packerboy

How many tandems are these guys doing to be too burnt out for fun jumps? Are they packing the tandems? On average I would say our TI's can do around 10 tandems in a weekend and still find the time and energy to do 10-15 even maybe 20 more fun jumps in a weekend, and they still have the energy to lift their beer Sunday night. Edited to say: I'm not saying they aren't burnt out, just that fun jumping is way more fun than sitting on the ground bitching... suck it up and sleep in the plane. Oh yeah, we don't have quick turbine airplanes and carpeted air conditioned packing areas either. -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Deposits are one thing, but I think the DZ should wait untill weather holds are off to take full payment, and give rainchecks for the deposits. If the student has no chance of ever coming back, such as an international tourist, it would be just plain mean to keep their money. We should have it all figured out now that mean people suck and should be avoided when at all possible. As a matter of fact they should wear special T-shirts that say "I'm an ass, I just want your money, and I give not 2 shits about how you come out this situation" -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Jump alot and you will progress to that point. It takes some a little bit longer than others, but hey.. in the grand scheme of things when you have thousands of jumps, you won't care whether you did 20 jumps on a Manta or 100. At our dropzone Mark, it won't necessarily be the decision of just one instructor specifically, mainly because the chance that your original instructor will be around to see all of your landings is pretty slim. It will be a collaberative decision of all the instructors, Gilles, Will , Fuzzy, Andrea, Frank, John, and ultimately Tom (oops can't forget "Downwind Dean "). But the time will come. When it comes to buying gear, ask Will, Gilles, or Tom. They will face you in the right direction with regards to what to buy and also how much you should be paying for it and also do inspections and whatnot for you. These guys have been around the block a few times. You WILL get BETTER advice from them than you will get here guaranteed. (no offence dzdotcommers Heck Tom's not only been around the block, he helped pave it in the first place. Have fun with the Otter next weekend while I'm at work. Don't forget to bring your beer on Friday because they have a keg on Saturday. Oh yeah, bring $10 on Sat for the keg. Save me one though, I'll be there on Monday. -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Actually Gilles and Simon both landed directly in front of the hangar in the old packing area. Edited to add: If one of those guys dropped a wind drift indicator out of the plane at full altitude it would land on their packing mat! -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Yeah... no way they were jumping through those huh? By the looks of your pic Heidi, it looks like some dropzones even take students through a little bit of industrial haze. Maybe we should just invite the gliders to fly formation with us so we know where they are. On a serious note, if you haven't ever had the chance to fly in a glider and you get one, take it. They are absolutely gorgeous machines. Perhaps you will have a new found respect for glider pilots and why they do what they do. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

If your dog can send you an e-mail... he should be a sensai of staying relative. I have problems getting mine to not shit on the carpet.

