MakeItHappen

No problem on making the doctrine consistent. USPA is now on a two year update schedule for the SIM and IRM. It appears that the glossary definition has not been updated properly to be consistent with what the ISP says. See pgs 6, 65, 66 (note at top), 74, 75, 83, 93 Based on the preponderance of the ISP pages that discuss supervision I would think that the glossary definition should be changed to Self Supervision: The point within a student’s training when he has been cleared by a USPA Instructor to jump without instructor supervision in freefall but has not yet completed all of the requirements for the USPA A license. I'll send an email to the S&T Chair and the HQ Director of S&T. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am replying to an earlier post to show the fallacy of your thinking. There are rules in the Governance Manual that explicitly state that only the President or the Executive Director can make 'official' USPA statements. (It will be an exercise for the reader to go look up the rules.) In limited cases, such as an FAI sanctioned competition, the FAI delegate may make statements on behalf of USPA. There is no rule anywhere that states that one's personal opinion, whether elected official or not, is assigned to the organization, except for the President or ED. There is no rule that denies an elected official from having an opinion or view, that may be in dissonance with the collective, from expressing that opinion. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That has been debated in the legal arena before, specifically about you, right? No, absolutely not. There is absolutely no document, post, website, whatever anywhere that claims that what I posted as an individual that was purported to be an 'official USPA' opinion. No it does not. Look, I, personally, do not support photocopied ballots for various reasons. But I went out of my way to help the people that did want photocopied ballots and voted to reinstate the photocopied ballots for this election because that is what the membership wanted. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'm just suggesting that you fill out your profile, or sign your posts "Jan Meyer, USPA BOD." Wow...??? I post here as a regular jumper, NOT as a representative of USPA. In fact, I couldn't post as a representative of USPA's voice even if I wanted too. Only the USPA President or Executive Director could give you the 'official' USPA position on any matter. Unless I quote USPA doctrine, the content of my posts do not represent any USPA official position. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Maybe there was traffic the spotters did not see, but ATC and the pilot did. Then the pilot would put the red light on and not the amber light. He would also probably turn around to start a go-around for an ok pass. What does that mean? yeah right. I don't agree with this. If you are at altitude, on a jump run then expect to exit shortly. The times that an aborted jumprun has happened are signaled by 'go-around' maneuvers first, lights second. Other times, when a pilot forgot to put the green light on, have resulted in +100 jumpers burning a ticket for a pilot error or the dive can be made ok when someone says climb out to the floaters because the AC are lined up in formation, at altitude, running across the dz and the only thing missing is a green light from the pilot. Pilots do, on occasion, forget to put the green light on. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That's the lesson right there - as others have said, work on a "routine" for your self-checks so that you can do it no matter how much of a hurry you're in. And keep an eye on others in the plane - you never know when you're going to catch something on another jumper whether it's part of a formal gear check or not. As for this self-supervision "debate" here's how the SIM (page 222 of the 2008 manual) describes it. It appears that your program is following the SIM appropriately. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Were the guys by the door looking at the spot and for AC below? Maybe they had more information (like what the spot was) than you did?? Maybe the pilot was late on the light? Believe it or not, pilots do forget to turn on the green light - not often, but that has happened before. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Raymond Young is purportedly to have coined 'skydiver'. There are different accounts and I don't have them at my fingertips right now, so I do not know one way or another whether 'skydiving' was Raymond Young or Jaques Istel. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The 'after AFF' or 'coached jumps' - ie the ones you do after being cleared for self-supervision and before getting an A license are supposed to be supervised by an instructor. This state is still on 'student status'. You can do coached jumps or not, as you please. But your jumps still need to be supervised by an instructor, even if you go jump with a coach or solo. Well, I might saunter over there and chat with the instructors to figure out what they actually do. Well, yeah that was what I was saying too. (geez I sound so Californian now ?) You know, I don't know it all and have never claimed that, but I do ask a lot of questions. The questions seem to piss people off more than the real issue. Why is that? I don't understand why you are getting pissed at me. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I know that. Whether you are doing a solo or a jump with a coach the jump needs to be supervised by an instructor. The instructor has the final responsibility. That's a good thing. But it is important to note that the supervising instructor should be one of the folks that you ask - on the ground before you get in the plane - for a gear check while you are on student status. Student status ends when you attain an A license - nowadays anyway. A 'learning experience' that could have lead to his death is not what I'd call a 'good' learning experience. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Good catch by the person on the airplane. Seems that you were doing a solo. Is that right? But.... Aren't you supposed to be under the supervision of an instructor at 22 jumps? If you are cleared for 'self-supervision' and you were the only one checking your gear before boarding, then you need some more instruction from a qualified instructor or coach. They will teach you a systematic way to check your gear. Perhaps you have forgotten the procedure they have shown you? Maybe you need a refresher? If you have an instructor or coach that is 'missing' a mis-routed chest strap on a ground gear check (or any gear check) - you need a different coach or instructor. The 'hot tip' would be to check your gear yourself and then ask an instructor to double check everything for you before you get on the plane. That way you learn the procedures and you have a back up that confirms that. If you skip the instructor check - because you are cleared for self-supervision - then you cheat yourself. NGs still need some help and every instructor or coach will gladly help you. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

