Ron

Correction you said that he was unqualified.... Which I say he would be. Only the USPA and you thinks he would not be "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

He said it could not be done, not that it was hard. Even if you showed up with a coach rating at a DZ that I owned...I still would not just put you into the rotation. You would have to prove what you can do one way or another "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

And I said....By whos standards? Only the USPA. I would consider that person very qualified. And I bet if I don't send in my 20.00 bucks I bet I will still be allowed to jump with level 8 students. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Its a jump! Or a dinner, A music CD, or flowers for the sig other. They could hand out pink slips. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

No, you conveniently left of the part about USPA. You said they could not....Which was wrong. They can. I agree. But the USPA is not the LAW. And it can be waived very easily. And if the person you described walked up to the DZ...They would get waived. You are off today...You sick? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You didn't say anything about a "Rule"... You said that they were unqualified. Thats not true. Only the USPA says that, and they even let you get around it. Then you said without a coach rating someone could not do a two way with someone with 24 jumps...I don't have a coach rating but I can. Again not true. For your statment to be true it would have to include "According to the USPA" Or "At a USPA DZ". But it is not illegal for me to jump with someone with Zero jumps..Or you for that matter. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Fasle a local S&TA can waive that at a USPA GM DZ. You don't have to do squat if it is not a USPA DZ. Plus I never had a coach rating and I can jump with folks all day long...Im an Instructor. Your slipping Doc. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, I guess Im a "poser" huh? I only have 3,000 jumps and 10 years in the sport. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Personally I don't say I'm a Skydiver...I tell people that I skydive. I think it is very simple to say who is and who is not. If you do it you are a skydiver. If you did it you will be a skydiver. If you plan on doing it, you will be a skydiver. If you did a Tandem once 5 years ago and claim to be an expert...Your a DZ.commer "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Welcome.... Why is your first jumps mths away? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well thats why I don't read threads like this...I only got on this one due to another one that referenced this one. And I would not ahve posted but I don't want folks thinking I jumped on Kelly. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I didn't "kick your ass" Now if I even meet you I'll gladly slap you on the ass. But the point here seems to be a person who has made 38 posts about how people give her crap about her sex life, but no on seems to really give a crap about her sex life. But she keeps posting how much of a problem it is. The simple explination of this is young girl trying to scream "LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!!!!" "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Its not about making me happy. I could not care if you called yourself "queen of the purpule skies" I would call you a skydiver...you are injured....Thats a big difference than some tandem student that will never jump again. Or some wuffo that never plans on jumping but likes to hang at the DZ. Either way I could not care as long as you don't act like someone who knows it all and start trying to give advice. Were these both skydiving accidents? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well you made it seem like you wanted to kick me in the jimmy for not calling a wuffo a skydiver. To be honest I don't know why folks that don't participate in the sport would be around a web site that is about that sport. But thats not for me to decide. What I do hate is when someone that has no clue comes on here and tries to give advice. I know several folks with way less than 100 jumps that act (and talk a good game) like they know what they are doing. However having personal knowledge about some of these folks I know that the guy that gave the landing and downsizing advice is recovering from a broken femur. But you may not know that and listen to him. I think that way to many folks on here have been here so long that they think they have the right to give SKYDIVING advice. They have read it so many times they think they have the right to try and teach it. Bad idea. Let them hang in "talkback" forever, let them ask questions anywhere, but they should not give advice. But they do. Same thing happens at the fire pit. Some guy with 20 jumps starts talking to the guy with 5 jumps and tries to help him stop his spinning....Uh don't do that!!!! Thats why we have instructors and coaches. I have seen a person on here with 2 tandems talking to someone about downsizing. Im not going to call someone that is not involved in the sport a skydiver. That does not mean they can't be on here (But I think it should mean they should not offer advice). Or hang out at a DZ (Although I wonder why they would want to). And it does not mean they are bad people....But it does mean they are not skydivers. And if anyone wants to learn about the sport...trust me I'll teach them. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

To you, not me. And its your right to accept that one jump wonder as a full fledged skydiver. I don't and won't. And most other sports will not either. I guess since I have gone golfing once Im a golfer as well? Yep and part of being in the family is to jump out of planes. Not having once years ago jumped from one, then spent 5 years talking about it. Ok you are crazy. Fact is there are several folks on here that HAVE NEVER jumped! And several others than NEVER plan to. Why would they want to be called a skydiver? And why would we call them that? There is nothing wrong with being a wuffo. Wuffo's are people too. I treat them all the same. However I'm not going to call a person who has never jumped but watches us all day a skydiver.... SKY-DIVER not sky-diver-watcher-and DZ.com poster. You can be a DZ.commer without being a skydiver, but being a DZ.commer does not make you a skydiver. I welcome everyone with open arms...But Im not going to call them something they are not. How about if they are talking about something they clearly don't have a clue about? But act if they do? Give it a few more years in the sport...you will understand my point of view. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Yes and its the reason I like PD products....The first people to buy it are not Beta testers. However the marketing here was bad. They let the market think it was being released "soon" for so long and told folks to wait for it. And the folks finaly got tired of waiting and started buying other canopies. When it comes out I am sure it will be a great canopy, but the wave has surged and now some who would look into it will not, or have bought other products. PD is also not going to tell you that it has problems with it....Since that creates a bad image And how many are to "young" t remember the Stilettos release? But either way the hype wave has started to swell. Im sure it will do well, but if it had been able to be released at WFFC it would have been the rage. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

What makes a person a skydiver? Someone who skydives...Not someone who has done one tandem but hangs out at a DZ or here. To be a skydiver you must be jumping. If you used to skydive, you were a skydiver. If you did one tandem, you did a skydive (sort of). I used to do Martial arts all the time, I don't still call myself a martial artist since I have not done it in 10 years. I was in the Army, but now Im out...I don't call myself an infantryman anymore. I was married, I'm no longer a "husband" since I got divorced. Now Im nice to everyone who comes out to make a jump. But it kinda pisses me off to hear people claim they are skydivers when they have made one jump. No amount of hanging out at a DZ or posting here will make you a skydiver. Thats kinda of like saying you watched all the NASCAR races this year so you are now a NASCAR Driver. And many folks get treated badly when they try to act like something they are not. This is true in every thing. Go to a DZ and act like you know it all, and you will get treated badly...But go on a SCUBA trip and act the same way you will get treated badly as well. Step on to a Basketball court and act like you have mad game, when you really can't throw the rock, you will get treated badly. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I don't agree. I fly Radio controled Aircraft and I have learned first hand how you can't take a set of plans and scale them and expect the same type of performance. Took a Taylorcraft and built a scale model of it. It flew more like a stunt plane than a Taylorcraft. Most modelers will agree on this subject. It does not work well, the "copy" does not have the same flight characteristics. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

And some just flat out went and bought another canopy instead of waiting.... Not a good product release plan to have people wait so long that they just give up and buy something else. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Nothing wrong with playing with double fronts....When you feel ready. Now I think your buddy should spend more time on things that will save his life instead of trying to get faster landings right now. So flat turns should be learned before you start trying increase your landing speed. Saftey before speed. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Im glad you are not dead. This REALLY bothers me to hear you say. You realize that if the line twists didn't stop you would not be writting this? I would not place the blame on centrifical force....It was probley either: 1. Your risers had crossed and held the yellow cables pinched...After the twists cleared it released the pinch. Check to see if you have cable gaurds which are plastic or metal inserts inside the risers. 2. You did not PEAL then pull your handle. And you finaly just yanked hard enough. Or you had a part of your harness jumpsuit in your hand as well. I would check my risers...Get the inserts if you don't have them. then spend some time in a hanging harness working on the cutaway reserve drills. Were you tought both hands on Cutaway/both on reserve? Or One hand for each handle? As for being in the saddle at 600 feet...Check to see if your cypress did fire. It will alot of the time even after the pin has cleared the loop. Glad you are here, and no you have an oh shit story to tell.. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Good point but I have seen some coaches wear video gear. And the tunnels video is not always the best.... But still very valid points. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

One thing about the tunnel that does make it very cost effective. I have been jumping over 10 years. I have 3,000 jumps. In those 3,000 jumps I have about 50 hrs of freefall, and have spent 45,000.00 to get those 50 hrs. (OK, some were free, some were paid but you get the idea) Now I have around 80-100 hrs of tunnel time. The tunnel has been open since I think 97. So thats 6 years. Most of my time has been in the last 4 years. And I would have paid 48,000.00 - 60,000.00 (Yes, some of it was free, and some of it was paid) So I was able to do more "flying" in 6 years than I did "skydiving" in 10. And it cost less. Yes, it didn't help me any with exits, or how to swoop a canopy. But it did help with my "flying". It is a VERY valuable tool. and I dare say that the big leap in 4 way Averages across the board is probley due to the tunnel. Think about it...I can give you 60 skydives worth of "flying" in a weekend. And it will cost you 600.00 instead of 1140.00. Plus if you have a coach you might pay them 100-300 dollars for that weekend...You would pay a freefall coach's slots (another 1140.00) and 15 bucks a jump (900.00) So an hr.of coached tunnel 700-1000. An hr of coached skydive time 2880.00 - 3280.00 (2280.00 for just slots PLUS coach fees 600-1000.) Thats a big difference. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Got it (well actually I have 200 of them in my living room). I am planning on doing a review here and other places about it. I have seen it, and I have to say it is nicely done. It has almost 2 hrs of footage. When Brian was making the DVD he asked me if folks would rather wait a few more days for the release and jam as much footage as possible on it, or get it out on time. I told him to pack that DVD full of skydiving, and he did. I have only watched the skydiving part of it so far, I have not gotten into the interviews yet, so I am not ready to give a full report. But I think it is worth it. On one DVD you get the current US Teams exits and blocks. Plus you get the World Record 23.1 Avg. The winning US National 4 way dives, and about a mths worth of training jumps to watch. At a party at the Sunpath building we played this DVD and several folks just stopped and watched it over and over. You can get it from: The Sunshine Factory Windline Gear Store in Lake Wales The Majic website Here Or the NSL website. Its a good DVD..... I'll write a review latter when I get the chance. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

If you read my whole post, and not just a line or two of it... "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334