DSE

What additional requirements/recommendations are there for speed skydiving? For example, Marco has a very unique rig made for him by Rigging Innovations. Additionally, he's wearing a special jumpsuit. Safety issues? Other caveats or helps? Sounds like a lot of fun!

We're still wading through the results. four judges in different time zones...lots of videos, and lots of criteria. Waiting on votes from one judge, and we'll be ready to tabulate and announce the winners. Thanks to everyone for the patience and submissions.

God no. A colonoscopy is preferable to *that* version. Although I did laugh seeing Stewie on "Family Guy" do it. For the first 30 seconds.

The new rage is "lip-dubbing." A friend shot this on a flight from Texas to Vegas. Rocketman Might be fun in freefall...

Congrats, JT. You made it through another one without ending up in jail.

I agree, Strat, bailing wire and epoxied props should immediately shut down an operation. How common is it though? These are illegal in private aviation too, aren't they? Aircraft inspections seem to fail at all levels, so I don't see more regulation doing a damn thing. Better enforcement, maybe? Nothing is failsafe, and only a total moron would believe that every contingency can be considered, every part assessed to catch a failure, and every event anticipated, even without considering the human element. Can skydiving operations be made more safe? I'm sure they can. So can roads, automobiles, and motorcycle helmets. Refer to Booth's Law #1, however. There comes a point of cost vs reality. It's damned easy to be cavalier and say "Who cares the cost; it's a human life at stake." At the end of the day, governments, manufacturers, and small businesses must be able to take risks assayed of cost vs reality. No one is willing to pay more than double for the cost of a safer car, road way, or more policing; few are willing to pay a grand for a better motorcycle helmet and fewer still are willing to shell out more $$ for a safer amusement park ride. There is always a 'safer, better, more humane' mousetrap around the corner. Cold and harsh it may be, but it's a standard reality of life. Risk management. As a small business owner, this is one aspect we face on a near-daily basis. Risk vs reward vs profitability. It's very, very easy for someone who doesn't write their own paycheck to spend revenue they didn't generate. It's even easier to play god on the internet and make anonymous accusations and slurs against a general populus honest, hardworking people that generate a buck so that others might be employed. Sure, there are shitty DZO's that shouldn't be in business. The same can be said about white water companies, helicopter tours, glider port owners, mountain bike tour managers, and any other kind of operator that puts humans in/on/around a vehicle/mechanical device/animal of some sort. There are bad operators of every kind in every business. But that doesn't make everyone in any industry guilty of the same. Regulation and more laws won't do anything to prevent a mechanic from f'ing up and forgetting to put four out of five lug nuts on your wheel after fixing a tire.... At the same time, the regulators and enforcers f'up too. I've twice seen the FAA demand a change in the aircraft, and when complied, the FAA changed what they'd demanded in the first place because they recognized one guy's reaction to a situation was incorrect. And who's to say that there isn't a FSDO that doesn't have an itchy hair up his but for a skydiving operation anyway, regardless of how safe it is? Strat, at least you have strong legs to stand on when you make a claim, along with a history in the sport to make it worthwhile to at least listen to (even if I don't always agree w/them )

Nice we've got a saviour. I ain't buying. I'm not comparing commercial to skydiving by numbers. My point is, with all the regulation and control, the government can't keep commercial flights from all the problems they have. You honestly believe they can improve the safety record of skydiving operations? Without grossly increasing the cost of jump tickets??

Exactly my point. I've had several personal incidents on commercial aircraft (granted, I fly more than most) yet no skydiving incidents. I'm not saying skydiving is safer, but rather pointing out that in spite of all the regulation and inspection, commercial flights still have engines fall off, wheels collapse, broken parts, missed runways,etc. I haven't got a clue what the cargo operations are really like, other than I've seen a few belly in at the general aviation area of the local airport. From my limited knowledge, it sure doesn't seem to me that new regulations are going to help what problems there are. As far as any agenda, I don't know what yours is. But it's clear you have one, and it's one that has obviously raised suspicion.

Actually, I know a *lot* more about the maintenance of our jump aircraft than I do about the many aircraft I fly each month with major airlines. Two aircraft with a major airline that have had to be diverted in the last 10 years with me on them, and have had an EM120 flame out an engine, returning to the airport. Then there are the numerous go-arounds due to landing gear problems, and I'll never forget the Continental flight when the entire overhead luggage system fell from the ceiling on landing (fortunately there were safety chains, of which only one broke). You appear to have an agenda here, and that's fine. Most of us do. Yours seems to be more sinister. I'd like to see a comparison of jump aircraft flight numbers to commercial flight numbers; I'd guess jump plane percentages are very solid with far less oversight.

Just for the record, Phoenix Fly has a US distributor - Morpheus Technologies www.baserigs.com located near Z-Hills in FL. Kathy at Morpheus has been TERRIFIC to talk with, and she was very instrumental in our DZO finding/bringing out a PFI to our DZ. I'm looking forward to the Ghost 2....Like I really need 4 suits tho.

to most skydivers, nothing. To those that don't mind low quality....PT Barnum applies....

