Ron

I think the requirements are easy...I have done it under several canopies from 0.9 to 2.0 WL's. It is not hard, but it is better than the requirements we had before....nothing. All you needed to do before was breathe and be standing in the right area. Even if the PRO rating is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction. If people actually followed the steps needed to get the PRO it would be even better. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Those are normally classified as a general aviation accident. It was a plane crash, nothing the skydivers did contributed to the fatalities other than being there. To include the plane crashes that had no skydiver related causes would really screw with information. Kinda like saying that Honeymoons killed the couple in the CRJ crash last mth. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

This year we are below average so far. The database on here has 2004: 70 2005: 59 2006: 33 North America has: 2004: 23 with 14 as of 9/3/04 2005: 30 with 23 as of 9/11/05 2006: 12 as of 9/10/06 (not including AC accidents) "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Flatline at 1500....That is my no shit, if I can't land it pull the other handles warning. Many people fight a mal till it is too late (or impact). My hard deck is 1800 feet and if I screw up and fight past it (possible, others have) , the flatline is set to wake me up to the fast moving planet coming at me. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

The difference is this...An AAD that fails to fire when it should, does not increase the risk. It only fails to save someone. Not good, but better than an AAD firing and ripping the tail off a Cessna and causing the death of someone. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Sure...but please allow me to counter. ....Or, some guy with little to no experience got a group of his buddies to jump into a demo with little to no training. Seen this MANY times...Hell did it many times. It was not until I spent 3 years on a real Demo team that I learned how much is really in a demo. The PRO rating, if done correctly, showed that you ALREADY spent some time under the wings of an experienced demo guy. Not just the "hope" you will. Got facts? I seem to recall the accident rate went DOWN after the PRO rating. Neither does being beer drinking buddies with the guy who knows the people who control the half time activity at the local stadium....But I was invited on demos for just that reason....Oh and standing at the DZ the morning of a demo. Then you did not follow the PRO rating at all...It requires a briefing on smoke and flags, AND filling out paperwork. Pencil whipped PRO's are on the same level as the "Bubba's beer drinking buddies" demo school. From the SIM: Ah, but the problem there is maybe you don't like me, even though I might be very qualified to do a demo...so you never let me. I don't DISAGREE with more local control. And I really think that there should be more serious training before doing ANY demo...But the PRO rating is a start. It provides a "basic" understanding that is much better than how it used to be IMO. But the wrong people with and without PRO ratings. The PRO rating being required at least prevents some of these *if followed*. For example you could not get your swoop on if you follwed the Pro based on (from the SIM): And currency is also covered: So, if the PRO rating is actually followed, then people HAVE to work with a guy that is already doing demos. And they have to meet certain skill requirements and have certain knowledge. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well I see it as not firing when it should not vs firing when it should not. I'd rather have no AAD than an AAD that could fire when it should not. If I don't have an AAD, then it will not be any ADDED risk to my jump. An AAD that misfire ADDS risk. Even if all it does is fire on the plane, or in my trunk...That is an aggravation I would rather not have. CYPRES is not perfect....This CYPREs that misfired under the Accuracy canopy...1 or 2? I have not heard of any C2 misfires. That is a choice for you....And I do not envy your position. I think they will do more good than harm. But I really do not want to be proven wrong. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Don't you think it would be better if it didn't screw up at all? Lets face it....It has issues and even though those issues are small...They are still issues. And the company has ignored and down played their issues for quite some time. And we KEEP finding new issues. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I think that is a great idea....sometimes on breakoff when I stop tracking I touch the reserve handle. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

What altitude? I had the same thing, different DZ. How much you wanna bet that if you pulled that at a DZ different than SDC, or a few choice others, that people would bitch and mention how "dangerous" it was to do? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Bump...Cause of of this shits funny. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

