BASE WEEK with Miles Daisher

Welcome back to BASE week! Today we’re going to hear from one of the most visible characters in BASE jumping.

If you’rve heard of BASE, you’ve heard of this guy. That’s right kids, it’s Miles Daisher!

*Photo credit unavailable as I borrowed this from his Facebook page. Hope that’s alright. But this is one wicked picture!

I feel so honored to have the chance to chat with Miles and find out more about what makes him tick. So let’s have at it shall we?

SDC: So let’s dive right in with the standard first question: how and when did you get your start in skydiving? Tell us your story…

MD: I became addicted to skydiving September 6, 1995.  I’d always wanted to try it and when my roommate Frank “The Gambler” Gambalie (skydiver, BASE jumper and hero) told me where to go, I booked an AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) course at Skydance Skydiving center in Davis, California. Three days of classroom and coached jumping while passing all of my 7 level jumps to begin hucking my monkey from scareplanes on my own.  Since then I’ve quit all previous jobs I’ve had (a variety of all types) and focused on keeping myself in the parachuting world.

SDC: That’s pretty incredible! I’m a huge believer in following your passions and doing what you love, all the time. Your story is a great example of that. I’m sure a lot of people out there envy that – and I’m sure you hear that all the time

SDC: So when and how did you transition to BASE?

MD: Watching Frank’s BASE videos was always really cool.  When I saw one in particular of a jump from the Troll Spire on the Great Troll wall in Norway where Frank jumped and tracked away from the wall for 26 second before pulling his pilot chute to open his parachute.  He was flying his body away from the wall and this sparked my interest to get involved with fixed object parachuting.  From the EARTH!  I’ve lived my dream and have had the opportunity to jump the Troll wall from Frank’s exit point, the Troll Spire.  This was one of the pinnacle jumps that I’ve ever done!

I started on bridges that were the safest things to jump in case your opening faces a direction other than the heading that you choose.  If you have a 180 degree off heading opening on a cliff or a building you will have only an instant to correct the direction your parachute is flying before you strike or hit the object you jumped from.  With a 20 MPH forward speed on these canopies we fly, things can happen fast and usually do.  Bridges are the safest way to start.  I take baby steps with every goal I have so I may enjoy the ride to conquer each challenge as safe as possible.

SDC: Do you frequently get to skydive these days or are you all BASE all the time?

MD: I still Skydive quite a bit.  I LOVE it.  Compared to BASE jumping, Skydiving is a fun time, walk in the park where you get to dance in the sky with your friends.  Also you can train to do many things for BASE jumping while having a safe amount of time in the air as well as more time to dial in tricks and ways to fly your body more proficiently while skydiving.  I also perform Demonstration jumps with the Red Bull Air Force from aircraft.  I’ve even started a new sport called Skyaking (see picture above) that involves skydiving while in a kayak.  The freefall can be tricky but I think I’ve got a good handle on this now and the landings are really fun.  Swooping into a lake, river or even a ditch while strapped in a Skayak is always a great time!

SDC: That’s incredible – I’ve seen some of the videos of this and you can’t help but smile while watching you having a blast up there, in a kayak! Where do you do most of your skydiving these days – where do you consider your “home DZ” I suppose?

MD: I’ve had a few different home DZs.  I started in Skydance Skydiving then moved to Lodi for years.  Then I learned to do tandems and packed a bunch at Skydive Lake Tahoe when I became a professional parachutist. It is hard for me to call one place my home DZ.  Nowadays I’ll call the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls Idaho my home DZ as I do more BASE jumps than anything else.  Or anyone else, because I can here in this BASE jumping friendly environment.  At 2,669 BASE jumps I’m catching up to the 3,100 skydives I’ve done. Last spring I’d call Sebastian Florida my home DZ.  I must say that I’ve been SUPER fortunate to be able to call Lauterbrunnen Switzerland my home DZ last summer as we’ve (Red Bull Air Force) been shooting a 3D movie called Human Flight for a few months.  Check out humanflight3dmovie.com to see some of what we were up to.  Mostly big wall proximity flying with squirrel suits. I’d have to say it is tough to point a finger at one DZ to call home when I love to visit them all.

