ZigZagMarquis

Cool. Thanks. So, that's maybe 4 Drop Zones out of the 207 DZs listed in USPAs DZ-Directory for Drop Zones in the U.S.A. Thus far, hardly feeling like "many" to me. If anyone else though knows of other DZs out there that require AADs for experienced jumpers, keep the info coming. Inquiring minds would like to know.

Here's to Sparky! Here at Last! Here's to Sparky... He's a Horse's ASS! HIM! HIM!! FUCK HIM!!!!

Hmmmm.... There's that comment again. "Many Dropzones require an AAD." Maybe I'm making a poor assumption, but I'm assuming that is with respect to experienced jumpers and not students. I've tried to run this down before and didn't have much luck quickly finding out the answer. I'm sure I'll be corrected quickly, but out of all of the DZs in the USA, there's two or three (??) that require AADs for up jumpers? I'm pretty sure Sherry Butcher's (sp?) place in Ohio (??) is one of them... Skydive Chicago (or is it Skydive Chicago Land ??) is another... and then Skydive San Diego (?); the one that used to be at Brown Field is another. Again, I have no doubt that my fellow DZ.com'ers will be quick to "correct" me, but I'm still thinking that "many" dropzones require an ADD is somewhat of an "urban legend" around the skydiving community. If one ever can come up with a real number of how many DZs in the USA really do require an AAD for experienced jumpers vs. the total number of DZs in the U.S. Of course, this isn't all about the U.S. either. I'd like to have the numbers for overseas as well.

Fair enough, but would you also make restitution (i.e. pay $$) to me or someone else at the DZ if one of those dogs you busted out of jail pissed on my or someone's rig?

Nah... that's just an inability of some to take responsibility for their own mistakes and/or accept that sometimes bad things happen to them because of "life"...

Well, being whiney and being a skydiver does seem to go hand in hand at times. I'm not sure why, maybe its just life. Anyway, I have a theory in need of supporting (or not) evidence. My theory is a skydiver is apt to become "whiney" at two distinct points in their skydiving career. First, when we have around a hundred to a few hundred jumps under their belts. At this point, we've been in the sport a year or two and are basically feeling like we "know something" and want to take the ol' grey hairs down a peg or two; "feelin' too big for our britches", in short. Second, when we have several thousand jumps and have been around for a dozen, two dozen or more years. Then its the "back in my day" whine and the various permutations there of.

I prefer Drop Zones that have a strict (and enforced) NO DOG policy. Rules and leash laws don't work. Dogs shit on the grass where people would like to pack. Ignorant ownes don't always clean up after them and/or don't always supervise them while they're off skydiving, packing, having a beer, etc... and they get bent when someone tells them to control their dog. Unfortunately, my home DZ is not one of them. Furthermore, I wish they'd run the damn cats off too that some of the DZ bums have taken to feeding and also tell some of the same folk to quit breaking dogs out of the local dog jail because they "feel sorry for them". The whole back of the hangar smells like cat and dog piss and we've had at least one instance of a cat pissing on someone's canopy... cat died shortly there after. "I'm sure your dog is nice, but leave your fuckin' dog at home!"... IMO Unfortunately too, I'm not a DZO and am 99.9% certain I never will be, so all I can do is grit my teeth and keep close watch on my gear.

[Joke] WOMAN'S POEM Before I lay me down to sleep, I pray for a man, who's not a creep, One who's handsome, smart and strong. One who loves to listen long, One who thinks before he speaks, One who'll call, not wait for weeks. I pray he's gainfully employed, When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed. Pulls out my chair and opens my door, Massages my back and begs to do more. Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind, Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?" I pray that this man will love me to no end, And always be my very best friend. ------------------------------------------------------ MAN'S POEM I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with huge boobs who owns a liquor store and a Drop Zone. This doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit [/Joke]

... or even if you end up in a bounce, you still experienced freefall.

Well, of course you have to have the correct sized slider on ANY canopy. IMO... I never bought into the whole pocket slider or sail slider "thing" on Sabres. Always made me think, "Why don't you just get (or make) a bigger slider?" I'm also convinced that if you took a Katania, jumped in the Way-Back machine, went back 10 or 20 years and let then experienced folks jump it... they'd describe the openings as, "A streamer that eventually cleared." A lot of this is all relative... and this is thread drift... doh!

Yes and no. Yes, you should roll the nose on an original Sabre when packing, but over-tucking way back can cause problems too. Yes, a Sabre can open hard, I've experienced it. No, I wouldn't say its a characteristic of the canopy... other canopies open hard too... its been "over hyped" as a hard opening canopy by folks either with only a few years in the sport, folks pushing other canopy designs, or both. That would be poor assumption. I made the mistake of rolling the nose on a Sabre 2 and jumping it once; spun into a bunch of line twists & almost got rid of it. The Sabre 2 has a different airfoil then the original-Sabre and is a tapered design too. [my 2 cents... others will differ] Pack a Sabre 2 basically like a Stilletto, is what I tell folks... don't roll the nose... just set the nose in the middle and not tucked way back... quarter the slider & make sure the fwd quarter of the slider is "in front of" the nose. [/my 2 cents]

Hmmm... sounds like maybe something happend to "burst his bubble"... as in, he used to think his local DZ was the greatest place on the earth with lots of cool people, but something happened to awake him to DZ politics or some "as the prop turns" incident...

