EricTheRed

I think $5 would be just fine. If I was getting that meny jumps in I'd probably pay more (but not much) but I'm lucky to get in 4 jumps a day and I normally end up packing my rig and my wife's rig. Bottom line - If you are good at packing you can easily do 4-5 rigs an hour (and if your not good at it - you shouldn't be asking me for $$ to do it). Sure it's hard work but that's 20-25 an hour, tax free. Not a bad rate for semi-skilled labor. Yea, I'll get salmmed by calling packing semi-skilled labor but that's really what it is. It's work, you have to be precise but it really isn't rocket science. illegible usually

I didn't vote cuz I think $5 is too much... I pack my own illegible usually

The $$ may be disputed, not the responsibility to pay. You rent the rig. You either a: Pack it yourself b: Trust the last person that packed it If it's packed when you rent it and you don't trust it, it's pretty damn easy to unpack-repack. The only pack job that you get a money back guarantee on should be the reserve. If it doesn't open you shouldn't have to buy that bottle of whisky. What is it with people that feel fine risking their life but can't deal with the concept of financial risk?? illegible usually

Hey, I'm going to be down in the corn husker state to visit with the in-laws and I was hoping to "escape" to a DZ for a while. Anybody here from NE? Any hints on where I should go to jump? The inlaws live near York, let me know what you think and I'll bring you a beer if I see you there. Eric illegible usually

OK - time for a little clarification. I'm really talking about what you would call coach jumps. USPA allows jumpers with a coach's rating to supervise students (defined by me as anyone that does not have a license) on levels F,G,H. These 'students' have been cleared by an instructor as being able to exit stable, and pull without assistance. In response to I was only refering to weather calls where it was known BEFORE the jump that the weather is iffy. It happens. There are days where we just can't tell where the ceiling is giong to be, and it being the weather, it changes throughout the day. Here's an example: The last load got 5,500 but the pilot says it's dropping, my student needs 5,500 minimum for his jump. I say - lets go. We get to 4,000 and run into crap. To maintain VFR we I chose to take a chance on the weather and don't mind paying my slot - it was my bad call. Besides, every jump I put a lot more than $15 at risk (does your DZ pay for the repack if you chop? How about your DV cam if it craps out when it gets wet from a sudden shower?) so it just doesn't bug me. We have a small, very friendly DZ and we do what we can because we love what we do - it ain't about the $$. (not that $$ isn't nice, it's just that we know better) Hope this doesn't come off as defensive, I do appreciate the comments. illegible usually

Thanks for all the feedback. At my DZ the student doesn't pay for the jump if they can't jump due to JM's call. JM eats his slot, DZO eats the student slot. Thought here is that the student isn't able to make the call on GO-NO GO and it's not fair to bill them for a jump they didn't make. Here it's up to the JM to try to guess the weather - if we guess wrong - we bought the slot, not the student. illegible usually

USPA coach rating. Yes I do jump with students as well as newbie jumpers recently off of student status. Student to me is defined as anyone without a license. The question I now have is how do you handle what we call "observer rides" WUFFO's who go along for the trip to watch the fun, but don't intend to jump. I know DZ'z that do, and DZ's that don't allow this. At our's they are under the direction and control (again, in theory) of the Pilot. They get an rudimentary emergency briefing (about 15 minutes of "DONT TOUCH ANYTHING AND KEEP YOUR SEATBELT ON UNLESS THE WINGS FALL OFF - If the wings do fall off AND the pilot tells you to, then jump out and pull this (RESERVE) To me, a student that doesn't go would fit into the same category as long as there were no safety issues that caused the no-go. I fully agree that I would never leave someone that freaked or couldn't get out due to fear. As I mentioned B4, it's always been due to weather and the student was fully prepped to ride the plane down. Another conversation got me thinking about this though and I wanted to see what this group thought. illegible usually

Never done that... And if it was a 1st jump I certainly would ride the plane down. On the times I've done it it was discussed on the ride up that we might not get altitude (my DZ does primarily SL progression) and the student had at least 10 jumps total in every case. Just not enough that I would be confortable letting them exit at 2,000 ft. They have been briefed on aircraft emergencies, and do (in theory) know enough to not kill themselves. I've always considered this to be much the same as jumping from a plane with an observer on board. Thanks for the feedback, I will definately be thinking about this more. illegible usually

Just wanted to get an idea about this in general... When you, as an instructor or coach, decide that your student will be landing with the plane, under what circumstances do you A) Stay in the plane with them. B) Jump anyway I've done it a few times both ways - in general if it's due to lack of altitude (happens here in the NW from time to time) I'll tell the student to stay put and do a H+P. Otherwise I most likely will stay in the plane and enjoy the ride. illegible usually

Unprofessional maybe - but still makes great video illegible usually

Just browsing through paper and noticed the Good Guys sales flyer. The 'simulated picture' on all of the TV's and the DV camcorders is of a pair of head down FF'rs geeking the camera. Cool illegible usually

Agreed!! I've even got video from last summer. (one of the advantages of jumping at a 'old school' DZ) We don't have a turbine but we do have fun... illegible usually

If this was true, I wouldn't be here today. I have had a terminal reserve opening on my Javelin and it worked just fine. (Since I tried to deploy my main at 2K and had a hard pull due to a handle being stuffed into the pouch on climbout, I went straight to the reserve and it opened just fine thank you. - In fact it opened hard enough to yank the wide angle lens right off my camera. I don't think I would have enjoyed a faster deployment. Things work a bit different in the air than they do on the ground. illegible usually

I very firmly disagree. Lead can be dangerous, and can lead to much greater injuries on landing, despite the canopy size. A misstep that would only be a stumble without lead can easily be a broken ankle with 20# of lead. illegible usually

I saw a VISA ad in the Feb 04 issue of National Geographic - Adventure mag that had a photo of an (alleged) AFF jump? The pitch was something like "She may only skydive once, but the video will last forever..." Anybody see this? If you have a copy could you scan and post? I saw it in the lobby of a place I had a meeting at and didn't think it would be good form to swipe the mag or cut out the ad. Thanks, Red illegible usually

*** illegible usually

Not really mainstream press but almost. A damn good article tho... http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinterview.jsp illegible usually

There's gotta be something better out there people - Red illegible usually

Tahnks, Yea, they do. But I wanted a cool necktie The USPA one is OK but pretty plain. Just a std. tie with a small USPA logo. illegible usually

OK, so it sucks enough that I have to wear a tie at work. Help me out. Any cool neckties out there? Red illegible usually

Yes, Caused by a sloppy pack job. ETR illegible usually

Thanks, If you're ever in the NW look me up. Beers on me! BTW how does your Tri-Hybrid open @ terminal? Eric illegible usually

I'm also looking for a manual on the Tri retractable PC system. Any body know where to get it? If the manual isn't too long I can take a fax but would prefer .PDF or hardcopy. Thanks, Red illegible usually

http://www.relativeworkshop.com/pdf_files/05326.pdf Try this illegible usually

Must not be too hard to get a bag lock. Someone packed one for me yesterday! (the stows were pretty ugly tho) Red illegible usually