tkhayes

My wife has 3 tandems with me TK

You stated that radio communications might 'put the student over the edge' I countered that with a similar anecdote that suggested that waving your fingerr in a pull sign frantically at 5000' might do exactly the same thing. both are forms of communication. Some instrcuitors are good at hand signals, some are good at talking, some are good at acting. You went on to suggest that radio communications would be a bad thing. I went on to suggest that given that communications is communications, whether it be by hand or mouth, that it has the same effect, at least it has NO WORSE effect to the student. Bad idea? I doubt it. I never tyalked ANYTHING about your experience, your abilities, your ratings or otherwise. I am also an instructor with ratings from two countries as well as coach training OUTSIDE skydiving with 23 years+ and hundreds and hundreds of student sunder my belt. So I will again say that communications is communications - done well it is a good thing. In the hands of someone who actually holds a rating, I doubt it could be a bad thing. Yes we have bad instructors out there, but I will not stop progressing due to those few. No I have not used any air-to-air communications, I have seen the recent system being marketing in the USA, and I will not buy it yet becuse of cost. If it was $500, I would outfit my DZ with them. TK

IMMMEDIATELY STOP reading the friggin' voltage - worst this that Airtec ever did was to show it to people. Too many factors affect the battery voltage. temperature, humidity, pretty much everything. It is practically meaningless unless it is completely off the scale. The diagnostics that the system performs will tell you whether or not the system will fire or not. A car battery is 12 volts. It reads over 12 when it is fresh. It reads 13.8 or 14 when it is charging. It reads 11 or sometimes less when it is -40 degrees C, but it can still start your car. I find SO MANY PEOPLE sitting there analyziing the battery voltage when they turn on their Cypres. - it is silly. If it is off the scale, there is a good chance that your Cypres will not power up and will stop with an 8xxx code anyway. Don't worry about it. Set your calendar to remind you to change in 2 years and watch your logbook for 500 jumps, and change your battery. TK

EXACTLY - it has NEVER caused any major problems. Now you are suggesting that a system COULD cause major problems. I doubt it. And no one said that the student would have to rely on it either way. Al,ost everything you talk about here has been moot'd by improved technology. You cannot say, "I tried it once and it did not work" and then never try it again when better stuff arrives. Are you not 'pushing them over the edge' at 5000' when you are stabbing a point finger in their face from both sides when they do nto start the pull sequence? It's the same thing. I would rather just say" Time to pull - now do it!" Sounds like you are alreayd closed up on the idea. Likely others will pass you while you stand still. "Those of you that say it can't be done are getting in the way of those of us that are already doing it" TK

that's plain silly - you are basically saying because we are no good on radios, we should not use communications. The fault here appears to be your perceptioon of the instructor's ability, yet you blame, the technology for it. Change the technology and TEACH people how to use it. It would an GREAT tool. TK

Dumb idea? How so? Commuicatifg with your student is not, nor it is EVER a dumb idea. If talking works, then do it. How many "legs out" signals can you give someone with no response.... I would rather say, "hey Bruce, stick your legs out some more." Of course we are all assuming that the instructor can actually relax enough himself to talk in freefall..... The systems are already out there, the only reason I do not use them is they cost an outrageuos amoutn of money..... TK

I did that 10 years ago - so far a good move, TK

Seminars all day long, website will be updated this week with the schedule of things. Plenty to talk about, reviews, demo stuff from the manufacturers, a great day to be had by all. see you there www.skydivecity.com TK

shaddup fer chrissake if you do not live in the region then you know nothing about it. Yer in my bakyard now ya yellers........ But seriously. Let me see, we hunted seals for 200 years, became part of the ecological order, Bridget Bardot gets on TV holding a poor baby seal and the hunt goes to shit, pelts prices plummet, and the seal hunt comes to an end. Now we are up to our asses in seals, the fish stocks are down, if not decimated (only partly due to seals), we have seals in places where they have not been seen in 100 years (looking for food) and by now everyone has forgotten about it anyway. Greenpeace execs finally confess they needed the seal hunt coverage every year to pay for the whale campaign every year and that it was not really a big problem. So after a few years, everyone gets over it. Demand for pelts starts to rise, and we start the hunt again. Let's compare - - I have no idea where the 1 million number comes from, garbage I think, the quota is quite small. - http://www.cattlerange.com/world-beef/world-beef.html we consume some 10929 (1000 tonne increments, that is 10929000 TONNES) of beef every year. That's a buttload of beef. They get raised in pretty good conditions, but they die with a bolt shot through their head and we eat them, you just do not see it (and cows are ugly) - http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/tradecharts/pork2.gifI if am not mistaken that is 700,000 TONS of pork exported, that's a lot of pigs. I wonder how much on top of that we really eat? Raised in tight conditions and killed with either a bolt through the head or a throat slit while they are still alive. Oh yes, and they are ugly too. - http://www.meatami.com/content/presscenter/factsheets_Infokits/FactSheetMeatProductionandConsumption.pdf Looks like we kill BILLIONS of CHICKENS EVERY year, many of them raised in 12" cube pens and then hung by their feet and throats slit. - just got back from Belize. Guys in canoes spend their days snorkeling for lobsters that supply Red Lobster and Olive Garden, some http://www.globefish.org/index.php?id=2278&easysitestatid=-925680757 37000 Metric tons of lobster have been produced. You figure it out, that is a buttload of lobsters. We boil them alive (and they are ugly). Now the reality is that we eat food, some of that food comes from animals. We eat animals. For that to happen, we KILL animals, of all kinds. When I pet a deer at the zoo, it is cute and I think what a great animal that is and how cool it is to be near it and to experience it. When I line that deer up in the crosshairs. I think, what a great catch and what a load of meat in my freezer - that's going to taste really good!" I accept it for the way it is. Seals are killed quite humanely, we eat the meat, and we sell the furs (Do you wear leather shoes)? Stay away. we do not appreciate the bad-mouthing of our 'industry'. Many rely on it to make a living. If you stand outside with a sign to protest Iowa Pig farmers, then I might respect your point of view.... But I expect that is not the case. TK

