Ron

Well they will, Just like every other incumbant has used pics/clips...whatever from the time thay have in office.... Do I think it was pure publicity...nope. I have seen some fiqures that say the cost difference between his heli, and the jet was $7.00 an hour. Whoopie! Hell I'll give the guy 7 bucks....Hell I give another 7 bucks if they will let me do it. But in truth, I don't really care how he did what he did. Bigger issues in the world than this to nit pick about. But some people have to bitch...so have fun. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Yes it saved my ass. I had about 370 jumps and I got a Stiletto 120. 1.4 wingload. I hooked that fucker in on jump # 3 on it....I was told by my friends that I should have gotten a 107...If I did, I would most likley been dead. So yes. I know not doing the low turn would have been the best way, but I THOUGHT I WAS GOOD.....An error in judgment, which in this case if I had the 107 might have been fatal... So yes. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Yes that is the exact reason. As for why we...And I do include me in this bitch.... Well no one NEEDS a small canopy...I have one..I think you should be allowed to have them AFTER you have the skill, knowledge, and good judgment to handle it...Most don't at 300 jumps have those 3 enough to handle a 1.5 wingload...Yet that is the most common combo of # of people that died last year under canopy..... Seems really simple to me. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

You seem to be forgetting that he is the CinC of the Armed Forces....He has the RIGHT to use any military asset that he wants as long as it is in the performance of his job...And yes it was cool....Now if you want to bitch, how about all the rides the Blue Angels/Thunderbirds give to people? Or a 300.00 ashtray? The incumbent will always have better "photo ops" of him DOING HIS JOB.... Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Flawed logic....You can still buy a 300.00 beater car...You don't need a 100,000 Ferrari to drive. If EVERY car was 100,000 then this argument would make sense. I have several guns, some are cheap, some are expensive...I know where they ALL are, even the cheap ones. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

OK not trying to hijack this....But here is a little story. Back about 10 years ago there was a group of freefliers including Orly King trying to get me to freefly, and stop trying to do 4way. The conversation was basicly about how freeflying was well "Free" and that it had no (Other than saftey) rules.... I didn't change, though they kept trying.... During a dirt dive my group was doing they were mocking us...saying how we always were in a rush to do points... Then they started to dirt dive...One of them said "I'll Spock you"...I steped up and said "You will do what?" He said I am going to Spock him, then we will flip, and he will Spock me....." I said..."So, you are turning points?" "No" they said...."It's different" I told them the next thing they know they will have dive pools, and be racing against the clock just like 4 way guys... They all laughed at me. Man its funny to see a "Dive Pool" now. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I have GOT to stop doing this. *Next thing you know I'll be freeflying.* I agree....But the wingload is a LARGE factor. If you hit the ground under a .9 loaded stiletto..You will get hurt. If you hit the ground under a 3.9 loaded stiletto....Chances are you are toast. Yes, it is the mistake that kills them. And you can get killed under ANY wingload if you screw up...Damn here I go agreeing again....*So I should start with a sit right?* However the amount of wingload can greatly complicate the injuries....To the point of eliminating them, or causing death. So you could limit wingloading to low timers, and let them live long enough to make a few mistakes....And make sure than you can handle your reserve size when *it* hits the fan..... Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, you have done FANTASTIC over the last year. But I think the most important part of my whole post was me hitting on you...Which you just flat out ingnored.... Geeze... Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Oh baby...how could I yell at you? You would just turn those doe eyes on me and I would turn to putty.. Ok, now that I have gotten the important flirting out of the way... There are a few things to think about: If you have the time/jumps you can have some pretty crazy engineering.. The French have no continuity at all.. they build what is the fastest (Which in itself IS a continuity plan). However, this means you have to train A LOT to see everything in every slot. On a 300 jump training plan you are only going to see each exit 7 to 8 times. so you can't plan to have 3 different types of exits of each formation...Sometimes you have to fire and forget an exit. A large number of teams..Including Majik have "A" slots...Solly has said that the familiarity of your place in the formation can help you with the confidence and in the speed of a skydive...Don't believe me, do a random jump in A slot, then rotate the formation so Front is now IC IC cenrer is rear ect....And do the same jump...Its fun, and you will se that it will not go as well. So "A" slots are a good thing to have.....A few "B"'s are good (such as adder and Stair step) But with a limited training plan, and a new team...It would be better to just have mostly "A" slots. My new team we have no mirror image jumps..We take a double slot switchers. Just another way to handle the dive pool. But we are planning 300 jumps, and 20 hrs tunnel. So we have some time to do this, and all of our guys are cross trained from prior teams. So you really need to look at # of jumps/Tunnel time, and prior experiance. Get a coach. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

yep, this is them...My boss is gonna shit... Oh well. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I know that someone here knows what I am talking about... There are the pictures that show things like an Eagle in flight, and they hame motivational sayings with them... Well You know the joke ones? I need the website to order one for my wall. Help!... Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Most of the time there are not that many B slots. Depending on how many jumps you plan on makeing...I would not really look for a lot of B's...Maybe 2 Adders, but I would not really look at to many more. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Replying to: Re: [quade] Will Your Winload Save You? by apoil Post: In Reply To On the other hand . . . very few jumpers die each year from having a canopy too lightly loaded. None die from it being too heavily loaded either. It's just a contributing factor. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Try Mike Mullins 901-SKY-DIVE. He has a B90 K/A......A BAD ASS B90 King Air. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I was downsizing to get better swoops but my technique was being hampered by a canopy that just doesn't swoop well. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

my 10 cents....Attach a Glow stick to your risers incase you chop..... Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, at a lighter wingload, you are not burning the altitude as fast. Yes, any wingload can kill you. However, the lighter wingloads are less violent, lose less altitude, and give you more time to react.... And after hitting the ground a lighter wingload will result in less injuries than a high wingload...Yes, both can kill. At any rate....ALTITUDE AWARENESS is the key to longevity in this sport. I have a friend who is dead now due to a lost toggle, and a cut away at 50 feet. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

