schattenjaeger 0 #1 October 25, 2003 I think it got mentioned a few times during my training(around level 3 when it was sposed to be)but somehow I kinda got missed on that whole thing >_> <_< I called up there to make my reservations for the first three SDU dives this Saturday(yah, I've decided to **** taking a break and go headfirst into debt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites slug 1 #2 October 25, 2003 Not in my opinion.R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Vlad 0 #3 October 25, 2003 There is nothing "good" or "bad" in applying for USPA membership. The card won't make you a better skydiver, or safer skydiver. The only problem with not getting the membership is that lots of dropzones in the US won't allow you to jump. Most, but not all of them, keep in mind. I myself won't be a member of USPA if not for the reason mentioned above. P.S. folks, lets not start another USPA debate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites b1jercat 0 #4 October 25, 2003 You won't be jumping at my DZ without It. blues jerry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tombuch 0 #5 October 25, 2003 QuoteThe only problem with not getting the membership is that lots of dropzones in the US won't allow you to jump. ...And you won't have third party liability insurance. Likewise, you will not be helping the rest of us to pay for the oversight needed to retain our access to the airspace, and keep government off our backs. USPA membership is a good thing, and you should join. However, it's not "really bad" that you haven't. In skydiving, I like to think there are only a couple of things that are "really bad," everything else is just life. So, please join USPA. Tom Buchanan S&TA Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and EasyTom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sducoach 0 #6 October 25, 2003 100% right on the button Tom. However, I suggest membership when they are at Cat E. Also, I know what one of the "bad" things is......... but I believe the other one is now married!!!!!! Blues, J.E.James 4:8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nightjumps 1 #7 October 25, 2003 While everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver (course I'm sharing this with the guy who's written a great book on skydiving, but publicly for newbies to see). When I see that card played, but no explanation as to the specifics of the policy, I feel its unfair. Now having said that, I was a bandit jumper for a long time. Since getting back in the sport five years ago, have been an adament and staunch supporter of the USPA, but for more reasons than just the insurance... 1. They publish a great magazine that's very informative. 2. They helped our DZ a couple of years ago by interpreting some new laws and getting clarification for demo jumps. 3. Gathering statistics relating to incidents - a primary tool when focusing on incident reduction. 4. You can jump at bandit drop zones or USPA drop zones, so you have greater mobility. 5. By establishing a license and rating system, you agree to comply with certain standards of proficiency. 6. They provide milestones of accomplishment for multiple disciplines (RW, CReW, Freeflying, etc.) for time, jumps, duration as a member, etc. One can literally look at the requirements to achieve the next benchmark of accomplishment and work towards it. There are twenty years of goals to accomplish thru the USPA. 7. Instructor ratings are standardized. You can get Mr. Fandango as your Instructor or you can a USPA rated Instructor and know there was a standard of requisites to be met. 8. If you thought enough about the USPA to go to a USPA drop zone to learn, support that learning by joining. Keith Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tombuch 0 #8 October 25, 2003 QuoteWhile everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver (course I'm sharing this with the guy who's written a great book on skydiving, but publicly for newbies to see). QuoteWhile everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver Well, sort of true, but sort of not. The coverage does not cover member to member damage in the air, but it does cover ground damage. For example, if I slam into your parachute at 500 feet and rip it apart, the damage to the parachute and your body is NOT covered. If I slam into your car in the parking lot, it is covered. In fact, last summer we had a low time jumper at my DZ cause 20,000 dollars of damage to another jumpers parked airplane, and insurance picked up the tab, a real benefit for the USPA group member dropzone and the out of control jumper. Likewise, having the coverage allows the other owners of airplanes parked at our dropzone (both USPA members and non-members) to relax a bit regarding damage to their property. There was a period years ago when USPA had no member to member coverage at all, but that was brief and fortunately has been corrected. Until the above mentioned incident I thought member to member coverage was nonexistent, but I learned otherwise, and greatly appreciated the help of USPA in arranging for that insurance. The other reasons you mentioned for joining USPA are right on the money. -tom b.Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nightjumps 1 #9 October 26, 2003 Hey Tom, I appreciate the correction. I was still under the impression that member-to-member did not apply to vehicles and such. That's good info to know. Thanks, Keith Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BartsDaddy 7 #10 October 26, 2003 But according to the USPA that same third party insurance you are talking about is going to dissapear in the near future. They do not have the money for the premiums anymore. Handguns are only used to fight your way to a good rifle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tattoojeff 0 #11 October 26, 2003 my dzo joe weber gave me a really great reason for getting uspa liscenses. were a self regulated sport, by belonging to the uspa as well as advancing threw the liscenses it shows the faa and other govt. agencys our system is working and effective. in other words it keeps the "badges" out of our buisness and allows skydivers to make the rules and regulations that effect our sport rather than some beaurocrat deciding whats best for skydivers. that i find very important. just a thought not yet posted to think about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tombuch 0 #12 October 26, 2003 QuoteBut according to the USPA that same third party insurance you are talking about is going to dissapear in the near future. They do not have the money for the premiums anymore. There is a financial concern about the future of the coverage, but USPA is working on that issue. It may require eliminating coverage for demo jumps, adding a deductible, increasing dues, or something else not yet suggested. Chris Needels wrote an interesting commentary in Parachutist recently laying the crisis out for the membership to understand, and asking for our thoughts. Please check out http://uspa.org/news/current_news/cap_ins.crisis.htm and add your own comments. Third party liability insurance IS important to us and I think the membership has made that clear. What remains unclear is what avenue USPA will take to resolve the issue. Tom Buchanan Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and EasyTom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. 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slug 1 #2 October 25, 2003 Not in my opinion.R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vlad 0 #3 October 25, 2003 There is nothing "good" or "bad" in applying for USPA membership. The card won't make you a better skydiver, or safer skydiver. The only problem with not getting the membership is that lots of dropzones in the US won't allow you to jump. Most, but not all of them, keep in mind. I myself won't be a member of USPA if not for the reason mentioned above. P.S. folks, lets not start another USPA debate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
