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I would be willing to bet that South Africans are the best represented of all non-US citizens working in the states. I can't comment for all the dropzones but I have seen people from SA working all along the East Coast. As long as you are qualified and can get the appropriate rating from USPA you should be able to find a position in just about any state you wish to work.

We will actually send the Otter with seven people as a minimum to keep it turning. The way things are now we get about 20-25 loads a day.

I never make up my mind until the end. That sounds pretty bad. Let me explain. I always prep my student for a slide in landing. I have them practice a couple while I flare at altitude so they get a sense of how the canopy will slow. I then advise them that under no circumstances will they put their feet down unless they hear me distinctly say "stand up" or "feet down". This seems to work. I slide most people in on their butts and my knees/tops of feet. We have a very grassy landing area. If we have a constant wind or they are small I will just stand up and support their weight until forward movement has stopped and then I have them stand up. I like to keep my training consistent. I don't let first jump students handle the toggles below 750-500 feet (depends on how heads up they are). All my students get the same landing speech that way I am the only one that can change things up if I want. I stood up all my training jumps and then tried to continue that in the real world. The real world was difficult to stand up in. Students are clumsy and way too excited to count on by the end of their first jump. Just my thoughts and opinions.

After reading some comments in the Safety and Training and the Incident forum I started wondering about the following. Due to the advances of the last decade or so, do we as instructors, instill a false sense of secuity in new skydivers? I have run into several who think it is near suicidal to (pick one) open below 4K, jump without an AAD, jump without a RSL, or even jump without a hard helmet. I know I am guilty of this when I reassure tandem students. I tend to point out all the bells and whistles. When I started I didn't had an AAD or an RSL. All I had was a well used rig a pair of goggles and an altimeter. Had my first reserve ride around jump numbe 42. A total. Got packed and jumped the next day. I have seen people have reserve rides and its like they finally realize that this is seious shit. You could buy the farm (or at least rent a sizeable portion). These are the same people that quit after they lose their first friend to the sport. I now have an AAD but not an RSL. The rig is newer and for RW I wear a helmet to keep offending feet at bay during exit. I am not against these devices, just wondering if that they and our new training methods make people feal an unrealistic level of safety. A no bounce guarentee if you will. Any thoughts?

We actually started this when we had a slow climbing aircraft. The "Super" Otter climbs fast and on most days will shut down a time or two towards the end of the day. No students left and not everyone has multiple rigs to make back to back jumps. We lost a bunch of experienced jumpers over the past couple of years due to a couple of factors and I am not sure if this would be as easy to do if we had jumpers waiting 2-3 loads to get a slot like we used to. (So sad. But that is another story.)

A little slower turn. The dropzone doesn't have the same number of experienced people it used to. This allows back to back for Instructors and keeps the plane turning instead of shutting down. It works at our DZ. With a different mix of experienced and tandems it might not work so well.

I work at a DZ that puts tandems out first. Some sport jumpers don't like it, until they have the plane to themselves for the last four thousand feet. We wait until tandems are on the grond to drop anyone else. I am also a pilot and know a couple things about aircraft emegencies. If you are at 1500 feet or below, you are going to stay with the plane unless you are right near the door (basically in it) or the door is open. Above that if it is a serious plane is on fire type of emergency you can bet your ass i'm leaving. I will drag my student out an fire my reserve ( and keep my fingers crossed). If it is a more benign (slow speed) type of emergency, experienced jumper will be able to go right down the middle of the aisle. If no one panics you all have a chance. While I think it is safer to have tandems in the end of the exit order I do not find this to be an unaccaptable risk. If you do then you have the right (and hopefully free will) to go somewhere else.

I always took that section to mean that at one time or another the pilot will not get it right. Doesn't matter who you are. Every now and then it going to happen. Landings will be smoother and softer with growing experience.

