Foggy

Nope. All static line Foggy

Agreed I had one student all to myself to teach the entire FJC midweek with no time constraints. We completed the training including dive flow but I was not confident in his abilities to go solo as he was not getting canopy control in any shape or form. His EPs were ok but he was not confident about his canopy flight. I suggested a "working" tandem where he did essentially the level 1 dive flow. On the skydive he did not check his altitude despite prompts from the TI, no practice touches, no attempt to pull. He gave no input to the TI for the canopy flight agreed on the brick comment but would you want to take that brick on an AFF level 1? and that is the major difference between doing AFF, S/L as opposed to Tandem in my personal opinion. The tandem option allows the student to opt for the "ride" but also allows more interaction between the instructor and student, particularly in the canopy flight. As an AFFI/ SLI I have to "let go". Foggy

Respectfully disagree Not crap but definitely aware of my limitations which is why I defer to my Chief Instructor or one of my peers with a "problem child" Skydiving is not for everybody. Not everybody gets it. I believe one of my responsibilities as an instructor is to recognise when someone needs more time in a particular subject area as opposed to someone who needs to be directed to the local bowling alley. Sometimes this is easy like when I had one guy decide to strip down to the waist during my equipment lesson and debate the time taken from cutaway to reserve pull during malfunctions, "but I thought it was about freefall". Other times are difficult. I had a guy whom the main side Inst and myself had to scrape off the ceiling of the Otter at two minutes to jump run and I hoped never to see him again! Signed off his A license two months later I was a problem student (ask Steve Murphy, George Campbell, Dave Ruffell)

Aahh Come on Swoop. You made it big on those late night poker games Foggy

I have to respectively disagree. Particularly with AFF students. There is a fine line between someone having difficulty absorbing the info and someone not getting it at all. What I have done in the past is get my chief instructor involved and have them work one on one while I continue with the other students. After which, some have done a tandem instead. We recently had guy who needed a LOT more work, successfully get his A license

for AFFI it will depend upon which National organization (i.e. USPA or BPA). You already have Rick Horn's guide? I would suggest working with current evaluators as they are the most current and will take you through a progression of drill dives to work you up to the course. For USPA you will need a current SIM and an Instructor Rating Manual (IRM) less than 2 years old for both AFFI and TI. There are requirements that need to completed on the IRM proficiency cards before you attend a course. You can get these at www.uspa.org I recommend contacting Bram Clement www.skydiveratings.com. He does a lot of work with European jumpers visiting the US. Foggy

IIRC it is foggy@dropzone.com Am making a window in my otherwise hectic social calendar for Saturday evening. I have bowled once before but my waiver has expired Foggy

Have not seen the movie yet but I was loaned the book while recuperating with a broken left fibula a few years ago. Was getting sympathy pains in my right leg! Foggy

I think that the Airspeed documentary by Fiery Pig Films about the team's attempt to win both 4 and 8 way In Australia ('99) is very accessible to non-skydivers. I do concede that it has a very narrow focus towards competitive formation skydiving so perhaps if it was complemented with "Cutaway" Foggy

To those that have paid the ultimate price so that we can debate such issues. Foggy "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."

Please pass on my best wishes for her recovery. Also let her know that Brian Smith and I have some old crutches, canes, etc at very reasonable rates Foggy

I do not post very often but just needed to let off a little steam as my boss let me go at 10.30 am for "business reasons". Kinda like the Godfather Gotta love that Employment at Will stuff. He is being kind enough to let me keep the company car to 5pm and extend my benefits til Sep 30th! I asked about Cobra but "we are not a large enough company to support that". I think I may just challenge that. I am a field service engineer and have already had my customers calling to offer support so I do not feel so bad

Ok here is the scoop. Dave and I chatted via e-mail about this incident and I said that if he felt that some learning could be shared then post it. I did not anticipate a debate upon his choice of main size vs reserve (170 and pd143, same as myself). He made two attempts to deploy his main then pulled the reserve as per the SIM. The two canopies out is interesting because he must have partially deployed his pilot chute during the attempts while possibly grabbing the excess material of the shirt worn to increase drag (which is a common technique used on big ways to my knowledge; (which is limited)). He then flew the resulting biplane again as per the SIM. As for the tree landing, he waited what he considered to be a reasonable period of time before deciding to take matters into his own hands due to an increasing numbness in the legs and his location. We teach first jump students to sit tight until we get there but at some point a licensed jumper has to make decisions outside of those suggested in a first jump course. I believe Dave was fortunate in his decison making but also correct in that he made each decision based upon his training then deviated as an adult when it required it. This is the reason I suggested that he post his incident so others could analyze and perhaps learn from his experience. He made in an interesting comment about having recently done his Coach rating in that it was the first time he had reviewed two canopies out since his FJC. Foggy

I have a Raven 1 DOM 1989 that I deployed at terminal in '93 (approx wing loading 1.0) at Hollister, CA. Canopy ride was fine and the flare was good. Foggy

I had my C5, 6 and 7 fused in April 2001 and waited 6 months before jumping again. I really worked with my PT to get the strength back in my right hand and arm (was at 50%). Might be the better long term option. John

Plate and six screws in left fibula, (Skydive NM June 1997). Titanium (Orion) plate and bone plugs fusing C5,6 and 7, (Sabre opening Feb 2001). Foggy

I was not the most stellar student (it took 4 years and 107 jumps to graduate). One of the things that kept me going was the enthusiasm of my instructors, in particular, George Campbell, Dave Ruffell and last (and least), Steve Murphy I then progressed equally slowly with my RW skills and was exposed to various coaches and marvelled at their ability to coax something out of me. 1400+ jumps and an AFF rating later, I still thoroughly enjoy the whole teaching process. Taking someone who has never flown in aircraft through the FJC and taking them on their level 1 the same day. There is also something about seeing someone manifesting for a solo and taking them for a low key 2-way and watching their eyes get big when something clicks for them