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A good example of the proper way to look at this is what happens in aircraft maintenance. After a 100 hr. check there can be many tasks that need to be completed before the next 100 hr is due. But the aircraft goes out to work anyway. It may not be airworthy for another complete 100 hrs. , but that is irrelevant. The out of phase tasks must be accomplished as they become due. The AMO does not bear responsibility for this. It is the responsibility of the aircraft owner and/or the pilot to track these items and make sure the aircraft is airworthy before each flight. But of course, someone much smarter than I once said, "skydivers are the least disciplined of all aviators".

This has been hashed out before in big arguments on dropzone. Someone did get a statement from the FAA that it is perfectly legal to pack a rig where the AAD expires before the end of the pack cycle. As others are saying, it is absolutely 100% clear that as a rigger you are not certifying a rig for 180 days, you are certifying a rig to be airworthy at this very moment. If you have liability concerns, then you might as well give up rigging. "I'm sorry, I won't pack for you because you're a bit of a goof. And you might try to deceive your DZ about your rig's airworthiness at some point. And your gear is kind of old; you should buy new stuff, through me. And I don't like the brand. Plus it is ugly. And you have kids and a spouse who might sue if you bounce."

You dont have to depower anything, if anything it will make the suit fly worse. I started with Swift 1, moved on to Swift 2, never touched the zippers in the beggining and never had a problem, tried few times to open up the zippers just for fun and I felt it was harder to fly it. Let it inflate and do its job. And I agree that funks are slow as hell, I also always had to fly in brakes in my swift 2 in formation with a Funk. It could ofcourse be the pilot but I'm not so sure.

have you made a 2nd theme yet that won't burn my retinas out if I browse for more than 60 seconds?

Hi tribe, Yes, last year PARACHUTIST ran a small notice that Shoobie had bought the business back. I have not heard anything since; well, other than some unfounded rumors. Jerry Baumchen

Wasnt there something last you that Shoobie was goingt to start producing containers again. I seem to recall a piece in Parachutist.

Stunts’ factory closed around 2,000 because of a slump in the skydiving market. Last thing I heard (March 2001) Bill Dause owned the Eclipse TSO and patterns, but he never resumed production. Eclipse rigs pack the same as Vector 2. Most Vector 2 spare parts arecompatible with Eclipse.

I disagree. I expect my representatives to take the opinions of myself and other voters in this district into account when making decisions. I do not vote for someone because I back their views 100% on everything. I vote for them because they not only take the time to listen to what their constituents are thinking about various issues before voting on them, they inform us when issues come up and ask us what our views are. They then use their experience, insight and judgment, together with the input from constituents, to make decisions. Those 23 members are the 22 BOD members plus Ron Bell? If so, this illustrates one of my points - a lack of communication between the board and the membership. Yes, those 23 members are a good cross section of skydivers, with lots of experience and time in sport and an obvious desire to make skydiving safer; none of them would be there if they didn't give a shit. But there are other members out there with lots of time and experience and who give a shit but cannot fit being a BOD member into their lives. Being elected does not make the opinions of 22 of those members more or less important than the opinions of other members. If the members are not given the opportunity to express their views on an issue prior to any decisions being made, and if those are not taken into account when making decisions, then it would appear that only the opinions of the BOD members matter. Which is something many people bitch about in our country's lawmakers. Communicate with the members so they know what is happening and can contact their RD or other BOD members or make plans to attend a meeting to express their opinion. Ask for their input. If they don't know that something is being considered, how can they let their representatives know what they think about it? Sure, it's on the agenda for the meeting, but how many people know how to find the agendas? I spent a few minutes on the USPA website and could not find them posted anywhere. There has got to be a way to get this information out there and make it easy for members to find if they are so inclined. tbh, 34500+ of the other members probably don't care, but they do deserve to be kept informed and at least given the opportunity to express their views on any particular issue if they have any/would like to. Making it easy for them to find out what is happening would increase the amount of information BOD members have while making decisions. That can only be a good thing. My name is Lisa Wyatt. My membership has been expired for five years as I have not been able to jump, but my husband is a current member and instructor. I am getting current in the near future so my membership will be renewed soon. I may or may not re-up my instructor rating. I have nothing against anyone on the board. I appreciate that they volunteer to do it. I know that I have fewer jumps and less experience than nearly all of them. I appreciate the amount of give a shit it takes to even run. I appreciate that some of them post here as this is a good way to communicate with at least a small percentage of the membership, a percentage that probably gives a shit. My posts are only my opinion on ways I think USPA could do things better. I hope that's enough to make my posts worth the time to reply to. If not, I understand, and I'll shut up until after I've paid the money.

Probably the wrong place for this, but no account I have read anywhere mentioned someone who elected not to jump? Three jumpers were pulled off the load because of weight issues.

23 Huh? I guess that leaves about 34,977 left. Let's see how this plays out.

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I came out ahead. Both my marginal & effective rates for federal taxes went down some. The big factor was that although the personal exemption went away, the standard deduction went up. The increase more than made up for the removal. Of course, like everyone else, I ended up owing on my federal. I've gotten fairly good over the years at adjusting my withholdings. My idea of 'perfection' is coming out even. Not owing or getting a refund. I've come pretty close a couple times (net, that is - owe some on one and get almost the same back from the other). This year I will end up owing more on my federal than I'm getting back on my state. No big deal. Other than the 'smoke & mirrors' con game of lowering withholding so that the suckers think they are paying less. Of course, my mild gains pale in comparison to what the truly wealthy are seeing. I'd be fine paying as much as in the past or even more... As long as everyone paid their fair share. The idea that the rich are getting huge tax breaks while the government deficit goes through the roof makes me want to puke.

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Blogs/Trade-Tryon/April-2015/Stearns-Ready-to-Make-20000th-Skydive/

People who write "burro" when they mean "burrow" Clearly don't know their ass from a hole in the ground