Reginald

You notice we are all avoiding giving you a speed? belly flyers find 110 on the very slow range and 125 to be pretty fast. 115 to 120 is a good average for most types of jumps. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

send them to a country where liability is not an issue. never gonna happen here except for the kids of dzo's who are only going to sue themselves. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

You will get a lot of answers but the optimal suit will let you fall in neutral with your team mates, with them at neutral speed. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Please, please talk to your instructors about this. The braked approach and landing is meant to teach you some very specific things. I will not let a student do this without a through briefing before hand. Also, I prefer to have students do this on a day with some wind as it can result in some interesting landings on a no wind day. This is one you need help on before trying it! Please, please, please, talk to your instructors about this one as I personally think the internet is a bad place to get info on this topic. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

My opinion is that prefessionally coached tunnel time is the fastest way to learn and progress and the best value for the money. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I believe you missed this comment from the original post then: simply put, the supervisor was not educated as he should have been about the gear. If they want to swab, go for it - same as they have the other 2 (looked them up) times I flew with my rig and passed thru security at ORD, or the countless other times I've done the same thing thru ORD in years past. Unfortunately, there was no one in the group of TSA people that had said they'd ever seen a parachute go thru security before and the supervisor I dealt with said that there had never been one carried thru security before at ORD. No I got the original post. I think you are still missing the point. It is not the TSA’s job to understand skydiving gear. It is their job to make sure you don’t get on the plane with a bomb. If they think they can meet that objective with a swab on the outside then fine. If they think they need to open it up and swab the inside than that is there prerogative. There are no guidelines for what they should do other than convince themselves that you don’t have a bomb. They have the right to open and inspect the gear, which they did, if they think it meets their needs to make sure you don’t have a bomb. You only have the right to be present while they do it. Different agents will require different levels of evidence to make the decision they have to make. And let’s be honest here a Cypres looks like a bomb! It’s a big battery pack with wires running out of it! Add to it there is a big lump of material it runs to. I’m surprised we skydivers get through security as easily as we do in general. All that said it did really suck to be you that day and you have my sympathy. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

In your mind but you are not responsible for the safety of a few hundred people on an airplane. If they choose to open it they have the right regardless of what you think is sufficient. Don’t get me wrong, I think the TSA is a bunch of fools but that does not change the fact they can open a rig if they so choose. A traveler's only right is to be present at the time. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Why? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Amen... "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

If the objective was something else like docking, or center point turns then the coach was dong the right thing. You can’t learn to dock if you guys are on different levels. There is nothing wrong with him in a debrief talking about other thing you can work on to improve your skydiving beyond the learning objectives, such as basic body position. If the objective of the dive WAS fall rate control then the coach should not have been matching your fall rate obviously. He should have been changing his and making you learn to adjust. What was the objective of these jumps? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Usually not. remember though there are 50 different sets of laws in the US. Again call the DZ's you are thinking about going to and talk to the manager. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

I hate to tell you this but the TSA was within their rights. They have the right to open the rig, you have the right to be present. End of story. It sucks and I feel for you but that is the way it is. I’ve traveled dozens of times with rigs and only once had to open the container in the back room. The officer only made me take the main out and was thinking about the reserve but I talked him out of it. He had the right to ask me to open it too. I’ve had other times they swabbed it. Most of the time they pull a couple of other TSA agents over and show them what a parachute looks like under X-ray an let me go. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the TSA did nothing wrong from what I can tell. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

"rules" is not the issue. It's about the waiver. If you are under 18 you will have trouble finding anywhere that will let you jump. 18 is the age you can sing a binding contract, in most cases, and thus the age for you to be able to sign a binding waiver. Call anywhere you are planning on jumping and ask the DZ they might let you jump but it is up to the DZ itself. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

So what part of the plan do you now think was not viable? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Been talking to my wife's father? Yes, and there is a problem! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Of course we have a scale and EVERYONE gets weighed. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

You're a good man Sparky "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Bill, which tests are these? I'd like to review the info. This is a topic of much debate so I'd like to get more info. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Really, do you want to name the Course Directors that are so easy? "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

More tomorrow as it's been a long weekend. But you choose the size of your reserve first, then container and main. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Love um. Nothing like 4 way and turning pieces at night with glowsticks! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Low jump numbers and more than a year layoff? Be prepared to sit through a full first jump course and do one jump with an instructor. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

Can you give me an example? And what all does it include? Two slots, and gear rental, plus a couple of bucks for the instructor? You do know the ISP speaks to 8 coached jumps, right? AFF is just the first half of a student program. Agreed! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

How about not gotten himself in that position to begin with... "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

LOL! good one! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP