Daskal

Post: "haha now that was funny! way to come out left field on that one!" Left field? Umm, Okay dude.... Arent you the one who came to the Dublin boogie and didnt make a jump...... In fact you didnt even bring your rig.... Therefore.... Since this is a skydving forum... You need to....

Okay, congratulations, its your birthday. Now...... Instead of spending time on the internet.....

I fly a Nitron 120 that I bought new about a year ago, its just that you don't see too many Fusions, Nitrons and Xaos's around compared to the PD stuff.

On a side note, I have a gift certificate for 35% off on any precision canopy from the manufaturer. I know these canopies arent extremely popular, but it should be a cool item to donate to the raffle, so we can add that to the list. I won it at Dublin and realized I wasnt gonna use it anytime soon.

Jake, I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost my grandfather a few years ago and it was really tough on my parents and myself. Let us know down here if there is anything we can do. Bryan

Man, and just when I was thinking of putting my rig up on the classifieds for sale. I might have to come out of retirement for this one. Would be rude not to win this poker game too.

Dear Chris, Your friends Lee, Brandy, Kelly, Robbie, in addition to many others have already responded to the initial post with the veracity and support that you earned and deserved. A number of individuals who are immensely more qualified then myself have commented on the rigging and technical aspects of the matter, but I wanted to express, as best my poor words can, just how much of an example and a standard you have tried to set for myself and others during the few years that I knew you. Although we all enjoy having a good time and as much fun as we can at skydiving events and boogies, you approach your work as an instructor with the respect and devotion that it merits. I can speak to this not only because I was one of your former students, but also because I've been privileged to witness it firsthand. When I was your student you would assist me and countless other novice skydivers in a way that would get the point across clearly, but yet you would never seem to lose your sense of humor and good nature in the process, something that I still find it hard to do when I teach students. When it comes to rigging however, most of that humor and good nature disappears. As you know I have driven the few hours from Tallahassee to Albany on several different occasions to bring some of my friends' rigs up when the repack cycles on their gear are about to expire. On one such occasion my friend needed his reserve repacked that night, and I had the opportunity to watch you inspect and repack the rig. Without a doubt, every square inch of that canopy was checked and then checked again, and the entire pack job was performed with the utmost care and attention to detail. It wasn't that I understood everything you were doing or were supposed to do, because I'm not a rigger nor do I pretend to be some kind of expert. I could just tell that YOU knew what you were doing from the start, never seemed impatient or unsure about yourself, and you were not satisfied until the container was closed and looked clean and professionally done. When it didn't come out exactly the way you wanted it to be, you took the time to go back and do it again. This was what impressed me most about your work. What stood out most in this whole matter however, is not so much the outstanding quality of your work, but the incredible nature of your character. You never try to make stupid excuses for any of your mistakes or faults, but instead always stand up and tell the straight up truth about what happened, and act like any other professional should when put in a similar situation. You don't try to cover stuff up or get out of anything, and are a straight shooter all the way. If the individual who started this post had the same qualities that you possess, then they would have taken the time to get all of the facts and then contact you privately and professionally about the issue. Instead, it ended up being posted on this board in this context, strife with spite, rumors, and all of the negative personal garbage that is tearing this sport apart at the seams. Finally, I would not be honest myself if I didn't say this. I confess that I have not always been the individual that my parents raised me to be when it comes to this sport. There have been occasions when I have been less than honest, and times when I've been ashamed of myself because of stupid mistakes and not having the courage to admit when I've been wrong. I've been wrestling with whether or not to take some time off from the sport because sometimes I question whether I even deserve to be on the same airplane or airfield with some of the individuals that I have been disrespectful towards. That decision is for me and for me alone, and if I choose to quit the sport and surrender my license and instructional rating it will be because of the respect I have for the individuals around me and the examples that they have set, and my failure as a person to follow their lead. You once apologized to me when I brought a rig over to your house because you didn't have the opportunity to clean up before I arrived there. Now it is my turn to apologize to you. If I can one day become half of the man of character that you are, then I will have done more to make my parents proud of me then earning my undergraduate and law degrees ever did when I recieved them. Not that I need to prove something to mom and dad, but you get the message. You put me to shame.

I guess you better put me on the list too. It would be rude not to with all of these Birdman flyers that are gonna be there.

I just wanted to post and say that I will not be able to attend the Holiday boogie this year. My parents got me a flight home this Friday and they want like $175.00 to change it, so its gonna be until January until I can make it back up to the farm. I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy, and most importantly a safe holiday. Good luck to the students, and thanks again for an awesome year of skydiving. I figured its only right that I contribute something to the party, so im sending up a couple of cases of Heineken you all can share, that is unless Lee drinks it on the way up.