SDC: We’ve all seen at least one Miles D video and there’s always one common denominator – you are very high energy! What’s your secret?

MD: The secret to the high energy I have while skydiving and BASE jumping is this . . . When you do things you are passionate about, you do them 115%, or put everything into them.  When you love what you do, you get excited about it.  For me and this instance, I find it really easy to get excited about flying parachutes and my body through the air.  It is super sensory overload for me.  I love it!  Then there is the rest of my life where my mom would always tell me to settle down and stay still which I’m still not truly understanding why and what she really means by this.  As well as the fact that I love the Red Bull energy drink that keeps my vitamin B levels up to where I enjoy them.  Caffeine is good for you too if you like to get after stuff.  I guess the ADD in me is a good thing and I’ve harnessed the power of it and sustained for life with some help drinking the right stuff.

SDC: What is one of the most memorable experiences you’ve had in this sport?

MD: I’ve had many super memorable moments in the air with my friends.  One that really let’s me feel that I can conquer anything and do anything if I put my mind to it as well as enjoy each moment to the fullest, is when I did a 2 way with Shane McConkey (my best friend and BASE partner) from the Troll wall in our squirrel suits to actually live the dream and experience the reason I’ve been driving so hard and learning so much to safely get to where I am today.  We jumped together at sunset after our Norwegian friends showed us the way to the top and flew for what seemed like forever.  Shane shot video of me and I just looked around and soaked it all in.  I didn’t even fly well and wasn’t really trying to.  I was enjoying the moment the entire day!  Shane was yelling at me to Go man Go! and was buzzing around me like a bee trying to get me to fly faster but I just smiled and thought about The Gambler and the good times we’ve all had together.  Then after we landed in a field by the road, I hid behind a hay stack because the jump we did wasn’t exactly legal.  Shane made fun of me and did the most hilarious John Belushi impersonation while in the wide open field, running side to side and diving on the ground to hide.  Then he’d get up again and run side to side and dive on the ground to make fun of how stupidly paranoid I was of getting caught. We laughed for hours on this while we had pizza in the landing area with our Norwegian BASE tour guides toasting a few beers as the sun disappeared on us.

Ahhhhhh the stuff dreams are made of. That’s for sure.

SDC: That sounds amazing. That’s one thing about parachuting I’ve come to love the most – experiencing these moments with good friends. There’s nothing quite like it! Aside from Bridge Day, what are some of the must-attend boogies and events in the skydiving and BASE world?

MD: If you ever get a chance to go to Malaysia to jump the KL Tower, DO IT!  To me this event is the funnest.  That is a word too. It’s a multi day BASE boogie with cultural celebrations and all the jumps you can handle off the 1,000 ft tower.  There is an organized multi week tour that travels the country and has demonstration jumps at many different buildings.  I’d like to have enough time to do this someday but the KL Tower is the crowned jewel of the trip from what I hear.  I’m trying to get myself organized up on this adventure again this year.

SDC: Malaysia has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit. Maybe now there’s another reason…What’s the best piece of advice (related to skydiving/BASE jumping or not) that you’ve ever been given?

MD: The best advice I’ve gotten in my life is “Pay Attention!”  You can learn a lot by observing.  Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.  Unless you have a question of course.  Many people want to get into BASE and start hucking flips and do cool tricks right away.  Best thing you can do is to get your FUNdamentals dialed in and perfected before starting to get rad.  When you do want to learn something new, break it down into pieces and practice each part so that your motor muscle memory can save you when your brain doesn’t.  Baby steps take longer to do but will get you to your goals safer than going full tilt taking chances and missing out on the Journey that is ever so important and a big part of the whole big picture.

SDC: With the amount you have on your plate you must have a very supportive family?

