tdog

My DVR is setup to record any show with "SKYD" in the subject or title. I am finding some of the WORST skydiving sensationalized TV "must see accident" videos and shows ever made. One of the worst of the worst I just watched tonight: "Get Out Miami". And no one even got hurt. Three blond bimbos (even if their hair was not blond) go on tandems. One chickens out. The other two talk about their experience. Their making fun of the Bill Booth tandem video and Bill's beard was worth it. I laughed so hard I had to rewind it... That and them talking about how they landed the canopy alone by "pulling the straps", while the video shows the TMs doing the work. If you have a tivo, record it. HDNet channel. The "Girls Gone Wild" porn commercials between the show's just show how classy this TV show audience demographic really is. If these bimbos only knew who Bill Booth was, they probably would not have made fun of "this old guy who they would never jump with".

Hey I resemble that remark. Thanks for the good times. I learned a lot. I also have some pretty good video of a few formations (stacks) funneling out, so once you post all the sexy photos of you guys (us) doing the cool stuff, I can always post the blooper's real. That is the advantage of being one of the last guys out of the plane diving to the formation, you get a nice wide shot of the formation in chaos. My favorite blooper is the dive with two bases flying in two directions, with me leaving the plane moments later, wondering which one to chase. But, all joking aside, there were a lot of good dives too. Thanks for letting me jump with you guys!

This is why I am an AFF instructor, as the Was (Not Was) song goes: I was transfered to the moon Worse pay, better fellow workers I built our love out of blood I went to the dentist and told him "take out my heart" I feel better than James Brown I feel better now I feel better than James Brown I was attending Mardi Gras with Fidel Castro Bucksome cross dressers threw fake gold coins at our feet As we discussed the fate of the revolution... Seriously - if I wanted to make money, I would haul meat. But I do AFF for the love of the sport and students.

Sure... Two guys wanted to work on their swoop to dock skills last weekend. They chased me out, I did some flips to lose more altitude than they expected, and I watched BOTH of them come in. Kind of a speed star per se. It was actually MORE productive because one guy struggled and he SAW the difference in speed between him and his friend. I was able to ask them, "show me your body position when you were diving." The body positions were so drastically different they were able to see how each position works for different needs (long dive vs 30 or so feet of levels) And I could provide a nice solid base. It was a hell of a lot of fun. I also charged - $0. So I split that between both of them, thus saving them more money! On more advanced stuff, I have often split a coach 3 ways (4 way group)... Then the coach (if good) sees in the sky what needs help, but also uses outside video for debrief.

If they flew the same - I would take PD's customer service and quality control any day. 25% of my jumps were on Aerodyne products, I think the Diablo (discontinued) is a super fun canopy and love to borrow my friends for a change of pace, I hated my pilot (personal preference) and I did not like the (former) Aerodyne management at all, as their response to my concerns as a customer sucked. Sure, things might have changed since then, but PD has stayed true for the long run and I know they will be around tomorrow to service me. I have not flown the Mamba, nor seen one up close. However, it would have to be MUCH better or MUCH cheaper for ME to switch over from my PD brand loyalty. It is why I drive the car I do... There have been some other SUVs on the market I think looked sexy, but my SUV has 117,000 miles and I can't even get the first set of brakes to wear out. I give my money to the people who treat me well, just my style. I am willing to trade some performance for customer support. P.S. I love my Katana. I load mine a wimpy 1.45 to 1. I flew CrEW with an 20 jump student on his large docile lightly loaded canopy today - then whiped a toggle and lost 1,000 feet so I could land and watch him land. I also stayed up close to a guy with a sub 100sqft canopy loaded 2 to 1. The range is awesome. I see my friends on Crossfires sometimes outglide me, but I can get from point A to point B faster than them too, which is important when you like playing with your friends in the sky and they are all over the place.

1. Get out quickly 2. Pull the silver thing. (If Square): 3. Shlare the Tarp with the Dongles {using the real terms for the components won't matter} (If Round): 3. Change the viewfinder's view by pulling the rotate strings so the view is not scary. In all seriousness - I have had a few pilots attend my skydive AFF level 1 FJC and do a level 1 jump. I typically suggest that they do some tunnel time (since it is in town) so they get comfortable flying neutral.... Consider for canopy skills skydive tandem jumps, or even paraglide tandem flights... Heck, they might like these gliders too.

So - basically remove and replace the attachment points, instead of the fingertraps... But then you have a bunch of stitiching torn out on the keeper canopy with a bunch of new holes for the replacement line attachments??? Can't be too good for strength...

It would take a lot of bartack removal, and with all those holes, re-bartacking might be sketch-ball.

Oh... Well then, solve the problem like I did a while back with a stagehand who saw my skydive tee-shirt and tried to tell me he was an expert skydiver. HIM - "You skydive, I do too! I am a pro." ME - "Oh really, where is your home DZ?" HIM - "XXXX" (a city that does not have a DZ.) ME - "Oh, so you know Jack, the head instructor there huh?" HIM - "Yes, we go back a long ways." ME - "Oh ya, well let me call Jack right now..." HIM - (with a worried look on his face). ME - "Which Jack was it? Jack A. or Jack U.?" HIM - "Well, I forgot his last name." ME - "Well it is either gonna be him Jackn' U Up for telling a lie, or you being a Jack Ass for being a poser. I can't figure it out." ME - (walking away)

I know..... Just making a funny.

Wow, I did not know my rig had a quick release penis???

That is the key. I asked (to bring this thread back on topic) a rigger who packs hundreds of rounds a year into pilot rigs... "How many saves?" "Never, and I don't expect I will ever see one." He also could quote, by names, the pilots who died in their aircraft while wearing the rig he packed. Pilot rigs have very little actual real world deployment. Hence, the system is not very well tested. Compare that to the skydiving world where reserves are fired every weekend at a large DZ, or a BASE rig, that gets jumped tens of thousands of times.

Option A) You are trying to prove I am a two-faced bastard... Well, everyone knows I am, so. Option B) You know that most BASE round canopy water rigs address line stows in the same way as the pilot rigs. I thought long and hard about the ramifications of jumping it and determined that since the bridge was not spinning out of control missing a wing, with the wheels on fire, I could accomplish a stable exit and not risk tumbling thru the lines. I would not want to jump the same rig out of an aircraft, even with skydiving experience where I could get stable.... Too much risk (in my opinion).

Funny - I have had three skydivers tell me they trust me because I BASE jump and have tested my packjobs in the field. After seeing some, if not most, of the pilot bailout rigs... If I was a pilot thinking I needed such a rig (and I did not need a TSOed rig) - I would take my base rig packed slider up. End of story. It opens quick and reliably. Canopy can land anywhere. May not have the cashmere back-pad and fancy silver handle - but none of the over complicated systems either. Granted, it is not a friendly rig for non-jumpers, you need to know how to use it... But... Or trust those pilot bailout rigs. Can you imagine - some of the rigs - where the lines are stowed to the packtray... Who thought of that brilliant idea? Scenario: The pilot bails out. He tumbles as he pulls his handle as he is not a skydiver. If he is lucky enough not to have wrapped the bridle around himself in the flat spin, he still will be barrel rolling thru the lines before they get away from his body. I don't see a round working too good with only a few feet of line out and the rest still in the rubber bands on his ass. What makes skydiving reserves so friendly is that the canopy and the lines get away from the body as soon as possible in the opening sequence. I can't tell you how many (ok, maybe only 5) pilots I have taken thru a FJC and AFF level 1 for the simple purpose - that they wanted to have that skillset. When they man-up and tell me why they are in the class - I make sure to adapt the teaching to their goals, knowing sitfly is not their long term destination. I think these pilots are awesome. I agree. I would turn down the work. I know as a rigger I can't pack a bad landing, but I would still feel bad when they had one.

At least I did not hit a pole....

I know a guy locally (the DPRE) who has a viable, full on, professional rigging loft, that survives on multiple pilot rigs (round) a week. I learned to pack rounds there. I am far from an expert, but I have used those skills to pack a rounds that I jumped off a certain bridge, for intentional water landings. I have proof to show that - A GQ Security round will open very quickly 100 feet above the ground if packed correctly. I also have the splash to prove the landing on ground would hurt. That being said. Even though I had to prove the DPRE in my mentoring I had a familiarity with rounds, I would - if asked to pack a round - take it to him and co-pack it in the same way doctors sometimes ask other doctors to help... I just don't consider myself current, nor ever will be. I am one of those skydiver riggers.

