tdog

I, who started the thread, told all my non-virtual friends (i.e. people I know in the real world) - isn't it funny that TMs can change any subject to tipping, money, and being self-centered? In reality - if the customer was happy, instead of unhappy as I first posted, maybe they WOULD HAVE TIPPED... hehehe

Aggie... I am setting up a new concession at the DZ. Rubberband and closing loop replacements by a certified person. I get $3 per rubberband, $25 to install a PC on a canopy, and $10 for a closing loop, which includes the necessary knot and field measurement. If you install any of these things yourself, I will sign off for 50% of the list price. I agree, there will be confusion as to what is "maintenance", and the only people who will profit will now be the lawyers who get to sue when a rubberband replacement was not under the supervision of a rigger, even if that rubberband was not the cause of incident. On a serious topic... Don't pilots and owners of aircraft get to put oil in the engine when needed? How about fuel? How about washing the windows? All of these things are maintenance... Does anyone know how the FARs address this, and do any of these concepts transfer over to parachutes?

I would have not gotten the "lightning bolt" design on the Vector - I don't think it looks as good in person, especially on the larger sizes, as it does on the website.

So on one of the photos, on one of the fake websites, I found an Otter. Tail number N301CL. I searched that tail number and found it is registered to "Win Win Aviation" in Illinois. So I found ""Win Win Aviation's" address. It is a house. I plugged that address into google maps and looked at a satellite image... I zoomed out a tad and found "Chicagoland Skydiving Center" next to that house. Thus, anyone from Chicagoland want to claim copyrights on these images??? Or is Chicagoland part of the scam?

I don't know how a thread I started about instructors doing a poor job turned into a thread about tipping tandem instructors, but I guess I could do a cheap jab and say, all TIs care about is money... hehehe But in all seriousness, a sign I think is a great idea as a lot of customers don't know what is appropriate and it can make them uncomfortable. That being said, here is a merge of my two favorite signs into one I like: We don't work for tips, they are never necessary, but they are always awesome.

One of my software vendors for security camera systems suggested there is a free XP Emulator on Mircosoft's website, and to install and use that emulator to run their XP based software.

I have set up a few LLCs over the years. Five to be exact personally plus a few for friends... Avian Soul, LLC is my skydiving entity. Costs are very minor if you do your research and set up the forms correctly. Less than $50 for the last one I set up. The hidden costs are in the tax returns for the entity if you don't do them yourself... The ones I don't do, the accountant gets $1200 per LLC just to make the schedule K and K1s. If you use Turbotax you will need to pay more for the advanced tax tools to do your own K and K1s. (Unless you want to put it on a schedule C as a disregarded entity). Get a separate bank account for the LLC... All skydivng earned revenue goes thru that bank account... Plus do other things, as your lawyer will tell you, to keep it a legit business. One bit of advice. When you register with the secretary of state, you WILL be added to every mailing list of every company trying to sell "your new business" business cards, banking, insurance, etc. Thus DO NOT put a cell phone or home phone on those documents and DO NOT put an address where you want spam (email or snail mail). It might be worth a post office box for the first year on your SOS documents, that you take the junk mail to the recycling bin quarterly, but I just got good at throwing away the paperwork and putting my office address on all the SOS documents. But as the other poster said, don't take ANY advice from anyone other than a lawyer, so PLEASE put your cell phone on all the documents and enjoy the phone calls. ;-)

Found snagged on a main canopy shipped from Hollister for inspection. Mark Mark, Your first post implied a rigger left that in a reserve... If I was a rigger at that DZ, I would be upset... Things get snagged on mains all the time as users throw them around the DZ, their home and their car....

Cats always land on their feet.

In the first post, I almost did not even mention the dz, but when I did, I only did it to show these things happen at well known dzs, and I did not even say the name but masked it so you would have to dig to find it. I appreciate the dz is under new ownership, and that might be a great thing. I have traveled to many dzs, and now that I am "thinking back to what I have seen", dirty torn stained jumpsuits are found at many dzs. If I thought this was a single dz issue I would have just emailed the dz. I was hoping to make multiple TIs and AFFIs think about their home dzs.

You were offered this above from the DZ, are you going to follow through and get the offer in front of your friends who were not happy, I mean that is hell of deal their being offered. This was not a "bitch" to any one dz. It was a comment so we all could learn. If I wanted to "make it right the second time', I would have called the DZ. These comments came from friends of friends, who jumped "a few years ago", on a "vacation", who have since moved even farther away. Too little too late to make it right the second time.

And to get back on topic... The more I think about it, the more I value this "wuffo's" comments that I used to start this thread. I did my first tandem 7 years prior to AFF, and I remember a few things about it. One of the things I remember most - the jump suit.... Seriously, that and a few things the TI said in the plane ride up and a few things he said under canopy.... Rest is now just a blur of memories from long ago. Clothing for many is highly personal and highly fashionable... I almost want to say - if I had a DZ in my ownership, every jump suit would be washed after every customer jump - no different than the sheets on a hotel bed.... (Worst case, after a day of heavy use) They don't have to be expensive jumpsuits, just clean ones, in good repair... That would make an impression with customers... A very positive impression. No one likes dirty clothes worn by other people...

