Tandem
Jumping With a Newbie
Unlike HALO and HAHO jumps, tandem jumps rarely jump from altitudes higher than 15,000 feet. Its not that it can't be done, because it can, its just that its not good to do. Why you ask? Well, first of all: if you are jumping tandem, then you have another person strapped to you. If you are the master there is nothing to it, but its a whole other story for the passenger. In most cases the passenger will be either somebody who has never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane before, or done it once or twice and is very reluctant to do it again by himself. For the master, jumping tandem from 36,000 feet would be no problem, you'd just strap on your oxygen bottle, step outside, and deploy the drogue chute to slow you down. But you have to take into account the person strapped to you. For them jumping from 36,000 feet is not a walk in the park, for them it will be a night water drop: Their eyes will be closed and they will pee their pants. Image | Image |
Skill: Parachute: Ram-Air Availability: 2 Cost: 2000 (new), 1000 (used) Scale: Character Size: 9m wide, 3m long Body: 3D Maneuverability: 2D Move: Forward: 10; 30kph
Capsule: This is one big parachute. It is designed to be used by two people: the "tandem-master" and the "passenger". The tandem master wears one harness and the passenger wears another. The master's harness is attached to the passenger's thereby enabling the passenger to enjoy the ride and not have to do anything. The usual descent rate during freefall among normal single user parachutes is between 200-220 kph, the tandem master must use a drogue chute to keep from falling much faster than that. Only the master wears the parachute, its worn on the back and activated by a ripcord attached slightly below the master's right shoulder. An altimeter-based activator can also be used for further safety. The altimeter-based activator is only necessary when hypoxia is a threat, it pulls the ripcord at a predetermined altitude if the master passes out. It is rarely used on tandem jumps, because very rarely do tandem jumps exit the plane at an altitude where hypoxia is a threat. |