Ron

Hahahahahhaha We will give them a remedial spotting class first thing when they get there. And I was a member of the team from 1999-2002... So I am allowed to pick on them. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I was only being half serious with that comment, it was mainly to point out how the rest of the world looks on the gun issue in the US.....but thats another story. Mikes point about unlicenced gun dealings and the lack of control thereof just highlights the absurdity of the situation you unfortunately have to live with there, and contrasts completely with the rules about skydiving. But as far as a strictly safety issue, taking an under age person on a tandem is no more inherently dangerous than taking a person of legal age....which was my point. It is not an unfortunate or absurd situation. The unfortunate and absurd situation is how your govt does not trust you. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

False, my experimental aircraft specifically forbids skydiving in its operational limitation letter. Many planes do not allow flight with the door removed... So it is not "immaterial" and the FAA cares. Never said otherwise. But you threatened to call the police on Rico and, as you have stated, there is no LAW to prevent him from selling a rifle to a minor. The poster I replied to said it was a litigious issue why kids could not skydive, but then tried to claim someone under 18 could buy an AK47. Fact is that you CAN skydive under 18 (as your children have proven), and while you can buy a rifle under the age of 18, you can't from a dealer and the kids parents might call the cops on you for it. To the OP... You heard him, take your kid to WTS. Mike will let him jump there. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

And there is no law preventing a kid from doing a tandem out of a personal plane with equipment you made. But if you want to use a Strong or a Sigma, or want to jump at most commercial centers, or want to jump in the US, they have to be 18.... SAME as buying from a dealer vs some guy on the street. So you want to talk about dealers.... Then we have to talk about drop zones. I seem to recall a certain DZO getting very mad at one of his video guys for selling his underage (although a quite accomplished skydiver) son a rifle. He even threatened to call the police on the video guy. Mike, why don't you let just anyone take their 13 year old on a tandem at your DZ? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Nope, Federal law says 18 for that as well. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Same plane, new paint. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I am not really connected to the DZ, I work at Clewiston on an "as needed" and "as I feel like it" basis.... But here are some answers that I know: Working on it.... The insurance requirement for a turbine from the County is insanely high. But if the business is there, then an aircraft will not be an issue. Some relation, not going to go int detail but the DZ's will share some staff as needed. It is a very friendly relationship which is nice for DZ's so close to each other. Such a good relationship that Lakeside needed TI's and two Airglades TI's hopped into a private plane and flew over to help out in the middle of the day. Big things are happening at Skydive Air Adventures and Skydive Lakeside is a part of that. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Statistically safer to have one than not have one. This is an issue, and it has lead to incidents.... But FAR fewer than no pulls. Again, the statistics show you are much safer with an RSL. Not going to happen. If it were that windy out.... You would not be jumping. I have seen guys test this theory, the reserve pilot chute launches but does not pull the freebag off of the reserve. I always tell people to have one till they have had a cutaway and puled both handles... After that, they can make up their own mind. Me, I don't have an RSL unless I am jumping Tandem. I do not like them, but I have had several malfunctions without issue. Statistically, I would be safer with one. What I don't like is how some people consider them a fool proof device... that is not true and they have caused problems (again, statistically you are safer with one). But I like people to know that they have real risks. The biggest problem is how some people rely on them. TK Hayes had a tandem mal and did not pull the reserve handle because he knew the RSL would work.... Except, it was not hooked up and he had a CYPRES fire. This line of thinking is dangerous. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You and I have different ideas of "awesome" 1. As Dave pointed out the camera guy should stay in the plane and bail out after it work/does not work. 2. Your exit idea was the worst I have seen. I am not going to go into detail on the internet, but you guys are lucky that that PC in tow cleared. Get with someone who has experience and these are easy to pull off. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Another perfect example how people claim they can whip big turns in the landing area with other traffic are just insane. If they missed a PLANE on a RUNWAY... Think how easy it is to miss a canopy that could be almost anywhere. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

It had a problem, there are three major possible causes: 1. Pilot error 2. Lack of MX 3. Something random and uncontrollable. Since it IS a jump plane that is being used to fly jumpers, one that you might fly in some day or with that pilot..... Wouldn't it be nice to know if it was pilot error or lack of MX? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

So is wearing a helmet. IMO, the hassle of both is worth it. 6k jumps and never had that problem. Of course at 1k jumps I started to take them off before landing. 1. Shoe goo 2. Take them off after opening 3. Hand them and 20 bucks to a rigger. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Which is why at my DZ newly minted TI's are not allowed to wear HC. They can only do L2 tandems, tandems without video, or tandems that have outside video. This makes it very difficult for the newly minted TI's to get experience, but that is a small price to pay to make sure they are ready for the HC when they start jumping one. In fact, I had maybe 800-1000 tandems on Strong and an old Sigma rating 10 years ago and they made me do 25 Tandems on Sigmas again before I was allowed to wear a HC. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I disagreed with Billy trying to open a DZ on Zhills. I disagreed with him trying to open a DZ in DeLand. I completely disagreed with HOW he tried to do both. But I also recognize that the US has a free market, and just because Wendy's is on one corner does not mean McDonald's cannot open up on the same corner. So the fact he is in Lake Wales is good. It allows yet another place for people to jump. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Cavalier: Showing arrogant or offhand disregard. I'd say that word fits perfectly. That would include not giving the student extra duties that would complicate the skydive. If a seasoned TI can't fly a HC and fly a tandem, he should quit doing tandems. Does it increase the risk? YES. But it is MUCH more manageable than giving it to the student, and any TI with any skill should be able to pull it off. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Lack of MX has been cited in a plane crash that was owned by Lodi. Lack of MX brought a 600k plus fine to Lodi. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You know it can be done, yet just give up and decide to complicate the students job AND the instructors job since they do not do the right thing.... Sorry, I call that cavalier. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You have the experience to have an opinion... I just disagree with it and considering your rant about WS safety, I am shocked that you are so cavalier with a tandem student's life. Any TI that says you can't do handle checks when jumping a HC is smoking crack. Any TI that does not do handle checks... Should not be a TI IMO. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Still waiting for you to tell everyone how many tandem instructor jumps you have. If you want to make it safer, let the student put concentration on arching, not getting good video. The go pro is MUCH taller than an altimeter, your argument is pathetic. BTW, how many TI jumps do you have? (4th or 5th time I have asked you to provide some background for your *expert* opinion). "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Currency is not about *improving* skills, it is about maintaining skills so you do not fall backwards. Only you can make that call. But imagine how much worse your urge to jump is going to be when you do try to come back and your skills are nowhere near where they were when you left. I have seen people quit over this. Personally, when I moved from FL to a landlocked location I quit SCUBA diving - It was not worth the hassle. You really are not going to learn any skydiving skills from reading. Most of the stuff on here is opinion and I would not trust any of it. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Teaching children vs teaching adults is vastly different. I don't have a bunch of time, but I will put out some general concepts: * Learning does not take place from what the *instructor* does, but what the student does. You need to focus on learner-centered instruction. The old adage is "Students remember 10-15% of what they read, 20% of what they see, and 75% of what they do." Some researched numbers are: Have them teach others - 90% retained Real world application - 75% Discussion groups - 50-60% Demonstration - 30-50% Audio Visual 20% Reading 10-15% Lecture - 5-10% Based on research by Dr. Elliot Merenbloom, author of "The Team Process" If you can get the student to interact with the material, then learning takes place and this is even more important with adults. * Adults want to know "What is in it for me?" and "How does this apply?" This is very important with adults. You need to makes sure they know WHY they need to know something. In the FJC we used to go into detail about AAD's. This was wasted time since it not only took time, but also reenforced a bad thought processes. Now just a mention of it is enough. * There are three steps in a presentation: 1. Prepare the student. (Tell them what it is and why it is important.) 2. Present the material. 3. Reinforce or test for understanding. * Visual aids should enhance the presentation, not BE the presentation. * Aids should be as simple as possible to get the message across. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

FL had a law that allowed you to pick up at one location and drop off at another. I used to fly into Tamp or Orlando and rent a car to drive to Gainsville and drop it off there. Check into that, it used to be a law. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Ill see if I can download it... It is on an old VHS tape. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Still can't find how many tandems you have. And the quality of the video is not the point.... It is the fact that on opening the camera could hit the TI knocking him out or getting entangled. Safety, not quality of video is the topic you have not answered. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I have video of the jump. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334