NickDG

Hi Gary, I've got tickets on the 16th too, going to Indiana. If we get screwed meet me in the bar at LAX . . . NickD

In Reply To >> It's always suspicious when someone gets banned and then suddenly a new poster appears.

>> It's always suspicious when someone gets banned and then suddenly a new poster appears.

If the riglet who packed it managed to walk the slider up prior to packing than it would probably would have come down enough to allow the canopy to open. Cutting the control lines would help the control problem and if within reach slicing the slider in half might totally solve the problem. NickD

Just going by the photos cutting the left control line might help get the slider down. NickD

Better overwhelmed on the ground than with a spinning out of control student blowing through their pull altitude. And to the poster two up - Coaches work with novices not students. And that's night and day as far as difference . . . NickD

Skyride finally wised up and hired some hackers. Since USPA folded up we are the only enemy they have left . . . NickD

Always carry a knife . . . it's the emergency procedure for when you are all out of emergency procedures . . . (I've seen a lot of bad rigging, but that's real bad). NickD

>>Thanks Nickhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-jE44mLOl4

Go here: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-444-223-7005 NickD

>>Onboard a Cessna 172/182 or possibly a Piper PA-28 (Cherokee, Warrior, Arrow, etc)

>>"knapsack" was used, which probably was not a widely used term in 1971.

>>What does "LE Surprise Party" refer to???

Troy Hartman did something similar in the early 2000s. He floated from Lake Elsinore almost all the way to Temecula (about twenty miles.) And he landed with the balloons, after shooting some of them out with a pellet gun, which was way more an achievement than simply just jumping. NickD

>>Some enterprising web-savvy person at USPA headquarters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 NickD

>>There is only a remote chance a WWII Japanese spy or saboteur used a US military parachute manufactured in 1946.

Between the JCCs (Jumpmaster Certification Course) of old and the "Coach" rating of today there was the "BIC" (Basic Instructor Course.) This was a low pressure affair that just reinforced (and in some of cases taught) things most experienced jumpers getting ready to handle students may have forgotten or don't think much about. Spotting, student gear checks, student psychology, the basics of good instructing, and so on. The BIC was in its way to becoming a good program when the USPA shitcanned it . . . I've never been keen on the Coach program. Instructors should be turning out competent basic skydivers already. If we aren't let's change and revamp the program of basic instruction. For example, I think there should be way more than seven or eight AFF student levels and they should be cheaper in cost. And I think the Coach program was the USPA trying to fix two things. They were trying to re-create the "jumpmaster" (a rating they dropped) by making Coaches the new breeding ground for Instructors, and they were also responding to the fact the current AFF program wasn't turning out competent students who could integrate into the fast pace of today's DZ environment. The Coach program is just a big ol' band aid. Novices (off student status but not yet licensed) should be jumping alone and honing the skills they learned in AFF. Also two-ways with kindly experienced jumpers for no fee would be okay too (like it was for many years). Being a novice is all about the freedom of graduating the AFF program (and catching your breath, while replenishing your wallet from the ton of money you just spent). What we do now is just throw these novices into another de-facto and variably effective program where they are over-controlled and plundered for even more money. No wonder so many quit. Okay, here comes the meat in all this . . . The breeding ground for new Instructors should be them spending their day with old Instructors. We should devise an Instructor Prep Program (similar to the BIC) and once passed that you spend a certain amount of hours shadowing an experienced Instructor around. During this phase the Junior Instructor (yes, that needs a snappier name) under an experienced Instructor's supervision would teach small sections of real FJCs, help prep students in ground briefings, and even go along on the dives to see Instructor/Student interaction and operations up close both in the aircraft and in the air by lurking the dive at safe distance. They could then start to develop an eye for later student debriefs. They would also join in the post-jump walk & talks as the student gives their perceptions. And be in on what's used to fix student problems as they arise and participate in the pass or repeat decisions. In other words, if you want to be an Instructor, than hang with Instructors. Right now we are teaching new Instructors from the top down rather than from the bottom up. Right now sometimes the very first time a brand new Instructor actually interacts with a real live student he's completely on his own. Right now sometimes the first time a brand new Instructor faces a room full of eager young first jump students he's in there completely alone. This is sheer lunacy. And not every current Instructor would be designated an Instructor's instructor. Before taking that on you'd have to have X number of FJCs under your belt, or some minimum amount of time in grade. And you can bet you might also be asked to pack my rig and fetch my lunch. Also I get paid extra for taking you on out of your own pocket and you get paid nothing plus pay for your jumps. Don't like that? Well, suck it up cupcake because I've got it and you want it. There are a lot of things wrong with the current AFF Instructor certification course both now and even before they opened the floodgates to hoards of course directors. Most here have heard that from me before. We could fix it but I think we should scrap it entirely by adopting something like I've outlined above. Someone upboard wrote that he, "shopped for an AFF cert course." And I took that to mean he looked for a good course with a minimum of Mickey Mouse BS. And that's fine, but I'm not so sure in other people's cases that same line wouldn't be code for finding an "easy" course. All this could be eliminated if we cooked our own Instructors from scratch. We have to allow people time to absorb, think, and learn. The BS part of the current AFF course comes from the fact I've only got a few days and a few jumps to figure out if a total stranger (in most cases) is capable of teaching my sister how to skydive. And yes, too many evaluators abuse this aspect, or simply don't know when and how to apply it, but most times it works. I've seen a lot of candidates voluntarily drop out during cert courses. "I thought I was ready, but I'm not," is what most say. And it's sad to see them pack up and leave. It's sad because given enough time a good Instructor can teach almost anyone to also be a good instructor. But in the current system we aren’t allowing for that to happen. And when would these Junior Instructors become full-fledged Instructors? When I say so that's when, and if you keep getting me mustard on my ham sandwich you're going to be here FOREVER . . . NickD

What to hook a static line to in the back of an Otter . . . NickD

Unless I missed it . . . Now that we know the parachute found wasn't Coopers - who's was it? While I'm not clear on if it was actually buried, or just found in a mound of dirt, where did it come from? Did they ever find any serial numbers or markings? There were Smoke Jumpers operating in eastern WA as early as 1940 (pre-WWII) and those parachutes were probably silk. But this parachute is well west of there. Just an unlucky early aviator hitting the silk? But if the canopy was buried, why? But there's another possibility, maybe . . . We know the Germans landed saboteurs on Long Island, NY via submarine during WWII. And there was also an artillery attack on a Santa Barbara, CA oil refinery, also from a sub but this time Japanese, in 1942. Could the Japanese have also landed spies or saboteurs from the air during this time? I'm not sure if they had planes that could transit the Pacific at the time, but maybe carrier based aircraft could have done it. Or, they did have a toehold in the Aleutian Islands (off Alaska) and might have launched some operations from there. Oh, and Hoop, you know Townies are somewhat of an issue at most every DZ - get over it . . . NickD

Seriously, if all you Cal City folks migrated to Pepperell, there wouldn't be enough block & tackle available statewide to get you down out of the trees . . . NickD

I was in Hawaii partying and skydiving . . . Never heard about it . . . NickD

Before the USPA screwed everything up it was pretty simple. And I still think of it this way . . . Getting signed off student status means you are cleared for self supervision. It means you can board the plane without a jumpmaster in tow. From that point on until you are licensed you are called a novice. Quit trying to re-invent the wheel, you guys . . . NickD

>>Pity then that this isn't a democracy isn't it?

Ya know, if anything, and if Mr. Cooper is alive out here, his eyes are bleeding by now. You all might just flush him out because he's biting through his lower lip . . . NickD