Ron

Yes but the guy with 1,000 jumps or 15 years has MUCH more exposure to the learning than some guy with 100 jumps or a year. So jump numbers is the amount of times that a person has been exposed to that environment. And in most cases the person with more repititions is more experienced and has more knowledge. Simple fact is that number of jumps does in fact normally equate to experience. Its why it is used. Other factors such as tunnel or education also come into play. However jump numbers still is a great gauge. I'll give ya an example. I was coaching in the tunnel....This student was wired tight. They turned fast, stopped hard, and took grips with authority. VERY nice. I did some 4way jumps with this same person. In freefall they were no where close to the same level of skill. I could almost sense that in freefall they had a "panic" that they did not show in the tunnel. It was a clear case of not having the *skydiving* experience and it showed. It is very hard for a person to become proficient without exposure. And number of jumps equals exposure. I also find that most people think they are better than their jump numbers...Funny thing is if most people tend to think that, and if they are actually correct then no one is "only" as good as their jump numbers. Still if I had to choose to give my kid to an unrated Instructor, I'd tend to give him to the guy with more jumps in almost every case. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Yes, all that helps with Knowledge, but it does not do squat for experience. I would dare say that if you asked a guy with 500 jumps in a year and a guy with 500 jumps over 5 years that the 5 year guy would know more...Now the one year guy may be a better flier, but knowledge is gained through exposure, not just jumps. You mention this website....This website is good AND bad. Yes there is tons of good information, but there is also tons of BAD information. How do you know which is which? Experience can help there. Yes, people can learn form accidents....But ya know we don't invent new ways to kill ourselves. We just keep using the same old ones over and over. All we can really learn from accidents is that they still happen and I have noticed that some new highly current jumpers with few years don't seem to learn from them. Skill often breeds complacency. If you have been in the sport 5 years, chances are you knew someone that bounced. When the incident reports are personal and the name has a face...It means more than just if is words on a page. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

No need to apologize....I could be very wrong...Its just my opinion. Given two choices of who I would HAVE to trust my kid with to do a tandem if both just got rated. 1. A new skydiver with tons of tunnel and 500 jumps that is on a hot 4way team. 2. An old hand with 5000 jumps that has been around 25 years. I'd give my kid to #2 anyday over #1. Skydiving experience can only really be gained by skydiving. I had a team mate who could fly circles around me. He was FAST had a ton of tunnel time and was just flat out good. He also bounced when he had his first mal. He had skills and knowledge, but no experience. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

See I kinda disagree, but it is a matter of definition. You can KNOW how to do something, but not be able to do it....I have tons of AFF level 1's that KNOW that have to arch and to pull, but they don't do it. EXPERIENCE in my not so humble opinion requires doing it, not just knowing it. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Jump numbers mean that you have done something X number of times. That can mean a lot or nothing. I have a few jumps. Most are RW, and most are 4way. That means that I can do 4way pretty well. My Freefly really sucks however. Some guy with 400 total jumps and 350 are Freefly will fly circles around me. I may have 3600 jumps, but Kallend has more Bigway jumps than me...So I would bet he is better at bigways than me. I have an AFF rating and a Tandem rating. I bet some guy with 2000 total jumps, but 1500 tandems is better than me doing tandems. So jump numbers DO mean something. It means that the peroson has survived X number of times. The problem is when people treat that like the only measurement. I know a guy that came out started jumping like crazy and got 300 jumps in a year. He was looking to buy a new main and found one pretty cheap. It was a ZP 9 cell with maybe 100 jumps on it for 300.00 bucks. What a deal right? His circle of friends all thought it was a great deal. Most of them had around 1,000 jumps but only in the last 5 years or so. They were current and quite skilled. They came and asked me what I thought. When I heard the name of the canopy I told him to stay away. The canopy was a Nova. If you don't know WHY I told him to stay away, find some old timer at the DZ this weekend, buy him a beer and ask him to tell you about it. So just because you may be current, just because you might be a really good flier. None of that means any more than what it means. However if I had to bet on someone to make a safe jump...I'd bet on the guy with the most jumps everyday. If I had to make a guess on overall skill based on paper alone, the guy with the most jumps will win. The guy that has been ACTIVE in the sport the longest will win if I have to guess who knows more. So Number of jumps = skill Number of ACTIVE years = knowledge. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