The 'old man' admitted he was a sober as a priest, therefore had no excuse when he went to work anyway and spread his friggin flu virus everywhere. same difference. HIV just has this stigma about it. The original post already suggests that HIV infected people should be somehow 'isolated' at least sexually. people do all kinds of stupid thng when they are high, rob stores, steal, beat their wives, whatever. some just stay home and watch TV. why is this so different? TK

18-27 - Annual Easter Boogie. A week of festivities with Music, Load Organizing, Great Skydives, seminars, and more. Dinner every night of the week, Bands, always great weather and loads of aircraft. 17-20 - GO Fast Games Championships with East Coast Freefly. Come play and do your best. Event info at www.ecfreefly.com under "Events" 18-20 - Z-Flock n Dock, Wing Suit Formation and Relative Work dives. Registration is $35 through Friday, March 4th and $45 after that. Registration includes dinner on the dropzone Friday and Saturday nights, a T-shirt and we will be putting all registrant's names into a drawing for cool prizes. For information about Skydive City, as well as directions and accommodations, check out Skydive City. see http://www.baserigs.com for more information 19th - Saturday, Z-Hills Moonlit Madness - 1st Annual Invitational Pond swooping meet. Come and watch the Pro Swoopers layout their best freestyle maneuvers, on the pond, in the dark!! It's madness!!! Organized by Kaz Sheekey & Scott Roberts. FMI contact team1@mail.com. also see Web link http://home.comcast.net/~swoop76/moonlitmadness.htm[/url] 20th - Sunday Morning Free Pancake Breakfast (donations accepted to Z-Hills Fire/Rescue 21-27th - Drew is back to Organize all week long 25-26-27 - Guy Wright in town to organize high-level sequential as well as lower skilled fun dives. 26th (Sat) 1pm to 8pm, BloodNet USA onsite for a Blood Drive. Donate for a free t-shirt and a jump ticket.\ 27th - Annual 40 Way Easter Dives. Very cool traditional RW loads. 3 rounds of fun dives and great sequential.

Maybe we should call it "Young Children& Old People/Common Cold and Flu/ and spreading it!" given that MANY people die from it each year, I think we should start exterminating hte ill, since they are OBVIOUSLY DELIBERATELY spreading it around...... http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/f/flu/deaths.htm How do you know they were not wearing condoms? People like you do nothing but create and support hysteria. Go away fer Chrissake.... (at least stop talking....) TK

There are SEVERAL hotels with skydiving discounts, all you have to do is ask - many base their prices on the time of year - a discount during Spring Break is highly unlikely yes, but we have met with and discussed deals for many skydivers this year. Some rooms are pretty resonable for a new hotel in a small town. TK

I only needed one once, and I doubt it would have done any good. Cutaway from a bag-lock on a tandem, one side released and the other did not. Reserve deployed into the main, finally cleared, but the knot of lines from the main, (wrapped around the reserve risers) was the size of a football in a large mass of lines and other crap. Old Dacron lines and such. No knife, no way to cut it, wish I had one, but probably could have used a chainsaw instead. Decided to steer and land what I had. Reserve spinning pretty bad, but got it under control and did a stand-up in the peas at SWOOP with the streamering main still attached and trailing behind us. very cool but I do not recommend it TK

they are accountable to their members.....just like GWB is accountable to his people. Obviously there is no 'higher' authority as you continue up the chain, unless you are terribly religious.....