Eat lightly and food you are used to eating. Don't overeat or eat anything really greasy. I also recommend abstaining from alcohol the night before. You don't want to be hung over. Most people handle the jump fine but Tandem Instructors can handle just about anything. At your height and weight you are a fairly small package. Try to relax, pay attention to what your instructor says and have fun. Hopefully you will get bitten by the bug and continue on with more training.

Can someone clarify a rule? Does the DGIT on the list have to go in at the Ranch. Can it be any DZ? I was never quite sure about this. I haven't been to the Ranch since '96, I think I'll go soon.

Point to ponder: The way I understand it is that if a pilot is in positively controlled airspace then seperation from clouds can be reduced. (someone let me know if I'm wrong about this) But does the FAA allow the same rule to apply to a jumper? Once he leaves the aircraft then is he in vialation. Sometimes when you have a storm due to a weak warm front the air is nice and calm if a bit moist. So the rain doesn't really concern me, nor does the fact that he slipped and landed on his butt. The bulk of the crowd probably didn't notice that or even if they dida nd the lkanding was gentle wouldn't think to criticize the jumper. As long as he gets up fast and collects his gear the general public wont catch on to the fact that the landing was less thatn perfect.

I would have to agree that cookie cutter courses aren't good for the sport. However, there are a couple of people in the states that offer accelerated courses to qualified people. While this might not be good for Canuk, it can be helpful to others. I got my tandem rating from an individual that specializes in one on one courses. I already had held a S/L I rating so I just needed the add-on. In two days I had a strong tandem rating and had done my phase two jumps with an examiner also. While these courses may not be for everyone, I can honestly say that when I returned to my home DZ I was comfortable with the fact that I had enough skill to survive and learn how to be a competent TI. Getting the rating just allows you to get paid while unsuspecting studens teach you just what you don't know. I also felt that by doing my phase two jumps with an examiner I got five additional training jumps and not a passive guinea pig on the front just to get these jumps done. For someone that already has a rating this could be a good option. Be prepared to focus on the course. as you won't be allowed any time to goof off. The gentleman that trained me also offers to set up coaches courses for people and thinks that he can turn out a competent beginning Instructor in about fifteen days if they are motivated and heads up. After saying all that, on a personal note I would have to add that when I started working with my new rating my biggest fear was to let my examiner down. He was a taskmaster and always fair but when he signed me off I felt like I had to live up to his example of how to be a TI. The pressure is lessening as I have developed some of my own habits but whenever something doesn't go quite right I always hear him in the back of my head telling me that I could've done better.

I have been jumping at a DZ for ten years and working there for two. We use a video. This one has just been recorded on site with our own people. It is preceded by a waiver video. On a busy day groups come in and watch the videos after talking to someone from manifest they fill out all the necessary paperwork. We often don't see them until 5 minute call as some other instructor will get them dressed and all we have to do is check and adjust the harness and give the the required briefing. While I am not a particular fan of this method (not personal enough for my tastes), it has been safe and effective. We have had days with low sport jumper turnout that see four or five tandem pairs on each load (Otter) no shutdowns and quite a bit of video. I think that one guy has actually done fifteen tandems a day on the weekends on average and his record is eighteen. I haven't worked at any other turg=bine dropzone but I find these numbers to be both amazing and slightly alarming. I am the oldest TM so after about ten jumps in the summer heat I don't feel that I should make anymore due to fatigue. The other guys don't seem to mind and claim that they aren't that tired. I always hope that they aren't fooling themselves. A twelve to fourteen hour day of jumping is a lot of work. Has anyone else out there worked with a system like this? What is the "usual" number of jumps by a TM at a single turbine dropzone?

f16driver. I must admit that you are right. That will teach me from typing while drunk and not getting it right.

