{"id":30543,"date":"2021-01-14T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=30543"},"modified":"2024-09-05T11:49:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T11:49:29","slug":"dont-be-that-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/dont-be-that-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Be THAT Guy!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pop Quiz: Where is an open container not a good thing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

a) On Bourbon Street
b) At your favorite casino
c) At home chilling with a great movie
d) When it\u2019s an open parachute container in a jump aircraft<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A safe exit at Skydive Spaceland
Photo by Jourdan Baudoin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully you correctly picked (d)<\/strong>… when it\u2019s an open parachute container in a jump aircraft! <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We were all taught as students that it\u2019s important to protect your gear in the aircraft, get multiple gear checks, etc. However, many safety lessons fade as we accumulate more skydives, complacency is our enemy in so many ways.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Complacency is our enemy in so many ways”<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protecting our gear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One common way many jumpers become complacent is by becoming less careful about protecting their gear, especially when they\u2019re doing a new type of skydive. For example, I spend a lot of time sitting near the door since most of my jumps are formation skydiving training jumps from 10,500 feet rather than full altitude. That means I sit right behind any hop and poppers, and quite often I see jumpers, often those newer to hop and pop skydives, bumping their rigs on the ends of benches as they sit down on the floor. (I also see a lot of people neglecting handle checks, but that\u2019s a different article!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me show you why that\u2019s a bad idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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