craigbey

Don't put this all on the DZOs. They will be more effective -- and so will we -- at addressing this problem if our elected officials in the USPA stepped up and did something other than issue a press release to group members. Example: Some time ago, a young jumper with about 50 jumps was about to purchase a complete kit with a Sabre150 canopy. This represented a significant downsize from the DZ's spare 190's and 210's that the jumper had been using. The DZO sat down with the jumper and advised him that this was too much of a downsize and jumping the Sabre150 at just over 1.3 was asking for trouble due to the jumper's very limited experience. The jumper proceeded to purchase the kit anyway and survived ... despite numerous scrapes, bumps and bruises. The jumper used up a fair portion of their bucket of luck. The DZO did what he thought was necessary at the time, but knew that the jumper could go somewhere else if he prohibited the jumper from flying the Sabre150 at his DZ. The jumper was already hitting other DZ's anyway, so how could this one DZO stop the jumper? If there had been a more widely accepted set of rules regarding downsizing and those rules were more consistenly accepted and applied like pull altitudes, this DZO probably would have simply laid down the law and stopped the jumper immediately.

Not just during Summerfest. I have been on many loads at SDC that didn't roll until everyone had their own belt. It's just more obvious during the tourist season when people climb in and fail to consider where the belts are located and how the plane should be loaded. Same thing can happen on bench or straddle seats -- even the small Cessnas. The plane has to be loaded properly so people line up with the belts, however they're configured.

The jumper in question needs to adjust their priorities or take a more realistic view of their future in the sport. If they only jump 1 weekend per month, they are going to progress very slowly and they will run into problems relating to currency. How good are they at the other sport? How safe is someone with 80 jumps when they are only at the DZ 1 weekend per month? Can you gamble on the weather in the UK by only giving yourself 1 weekend per month to jump?

Just trying to take this a little further... With the added 3", you're pulling down on the risers 3" more. If you start a HP turn using a double-front technique, you are therefore affecting the trim of the canopy by 3" more. That should translate into more speed as you start the turn / dive. The steeper trim should affect the speed that you can generate in the turn / dive. This is meant mostly as a question to those with experience with this technique on longer risers. Maybe I'm behind the curve, but I just prefer to start with one riser and add the 2nd riser and harness input as needed during the turn. But I could see where the longer risers could provide more potential speed due to the pilot's ability to affect the trim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YGn0pQfyEY&feature=player_detailpage#t=167s Someone invested a lot of money building those fucking islands. And one of them is too small?

Blue Skies, Dave. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and experience so generously. You gave the term SkyGod a good name.

Congrats! Keep it going.

Not with that Spectre 210 in your rig. I recommend that you immediately downsize to a 99 Sq ft Acme AzzKicker 27 so you can fly with the big boys. It should fit in your existing rig.

Them and those fine people in the front of the plane with the cards that say FAA on them.

I agree, he can ignore me if I try to police his actions. That was part of my point, and I suspect that it was also part of his. But without an established standard, how do you know if my rules are more or less strict? I may not tolerate certain behaviors that he engages in when flying his canopy. I may choose to take it up with him or the DZ when he does something that I consider dangerous. Am I wrong? His point was that we need to police ourselves. We do that now ... very poorly. If he wants to make a difference, he needs to come up with a more specific way for us to 'police ourselves' that helps reduce the carnage that he is so worried about.

Did you mean to say that the USPA is not going to do anything? My rules might be different than yours. Are you sure you want me to police your actions?

15 minutes of Paul Winfield (RIP) yammering on about the Memphis summer heat?

Keep at it! Whatever it takes ... running, biking, knitting ... to keep the smoke away. I bet the dogs are loving the extra attention.

Yes! When they are at SDC, I make plans to be there for at least both weekends and 1 or 2 weekdays. It's really cool to see all the competitors and you see stuff that is not normally part of the DZ culture. I get a kick out of watching the classic accuracy folks (RIP Ted) and the CRW teams. Very cool. If you have a chance, go!

Some people think that when you use these safety devices, you will likely take more risks or engage in riskier behavior.

Good Luck! After quitting, there are some small things that happen to many ex-smokers that you may not consider to be a big deal, but it was a shocker to me when I quit 12 years ago. Perhaps it was psychological, but I swear I could smell and taste food MUCH better. Oh ... and breathing was nice too.

Not at all. Just because WE skydive, does not mean that WE know each other any more than some stranger on the street or another continent. If you break yourself, enjoy the cast and your new bowling career - if you can get out of bed or off the sofa. When I fuck up, I expect the same. There are some very good people at my home DZ's who I would be happy to help. But if you're laying in a hospital somewhere because you pounded in after numerous warnings, I can't help you.

You don't have the money to jump as often as you'd like, but you have the money to buy an expensive, new canopy? If the people around you suggest that you wait, perhaps the money you save could go towards more jumps on the xfire. There IS another size in the xfire line that you could jump also. What's the rush?

No.

ANY canopy can open hard. It happens. That being said ... when you have a few more jumps, try a Xaos21. No, it isn't a new design and it won't win any swoop comps these days. But it is still a great canopy. Are you getting everything you can out of the xfire?

I know that's what you meant. Just being helpful.

They would probably last longer if you could avoid the dogsh$t in the landing area.

+1 I'm still amazed by the number of experienced jumpers I see walking into the packing area with dangling toggles wrapped up in their lines. It only takes a couple of seconds to push the top of the toggle into the keeper after you land.

DaVinciflies = DocPop

Expand your horizons... Demo http://www.performancedesigns.com/demo_sport.asp Demo http://www.flyaerodyne.com/fly/demo.asp Demo http://www.icaruscanopies.aero/demo-centers/15-demo-centers/146-para-concepts