ericber

I don't believe it; Bill Deli. So wonderful to hear from you Bill. Thank you so much for finding this post and doing a reply. Too funny about the young one now in the sports. You have been around the sport longer than me as I now have 21 years, but most now weren't even born yet. Blue Sky, Eric Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Good for you. Until I made a naked skydive I never imagined the true feeling of "air." *grin* It was wonderful. Feeling the air all over your body is esoteric and opening shock is the same; provided at least you don't get something caught in the wrong place. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

In some ways what is experienced never leaves you. For myself, I left Perris in 1989, jumped in WA State for a few years and now have not for too many, but in spite of not actively feeling the "feel" of it all, skydiving made and makes a dramatic impact. The reality is once you exit an aircraft you are considered dead unless you do something about it. To me, this is BIG stuff and the reality sinks into the mind. One way or another I believe the sport never leaves a person. Wishing you the best, be safe, be happy and maybe as me you will somehow stay in the sport even if you are not actively jumping. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

The landings are so terrific, but I would hate to flare late. :-) Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Jerry Spencer was the video man and he caught it all, got out with everyone and captured the entire event. There were no injuries or deaths, but it did close down Perris for a while and reopened as the Perris Valley Skydiving Society; mid 1980's. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Wonderful aircraft they are...my first jump was out of a DC-3. Flying right seat was a hoot as well. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Terrific....always remember and go over your emergency procedures. Be safe out there and have a wonderful time. Now on to your other licenses. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

I remember Dick Pedley (may he rest in peace) who was a dear friend told me one day to try jumping his Viking. Ok I thought, and then he told me to flare when you get scared; in other words when you are about ten feet off the ground or so flare like you have never flared before. Well it scared me all right, but what a smooth landing it turned out to be. That was the last and only time I jumped it.

I agree with pajarito. Follow the person and make sure they are ok; just me. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Just when the DC-3 started to begin rolling the left engine threw a prob blade and there was a fireball. I have the tape as the video was rolling inside the aircraft so you could see the whole thing and then Jerry jumped out, ran like hell, turned around and captured the video and took stills. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

It was amazing....getting ready to board the DC-3 this intoxicated pilot in a C-180 or something like that torqued to the left on takeoff and went right through. A jumper by the name of, I believe Darrell (last name forgotten) was injured in the accident. Needless to say, this was a major blow to Perris at the time. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

