Ron

Don't TELL me you paid attention SHOW me you paid attention. What are you going to do tomorrow that will change your life tomorrow? It does not have to be big, but it needs to be something and it needs to be NOW. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, if you are as smart as you claim to be.... I doubt you will forget before senility kicks in. I'll type this knowing damn good and well you are just going to ignore it.... But hey, I have the time and a keyboard. First, your posts all seem like pity parties..... You always cry about what *happened TO you*... You have to drop that. You give a thinly veiled story about how it is you, but then go on and on about HER being the reason. Fucking stop. As long as you go looking for pity, you will not be able to see anything else. Second you need to realize that EVERYONE has had their heart stomped on by someone. Your situation is nothing special even if you can't see that. One of the best things one of my buddies ever did for me was ask me how old I was when my heart had just been torn out by some woman. When I replied, he told me that if my life was going to be anything like his... that I would fall in love and have my heart ripped out at least three more times by the time I was his age...... Sounds like fucked up 'advice', but it was also true. Third you need to realize that possessions are just crap. Buying more crap will not make you emotionally happy. It is a quick high that fades just as fast as it came and leaves you feeling worse since you 'failed' again. Forth.. We ALL FAIL. Get used to it. Trying means failing at times. I wanted to be a Golden Knight, I didn't make it. I wanted to try out for Airspeed, I didn't make it. I wanted to be a World Champion, sure as hell looks like I didn't make it and turning 40 this year pretty much means my chances are closer to zero than 100. Hell, Thomas Edison failed 6,000 times to make a light bulb. While failing sucks, what matters is if you pick yourself up and start over or you sit and wallow in self pity. Fifth you can only control you and your emotions... You can't control events and you sure as hell can't control other peoples actions (Like I really wish you would read and heed this.... But I can only present it to you)... YOU have to CHOOSE your life. Sixth you might just need professional help.... And even if you don't need it, it is not going to hurt anything. GET SOME. You need to get over your feelings that it is a sign of weakness or that it means you are a failure... Weak people do not do uncomfortable things and winners don't avoid difficult struggles. This is the time for you to decide if you are going to allow yourself to be a pathetic loser that sees himself as the helpless victim about something he claims he can't control.... Or are you going to own your own life? I'd choose to own my life and not be its bitch....... You can too. Even if you don't make it... You can get pretty close if you don't puss out (see attached and link). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-6LB5K77X4 "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You would be better served going to your local DZ and going as fast as you can. Then after you get the basics done, go to a big DZ and get a week of coaching. You are going to want to start building relationships with the people at the place you are going to be.... this alone is the best reason to stay local at first. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well...... There are three possible truths here: 1. You are trying to screw the buyer and knew your canopy had the damage. 2. They are trying to screw you. 3. Your idea of "Good condition" and theirs is not the same. I'd bet my money on #3. The seller thinks the item is great and wants to get as much as he can, the buyer wants to think they got a good deal. This is a normal reaction and process. The buyer in this case made a clear mistake by not inspecting the canopy as soon as they got it. You BOTH made a mistake by not using a broker. So, what are you going to offer to make the buyer happy? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Seems he has posted here. But I'll be honest, if you had started a thread about me and started bashing me... I doubt I'd respond to you. Especially when some of the other posters are talking about a lynch mob. But lets flip the situation.... Lets say you sold the canopy to him. Then 5 weeks later he calls to tell you it is messed up and starts a thread on here bashing him. And after 5 weeks you already used that money to buy a new canopy. Would you be in a hurry to try and defend yourself against an online lynch mob? And you should be smart enough to know that after 5 weeks your position is nowhere as strong as if you had brought it up in 5 hours. No one is saying that you should not try.... Just that after waiting 5 weeks your position is weaker than if you had acted faster. If you had posted "I took it home and looked at it and saw a weird discoloration and I called him".... Well, this whole issue might have been avoided because he might have then agreed to refund your money. And if he didn't, then it would be EASY to prove you had nothing to do with the damage. As a final note to you on this topic..... Just because we are all "brothers and sisters" in the sky.... Does not mean that there are no crooks. People get all romantic thinking "a skydiver would never do that to another skydiver".... But that is just romantic bull shit. Brothers murder each other and skydiving is an activity that draws all types of people into it. But just like any other activity, you can't just go trusting everyone just because you think you share something "special"..... A felon can a drug addict can learn to jump out of a plane just as easily as Mother Superior. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Still he raises good points. The USPA is fucked up when it comes to teaching canopy control. The methods and process that they use are backwards and often implemented after the fact. There is ZERO reason not to have a HP canopy sign off just like they do in aviation.... "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