Where would you like to start? Do we start with blanket comments from major news figures saying "If Obama wasn't black, he wouldn't be where he is, he got there as a result of societal guilt?" Perhaps you'd rather start at the other end, and we talk about Native Americans discriminated against in towns like Rapid City, SD, or in Farmington, NM. Or maybe we talk about the landlord in my own town that refused to rent to Mexicans "because they skip out and steal everything?" Or maybe the protesters that were beaten in SLC yesterday during a pro-Tibet rally, because they were non-Chinese, protesting China's treatment of Tibet? Was that racism or culturalism? Or...my own experiences growing up, catching it from both sides of my heritage. One asshole at the GM meeting had the stupidity to walk up to me and say "damn, you don't look Native American to me." Jackass didn't look like a dumbass redneck to me, either. The difference is I was able to treat him decently in spite of himself. Another GM member was dumb-fuck enough to not know the difference between pulled-back, long hair, and a mullet. As a result, members of the GM have apparently dubbed me "the mullet-head from hell." I'm told this came straight from Glen Bangs himself, but it was repeated to me as a slur, not as a "Hey, did you know...?" Racism is everywhere, it's human nature, it's animal, it's part of evolution, IMO. However....it also can be dealt with over generations. Funny, we all bleed red, but we judge each other so much on appearance and skin color....beliefs and commonalities not withstanding.

It's already been sent back, and a new one was sent about a month after the first one was received. [edit] the experience hasn't been entirely pleasant

Again, I disagree. I have a perfect understanding of a particular religous group, too. And refuse to accept the culture or the concept. And discriminate (on a personal level) against that religious group. Just as they in turn, discriminate against others as well. I don't care if you have a fundamental understanding of the ghetto, barrio, or other class lifestyle; it doesn't mean you are accepting or are willing/able to accept a certain class, race, religion. There are *many* people of color that discriminate against their own culture. It's exceptionally common. Racism does have an ignorance component; I don't accept that it's a primary component ergo, racism being borne out of ignorance.

I disagree. It generally stems from "you're different than I am, culturally I don't like what/who you are, even if I do have an understanding of the periphery of your culture, and because you've been a 'lesser culture' for the past 1000 years, you're still a lesser culture in my eyes." If the collective believes in XYZ and the minority does not, the minority is automatically a "them" while everyone else is an "us."

I have a Blade (selling it) and a PhoenixFly Phantom, and ordering a Ghost once the Ghost 2 is available.

The US is very racially divided from my view. Although some may have their heads stuck in the sand and deny it, it's a very racist country. Socio-economic chasms are wide, and only getting wider in some instances. Obama's popularity might help in the grand scheme but I see it as creating more divide in some regions, and less in others. Is America less racially divided than it once was? Absolutely. 30 years ago, the concept of a black man running for president would have been considered an abomination. We've made strides, as a society, but the divides are still there. Witness the immigration issues (not that I am in favor of wholesale immigration, it's the language used in the immigration arguments). Discrimination in lending institutions, schools, social groups, employment opportunities are all very real. As they are in other parts of the world, IMO.

Last season, experienced pilot on a check ride (182)with new pilot. I'm along for the ride. After a few stalls and various maneuvers, we're ready to head back when the experienced pilot looks to me and says "how do you feel about getting out?" As I start to reply to his very casual question, the airplane starts to turn fairly hard. He interrupts me with "I need you to get out." Uneventful exit at 3k. Turns out the left wingflap had become stuck all the way down and right flap wasn't responding so well. Uneventful, but is always fun to flip to in my log book.

Therein lies the point. Make a plan/rule/guideline and more importantly, discuss it. If the *plan* was to deploy at 5k, then that is what should happen. If the DZ has a policy of "if you are opening in a cloud, deploy at the minimum altitude for your license" then *that* is the plan. If you're jumping in clouds where you cannot reference the direction of the sun, maybe it's not the best idea to be jumping in them? IMO, having a consistent load plan to fly to the east, west, north, or south in the event of a cloud deployment is a good plan.

What if the "haze" extended all the way to the ground? If you planned on pulling at 5 and told those ahead of you that you'd pull at 5, then pull at 5. If you *suspect* that others will be in the "haze" with you prior to boarding the aircraft, its' a good idea that everyone decides to fly in one direction until you're out of the "haze."

LOL. Yeah, evidently the president of the TX bar slept through that part of law school. How do you propose that a man who has say...30 children be managed on a one-by-one basis with the children being the evidence against him? Particularly when the wives of the man will not testify, and cannot be compelled to testify against him? And when his children will not testify, and cannot be compelled to testify against him? Yet there is evidence that a 40 year old man impregnated a 14 year old girl. What do you propose be done? The state was faced with a Jim Jones/Guyana scenario. There are now 350 attorneys for 400+ children. What would you propose be done differently? I propose they follow the law. And it was not a Jim Jones situation. These people are not suicidal. You're right, it wasn't Jim Jones/Guyana, it was David Koresh and Waco all over again. Regardless of how they got there, and there *is* a lot more to this story of how (and when) they decided to go in, they have found evidence that supports what they have believed. If you haven't been around it, you likely cannot comprehend it.

Anyone want a copy of the pre-photoshop version? Lets start the bidding at $10. I'm thinking that rather than rewarding you for this crime against your fellow men, you should be handing over your "guy card". Agreed, hence the Photoshop fix. It was difficult having to be zoomed in for the fix tho. I mean, it took me at least a week to fix each pixel in the area of the dress malfunction. (Not really). It's a beautiful pic, Andrea. You should get married more often.

LOL. Yeah, evidently the president of the TX bar slept through that part of law school. How do you propose that a man who has say...30 children be managed on a one-by-one basis with the children being the evidence against him? Particularly when the wives of the man will not testify, and cannot be compelled to testify against him? And when his children will not testify, and cannot be compelled to testify against him? Yet there is evidence that a 40 year old man impregnated a 14 year old girl. What do you propose be done? The state was faced with a Jim Jones/Guyana scenario. There are now 350 attorneys for 400+ children. What would you propose be done differently?

check out LensBaby