Indiana Skydiving Bill Dies in Committee

[3331 137]

From the USPA web page.

A bill that would have required state regulation of skydiving in Indiana went nowhere by the February close of the state’s legislative session. The bill would have required the state’s Office of Aviation to inspect and certify DZs, funded by new fees placed on those DZs. Within days of the bill’s introduction by a state senator, USPA Executive Director Ed Scott convened a meeting in Indianapolis among the four Indiana DZs, their USPA Safety & Training Advisors, and Amy Romig and Brett Nelson, two USPA members who are Indianapolis attorneys and experienced lobbyists. After an unfruitful meeting with the bill’s sponsor, USPA supplied the chairman of the Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee with an explanation of existing USPA requirements and Federal Aviation Administration regulations, arguing that additional state regulation was unnecessary. The chairman agreed, and did not allow the bill to move through his committee.

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[CIGARGUY 0]

This should serve as a wake up call for every state. Silliness is bound to ensue if they even think they have a shot of getting something like this passed.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

[thrillstalker 0]

i i guess the uspa is not worthless after all... well maybe.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[JohnRich 4]

Earlier thread on this topic:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4036230;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

[matthewcline 0]

Quote

i i guess the uspa is not worthless after all... well maybe.

I am curious as to why you feel that way?

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[skybill 22]

Hi Matt,
State or Fed, it does not matter. Some geek tried it before and they will do it again. The enemy never sleeps and neither can we....if we want to continue to Skydive!! Comb back thru that old pile of Scare-a-chutist mags some old fart left in the wreck room at the DZ and see the trials of yesteryear. As I recall, every few years since the mid 1960's(ALPA,"Lets get those Skydivers outa' 'OUR!' sky!!"circa summer of '66 I think?) there was an encroachment by some non-skydiving group to somehow regulate Skydiving out of existance. I know, over the years I've written enough letters(on an old Royal Type Writer!) to the FAA, my Congressman, et.al. concerning why the proposed legislation was unwarranted! Keep your eyes and ears open and be ready for the next one!

BTW As a note, our brother organization the Academy of Model Aeronautics has let us know that the FAA is planning a NPRM for model airplanes!!! Imagine that??!! Seems like there is some fear that people flying "Toy Airplanes" can be comandeered by terrorists, strap bombs to them and fly them into public buildings, monuments, congress people and etc. This is just the tip of the iceberg and we're the Titanic!! The AMA has been "on it" but it seems that the future is here today! Wait till NORAD scrambles a flight of F-16's against a bogie only to find it's only me flying my R/C Ugly Stick!! Sad to think my Stick could get wasted by a sidewinder!! Our tax dollars at work??

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[tonyhays 86]

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Wait till NORAD scrambles a flight of F-16's against a bogie only to find it's only me flying my R/C Ugly Stick!

If that's gonna happen make sure you strap a couple of cameras to it that can transmit the footage as it happens!

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[thrillstalker 0]

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Quote

i i guess the uspa is not worthless after all... well maybe.

I am curious as to why you feel that way?

Matt

because they require me to give them money so they can say i know how to skydive.

dont get me wrong, the uspa is still way better than government involvement in our sport. i just dont like the fact you have to be a member to jump at almost all dropzones.

an analogy: just because i ride motorcycles doesn't mean i have to join a motorcycle club.

just because i skydive doesn't mean i have to join a skydiving club. oh wait, it does.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[matthewcline 0]

I do not think you fully understand what they have done and can do.

But, You don't have to be a USPA member to skydive, but it is easier to be one, to skydive in more places.

You ride on the street only or a track too?

I used to be a member of two organizations AMA and WERA, I needed to be so I could race. I equate Skydiving to Racing.

I just have a hard time understanding the animosity directed at USPA with out a good reason. The FAA has stayed as far out of our "Business" as possible because of USPA being in this business.

Numerous Airports have failed in tossing skydiving operations out, because of USPA involvement.

Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

I think your distaste is misguided. I ask you to rethink your opinion.

Blue Skies!
Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[robinheid 0]

Quote

I do not think you fully understand what they have done and can do.

But, You don't have to be a USPA member to skydive, but it is easier to be one, to skydive in more places.

You ride on the street only or a track too?

I used to be a member of two organizations AMA and WERA, I needed to be so I could race. I equate Skydiving to Racing.

I just have a hard time understanding the animosity directed at USPA with out a good reason. The FAA has stayed as far out of our "Business" as possible because of USPA being in this business.

Numerous Airports have failed in tossing skydiving operations out, because of USPA involvement.

Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

I think your distaste is misguided. I ask you to rethink your opinion.

Blue Skies!
Matt

+1

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

[wildcard451 0]

Quote

Quote

I do not think you fully understand what they have done and can do.

But, You don't have to be a USPA member to skydive, but it is easier to be one, to skydive in more places.

You ride on the street only or a track too?

I used to be a member of two organizations AMA and WERA, I needed to be so I could race. I equate Skydiving to Racing.