People say the same thing to me about booties...."Why do you have to wear booties?" Answer, "I don't HAVE to, but I can, and it makes things much safer for me...So I do it." I would rather dress for the safest freefall possible and be hot, than dress to look or br cool and risk not having enough control when a problem comes up. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well kinda. Bob went to Majik and Mark is doing another PC team. Thomas is doing Black Majik. So yes, it is a new team, but the one member who was on Blade, was Natasha, and for a person with around 1,000 jumps to place third (but not medal) is pretty damn impressive. Fire is stonger than Blade was. So you are right, its not the same team. My point was the weakest member last year is better and the team is better than last year. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

True, but that would mean to make it so you have to be a USPA member to jump there, then all the pilots there would have to be members of the AOPA to fly there. Also if the DZ needs 1 million in insurance, then the flight school and the FBO needs 1 million as well. The problem is often that people do not have enough money to fight BS like this, so they just abide. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

And the legality of that is questionable. Any public airport could be in danger of losing Federal Money if they kick a DZ off based on not being a member of the USPA since the USPA is a private organization. Also there are private Airports that do not require it. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Coaches are allowed to teach portions of the SL program and even supervise some jumps. The first thing I would do is make damn sure what they are doing is actually wrong. Also, the USPA is not the LAW. There is nothing against the law with you and a buddy taking a SL rig and teaching people. So, there is the USPA who wants you to THINK they are the law, and the FAA that is law. The worst the USPA could do is kick the DZ or the individual members out of the USPA....And to be honest so what? I can think of two really great DZ's that do not require a USPA membership to jump there. So, make sure that this DZ is actually breaking the BSR's. And please do not confuse think that a guy sent 15-20 bucks to the USPA as a better instructor than a guy that didn't. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I read the whole book and your review is spot on. Good info, but pretty basic and been said a few hundered times. The Skydiving angle is new, but the neatness fades pretty quickly IMO. The info is good, but there are plenty of books just like that one that just don't say "Skydiving" in them. The Millman books are better and I can honestly say I learned from them. The Millman books were suggested to me by a friend when I was looking to further my personal performance and get a better insite on how to teach. I think they are very good and recomend them to anyone who cares to listen. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Relaxation in a high stress environment. Emotional control. Mental prep for a performance. Two good books: Warrior Athlete Inner Athlete Both by Dan Milman. They are out of print, but you can find them used on B@N.com and Amazon.com. You could also dust off the old library card and check there. www.skyleague.com sells a book by John DeLarosa "Mental Training for Skydiving and Life". I much prefer the Milman books to be honest. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Not yet...Besides we are going against professionals that do this full time..Our 150-180 jumps is nothing when you have to face Airspeed, Fire, the GK's....ect. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

A Safety device that can kill you is not a good safety device. You are encouraging device dependancy by ignoring the fact that RSL's have killed people. You refuse to admit the dangers. THAT is irresponsible. Also if you had bothered to even read any of my posts I have said time after time that I recomend an RLS till you have a Malfunction that you handled properly....You of course would rather just run around calling people irresponsible than bother to educate people to the risks of your favorite toys. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Would bouncing be better? You skydive for the exit to be stable....If you can't get stable you save both of your lives. If that means throwing the drouge to keep from dying, you do it. I will say the choice of a tshirt could have been done better, but he knows that now. As for AD...Dude if you can't take the heat doing back to backs...Don't sacrifice saftey by skimping on the equipment, don't do back to backs. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

