slotperfect

Great song. Fantastic blues voice - sounds almost exactly like the recently departed Jeff Healey. May his Mom rest peacefully . . . Arrive Safely John

Previously (originally) FTS Arrive Safely John

From the USPA website, open the current SIM as a PDF and search "harness hold." http://www.uspa.org/publications/manuals.pdf/2008SIM.pdf Arrive Safely John

That looks like free running, as seen in the James Bond film "Casino Royale." Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQju-pcgwb8 I just hope that song doesn't become the new over-used skydiving video background music (like "Freefalling"). Arrive Safely John

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3142888#3142888 Arrive Safely John

Ummm . . . no attachment. Arrive Safely John

My son and I saw him at the Handlebar in Greenville, SC. Bottom line - he can still WAIL on his strat! He played his own stuff - a variety spread over his solo albums from the first one to the new one. He didn't play any blues standards that I like so much (Further On Up The Road, Crossroads, Rock Me Baby), which I missed. It was one of the LOUDEST concerts I have ever been to - my ears are still ringing. It got louder twice during the show when he turned up his amps. Bridge of Sighs was about 20 minutes long and got a little sleepy, but the others were great. His "thank you very much - goodnight" at the end of "Little Bit Of Sympathy" was nearly exactly the same as his 1976 live album (which I will listen to in the car on the way home). Davey Pattison's pipes are intact, although his vocals could have been mixed a bit louder. He is a funny looking little guy though, looking like a pawn shop clerk or something. He twists himself up when he sings, which is kinda funny. The Handlebar is a great venue for shows like his - smoke-free inside, easy to sit close to the stage, and they sell a six-pack in a bucket with ice so you only have to go to the bar once (I chose the single bottle option ). Acoustics are OK - the sound is probably best in the middle of the room, about five rows back from where we sat. He sat in his Suburban outside and signed autographs - gracious is a great word to describe him. He was especially nice to my son. There were a lot of hardcore fans there - chatting with them was cool as well. Arrive Safely John

One correction to my original post, provided by Jim Crouch (USPA Director of Safety & Training) via PM: I edited the original post to reflect the correction - thanks Jim! Arrive Safely John

That's a T-10 harness and pack tray, used to hold one of a few different models of round military main canopies over the years. Arrive Safely John

I am not familiar with CSPA rules. Arrive Safely John

He just retired from the Army - he's in his early 40's and is moving on to a second career. Arrive Safely John

They are back again this morning . . . very difficult to navigate any page except the homepage and article pages. Arrive Safely John

They are in the IRM. To be true to the process they will have to administer the test in person. Arrive Safely John

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112561#3112561 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112652#3112652 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112871#3112871 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3113119#3113119 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3113316#3113316 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3113796#3113796 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3113962#3113962 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3114397#3114397 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3117053#3117053 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3117102#3117102 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112149#3112149 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112462#3112462 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112950#3112950 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3112052#3112052 Arrive Safely John

Interesting. The recent "sanitization" (your words) only brings Bonfire back to being the sub-community it was originally intended to be. That would be why so many "old-timers" have returned. I don't believe advertising has anything to do with it. Notice that the original "Open Forums" post that the current Bonfire sticky thread refers to was before Premier Memberships and before the major advertisers appeared. I guess that makes me a moron. To show there are no hard feelings, I will give you my tin foil hat - it should fit, because morons have really big noggins. Arrive Safely John

Your Superhero name should be Captain Disclaimer. Take a look at the return of numerous posters from Bonfire past since the "Open Forums" sticky post appeared. To me, that by itself makes the adjustment worth the effort - a lot of folks that had stayed away because of what Bonfire had become have now returned. Welcome home, y'all! Arrive Safely John

Alright! A new angle! It's about time! Try this one: Vicarious Entertainment Arrive Safely John

I posted an update on this situation here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3140496;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed; Arrive Safely John

I posted an update on this subject here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3140496;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed; Arrive Safely John

