can't walk, can fly

8/12/2019 Can't Walk, Can Fly

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cant walk


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T10

Flight Safety editor, Margo Marchbank,

caught up with Dale Elliott recently

in Brisbane when he addressed

Australian Parachute Federation

conference delegates.

Dale Elliott has just achieved an Australian first. In May 2009, he

became Australias first paraplegic solo skydiver. And dismiss images

o a w ee c air p ummeting eart war s rom your min t ats

parked at the drop zone, waiting. Without legs that work, Dale has

engineered an ingenious solution to land safely on his rear.

Its een a ong journey to t is point. At t e recent Austra ian Parac ute

Federation of Australia conference in Brisbane, conference delegates

gave the down-sitting Dale a standing ovation after hearing his story.

He started flying as a year 11 student when he was 16; went solo in

January 1992, and got his PPL about a year later. He joined the army,

atten ing t e sc oo o arti ery at Man y, a antastic experience, an

then took on an apprenticeship as a LAME in 94-95. It was really

tough then to get a job as a pilot, he says, You had to have been flying

for about six to seven years. During his apprenticeship, he continued

to fly, dropping skydivers at weekends, and completing his night-VFR

and twin-engine CIR ratings. It was all working out really well.

Achieving this first began six years ago, when, Dale recounts, he was

a commercia pi ot oo ing to get is ours up e ore trying or t e

airlines. He recalls that time vividly: on 23 December 2002, he was in

an Aero Commander, flying through 8,000ft, and through the window

in the roof, he could see the stars. He remembers thanking these

constellations out loud that night. Im 26 years old; Ive been married

to a won er u woman or six years; an Ive rea ise t e ream Ive

had ever since I was eight or nine of being a pilot. It doesnt get much

better than this. Three days later, Dale and wife Erika were spending

Christmas with the family at Waikerie in South Australias Riverland,

where he grew up.

On Boxing Day, he went for a spin on his cousins Yamaha R6 motorbike.

Ive ridden bikes on my parents farm since I was eight, but I swerved

to miss a dog, and came off. I wasnt going fast, but I knew something

was wrong when I couldnt feel my legs. That something was damage

to his spinal cord at T10 (the tenth of twelve thoracic vertebrae), which

left him a paraplegic and reliant on a wheelchair. Its also, according to

Da e, t e most common rea o owing motorcyc e acci ents, ecause

the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae (T10-L2) at the base of the rib cage

are in a region where the spine is most flexible, and therefore more

prone to injury. (Qua rip egic injury i ewise most common y occurs in

the region of the cervical vertebrae [C5-C7] of the neck.)

Iveriddenbikesonmyparentsfa

rmsinceIwaseight,butIswervedtomissadog,andcameoff.

Dreamstime.com


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Wit typica etermination, is stay in re a in A e ai e was

remarkably short. Its all about taking some control back, he explains,

necessary to counter t e ee ings o epression an ope essness

which for many follow spinal cord injury. He was soon back working

for an aircraft charter company in Adelaide in charge of pilots

rosters and schedules. I was one, and now had to manage them, he

explains ruefully. But, determined to set himself more challenges,

Dale decided to resume skydiving. Flying jump planes had been a

way of getting some extra flying hours before his accident, and he

had done 37 jumps before as an able-bod. Solo, as a paraplegic,

was something completely different. With the support of Alan Gray

o A e ai e Tan em S y iving, Greg Smit o SA S y iving, an

instructor and photographer, Curtis Morton, Dale set about learning

ow to skydive as a paraplegic. There was no manual on this, so we

a to go ac to asics, e exp ains. I manage to trac own a

South African guy by the name of Peter Hewitt. Hes also a para and

es now one a out 120 jumps, so es given some great a vice.

Dales T10 paraplegia means that his abdominal core strength

is compromised, and balance is affected - and, both legs are

paralysed. Skydiving conventionally requires all of these abilities, for

WhatcanIdoinamatterofminutestogetmylegsupoutoftheway?

manoeuvra i ity in t e air, an or an ing.

Deve oping is gear as een very muc a

process of trial and error. His pants rigging

came about as an answer to the question:

What can I do in a matter of minutes to get my

legs up out of the way? He needs control of his

egs in aunc ing imse out o t e p ane, an

especia y or an ing, so t at e can pu is

egs up out o t e way, an an sa e y on is

rear. I was an aircraft engineer, and worked

with a lot of fibreglass, sitting my CASA exams

for composite materials. I also cut my teeth on

gliders at WaikerieI used to go and help with

the glider repairs. Theyre some of the best

fibreglass repair guys in Australia. All this put

him in good stead for dealing with the unique

situation of jumping with paralysed legs.

The irony of developing his equipment didnt

escape Dale. A month before his first jump,

he was swathed in a full plaster cast, looking

very much like the seen-after shots of a

disastrous jump. The plaster cast was inspired

by a 70s military movie he tracked down

on YouTube, which showed how to make an

arm cast on the battlefield. The plaster cast

worked perfectly, Dale says, as the mould for

making the fibreglass braces. These custom-

made fibreglass braces fit into the legs of a

pair of motocross pants, which are furthermodified with extra padding to cushion his

rear on landing. The braces keep his legs rigid

when necessary, and the cords on the braces

pull his legs up out of the way for landing. The

Mark 1 braces have scored a few bumps and

crashes and theyre beginning to show some

fatigue cracks so its now on to braces Mark

11. Dale is planning on making these from

5mm polypropylene plastic, working on the

t eory t at t ey wi e muc more exi e

and durable. Fellow paraplegic skydiver, Peter

Hewitt, has had a special polypro orthopaedic

pair made, but the $1000 cost of these is a

eterrent. Da es wor ing on ma in s o

T is stu (po ypropy ene) to wors gre

wit . A I nee is an an n er; a jigsaw;e-gr ;

an a commercia -siz .ove


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A TYPICAL JUMPDale talks through what happens on a typical jump:

As t e aircra t c im s t roug 11,000 t on t e way to

12,000ft, everyone gets up and checks their gear. We

check each others pins (which hold the main and reserve

containers closed); put on our helmets and goggles; and

check altimeters. As we approach our exit point, we open

the oor an look out to make sure its all clear an we can

see the drop zone. I then make my way across the floor

to t e oor an swing my egs out to ace t e oncoming

70kt wind. I count Out, in, GO! and push off the aircraft

out into the blue sky. I throw my arms and head back and

counteract any s ipping y twisting my s ou ers aroun .

I check my altimeter every thousand feet or so, which

means about every five seconds. I do some turns and

have a play around, and might do a somersault or two.

As I am approaching 3000ft, I track to the left or right of

the aircraft track, so I dont fly under another skydiver

who has jumped after me. I deploy my main parachute at3000 t an quic y c ec t at it is ying straig t an eve .

I identify the landing area, check the wind drift and then

set myself up to pull up my legs and attach the straps to my

chest. This takes about 30 seconds. After that I have a play

around and do some turns under canopy, and at 1500ft I

will be joining a downwind leg. At 600ft I turn onto finalI

can adjust my rate of descent by using front and rear risers

on the canopy. This increases and decreases the angle of

escent. I can get my an ings wit in a ew metres o t e

target. Having 2000 flight hours and many more landings

as given me an a vantage. T e parap egia as no e ect

on my canopy control skills or technique. I just need toland softly every time to avoid injuries. This means I need

to pick my days to jump.

Fitness is also a big thing for Dale. Preparation for his first solo attempt

focused on building up strength and improving his circulation. You

need strength to move around the plane, he explains, and then

t eres t e 10-15 g c ute to consi er as we . So in t e ea -up to t e

jump, he was doing 20-30km hand cycle rides, getting his heart rate up

over two to t ree ours. Mastering t ese comp exities, an coming up

with the means to skydive as a paraplegic is no different, Dale argues,

He a so ives wit a mo i e parac ute onate y Parac utes

Australia; the harness is adapted to allow for his different body

position. Whereas able-bodied skydivers adopt an arched position to

remain stable in freefall, Dale needs to concentrate more on using his

upper body to deflect air and stay in a stable position. His arms are far

more active.

Photo: Curtis Morton


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to w en, as a pi ot, you rst get in a p ane

an oo at a t e instruments. Youve got to

chunk it, and break it down, taking one thing

at a time.

Dales also a sit-down stand-up comic, whohas braved hecklers at various comedy

venues; and a motivational speaker. Following

is appearance at t e Bris ane con erence, e

ies to New Zea an in ate June. Hes excite

y t at prospect, ecause two NZ companies

ave o ere to sponsor is equipment:

NZ Aerosports are provi ing a new Icarus

Safire2 canopy; and Deepseed are making

a customised jump suit. The braces fitted to

external leg pockets in the new suit will give

much more flexibility in preparing for a jump.Hell talk to employees of both companies

about his skydiving journey.

Then theres the future challenge planned

or 2012. He gures it wou ma e quite a

statement for those with disabilities if he

and fellow para skydiver Peter Hewitt were

to skydive into the stadium for the opening

of the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

HefiguresitwouldmakequiteastatementforthosewithdisabilitiesifheandfellowparaskydiverPeterHewittweretoskydiveintothestadiumfortheopeningofthe2012LondonParalympicGames.

DaleandinstructorAlanGray


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From is contact wit t e UK Parac ute

Association, hes found that they dont have

any paraplegic skydivers, so he and Peter are

planning on putting a proposal to the Games

opening committee when its convened by

t e Lon on organisers ater t is year. Peter

an I ave to get toget er an get to now

each others style and fall rates in the sky,

and well need demonstration licences,

which require strict examination and landing

accuracy skills.

AsFlight Safetywent to press, Dale gained his

A icence, an is now a qua i e s y iver.

According to CEO of the Australian Parachute

Federation, Susan Bostock, Dales nailed

it (his solo certification). Its quite mind-

boggling, she says. Its difficult enough for

a e- o ie s y ivers. T e it Susan re ers to

is the accuracy required for solo certification

to achieve this, skydivers must land within 25

metres o t e target in t e rop zone on 10 occasions. Some peop e

who become paraplegics lock themselves away, and become recluses,

but Dales different. He just says, This is the card Ive been dealt, and

makes the most of it.

Recently, CASA has been working closely with parachute bodies such as theAPF, on a range of safety procedures including cloud jumping procedures

manuals, and aircraft operation and maintenance issues. In September-

OctobersFlight Safety, we take a closer look at these developments.

For more information

u

The Australian Parachute Federation (APF) website.

e s t e organ s at on w c contro s s y v n g

and parachuting at nearly all the civilian operations in

Australia.

www.saspc.asn.au South Australian Spor t Parachute Club

www.daleelliott.com ales website

www.scia.org.a pinal Cord In uries Australia

www.paraquad.org.au araplegic & Quadriplegic Association of NSW

Hejustsays, ThisisthecardIvebeendealt,andmakesthemostofit.

Photo:CurtisMorton

can't walk, can fly

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