And it was AFF rather than a tandem as I found this video Wow that is pretty interesting. Interesting pull at the 2:28 mark. Interesting body position on a b.a.s.e. jump at the 4:00 mark. It will be interesting to see if this guy continues. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Try writing a screenplay for the novels Double Malfunction and/or A Dark Night. Both of those books are based on real people and events in skydiving. Many times real life characters must be blended to make for a good screenplay. Screenplays are usually much more than dialogue. You have to describe the scene and write in pictures not concepts. eg write the description of the scene as "It was a dark and stormy night." instead of someone saying "We are on a weather hold." BTW, Google is your friend and can find some great web sites that show you how to write dialogue and scene descriptors. Practice on short interactions you see at the DZ. Other places to find tips and techniques are the director's commentary on dvds, existing screenplays and then watch the movie, depositions, observing others. Documentaries help too, even if you want to do a 'story'. It is much harder than you think. I wrote the VO for the Al Krueger dvd. When I gave it to Duffy to read, he changed part of it because he said the spoken version was awkward. It read ok, but when spoken it did not have the same feel to it. The most challenging part will be to create a story line that will be entertaining. PS - 'Unforgettable Jumps' also has some great stories. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I have not heard of this anywhere. I think this might be the early stages of the manifestation of 'mainstream' skydiving and perhaps a prelude to jumpers expecting a packer to pay for a repack when the reserve is used. Compare service to your vehicle - oil change, brakes, tranny etc. If the service is not performed properly, then you could expect some sort of compensation for failure of the vehicle because of improper repair or maintenance. If 'mainstream' jumpers are lead to believe or have the expectations that a malfunction is not likely to occur, then they might want a packer to 'pay up' when the bad stuff happens, just like Joe the Oil Changer would have to pay up if he did not tighten the oil plug tight enough. Then again 'paying for lost stuff' implies that the opening point and surrounding terrain, may be major factors in whether or not equipment is lost. That is the jumpers responsibility, not the packer. In order for such a business model to take hold (become mainstream), the pay for a pack job would have to significantly increase. IOW, if pack jobs were $20 and your customers had a malfunction (for whatever reason) only every 500 pack jobs, then it might be worth it. You have to add in the fact that not every malfunction results in lost equipment. Mains cost so much today, you might even have to charge $100 per pack job. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'm throwing a troll flag on this poster. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

My understanding now is that the RAX does not ensure that the main has been completely cutaway when you have a partial malfunction. I have another question. In the video at about 4:20 - this is the first view of the bag lock mal. Just before the reserve PC and freebag disappear from view, the reserve PC looks like it catches air and looks like it pulls tension on the reserve bridle line. The reserve canopy is still in the bag at this point too. Did the RAX disconnect on that jump (at that point)? Oh yeah, one more question. What criteria did you use to determine the placement of the RAX on the bridle line? Not having a schematic or picture of the rigging makes it hard to see how the RAX actually works. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