That damage is easy for a layperson to notice and you said you were a rigger in the Service. There is ZERO reason for you to not have really looked at it as soon as it showed up. This is even MORE important if it is going to be awhile till you can get a rigger to look at it. None of what I am writing is removing the seller from promising "X" and delivering "Y". Nothing. I have already said that you should ask for a refund and if that does not happen out the person. All I am doing is showing you what you and others need to do in the future. 1. Use a broker 2. Inspect it personally as soon as reasonably possible... 12 hours or less. 3. If there is anything you are unsure or unhappy about, contact that person IMMEDIATELY. 4. Have the item inspected as soon as is reasonably possible.... Two weeks is normal. But by waiting a month, the money is most likely gone and the seller has a reasonable argument that it was not like that when he sent it out. He could easily argue that you opened it up in your living room and left it in the corner near the window. YOU claim it was in perfect storage conditions and it arrived that way, but there is NO WAY to verify that. But if left sitting in the sun for a month, that damage could easily have happened. HE claims it was perfect when he shipped it, but there is NO WAY to verify that either. If you had responded within a day of receiving the item, then it would be easy to prove it was not done by you. As it is.... there is no way to prove you are right. You have done everything you really can at this point... you have contacted him and offered two resolution options (600 bucks back, or negate the deal).... Knowing how most people are living paycheck to paycheck.... I'd bet your money is long since been spent. So you can try to circle the wagons and get the lynch mod after him.... But I'll play devils advocate here state that we only have your side of the story. If he had come onto DZ.com and posted, "I sold a guy a PERFECT canopy with 200 jumps on it and now a month later he is claiming that it was damaged and is demanding 600 dollars back! I bet they guy left it in his car and then saw the damage!" He would have exactly the same *proof* as you. But if you had waited 1 hour instead of one month.... you would have him dead to rights. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You do know that the website was on the sticker right? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Again, maybe you should not be giving advice yet. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Buy used. Most modern containers are as safe as each other and the savings cost will make your "$500 more expensive" seem like peanuts. The is very little reason for a young jumper to buy new gear... Just like very little reason for a new driver to buy a new car. In fact, only buy a new car if you can easily afford it (read: pay cash). "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You are going to have to do math on this one using your own numbers. You are going to have to factor in the purchase price, cost to insure, cost to hangar, cost to run, and the cost to maintain the aircraft. then you will have to compare that to how much it costs to lease... Even if you can find a lease. In some cases, owning might be better.... Others it is going to be much less expensive to lease. I own my own small plane and I crunched the numbers and unless I fly more than 64 hours a year, it is less expensive to rent a plane. You will have to do the same math for your situation. For me it is about 5.3 hours a month I have to fly and I normally do that in a single weekend if the weather is good.... So it made sense in my situation. But I can share a few horror stories.... One, my plane has a starter issue and I have been tracing that down. My plane is experimental and not commercial, so I can do a lot of the work myself..... If I had to pay a mechanic it would be much more expensive. A buddy bought a 182 for 40k and the engine had an issue and had to be replaced..... That was another 40k. Another buddy had a 182 and the engine had to be rebuilt and that was 30k. Another buddy had a plane and spent several thousand during an annual and they found an issue that will cost several thousand more to fix. Knowing all of this, I'd do the numbers to see how many loads I would have to fly to break even if I owned the plane.... And then I would lease at first to see if I can make those numbers. That way I am paying tach time and if I need to fly 8 loads a weekend to own and I only get 6..... I am not going into debt because I am only paying tach time on the plane. And honestly, you will never know all the factors that go into the decision till you are in the mix. This is all just my opinion...... "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Ah, that is too long to wait. A lot can happen in a month and the seller can easily think you might have caused the damage. In the future, YOU inspect it as soon as you open it. And get it to a rigger to inspect it before two weekends have passed. If during your inspection you find something out of order, email the seller that second (use email that way you have a record) and get it to a rigger to look at ASAP. After a month.... It is going to be difficult to prove it came that way. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Not really a good comparison. In addition to a private license the guy above went through an additional 40 hours of structured learning, got a High Performance signoff, and depending on the plane a Complex sign off as well. Then, like you mentioned, there are the insurance requirements. Look at a Pitts Special, I'd have to have 10 hours in a Pitts with an instructor to even get insurance. For a Cirrus most company's want 3-5 hours of instruction. So it is just not the same. But I tell you what..... Make a high performance signoff and a "complex" signoff for parachutes and then I'll agree you are making progress.... Cause right now all we have is the Dr that has 100 jumps being able to buy a Velo. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Dave gave you the best advice..... Do brokered deals unless you personally know the person or can see the item before money changes hands. That being said, I would offer the seller to cancel the deal and him refund your money. If he refuses, I would post his name. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Not a Dr....... Try therapy without medication. If that does not work.... Then the AOPA is a good resource. This is one more reason that the USPA requiring an aviation medical is stupid. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I'll answer even though you didn't ask me. A person with no experience has no clue of the history of Lodi and what they have been doing. After that person gets some experience they hopefully will have heard some of the story's. Just like the new guy does not know why he should not jump a Nova..... Even if it is lightly loaded "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well the serious lack of aircraft maintenance is a big deal. The FAA and more importantly the aircraft manufacturers required maintenance schedule should be a bare minimum. Amazing how much money you can save when you neglect the required maintenance huh? The most skilled jumper in the world is not going to save you when the plane crashes due to a issue with maintenance and the most skilled jumper in the world is not going to help you when your body is crushed by all the jumpers who were not wearing safety belts. It amazes me how much people will risk to save a few bucks. Maybe years afl I would have been as foolish? But now after seeing death, id rather pay a few extra dollars for the added chance of the plane not losing control due to not changing out the control cables. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, the dive flows would have to be more set up for camera than coach. Also, a coach dive plan vs reality is not exactly the same. So a properly planned dive flow on the 'course' could show the skill set needed for basic camera work just like the current coach course shows the skills for basic coach jumps. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Atleast then they have demonstrated some level of skill in the air and some ability to see what is going on. I'd have no issue with a guy with 100 jumps jumping a camera as long as he was basically treated like a coach: 1. He went through an organized certification... Why the USPA has not created a 'camera checkout course' I just another glaring example of a failure. 2. That the new video guy was under supervision and only allowed on certain pre approved jumps under the supervision of a Sr camera person. This would mean no tandem, no AFF, no total zoo loads. Simple two ways till they have proven they can handle them. No stills, no toys, no zoomies, etc. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Knowing what I know about Lodi.... I can't recommend them. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

That's because when you have the experience (pun intended) you know this already. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Here is the insidious thing about cameras..... they SEEM to not be a factor or that they should not be a factor or a big deal at all. But the facts are that they take something that might be simple and add an extra level of complexity. People always say that they will "just ignore the camera, turn it on and forget it". But the facts have shown that while some might be able to do that, many are not able. So a guy that passed a coach course might very well have the basic skills enough to fly a camera without being a danger to himself or someone else.... But maybe not, and maybe not while doing something else. So, now that coach not only wants to fly a camera, but he wants to do it on a coach jump. He has the best intentions, but his attention is split between two activities, neither of them are second nature to him. This is a recipe for disaster. I have, and I can tell you that it IS a distraction no matter what people want to try and claim.... My first camera jump ended up with me "trying to get the shot" and deploying my main below 1,000 feet. Much later I started wearing a hand camera on tandems and the first time I almost forgot to deploy the flare toggles (most of my tandems were on a strong system that does not have flare toggles. I transitioned back to Sigma and then about 100 jumps later started wearing a hand camera.... Well, success is a real pain sometimes... Once I got comfortable with the hand camera, I reverted accidentally back to thinking I was flying the Strong system. It was not till I turned down wind and did a semi practice flare that I realized that I didn't have my flare toggles in my hand. Not tragic, but another wakeup call about camera flying. I was busy interviewing the student that I just forgot the newer systems process and reverted back to my old standard. Interesting, but probably not going to show much difference. You will KNOW that you are doing this and therefore the chance of you screwing up is less. The real danger with camera's is that moment where you are caught off guard, and you can't really simulate that. The camera guy that flew into his buddy under canopy... didn't think he was too close. The camera guy that hit the deploying tandem pair.. didn't think he was too close. I didn't think I was blasting through one thousand feet on my back, we were all just trying to "get the shot". "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

The simple fact is that most coaches when they first get a coach rating have no business deploying for a student. They simply do not have the training and the training is above the skill level of an entry level coach. There are TONS of things that can go wrong when you dump someone out.... It is not as simple as it sounds and is not as simple as it looks. Most coaches don't know half of the things that can happen, all they see is how easy it looks and the desire to help. But just like you (with several hundred jumps more than a new coach) never had seen a spring loaded pilot chute and even on video you could watch several times mistakenly thought that the instructor pulled from the reserve side.... Well, things are much more difficult when it is 'live' and you only get one shot. Simply put: Coaches are taught to get away and deploy because most do not have the skills and knowledge to pull for a student in trouble. And the coach training in no way prepares a coach for the task. If we were to adjust the experience and the training up to where they would need to be to perform this task.... You would have someone qualified to do AFF. In fact, I think the standards for getting an AFF rating is too low. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Check Blue skies mag, January issue, cool ass dude with a mohawk. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I can personally think of two cases where a jumper got on a plane with his rig off and jumped due to the distraction of having a camera. Those are just the anecdotal evidence that I PERSONALLY know. I also know several other cases where we have caught a jumper headed to the plane with his camera helmet but no rig...... I can think of two more cases of people dying from a snag. And some from collisions: I can think of at least one where the camera guy killed his Mom while she did a tandem jump.... can't find the report right now. I know so damn many I cant count of people screwing up under canopy trying to get "the shot"... collisions, failure to flair.... All kinds of cool stuff, some of it amazed me. I mean, how does a guy fly right into another guy??? How does a guy get killed by a camera suit? You clearly don't know as much as you think you do. I don't know what makes you think you know better than all of those that have been where you are, survived the experience, and gained LOTS more experience you have not even thought about having yet. To put this in perspective..... You telling me that you will be fine and that I don't know what I am talking about would be like a guy with four jumps telling you that you don't know what you are talking about and that he will be fine. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334