MD: I gotta give huge props to my wife Nikki and children.  I don’t know where I’d be without their support and trust and faith in me and what I do.  My lifestyle is kinda crazy in the (not so) real world of normalcy.  I have a crazy schedule that is subject to change at a few days notice.  Hard to make every soccer game, gymnastics meet and even birthday party.  We all support each other like a team.  I’m super blessed to have such an understanding and helpful family who has my back no matter what.  The same thing said for me to them.  I don’t take unnecessary risks even when I’m doing the “crazy” stuff I do. There is a method to my madness. I plan on sticking around for years and years to be able to brag up the good times with great friends and give my kids as much grief as possible unless they remain the almost perfect angels that they are for the rest of their lives.  I try to surround myself with good people and abide by the great words of Bill and Ted on their adventures “Be excellent to each other.”  This would be the one moment where my wife would not support me in my cheesiness as she thinks I’m a dork sometimes.  The thing is, she is right and I’m glad she can keep it real too.  I can handle it when I’m right and she can’t seem to appreciate the goodness of a quality movie I believe in.

SDC: So for all those aspiring BASE jumpers out there here’s one you’ll appreciate: If you could give one piece of advice to newbie BASE jumpers, what would it be?

MD: If you would like to learn to BASE jump, come check me out at Miles D’s BASE Camp and learn a safe approach to a dangerous sport. Or at least take your time while you PAY ATTENTION to the do’s more than the don’ts of the sport.  Know what can go wrong and be ready for anything but plant the super positive seed in your head to ready yourself for the perfect outcome of every jump.  Not false confidence but know what you have to do to make the perfect landing happen every time you step off the Earth.  The biggest thing is to know your gear, it’s tendencies and how to make it do the right thing . . . land safe.

Blue skies!  Rock On!

Thanks Miles! This was a treat!

I highly recommend checking out any and all of Miles’ videos – it’s some good stuff.

Blue ones!

Ashley

Jump for Diabetes: PD Canopy Raffle

(Love the new logo! Thanks, Nick Bagnoli)

Alright y’all. It’s time for an exciting announcement from the Jump for Diabetes (JFD).

As some of you might know, I’m a huge advocate for this cause, what with Rick being a type 1 diabetic and loving the sport of skydiving (really?!). Two of my passions in one event – that’s pretty freakin’ awesome if you ask me.

Anywhoosits – this year Performance Designs has teamed up with JFD to give away a custom canopy to one lucky donor.

I know, right, that’s huge!

Just by being one of the first to donate $100 or more to the cause you have a 1 in 100 chance of winning a custom canopy from Performance Designs. BAD ASS!

The coolest part about it is that all the proceeds from the raffle go to benefit diabetes research and help find a cure. That right there should bring you some warm fuzzies .

Check out the JFD blog to find out more info. Or simply send an email to jumpfordiabetes@gmail.com with your name, address, email and phone # to get the process rolling. Donations are collected via PayPal then you’ll receive an eTicket. Winners are drawn at the event, but you don’t have to be present to win. So anyone, anywhere can enter to win!

The raffle is being kicked off today, so don’t delay in making your donations…wouldn’t want to miss out on your chance to win that new Pulse you’ve been eyeing, would you?

Don’t forget to visit the Facebook fan page for the latest updates as well.

Happy hump day, jump day!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Weekend Happenings

Hello beautiful weather! Spring is finally here, which means skydiving season is in full swings. So it’s time for another Weekend Happenings.

For those who many not be aware, I usually posted these on Friday, but seeing as I’m going to already be jumping out of the Otter at Skydive Carolina come Friday, thought I’d provide y’all with these updates a day early.

If you’re in the Carolinas, c’mon over and jump with me! If not, here are some other things that are happening in our community:

• 4/17, Skydive Hollister, Hollister, CA. Brian Germain is hosting a parachute flight course. I’ve heard great things – you should definitely check it out! More details on DZ.com.
• 4/17, Keystone Skydiving Center (PA) is holding their season opener this weekend. More info here.
• 4/17, Connecticut Parachutists is hosting a beginner RW camp…if you’re into that sort of thing Check it out.

Where ever you end up this weekend, hope there are blue ones!

Ashley

The small victories

(This is the one where I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m full of myself…take note, this post goes beyond just me, to my partner and fellow freeflyers. These past couple weeks have been incredible for everyone!)

I’ve been saying it for months, and it’s so true – skydiving is all about the little victories. Some of the best jumps I’ve had are those where we come down talking about the small improvements we’re seeing.

The past couple weeks I’ve really seen improvement with me and my freefly partner. We’ve been lucky enough to jump with some incredible freeflyers on random skydives that were not only incredibly fun, but very helpful to the learning curve!

We’ve been working for months on our relativity and forward movement / side sliding in sit. Our last few skydives have shown incredible improvement in this. It’s like, all of a sudden, something clicked!

There’s something to be said for jumping in groups of 3, 4 and 5, where there’s always someone to dock on. You’re also forced to make it to the low man or you’re going to be watching that skydive from the outside. Now who wants that?!

(Fun three-way with Susie. I bailed out of the dock because I had too much forward speed.)

(This 5-way campfire turned into a couple of two-ways, but there was a lot of penetration going on up there! – Now would be a good time to remove your head from the gutter. Thanks ).

This weekend at Skydive PA I finally nailed a controlled stand to make it down to the group. What an incredible feeling! Standing had always been my weakness, but as a smaller jumper it’s a critical skill in freefly. So I’m pumped for this success.

Wishing I had the video to share from that 4-way freefly, but my camera died so you’ll just have to take my word for it .

On top of that, you can’t forget about the head downs, transitions, forward and side movement that were accomplished in the sky this weekend. Not only does it feel great to have these successes yourself, but when you’re able to witness someone else’s victories, it’s just as rewarding!

(Rick showing us what it’s all about! We had some fun under canopy. I’m loving the Sabre 1)

This is one thing I truly love about the sport – there’s so much to learn and there are always new ways to improve. It’s the ultimate self-improvement activity! And in the end, you have plenty of reasons to celebrate around the bonfire with a cold beer.

What areas have you seen yourself progressing lately – in and out of skydiving?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Cutaway Controversy

One night I dreamt that I had been talking with a friend after skydiving, and he said to me “I knew you’d cut away before your 100th.” The next day, it came true…

A couple weeks back, during the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures, I experienced my first cut away. It was an enlightening experience in a number of ways…let me explain.

(And yes, for the record, I already purchased my owed case of beer.)

Friday evening we signed up for a high altitude jump first thing the next morning – after which we jumped on the sunset load to finish out the day.

The weather was beautiful – nothing quite like a sunset Skyvan load – though the wind had picked up slightly.

Naturally, this makes me a little nervous about making it back to the DZ, given that I’m under a canopy that’s proving to be too large for my exit weight. And I was right – the skydive was immensely fun, a 4-way horny gorilla – but I didn’t quite make it back to the LZ. I landed just shy of the target…in the camping area. A fellow skydiver who was firing up his grill about 10 feet from my landing spot gave me a ride back. Nice guy!

So I took this frustration and headed straight to the Aerodyne tent to ask them for a smaller, demo canopy to use on the high altitude jump in the morning.

Given the fact that there was a higher probability of my landing off on a high altitude, I didn’t want to increase those odds by flying my canopy in the higher winds that were expected for the morning.

I worked with the rep, Les, to decide on a canopy to fly. We settled on a Pilot since I was familiar with them as a student.

As he was installing the demo I asked who packed it last and if I should repack the canopy. His words: “This is a brand new canopy and I packed it myself so that should be the least of you worries.”

Perfect! So I was good to go for the morning.

That day I was nervous. Mainly because I was doing a high altitude at an unfamiliar DZ in a little bit of wind – I really didn’t want to land in the sugar cane!

But the jump went well – I was a little late out the door, but was able to hold a sit for 60 seconds or so. It was good practice.

And then, I deployed. Almost instantly (read: as soon as the bag was out of the container) I could feel that something was amiss. Looking up I said to myself  (literally, aloud) “I’ve seen videos of this shit before.” There were countless line twists above my head and I was spinning to the left.

Reaching up and attempting to spread the risers I realized the situation was too far out of hand, the lines weren’t budging. At just under 2,000 feet, I didn’t want to waste anymore time so I reached for the cutaway pillow and chopped.

Before I could even grasp onto that silver handle my reserve was above my head. Thank you RSL.

Now safetly under a crisp, white canopy, I gathered myself, stuck my cut away handle in my teeth (I wasn’t about to be the girl who lost her handles) and steered myself back to the DZ.