b1jercat 0 #4 October 25, 2003 You won't be jumping at my DZ without It. blues jerry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #5 October 25, 2003 QuoteThe only problem with not getting the membership is that lots of dropzones in the US won't allow you to jump. ...And you won't have third party liability insurance. Likewise, you will not be helping the rest of us to pay for the oversight needed to retain our access to the airspace, and keep government off our backs. USPA membership is a good thing, and you should join. However, it's not "really bad" that you haven't. In skydiving, I like to think there are only a couple of things that are "really bad," everything else is just life. So, please join USPA. Tom Buchanan S&TA Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and EasyTom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sducoach 0 #6 October 25, 2003 100% right on the button Tom. However, I suggest membership when they are at Cat E. Also, I know what one of the "bad" things is......... but I believe the other one is now married!!!!!! Blues, J.E.James 4:8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nightjumps 1 #7 October 25, 2003 While everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver (course I'm sharing this with the guy who's written a great book on skydiving, but publicly for newbies to see). When I see that card played, but no explanation as to the specifics of the policy, I feel its unfair. Now having said that, I was a bandit jumper for a long time. Since getting back in the sport five years ago, have been an adament and staunch supporter of the USPA, but for more reasons than just the insurance... 1. They publish a great magazine that's very informative. 2. They helped our DZ a couple of years ago by interpreting some new laws and getting clarification for demo jumps. 3. Gathering statistics relating to incidents - a primary tool when focusing on incident reduction. 4. You can jump at bandit drop zones or USPA drop zones, so you have greater mobility. 5. By establishing a license and rating system, you agree to comply with certain standards of proficiency. 6. They provide milestones of accomplishment for multiple disciplines (RW, CReW, Freeflying, etc.) for time, jumps, duration as a member, etc. One can literally look at the requirements to achieve the next benchmark of accomplishment and work towards it. There are twenty years of goals to accomplish thru the USPA. 7. Instructor ratings are standardized. You can get Mr. Fandango as your Instructor or you can a USPA rated Instructor and know there was a standard of requisites to be met. 8. If you thought enough about the USPA to go to a USPA drop zone to learn, support that learning by joining. Keith Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #8 October 25, 2003 QuoteWhile everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver (course I'm sharing this with the guy who's written a great book on skydiving, but publicly for newbies to see). QuoteWhile everyone throws the, "Third Party Liability Insurance" card on the table as a primary reason to join the USPA... It only pays if you have a situation where one of the parties is not a skydiver Well, sort of true, but sort of not. The coverage does not cover member to member damage in the air, but it does cover ground damage. For example, if I slam into your parachute at 500 feet and rip it apart, the damage to the parachute and your body is NOT covered. If I slam into your car in the parking lot, it is covered. In fact, last summer we had a low time jumper at my DZ cause 20,000 dollars of damage to another jumpers parked airplane, and insurance picked up the tab, a real benefit for the USPA group member dropzone and the out of control jumper. Likewise, having the coverage allows the other owners of airplanes parked at our dropzone (both USPA members and non-members) to relax a bit regarding damage to their property. There was a period years ago when USPA had no member to member coverage at all, but that was brief and fortunately has been corrected. Until the above mentioned incident I thought member to member coverage was nonexistent, but I learned otherwise, and greatly appreciated the help of USPA in arranging for that insurance. The other reasons you mentioned for joining USPA are right on the money. -tom b.Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nightjumps 1 #9 October 26, 2003 Hey Tom, I appreciate the correction. I was still under the impression that member-to-member did not apply to vehicles and such. That's good info to know. Thanks, Keith Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BartsDaddy 7 #10 October 26, 2003 But according to the USPA that same third party insurance you are talking about is going to dissapear in the near future. They do not have the money for the premiums anymore. Handguns are only used to fight your way to a good rifle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tattoojeff 0 #11 October 26, 2003 my dzo joe weber gave me a really great reason for getting uspa liscenses. were a self regulated sport, by belonging to the uspa as well as advancing threw the liscenses it shows the faa and other govt. agencys our system is working and effective. in other words it keeps the "badges" out of our buisness and allows skydivers to make the rules and regulations that effect our sport rather than some beaurocrat deciding whats best for skydivers. that i find very important. just a thought not yet posted to think about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #12 October 26, 2003 QuoteBut according to the USPA that same third party insurance you are talking about is going to dissapear in the near future. They do not have the money for the premiums anymore. There is a financial concern about the future of the coverage, but USPA is working on that issue. It may require eliminating coverage for demo jumps, adding a deductible, increasing dues, or something else not yet suggested. Chris Needels wrote an interesting commentary in Parachutist recently laying the crisis out for the membership to understand, and asking for our thoughts. Please check out http://uspa.org/news/current_news/cap_ins.crisis.htm and add your own comments. Third party liability insurance IS important to us and I think the membership has made that clear. What remains unclear is what avenue USPA will take to resolve the issue. Tom Buchanan Author JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and EasyTom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