Pattern direction and altitude are determined by the regulating authority and take into account the many different parts of the surrounding environment. Left is traffic is most common and 1000 feet AGL (above ground level) for most GA (general aviation) aircraft is the most common altitude. That being said, some airports have one way runway that you take off in one direction and land in the other due to terrain features on one end of the runway. Unless you got a hell of a tail wind you don't change direction. Others use a right traffic pattern to avoid flying over inhospitable terrain or noise sensitive areas. Some airports have a higher traffic pattern with steeper descent profiles on the base leg and final. While I seem to recall reading some place about left hadn traffic being preferred because the pilot sits on the left I haven't put much faith in that answer because there were a great many training and personal use aircraft in the early days of aviation that had tandem seating (one in front of the other) and the view was the same out either side.

I think that if this is a concern of yours then you should talk to the DZO and/or the pilot. I have been flying at an airport (in addition to jumping) with a DZ for about twenty years and we have never had to modify our traffic pattern to accommodate jumpers. At an active DZ aircraft should not make mid-field crosswind and should avoid the "box" or "cone" that the jumpers fly in. The jumpers job (and this is slightly different at individual airports) is to use common sense and stay out of the traffic pattern and not fly over the runway, especially approach and departure ends below 1000 feet or so. The aircraft to worry about aren't usually the jumpships. It is almost always the weekend warrior types that are never really current and don't have a clue about where they really are. As "pilot in command" of your canopy you also have to see and avoid just like a pilot. So after you talk to the pilot and/or the DZO make sure that all your questions have been answered to your satisfaction and maybe the most important point. make sure you know exactly where and at what altitude the traffic pattern and its various legs are flown at. Helicopters, on a side note are only required to avoid the flow of fixed wing traffic. Looking down on one of them suckers while under canopy reminds you of a food processor with you as the carrot.

I nust need to get out more. I sort of understand what it is now I just never would have thought it up all by myself no matter how drunk I got. Thanks for the info.

OK. I went to the website and I still can't say for certain that I know what this type of skydive is. I had never heard of atmonauti until this thread, but then again I do live in the northeast. Near as I can tell it looks like what would happen if someone was trying to go head down and screwed up. Can someone explain this in plain English. The website referenced tracking as horizontal and this type of dive 10-45 degrees off from that but not as flat as birdmen. I do know what birdmen are so I guess I haven't missed out on everything in the past few years, but I still don't have a clue what this is all about.

OK. I do enjoy giving people that first jump ex[erience. I am very part-time with tandems as I work in the other world during the week and don't want to take the fun out of my hobby. The people you take with you are the best part. But... Tandems are a lot of work and responsibility. It is the only skydive that you are directly responsible for your passenger right down to the ground. This is not to say that aff instructors don't sweat out their students canopy flights. Take a day and shadow a tandem instructor and see if you still want to deal with the whole package that is being a tandem instructor.

This may be a little late but.... To "jumpmaster an a student in Ma. you have to have a pice of paper from the state. Mass Aeronautical is the state agency and the man to talk to is Dick Bunker. The DZ should be able to give you a fax number for his office. The DZ might even take care of this for you.

I have made a few balloon jumps and also did quite a bit of balloon flying as I was thinking of adding on that rating to my fixed wing license. A prudent ballonist will drop jumpers in a descent to cut down the stress on the envelope. The rate of descent depends on how much weight is leaving and the size of the envelope. As for landing off if you aren't comfortable landing in small places including backyards you might want to rethink this jump. If you are in an area with wide open space (midwest and Arizona come to mind) then this isn't that critical. The ballon itself is the best wind indicator around. Just keep track of which direction the balloon was flying for the first five hundred feet or so. Since winds have to be fairly light to fly a balloon even if you land downwind it shouldn't be a big deal. Be prepared to do a PLF. Sometimes landing out no matter how well planned can get a bit hairy. I would suggest that you make a couple chopper jumps with little or no forward speed to get a feel for the lack of relative wind or take a base course. Ballon jumps are a hoot and are relatively safe provided you know what to expect have a plan and don't panic. Get advice from a local jumper you trust that has done one before or take them with you. Carry a cell phone just in case you get hurt or need to call for a ride. Hope some of this helps. Have fun be safe and Blue Skies.