I made this poll in December. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3037526;search_string=group%20membership;#3037526 While I would normally say, "REPOST" - I think it is fair, as this will be a NEW POLE - a NEW snapshot in time to see if things have changed after the new BOD issues... In my pole, with a large quantity of voters, the votes were 81% get rid of it, 19% keep it. I only say it, to archive the current moment in time as since I linked it here, now people might vote there too, to change the "previous snapshot." Depending on your results.... I think the next step might be - put together a NON-dropzone.com petition/vote/ballot. Maybe a form that skydivers list their licence number (distributed at the DZ) - and once completed - delivered to the USPA. It would allow people to vote. Heck, I could even do a form online on a website, I already have the software... If the USPA ignores such a petition, then.... Well... It will show who runs the place. In all honesty, the DZOs need support and the DZOs need to support the USPA... But, I don't know how to do it...

I think everyone missed your point when they started debating records. If the USPA's inspection was "pass/fail" on 20 or so items, jumpers could understand, and DZOs would be motivated to earn passing ratings. Second - I disagree about jumpers knowing about dangers. We as jumpers and instructors can do everything possible to be safe and provide quality instructional work to our students. However, corners cut in a rigging loft or A&P's workbench are not exposed. I have watched the "fuel guy" (meaning no cert) strip down the engine of an otter and fix it at a boogie, and this otter came from a well known DZ with many otters. When the DZO, who rented the plane, asked me to not watch from a distance what was going on, I knew exactly why we were caution taped away from the crime scene... I talked with the visiting pilot, he told me that the guy was not an A&P, that they did not know why the engine would not go to full speed, but just taking it apart and putting it back together fixed it... I left, that DZ is no longer in business, but the aircraft still flies... I trust my home DZ. I have seen them do some real expensive upgrades to the aircraft that go beyond the "bare minimum". But when I travel, I have no way to know... Hence, I think the USPA could do some good with an inspection program, just like AAA rates hotels for lack of bugs in the beds... Of course, you will just inspire the cheats to cheat the system better... But to cheat a system, typically it takes work, and people find out when certain things "disappear" on certain days, etc.... So nothing is fool proof, but it could help.

Sponsorships aside... Look at a canopy, closely... I have.... Not every "hand cut" canopy is "cut poorly", some are.... However every "automated cut canopy" is cut the same, good or bad... One less variable. The people who sew follow the cut edges. If the cut edges are not perfect, the seam can't be either. It all starts at the cut. Every canopy's characteristics are determined by symmetry and accuracy. I truly believe it is for my gain too. I have a lot of PD product. I am proud of it. Even if the automation is their gain and not mine. I also have other canopies not made by PD, and they are nice too... But, I am a PD fan... You can't knock me for being one... And, I will never tell you that your canopy sucks, because it might not. I have a lot of friends who sware by their Crossfire2's... And, if given one, I would probably jump it too.

Not me... And my tunnel time is in excess of 10... 4way training = lots of tunnel time (like 6 hours per training camp, multiple camps per season, back in the day when I was on a team) = at 1/4 the rate per minute... That freefly learning alone stuff is expensive. And I probably have 5 hours of that too.

My BASE canopy was even outsourced to them to sew - and guess what - that is one of the major reasons I picked it. I wanted to make sure when I got it, that it was a PD canopy since it does not have their name on it, so I found the laser cut barcodes, and smiled... To me, knowing the fabric is perfectly cut, makes it a deal breaker... I have cut fabric, and I know the difference automation makes. PD all the way for me.

BUMP. I found this thread and learned a lot by reading it. I thought I would bump it to see if any of the original posters, or new people, have any "new news" they want to post.

Dude... If you are going to put me on the list, you must put me on the proper "team".... Since when did I join "Team Meatball?" As far as I know, I still am loyal to the first Colorado Team: "Avian Flew" (members JumpNaked69 and RJMoney) And... What is "Team Meatball?" In Eloy for X-mas, Emily named us "Sexual Chocolate Colorado", which was very difficult for manifest to say without laughing on the 15 minute call.... I am confused why I keep being adopted into teams named after foods????

Come on, you have to have a photo of the ugliest rig ever??? Post it.

Well - if you are ordering a new container - tell them on the order form you want it to fit your canopies. If you are asking if your canopies will fit in an already built container, you will need to know the size of the container in question.