Leaderboard

I know I sound like an old man yelling at kids on his lawn, but is this the picture that should be on the cover of the official publication of the USPA? Should the USPA really be promoting lighting your canopy on fire? It gives it a sense of legitimacy and may even make some people think they can go to the SIM to find out how to do it.

Great idea. If you do those things, you will accomplish far more than you will with your "bitch fest" as you call it.

Yes.

Again, you may want to read ALL of my posts before coming to an incorrect conclusion. I have not only mentioned alternative methods to get this info but, I also did my own research to get as much insight into this "Problem" as I cude think of. If All incidents are spose to be reported and currently, are not, then how is creating a BSR gonna suddenly change that? That's the equivalent of passing gun laws and expecting criminals to suddenly start obeying them. Hasn't worked too well so far. The idea of firing an AAD is in itself, extremely self regulating. As a DZO, that behavior will get handled with me and a BSR has 0 affect on it. I can almost guarantee, every other DZO will feel the same way. Are there DZ's where this is happening regularly with the same folks? Certainly possible but, I can't understand why. Maybe they are so desperate for help, passive or simply don't care. A BSR won't affect them. They simply won't report. Point is, passing this will have, IMO, 0 effect. Time will tell. I see a track record of questionable behavior by the board. Apparently they couldn't see any other way to attain this "info" without coming down with a heavy hand. Threat of discipline. Never asked any members for input, never attempted to find this out thru the mfg's, nothing. Their job is to regulate, not dictate. They are elected to represent it's members, not burden the rule following members with unnecessary regulation because of, what may be perceived, as a few bad apples that may or may not even exist. This was over-reaching IMO and yes, based on past behavior of the board, it does make me wonder why. If you want to call that whiny, so be it.

Hypothetical situation: Suzy AFFI and Jimmy AFF student go do a Cat D jump. Freefall portion of jump goes good. Both deploy. Suzy has a violent spinner and chops it low enough that it scares her AAD. She lands safely. Jimmy's canopy control was less than ideal and he ended up landing in power lines and dying. It is required that Suzy file a report about her AAD fire on threat of disciplinary action. It is NOT required that ANYONE file a report on Jimmy's death. On the same load, a wingsuit jumper has an equipment issue while jumping a new suit and can't pull main or reserve. AAD saves another life. Knowing what happened could save someone else's life. But since AAD fires on non-student jumps do not need to be reported, other wingsuit jumpers may never hear about it. Am I incorrect in my interpretation? The information that can be obtained from all three incidents on that load is invaluable. But only one is required to be reported or Suzy could end up... well we don't really know since we don't know what the possible disciplinary actions might be. It's partly the threat of disciplinary action, partly the lack of transparency regarding what potential disciplinary actions might be imposed, partly the requirement that names be included and partly the lack of consistancy in required reporting and the information that is required to be reported that strike me as wrong here. The data can be obtained by classifying all AAD fires as incidents. The majority will be reported, just as the majority of fatalities are reported even though there is no requirement for anyone to do so. If the data is that important, make reporting required for all incidents - fatalities, AAD fires, major injury. As much as I hate the idea of required reporting, at least what is required would be consistent. There IS a lack of communication between USPA and it's rated instructors. This affects all instructors, yet not even I/Es were contacted for input prior to it being enacted. Could it not at least have been mentioned in the USPA Professional emailed newsletter prior to being voted on? I'd submit that it is the responsibility of USPA to keep it's instructors up to date on things that will affect them, not the other way around.

I don't think this is a good harbinger for the site.

Hi Bill, Hopefully, you or anyone else will never hear me say that I know it all about parachute equipment. I have built a fair number of flat sliders ( ~ 15 - 20 ) & a few domed sliders ( ~ 4 - 5 ). a. Depending upon the domed slider design ( they are not all the same design which means that the material costs & labor costs will vary ), I question whether they 'are harder to build.' As to 'wear out faster,' once I see some data supporting this, then I will believe it. At this time, I have doubts regarding this comment. b. As to 'there is a lot of force on those not-straight seams,' once there is some tension on those seams, they straighten out immediately. I think that any differentiation in forces would be neglible. And there is at least one domed slider design in which the seams are straight. c. As to 'Thus they'd be more expensive - and more likely to fail.' Having built both types, I doubt that they would be more expensive; again, it comes back to the design of the domed slider. The OP did say build it slightly smaller but domed. Smaller would be less fabric = less cost in materials which could offset any additional labor costs during mfr. As to 'more likely to fail,' I have never read or heard of anything that supports this comment. I am open to input from anyone on this. Just my $0.20 on these issues; others may disagree & that is OK with me. Jerry Baumchen

All men are seduced into believing they're marrying or dating nymphomaniacs. The problem is, after a few years, the nympho leaves.... but the maniac stays.