I thought for sure with this situation I was going to end up in a sugar cane field somewhere, but with the breeze that had picked up even more, I made it back. Though when I got there, I wasn’t penetrating the wind at ALL, so I had to pick from one of three options:

1) land on the packing tend

2) land on top of the skyvan

3) gracefully set myself down on the tarmac between the two

I went for the latter and prepared to PLF like it was my job. The winds helped set me down on my feet and luckily there were plenty of people nearby who rushed over to pluck my canopy out of the air before it touched the concrete.

As expected, Les was there to meet me after the cut away – though not quite with the message I had anticipated. He briefly interrogated me on why I cut away his canopy (to which I responded “because I wanted to live”), then, with clear frustration, he headed off to “find it.”

Lucky for everyone, both the canopy and freebag landed at the edge of the airport and were retrieved unharmed.

I was then approached by two Performance Designs reps who had no idea I was testing out a canopy, but wanted to see if I was alright and inquire about the malfunction. I instantly gained a lot of respect for PD. Throughout the weekend I talked with Karl about accuracy and tips for packing to ensure that things like this don’t happen in the future.

Feeling rather exhilerated, I disregarded the attitude the Aerodyne rep presented, and headed over to meet Rick. The extra adrenaline rush was really starting to hit me. The event seemed so clear (though now it’s rather fuzzy – wish I would have worn the GoPro on that jump after all) and I was feeling like I could do anything. Hell, I just saved my own life!

Thankfully, Thomas was available for a rush repack, so we headed up to the rigging loft. While I was waiting, Les came back to me with my canopy in hand (my personal canopy, not the cutaway). He proceeded to blame me for cutting away a canopy he seemed to believe was landable.

What gets me more than anything is that the thought never crossed my mind to be upset with Aerodyne – and yet that’s exactly how they approached me.

I was completely taken aback by the disrespect and lack of concern for my safety that he displayed, so were other onlookers.

Jokes began to fly that I cut away a perfectly good Aerodyne canopy because I knew I had a better PD reserve to use. Which of course, was not the case. Funny, none the less.

After spending time talking with lots of different folks about the incident, it’s uncertain the exact cause of the malfunction – precisely where a helmet cam would have come in handy. From body position to a bad pack job, it could be any number of things, or a combination of these factors. Regardless, as the pilot of that canopy I had a decision to make, and chopping was the right one for me. Even with some of the doubt I’ve encountered along the way, I look back with confidence and say “I had to cut that canopy away.”

One thing I’ve learned by talking to others is that other skydivers will always question your malfunction and doubt your decision to cut away. But the truth is, I was there and they were not – and in the end I learned that I can do it and it’s nothing to sweat. When you’re in that moment and you have to pull that handle, you just do it. Nothing else exists but that moment as you release your main from the container.

Though some of it is fuzzy, I look back on certain details of the malfunction with great clarity – the feel of the cut away pillow, the sound of the main releasing. I look back on the incident with an odd fondness as I walked away a more confident and knowledgable skydiver.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Off landings

Today I want to visit one aspect of the sport of skydiving that I’m no stranger to: off landings.

Upon making Canton Air Sports my home when I was still on student status, I quickly gained a reputation for landing off. At the time, we attributed most of it to the fact that I was flying student gear and huge canopies (read: 292 square feet – and for someone who tops out at 135 lbs exit weight, that’s a whole lot of canopy over my head to take me where it wants to).

Since then I’ve managed to land off at almost every DZ I’ve visited: in a soy bean field at Start skydiving (when they were in Lebanon), earning me my current nickname; frequent landings at the end of the runway and in surrounding fields at CAS; finding a pumpkin patch and cow-filled fields with bad spots at Skydive Pennsylvania…I’ll save my ego and stop here.

This weekend of winter jumping was no exception. The winds aloft were tamer than they have been, so when I landed on target during jump #1 at Skydive PA I anticipated a smooth day of canopy piloting.

The spot was a little long, so on the next jump we asked the pilot to adjust and drop us right above the runway. Well, for any of you who are familiar with this DZ, we were dropped PAST the runway over the outlet malls. On top of that my foot got caught on the step as I was exiting, so I was 2-3 seconds late in coming off the plane. My jump was basically a solo sitfly.

Before dumping, I did my best to track back toward the DZ, subsequently losing more altitude and pulling lower than I would have liked. It was those first moments under canopy, as I’m collapsing my slider, where I realized there was no way in hell I was going to make it back.

