michalm21

Dear concerned jumper, this information is a public record. Ed Scott is the only person earning salary from the executive/bod. Here were brief revenue and expenses reported for 2010 (links below) Total Revenue 3,127,118 Total Expenses 2,871,515 Parachutist - Revenues 461,206 ; Expenses 844,195 Membership Services - Revenues 1,971,355 ; Expenses 558,040 Safety and Training - Revenues 0 ; Expenses 86,269 Other program services (schedule O) Skydiver Interest DC Involvement (aviation groups)- Revenue 0; Expense 1,280 Competition - Revenue 0; Expenses 101,605 USPA Store - Revenue 0; Expenses 86,027 AAD - Revenue 0; Expenses 9,000 BOD - Revenue 0; Expenses 65,504 Government Relations - Revenue 0; Expenses 74,760 Sport Promotion - Revenue 0; Expenses 112,053 Compensation is on pages 7,8. USPA IRS990 2010 USPA IRS990 2009 USPA IRS990 2008 USPA IRS990 2007 USPA IRS990 2006

You see Bill, this is the bullshit that gets me every time. No, we do not have several people die in part due to unfamiliarity with wingsuits!!! We also do not have people die left and right. This is unsubstantiated lie. So let me spell it out. Dan Kulpa did not die because his unfamiliarity with wingsuits, he did not put his leg straps on. You may as well blame his AFF instructor for doing a piss poor job. Stephen Harrington didn't die because of his unfamiliarity with wingsuits, he had thousands of jumps and he knew the risk of opening wing prematurely. Now you have a polish guy a few weeks ago, his reserve had entangled with his death trap helmet. Happened on non wingsuit jumps too. He also had 2k jumps and why did he jump a death trap video setup? Is there any other people dying left and right from wingsuits that I missed here?? I get the improve safety argument, make shitty instructors accountable or even prevent them from teaching argument, I agree. But I cannot agree with this dying left and right bullshit fear mongering argument used here.

Is the polling process going to be the same as so far? Email sent with link to the poll? Just asking because I did not receive at least one that I know of and my email is valid as I received one poll in the past. Again, not trying to be negative, just asking. Hopefully it will also be posted here. I will be voting no on the rating and I it's been covered ad nauseam here so I will skip my reasoning. The important question for me is this. If this is passed, and a rating is implemented in the future, what will we, as a community, do to prevent canopy fatalities. We know without much research there are at least 10+ in the USA and many many more injuries that don't even make it to official incident report! Again, if this is successful (and if this passes the majority, I will accept it) shouldn't we come up with a similar scenario for canopy control? Besides required canopy course for a B license that I read of, there is no system of checks regarding wingloadings and canopy platform. Before people call me crazy - consider this. Canopy instructional rating and a little check box on the USPA membership card certifying that the jumper met a mini course and proved his skills (maybe Bill Von's list witnessed by canopy instructor) on a big canopy allowing him to fly a wing of let's say 1.3 wingloading and higher. Another check box verifying that the jumper can jump cross braces. Such individual comes to a new dz, during check in when someone looks at his rig and his uspa card they can say - hey what canopy do you have there - katana? velo? and no check mark on the high performance canopy or a high wing loading? Sorry, you cannot jump here. If a wingsuit rating passes, why would this not be a viable thing to establish. It seems even easier to enforce than wingsuiting as someone's rig is being checked during check in. Also, every dropzone will have at least one experienced canopy pilot to keep an eye out on others. Thoughts?

From previous conversations with you, Mark, I think I know the things that you're referring to in this quote, but I am pretty sure that "the community" was fractionalized, cliquey and ego-driven loooooooong before those events... yeah, for sure, but normiss is strangely very biased in his views, his posts are always one sided this community was screwed when I joined it in 2008... but even then it was nothing comparing to what's going on these days people should just grow up, nobody is special

but as a president anything goes?

Maybe we need a wingsuit BASE rating? You know, to be safer.

Another sensational post. Yes, temporary ban on wingsuits in Chamonix. This is BASE. Nothing to post here about. Looks like the town wants to start discussion to facilitate wingsuiting along with other aerial sports in the area. Of course there will be a temporary ban, especially after a fatality. Again, this is BASE. Some people do stupid shit, sometimes there are accidents. You don't know the details. But hey - WINGSUITS BANNED!

Pretty much identical thing happened to me last weekend. I always pack for myself, couldn't believe I'd stow my brake carelessly like that but it happened. I decided to cut the lower brake line and land on rears but I also thought of cutting away (for too long let me add) I don't think he did a wrong thing. In terms of his other actions it's subjective to judge from this video and description.

