NickDG

The A/C looks like a "Breezy". The container looks like a Strato Star. The jumper looks like all of us 30 years ago . . . NickD

12 Steps to Becoming a Successful DZO . . . 1. Start small. 2. Locate yourself on private land as far as possible from any existing DZ and somewhere in the sunbelt. 3. Lease a Caravan or at the very least purchase a C-206. 4. Hire two very experienced AFF Instructors (with tandem ratings) and give them new double wide trailers and free rent. 5. Stay under the radar and quietly grow your own skydivers from the local populace. 6, Accept Skyride certificates. (Contact USPA and they'll get you set up). 7. Once the Skyride thing is flowing break all ties with USPA because who needs all those extra pesky rules. 8. Every night, and I can't emphasis this enough, it's free beer for all. 9. Hire a rigger who's old, has a beard, and a crusty personality. It will add instant cred to your overall operation. 10. Use the aircraft at night to make drug runs. (The only logical reasons for steps 1-9.) 11. Mortgage everything to the hilt and suck as much cash out of the operation as possible for five years and then disappear to Alaska. 12. Wait a few years, claim you learned your lesson, and repeat. NickD

>>Would you just drop it or sue for damages?

They actually had Jim Arender, fully geared up, in giant size billboard fashion in New York's Times Square in the 60s. It was a Camel advert and smoke (steam really) billowed from his mouth . . . NickD

LOL, no roof high enough in California . . . They had a comm prob but they fixed it. The astros and Atlantis is GO! WX is the only thing now, and it's going to be close. Have a sweet ride! NickD

And you still don't look a day over 17 . . . NickD

There's a market for "Cutter Killer" the steel sleeve insert (in stainless too!) to failsafe turned-off Cypres'. And Aitec should abandon the numerical interface in their next software upgrade. Cypres should have two initial displays, "I'm Cool," or, "Something's Up!" Even if it’s in German . . . NickD

PABLEMCHUTIST . . . The magazine is what it is, simply a house-organ and ad-well. It could be so much more. Over the years they have run "extensive" gear reviews both on canopies and containers, however all the info presented is unfiltered and straight from the manufacturers. They will never print an experienced (jumper or rigger) opinion on rig "X-ray" with warts and all. They will never antagonize a current or potential advertiser, especially when the manufacturer, or someone with close ties to the manufacturer, sits on the board of directors. This is not putting members first . . . I think most of us are the same. We devour every word in the magazine during the first few years in the sport then, not so much, as it becomes stale and repetitious. And of course you can't opt out of receiving the magazine (as far as I know) because it would deflate circulation and affect advertising rates. USPA will also sell your personal information (name and address) for 15 cents to anyone who can pay for it (order minimum is 500 names.) This is not putting members first . . . Some will think the articles in the magazine are the "meat" of it, but the articles serve only to separate the adverts. And this is where USPA is really dropping the ball. The fact the magazine is "in house" and not sold on newsstands for public consumption could really work in our favor. The hard truths of this sport could be, and should be, openly discussed in the magazine because it's only "us" who reads it. USPA's argument against this is, "the magazine recruits new jumpers," but in reality very few new jumpers ever see, or even know of, the magazine until they've made a jump. This is not putting members first . . . "We usually run articles written in third person." This forgoing long held USPA tenant is the bane of all good writing in the magazine. I've been known to pen a decent tale from time to time, and I've been published in SKYDIVING, some Euro skydiving magazines, a good handful of outside the sport periodicals. Yet, all I ever get from USPA is rejection slips. Once I completely re-wrote a piece, in USPA demanded style, and then tore it up. It went from being "Moby Dick" to being "Limp Dick." The point is we are a wonderfully eclectic band of people who could lend the color needed to make the magazine articles come alive. This is not putting members first . . . Instructional issues are obscured in the magazine. The magazine is the only failsafe conduit to all Instructors but we don’t take advantage of it. Here is where the thirty year AFF Instructors can connect with the six month AFF Instructors. Where are the "Tips & Tricks" of the trade? Where is the mix of old and new that creates the new future? Instead, and overall, we have hundreds of little chiefdoms doing their own thing with varying degrees of results. For real guidance the USPA defers to the SIMS, the big blue sleeping pill. This is not putting members first . . . I could go on but that's enough for one gulp. In true AFF fashion I will end this critique on a high note. A lot of the time the photographs in the magazine are stunning. I do occasionally read the ads when I'm looking for a new piece of gear. And I get a kick out of seeing my former students getting awards or competing in big time record events. I also get a certain amount of comfort, in this crazy mixed-up world, every time the magazine lands in my mailbox like its done every month for the past thirty years. It's one of the few constants in my life . . . So overall I'll say, "PARACHUTIST, you're cleared for Level Two!" Edit: Today, I'm off to Al Frisby's Perris memorial. His picture should have been on this month's cover. He was a ripper of a jumper/rigger and mentor to many. And another voice not heard in the magazine, another wealth of info unknown to Johnny-Jumper on the other coast . . . USPA would do well to heed Al's dying advice, "Take more chances!" NickD

I don't care for anything named "van" unless its a Chevvy and has a waterbed in the back . . . NickD

Definitely a streamer. The sad part is when all us old hands are gone some knob will state Safety Meetings were small gatherings of jumpers where safety tips were passed around . . . NickD

>>28 ft miltary rounds with what is called a 4 line cut mod. I dont know when the military started doing this mod but it allowed some pilot steerability without cutting vent holes in the canopy.

Perrrfecttt . . . . NickD

This may be one of those situations where a pre-plan may not always be best. Older jumpers remember the Loadstar (Learstar?) that stalled on jump run at 12.5 and impacted the ground 23 seconds later at some horrendous speed. There were 26 aboard including two pilots. Fifteen jumpers managed to get out with one of those being killed on exit. In all nine jumpers and the two pilots were killed. http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR84-06.pdf Or the Beech that stalled in Hawaii on the demo jump . . . Then there is cause. Garden variety stall or something else? Jammed control line or outright failure? Pilot incapacitation? I was aboard a C-182 when a pilot passed out during the take-off roll. In most high altitude stall instances it's probably better to stay put, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying it's the answer in all cases. NickD

>>I've known of BASE jumpers to stash their rigs only to be unable to re-find them later.

Most of the ones I run into are "red tagged . . ." NickD

But I'd miss one of those damn wooden bridges and be eating bark . . . http://uniquepeek.com/viewpage.php?page_id=1522 NickD

Time to organize a Burn Your USPA Card Day . . . Disgusted! NickD

Welcome to EMS. Here's a few good forums (if you haven't seen them already) and a neat vid . . . Stay Safe !!! http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/portal.php http://www.emsvillage.com/forums/index.cfm http://www.ghettomedic.com/forum/ http://www.flightweb.com/forums/index.php http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m9FOryOIeI&search=salamanca%20fire%20ems%20responding%20response%20ambulance%20medic%20emergency NickD

>>Weren't you #1 at the old Baraona Indian Reservation DZ?

Lloyd M. Bucher . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_M._Bucher NickD

"Miss I have a bomb come sit by me." My new bar pick up line . . . NickD

Where the saying, "It's flying like a Lays' potato chip," came from . . . NickD

I was (and guess still am) member #13 from the old Ramona, California DZ . . . NickD

The "Lutz" video will get posted three or four times . . . NickD

Me in the 1950s . . . NickD