NWFlyer

Stolen from a post in Incidents from riggerpaul - I really liked this and thought it could spark a discussion about the "little things" we each can to do contribute to the greater safety of the dropzone: In that spirit, what are you going to do next time you're at the DZ? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

What job did he (or she) "agree on"? Per the S&T Manual (page 4), it's this: The above list is all well and good in theory, but like Matt said above, the S&TA "serves" at the discretion of the DZO (even though the S&TA is appointed by the RD, how much or how little leeway the S&TA has to act vs. advise is totally up to the DZ management). And he/she is also most likely on staff, teaching, jumping, rigging, etc. Seems like you also expect that person to simultaneously be everywhere and see everything and have the freedom to override the DZO at all times. I've been impressed (or unimpressed) with various S&TAs, but they're all human. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Then you're not being creative enough. There are a few things that may be difficult to impossible on a lightly loaded 250, such as riser turns, but it doesn't mean you can't give them a try and see how the canopy responds. You may not be in as much traffic on a lightly loaded 250, but the lessons you learn about being aware of where others are on the load and in the pattern can translate to a canopy of any size. Learning how to set up and adjust a pattern will translate to a canopy of any size. Learning how to pick a target and get close to it (and make adjustments next time if you don't get close to it) will trans late to a canopy of any size. Learning how to read winds and adjust your pattern accordingly will translate to a canopy of any size. You can go through this checklist on a 250. As noted above, the riser maneuvers may be tough, but the rest are things you can think about. Also, this card from the USPA provides a great outline for drills you can do on your canopy. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

And you're allowed to learn canopy stuff on rental gear as well. Unless of course you weren't planning on using a canopy until you get your own, in which case you probably won't learn much on your one last skydive other than "using a parachute is a good thing." "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Exactly. Banning swooping or limiting it to specific times or passes isn't going to keep me safe while flying my traditional pattern, no matter how much I'd like to put my head back into the sand. Landing is a team sport. Let's all be on the same team. Closest call I've had so far was with someone else doing a traditional pattern. It's not just a high-performance landing problem. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Owie. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

My first two canopies were bought used. Did about 200 jumps on a Spectre with black/blackberry (purple) and teal. That one wasn't too bad. Then I bought a Pilot that was black with red ribs. Putting 300+ jumps on that convinced me of one thing - I don't ever want to buy another dark canopy. That thing could go into stealth mode. My current canopy was bought new and I picked orange and yellow so I'd be highly visible.

Yeah, the thing about these and most FB "memes" is that they make people feel good about themselves without actually doing anything proactive. FB can be useful for "doing something." Several times I've found out a friend is participating in a fundraiser event through Facebook and I've opened my wallet to support them. I'm happy to support their event and the cause that's important to them (so far I've never been asked to support one that I find abhorrent!) and Facebook is a useful tool for them to spread the word. The rest, I just ignore - if it becomes too consistent, there's that handy "Hide" feature. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Means you'll have to talk to someone who has the details to know the details. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1694/what-does-it-mean-when-a-patient-is-in-critical-or-serious-condition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_condition "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Last posts seem to indicate he's still in critical condition. Critical condition lucky. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

For #3 to be even sorta kinda achievable, you'd have to significantly narrow the range of wingloadings on a particular load or start doing exit order in order of wingloading. It's not at all unusual to have wingloadings ranging from 0.8 to over 2.0 on a single load and those jumpers are scattered throughout the exit order. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

And just remember that USPA doesn't find money out of thin air. If something like this is implemented, the funding for it has to come from somewhere, likely member dues. To the OP: just remember when you make a proposal like this that you are one of the ones paying for it. As for the validity of your idea - I think it's relying too much on the "adult supervision" theory of skydiving when in reality, we should all be keeping an eye out for each other and we should all be calling out bad behavior. Lots of people stay silent (I confess I've done it myself at times) when they witness bad behavior because they don't want to rock the boat, or because they're afraid of the reaction, or because they don't want to be "that guy" who rains on the parade. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

This is a terrific idea. I know that for me, my skills improved first by committing to "quality" jumps, but one thing that really made a difference was being on an 8-way team last year. Despite a couple personnel changes, it was a pretty stable group throughout the year, with a world-class player-coach, focused training for 4+ hours of tunnel time and 100ish jumps. I really wish I'd done a team earlier. Of course, making the commitment to be on a team can be a big one (both in time and finances) that won't work for everyone, but the idea of having a set group that you work with to focus on skills, even if it's just one jump day a month, is a great one. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Throwing Copper. The rest of their stuff wasn't as well-crafted. Oh... not THAT kind of Live album. Well, then... Social Distortion - Live at the Roxy Bodeans - Joe Dirt Car "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nope, not an uncommon feeling at all - especially given where you are in your experience. You're just starting to get a taste of how much you don't know, and you're just starting to really, truly comprehend all of the areas of risk in this sport. Sounds like item #1 on your list would be a structured canopy course. I've taken three - one at just over 100 jumps, one at just over 200, and one at over 500. I will continue to take one every couple of years because I think there's always something new I can learn, and I can always use the refresher. Ask around to see if anyone's putting on a canopy course nearby, and sign yourself up! As for spotting - good on you for wanting to learn how to do it better. Too many people are happy to be green light lemmings. This seems to be one of those things you can work on more informally - maybe see if you can do a two-way with someone more experienced, and have that person help you focus on spotting. Or on a larger jump, arrange to be at the door with someone who is spotting and practice just like you did as a student - you tell them when you think the spot is right, and have them say "yes" or "no" and discuss the details on the ground. And for RW skills ... well ... the only way to work on that is to work on that. I have almost 800 jumps and several hours of tunnel time, have trained with an 8-way team and gone to nationals, and I still feel like I suck! Or at the very least, I still feel extremely inconsistent. It's natural. I think, for me, some of the things that have helped with my learning curve is sticking to smaller jumps so that you're sure you'll have a chance to fly, taking advantage of any and all organizing available so that you can work with people who are good at putting together successful dives and so you can get feedback, and moving away from "zoo dives" and focusing primarily on quality RW jumps. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Based on FB posts sounds like they got it - 55 way at Elsinore. Old guys and gals rule! I look forward to joining your ranks in 20 years. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nope. Your closest option will be Skydive Sacramento in Lincoln, CA. Been a while since I've been up there, so I'm not sure what days they're operating. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

That, plus there's constant hand-wringing by skydivers and instructors when dropzones do make moves that are (ostensibly) aimed at increasing the instructional quality, such as this current thread on the move by Mile-Hi to require more coach jumps to achieve the A license. There's almost universal decry of the practice as "gouging students" and forcing them to pay more for an A license. Not that I know what's going on behind the scenes at Mile-Hi, but it could just as easily be an attempt to "professionalize" their coach ranks by giving them more work and more experience, but it's seen as being too "business" focused. We seem to expect extremely high levels of professionalism in our instructor ranks yet are completely unwilling to support DZs that make the moves that would compensate instructors as professionals. Can't have both at the same time. Meanwhile when I popped out of this forum to grab the link above, I noticed a brand new post titled Best and Cheapest Place to do AFF so I think your point certainly stands. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

One Timex digital watch, broken. One unused prophylactic. One soiled. One black suit jacket, one pair black suit pants. One hat black. One pair of sunglasses. $23.07. Sign here. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Many skydiving days I actually get up earlier than I do during the week for my day job. As others have already mentioned, there's a lot of good reasons for wearing a suit, but as long as you clear it with your instructors, most street clothes will be fine as long as you can come up with a way to ensure that your shirt doesn't fly up and over your handles. Wear something pretty long so you can tuck it fully into your shorts. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Free beer after sunset?? The sunset starts at 3pm right?? Hmmm.... conspiracy theorists might say this is why the event is held awfully close to the summer solstice. Latest sunsets of the year make for more jumps and less time for drinking the free beer. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Fair enough, might not have made it into the SIM but I remember it from some USPA communication (newsletter? board meeting notes?) when the decision was originally made. But you do acknowledge the general point ... it's always up to the individual DZ. If they want to require that until you get your A license you can only jump with AFFIs with 10 years as an AFFI and a minimum of 1,000 AFF jumps, they can do that. Probably not the most practical choice, but it's one the DZ has. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

June 23-26, Skydance Skydiving, Davis, CA. Plenty of camping space, showers, restrooms, food, beer, all the stuff you'd expect from a boogie. http://new.skydance.net/skydance_skydiving_events_and_calendar/skydance_skydiving_events.htm "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Why do you say that? Of course, you can do that with a D...unless you jump at MH, I guess. Per USPA it's up to the discretion of the individual dropzone whether to allow D license holders to jump with pre-A license skydivers. I am guessing Mile-Hi is not the only DZ that limits that. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Of course it's important, and it's certainly okay to ask. But I also think we as the more experienced folks have to be aware of the possibility that people of any experience level (but especially newer jumpers) are going to make mistakes and we need to maintain awareness of people who are where they "shouldn't" be. You may be "right" but do you really want to be dead right? Land safe and have a discussion about the mistake and why it put the jumper (and others) at risk. Bring in a neutral third party if you need to (don't know if you have the equivalent of a USPA S&TA in Oz, but someone who has "authority" for safety would be a good choice). Don't make your point by continuing your swoop just because you're pissed off that someone didn't do what they were "supposed" to do. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke