NickDG

I can't get the image of the round black stink pot looking devices with "Acme BOMB" written on them sitting next to the cop copters out of my head . . . NickD

Yes, that's a start, and it does work. At Perris they have that kind of relationship with the local police and the Coroner. And they have it at several other large DZs. But at Podunk Drop Zone X-ray they don't. When I was going around doing AFF evaluations courses in the 90s I often said to Course Director Rick Horn, "Hey Rick, is it me, or does nobody on this DZ know what they are doing?" I never had that feeling in the 70s, or in the 80s . . . And in a way I agree with you. An anemic USPA can't do it. The FAA would have to be behind it since it's really the Feds that regulate skydiving. I've always choked on that notion of letting USPA govern us so the FAA won't do it. Our true saving grace IS THE FAA, becasue they call skydiving a recognized aeronautical activity. That's what truly protects us from being totally run out of town. And when you think of it. I'd rather have a rating from the FAA that said AFF Instructor, and Expert Parachutist, along with my other FAA tickets like my student's pilot license, my rigger, and mechanic rating. The USPA is just a layer of dung we truly don't need. I can petition my government for change. And if I'm right and persistent enough I can change things. I can't petition the USPA for anything once they decide they don't see it my way. NickD

>>Excuse my ignorance, but why is some police officer doing an investigation on a skydiving accident?

Excerpts from the below story link: Matt Ziesel doesn’t stray far from coach Dan McCamy on the sidelines during St. Joseph Benton High School’s freshman football games. He likes to stay within earshot. “I’m ready, Coach. … Coach, I’m ready,” Ziesel says.McCamy says he hears it about 10 times a game, and also at practices, from Ziesel, his 5-foot-3, 110-pound running back. So in the final stages of Benton’s third game of the season on Monday at Maryville, McCamy decided it was time for Ziesel — a 15-year-old freshman with Down syndrome — to make his season debut. With about 10 seconds left in the game, and Benton trailing 46-0, McCamy called his final timeout, told an assistant coach to organize the team for the “Matt play” and ran across the field to the Maryville defensive huddle — and to some puzzled looks from the opposing players. “I’ve got a special situation,” McCamy remembers telling Maryville freshman defensive coach David McEnaney. “I know you guys want to get a shutout. Most teams would want a shutout, but in this situation I want to know if maybe you can let one of my guys run in for a touchdown.” “The (Maryville) players, they didn’t hesitate at all,” McEnaney said. “They jumped right on board.” And so Matt Ziesel ran a sweep to the right and just kept going. This time, it was McCamy making sure he was close enough to be heard — running down the sideline alongside Matt, yelling as loud as he could. “Come on, Matty! They’re coming!” McCamy yelled, making the play as real as possible for Ziesel. Benton lost Monday’s game 46-6, but those six points made a bigger impact than McCamy could have ever imagined. “It’s not necessarily about winning or losing,” said McCamy, a second-year coach who played college football at Missouri. “Obviously up in Maryville we lost the game. The end result, we lost the game, but when we went away, we were all kind of winners.” Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ylwXOxKb7I Story link: http://boards.ign.com/football/b5105/185250293/p1/ NickD

Funny . . . I saw the photos of this incident when the original thread was posted, but I've just now seen the video. Not much to say about the Jumpmaster. Other than he was unprepared, panicky, and his mannical laughter after the fact should have been enough alone to give him the gate. But I'm so very jealous of him . . . I learned the Student in tow procedure in my first jump course. Then I learned the Jumpmaster procedure for a student in tow in my Jumpmaster certification course. Then I taught those procedures in every first jump course, and every Jumpmaster certification course, I ever taught. And for twenty years I faithfully made sure I always had a pair of gloves, a hook knife, and my trusty carabiner when ever I was dropping S/L students. And I waited. Like a cocked gun ready to fire when the big moment finally arrived. I even had dreams about it. The unconscious student is dangling below with no hand on the helmet signal. I hook myself onto the static line using my carabiner and with my knife clenched firmly in my teeth I slide down until I reach my student. I cut us both away and open the student's reserve. Then I deploy my main before swooping in on the student's canopy for a quick CRW hook up (hey, it's dream). Then I steer him down to an into the wind landing right in the peas. Then the USPA marches me up on stage in front of 35,000 cheering skydivers and hang the Medal of Jumpmastering around my neck. Then I wake up . . . But the big moment never came. Everything else happened. Pilots passing out on take off, single engines blowing up at 1500-feet, I even got myself in tow once jumping a tandem rig. But no student in tow for me. So yes, I'm jealous. The big moment finally came and it was wasted on that other guy . . . NickD

Keep in mind you always have a knife in a Cessna, even if you don't have a hook knife. (Which should be unthinkable). Just smash the face of one of the instruments on the panel (one of the cheaper ones is best ) and use the glass shard to cut the S/L, hung up jumpsuit, whatever . . . NickD

This is something weird I've always wondered about. It's how us older folks remember so much about our first jumps. We seem to know who else was on the plane, who was flying, all the little details. On the other hand I run into more than few people who started jumping more recently and when you ask they can't even come up with the name of their first jump instructor . . . NickD

Bill's right. Most rigs incorrectly closed will still work. Basically though, if you pull up on the bridle, and the pin begins sliding out of the closing loop, and the downstream part of the bridle (where it tucks into the rig) is moving too, it is wrong. NickD

Send me your ticket, Bill. I've got the lighter . . . NickD

Wait a minute . . . If the underlying problem is not having enough slack between the pin and where the bridle tucks under the first flap then HELLO! That's not a new thing. It's been that way since Booth designed the first throw out pilot chute in the early 1970s. Who's failing who here? Whenever you teach someone to pack, if you don't say look, "Here's how easy it is to lock this up," by actually demonstrating it, than send me your Instructor rating and I'll burn it for you . . . NickD

Very cool! Final 33-31 N.Y. And they lost on the spread. Now I can go looking for Guido, instead of him looking for me . . . NickD

A FG won't hurt me, NY has to win by 3 . . . NickD

Yeah! I'm up by one point. Hang on boys! I haven't seen Dallas play in a few years. What happened to Roger Staubach? NickD

Not looking too good . . . 27-24 N.Y. in the fourth! Can I lay off part of that hundred on anyone? NickD

The spread is New York by 3 1/2 points . . . I'm going with Dallas for a yard. NickD

Now I'm going to have to double up on Dallas vs New York tonight. But what the hell, that's why God gave us two kneecaps . . . Anybody got any inside info? NickD

It's a syndicate, I tell ya ....... NickD

Damn !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody got fifty bucks I can borrow? Guido is going to blow off one of my kneecaps . . . NickD

Dear Lord, Please give me two more points and I promise to stop torturing small animals! NickD

>>How 'bout dem BEARS!

Bomb to Jackson !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the 35! NickD

Damn!!!!!!! MISS, bring me another beer! NickD

Craven FG attempt, MISS, MISS, MISS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NickD

1st sack of the game, ha, ha Flacko! Nice impersonation of a ton of bricks . . . NickD

Intercepted! Chase! I love ya man! NickD