DSE

Not thinking it was a f**k'd up ruling and agreeing with it are two different things as well.

Wow, DSE, I am shocked that you would say this was not a f**ked up ruling. I guess you were okay w/ U.S. antimiscegenation laws, since, you know, it was prohibited by the culture and many religious authorities said it was wrong. After all, what would happen if they had children? You ENTIRELY missed the point. Culture and religion aren't necessarily the same thing.

Which is probably why we'll never known peace in the Middle East? Until religion is out of their governments... Which will never happen, ergo; "Which is why we'll never know peace in the Middle East."

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/infotoday/eventdvlive_2010summer/#/8/OnePage

Which is probably why we'll never known peace in the Middle East?

I don't think it's a f**'kd up ruling. There is a significant difference between the religious laws and separatism in Israeli/Arab relations that the US doesn't have the foggiest clue about. What if she became pregnant? Both of their religious cultures prohibit them from sleeping with each other let alone making a child. FWIW, a rabbi hailing from Jerusalem says that it is indeed illegal to lie about your background for purposes of sex or a business transaction in Israel. But he's from Chabad Lubavitch, so some Jews won't accept him as having any intelligence.

you heard incorrectly. All NLE's can edit "on the spot" except FCP. All NLE's require renders to any output format that can be transported ie; DVD or YouTube, thumbdrive. All NLE's can import media without affecting background operations, but only one NLE is capable of rendering to multiple sources while editing on another source.

I've got a wide range of suits depending on your size. Several PF and Tony and even an Sfly you can try out, but only the PF suits travel with me. Ed Pawlowski at Lodi has a lot of suits too, and there is the Birdhouse at Zhills.

Fixed it. Additionally neither will BSRs always work. There are going to always be those that die or get injured no matter what the "rules" are. One dropzone I was at a few years ago there were 3-4 new dudes that I pegged as DGITs and purposely didn't get to know them for a while for that reason as they were hard headed, cocky, but with some insane natural talent. They survived the curve though. I think we need to stop trying to "scare" these new jumpers, but lay out the facts and the possible consequences. Is it a bad idea? Yes. Is it certain death? No. Spot, I do appreciate all you've done and continue to do as well as given to and for this sport, but thinking BSRs that some dropzones don't enforce because S&TA's don't have any real authority to do so is the answer and will save everyone from themselves... Nor does the 55 mile an hour speed limit save everyone from a speed-related death, but it does help reduce the ratio. There will ALWAYS be some asshat calling himself an "instructor" willing to take $$$$ from a newbie without regard for the other person's safety. Education won't help anyone in those situations either. I'm a huge fan of education. I worked my ass off with a team of pretty great people to get a WSI rating vs a BSR. It wasn't until a manufacturer interested only in $$ stopped the effort that a BSR was the next best thing. I still think the BSR wasn't the right answer but it was better than an absence of any answer. One of the reasons I've aligned with PF is that Robert recognizes the need for strong training with forced recurrency vs the BS that's been happening over the past years where some "instructors" got their ratings over email, beer, etc. The new PFC program emulates the USPA methodology in almost every aspect and it brings a new level of modern methods with an eye towards bigger suits that folks seem to be gravitating towards earlier and earlier. The idea is that once the opposing manufacturer is completely out of business, we can eventually return to the BOD with a rating proposal. We did get the new syllabus into the SIM, however. Maybe that will help. Education is indeed the key, but sometimes you first gotta smack em' over the head with a bat before you can get their attention.

Kinda hard for them to thank you after they're dead. It doesn't work. I agree with you in theory. In practice it doesn't work. All one has to do is look at the small camera thread, the wingsuit threads, or the swooping threads. Too many newer jumpers think the incident stats don't apply to them and no amount of talking will change their minds.

Alton, if you're demoing one of the Pulse canopies brought by Ward/Mirage, he's there (along with Jack, Fish, Phil, Brian...all can watch/oversee it for you. I'd bet Ward or Jack would want to do it for you.

Let's take the aforementioned case in point. Dan Kulpa. Knew the recommendations. Chose to circumvent them. Was turned down by two very professional and seasoned Instructors (Both are AFFI's, hence the lack of "quotes"0. He found an "instructor" that was willing to play table to Dan's rolled dice. "Instructor" didn't fulfill even the most basic obligations of any Coach, but Dan trusted him and himself in this game of chance. Dan died on that jump over a 40.00 bet. A BSR in place would have saved him, and/or would have provided a punitive opportunity for the "instructor" that helped Dan kill himself. There are other cases eerily similar in wingsuiting. There are other cases somewhat similar in camera flying. There are far too many cases similar in canopy piloting. BSR's may not be the answer, but providing information and good education sure aren't working either.

There are also damn few reasonably good (or fast) editing applications for anything BUT Windows and Apple. This isn't GeekSquad, it's video editing for pro's or semi-pros. They're tools. Windows is just fine for 99.999999% of anything one wants/needs to do. Especially if porn browsing is at the top of the list.

While not books, there are also the VASST Wingsuit training DVDs, available from Paragear, ChutingStar, and other retailers. There are a lot of free srreams on Vimeo, see the VASST channel and the wingsuit channel.

Must be really nice to have that as an option. Many people don't unless they want to travel for 12 hours or longer and that makes the experience very spendy

I honestly can't imagine how anyone could miss the point by this much. I'll come back to the Bob Holler discussion to best answer your question, but that one aside...everything each of us does can have a negative impact on everyone else. In the context of this discussion, I'm keeping my answers to the USPA, as the vasst majority of those in this discussion are USPA members. I do have a clould stamp for Australia, and do jump through clouds there. I'm of the opinion that it can be done safely. That being said; A-I follow the regulations of my associated membership body. B-I trust in the prevailing wisdom of those that have gone before me in the sport when they make recommendations based on their empirical data and/or personal experiences. C-I've watched the curve shift in many experiences from those that first come in being very conservative to very aggressive to very judicious. Somewhere in the middle of all of that needs to be a braking force to help the middle-ground people be saved from themselves. Either way, it's an argument that goes round n' round in the community, and will continue to do so. There are those that are young and full of themselves that feel they can do whatever they please (and invite more regulation, eventually perhaps from the FAA), there are those that rode through their own ignorance and stupidity and matured in the process that will try to help the former stay alive, and there are those that simply don't give a shit until someone is hurt or hurts someone else. I don't like seeing my sport tarnished via stupid actions of others that feel the industry standards don't apply to them. Regardless of what country they live in. Funny thing...you think the BPA is comfortable with you putting on a wingsuit or flying a camera at 100 jumps? CSPA? APF? Of course not.

Y'wanna post it so everyone that now searches for P2 can see what you found?

Therein lies the problem, as mentioned up-thread. 200 is the MINIMUM for camera/wingsuit. But because they have been recommendations vs regulations, they continually have been shifted down. Again...for those who read slowly. A USPA member who is a "big name" wingsuit dude took multiple students with fewer than 100 jumps. Because it put $$ in his pocket and sold suits for the manufacturer. In at least two documented instances, people were injured. A rule had to be made to prevent $$ from clouding the discussion of "what's the best thing for the student." The fact that Dan Kulpa died over $40.00 when everyone associated with his death KNEW he wasn't capable will forever remain a point of disgust. That death has impacted every wingsuiter there is, whether it's as small as the running joke from non-wingsuiters "got yer legstraps on?" to "I'm not allowing wingsuiters to jump here because I can't see your gear." The right to demonstrate bad-azz skills ends when actions of stupidity affect my ability to enjoy what I do. The industry has set benchmarks to help determine when those doors open. Almost every industry has the same sort of standards. It's not like you can go out and do a deep water dive, pilot a plane, race a Formula One car, carry a concealed weapon, drive a tractor trailer, or wire a house without first having met standards based on time and experience.

I strongly disagree. Real world scenario... USPA says 200 jump recommendation. Person A with 175 jumps comes along and "instructor" says "OK, you're close and I know you, you're pretty solid." Person B with 150 jumps comes along and "instructor says "You're close, the guy with 175 jumps did OK. You can do this too." Person C comes along with 100 jumps, "instructor" says "Last two guys with lower than recommended did OK, you can go as well." And so on. This is real, it's happened and would be continuing to happen. There is one "well-known" WX "instructor" that has taken people with as few as 50 jumps (in more than one instance). One instance ended with two people being hurt badly. The standard continually is diluted without a firm benchmark, and eventually, that firm benchmark had to become a BSR because "evaluators" ie; "instructors with no USPA ratings, were taking new wingsuiters with fewer than 200 skydives. Three died in 2.5 years. How much of a statistical curve do you need before you realize how much it impacts your life, your sport, and all of us in the community?