There are two types of coaches: 1. Those that think they know everything. 2. Those that are good coaches. In every sport/hobby/job ect there are people that do not think that the Minimum needed to get the rating/award/job is enough to do the job well....Well they are correct. Its not enough to have the Minimum...But it is a great place to start. Thats why they HAVE minimums. So people can start to learn how to teach. The coaches that get a rating and think they know it all are fools. The coaches that meet the Minimums and realize that they might not have enough knowledge/skills to do a good job and work on it are on the right track. Even with 3600 jumps I still am working on things....Don't wait till you are perfect to try and get a rating. If you want a rating get the Minimums and commit to learning to be a good teacher. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

For skydiving it is mostly mental. Focus on your mental skills. For physical general good shape, the better fit you are the better jumper you will be. No real specific areas needed, just general good shape with stanima. Being in good shape makes everything easier. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You are picking now. I said "RSL's have killed"...Then a bunch of folks said they don't. I proved them wrong, but you refuse to see that. The Student in AZ....The RSL contributed to his death, thats just simple logic. You want to discount it since he screwed up and pulled the cutaway? Fine, but then you have to discount both WFFC accidents since they also both screwed up and lost track of altitude. See you claim an RSL would have saved the two at the WFFC, but I say without an RSL the AZ student might have lived. You guys keep fighting, but you fail to see the clear fact that the two at the WFFC died since they failed to perform the EP as a two step process....The Student in AZ died because a piece of "Saftey gear" fired the reserve while he was unstable. Well you are being as obtuse now as you were during the WL debates. You refuse to see my point at all....The RSL while it could save you if you screw up does nothing that you can't do yourself. However it removes your ability to delay after a cutaway...And that has killed. You refuse to admit that and would rather stick your head in the sand and pretend your safety toys are perfect. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Yes, however Fire has won every meet they have done this year. Russia: Fire 21.6 ASO 20.4 ASV 20.2 DeLand: Fire 20.7 GK 20.4 Majic 19.3 AS also has to be ready for two major events...Fire only has to focus on 4way. The GK's are going to be very strong. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Nonya:51: 0 51 4way jumps "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Kinda like how some people can make personal attacks, and others get banned for a PM? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Fastrack will do well, but they still have not gone past the 20 mark. (10 round meet). The GK have the SAME lineup as last year. Fire/Last years Blade...Last year in third, but was a guest, this year is legal, and this year have already beaten the GK's, Both AS and FT. The AS teams are training like hell. I voted for Fire. In 8way: AS GK Paraclete. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

No you got what I was sending, both an old RSL and the new Skyhook BOTH require you to disconnect it before you cutaway if you want to fall clear from a canopy collision.... Having been wrapped up in a nother persons parachute spinning like hell twice, I can tell you that very few people will have the presence of mind to remember to disconnect ANY RSL. It is that reason that I don't really like any RSL. It removes choice from you, and in some cases can make things worse.....Imagine cutting away from a canopy collision and now being wrapped with your reserve? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Got any numbers to back that up, or are you just making stuff up? You are the one that claims to demand hard numbers...so show me some. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Thats why you make a container that fits two canopies And I agree that the Skyhook is totally different than a normal RSL. My only reason for not having a Skyhook is that I still think about canopy collisions and entanglments, and I think it might be better to be able to chose when to fire the reserve in that situation. With any RSL you lose the choice of when the reserve fires. Do you feel that way? Do you think that jumping without an RSL is stupid? One thing I can say is that you clearly saw a problem with the current RSL's...Otherwise there would have never been a need for a Skyhook. I remember a very well written letter from you that said that RSL's were not for experienced jumpers. Before I post this I will say that this is not including the Skyhook. And that the Skyhook was created to eliminate many of these problems. The Skyhook dos NOT solve the collision problem yet....And it is the reason I don't want one yet. But I really feel that a standard RSL is not that great of a device for an experienced jumper for all the reasons you mentioned. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334