Sweet, got a hotel room for Saturday night at the Holiday Inn Express. King size bed all to myself See everyone Saturday morning. I'm gonna drive alone from Tallahassee at 3:00 in the morning to get to the Farm around 8:00 or so. Should be a kick ass weekend.

Hopefully Kelly and I will get the 2 groundschools done before we go up to the boogie so that the new AFF students will be ready to jump on Saturday morning. Tell them to call me and we will get this stuff done. (516) 521-6577. Why do I get the feeling that this boogie is gonna be the best event held at the farm yet? On a side note, for Miki and the others who were wondering where the chip stack on the blackjack table went during the poker game last night, Lee confessed to me in a drunken stupor before he got in his new truck that it was indeed *he* who swiped the chips when our heads were turned. I suppose I should have known earlier, but I really wanted to give the dirty brit the benefit of the doubt, I really did. Shame on me

Hmmm.......well, yeah fireworks are illegal in Georgia, and I really don't wanna spoil it for all of the jumpers there if we had a run in with the law during the boogie, so I guess the show is gonna have to wait until I go through all of the trouble to apply for a GA shooters license and the local approval for the site, which im gonna have to talk to the landowner about. It looks like we are gonna have to hope for the lasers for visual effects, although tossing 6 ounce blocks of sodium metal into the swoop pond sometimes can be just as much fun.

I also hear that "downsize" Mike and "quaddro" Kelly are teaching an advanced canopy piloting course at the MOFO boogie coming up in November. Rumor has it that there may be even be a very special guest appearance by Tom Lundergan from Sky Frog Productions on how to avoid mid air collisions while freeflying. This would be a great opportunity for some of the new skydivers to get some coaching on how to fly the more high performance canopies as well as to learn when the right time to downsize is. I benefited from some of this training about a year ago and it made me realize that I was "held back" on a Sabre 190 when in all reality I should have "graduated" to my old Jedei 136 about 50 jumps before. These canopy coaching courses really can open your eyes to what you have been missing out on in the past.

Congrats go out to new Birdman flyers Bob and Kelly, who really performed well on their initial wingsuit flights. Special thanks go out to Blaine for teaching the Birdman first jump course to Bob and Kelly, and for supervising Bob's first flight. All of these factory new GTI suits the new birds are jumping make my Skyflier 1 look like it came from the student equipment rack in Quincy. Honorable mention goes out to new AFF student Pruitt for passing level 1 and 2 in the same day, but the extra 2.5 hour drive that Kelly and I took to take you home Sunday shall be duly noted when it comes time for your coaching jumps, and don't be suprised when you find yourself in the Cessna a few weeks from now doing the required clear-and-pulls from 2,000 and 1,000 feet respectively. In all honesty though, THANK YOU to the entire staff and friends of the Farm for another great weekend. Thanks Ryan for returning my wingsuit intact, and once again Bob and Blaine did a great job with some of the ground training and i'm sure will continue to do the same at their USPA Coach course in a few weeks. Thanks also to Instructors Hans, Kerry, and Chris for the advice and coaching I recieved throughout the weekend, and to the rest of the skydivers for some awesome jumps. As for the rain, it did feel unusually good for some reason, as did pretty much everything else on Saturday night. I can't quite put my finger on what it was, but outside of the weather and a few bad spots, this whole weekend felt unusually good. Perhaps the long drive to the Farm is getting to be more than worth it? Does this mean I will be coming up to the MOFO boogie if im invited? I vote yes on both.

I should be up there either Friday night or Saturday morning. I hope my birdman suit is still in one piece. Hopefully Ryan is behaving himself and working on his flying skills.

I'm coming up from Tallahassee just to attend this boogie. This whole event should be great, and to cap it all off, according to the website there will be a 30,000' night jump on Halloween night. I'm putting in to reserve a slot. I think its gonna be worth the drive (and cash) for that alone. Mabye I can convince my friends to come along.