I have said it many times before and will say it again, once you cutaway from something, (no matter how badly it is spinning), centrifugal forces will send your body in a straight line. period. Any kicking, flailing or rolling around beyond that is your body kicking and flailing trying to fix that, not the fault of the RSL. Cutaway, even on your back. If you are going so fast, your pilot chute wil/should clear everything and deploy, and the reserve should deploy with no issues whatsoever. If you are struggling, kicking and trying to roll over while all that is happening, then yes, just like that unstable AFF student at deployment time, you run the risk of line twists or worse. TK

I do not know what the real threats are to the President - but I know that my skydiving airplane, within even 10 NM of him is NOT a threat. But I have to shut down every time he comes to town. I know that if I break that rule, my pilot and my business will be SEVERELY reprimanded, which in a free country, is just bullshit. I also know that Presidential security as a whole costs more than it needs to. And I know that i am willing to speak up about it when I see tax dollars abused in that manner. What elsew do I know? - I know that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11 - I know that Iraq has no WMD's - i know that we will be paying for this war for a very long time, but I do not feel much more secure in the world. - I know that i do feel more secure when I fly in an airplane (something they improved on but still overdid it) - I know that my personal freedoms are LESS than they were before 9/11 and that it may only get worse, not better. - I know that the mroe I rant about the government, the more likely it is that I will end up on some 'watch list' I know that the American people in general are fearful and the government plays on that to get them to agree to do pretty much anything they want. TK

because MY TAX DOLLARS pay for it. and I would prefer that my tax dollars pay for education, better health care and not some delusional 'threat' to the president by a guy in a Cessna 182...... Do you REALLY feel that we as citizens do not have the right to comment on how the country is run? Get real...... TK

All valid points there, so again, my 'limits' are different to yours obviously. thanks for supporting my thread - I think we pay a lot of people a lot of money to do that thinking for us. I really doubt the the FAA, Secret Service, CIA or whomever will come and ask TK Hayes, JohnRich, Kennedy or JimBo what should be done to protect the President or ensure national security. But the fact remains that we have these agencies in place to do all that and as the thread, the articles, the news stories and such all report - they apparently failed. What else has failed: WMD's - none, Iraq blamed for 9/11 - not a chance hmm, strange that anyone would put so much faith in these organizations. No wonder they have to put a 30NM radius around the president, they apparently do not know much about what they are doing..... so they go to extremes to get the job done. TK

sure, even Canada years ago had a big scandal in Africa - they sent 'peace-keepers' Trained killers and special forces guys sent it to do 'security and police work' What happened? They got out of hand, a 16 year old kid was captured, tortured and eventually dies from it. black marks on the regiment, whcih was brought up on charges and disbanded eventually. very bad for the peacekeepers in general. So yes, they need to be overseen in a big way no matter where they go. TK

you missed my point (again) Yes, protect the President. But at what cost? At ANY cost? Any radius of no-fly zones? Answer these questions..... If Presidential security rose to a cost of $100B per year, would you be OK with that? If it rose to the equivalent cost of the War in Iraq, would you be OK with that? Do you feel there is a limit, or no limit to what should be spent? Do you think the majority of Americans would be OK with that? NO president has been the subject of an attack by General Aviation (ever), so then why do we persecute GA for this? Seems to me, Ford was shot at, Reagan was shot at, Kennedy was shot....... hmm does this sound like a gun-ban thread now? Protect the President sure, but from REAL threats, not perceived ones. TK

Ah yes, the Iraqi political expert(s), who live in and run the USA... TK

No, not since it costs money - but since it costs a LOT of money. Probably an order of magnitutde greater than the next greatest world leader's security costs. How much are you willing to spend? Do you send checks to the Secret Service if you believe in it so much? Try not to put words in my mouth, it is disparaging I never said anything about parade routes, or the Secret Service. TK

Did I say my business is more important that Presidential security? No I did nto, not sure where you read that. I said MILLIONS of dollars are lost every year due to it. Millions of dollars over probably thousands of businesses. Now ask me if THOUSANDS of businesses are worth more than Presidential security. Yes they are. WHen it starts to cost them MILLIONS of dollars every year. People seem to be blind to what all this costs and this the President must be protected at ANY and ALL cost. Blind faith - kinda like some sort of religion or something. I remeber in the 80's when they announced that the Pres security was costing $1M/day. A lot of people freaked out - it made headline news. What does it cost today? I expect you will never find out because GWB would never let the public knwo that for fear of reprisals and public outcry. I expect it is millions of dollars every day. More when he travels, which is much of the time. So what if it cost $1B/day? What if it was 10B/day/ Why not put a 100mile radius around him, why not 200miles? This was all discussed int he thread about that very topic. There needs to be a limit. Your limit is obviously VASTLY greater than what I am willing to put up with. You see a need to protect our great leader. I see a chicken-shit President who is paranoid and fearful for his life everywhere he goes, but instead of doing soemthing about it with foreign and popular policies, he uses MY tax dollars to surround himself with a wall. Back to the thread - you questioned my beliefs in improved 'security'. Hopefully I answered it, but thanks for trying to change the thread. TK

Like the how many times we PAID BL and trained him? Seems the US gov't set themselves up. Besides the point at this point. My original post was how no one really got sacked for not doing their jobs properly and that we are doing too many of the wrong things to solve the problem TK