Experienced wingsuiters would be able to teach a FFC using the manual but a rating allows skydivers to know that the wingsuiter has passed a course testing their ability to teach (and fly) a FFC. Why not have both? This allows skydivers to decide if a USPA rated WSI is important to them and their FFC ... The same way you can't teach AFF on a USPA member dropzone while not being a USPA AFF rated instructor. Or can you? Would USPA be okay with it?

Dan was a friend of mine. He screwed up. I wouldn't necessarily blame his instructor, after all it was his 2nd and "coach" jump. His instructor taught me and a few other on my dz. Sure his methods could be much better (it was 2008 so before mane USPA recommendations) and maybe they would be right now. Did I need him to make sure my rig is properly on? I don't think so. Food for though - I know of 2 well known instructors that survived opening without their leg straps on. Did they need a FJC refresher? Every now and then people get complacent. I believe once a very experienced videographer forgot his rig - should we try to establish Videographer Coach Rating? edited: I am not against improving safety in this sport, but I don't agree with throwing Dan's fatality as an example for such movement. There would be plenty other arguments to make instead Dan's death.

Very cool! Indeed! I think I saw it before but didn't know it was eyes and camera (if necessary) that did it. How do you deal with false starts?

it is fastest time from exit signal to the finish line measured by some laser stuff (i think) :)

Wow! What a flight, what a win. Congratulations, "old man" You are a legend! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vg2I8sejV8

yup, they are almost the same in terms of what they actually try to achieve, whether it's good or bad it really doesn't matter who gets re-elected in that respect, this country will continue same policies with either of them as a leader now wait for the right wingers to tell you that romney is not what he says (and is different) because rush limbaugh told them so (or because a,b,c...)

If anyone should be impeached, it should be Thomas for his decisions and reasoning (or lack of) behind them

With a preference for killing worshipers of other gods, condemning queers to eternal damnation, and making absolutely positively sure that poor people don't get medical care on your dime? Nice lord you serve there. Blues, Dave Sometimes you can't fix stupid, Dave.

bankers=shysters closed all bank accounts, will rather starve than give them a penny no sympathy from me not going to return to this thread either

As a bigger picture, not that different from catholic, christian, or muslim beliefs...

What he said... Right Wing Conservative nutters, especially the false "christian" kind, are dragging the USA into the toilet. The useless bastards can't tell fact from fiction, truth from lies, and discard anything that exposes their immense hipocrisy. Truth, Justice, and the Amercian Way only apply to those of white, northern european ancestry who love guns and hate anything to do with actual christian values like feeding the poor, helping the sick, and other nice things that christians are supposed to do. Critical thinking is BAD. Reflection is BAD. You lose your RWC street cred if you start exercising those skills. An approved RWC never questions anything pumped out by their corporate leaders. That would be un-patriotic, at the very least. None of the RWCs have ever been able to point out anything positive that has come from CONServative philosophy. If CONServatives had gotten their way, slavery would still be legal, women would not be voting and could not own real estate or investments in their own name as unmarried adults, and "seperate but equal" would still be in effect. Horrible "liberal" ideas like vacation time and sick time from your employer, overtime, and child labor laws never would have happened. CONServatives HATE socialism, except for socialized roads, socialized fire and police departments, socialized military organizations, etc, etc. It is their new wicked scary word for for things that might actually benefit those nasty poor, , lazy, non-white folks somehow. Socialized benefits to wealthy citizens and corporations is BITCHIN, and must never be stopped. Much better to cut things that help regular folks. We can't have the rich and the corporations actually pay reasonable tax rates. Screw the regular folks. The OP has a real bad case of CRI. Time for a proctometrist to put a glass window in the belly button so as to improve the ability to see reality. What they said. Luckily for this country, those old bible thumping nutjobs will start dying soon.

No but should probably be posted in events instead.

http://gifs.imgdumpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/that-s-racist.gif NOT

3,000 for their biggest suit? F* LOL Is it April 1?

Congratulations Lurch! Keep them coming!

not one hook knife but two, every time as carry on.

Well, to the little I know all together about head down flying, I am in the process of learning it in the tunnel as well so I feel like this input may be relevant. Doing probably 5 hours now since January, I've started learning both daffies and hook (shelf), plus transitions, more sitflying, backflying, arched backfly, and other little tricks to develop more body mechanics that will help me to become a complete flyer. So I'm told and I believe you need to do all 3. By 3 I mean your regular("good") daffy, "bad" daffy and hook. The reasoning for both daffies and hook at the same time is to develop full awareness and ablility to fly in any position, switch comfortably, etc. Since you (just like me) don't have any experience in the sky, means we likely don't have any good habits, so I believe it is good to start learning the broad spectrum of HD. Yes, flying will come slower and tunnel is $$$, but I'd rather take extra 6 months and fly comfortable all 3 positions, than learn faster but only fly one position as this will decrease my mobility (and level of comfort) in a formation. Anyone else with their outlook on this?