N/A

The 10th anniversary boogie at the School of Human Flight in Quincy, FL went off as planned this past weekend. Due to all the drama on the past threads, I figured I should give a fair and balanced look back on what ended up being an awesome weekend of skydiving, fun, and friends. Overall a great event, yet you couldn't help hearing it cry out for something more, perhaps for something that just wasn't there, but not because it didn't want to be. First of all, I have jumped at Skydive Tallahassee since I took up the sport last year. This was by far, the largest and most well-attended event on the DZ to date. To give credit where credit is due, DZ owners/managers Cindy and Eric did an outstanding job of organizing the event, from the aircraft to the onsite manufacturers reps. The registration and manifest process was smooth and hassle-free, and the pilots were friendly and accomodating to the skydivers. Both our own King Air, and Skydive Spaceland's oxygen system equipped Twin Otter were flown, and we were consistently getting altitudes of 14.5-15k on every jump. Making it even better, one Twin Otter load each day was flown to 21k, after a thorough and professional briefing. Speaking of the manufacturers, the customer service all around was absolutely superior. Justin was there representing Mirage, and was offering gear checks and cutaway cable maintanance as a free service to Mirage customers. I bought a Mirage last year, and these have to be without a doubt the best container systems on the market. It has worked out so well for me, I dont think I would buy anything else. Most of the major canopy manufacturers were also represented, with PD, Precision, and Aerodyne making free canopy demos available to the boogie attendees. Special thanks go out to Nick and Aubrey at Aerodyne for having such a wide selection of canopies available, including demo reserves. TJ Landgren of Precision's Team Xaos was also on hand to offer coached jumps to interested individuals. Many of the freeflyers who jumped with TJ were extremely rewarded with the quality of the coaching they recieved, to add to the fun and excitement of their jumps. Last but not least, I want to extend a personal thanks to Erika, and Birdman Instructor Perry for offering wingsuit lessons to experienced skydivers. This has been something that I always wanted to try out, and I recieved a thorough and professional ground training session in the operation of the wingsuit, as well as one-on-one instruction in the air for my first flight. I liked it so much that I jumped 3 more times solo, and am placing an order for a Birdman suit of my own. For those of you who have thought about doing this, trust me and don't wait. I don't think I want to fly without a wingusuit on again. The load organizing as well as the entertainment also served to make the event even better. Both RW and Freefly groups were organized, and included large freefall dives, from 4-ways to a spectacular 21-way sunset dive on Saturday evening. DJ Robbie "Rasta Rican Air" Rob was on hand Saturday night, and provided some world-class entertainment for the crowd. Robbie really went out of his way to put this thing together, and despite being caught up in all the drama of the past few weeks, stepped up and put on a great show. He really helped make the party special, and I respect him for his patience and effort. And finally, we come to what makes this sport worthwhile, the friends we make, and the long weekends we spend together. To the ones who taught me how to skydive, particularly Cindy, who went out of her way on more than one occasion to make sure I was always ok; Cindy, Super Dave, Tiffany, and Tom B., thank you for a great weekend. To Miki, Tom L., Marcus, Brian M., Chris K., Robbie R., Kevin D., Drew W., Stewart, Static-Line John, Mr. Bill, and Kelly, you were the ones who made this event worth coming to. Special Congrats also go out to Videographer and fellow USPA Coach Scott G., who made his 700th jump this weekend, on the Sunday 21k load. Unfortunately, there are more names I have to add to this list, because it should be told that some of my friends were missing from this boogie. Not because they had to work, or because their lives were affected by mother nature, but because they were banned from coming for reasons that I will never fully understand. Lee, it was not the same without you. We got our ratings together and always thought of something to laugh about, from Tom's half-price videos to the residents of downtown Quincy. You would shoot the best videos and then make DVD's for tandem students. You would have been the life of the party, and were largely responsible for the advertising and support that this boogie recieved. I was waiting for you to show up on the ground with your camera to video the smile on my face after jumping that wingsuit for the first time, or to toss the football to (or at) me as I landed, but it wasnt to be. After all thats gone on, I can't blame Brandy for not coming either. It was absolutely shameful that you were kept out of this, and even more disgraceful was the fact that some people took pleasure in it. Perhaps this was the reason that the turnout wasn't as high as everyone thought it would be. To Instructor Chris Whitley, who told me in Cindy's Cessna 182 that it was ok to be scared when I did my first clear-and-pull at 3,500', "unless you shit your pants in which case I will throw you out at 1,000'", it wasn't the same without you either. There was an empty spot in the plane where you would have been with your tandem student, being the best at what you do, but again, it wasn't to be, but not because it was your choice. Again, absolutely shameful. The good news is that we all can always drive up to Skydive the Farm, and have the good times over and over again. Going there last weekend was probably the best time I had skydiving all year. What a difference it was. No fighting, no yelling, no skydivers threatening each other, no bitching and complaining, just a weekend of fun, shared amongst treasured friends. Thanks goes out to Hans on a job well done. This weekend should be even better. As for Skydive Tallahassee, it has been ten years of a very successful operation. You will always be my "home" DZ, even if the welcome mat isn't always out for all of us. I suppose to sum it all up, i'm left with memories of a great event, yet with dreams of what might have been.