My pleasure and glad I could provide you with some input. Be safe and have fun. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Hello: I posted the following article on spotting and this was also published in Parachutist back in the mid 80's. Maybe you will obtain some valuable information and here goes: Who's Going to Spot? Author: Eric Bernstein How often have you been in the situation where someone has asked, "Who's going to spot?", and at that point you made sure eye contact was avoided with the person asking the question? Sound familiar? Knowing how to determine the exit point of an aircraft is the responsibility of every skydiver. If you are not comfortable with the thought of looking out and determining where to exit, I suggest you try it and make yourself learn the art of spotting. Spotting is a skill that must be developed. Reading about spotting takes care of the theory, but does not replace the practical application. The following are guidelines to take into consideration when determining where and when to exit any aircraft. Taking the time to follow these steps will lend itself to building self-confidence about your spotting abilities, as you and others on the plane trust your judgment. There are several very important factors that need careful consideration when determining where to exit an aircraft. 1. Preparation Time (Prep Time): Very important and too often the maker of a bad spot. All too often the point of exit for your group, and the groups that follow, take longer than anticipated. Guess what? You are walking. When you think the exit point is too short, and feel you should wait that extra ten to fifteen seconds, begin your climb out. The time taken here is exactly what Prep Time is. Waiting the additional time lends itself to a long spot. Climb out usually takes longer than you think. You may be surprised when you realize how far the aircraft travels across the ground in ten seconds. The next time you are in a DC-3 look out the door and make sure you are looking straight down. Find a heading on the ground and count to ten seconds. See how far the aircraft has traveled. Use this mental picture when calculating Prep Time. A DC-3 will cover a considerable distance across the ground in ten seconds traveling at a speed of 80KTS or 92MPH. Compare the distance traveled when you repeat the same exercise the next time you are in a Twin Otter, Cessna or local DZ aircraft. Use the mental picture of the distance traveled across the ground when determining the point of exit. Using this technique on high upper wind days could prevent a potentially dangerous situation when jumpers from two groups cross into each others airspace during a track. A skilled spotter will take Prep Time into consideration for all groups on the pass. Load the aircraft in such a way as to allow easy exit for each of the groups on a pass. Determine the experience level of each group on the aircraft so you can take into consideration the time necessary for climb out and exit. Lower experienced groups will take longer to climb out. Each group on a pass should, without exception, allow a minimum of 10 seconds before exiting the aircraft to allow for adequate separation between groups. Always put the highest opening jumper out last. Remember: a) When arriving at the DZ watch other groups exit to give yourself a mental picture as to where the exit point should be. b) Find out who the spotter was on a load that recently landed and ask them what the upper winds are doing, and where the spot is. c) Communicate with the pilot. Don't expect the pilot to know how you want jump run flown. 2. Upper Winds (Free-Fall Drift): While climbing to altitude ask the pilot how fast the upper winds are blowing at altitude, and from which direction the upper winds are coming. The information is easily obtained from Flight Services. *(See Footnote) Depending on the pilot, you could get a couple of different responses. For example you may be told, "The winds are 25 out of 36," or in a less cryptic tone, "The winds are blowing at 25KTS from the north." The former is a compass heading. 0 degrees or 360 or 36 all indicate the winds are from the north, and 18 or 180 indicate the winds are from the south. Knowing what the winds aloft are is critical. The technique in knowing how far to take the aircraft upwind to allow for Free-Fall Drift takes time and repetition. If in doubt ask a more experienced skydiver, who you know can be trusted, to look over your shoulder. When you arrive at the DZ watch another group exiting to see how much 'Free-Fall Drift' or push they get. Upper winds blowing at >50KTS can cause drift of up to a mile or more if exit altitude is 13,000'. Look at the following example: The rate of speed at which an aircraft travels across the ground is known as the Ground-speed. The speed at which an aircraft travels relative to the air is called the Air-speed. Ground-speed and Air-speed are two factors not to be confused. The discussion here focuses on the speed the aircraft travels across the ground as rated in knots. The distance across the ground for one knot is approx. 6080'. Suppose an aircraft is traveling at 75KTS. With no upper winds, the aircraft’s ground speed is 75KTS, or 126.7 feet/per/second across the ground. The aircraft is carrying three groups. Group 1A is a 10-Way, Group 1B is a 6-Way and Group 1C is a 4-Way. The upper winds are minimal; under 10KTS. If Group 1B takes a 6 second delay before exit the horizontal distance between Groups 1A and 1B will be approximately 760'. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Now assume the upper winds are blowing at 30KTS. The aircraft is flying directly into the upper winds. The ground-speed of the aircraft is reduced to 45KTS, or 76 feet/per/second. Horizontal separation between groups is reduced from 126.7 feet/per/second to 76 feet/per/second. Group 1B only allows 5 seconds for separation time after Group 1A has exited the aircraft. Using the factor of 76 feet/per/second, the horizontal distance between Groups 1A and Group 1B is approximately 380'. Horizontal separation of 380' is dangerous, especially when you take into consideration the distance covered across the ground during a track. For this example, lets assume Group 1A's break-off altitude is 3,500'. A skydiver in a max-track position can achieve horizontal speeds up to 60MPH, or 52KTS. If a skydiver were to start tracking between 3,800'-3,500' and hold the track until 2,500' (approximately 6 seconds), then flair, waveoff and pull, the skydiver could achieve an average of almost 88 feet/per/second, or approximately 528'. The result would be the potentially dangerous situation whereby one or more skydivers from different groups on the same pass could possibly cross each others airspace. Taking this example a step further, assume the upper winds are now 65KTS. The air-speed of the aircraft remains constant at 75KTS, however, the ground-speed (distance the aircraft travels across the ground) has been reduced to 10KTS, or 16.9 feet/per/second. Based on this example, taking up to 45 seconds before Group 1B exits is not excessive in an effort to gain adequate separation and avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Canopy collisions can and do kill skydivers. 3. Body Position: Face forward and look towards the front of the aircraft. If you are new at spotting do not sit sideways to the door; sit facing forward. Pitch your head sideways and look straight down. Now look up toward the wing tips followed by scanning the horizon. Doing this will help you determine whether or not you are looking straight down and if the aircraft is flying level. Continue to do this motion of looking down, wing tips, scanning horizon and looking down. Compare the horizontal axis of the wing to the horizontal axis of the horizon. Are they horizontally relative to each other? Are they at an equal plane? A couple of degrees off can be a mile or more, especially when the upper winds are blowing. Know if you are looking straight down. 4. Forward Throw: Depending upon aircraft type, Forward Throw carries a group a considerable distance. Take Forward Throw distance into consideration when exiting aircraft such as a DC-3, C-130 or higher airspeed type of aircraft. Although the transition sweep from horizontal throw to vertical decent is a short distance in time, the distance across the ground can add up. 5. Ground Winds: There are times when ground winds exceed the upper winds. Factor into consideration the ground winds in addition to the upper winds for determining the spot. Maybe you will have to take some additional Prep Time allowing the groups to remain up wind of the target. For student and novice jumpers recently off of student status, and depending upon the exit altitude, throwing a Wind Drift Indicator (WDI) may be necessary to help determine the push of the ground winds. Spot for the ground winds when they exceed the uppers. 6. Type of Reserve: Never overlook the skydiver having a round reserve. If you are spotting make sure you take into consideration the person with the round reserve. Learning to spot takes time and repetition. The next time someone asks, "Who is going to spot?" say, "I will." (Footnote) *In many geographic areas Flight Services can be contacted directly for upper wind conditions. Contacting Flight Services directly is not inappropriate for determining upper winds prior to the first load of the day. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

How many of you remember these? Perris, CA 1980's. Great times they were. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]

Here is picture during 57U final days. Blue Skies Eric Bernstein D-9298 [email protected]