pilotdave

Parachute manufacturers are much smaller than most aircraft manufacturers. Certification standards for aircraft are much higher. Much more analysis is done on an aircraft. And I know the risk I'm taking when I skydive. It's a LOT higher than the risk I'm taking when I fly. (here we go again!

Very true. Imagine if you'd die if your computer crashed. That's what happens in a fly-by-wire aircraft. Those computers don't crash. Or if they do, they have backups and ways of recovering. But it's not just reliability of software that's important. Software safety is a real field, used in applications where software can kill. I totally disagree that design flaws are to be expected in aircraft. 100% safety will never be guaranteed in an aircraft, but when you step into a certified aircraft, you SHOULD expect that no important parts will fall off, assuming the aircraft has been maintained and flown correctly. Dave

I think it would depend on a lot of factors, but yes, I'd probably sue. I don't think I'd sue for billions, but I'd expect a new rig or two when I recover, and of course all medical expenses paid and all that. Maybe a free plane and gas for life too (once they fix the design flaw). On the other hand, if I was never going to fully recover and I would never be able to fly or skydive again, I'd probably try to put em outta bidness! If the plane was 15 years old and I was in an accident because a seat rail was worn and the seat suddenly rolled backwards on short final, due to a poor design, I'd be far less inclined to sue. As a system safety engineer for an aircraft company, I'd be very curious to learn how such a serious design flaw made it past all the design reviews, etc. I'd also feel REALLY bad for the guy that has my job for that company! Dave

Your pic needed some help. Dave

I'm no TM, but I've seen some funny videos! When I was president of my college skydiving club, we had a group of frat boys come on one of our trips for tandems. One came down, talking shit to his buddies about how great everything went and all that. A while later he got his video and popped it in a VCR. Upon exiting, he made the standard "I can't breath" face and kept pointing at his mouth. When he realized the camera flyer wasn't going to help him breath, he started pointing upwards, as in "I changed my mind, put me back in the plane!" When that didn't work either, he just plain looked retarded the rest of the way down, holding his breathe the whole time, squirming. It really looked awful. Luckily his friends were able to appreciate how stupid he looked and made enough fun of him for everyone. I've seen at least a couple other similar videos too. Seems to be pretty common. Dave

PD 9-cell 150. Great choice. It was cheap, easy to fly, EASY to pack, and gave me nice looooong canopy rides. But it was still maneuverable and lots of fun. Dave

Anyone bought a neptune really recently (or know about the newest ones)? There were 2 things I was waiting for before I'd consider buying one. Stable, complete software, which this may be, and a smaller ring on the hand mount (as I heard from alti-2 would be coming along). Smaller than the altimaster 3's ring that is, which I find uncomfortable without gloves. Anyone know if they've changed that yet? Dave

Well, I'm no expert, but it seems to me that your problem was a bent pin, not just a tight poptop. Tightening the pop top can bend the pin if done incorrectly, but that's something you could have caught before jumping, right? Dave

I'm not a rigger, but I own a reflex. On mine anyway, I haven't found a rigger that could tighten the thing down too much. Never tested the pull force, but also never had a hard pull when I've brought it for a repack. Sometimes mine needs to be tightened after the first jump or two after a repack, as the reserve bulk shifts around a little. I helped tighten mine down once. I sure as hell couldnt get it too tight! That's not easy! edit: When I've seen it done, the temp pin and the real pin were in at the same time to prevent bending the reserve pin. Dave

I'm still trying to figure out if you're as serious about this as you sound. This thread is just making me laugh. If you're seriously mad, it might make me cry. Then laugh at you. Dave

I'll be there. I can't wait. Just checked the weather. 20s and 30s here, 60s and 70s there. Ok, now who do I pay off to put me on a team with a few golden knights for the 4-way scrambles? Dave

yup. Dave

Well, I disagree. Malfunctions do occur unexpectedly, but not for no reason. The user may not be able to prevent every malfunction, but someone, somewhere along the line could. Every malfunction has a cause. I'm not saying that every malfunction could be realistically avoided. In fact I don't even remember what the hell my point was.

Take a look at THIS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. If this NPRM gets approved, it will become a new FAR requiring all "air tour operators" to operate under either FAR part 121 (airlines) or part 135 (charters) instead of part 91 (general aviation). This will in effect shut down nearly every small sightseeing operation in the entire country. Most flight schools will currently do sightseeing flights. Over 700 of them have said if this new rule goes into effect, they will simply stop doing sightseeing flights since it's such a small part of their overall business. Many antique aircraft will be grounded because they will no longer be able to accept paying passengers. Flying under part 135 is simply out of the question for them. In theory, skydiving shouldn't be directly affected since we aren't sightseeing. But observer rides could be a thing of the past. And I wonder what other outcomes this rule could have for us. There are instructions for submitting comments to the FAA near the beginning of that page. Comments are due 1/20. If you happen to have anything to say about this to the FAA, feel free. Dave

I went to freezefest in 2002. Only got to jump a couple times because of the wind, but the beer olympics definitely made for a fun time. Dave

HERE is a thread that might help. Dave

I still don't see it. You are saying that I, mr. average skydiver, am more likely to die due to a mechanical failure of my car than due to a mechanical failure of my rig? I don't agree. Car's don't just suddenly explode for no reason. Now if you include me driving along and getting hit by some drunk driver or something, then you have to include canopy collisions and freefall collisions in your analogy. Gear falures don't happen for no reason. There's always SOMETHING that could have been done differently. But failures do happen unexpectedly. I know the stats aren't available, but just look at how many skydivers are killed by malfunctioning cars vs malfunctioning rigs. I don't believe anyone will find a VALID argument that skydiving is anywhere near as safe as driving. Dave

I've only seen one person mention the feel of the freefly handle vs. a hackey. I've never used one so I don't really know what it's like. How is it to grab with gloves on? I know some people that use freefly handles and love them, but to me they LOOK harder to grab than a hackey. When I reach back and feel my hackey, I know exactly what I'm grabbing. The freefly handle just looks to me like it would be harder to recognize, especially with gloves on. Dave

Ya know, every time you post I get a little bit happier about my decision to buy a Vector 3. I find it so comforting to know that you've worked out the best solutions to all these details. But get all this info up on your website! After ordering my Vector, I've learned a lot of reasons why I should choose a Vector.

About 1 in 1000 skydivers die every year. If you skydive, your odds of dying while skydiving are MUCH higher than your odds of dying while driving. Dave

you need the divx codec (or the divx player) from divx.com. Dave

Canopy ribs have holes in them. Learn that before you buy gear.

I think there should be a test and a license for driving while on a cell phone. Some can do it, some can't. In NY you need a hands free kit to talk on a cell phone while driving. I think that's a bullshit law. Plugging a headset into a cellphone doesn't make it any safer. People still look up numbers and dial and all that. Just like you said, it's not the talking that's dangerous. I have no problem talking to controllers while busy doing other stuff when I fly, but I also wouldn't try to tune a VOR during a touch n' go or something. Distractions are a part of every flight test. On mine I was told to tune a VOR, identify it with morse code, and center the needle, all while turning around a water tower 1000 feet below. The trick of course is just to fly the plane and take a half hour to tune the radio if you need to. If you rush it, you'll bust your altitude or fly a lopsided circle. You won't swerve into oncoming traffic though. There are only a few times during a flight that a lapse of attention for one second will kill you. Dave

Hehe, I learned not to kick my computer a few years ago. It pissed me off so I really whacked it hard with my foot. The screen lost all color except yellow. Gave me a bit of a scare for a little while until I discovered all I had done was knocked the monitor cable loose. And to answer someones question, no, I don't smoke crack. But I did get my winXP computer to run for 100 days without restarting. Dave

Site is down until....umm... it comes back up. Must be that silly linux system it's running on. Needs a good, reliable win98 server to stay online for more than a few days at a time. Better yet, WinME! Dave