Yeah!! Instead of the trunk monkey it would be the grounding gorilla!! Not even a grounding gorilla can bring the dead back to life after a fatal canopy collision. The solution needs to be pre-emptive. Beware the grounding gorilla!

Well, gee, shucks, I'm sorry, but it was your use of the word rig in your original post that made me think you were talking about something on a rig, silly me.

Yeah, maybe its too much confidence in a bud-O-mine, but my money is on Sparky if he catchs someone F-in' with his bike. Anyway, I'm all for ME keeping MY wealth for ME... liberal, soon to be votin' for Hillary, Gen-X'ers be damed!!! Now, can we get back to talking about the degradation of America's Youth being all that's wrong with Skydiving??

Are you sure the brakes were stowed? Who packed the main? Umm... never mind... I won't go there.

Yeah!! Instead of the trunk monkey it would be the grounding gorilla!! Not even a grounding gorilla can bring the dead back to life after a fatal canopy collision. Yes, some things are beyond the power of even the grounding gorilla. However, I wish the grounding gorilla had been at my home DZ this past weekend to thump someone up-side the head after he landed crosswind in the experienced area well after the direction (into the wind) and pattern had been established. He came within seconds of taking another jumper out that was landing in the established direction. Upon it being mentioned to him, his reaction was, "Ah, no big deal, shit happens." * cue the grounding gorilla * (wish) This actually got him more of a talkin' to by the experienced locals then it initially was starting out to be. Thing is, my 2 cents, the more I hear of DZOs should have an established policy and enforce it and/or recommendations for BSR changes and additions, the less I think that realisticly this isn't going to happen consistently DZ to DZ and/or not really the way we'd want things to go. Realisticly, the most positive impact seems to come from the respected and even keeled locals from DZ to DZ having a "talking with" an offender it comes to landing problems. The jumper hookin' a crosswinder through the landing area against the established pattern / direction after some have already landed and others are setting up for that as well as the jumper doing huge S-turns under a massive canopy on final with folks stacked up behind him or her should equally get a "talkin to"; are two examples. Having said that, the application of such "common sense" rules seems to be where that model breaks down. For instance, what might get one a "talkin to" at one DZ may be "Yea-Haw" wasn't that fun, lets do it again at another. At the same time, a "tome" of a USPA BSRs Book feet thick covering landing etiqute, packing etiqute, farting etiqute, etc. doesn't seem very "attractive" to me either. I guess the best thing I've found that works is if y'all find yourselves in a situation where 3 or 4 or 5 of ya want to rip someone a new one because of a landing problem (without an injury or death involved), then, all things being equal, its probably best for only one of you to make, brief, mention of it to the person and go from there... i.e. see how they react to it... does the problem stop... etc. Now where did that grounding gorilla wander off to?

The point being... "PLEASE consult your rigger before you start glueing stuff on." If you want to "self rig" though, good luck with that. I hope you don't do something that would cause you to bounce yourself.

WORD!

Well, I've never seen that done, exactly. I have seen folks with "bootie chaps" that they'd put on over a jumpsuit sans-booties when they wanted to have booties and not buy a whole new jumpsuit, but that idea never really caught on. It might be a fun project to try, like you say, but when it really comes down to it... If you get into RW, you'll wind up going out and buying a real RW suit and a FF suit if you get into that... or one of each maybe. Also... if... ... you're getting ready to pop the question (or have already), good on ya and congrats and all that, but unless your girl is a jumper too, you'll probably wind up getting out of the sport in a year or three. So maybe bootie jeans would be a good economical idea looking ahead to where you'll probably selling what gear you have to buy her new furnature or clothes for the upcoming baby...

Yeah!! Instead of the trunk monkey it would be the grounding gorilla!!

Ummm... Bytch... what are you doing later?

I doubt it, but I'd love to grab a beer, pull up a chair and watch you try.

Would somebody please put a bullet in my head if they ever catch me tradin' in my rigs for a set of clubs.

Paperwork for a balloon jump?? Dunno. The only paper work I had to do for the one balloon jump I've ever made had to do with the bandaging myself up following the the ass-chewin' I got from MJOSparky after taking 15 seconds off of a balloon from 3000'. Ummm... anyway, in theory if you were jumping from a balloon at an established Drop Zone, why would any extra paperwork be involved? Okay, now I realize that in reality the likelyhood of actually landing on the DZ even if the balloon is lauched from the DZ is kinda slim, so, research into paper work or what not to see what it would take to make it legal is a good idea. I'd like to know what the correct answer is.