pilotdave

Absolutely! There are even two versions of the USPA A-license card. Dropzones get to decide which to use, even though both are equally valid. One version is much easier on the students (and their wallets) than the other. And (in my limited experience) there's a huge difference in the skill level and knowledge of students that get licensed by one program vs the other. Dave

As I said, I generally agree with you. My DZ basically uses both rules... we set a pattern, but then follow the first person down in case the wind shifts drastically. It definitely can suck when someone changes up the pattern and can lead to a lot of confusion. But most of the time it works well. But only setting a pattern has its limits. At your DZ (I did more jumps there this year than at my home DZ), I haven't had many problems myself. But I witnessed a lot of close calls... way too many. My last jump there was interesting... sunset load and half the plane had decided to land one way while the other half decided to land the other way (and of course we all thought everybody agreed). That's one of the problems with the not having a first person down rule... first person down landed the "wrong way" (to me). The next person didn't follow and landed the opposite way. Then half the load proceeded to land one way and the other half landed opposite. If everybody just changed their patterns to match the first person down, it would have been much safer. And of course it would have been even safer if communication hadn't broken down before we left the plane in the first place. It's a complicated issue... Using a predetermined landing direction only works when there's effective communication of the landing direction. That means a visual (and fixed) landing direction indicator (never seen one in action myself) or a way of ensuring that landing direction is set in stone before boarding the plane. Another way I've seen it fail at your DZ is when it's really busy and multiple loads are mixing in the pattern on a light wind day. It's up to each load to determine their landing direction. Loads don't communicate with each other. I've been in the pattern when either the first people from the next load or the last people from the previous load were in the pattern at the same time, landing in the opposite direction. I'm not knocking your DZ (ok maybe a little)... just pointing out that it's a complicated issue. There are cases where a first person down rule would solve traffic pattern conflicts. And your no-rules DZ is a perfect example. Dave

I can't speak for their student program, but if you follow the ISP, you end up having each student do about 5-6 coach jumps... not including any repeats. Those are included in the 25 jumps to get the A, as are tandems, etc. Most of our students meet the A-license requirements (other than total jumps) when they reach about 20-22 jumps or so. It could take more jumps than 25 though if the student needs more jumps to acquire the required skills. Dave

I find it interesting that you advocate one rule over another when you jump at a dropzone famous for not having any rules. I have to say that they do a pretty good job much of the time choosing a landing direction before the load or on the plane, but I've also never been to another dropzone that has so many people landing in EVERY direction... and with nobody even making any kind of stink about it. Not only do they not have a first person down rule, they don't have an "everybody land in the same direction" rule. My first time there, I asked for a briefing on the landing pattern. My exact briefing: "Don't kill anybody." And by the way, I don't disagree with you. But just to play devil's advocate... At Eloy during the nationals, they put up about 130 loads in one day, all using the first person down rule. I didn't see more than a couple people landing the wrong way over a week there, and the landing direction shifted 180 degrees many times most days. At your DZ, I've seen 50% of a load land one way and the other half land the opposite way... all intermixed. Dave

Is the 21-megapixel original a tad big to post?

Does it matter? Won't it either slide to the upper part or pull the pin trying? The important thing is that the pin isn't oriented in a way that might cause it to either get pushed out of the closing loop by accident or get stuck on a flap or anything else. When the pilot chute applies 100 lbs of force to the end of that pin, I don't think it's original orientation is likely to matter very much at all. Dave

Well, I didn't watch the show but I think I see what topic interested people... Attached is a little sample of the hits that started coming into SkydivingMovies.com after it aired. Notice the common theme? Dave

With the BASEr (TSO'd BASE container with belly reserve), they don't cut away the main if it mals... they just pull the reserve. Seems like it's a "negative habit transfer" to teach BASE jumpers to cut away a malfunctioning main. Dave

Probably about that from Stamford. I'm a little farther east along the coast and CPI takes me a little less than an hour and a half. The ranch is literally 0.8 miles farther for me and takes probably 1:45 or so. Stamford might be another 20 or 30 minutes to CPI... not sure about the ranch but it's probably longer too since stamford is farther south. Dave

That's not too far from me. No DZs in that part of Connecticut, but it's not that far from multiple dropzones. Connecticut Parachutists (http://www.skydivect.com) and The Ranch (http://www.theblueskyranch.com are probably the easiest to get to. But not exactly nearby. Dave

Definitely a main. Mini risers, kill line slider, PD stock colors, etc. Not surprised he has red toggles... his risers are yellow. Dave

I did something close to 200 jumps at the ranch this year. A lot of nights I thought there was a big party going on... then I'd go into the hangar and find there was a band playing and maybe 3 people standing around listening. Does the place live up to its reputation over the winter or what? Dave

CPI is planning to keep one of those 206s all winter too (hopefully), plus the 182. Open on the good and bad weekend jump days.

I'm not sure if it's a compliment or not, but you haven't changed a bit! I opened the first attachment before I even looked at who posted them and recognized you instantly. Dave

I thought it was bizarre that he deleted on-topic posts. But I don't think he was disagreeing with you at all. He completely agreed that there was merit to the thread... it was a topic worth discussing in the S&T forum. I think he was simply trying to clean up the thread and unfortunately good information got deleted too. I'd agree that it was some over-moderation, but I don't see the conspiracy theory. Dave

What kind of mount did he have? Every time I see an exposed L-bracket, I wonder if it could cut lines. Did he have any kind of box? Sidemounts have their advantages and disadvantages. I went with sidemount, but I could only find one helmet that really made any effort to minimize the snag hazard and that was the FF2. After seeing a couple FF3s, I don't think I'd buy one. Not because of the width but because they removed some nice features and didn't fix some of the issues I have with the FF2. My next helmet will be a rear entry top mount like a vapor or ftp... for two reasons. Versatility and tighter fit. I can't get my FF2 as tight as I'd like (I'm guessing that the hole in the cutaway system webbing has stretched a little) so I think it moves on my head too much. It's far from loose, but I think it contributes to some camera shake. And of course my video camera choices are limited with the FF2. But I haven't wanted to upgrade yet, so it hasn't held me back at all. I think a well made, snag resistant sidemount is just fine for it's intended purpose. I'm not 100% convinced that top mounts are just simply safer. They are safer in some ways, but not all ways. They have their disadvantages and advantages just like a sidemount. In a hard opening, I don't know if I'd want my PC1000 sitting 8 inches over my head instead of right next to my face. I'm guessing there's a much higher chance for whiplash when the helmet is raised up. And if your head happens to be cocked to the side a little, you'll probably get a much worse side load on your neck with a top mount. Sure, if you hold your head perfectly straight, the top mount may be better (I think front-mounted stills undoes that advantage), but I doubt I could hold my head perfectly straight throughout a very hard opening. For soft openings, a light side mount camera doesn't put much strain on the neck at all. Dave

I don't think you'll find a ring flash is nearly powerful enough (that isn't huge). I have a whopping 3 jumps with a flash... but everything I've read on the subject, and my limited experience, tells me that the more power, the better. Mounting the flash is another story. You'll probably have to get creative. My 580II is attached with some velcro (well, something similar to velcro anyway) and an altimeter wrist strap. Light and cheap (free). Dave

A few I took at Nationals... No turns were over 180 (mostly 90s). I was impressed. Dave

What a progressive attitude. Surely this way of thinking is going to make flying in jump planes safer! Yep, planes just inexplicably run out of gas all the time. No biggie. Happens to Delta like every few months too. Dave

You're seeing what's normally there and missing what's missing. Those are his slider grommets. It's a removable slider. Dave

Probably more true nowadays than it has been for a long time. Now is a great time to wait! Dave

What's wrong with it? Are the colors not what you ordered?? Nice looking rig! Dave

Private pilot that hasn't flown a plane in 5 years. Kids, let this be a lesson to you. Skydiving is addictive and will ruin every other activity you do. Haven't gone skiing since skydiving became a winter sport for me too. (off topic but the username was somewhat chosen for me... A long long time ago when I was flying often I had an email address pilotdave@email.com. I started using it mainly for rec.skydiving, to catch all the spam. When I started skydivingmovies.com and posted about it on rec.skydiving, people referred to me by my email address, pilotdave. Someone referred to me as pilotdave here on dropzone.com before I joined the site. It seemed like a good idea to use the name when I registered.

If you're referring to me, I'm not an experienced commercial airline pilot. I am interested in learning more about how to get a canopy to "side slide" though. Dave

No, crabbing is pointing off the line of flight (at some wind correction angle) in order to maintain a desired flight path. You don't need to keep increasing the angle... choose the angle that maintains your flight path (which may very well keep changing, if necessary) and maintain that heading. What you're showing is more like a flare turn... kind of aiming into the wind during the flare. Saw a lot of people doing that at nationals... coming in straight down the field, then turning into the wind and cutting across the landing area at the last second. Dave