skybytch

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Everything posted by skybytch

  1. skybytch
    Absolutely not!!! We cannot arbitrarily set an age at which someone is not allowed to skydive - just as our government can't arbitrarily set an age at which someone is no longer allowed to drive. We allow deaf people, blind people, diabetics, epileptics, amputees and paraplegics to learn to skydive without restrictions. They are advised of the additional risks they are putting themselves under and they make their own adult decision to go ahead and jump. No difference between any of them and a 65 year old woman with osteoporosis or a 70 year old man with undiagnosed heart disease. As long as someone is not putting anyone else at risk by jumping, who are we to say they can't put themselves at additional risk? Besides all that, who is going to give this approval? If we are going to require that anyone over a particular age get this approval, we need to require that EVERY jumper be similarly approved.
  2. skybytch
    Awesome! Even though my kid only did one AFF jump, it was one of the best jumping days ever for me, and a big confidence boost for him. So cool to see his face when he finally understood why I drug him out to the dz every damn weekend for years on end.
  3. skybytch
    Spend $30 or so on a Protec and $10-20 on goggles. Bet the dz has some for sale. You don't know if you are even going to make it through the student jumps at this point. Don't sink a bunch of money into gear that is way beyond what you need right now. I don't know any AFFI's that will allow their students to jump a full face helmet.
  4. skybytch
    I can't think of a better way to go. Track away from an awesome skydive, pull, die and let the AAD leave a pretty corpse for the funeral. If a 20 year old has the right to take themselves out swooping, a 70 year old has the right to have a heart attack in freefall.
  5. skybytch
    What he said. Use taxpayer money for what it is intended for. Use money you earn for play.
  6. skybytch
    Because US jumpers chafe loudly at any attempt to regulate their activities. Unless said activity is sexy or cool.
  7. skybytch
    Apparently not. The FAA appears to be giving quite a bit of a shit. They could be posing for the media, of course. Wouldn't count on that, though.
  8. skybytch
    You mean that one sent USPA money and the other didn't, right? Cuz there is no other difference, at least according to the advertising I've seen for a "non USPA dropzone." Complacency on the part of tandem ride operators is not rare. It would be nice to know exactly how these things are "dealt with", but that will never happen as USPA is not required to disclose any details regarding disciplinary actions.
  9. skybytch
    True. Any 80 year old woman that isn't cute by your standards shouldn't leave the house.
  10. skybytch
    Thousands of jumpers don't realize how NOT rare this is. It's not just Lodi; I saw a recent video from a different dz where the uppers got hooked up in freefall (don't ask, I don't have it and it's not online). If all this bad publicity increases the attention paid to passenger harnessing by every ride operator, maybe we can actually deliver the "safe" Disneyland experience that we advertise. Personally though, I'd love to see fewer tandumbs on the dz. If this makes them realize that they really could die jumping out of an airplane, that the guy on their back that they are trusting to save them might kill them instead...
  11. skybytch

    AFF students

    skybytch replied to skypagan's topic in Instructors

    Nor do we want to. Evaluators need to survive the skydives too.
  12. skybytch
    Still miss you like crazy, Shannon. Oh, and btw, you were right. He really is perfect for me. And now he's my husband. Wouldn't have happened without you.
  13. skybytch
    Same can be said for Jim Morrison.
  14. skybytch
    Right. Because there are no skydivers who weigh less than 160 pounds.
  15. skybytch
    Cheapest is not best. Your money will last longer in the US if you choose a large dz that allows you to camp for free (Perris, Eloy, etc). You can pick up all the camping gear you'll need for around US$150 when you arrive. Tunnel time is an awesome tool. Please don't plan on working while you are in the US if you don't have a visa that allows it - ie not a tourist visa. We need those jobs for Americans. If you want to be an instructor, be a real instructor not a ride operator. Go for the AFF rating. Why put all that time and money into getting good at flying your body only to do the majority of your jumps under a drogue with 200 pounds of stupid attached to the front of you trying to kill you?
  16. skybytch
    I tried to pay up. There was plenty of cake. You could've been there.
  17. skybytch
    If you hope to use a helmet on your student jumps, talk to your instructors about it before you buy.
  18. skybytch
    Probably no different for them than it is for any very religious person on the dz. I know jumpers with strong religious beliefs who deal with it fine. Just like recovering alcoholic jumpers deal with the beer culture.
  19. skybytch
    After some thought (and a post on FB linked to the poll), I have more reasons this is a bad idea. Allow 2 of the 6 hours to be replaced by tunnel time and you could theoretically have someone with 200 jumps "qualified" for the course. As long as that person meets the minimums during the course, they will end up with a rating. Note that none of the minimums during the course have anything to do with canopy control. As it is right now, a candidate could fly no discernible pattern at all on each jump during the course and still get a rating - as long as they do a good job in freefall...
  20. skybytch
    No shit. What is this, old home thread?
  21. skybytch
    I replied with a blanket no as well. Tunnels can't teach how to salvage a less than ideal exit, right a funneled one without letting go, or make up major separation. Only repeated skydives that include these skills can do that. These are VITAL skills for an AFFI.
  22. skybytch
    Yes they would. Why I remember when sending out that one thread made me.... um.... err... nevermind.
  23. skybytch
    somebody has to buy it for the rest of us That's what noobs are for.
  24. skybytch
    I see a disturbing trend in your expense report. You're spending way too much money on alcohol. By now, you really should be experienced enough to know how to get it free.
  25. skybytch
    Copy, paste, save to a Word doc, resign, then post all the good stuff on a blog, which will go viral and soon you'll be even richer and more famous!!!