I attended the annual Mid-Atlantic S&TA meeting last night, and learned quite a bit about the upcoming USPA rating changes scheduled to take place 1 October with the release of the 2009 SIM/IRM. -As most of you already know, as of 1 October a USPA Tandem Instructor Rating will be required for any USPA member to conduct tandem skydives any DZ. This includes foreign USPA members at foreign DZs and members in the US doing tandems at non-USPA DZs. -For those of you who are rated TIs by a manufacturer but do not hold a USPA TI rating, there are already provisions in place to convert your current manufacturer's rating to a USPA TI rating. Depending on your current rating situation, you may not need to attend a complete USPA TCC. Conversion requirements are listed HERE. The Tandem Proficiency Card is posted HERE. The link for the page containing those documents can be found in the right hand column of the News page on the USPA website. -As of 1 October, the new I/E rating will replace the "Course Director" rating. The new I/E rating is nothing like the old one - it basically qualifies I/E rating holders to conduct USPA rating courses if they meet the other specified prerequisites for a particular discipline. Aside from meeting the prerequisites listed in the new SIM/IRM, candidates will be required to complete the new I/E Course, which is targeted for completion by the end of the year. The I/E Course will take elements from the AIC (which will be discontinued) and be scaled back to three days, intended to train senior USPA Instructors to conduct USPA Rating Courses. Course Directors from any discipline that are current as of 1 October will automatically receive the new I/E Rating (grandfather clause). That means that as of 1 October, newly rated I/Es will then be cleared to conduct USPA Rating Courses as long as they meet the specified prerequisites. AFFCDs will no longer require a BOD appointment. AFF Evaluator and Designated Evaluator assignments will remain unchanged. They are not ratings per se, rather they are assigned by AFFCDs to support courses in the local area. -For current CDs not wanting to wait until October to start conducting USPA TCCs, submit a waiver request through your Regional Director asking that the AIC requirement be waived for you to earn a Tandem Course Directorship. Several such waivers were approved during the last BOD meeting. This will help prevent gaps in rating coverage for current manufacturer rated TIs who don't yet hold a USPA TI rating. Arrive Safely John

What an incredibly sad piece of news. I am in total shock, having seen Lowell only four short days ago in Spain. Wow. For once I really don't know what to say. Maybe once I process the news a bit I can share a little of my experience of him. My prayers go out to Dori, Chris, and Curt. Arrive Safely John

A few reminders for everyone: -[warning] PAs are not welcome in the forums. If you want to duke it out with someone, do it via PM. If you see something in a post that violates the forum rules or is obviously a candidate for removal, PM a Moderator rather than create your own forum rules violation by ranting on your own. [/warning] -If you can't answer a valid question in a post, or simply don't want to, silence is golden. Move along and find one that you can/do. [warning] Rude and antagonistic responses such as we have seen in this thread will result in a break from participating in this topical forum. [/warning] -If you see a post get deleted, posting your own new thread to reply to it is *probably* not the thing to do. [warning] Putting them back up, posting new separate threads for the same reason, or posting comments here about post removals and edits will result in a break from partici[ating in this topical forum. [/warning] Arrive Safely John

You had it turned down to a point where the barometric pressure was somewhere close to that of ground level the day you last set it. There was a significant change in weather conditions (and consequently barometric pressure) and it made your Dytter go off. Since your already up, can I have a cup of coffee? Arrive Safely John

In 1993 I was doing a demo in Concord, NH. I watched out the window of our jump aircraft as Ron and Karen Shelley, a father-daughter biplane/wingwalker team, crashed into the ground killing them both. The next morning, the airshow staff called an unscheduled briefing. The FAA Examiner onsite stood up and asked us to be "extra careful" that day so we didn't have any more tragedies. Leo Laudenslager, another aerobatic performer at that show - an incredibly skilled pilot and all around fine human being - instantly objected. He said that every performer on site built safety into their routine to mitigate the already elevated level of risk. Being "extra careful" translated to "extra likely" to suffer the same fate. Making poor choices and being "extra careful" will not make you grow old in this sport - making the right choices (and listening to those who provide experienced advice in surround sound) does. I know because I have been in both pairs of shoes. Thanks Leo . . . Respectfully, Arrive Safely John

Day one . . . This is a much smaller event than Reno last year, but the turn-out has been good. The exhibition hall is much smaller, and the vendors have scaled down their displays to cut down on costs (overseas shipping, etc.). There are several new vendors that have appeared this time that were not in the States last year. The local manufacturer, CIMSA, which is connected with Icarus, is very well represented. Both CIMSA and Icarus have double booths on a corner that are connected together. I did not make it to many booths yesterday, but I did see a few things of note: -Rigging Innovations: Sandy Reid is building rig bags for use in the wind tunnel that completely enclose a flyer's rig to render them wind tunnel safe. This allows tunnel flyers to get more realistic training. Sandy says that they have been very well received by tunnel operators. Sandy is also nearly finished developing a Field Rigger Kit, which contains all the tools a Rigger needs to repack a reserve in the field. Since I am military he oriented his demonstration that way; the closed kit is small enough to fit in a cargo pocket and his (of course) is made in MARPAT camouflage with his beloved globe eagle and anchor proudly displayed. -Alti-2: They have debuted a new free fall computer cousin to the Neptune2 called the N3. This model is in being readied for production now. The software appears to be the same, but the hardware has major changes: an aluminum case with rounded corners and flush rubber buttons makes the unit more durable, a glass lens to protects the LCD screen, the IR port for communications has been replaced by a USB2 connection, and the battery is now an internal rechargeable. Arrive Safely John