NWFlyer

NPR was kind enough to provide them with a google map for towing. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/21/246498844/taking-off-will-be-tricky-after-jet-lands-at-wrong-airport "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's it right there. The guy who posted about it in bonfire had about 100 jumps and was dumping out his buddy who'd started jumping at the same time so probably has about the same jump numbers. They don't know what they don't know. I know someone who was dumped out on a milestone jump by a then-current AFFI. That was funny... but also being done by someone who damn well better know how to safely dump someone out (and it was at the bottom end of the skydive, so eliminated the increased risk of an off landing that would come with dumping someone out at 10K). It's hard to say there's a blanket rule for pranks, but certainly the people involved need to have significant experience to know all of the risks and assess them appropriately. The original poster's comment that he didn't tell the safety officer because he knew she'd say no indicates that more experienced hands might have said no to something a 100 jump wonder thought was perfectly reasonable. But, when we say "only if people have the experience..." then we potentially set examples for younger jumpers that this kind of stuff is okay for them to do, too. "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

No one's arguing that full face vs. open face changes the snag hazard. It does, however, change the cutaway situation. "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

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3894693 "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

Says who? I had to read that one a couple times - I think he's saying that "people just aren't worrying about it anymore." Not that the snag hazards have disappeared, but given the number of people wearing them with no cutaway systems, it appears that the concern people used to have about the snag hazards has disappeared. "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'm pretty sure I saw this movie already. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/friends_with_kids/ "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

Shouldn't this be in the incidents forum? "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

Yep, that's the key - does the one that costs 2x as much also include the jumps? I think mine was in the 150-175 range plus jump slots - 2 for me and 1 each for my 2 evaluators). That was a few years ago, and was taught by a local I/E, so there were no travel costs built into it. The class was taught by an I/E who had another instructor assisting him throughout the ground portions and helping out with the ground instruction evaluations. A couple other instructors pitched in as in-air evaluators, with the I/E doing at least one of the eval jumps with each of the six candidates. That's a lot of working hours when you add up the total time spent for all of them. And by the way, my class was a few hours on Friday evening and all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday. In 100+ degree summer weather. Trust me when I say that even if we'd paid twice that I didn't feel like anyone was "making a killing." "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

The big thing, as others have mentioned, is to be completely up front about where you are in your progression and what skills you want to work on. In terms of getting in over your head, I think the most critical thing that you can do when visiting any new dropzone (but particularly a very large dropzone like the ones you're considering visiting) is to get a thorough dropzone briefing - to include everything from where/how the planes get loaded, what the standard and alternate landing areas are (and you'll find that some of the big dropzones have a designated area for students and newer jumpers - it's good to know where that area is), how the dropzone establishes its landing patterns, where the good and bad out landing areas are, things to know about ground operations (like where the active runways/taxiways are that you might have to cross), where you shouldn't land or do your pattern (like in the middle of a high-performance area), etc. Take some time to observe operations before you hop on your first load. Ask questions if you see something you don't understand. "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

The NCSL has just announced its full schedule for 2014 ... six meets, plus year-end playoffs, as well as monthly tunnel events at iFly SF Bay. I know of several Norcal teams either already formed or forming for next year - should be a fun, competitive year in Northern California! Hopefully some of our friends from up and down the coast can join in our comps next year, too! https://www.facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaSkydivingLeague/events NCSL January 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL February 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL March 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL April 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #1 Bay Area Skydiving Saturday, April 26, 2014 NCSL May 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #2 Skydance Skydiving Saturday, May 24, 2014 NCSL June 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #3 Parachute Center Saturday, June 28, 2014 NCSL July 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #4 Skydive Sacramento Saturday, July 26, 2014 NCSL August 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #5 Bay Area Skydiving Saturday, August 23, 2014 NCSL September 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 4-way Meet #6 Skydance Skydiving Saturday, September 27, 2014 NCSL October 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL 2014 Playoffs Parachute Center Saturday, October 18, 2014 NCSL November 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 8:00pm NCSL December 2014 Tunnel Kicker at iFly SF Bay Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 8:00pm "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 might also look at the Bonehead Revolve... its design might work better for a longer face. "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

Haven't jumped in Texas huh? I was gonna say "Haven't met Vader, huh?" "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

23 and me told me that I'm very non-specific. So maybe I'm non-specifically Scottish. 9.7% British & Irish 2.5% French & German 0.1% Finnish 69.3% Nonspecific Northern European

With the recent incident in SA that was related to a dust devil, I thought I'd post/update a list of things I look for in "reading" the wind (that I posted in another thread a while ago). I've got no idea how things looked in Bloemfontein before the jumper got caught in the dust devil - it's very possible that it really did come out of nowhere... sometimes, weird air does. But a lot of times, there's warning signs or things we should keep an eye out for to minimize our chances of getting caught. Heck, even though I'm the original wind wuss, I got caught near the end of USPA Nationals this year by not paying attention to one of the things on my own list (#3) - I got bit by object turbulence on an off landing. Fortunately I just got a headache and a bit of a whiplash injury. 1) Wind speed. I typically try not to go over 20 MPH, regardless of any other circumstances. Others may have a higher limit, but at some point high winds become an issue even if they're steady. 2) Wind gusts. What's the differential between the high/low winds? More than a few MPH and I'm watching very carefully because that tends to create some weird air. 3) Wind direction part 1. Is the wind coming over obstacles that can create turbulence well into the landing area? 4) Wind direction part 2. Is the wind direction fairly consistent? If it's changing frequently, it can create some weird air and/or put me in a position where I'm setting up to land into a steady wind and end up landing into a steady crosswind or steady downwind. 5) Observations part 1. When I watch other people land, what are their canopies doing? Are they coming in nice and smooth, or are they buffeting? Are cells even collapsing? Are people who are normally smooth landers having hard / weird landings? 6) Observations Part 2. Do I see any evidence of turbulent air, such as dust devils or swirling debris? 7) Other known quantities. Does this dropzone always get weird winds at a certain time of day or a certain time of year? Does the weather forecast say a storm's brewing? 8) Who's sitting down? Last but definitely not least, pay attention to who is jumping and who is sitting down. If most of the people on the jump are working jumpers (tandems & videographers) and guys with under a few hundred jumps, look around for the rest of the folks. Chances are they'll be hanging out in a comfy chair by the landing area, watching other people get "experience." Go hang out with them for a while. I'm sure others have more to add to this list... "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

No, Karen just didn't tell you about all the offers she got when you were up fetching her drinks at the bar. "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

Hmm... I was thinking you'd need to pre-cook, but just to make sure it actually cooked through. But I'm not sure you'd end up with crispy. But either way that looks just dangerously tasty. "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

Meh. Not that I'm opposed to the word fuck on a t-shirt. But I am opposed to uninspired, not-at-all clever use of the word fuck on a t-shirt. "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 admit it. Four times yesterday. Three 4-ways and one 2-way drill dive with a newer jumper. The last 4-way was a 14-pointer (E, F, 21,O) with one of the guys on the jump having

I've been to 8- dropzones and in some, I've seen it happening - various expert explanations included (not to mention bad image I was getting for free). Listen woman, I am not the bad guy here.

I can't prove it, obviously but there's no harm in me being wrong. In my small practical experience, A LOTS of JM still don't get (and yet they hide what they think) I've been to 25+ dropzones, and in every single situation where there is a mix of groups and solo flyers exiting at the same altitude, I have never seen the solo flyer get put out first. "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 the hell does that mean? What does this have to do with being honest or lying? I'll ask you the same question I asked you in your thread about turning AADs off ... do you have a compelling reason why we ought to change the commonly accepted approach (well outlined in the links provided by others above)? "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 moron would ever let a company do that? In fact what moronic company would ask such an inappropriate question? Lots of companies do. They'll search for what's publicly available, and even what's "private" really isn't that hard to track down either. Especially if you're out and about on the internets under your real name. "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 may be the only one, but I've never been able to watch Clark Gregg without the first thing that comes to mind being "Quo Vadimus." I actually haven't watched the show at all, and fast forwarded to the scene in this one. Mindlessness is a nice brain nap sometimes. "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

Only acceptable when referring to the Colombian city. "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

Well, at least these days you might be able to get the Cyprus at a steep discount. "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