You, the jumper, are in a bad situation. Given a perfect world Parachute Patents, Inc. would license the Collins Lanyard as a seperate license; they have chosen to license it only with the SkyHook. Wow. I did not know that. Learn something new everyday. I assume you've asked them to license it separately. Then again, why would they want to do that for someone with a system that competes with the skyhook. Well it should be a concern. I believe you mean improperly. Hey I wrote it properly as improperly.... Ok Let me re-ask this one. A jumper pulls his main and it opens. But it was low so the AAD fires at about the time full opening on the main occurs. The reserve PC shoots off and falls downward because on too little airspeed. The reserve bag then gets pulled from the pack tray. Under this scenario, will your system cutaway the RSL riser? But your later answer of "No, to cutaway the jumper would have to pull the 3-ring release handle." kind of says it won't cut it away. Personally, I would use the dummy and not a real person. If I were the safety officer on this project I would not approve a real person deliberately inducing an entanglement. You might check with a lawyer on that. Lawsuits have a way of going after everyone involved, no matter how remote their role was. Wow, I feel so special ;) I'll return it to you within a couple of weeks. (You mean Earth weeks - dontja?) Addy is PO Box 2581 Hemet CA 92546. THanks. . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

If this was a normal freefly jump why didn't you have a camera on to take pics? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The FAA's take on the issue: see Docket No.: FAA-2005-21829; Amendment Nos. 91-305, 105-13 RIN 2120-AI85 Parachute Equipment and Packing . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Interesting video. Qs: What happens if only the RSL riser releases or breaks on deployment? Can the system be installed improperly? (You may remember that this was a problem with the Skyhook early on.) What happens if the main opens and then the reserve opens (by an AAD fire) and the bag of the reserve starts to fall downwards (as opposed to opening)? (aka will the system cutaway the RSL riser in this situation?) What happens in two out situations? stack, side by side or downplane? Two of the issues in these cases are 1. will the system cut away the RSL riser without jumper input and 2. if the jumper decides to cutaway the main, what happens to the system (are there lanyards sent flying to half hitch the reserve)? What happens in a main canopy entanglement or horseshoe? (This scenario was never tested on the skyhook because it is too dangerous.) . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

wow, two earthquakes in one day - actually more like 6 hours... The first one was at 4:30 am. The second one was just now at 9:41 am. I have this 3 second rule. It takes about 1 to 1.5 sec to realize - oh fuck that's an earthquake. If it lasts another 1-2 -seconds and the rumbling gets louder or deeper in sound or pictures start tapping the walls - then I bolt out the door. I was actually awake at 4:30 am this morning. The dogs beat me to the door. Max, actually barked at the second one. Both met the 3 second rule, but were only 4.1 and 3.8 respectively, both ~10 miles N of Palomar, 15 miles S of me. I think I am preparing myself well for the big one that may take down the house. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Would Joe Crane doing Spot Landing Competitions in the 1920's count as a 'sport'? re skydiving: Jaques Istel. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

See Density Altitude - Wing Loading Converter It tells you what the performance change will be with the same canopy between to places. And it can tell you what two canopies can give you the equivalent performance at two DAs. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The money was for PR, not advertising. Skydance did this when I lived in NorCal. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I don't know if you know this or not, but USPA has paid a couple of PR firms over $100,000 over the past couple of years. These firms produced some additional coverage. The bang for the buck still remains lower than what I would expect. Another thing to consider is that in the US, there are about 300,000 people making tandems jumps each year. Only about 4000 of these people become new USPA members. Only about 2000 go on to get an A license. (Numbers come from USPA HQ staff or USPA minutes.) If you ask me, the problem in membership augmentation is that we collectively do not get that first time jumper to do a second, third etc jump. There are several reasons for this. One is that some first timers have had a tainted first jump experience. Another reason is that they do not know what the next step is to becoming a regular skydiver. The DZ hands them a couple of pieces of paper to 'explain' what comes next. Too many places are tandem mills and do nothing to encourage first timers to continue on. Another reason is that students and up jumpers are segregated, especially at the larger DZs. The first time jumpers enthusiasm gets quashed by their whuffo friends instead of being encouraged and built up by up jumpers. We get over a quarter of a million potential new USPA members walking onto DZs each year. Yet we only entrain 1.3% of those people onto student status. Only half of those new members, 0.6%, continue to get an A license. The problem is not that we do not have public awareness. The problem is that we do not bring the first timers and NGs into the fold. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker