NWFlyer

I was that problem child. Not complacent about pulling my main, but the one who went unstable enough on my first freefall off of static line that I was having trouble finding my main ripcord (despite the fact that it was right there where I left it! ). However, I was trained to "try twice and pull silver." So I tried twice and pulled silver. That shows that I was trained that it was my job to get a canopy over my head, no matter what (and that I absorbed that training). This was in 2004, so I'm hardly an old-schooler. Another issue besides all of those raised so far that I could see with an AAD on the main is that if you have someone who is for whatever reason having difficulty pulling the main and who follows their training (try twice/pull silver), having an AAD on the main could increase the likelihood of a two-out if the main AAD fires at the same time the jumper is following training and pulling their reserve. "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

Customer service 101 says that great service recovery can create a better overall brand perception than if you got things "right" in the first place. This email shows that no one at Argus knows a damn thing about customer service or service recovery. From what I've heard from Argus owners*, they've also done a piss-poor job of handing cutter replacements and communications around that. Another example of not really "getting" that customer service and support is what makes or breaks your company, especially in this day and age of instant communication, and in such a small market. Even if there is a "vast PIA conspiracy" to shut down Aviacom, they're doing a pretty good job of shutting themselves down in the process. *I'm not an Argus owner and haven't seriously considered the AAD, mostly because I haven't been in the market for an AAD since they came out. This is more from my own background in business and as a consumer, not my opinion of the product itself. "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

Yeah you do. If you're truly stuck where you are, get the fuck over it and learn to make the best of where you are. So you have to plan more/drive more to find things that you like to do. I don't know exactly where you are but you can't be THAT far from the stuff/people that you find interesting because you live in New Jersey, not the middle of North Dakota. Jayzus you act like you're the only person in the world who isn't surrounded by 24x7 excitement within walking distance and has to actually drive a few miles to do something fun. "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

Great cover of Start Me Up. "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

Not a bad idea to make the best of a bad situation. No rules about removing your own AAD; once the reserve is opened the rig's not legal to jump, so you can do whatever you want to it since it'll need to be repacked/resealed to be made legal again. It's not that difficult to take out an AAD as long as you're careful about it and don't yank the bejeezus out of the wires. I've done it myself so that I could wash my rig before taking it in for a repack. "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

Hmmm ... if it were TSA that was causing the problem, I'd say to contact the USPA's Government Relations folks; this is the kind of stuff they want to hear about. You might still start there to see if they have any thoughts or could refer you to someone else at HQ that could help. Here's the contact info from the USPA web site. http://www.uspa.org/AboutUSPA/USPAStaffDirectory/tabid/151/Default.aspx Randy Ottinger USPA Member #8628, D-6041 Director of Government Relations Extension: 330 GovRelations@uspa.org Department: Government Relations BTW, my SO and I have traveled with our rigs on JetBlue (OAK-BOS and back) with no problems; hopefully this was just a single instance and not a systemic 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

Ditto. Equal in a hot beverage is HORRIBLE. But if all you're doing is putting a spoonful or two in a cup of coffee, not a huge deal. Now, if it's 3 spoonfulls in 10 cups, that adds up. Where you really need to worry about sugar is in processed food and chain restaurant food. It's everywhere. The only sure way to avoid/minimize it is to make everything yourself. "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

But it's whey good for you! And it's got nothing to do with whether the yogurt's gone bad. Yogurt keeps for a long time. And it sounds like you're eating it fast enough that it doesn't stick around long enough to go bad. "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

Cat poo in mine right now. Well, it's actually in my dormant container out on my balcony. I haven't re-soiled and replanted this year yet. But I do let the feline out to roam the balcony so he can feel like a big, tough, wild outdoor kitty, and pooping in the dirt is one of his little pleasures. I suppose once I do actually plant I'll have to control that impulse a little bit lest he disturb my delicate plants. Once I plant it'll be tomatoes and basil. Maybe some other herbs, and some lettuce. "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

