31 January 2012

Hi JSC members,

Saturday started off well but the weather shut us down after about 12 loads, and the same on Sunday. I have some observations from the weekend which all must be made aware of:

Landing areas and landing patterns

We have 3 distinct landing areas at JSC, namely:

1. The student and intermediate area which starts from the beer line and extends westwards until the runway;

2. The pro rated area which goes from the beer line to the shrubs just in front of the clubhouse, canteen and bush pub. Only pro rated jumpers, or those jumpers who have done the 10 qualifying jumps for a pro rating (and signed off) can land there. When approaching landing in the pro or intermediate area, the maximum turn permitted is a 90 degree turn. Anything more than that must go to the swoop pond.

3. The swoop pond which is exclusively for those jumpers doing high performance landings.

I stress that each group must stay over their own area and not encroach either of the other 2 areas. So pro rated and intermediates may not set up for landing over the swoop pond or intermediate area, swoopers may not set up over the pro area or the intermediate area and intermediates must not set up or approach landings from over the pro area or swoop pond, etc. Worldwide there have been a number of canopy collisions and that usually results in 1 or 2 fatalities. Stick to your area and fly the landing patterns with discipline. If you are not sure about landing patterns ask one of the instructors.

Canopy control course

We will be holding canopy control courses for beginners and intermediate jumpers, starting within the next month. A couple of years back these were successfully done by Gavin Green and he will be assisted by Dian Kemp. It consists of a theory module then 4 or 5 jumps, each with specific canopy tasks. It is worthwhile attending. Once the dates are finalised I will put a notice on the listserve.

Landing incidents

We had an incident on Sunday where a student turned really low and came out of the turn at about 2 to 3 feet above the ground and he impacted the ground without having enough time to flare. Injured lower back. The point that I am bringing this up is that soon after the incident we had every man and his dog on the DZ gathering around the injured student, all apparently trying to offer assistance. Please leave this task to the duty staff only, they know what procedures to follow. It must also be very traumatic for an injured person lying on the ground to be surrounded by hundreds of curious onlookers.

Blue skies and keep it safe,
Kevin

19 January 2012

Hi JSC members,

There is not too much to report following the weekend's activities. Rain delayed us on Saturday but a good day was had on Sunday. I am always pleased when we have an incident free weekend and thanks to all those who jumped last weekend and contributed to keeping it safe.

The Jumpmaster Course is now scheduled for the last weekend in February as most of the candidates are not yet complete with the precourse requirements. So let's get the precourse stuff out the way and we will do the course. It is a strict precondition that all the precourse requirements must have been done and signed off otherwise you will not be permitted to attend.

Next, will everyone reading this mail please reply to me with your jump numbers and do you have an AAD or not. Those people using club gear just reply with "club gear" This is an annual survey which we are required to complete and submit to the NSTO.

Finally, the landing patterns have not changed. That is, if you want to land in the general landing area – no more than a 90 degree turn on finals, everyone landing in the general landing area follows the first person down and high performance landings may only be done at the swoop pond.

Blue skies,
Kevin

20 December 2011

Hi JSC members,

So this is the last CI column for the year and what a way to finish off! We had an absolute blast on the weekend jumping Friday through to Sunday with perfect weather all the way. The party on Saturday night was also a gas and the whole vibe at the club is just rocking. Things are really looking positive for the New Year.

I want to thank the duty staff for working their butts off this weekend and helping to keep a very busy weekend incident free. Thanks guys.

Having said that, there was one close call where two jumpers almost collided under canopy because they were coming in for landing at right angles to each other.  We set out the landing rules recently and nothing has changed:

• No more that a 90 degree turn on final approach. Everyone landing in the general landing area must follow the direction of the first person down who is landing in the general landing area. 

Two people had very noteworthy achievements on the weekend:

• Well done to Liz Cooper on your 1000th jump!

Congrats to Papa Roy for being made an honorary member of JSC – this is truly deserved and probably long overdue.

Apart from that I have nothing further to report apart from saying a big thank you to the duty staff and all our service providers who continually do such a great job. The year closed on a very positive, high note and we can only build on this next year. I am really excited about the future for JSC. 

Everyone have a great festive season, those who are going the J-Bay keep it safe, drive safely and we will see you all on the 7th of January when the club reopens.