Had a tandem instructor have a mal last year on a tandem jump. While in the rigging loft later that evening he was updating the board that he uses to keep track of tandem container/reserve/main/freebag configurations since they change every once in a while. I asked him why he didn't have information on tandem rig #3 and he said that he just hadn't gotten around to writing all the info down because he had packed up the reserve earlier in the season and didn't write it on the board. I said "Well, there is absolutely no chance you will have a mal on tandem #3 this weekend anyway so you probably don't need it." Sure enough Sunday, next jump on tandem #3 he had a line over or tension knots or something and had to chop. He almost landed the main in the hangar but it grabbed some wind at the last moment and it landed in a huge tree right beside the hangar. Had to have someone with a bucket truck come and get it. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I got it from Para-Gear. When I contacted Para-Gear about the first one they brushed me off and told me to deal with the manufacturer which upset me a bit. Now that I have gone through another one I am a little skittish about trusting the product at all. If I could get a new one that actually works that would be great, but it would definately make me happy if I could just switch it with the dealer for a Protrack, which consequently is about the same price now with some dealers but not with Para-Gear (according to recent Parachutist advertisements). . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I am on my second Skytronic FX now. The first one I got for Christmas 2003, did about 30 jumps on it and all the LCD panel lit up. I sent it to Parasport Italia through Unfeathered and they said there was a dislodged sensor. They tried to fix it, couldn't, and sent me a new one. The whole process took about 3 months to get the replacement (I'm in Canada). I did 8 jumps on the replacement and all of a sudden the thing is going absolutely friggen apeshit. It beeps whenever it feels like it. Sometimes the display shows nothing, sometimes it cycles through the log quickly, and it is showing freefall speeds of 300+ mph. I don't know whether they will replace it again, but I would really like the money back so I can just buy a Pro-Track. The problem is I got the original one for Christmas 2003 which makes it an old purchase, but with all the problems I have had and with the short jump season here, I have only managed to put about 38 good jumps on the damn things. -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Winsor, you should go on Jeopardy. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Which begs the question... Where the hell is Good Stuff 2? . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I would be happy if people would show their appreciation to their packers by simply setting their brakes and cocking their pilot chute when they bring their rig in for a pack job. It takes them 2 minutes to do so, and when packing 30 - 40 rigs in a day 2 minutes on each one is a lot of time and extra work. Could mean a little break between loads. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Beer at the 7-11, must be nice!! If there's one thing we can learn from the Americans.. that's it!! -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Was that your Paradactyl that Angus jumped in Gan last year? That birdman suit looks pretty familiar too! . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I had the pleasure of being on a jump last year watching a buddy of mine jump a Paradactyl, what a crazy looking thing. He stood it up. He radioed down from the plane about 1000ft from jump altitude to ask if he was supposed to flare it. Well he tried once up high and it was pretty frightening to watch. Anybody have any pictures of one of those in flight? I don't think they were around too long. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I know what kind and size of reserve I have, but I don't know what colour it is and I would like to keep it that way. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Well, ok then. There are alot of posts to read in this thread and I may have missed some so I apologize if I have, but is there any ongoing legal investigations or proceedings occuring at this time against Skyride, ASC, or the owners of said businesses? Or is this all just meaningless dialogue? If there is, than maybe someone should start a new thread dedicated to updates on such proceedings. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

------------------------------------------------------------ ASC, however, is another issue altogether. Although ASC and Skyride share common ownership, they are separate entities. Even if the business practices of Skyride result in prison sentences for the parties deemed responsible, I know of no reason that this turn of events should affect ASC or its relationship with USPA. ===================================== Apparantly the Better Business Bureau doesn't agree with you completely on that one Winsor. They list all of the different business names on their same unsatisfactory report. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

meh... it's probably gone by now.. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

I've got amount the same #'s as you, and I am in the same boat. I cannot speak from an experienced point of view at all, so my take on canopy characteristics doesn't go very far. This I can say though.. I put a few jumps on a Stilletto and a few on a Katana... I liked the jumps on the Katana alot more. The openings are gorgeous and the canopy felt more "solid". That being said I am VERY new to the sport and don't know a whole lot. That is my 1 cent... I'm still saving.. . -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

C'mon... get serious people... any chronic pot smoker who does so believing that it has no adverse serious health affects is well... on drugs. I don't smoke pot anymore for my own reasons, but I use to be a daily chronic who dealt and probably smoked anywhere between a g. and 1/4 oz. a day for several years. I stopped smoking pot over 5 years ago and I still feel the effect on my memory and my ability to seriously multitask. I know I was a hell of alot smarter and more articulate before I drowned my brain in THC for a few years. That being said, smoking pot is just like skydiving in a way. If you understand the risks involved and believe that the benefits outweigh those risks by all means go ahead. I don't condemn it at all. In fact I will sit in a car or trailer with my friends while they smoke pot and it doesn't bother me one bit. All I am trying to say is that those who think pot is 100% totally harmless, especially to those who think it doesn't affect their driving ability or their ability to make well thought out decision in high stress situations... ie. (having a canopy collision at 500ft due to no fault of your own) or (having a high speed mal) may need a real serious reality check. If you take the good with the bad, don't forget you also have to take the bad with the good. -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Bungee jumping... now that's dangerous! I've yet to see a bungee video where something was going wrong so the victim casually released his bungee cord and flung out his reserve bungee cord! -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Lol.... I agree with cloudseeker! -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Look it up. It's true. -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

A friend of mine was doing a naked jump for his 300th and our buddy dumped him out at 11K . . . . . . In October . . . . . . In Canada . . . . . . . . Naked -------------------------------------------------- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson