timmymiller

This is a good suggestion. In the current draft the first nine chapters are basically the material covered in any first jump course, without any method-specific stuff. Then the next nine chapters are those same topics, but in much more technical detail. Then there are eight chapters about various different disciplines, (CRW, RW, Freefly, etc.), then the BSRs, then the dive flows for the ISP. This content could be linked together in a future online version, so if you're on the packing mat looking at the dive flow with a student on their phone or laptop, the dive flow has links in it to the relevant chapters. So if the student seems stumped about something, you just hit the link, tell them to read, and go do something else.

I would hope that’s not what’s taught to early jumpers; standup landings should not be prioritized when a good fall can increase the range of landing skill so much. Wendy P. It depends what we mean by "early" jumpers, frankly. I emphasize good falls for all students. But the 45-jump A-license holder is still "early" in most senses, and I'd prefer to see her standing up most of her landings. I completely agree with turning to face the canopy, too. I've found that if you take newer jumpers out on a windy and teach them to kite the canopy deliberately, it helps them get a sense of ground control that they will use when landing in windy conditions.

In general I am a big fan of formal study and evidence-based approaches, and I would support ideas like this. It's not something that's possible within the time and budget constraints of the SIM rewrite, but I'd love to see more of this type of thing in the future.

The canopy collapse question is a good one, and it's one of the many questions I am thinking of in the category of "one right way". There is probably more than one right way to collapse a canopy. What method is best depends on a bunch of things, including the type of canopy, the prevailing winds at the DZ, etc. The question of what is the BEST way will also depend. Maybe your landing area is all sand, so your big concern is longevity of the canopies. Every DZO will make these decisions for themselves. My plan for the new SIM is to treat questions like this as follows: 1. Explain WHY you need one right way (in this case: the canopy can drag you, and that's bad) 2. Give an example of one right way (I teach drop one toggle and use both hands to pull hand over hand on the other steering LINE, mostly because it's foolproof and they already have the toggles in their hands) 3. Say that there is more than one right way, and tell the skydiver to ask their USPA instructor about the most appropriate method to use at their drop zone. The advantage of this approach is that it allows you to teach whatever works for you, but reminds instructors that they have to teach SOMETHING. It also means that you can tell the student to go read that section of the SIM, and if they don't ask about how to collapse the canopy afterward, you know something useful about how likely that student is to actually read things. Things like mnemonics, for gear checks and canopy checks, are another good example of questions that I plan to treat with this "one right way" approach.

Can you explain this concept in more detail, or provide a link or recommendation to a reference that does? I'm confused by what you mean by "the same position above your head."

I was recently hired by the USPA to lead the team that is writing the new version of the Skydiver's Information Manual. I'm an AFF instructor and a TI with 23 years in the sport, but my day job is as a college professor, where I specialize in the translation of complex technical concepts for broad public audiences, so I'm pretty stoked about this project! As part of that effort, we are soliciting feedback from the skydiving community about what should be in the next version of the manual. Is there something in the current SIM that you absolutely love? Or something you completely hate? Is there something missing from the SIM that needs to be there? We have a plan and a draft table of contents, based on our own understanding of what the community needs, but we want to hear from you! Our goal is to create a resource that can help everyone throughout the sport, so tell us what you think! If anyone has specific questions, or has links or materials they wish to share, feel free to email me directly at [email protected] Blue Skies! Tim Miller D-27737