Blue Skies
Kevin

13 December 2011

Hi JSC members,

Back in the land of the living once again after my daughter's wedding and other fun stuff! Firstly, thanks to Papa Roy and Ralph for taking control while I was away. Thanks guys.

Unfortunately the weather prevented us from doing the night jumps on Saturday but I am definitely looking at a date to do this very early in the new year. Watch this space!

I have committed to running a Jumpmaster course at the end of January. The one condition is that all the precourse requirements must have been completed and I am not sure that this is progressing that well. Will all candidates please call me or email me or contact me at the DZ so that I can review your progress. We always need new blood on the DZ and we must make this one happen.

Blue Skies
Kevin

7 November 2011

Hi Skydivers,

I am not going to reinvent the wheel and repeat what Pottie has already said about the awesome weekend we have just had! Plenty jumps were done, we had a lot of visiting jumpers and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Taya and Jeff for sharing their considerable skills and wingsuiting experience with us. And on a lighter note we had young Ethan van der Merwe (Dave and Yvette's 7 week old little guy) kit up in a wingsuit! He looked pretty cool and should be good to go soon.

Just a heads up on the following:

Safety

On takeoff everyone in the aircraft must hook up to a safety belt and everyone, Monkey Boy included, must have their helmets on and properly fastened. The reason for this is simple – to prevent/minimise injuries in the event of an aircraft crash on takeoff. The safety belts will prevent all those in the aircraft from being squashed against each other on impact and a secure helmet speaks for itself. There was an incident some years ago where an aircraft with a load of skydivers crashed on takeoff and one of the jumpers had a helmet on, without being secured. On impact this helmet literally became a cannonball, flew off the guys head and killed another jumper in the aircraft. Say no more.

The landing patterns are working well and it was very encouraging to see everyone following the first jumper in and all landing in the same direction. Well done and thanks to all for keeping it safe this weekend.

Upcoming Events

Night jumps at Potchefstroom on 10 December. Night jumps are always a lot of fun, and not only a licence requirement. I will put out all the details a little closer to the time.

Jumpmaster course – last weekend January 2012. All candidates must have completed the precourse requirements in order to be eligible for the course. There is not much time left to do this so just go out and do it!

Blue skies,
Kevin

17 October 2011

Hi all,

We had a good weekend and as always lots of fun was had by all. In the last week I did have some very constructive debate with the Instructor Body regarding cameras and camera flying. Thanks to all who took part in the discussion.

Bottom line is that what is in the MOPs is what we must stick to. Any camera, no matter how small, which is mounted on top or on the side of a helmet is considered as an "obstacle" and that helmet must be fitted with a cutaway system. If a camera flyer has a malfunction, the chances are that the lines/risers of the main canopy will get snagged with the camera and therefore the need to have a cutaway system for the helmet.

As per my last mail, anyone doing camera jumps for the first time must be given the proper briefing and this must be recorded in the logbook and signed off by the CI. 

On another note – no equipment lasts forever. One of our up-and-coming skydivers was jumping a very old and very unstable canopy and this nearly did him in on the landing. The turbulence was bad and I had the same thing about 13 years ago when I first started skydiving. Nearly crashed into the ground because of old equipment. A new canopy is going to cost around R10 000 but will last you for at least 800 jumps, which is a lot of jumping.

Our lives depend on the equipment we are using – do not skimp!!

Blue Skies
Kevin

5 October 2011

Hi Skydivers,

Thanks to the lousy weather not much happened this weekend. The wind was pumping on Saturday so the only jumping that took place was seniors and tandems. On Sunday, we did not even bother to take BLU out the hangar.

JUMPMASTER COURSE

I did set the dates for the J/M course for 2, 3 and 4 December. I must apologise but family commitments will prevent me from being at the DZ that weekend so it cannot take place then.

Please also remember that all the precourse requirements MUST be completed to be permitted to attend the course. At the rate that some of the candidates are going, I do not see that 1, maybe 2 people will be ready by then.

OK so, abf (absolute bloody final) dates for the course will now be 27, 28 and 29 January 2012. Given that there is a break in between, the delay is effectively only a couple of weeks.

Study Material:

The course kicks off with a written exam on the following sections of the MOPs:

• Section 2 Basic Safety Requirements
• Section 3 Student Training
• Section 10 Camerapersons
• Section 12 Pro Ratings
• Section 13 Extraordinary Activities
• Sextion 14 Wingsuits
• Section 15 Jumpmaster Course Outline
• Section 17 DZ Operating Procedures

If any of the candidates have any queries please . Do your studies and get all the precourse requirements done!

