From: dbriggs@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: weirdest items lost in freefall
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 23:11:07 GMT

In article <76705@ut-emx.uucp>
  angus@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Chris McRoberts) writes:
>This past weekend, I was doing AFF level 3  when at about 10000ft I lost my
>helmet. It had a velcro attachment instead of a snap on one.
>
>I was wondering if  anyone else has lost any unusual items while they were
>falling at 120mph towards the earth. My roommate threw his ripcord at the 
>jumpmaster in his level 3.

Well, much as it pains me to admit it, I once exited with my Protec helment
unfastened.  I didn't notice until about 5 seconds into the dive when I
started the first T.  The helmet started to lift off my head, but fairly
slowly.  I shoved it back onto my head, rolled over onto my back and spent
the next 5000' getting the clasp fastened.  While it's not something I'd
recommend, it was actually pretty educational about the difficulties of
doing a normally simple task in freefall.  Suddenly I can understand how
hard it is to put a rig on in freefall!  Also it taught me something about
the danger of task fixation.  I think I remained reasonably altitude aware,
though I can now understand better how one can lose awareness in similar
situations.  Since I finished at about 5000' AGL, I don't know how I would
have dealt with a pull situation.  I also knew that I darned well didn't
want to lose my audible altimeter, so it's not clear if simple $$$ could
have led me into an unsafe situation.  I completely missed the solution of
just flying with my left hand on my head til dump time.  I was very much
fixated on getting the clasp fastened as "the" correct solution.

On a slightly more humorous vein, our DZ has a lovely photo of two local
divers doing a two way.  The airstream has completely lifted one jumper's
goggles off her face.  They are directly in front of her face, at a
distance of at least nine inches!  She has her hands out reaching for them,
but has reached past them.  It very much looks like she's reaching for the
goggles of the other jumper.  The caption under the photo is, "I seem to
have lost something, Roy.  Mind if I borrow these?"

Also, a different local jumper has managed to catch someone's freebag while
under canopy.  Possibly not a great idea, but he just did it instinctively.
Given the prices of the darned things, the other fellow was quite happy to
have it presented to him in the peas.

Hey, while we're on the subject of goggles flying off, what solutions have
other glasses wearing jumpers found for eye protection?  I hate the great
big over-the-glasses Kroop goggles.  They're uncomfortable under a Protec,
and they're very susceptible to blowing off.  For ordinary relative work, I
find that my normal glasses provide enough protection, and I just wear a
strap.  But at freestyle speeds, my eyes often tear uncomfortably with just
glasses.  I've a set of sports goggles that provide about the same wind
protection as normal glasses.  Does anyone have a particularly good
brand/model of sports goggles to recommend, that provide comparable wind
protection to Kroop goggles?

Healing well, maybe a few weeks til I'm back in it.

-- 
| Daniel Briggs  (dbriggs@nrao.edu)                      |        USPA B-14993
| New Mexico Tech / National Radio Astronomy Observatory |            DoD #387
| P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM 87801   (505) 835-7391        |
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