the job of the rigger. The first planes I jumped were Army Beavers and Otters. We never had any trouble getting pilots. They were always anxious to get their hours in for their flight pay. I can't tell by the picture what kind of mod you had on that canopy. Mine was a Double-L. Nice trading stories with another sky faller.