You just need to bring an external heat source and it's nice and cozy. No, you can't borrow mine. He's already spoken for. "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 a face! How could you abandon that face? Looks like she found the perfect home. "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

Your timing was right on the borderline of when things started to be "known." There was a USPA email newsletter released on 3/17/11 outlining an issue with a cutter that apparently happened in late February or early March 2011. However, you could consider that newsletter to be the first time the issue would be more generally "known" to the public. Your seller was in Canada, though, so ... he may not have known at that point. And, that newsletter just addressed one particular incident; it was the PIA bulletin (mentioned below) that was the driver for the recalls. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4080756 The PIA bulletin that seems to have sparked all the recalls was dated 3/21/11, after your Argus was purchased and shipped. http://www.pia.com/TechnicalSpecialPage.htm Unfortunately, I'd say you made this purchase under some really shitty timing. A few days later, there was a lot more information openly available to the skydiving industry and community. When you made the purchase, there wasn't very much. "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

But on the flip side, U.S. records for largest formations are not only for Americans. All of the world records set in the U.S. were also logged as U.S. records, yet all had many non-residents participating. This is not to say I necessarily disagree with your argument, just that I believe the comparison should be National formation size records to State formation size records, not Nationals competition to State formation size records. "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

Amazon Bob Moore Dr. Dive Kdub Ladydyver Lucky Markus (Little Spoon) monkycndo NWFlyer Sheepfucker Shell666 Skootz "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

However, the results weren't official until all the tools were counted. "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

It was all in good fun for the entertainment of the folks who were there. AFAIK not a single rigger who participated in the event signed or sealed any of them. "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

Thanks, doc. Having just gone through the recovery process myself, it was top of mind. Sometimes I suspect people just say "when can I skydive again?" rather than describing in detail what they need to be able to accomplish. Some docs may still respond negatively, but I found helping them understand the particular forces I was most concerned about helped them to work with me to evaluate my readiness to get back to it. My sports medicine doc and my physical therapist were able to work with me more effectively once they understood my goals more specifically. That's another thing; you don't necessarily have to find a doctor who also skydives, but finding one who specializes in sports medicine can be very helpful. "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

Just out of curiosity. What does your liking them have to do with them being kept as a requirement of any sort? Sorry, Andy, but your "It's stupid to make a requirement for somebody who has no desire to do it." argument is equally weak for the other side. Theoretically you could make that argument for any license requirement for any license ... and it wouldn't be any stronger. (However, I do think there's some merits to your points #2 & 3 and haven't heard a good rebuttal to them from anyone). "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

Link didn't work. Seems to be some weirdness with the special characters in the URL - I can't make it work right either. This will get you to the right category, currently it's the top (March 2011) article. http://parachutistonline.com/category/safety_training/rating_corner "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

Forget 4 year olds. I want one of those! "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

Agree with what Andy says about trusting a doctor. I'd also suggest that you work with a doctor and physical therapist to assess your progress and evaluate your readiness for skydiving again by describing the likely impacts on your leg when landing. Can you run comfortably, stably, and without pain? Can you jump from a box/platform/bench a couple feet off the ground and land comfortably, stably, and without pain? Can you move on all axes (forward, backward, side-to-side) comfortably, stably, and without pain? Describing this to your medical care team will help them to understand what you need to be able to do functionally to be ready to come back, and they can work with you on a plan to get you there. "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

I agree with Squeak (looks around, nope, still warm down there in hell ). Quit whining about your life on an online forum and get out and live it. Change one thing. Stick with that change. Then change another. Repeat as necessary. "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

I've watched lots of cool documentaries. None of them fit your criteria, though. "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

Glad to hear the rejump was a success. The initial jump that had a problem was all over Facebook posts, but no one (that I saw) had updated with the news of the success. Congrats to all involved! "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

"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