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I throw the crap out of mine . . . I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years. Arrive Safely John

But it doesn't belong in this forum. Your post would be most appropriate in Safety & Training. Arrive Safely John

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=48; Arrive Safely John

People have personal limits. I actually teach and encourage them. I also encourage people to stretch their personal limits with a "crawl-walk-run" progression in a safe and fairly comfortable set of conditions (coaching, etc.). Despite the best of encouragement, some people are just not comfortable in certain situations and don't want to learn how to get that way. People like that sometimes choose not to skydive at very bust dropzones with multiple landing areas and busy skies filled with jumpers from multi-place turbine aircraft. They do so because they are not comfortable putting themselves in that environment, and I respect their choice. BUT - their decision comes from within. You have chosen to abstain from jumping at Eloy, which of course is your choice. If you chose not to jump there because doing so exceeds your own personal limits, that is absolutely fine. But that is not the case, it seems. Your choice was to use four recent tragic fatalities there as a soap box to announce your choice not to jump at Eloy a la Scarlett O'Hara ("I'll never go hungry again!") here in this public forum. You then add to it with an incredibly ironic reference to the incredibly sad Twin Otter crash at Quantum Leap. I have never been there, but the deceased pilot's brother is a friend of mine. I will not speak ill of Quantum Leap because of that incident - I know nothing at all about the DZ. I would also not hesitate to skydive there, without worries of the airworthiness of the aircraft. I won't let that accident form my opinion of the DZ. You also say you have no issue with fear. To me this is the most puzzling of your remarks. I really hope for your sake that you respect the danger of this sport. Forsaking that respect leads to complacency which has needlessly killed countless skydivers - a tragedy you seem to support preventing at all costs. I have lost friends, and I miss them. When they died, I changed so that I could keep the same from happening to me and set an example for others so they might remain as safe as possible. I learned from their mistakes, and my longevity in the sport is in part because of that gift they gave me. In my opinion, your avoidance of Eloy because of the recent fatalities is unfounded. I think you are plainly uncomfortable stretching your own personal limits as I mentioned above, and are somehow trying to justify it by waving your banner of boycott in the forums. Eloy is an incredible place; the friendships I have there are priceless to me. It is one of the most professional skydiving operations I have ever seen. Despite my experience level when I first jumped there, I recognized the need to fit myself into the pattern there as safely as possible. I asked questions, made some changes, and have never had an issue - nor have I gotten in anyone's way with my big canopies. The skills I learned there dealing with that traffic I have lifted and shifted to my own drop zone and EVERY other I have visited. If I had shyed away from jumping there, I would have missed out on developing those skills, which would be a shame. Do yourself a favor . . . take a look at what is at the heart of your decision and pursue steps to stretch your own limits to deal with it. It will make you a better skydiver, and a safer one. It will give you knowledge you can pass on to others to forward the sport, rather than inviting people to carry an online picket sign. Arrive Safely John

I just found one listed on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Skydiving-Helmet-Visor-NEW-Renegade-L-through-XXL_W0QQitemZ140095313163QQcategoryZ106980QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Arrive Safely John

You never know what you're gonna get! About three weeks ago one of my wife's real estate clients emailed me and asked me for a tandem appointment. We set it all up, then he told me that it was really for his girlfriend who was flying into town for the weekend, and that he planned to propose marriage to her as part of the jump. So, they arrived this morning - she was clueless where they were going - and we set up the jump with two camera flyers. The "lord of the ring" stayed on the ground while I took his unsuspecting fiancee-to-be up for a tandem. The jump was excellent - she had a blast! It was perfect with her mouthing "I love you" to her soul mate on the video. After we landed I took her harness and helmet off and he popped the question. She said yes, and we all lived happily ever after. I really love this job!

I would like to suggest that this return . . . in a different format. It is my opinion that Skydivers and Riggers should go straight to the manufacturers' websites for the most up-to-date documents pertaining to a particular piece of skydiving gear if the manufacturer still exists. Compilation CDs with manuals or document depository websites are excellent when they are first created, but CDs become outdated and depository websites can fall behind if not properly maintained. So, my proposal is this: create a document link page that posts hyperlinks to the most up-to-date manuals and service bulletins posted to manufacturers' websites. In cases of manufaturers that no longer exist (e.g. Stunts), or have changed hands such that they no longer post docs for equipment manufactured by the company before it changed (e.g. PISA sport products), files could be posted instead. Updating those files would not be as much of an issue since the last manual version posted before the company stopped making the gear is suitable - service bulletins after the fact (from PIA or other organization) can be linked to. An editor/page manager would be assigned by Sangiro. Relevant links and documents would be sent via PM or email to the editor/page manager, who would approve them for posting. Periodically, the editor would test all the links for functionality, and broken links will be reported by users as well. Links to manufacturers' support pages normally yield a plethora of information. Examples: UPT (formerly RWS) PD How many folks would find this useful? Arrive Safely John

You already posted this. I moved it to Bonfire (here), because the thread is about an airplane crash, not about skydiving. Why you posted it again, I'm not sure - but please take the time to read this section of the forum rules about crossposting: Feel free to post in this forum later on about how the demo went at the show . . . that (of course) is pure skydiving conversation at its best! Arrive Safely John