Luckily, the long runway is lined on both sides with narrow strips of grass, perfect for landing. The only problem was, if I wanted to land in an ideal patch, I was going to have to do so downwind. Yikes!

These are not my favorite types of landings, but I came in slower and softer than anticipated and slid out the landing safely.

The walk back SUCKED…but I guess that’s what I get for pulling low, knowing where I was positioned.

The video below will give you a glimpse at just how far we were away. The DZ is at the opposite end of the runway….I landed in the green patch on the left, just past the hangars…You’ll also get to see part of the train the my freefly partner did with our buddy Tom who’s a newbie freeflyer. Hi first 2-man train. You owe BEER for this one, bud!

(Video by Richard Simenc)

Lesson learned: if you’re off target, pull a little higher to either scout out a new landing area or try to make it back with the wind. This is what my fellow jumpers did, and they all made it back.

But, it’s not a complete day of winter skydiving at Grove without an off landing, right?

Let’s just hope this trend doesn’t continue while on my Florida trip… I can deal with a field full of cows, alligators not so much!

On that note, I should mention that this will be my last post for a while – about 2 weeks to be exact. I’ll do my best to keep everyone posted on what is going on in Florida at the Everglades boogie, at Deland and more on my Twitter feed: @theskydivechick. Follow me for updates!

Until next time…

Blue skies!

Ashley

BASE on the brain

Until recently, BASE jumping was something I saw as too dangerous to even contemplate. I mean seriously? Who in their right mind hurls themselves off an object only hundreds of feet above the LZ, just to see if their one parachute is going to open?

Even as a skydiver who has come to love and trust my canopy as a life-saving device, I still couldn’t wrap my head around this seemingly life-threatening version of parachuting.

*Photo by Sandy Weltman

But since my visit to Bridge Day back in mid-October, and having seen the care taken with safety, packing and preparation, BASE jumping continues to be a regular topic of conversation between Rick and me.

As my trusted freefly partner, and someone who’s done his share of BASE jumping over the years, my considerations to take the plunge from a static object include him standing by my side.

*Photo by Ashley Mead (We’ve talked about doing a 2-way like this at next year’s Bridge Day)

It’s an exciting picture, though not without it’s dangers.

For me, there are a few things that stick in my head when contemplating making my first BASE jump:

• There’s no reserve parachute. You’ve only got one shot. REALLY? But doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?
• With the extremely low altitudes, a reserve would do you no good, anyhow. It also doesn’t give you much chance to toss your pilot. This girl certainly won’t be going stowed for a while.
• On most jumps, your accuracy is critical as landing areas tend to be small. This is why the Perrine looks so desirable for my first.
• The scary stat that 1 in 10 BASE jumpers die doing this. (read: 1 in 10 jumpERS, not 1 in 10 jumps…things like Bridge Day would never take place if that was the case). On the up side, at least they go doing what they love, right?

Most of these things are points of anxiety because they differ from skydiving. And frankly, the prospect of a badly timed flare that could break any number of body parts scares me to no end.

I hear it’s all about the PLF, but my stubborn ass just might decide I need to walk it out. Yep, I’m chick enough to admit that!

As I mentioned, I’d like to make my first jump off the Potato Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho. It’s a legal jump with a landing area that was cleared by parachutists so you’ve got room for error. Though I’ve been told that Bridge Day is by far the best place to make your first BASE, as you have access to a first jump course that teaches you all you need to know about safety, packing, and making the jump.

Personally, I’d rather not go through all that. Some of my skydiving friends are also accomplished BASE jumpers, I should have no trouble finding a mentor to show me the ropes. And it’s something we can do on our own time.

This is definitely still just an idea in the making, but the longer I’m in the sport, the more appealing new experience, like BASE, seem to grab my attention.

Ultimately, I’d love to do this the right way – to find a mentor to walk me through it, have someone to show me the ropes, teach me how to pack, so that when the day comes and I’m standing on the edge of that bridge, or piece of Earth, that I can know just how prepared I am to make this jump.

What are some of the steps that you took for your first BASE jump? Did you have a mentor or did you grab a rig and wing it? Was your first object a bridge, antenna…?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Mid-week jumps and weekend happenings

After an exhausting weekend in West Virginia for Bridge Day I really thought this week at the office would drag. But boy was I wrong.