John...The video I want to see is you holding onto the Otter for 20 seconds while he powers up to catchup to the lead A/C. Got that one? ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

1/1000:19:0 Didn't stand up a landing this weekend....A size/type of canopy that I have over 1,000 jumps on.(I guess my canopy is too small?) I swooped past my teamate, and he gave me a look that got me to laughing so hard, that I forgot I was moving... I kept looking at him over my shoulder. Next thing I know I am sliding before I was ready and going down...Brushed myself off, and took a bow. 19 team jumps....Florida ROCKS. 0 beer "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well, insted of just slamming any Idea I come up with... Lets hear your program for teaching canopy flight. The mike is on, and its your turn. Include Who, What, When, Where, at What cost... Establish a regulatory agency..Where do they get funding.. The plan has to be able to be implemented NATIONWIDE... Go.. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

you'd think everyone involved in skydiving would understand it is potentially a lethal activity and that the choices they make and the canopies they fly can make it more or less so, but i guess its to much effort to really read & accept that fact before you get on the plane. QuoteWell, I agree that too many people don't think this sport can kill. I don't like AAD dependency (Which is when someone will not jump with out an AAD...Even though one of my best friends would have been saved by one...I still think it is a persons personal choice. But I agree that they should be required for students, and I recomend them to anyone that cares to listen.) This sport spends a lot of time trying to "pretend" that this sport is safe....You could not even pretend that 10 years ago." However with everything....You don't just give a kid keys to a car when he turns 16...He has to pass tests...High insurance costs keep a large number of kids from all getting Corvettes...skydiving does not have these things. When I went to go get a motorcycle license years ago in TN....I could only get a license for a bike UNDER 125 CC...until I was 16. In have a pilots license....I could not fly a HP aircraft, tail wheel or a twin with out more instruction, and I could not get behind the yoke due to insurance of many aircraft...Also I need 120 hrs to get my Instrument, and 250 for my Comercial....All of these requirements are for safety. Scuba Diving...Open water is only good for 60 feet..Want to go deeper? you need Advanced...Want to go in a Cave?..You need Cavern, then Cave 1 and then Cave 2...All of these were put into place because people with out the need knowledge were killing themselves...How many? not much compared to all the divers in the world, but it was too much. Pull atitudes...too many people were bouncing...The #1 cause of death in this sport before AAD....USPA said well we now have min pull altitudes based on EXPERIENCE. Regulation works.....It has been show to work many times.... And all this one would do is DELAY the canopy to the jr swoop gods. Education would be great, but it has been shown not to work. Making the person sign wavers didn't work....Being around people that screwed up and got hurt does not work... All I want is to delay when these people can get the highly loaded canopies that have PROVEN to be a major factor in these accidents. And that increase the chance of serious injurys. Like it or not...since you were a kid people have been protecting you...Lead paint...electric outlets....signs on cross walks...21 to drink, 18 to smoke, 16 to drive... The same argument that some us that it is unfair to those that have the skills could be said for the age requirments for everything..Maybe I was ready to drink at 12? Maybe I could handle skydiving at 11? Maybe I knew enough to vote whan I was 15? Something has to be used as a ruler...And jump #'s are the quickest, and believe it or not a fairly good way to guage a persons skills...Yes there are exceptions, but as a whole they are fairly good. It will work.... I can't believe that people are so against it...You scream that your personal freedom is being steped on... OH WELL.. You can always jump at non USPA DZ's....They are still out there. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Drive me crazy looking for them all....And then drive me crazy thinking of all the REALLY nice stuff I could own. Then I get a big shit eating grin, and go down memory lane. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well.... I don't really like the Tandem program. I think the students come out with more canopy control skills than AFFers, but I am a big fan of the "I made a skydive by myself" program. While the Tandem Progression method does work, and several people have learned that way......Well I like the weeding out process that S/L had...You KNEW it was up to you to save your life..AFF SEEMS (Only seems. you still have to deal with the same mal issues as SLers do.) to attract some of those that say :I could have never done it on my own...Tandem progression even more so. Now after I have said that.... Go with whatever method makes YOU happy...If you can start right now with Tandem Progression...Why wait? Did you look into Static line at all? Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I doubt that would work...Almost everyone thinks THEY are above the norm. "It won't happen to ME...HE was stupid". Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Well you are still walking.... What would have been the result if you had a 1.6 WL? The goal of regulation is to allow the person to gain experience and knowledge BEFORE he gets the super duper canopy at some wasu wingload. He can take that time and attend as many canopy control class as he wants. Then he can use a reasonably loaded canopy to learn the things he was told....After some time, he can then get a more progressive wingload...And implement the things he learned.. The problem is that it is harder to learn when you are dead. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334