As someone said, C or D in the US. But start higher and work your way down to it. Also practice floating and diving exits. In an emergency you will not poise and exit you will just run out like superman. But get over your fear by doing poised exits. Once you feel good about them, them superman a few at that altitude. Then do some poised exits lower, then superman at that altitude. I find it quite funny that people think thay will have no problem doing an emergency exit when they have never even done a low exit before. JJ said it perfectly, "The rule for low emergency exits is that you bail out on your reserve if you are at or below your "decision altitude," the altitude where you decide whether to cut away your main or land it if you're having a malfunction." It can also depend on how well you know your canopy. I know mine well enough that if I had it I would hop out at 2 no worries. But if I had a new or different canopy at the same altitude, I'd use my reserve. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Love his show...Do not agree with the religions spin, but I like how he gives real advice and wants people to live life. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

With my current main (over 2800 jumps on type): 2k to 1700 main with hands on the handles. USPA recomends a 1800 foot decision altitude. Below 1700 reserve. New or unfamiliar main: 2 or below reserve. I knew a guy that thought the same thing....He bounced. Fact is most people will go for the main and not even think about the reserve. Years ago, I personally screwed up and found myself LOW. I had about 200-300 jumps (just like these guys have). My mind yelled "reserve!" While I was reaching for the handle...My main was already opening. BTW while I do not care about your personal choice of straight to the reserve...And if you notice I never said anything about your CHOICE. I do think that you claiming that anyone that would go for a main at 2K as being stupid is not correct. Just because it is not what you would do, does not mean it is stupid/dangerous...ect. I disagreed with you, and you started the insults. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2417415#2417415 "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You did the right thing. And thats what you should do...trust your eyes. The alti breaking on you should be proof enough that you should not just use it for landing. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Agreed, plus it is easier to talk about it since it is already out there. But you bring a good question. My answer? What would Irwin want? What does his wife want? Personally, I would not have much of a problem with the video being shown...But his wife has the final say and we should all respect that. I think that Irwin as an educator would not have a problem with it being shown. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Uh, the picture I saw of that exicution you could see the bullet on the other side of his head.....So it is during/after...Not before. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

That is funny! "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I would rather have those problems than an AAD firing when it is not supposed to fire. My opinion. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Their scores looked good....Very happy for them, Nationals between Gravity and Fury should be very exciting and worth watching with a beer "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Exits? I don't care as long as the equipment is set correctly and the drouge is out within 10 seconds and not used for stability. There are exits I don't like and will not do them. But I know people who do them all the time just fine. But there is a BIG difference between an exit with the gear worn correctly, and using the gear loose so you can do tandem freestyle IMO. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

One time in a stadium, while on final some moron thought it would be cool to have the "jumper people" land in the middle of the kids. So right as the lead jumper turned on final, they let a bunch of kids out on to the field. It was too late to land anywhere else, but the field, or I would have landed off. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

The door should be closed for take off and stay closed until 1,000 feet AGL and all seatbelts have been removed. The drag from an open door will increase the drag on the plane and will cause problems if an engine goes out. Question...How much does the thrust/drag ratio get thrown off if one engine on a twin stops? Hint: It is way more than 50% Also, keep the door closed until the seat belts are off. Having a person being drug out by a PC and held in the plane by a seat belt is...well just really bad. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Bad idea...No wait REALLY bad idea. While I understand you are not USPA....But the PRO rating is noe of the things I think the USPA did right. A HP canopy is not the right kind of canopy to take into a demo in a very inclosed area. The margin of error is way to small and the cost of a mistake is way to high. Stadiums are not normal in any shape or form as a landing area. The winds come from any direction and change in an instant. Even small open stadiums have issues. All in all, there is no way I would take a HP canopy into a stadium....And I have quite a few stadium jumps, and a bunch of HP canopy flight time. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You think it was a good idea? USPA, Vector and Strong disagree. Nah. As long as he would not pull these kinds of stunts, I bet a large number of DZ's would take him. You have the right to stay anonymous...But you do realize that many people consider that to be the mark of a troll right? Look, I know Jacko...Really good jumper. But what he was doing was not in the best interest of the student, and the student is the reason we do tandems. Tandems are not places for the TI's to get their rocks off. And while he surely is skilled...It is not the safest way to perform a tandem jump. And the students do not know enough to be able to make an informed choice on if they allow it. Thats all...It is not in the best interest of the student. If he changed his ways and stops doing this...Well I have no other issue. Just like if you claim to have done the same thing, and now you stop doing it I have no issue with you. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334