The Advanced User Search is a

Well done, Max! More media blitz: http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/03/15/2279-amputee-pursues-skydiving-dream/ Arrive Safely John

First of all, this guy ("Jeff Dancy") has an obvious history of ripping people off, including scamming people through eBay and hijacking a legitimate username here in the forums. Provided that all of the information posted about him here is true (very likely), he deserves whatever he gets. On the other hand, there are occasions that involve a severely delayed payment for gear already shipped, or severely delayed shipping of gear already payed for in which there are legitimate reasons for the delay (a hospital stay in the middle of the transaction, for example). There have been many posts similar to this one in which the delinquent party eventually made good with an apology and a good explanation. What we don't want to do here is to establish a precedent in the G&R Forum where users who have sold gear and not been paid (or received what they paid for) feel they have carte blanche to post as much personal information about the delinquent party as they can for whatever reason. In cases like I mentioned above, it would be a shame for someone with good reasons for a delay to have their identity stolen because their personal info was posted here. Now, back to "Mr. Dancy" - I removed his personal info from the post above, but saved it for anyone who wants it - I will be happy to provide it via PM. My own story: I bought a used Pro Dytter through eBay about 3 years ago for $85. I sent the seller funds via USPS money order. I got an email a few days later saying: "I got your payment, your item will ship today." I got nothing for over a month despite several "where's my stuff?" emails. I was about to file a complaint through eBay, when I got an email from the seller from a different email address. He said he had just gotten out of jail for driving his truck through his girlfriend's living room because she was shacking up with another man. He apologized, shipped it Express Mail with an apology, and all was good. Arrive Safely John

If you are taking him to Eloy, ask for Chris Owens. He has a TON of experience jumping special needs tandem students. He is the one who showed me the cuff/strap setup that I use. He is also a fabulous instructor and incredible human being. Arrive Safely John

There are a couple of common ways this is done: 1) Secure the student's legs to the instructor's legs using velcro cuffs. Wherever the instructor moves his legs, the student moves theirs. 2) Secure the student's legs together above the ankles and above the knees with velcro cuffs. Under canopy, the upper legs are lifted into the landing position by pulling them up and securing them to the student's chest strap with an additional strap (there are different methods to do this). The student's lower legs are lifted into position by the instructor right before the flare by pushing them out with his feet. A sliding landing then makes it comfortable for everyone. Arrive Safely John

SunPath is offering the Skyhook as an option. It is not available as a retrofit on sport rigs due to the difficulty of installing the Collins Lanyard channel. Right now SunPath is the only non-UPT manufacturer that has licensed, tested, and received FAA approval for the Skyhook in their rigs. Aerodyne has licensed, but at this time testing is not complete (my best information). Arrive Safely John

The "Search Posts" function is your friend! The info you are looking for is in the first thread listed. Maybe you can reply and ask Bushman for an update? Arrive Safely John

My interpretation of the original post is that the author was referring to AFF students, not necessarily "unlicensed jumpers" that have completed AFF and are cleared for self-supervision. Regarding unlicensed jumpers, I see no reason to keep them from making a sunset load. Arrive Safely John

Surely you don't mean 18 AFF jumps!?!?! We are saying that AFF students should not be on a sunset load - solo jumpers cleared for self-supervision should be assessed based on their skill set and gently pointed toward the safest alternative. Arrive Safely John

YES! Another "true believer!" Congrats on your rite of passage, Josh. Your heart is now firmly grounded in the right place. May you have many many more like Zophie throughout your tandem career. Arrive Safely John

Short answer: no. Longer answer: at Raeford we won't put a solo student on a load within an hour of sunset. This is based on the student landing out and landing in a tree - it gives the DZ crew enough time to locate them, get to their location (both of these happen very quickly), and get the person out of the tree. Tree landings happen once in a blue moon, but past experience has shown that not putting up students that late in the day is good policy. Arrive Safely John

I PMd you my phone number. Call me tomorrow. Arrive Safely John

If it looks like that on the visible side, there is a strong chance that there is corrosion where the hardware contacts the buffer inside the webbing loop. I would not jump it either, and would have serious reservations about returning it to service like it is. Seeing it in person would probably lead to a stronger opinion. Rigs like that end up having a handful of problems - once you find one you find several more. Arrive Safely John

Have you got the tail number? Arrive Safely John

Fruit. Interestingly enough, Friday night I had a sushi roll that had strawberries on the outside. It's one of the best things I have ever had in my life. Arrive Safely John

I love wasabi peas. A word of caution though: be careful where you put your hands after eating them. I was chowing down some WPs when a gnat flew into my eye . . . I wiped my eye with my index finger to get it out. Arrive Safely John

Sad news. I was in the airport on the way home yesterday when I heard the news at a distance on CNN. His voice was incredible - the great harmonies on Boston albums were because of his talent. There is a very fitting tribute on Boston's official website. They took down the entire home page and put this up: http://www.bandboston.com/ Arrive Safely John