I think that it becomes more of an issue with jumpers who do dangerous things in freefall than it does with what type of canopy the jumper is flying. I stopped freeflying when I realized that my belly skills were not up to par, but I have heard horror stories about collisions in freefall when inexperienced freeflyers jump together.

Even if you had a national USPA Wingloading BSR, there would be nothing preventing a DZ from setting a policy stricter than the BSR at the DZ. The only way would be to include a preemption clause in the BSR that would prohibit group member DZ's from implementing any wing loading rules beyond what is specified in the BSR. For example my home state, Florida has a state law that prohibits cities or any local governments from passing any firearms restrictions; gun laws are uniform throughout the state.

I just wanted to ask everyone's advice about this. I am currently a USPA Coach and am debating whether or not it would be worth it to attempt to earn a S/L or IAD Instructional rating. When I say worth it I mean are there enough DZ's around that perform S/L or IAD jumps as a student training method in order to keep a potential rating current. I do not have enough freefall time (nor the air skills) necessary to pass the AFF course, and have no desire to become a tandem instructor or fly a camera. I really enjoy working with students as a USPA Coach, and it seems like taking the S/L or IAD course would improve my abilities when working with students, and it would give me the general priviledges of a USPA Insructor, such as adminstering the A license check dive, giving written exams, and supervising other coaches. I am concerned however because my home DZ does not offer either method, and they seem to be few and far between in Florida. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? Should I take a S/L or IAD course or just work on improving my freefall time and air skills toward a future AFF rating course? Any help would be appreciated.

Basically everyone who replied pretty much has gotten it correct. The fact that you have been cleared to self-supervise in freefall by a USPA Instructor means that you have proven competence in the basic survival skills to jump safely on your own. Besides having fun, your objective now is to learn how to safely skydive in groups. The purpose of the solo jumps between AFF/SL/IAD and the Coached jumps is to get you used to tracking on your own, which is probably the most important skill that the coached jumps work on, as you need to be able to get clear from a freefall formation in order to deploy safely. Practice the category "F" tracking sequences on your solo jumps, and please ask a USPA Coach or Instructor for advice on tracking techinques. Once you are comfortable with tracking on your own, then the category "G" and "H" coached jumps are designed to teach you how to exit the plane in groups, dock in freefall, perform fall rate adjustments, swoop down to dock on a formation, and safely track away from the coach. Sometime during this period a USPA Instructor or Coach will take you up to 5,500 feet and then to 3,500 feet where your objective will be to exit the plane and deploy while stable within a few seconds. This is designed to prepare you for a possible emergency exit at a lower altitude, as well as to introduce former AFF students to the fun of exiting low on poor weather days, or just for canopy practice. Once all of this is complete, as well as all of the other tasks on your yellow card are filled out, a USPA Instructor of any discipline will take you up for a check out dive, and issue you a temporary USPA "A" license if you successfully pass.

Let this go dude, nobodys gonna get anywhere with this thread any more. Once someone wished death on another skydiver, it should have ended right there. There is nothing more anyone can learn from this discussion.

Your post above was a perfect example of why people on this board piss me off. It was okay for YOU to fly a Stilletto when you had under 200 jumps, but its "reckless" for ME to fly my Nitron with 190 jumps. The only difference between me and you is that I don't make negative hypocritical judgments about other skydivers. I support them in making the decisions that they have chosen to make, and the only people making stupid complaints about it are the people on this board. I admit that im not an outstandng canopy pilot, nor the most knowledgable skydiver on this board, but I have been jumping safely, so far, and nobody on the DZ seems to think that i'm some kinda danger to other people. Next thing you people will complain about is the fact that I dont wear a helmet when I jump, or that I only got an RSL with my rig out of respect for my DZO who told me about the dangers of low cutaways.

As a USPA Coach I give advice about basic group freefall skills, exits, clear-and-pull jumps, tracking, and teach the general portions of the FJC. As I stated before, I refer students questions about canopy selection and control to a USPA Instructor. When it comes to licensed skydivers, I will give them any advice I choose when they ask me for it. Im sorry that you think that my rating is a joke, but once again, I havent recieved any complaints from my students, except that sometimes i'm too busy with school to chill with them after jumping. One thing I agree with though, I don't believe that people with 120 jumps should be under crossbraced canopies. I once asked one of my former Instructors when I had around 100 jumps if I could fly his Xaos 21 (97), and he said that there is no reason to jump one unless you want something heavily loaded and are very good at swooping after jumping elliptical canopies for a few hundred jumps. Standard 9-cell ellipticals on the other hand, I think can be safely flown by heads-up jumpers with 150+ or so jumps, if they feel that they are personally ready. I actually found the Nitron to be less ground hungry and more fun then the Jedei I was flying, although I enjoyed the Jedei alot too.