Agreed, it's not insurmountable. You must have XXX hours with a private license before you're allowed to pilot commercial. Those determinations were created by studying incidents, experiences, and common sensical approaches to problems. The answer may not entirely be a "one size fits all" but it provides a very basic, standard foundation from which all other aspects may be judged. The problem I mention is that there are unscrupulous instructors that agree to abide by the USPA recommendations and rules when they take on the rating. Five minutes after they receive their rating and are out of earshot of their evaluator, they are willing to put newbies with mad skillz into a canopy that industry standards and common sense say are inappropriate. Hence the need for BSR's, recommendations, and careful oversight by a community or quorum, IMO. I've yet to meet any parent (present company included) that didn't think their child was "above average" or "much smarter than other children in his/her group."

Who evaluates the evaluator? Not only are there a few sub-standard instructors, but there are no camera, wingsuit, CRW, freefly, or other discipline-related ratings. You can always find someone who will tell you what you want to hear vs what you need to hear. You can also hear what you want to hear when someone is trying to tell you what you need to hear. Even now...I don't think Kallend is supporting your position, but that's how you're choosing to read it.

Which thread? You've started several regarding container questions. Look...I'm a HUGE fan of the Voodoo. I've got three. Love the fit, can't rave enough about the support from RI. I bought my Voodoos after having received the first Talon FX in its class (third one off the assembly line). I've had a Mirage, Stunts (really liked that one too), and an older Jav. I now own five RI rigs of various age. I don't know why their site doesn't offer more specifics. If the canopy manufacturer doesn't ship them a canopy to shove into their tubes used for measuring...I don't know what else they can do. I know that Sandy and Brenda really, really want happy customers so they don't just toss one at you because you tossed money at them. My Voodoos took nearly 3 months of lots of back n' forth because I wanted some special fits, cuts, designs. Sandy was meticulous. Took time, but if you've ever seen my Voodoos, you'll immediately know why. Ask Cocheese about jumping mine. He was in love. Anyway...I don't know what your original question was outside of why websites are outdated. Maybe they don't have the revenue to justify the constant upkeep at the technical level?

IN the case of RI, there is a significant difference between "what fits" and "what looks good." When people are shelling out heavy coin for a rig, they generally want it to look sweet and svelte. Voodoos aren't generally great for anything larger than a 170, and while a SabreII 170 will fit a V4 quite nicely, I thought you were looking for a 190-capable container? I have a V3 with a 150 Storm and it looks great. It looked "pregnant" with a SabreII 150 in it. I didn't mind much, but it didn't allow the rig to look its best. I had a Mirage with a Safire in it, can't recall the size of the Mirage, but it looked like a blivet. Wrong container size for the canopy size.

To be clear; the young man who died didn't have to convince anyone of anything. He knew the "instructor" from his home DZ. If the "instructor" had followed common sense or USPA protocol and examined a logbook, the young man had required nearly 40 jumps to complete AFF. A full 33% of his jump career had been dedicated to AFF. He didn't know how to pack. The "instructor" (I keep using quotes because there is no "wingsuit instructor" rating, and any schlump can hang out a shingle. Being a bad-ass anything doesn't make you an instructor) knew the kid didn't know how to pack, knew the kid didn't have the skydives required, and knew that the kid wasn't heads-up at all. All that said...the kid that died fit the curve perfectly. He'd gone through the same experiences in other things too, according to his grandmother. Thought he was bad-ass capable, thought he had it all together. He wasn't "Stan" but he sure as hell was Wanda. He was a good kid, caught up in the same "I'm awesome-itis" that seems to hit many of us in the 100-500 jump range. I happened to have been one of those to a degree, just look at my old posts. I'm very embarrassed at some of them. But it's a progression that seems to be par. Dan (and two others that I knew) were huge motivators in trying to achieve a Wingsuit Instructor rating (thwarted by a manufacturer that wants to not have suit sales hampered by rules), or a BSR (which was achieved). Manufacturers, instructors and coaches that don't follow the USPA recommendations they've agreed to support, and the "me now" generation coupled with technology are all part of the problem. People have far more left brain skills in the sport today than they had even a decade ago because of access to information. Problem is, they don't take the time to develop the right-brain skills that allow the left-brain skills to be validated. The access to information helps build confidence factors that aren't backed up by experience. Experience doesn't mean you won't f**k up. It just means you have a better chance of correcting yourself before it gets worse.

Learn to fly on your belly well. Do as much RW as you can with others. Don't waste many jumps on solo stuff, save that for "special." Keep your eyes open, listen a lot. Don't worry about WS exits for a long while. You might even teach yourself bad habits if you start too early and without instruction. I found a place on the web that describes open heart surgery, but I'm not about to start practicing on myself or others.... Slowly, deliberately. Make a plan, work the plan. Enjoy the hell out of the sky for a while. Worry about the wingsuit when you're past the 200 jump threshold. You'll enjoy the next 175 jumps more.