I just have a hard time understanding the animosity directed at USPA with out a good reason. The FAA has stayed as far out of our "Business" as possible because of USPA being in this business.

Numerous Airports have failed in tossing skydiving operations out, because of USPA involvement.

Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

I think your distaste is misguided. I ask you to rethink your opinion.

Blue Skies!
Matt

+1

And again. The irrational distaste makes you sound moronic.

[thrillstalker 0]

Quote

Quote

I do not think you fully understand what they have done and can do.

But, You don't have to be a USPA member to skydive, but it is easier to be one, to skydive in more places.

You ride on the street only or a track too?

I used to be a member of two organizations AMA and WERA, I needed to be so I could race. I equate Skydiving to Racing.

I just have a hard time understanding the animosity directed at USPA with out a good reason. The FAA has stayed as far out of our "Business" as possible because of USPA being in this business.

Numerous Airports have failed in tossing skydiving operations out, because of USPA involvement.

Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

I think your distaste is misguided. I ask you to rethink your opinion.

Blue Skies!
Matt

+1

i know they do a lot for our sport. as i said in my post they are the lesser evil compared to government intervention.

i also think it is bullshit that you basically have to join to skydive.

ill take the bad with the good. i dont hate the uspa just dont agree with everything they do, and i know it they are needed.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[matthewcline 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

I do not think you fully understand what they have done and can do.

But, You don't have to be a USPA member to skydive, but it is easier to be one, to skydive in more places.

You ride on the street only or a track too?

I used to be a member of two organizations AMA and WERA, I needed to be so I could race. I equate Skydiving to Racing.

I just have a hard time understanding the animosity directed at USPA with out a good reason. The FAA has stayed as far out of our "Business" as possible because of USPA being in this business.

Numerous Airports have failed in tossing skydiving operations out, because of USPA involvement.

Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

I think your distaste is misguided. I ask you to rethink your opinion.

Blue Skies!
Matt

+1

i know they do a lot for our sport. as i said in my post they are the lesser evil compared to government intervention.

i also think it is bullshit that you basically have to join to skydive.

ill take the bad with the good. i dont hate the uspa just dont agree with everything they do, and i know it they are needed.

I think most of us feel that way.
But there are DZ's out there you can go to with out having any USPA affiliation if you want.
But I will stick with 'em.
Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[thrillstalker 0]

Quote

But there are DZ's out there you can go to with out having any USPA affiliation if you want.

it's not that big of a deal to me. my home dz is a uspa dz, and love the people there.

"you need to pick which hill you are going to die on" is one of my favorite quotes. i dont care enough about uspa one way or the other to not jump at uspa member dz's.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[captain1976 0]

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From the USPA web page.

A bill that would have required state regulation of skydiving in Indiana went nowhere by the February close of the state’s legislative session. The bill would have required the state’s Office of Aviation to inspect and certify DZs, funded by new fees placed on those DZs. Within days of the bill’s introduction by a state senator, USPA Executive Director Ed Scott convened a meeting in Indianapolis among the four Indiana DZs, their USPA Safety & Training Advisors, and Amy Romig and Brett Nelson, two USPA members who are Indianapolis attorneys and experienced lobbyists. After an unfruitful meeting with the bill’s sponsor, USPA supplied the chairman of the Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee with an explanation of existing USPA requirements and Federal Aviation Administration regulations, arguing that additional state regulation was unnecessary. The chairman agreed, and did not allow the bill to move through his committee.

Thanks again to the USPA. I am proud to be a member of this great organization that along with its dedicated staff and board members has done so much for so many.

A shame there are dysfunctional civil servants out there who grandstand on occasion with stupid, useless bills to show off and try to justify their otherwise meaningless positions.

Also a shame there are some skydivers out there who put down our organization .These are usually do-nothings like the those civil servants anyway who simply ride on the backs of others.

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[zipplewrath 1]

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Reality is, with out USPA being in the mix and in the FAA's "face", you would need to be in the US Military to legally jump as Skydiving wold have been run off years ago.

You'd have a hard time proving such an assertion. Examples abound of aeronautical activities that don't have much FAA interference. I'm not saying that they are completely useless, but the historical reality is that they are mostly a handy structure for individuals to access when they want to take action. In and of themselves they rarely if ever take action on their own.

PIA is perfectly capable of fully representing the sport, and the reality is that many of the same people involved in these actions through USPA could act through PIA as well. In fact, many either are, or work for, organizations that are also members of PIA.

USPA isn't necessary, and there is surely no justification for them being nearly as "mandatory" as they are.

[matthewcline 0]

Could be, but PIA was approached and said "No Thanks", probably cause USPA is in the mix.

But I really think that the way "we" behave across this country as "Rebel Skydivers" we would not be jumping with out USPA.

If that did happen, then of course Mil only would be the case. Much like the few weeks after 9-11-01 (I know not the best example, but USPA did lobby to get the DZ's operating again.)

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[longtall 0]

Hell yes !

" 90 right, five miles then cut."---Pukin Buzzards