My xrays from my skydiving accident back in September

[skydivr]

It was a Triathalon 175. Ironically enough I bought it because I was told it was more resistant to turbulence.

We just had a slight breeze as ground winds. It actually made for a nice easy landing during the first jump. Winds seemed normal when I got on the plane for the second jump. One person told me a few weeks ago that he thought he had seen leaves swirling around right before I landed. Maybe a dust devil kicked up?

I wasnt near any large objects. I was a good ways from the runway when it happend. Atleast 100ft probably more.

I was in full flight. I was under the impression that during turbulence its best to have it in full flight. But maybe I was wrong. Now I was making slight adjustments to keep myself on course. Nothing that would have stalled it or put it in a dive though I don't think.

Im thinking if I get back into I will order a new Pilot 188 ZPX. The Tri I have is an older model. It has a DOM of 1998 I believe. But is in really good shape. I had it inspected before I jumped it.

I don't know though. It will be spring at the earliest before I could even think about jumping again.

So you were in full flight and it just collapsed? At 30 ft about ground you should be flaring....

90 jumps and down to a 175 canopy - My first main was a Falcon 265 and I had 400 jumps on it before I downsized (to a Monarch 175 which would spank you on opening). The smaller the canopy the less stable and predicaable it will behave. Not that 175 is small depending on your weight, but the desire to downsize too quickly has hurt alot of people. Now, you'll get people on the DZ that will tell you (including instructors) that "it's ok to downsize quickly if you can handle it" but "handing it" includes bad weather/winds/off DZ scenarios, and you can't have gained that experience in 90 jumps. Kinda like buying a Busa for your first bike having never ridden a motorcycle before....A nice big easy to land canopy might have not stalled out or collapsed under these circumstances. Did the S&TA ever tell you what he saw that would cause your main to collapse? That shouldn't have happened under normal flight, and my canopies have EVER done that....

P.S. I just don't like Triathalons (7 cell; l I prefer 9 cell every day over 7). Hold off on the Pilot and look for as big a used canopy as you can get in your container for another 200 jumps....

 

[skydivr]

Jeez I gotta run spell check..

 

[Fastfrog007]

WOW, they geared you right up. Keep on healin bro

 

[smac]

i never plan on jumping out of a perfectly good airplane

Glad to hear you pulled through though!

+1000

 

[Hoser]

Wow!!! Glad you are still kicking and on the mend.

 

[winlite]

Glad your getting along ok. Broke both arms in 1976 on a stratocloud. A 5 cell canopy quite small compared to most of what I see today. Flared it out too high and it just stopped flying and I swung forward resulting in landing on my back.

 

[macon454]

Wow, Glad you are getting better, Prayers sent for you.

 

[Busaman5000]

So you were in full flight and it just collapsed? At 30 ft about ground you should be flaring....

90 jumps and down to a 175 canopy - My first main was a Falcon 265 and I had 400 jumps on it before I downsized (to a Monarch 175 which would spank you on opening). The smaller the canopy the less stable and predicaable it will behave. Not that 175 is small depending on your weight, but the desire to downsize too quickly has hurt alot of people. Now, you'll get people on the DZ that will tell you (including instructors) that "it's ok to downsize quickly if you can handle it" but "handing it" includes bad weather/winds/off DZ scenarios, and you can't have gained that experience in 90 jumps. Kinda like buying a Busa for your first bike having never ridden a motorcycle before....A nice big easy to land canopy might have not stalled out or collapsed under these circumstances. Did the S&TA ever tell you what he saw that would cause your main to collapse? That shouldn't have happened under normal flight, and my canopies have EVER done that....

P.S. I just don't like Triathalons (7 cell; l I prefer 9 cell every day over 7). Hold off on the Pilot and look for as big a used canopy as you can get in your container for another 200 jumps....

I think I was in full flight. To be honest I don't remember much. Im going by what others have told me. But 30ft seems to be kinda high to start flaring with that Tri. It seems like I would flare at what looked like around 10-12 feet and would always make for a nice landing. Maybe Im wrong but thats what I always thought i was always flaring at. Not saying your wrong, your WAY more experienced than I am and I respect that. Thats just what I had always thought.

I had it loaded at about 1:1. My chute before that was a PD210. Made about 20 or so non eventful jumps with the Tri before the accident. The rest were with the PD210.

a 188 is about as big as it will go comfortably. The PD210 would go but it was a really tight fit and I didnt like how tight it was. thats why I went to the Tri 175 after I did a couple test jumps on a rental and found a used one for a decent price. I asked my instructor what he thought before I bought it and he said he thought it would be ok but he wouldn't go any smaller.

So idk. I might be better off selling my entire system minus the cypress and buying something that will hold a bigger chute. Rather then trying to stuff something to big into it. Besides. Im definatly going to want as soft and slow as a landing as I can get for now on.

In my opinion it was a freak accident that may or may not have been prevented so matter what chute I was using but who knows.

 

[Spkrdctr]

Dude, after looking at your X-rays, your done skydiving! If you trash that leg again, they may want to amputate. I would not risk it. You destroyed your leg and ankle from what I saw with a quick look. Better to have sky dived and lost (your story) than to never have sky dived at all! Also, be very careful riding your bike. That leg needs protection for the rest of your life. Treat it well and it will treat you well. Good Luck!