So, every time I see one of these videos, I imagine a high speed running chase from a shoplifting incident in a mall. Who needs get away cars? You could run/jump/climb your way away from everything but a bullet. Look at his student: http://www.youtube.com/user/damienwalters#p/a/u/2/BuaIxcyiOuE

I think there is a fine line. You have already told the student you have a "backup", "reserve" or "emergency backup". When you use that, something clearly happened "not right". I know most TI's express excitement and "normalcy" to students when the reserve is used... But maybe it is important to have a quick face to face with the student allowing them to ask questions and express any concerns???? Touchy one.

In 2008, PD posted this video on their blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-FvGrO9rX4 It has been over two years, and I still remember it, so I went back to look at it... So many videos of skydiving out there - I am numb to it... But I wondered what made this one special that I remembered it... Sure, the lighting is great, the film is awesome, etc... But why? I figured it out. I think it's the fact there is never any ground, nor an airplane, shown in the video (except for a few out of focus frames here and there)... I just think it is a magical video and deserves a peak if you have not seen it. Take a notice how they completely ignore the ground by finding unique angles and some wonderfully placed "backdrops".

I watched it for 10 minutes, and concluded this graphic is a FAKE!!!! 1) It never ran out of thread, especially in that hard to justify spot where just starting with a new spool in the middle of the most important part of the job will look like crap... 2) It never jammed, I expected a jam at 8 minutes in. 3) The operator never yelled profanities at 8 minutes, 1 second.... FAKE, FAKE, FAKE....

I was at a family member's home and her friend was there. Of course skydiving came up, it always does. The friend, who is a recreational pilot and knows a lot about aviation, said nothing bad things of her skydiving experience. It was at a California DZ starting with "H". (Kind of masked the name so future searches don't hit this thread, it is not meant to be a bash on any one DZ, but I thought it mattered to show it was not a crappy DZ either). She kept saying terrible things about skydiving: 1) The jump suits were so dirty and smelly, that her husband got sick on the aircraft ride up from the body odor smell, he said it was so bad he could smell it under canopy. They flew to the airport in their own aircraft, so they know about flying, and they said they smelled it prior to meeting their instructor. 2) The instructor did not relate to them. 3) One of them had line twists that resulted in a reserve ride, but the instructor did not spend any time with them explaining what happened, why it happened, or anything. All of these things the instructor was in control of (even the smelly jumpsuit they could have washed). Just a reminder to us instructors, that (some of) our customers expect Ritz Carlton type experiences, not expensive hippie beach bum experiences... And these people, who own a very expensive aircraft, could have been lucrative repeat customers and told their friends positive things...

I loaded my 170 @ 1.35, and I agree with everything you said, especially the openings. I also have a 120 I load just a tad more. I love it also. I think the larger KAs are good... Much better than the Sabre2 for someone with some experience... But, I never have jumped one at 1 to 1 WL, so I cannot recommend them at that loading. To the OP, have your friend demo one before making a decision.

My favorite dispensary (I am not a shopper, I just like looking at the ads in the windows when driving by)... It says in HUGE BLOCK LETTERS: "WE HAVE HASH". At what point will the dispensaries at least pretend their business is for medical use before the government says, "we have had enough."

I don't think flying a larger katana is like taking the air out of the tires on a sports car. I think it is more like someone opting to purchase a sporty but utilitarian SUV instead of a minivan to transport the family around town... Something still practical for every day jumps, but with a bit of sport to have fun. Forgiving when needed, fun when appropriate. There are many people out there who don't want to be huge swooper allstars, but still enjoy a responsive, quick, fun canopy to fly with lots of range.

Why not... I have yet to read a document by PD that says the Katana must have high wingloading and must be flown balls to the wall... I found the larger KA at 1.35 WL to fly great, open great (although not recommended I have a lot of wingsuit jumps on it), be super reliable, hang well with other canopies in brakes, but at full flight have some pizzazz.... Just because someone wants to trade in their pickup truck for a sports car, does not mean they have to buy the meanest, badest, largest engine, sports car out there... If someone has 1000 jumps on a 170 Sabre and wants to add a touch of sportiness, it might be a good fit, especially if their container is not suited to a smaller sabre. Disclaimer: What I said in a previous post (to demo one), and in this post, is said because the person has 1000 jumps and should be able to know if they are ready for a change and should be able to judge for themselves in a demo if the canopy is a good fit.

Holy old thread, batman!!!!

I loved my KA170. I was 200 pounds... It opened great, landed great, and was sporty... I think your friend should demo it... If he likes his Sabre, he should love the KA's openings and landings....

Where does it say not suggested???? The chart is the MAX, not MIN for any experience level...

No, BASE75 was kicked off of basejumper.com, so he came here I guess.... Kind of miss him over-there, lets see what comes of it.