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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.
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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