Blue Skies
Kevin

27 September 2011

Hi Skydivers,

We had a very quiet Saturday – one load only due to the bad weather but Sunday was pretty busy with a lot of student activity. Once again, no incidents so my thanks to all those who jumped and kept it safe.

A national CI seminar was held 2 weeks ago where all the CI's of all the clubs in SA got together under the chair of the NSTO. A number of topics were discussed but one of the things that came out very strongly is that the logbook still remains king. Logbooks should not only be used for recording jumps, but each and every step in a skydiver's progression must be recorded and signed off in his/her logbook. Some examples:

If you downsize, you must be given a briefing by a senior and that briefing must be signed off in your logbook

Ditto for if you want to start camera jumping

If you become uncurrent and have had refresher training, that must also be recorded in the logbook

The reason for this is not to play policeman, but rather to ensure that the person involved is properly trained before stepping into the unknown, such as a downsize, without being given the proper tools to deal with that new situation. It all comes down to our commitment to your safety.

Blue skies,
Kevin

20 September 2011

Hi Skydivers,

Not too much to report after this last weekend. There were plenty tandems, a few fun jumpers and also some student activity. Thanks to all who jumped this weekend and who all contributed to another incident free weekend. The weather has been great so there is no reason not to skydive!

As I said in an earlier mail there are some fun events being planned which will be announced soon. Chopper jumps and hot air balloon jumps are being arranged and confirmed for October and November, and night jumps are planned for 19 December.

Watch this space!

Blue skies,
Kevin

13 September 2011

Hi JSC members

We had a fantastic weekend this one that has just gone and things are definitely picking up, with 22 loads being done on Saturday. The weather was great.

On the safety side, I must compliment everyone who jumped on Saturday.  The whole day, and without exception, everyone flew the correct landing patterns and direction so everyone contributed to a safe, fun and incident free day. And the big thing about this, is that it is not that difficult to fly your canopy with discipline and follow what all the other canopies in the air are doing. Well done and thanks once again to all Saturday's skydivers.

On the skills develpoment side we had 2 teams doing big way skills training with Tim and Simba. It was a great success and all who took part said that they learnt a great deal.

As far as the fun stuff went, there was a naked load on the last load and congrats to Blair and Talia on their 100th! Of course our perennial naked jumper Warren took part as well and rumour has it that he might one day do a jump fully clothed. That would be a change.

We have lots of fun events being planned before the year end, including balloon jumps, chopper jumps and night jumps. The dates will all be confirmed in the next week.

Finally, we will be holding a Jumpmaster Certification Course on the weekend of 2, 3 and 4 December. All potential J/M's please ensure your precourse work is completed and anyone who has a query with this, please contact me directly.

Blue skies,
Kevin

6 September 2011

Hi JSC skydivers

The summer is here and it is time to have fun! On a much more serious note, JSC will be following worldwide trends with regards landing patterns and landing areas although I stress that we have already put most of these rules in place, they just need to be more strictly enforced.

So, following the Instructor meeting last week, it was agreed that the landing patterns and landing areas are as follows:

1. Pro rated area – that is the area between the clubhouse and the beer line. Landing directions will be either clubhouse right or clubhouse left, no exceptions. If anyone who has a pro rating and who chooses not to land in either of one of these directions then he/she must land in the general landing area, in accordance with the wind direction.
   
   
2. General landing area – the other side of the beer line. First person down sets the landing direction and everyone else follows in that same direction. We are in the process of having a big arrow fabricated which the SO will place on the ground which will be very visible from altitude which will show the landing direction. There have been too many cases recently of people coming in from all directions and this is an accident waiting to happen.
   
   
3. High performance/high speed landings – anyone wanting to execute anything more than a 90 degree turn for the purposes of building up speed for a swoop landing must do so at the Pond. Any more than a 90 degree turn is not permitted when landing either on the Pro area or General area.

We only put these rules in place after the meeting on Thursday night and so far it worked out well last weekend. I also want to stress that any new rules that are introduced are done only for all your safety in mind.

Thanks for the cooperation thus far and let's keep JSC one of the safest dropzones in the business.

Blue Skies,
Kevin