Seriously, how is it Friday already?

I think taking a half vacation day on Wednesday to take advantage of the nice weather really helped. The temperatures got up to almost 70 degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Perfect fall jumping weather!

So Rick and I headed down to Canton Air Sports to meet up with a number of our other jumping buddies who had the same idea.

A couple jumps was just the fix I needed…I was starting to twitch over here!

The first jump was a new two-way freefly attempt – one we had seen pictures of before, though we’re not entirely sure what to call it. Essentially, it’s a one-man sit with a head-down stinger. I was the stinger. And we actually pulled it off for a couple seconds. More practice is definitely in order.

If anyone has a name for this, please feel free to share.

The second jump was a high pull so we could play under canopy for a while. I’ve never pulled at 7 grand before, and given the amount of time I hung out in the sky, I’m pretty certain I won’t again for a while.

What can I say, I just get a little uncomfortable being under canopy for so long. But I did learn a little more about my Triathlon – how far I can push it with spirals, testing out front and rear riser moves. For anyone with a new canopy, I definitely recommend a high pull to help you get acquainted.

Hopefully on Sunday the weather will play nice and I can get back to the playground in the sky. If you’re in the NE Ohio area, come out and fly with me. Otherwise, here’s what’s going on this weekend around the skydiving community:

• 10/24. CSC Halloween Party. Live music, costume contest, bonfire and camping. If you’re in or around Chicago, this is a can’t miss DZ party.
• 10/24. RW skills camp. Also at CSC. Visit Dropzone.com for more information.

And next week there is sure to be numerous Halloween boogies to choose from.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Canopy piloting

Skydiving is a sport with many fascets. I remember thinking “gosh, there’s so much to this” when I was going through my AFF ground school training.

At the time, I had no idea just how much.

Freefall has always been my favorite part of skydiving. It’s what sucked me in from the start. Being under canopy has always made me a little nervous – and rightfully so.

This is one part of the sport that, if you’re not completely aware and on your toes, can be extremely dangerous.

I learned quickly that you cannot trust that those in the sky with you are good canopy pilots. In the early days of jumping in big-ways, I had a habit of separating myself from the pack under canopy, which tended to lead to long walks from landing farther away or even off the DZ.

As I became more accustom to flying and more comfortable being in the air with my fellow skydivers, I relaxed a little. At the same time, I became less aware.

Which brings me to what I’m about to tell you. This is something I’m not proud to admit, especially to y’all, but I feel like this could be a great learning experience for everyone who skydives, or plans to skydive.

Earlier this summer I was involved in a two-way canopy collision.

Yikes I know. We’re both okay, and walked away from the incident without injuries other than bruised egos.

The thing is, I was the only one who saw what happened from start to finish – and there were even a few things I missed.

It happened on an 8-way. First jump of the day, full caravan load of mostly fun jumpers. We were the first group out. I pulled at 3,500 ft, but was still flying a Sabre 210 so I was under canopy for a decent amount of time. The other girl involved was under a very large student canopy (292 if I remember correctly).

As I was setting up for my final approach, I noticed she was rather close to me, but she was headed in the opposite direction. So I disregarded it.

Mistake #1 – when you think you might be too close, you probably are. This is where I should have made a flat, right hand turn to steer away. But I didn’t.

She took a left-hand turn right in my direction! She was slightly lower than I was and didn’t see me. Rather than making any sharp movements (thinking, we’re below 500 ft, I don’t want to turn quickly) I pulled my body up and tucked my knees into my chest.

Luckily, I avoided leg contact with her canopy as she flew under me, but my foot caught her pilot chute trailing behind as I brought them back down.

As I turned around, I saw that her canopy was fully inflated. At the time, it seemed like we avoided a collision and everything was okay. Come to find out from spectators on the ground, half of her canopy collapsed!

She didn’t even realize what happened as she just thought she hit a bit of turbulent air.

We both landed safely, slightly oblivious to what had just occurred. That is, until we heard the accounts from the spectators and experienced jumpers on the ground.

(A successful stand up post-collision landing)

After some expected talking-tos, the incident hasn’t been discussed much. Though it remains fresh in my mind each time I’m under canopy. I’ve become so much more aware because of this incident, and my head is now on a swivel each time I find myself piloting my canopy.

It really hit me hard last night as I was viewing pictures of the event where this incident occurred, and came across a photo that was taken mere seconds after our paths crossed. A photo that I had no idea existed.

My initial thought was, I hope no one ever sees this again, just as our conversation shortly there after was about the concern that we’d forever be the dumb girls of the DZ, that a reputation would follow us.

But what I really hope, and what’s most important, is that people can take something away from what we experienced that day, and learn from it. After all, that’s what skydiving is about – learning from each other, good and bad.

It appears as if the pilot chute had just released from my foot as I was bringing my legs back down from my chest.

Having discussed this with others who were there, this image is worse than any of us remember. Thankfully, her student canopy reinflated as it should and we both walked away unharmed. This incident could have been a lot worse, we were lucky. In the end, we both learned a lot about the importance of safe piloting and being alert and aware under canopy.

And hopefully, all y’all learned something here today too.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Getting it down

This weekend was another busy one for yours truly. Though this time, it all occurred at my home DZ, Canton Air Sports.

Saturday I drove out to the East side to meet Rick so we could make the drive together. Wish we would have thought of this before…could have saved on gas for both of us.

Anyhow, we got down there with a plan, exit head down into a sit. Well, the theme of the weekend presented itself on that very first jump, as we got talked into some RW instead.

It was a fairly inexperienced group – two jumpers with less experience than me – so we decided to plan an easy 5-way dive. Linked exit, out to a round. After one man tumbled away and another fell low, we ended up with a 3-way. We even got a few points at that.

The second jump of the day ended up being quite wonderful. Team Fastrax was at the DZ that day, preparing for a demo into the stadium at Akron University. We were told just before loading that they would be doing the demo first, then we would come back and jump. So we got to watch them exit the plane and complete the demo from 4,500 feet above. It was incredible!

May I just say, for a moment, what a great group of guys Team Fastrax is. They are some of the best parachutists I’ve ever seen, and yet, some of the most down to Earth. It’s great to have people like this in your back yard. I hope to be seeing more of them around our DZ and theirs.

Moving on.

After the demo we flew back and did our original planned dive: 2-way head down with Rick. Randy decided to film us too! Which reminds me, I have to get that video from him. Our exit wasn’t as perfect as the one at Start last week, but once we broke off, we were both holding a sit for quite some time!

I got back on the ground and headed in to take my B license test. And guess what, I passed! B LICENSE BABY!

After this it was time to go, so I trunk packed and headed out. That night I spent a bit of time working on my packing skills, trying to find the perfect method to get the ‘chute in the bag. I’m getting it down, slowly.

Sunday was another bright and early morning, heading down to the DZ. First load was initially planned as a 2-way freefly which turned into a 3-man rolling train that we broke off into a sit.

My landing on this jump was rather painful to watch I’m told, though I walked away just fine. I’m still getting used to this Triathlon I’m flying. It has a tendency to bring me down to the ground rather quick. The key is to start the flare high. At least, it is for me.

The next jump was another 2-way head down into a sit. This plan changed multiple times on the ride up and we ended up going with the first plan. Guess you can do that when there’s only two of you. Our exit went better than the day before and my sit was, once again, just about perfect!

Jump #3 was a fun one. On the ground we planned a 3-man hybrid, but at about 5,000 in the plane, a 3-way RW group suggested we do a 6-way hybrid. Hell yeah!

These are some talented belly flyers, so it was fun and intimidating to be one of the freeflyers on this attempt. Nick, Fuzzy, John and Dennis were our base, while Rick and I were the hangers. It didn’t go quite as planned, but was fun, regardless.

On the sunset load we finally decided to stick to the planned 3-man hybrid. Nick and Rick were my base. Fun, successful dive with a perfect stand up landing on target. YEAH!

The day ended with beer and bonding. More to come on these discussions, later.

I love having the opportunity to sit down and talk with the people I jumped with that day. The stories and advice are invaluable. And after a long day of jumping, the beer tastes so good.

Until next time…

Blue Skies!

Ashley